I love the holidays. Especially decorating for the holidays. When I was a kid, Thanksgiving weekend was the weekend that the decorations started going up. Among my favorites were the ceramics my mom painted. While there’s a special kind of magic to those decorations, I have to admit that there’s something about Thomas Kinkade Christmas Decorations. I was just browsing the Kinkade collection at CollectiblesToday.com, and came across an absolutely precious animated snowman figure with a 3-D Christmas village inside and a train going around the base. I must say, it’s me. I bet even my older sister (who is the pickiest person on the planet) would also really like it. It’s certainly something I’d consider giving to her at the holidays if I could. I’ve always wanted to get one of those little Christmas Villages and set it up for the holidays. I think it would be better to wait until Gage is older, but when I have the money to spare I’d love to start collecting the pieces for it. I just think that things like this just bring the holidays into the home a little more.
Well, I went to the grocery store. Unfortunately I had to go by cab. It’s only$14 round trip, but it would be nice not to have to pay that so often. Too much to get for walking. I’m gonna start dicing stuff for tomorrow in a little bit. Trying something different with the stuffing. See, I use mom’s recipe. It’s very basic. Remove giblets and boil for about 20 minutes. Chop giblets finely and put into a bowl. Add 1 loaf of bread that has been left out overnight and torn up. Then add a few stalks of chopped celery and a chopped onion that have been sauteed in butter. Mix all that together, add salt and pepper, some of the water that you boiled the giblets in and viola. Stuffing. It goes into the bird and into the oven. Well, there’s only me to eat the stuffing this year. And I’m not making enough stuffing to fill an 18 lb bird. That would be a hell of a waste. So I’m going to try putting it into a casserole dish and baking it seperately. I’ll probably take that piece of skin that usually flaps over the stuffing off the bird and put it on top of the stuffing in the dish so it gets a little bit of that turkey fat that it would normally get. If it’s half as good as mom’s I’ll consider myself lucky. There’s always the boxed stuff if absolutely necessary.
I’ll probably also make some cookies tonight. Since that’s all we’re going to have in the way of dessert. Why make a whole pie for one person? It’ll go to waste. But Gage will eat cookies, so that’ll work out.
I might cut out some Christmasy shapes from construction paper tonight for Gage to glue together/decorate tomorrow. He might enjoy that. If I can get him to cooperate.
I keep seeing the commercials for the Dyson vacuum cleaner and other Dyson products. I have to say, I’m taken with them. I’ve never tried one, but would love to be able to do a test run and see if they are as good as I hope they are. I love bagless vacuums, and wouldn’t go back to a vacuum that uses a bag if you paid me. Their website is great, too. I especially like that you can get parts and accessories on their website. So many companies do the accessories, but not the parts. If I break a piece or lose an attachment, it’s nice to know that those items are easy to find. They also have a section on the site to help you choose the perfect Dyson for your family. Apparently, the best model for me is the Stowaway Animal. That’s looking for a vacuum that is lightweight, good for multiple floor surfaces, stows easily and good for getting up pet hair. Sounds good to me.
It’s really not much. Nothing to write home about, as they say. But it’s still snowing lightly. Who knows if it’ll get heavier or if it’ll just stay really light. I noticed it was snowing last night when I went out for a cigarette before bed. It wasn’t sticking anywhere except on top of cars and things like that. The ground was too warm for it to stay. The cement is still too warm for it to stick to, but it’s sticking everywhere else. Gage was enjoying stomping through the yard a little while ago. It took clever coaxing and Star Wars to get him back inside. Tiger wasn’t particularly fond of the coldness on his paws, but he was having fun running around and kicking up the little bit that’s on the ground. I’d say we’ve got about 2 inches give or take half an inch.
I need to go to the grocery store. I’m not looking forward to that. For one, people go a little weird when it snows as far as groceries are concerned. Gotta have their milk, eggs and bread, you know? Think these people are feasting on french toast during snow storms? I’ve always wondered about that. Milk eggs and bread? Why? If the power goes out you can’t do anything with the eggs. Milk and bread are nice, but doesn’t it make more sense to get bread, mustard and lunch meat? You know, something you can eat without cooking. Just in case you lose power. Of course our stove is gas, so even if we lose power, I can cook. I just have to light the burner manually. Oh yes, the second reason for not looking forward to the grocery store… Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Everyone is rushing around to get the stuff that they forgot to pick up earlier. Someone forgot the cranberries. Someone else is in desperate need of some turkey size oven bags. There’s probably someone out there who decided at the 11th hour that they want to make ham instead of turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, and while we’re at it, let’s do the bread from scratch and bake a pecan pie instead of pumpkin.
Like a lot of people, I love candles. I also think that a nice candle or a pretty candle holder makes a nice gift for anyone who’s fond of candles. It’s always good to know a little something of the persons tastes, of course, but they do make good gifts. Personally, I think some of the candle holders at WroughtIronHaven.com are absolutely gorgeous. Like this one, the ivy is just so pretty. They have table top holders as well, of course, and holders for more than just votives — actually, they’ve got holders for just about every kind of candle you could buy, even jar candles. Personally, I’m a very big fan of wrought iron candle holders. I think they add something really special to the ambiance of a room. I love the way that the light from a candle casts onto them, the way that shadows dance on them.
Even better, WroughtIronHaven.com has a secret back door on their website that leads to a discount, which I happen to know. Just visit their main page and find the sentence that reads “Our Store now has over 1,300 home & garden items for you to choose from!” You’ll find it about halfway down. Click on the comma and it’ll take you to the secret wrought iron garden gate (backdoor) and you’ll get yourself a nice discount, perfect for your holiday shopping. Or why use it for holiday shopping? Use it to buy yourself something pretty for Christmas. Don’t you deserve a nice gift after all your hard work?
I dunno why. I’ve got such a headache. I’ve taken some “pirin tablets” and now I wait for it to go away.
Got a call from Gage’s teacher a little while ago. He’s having a great day. Really energetic and happy. Laughing and running and singing. He’s been singing at home a lot lately too. I finally got him videotaped singing “if you’re happy and you know it” last night. Which is cute as hell. The funniest part is that he stops after clapping his hands or whatever and looks at me. He doesnt’ continue until I’ve clapped my hands or patted my knees or honked my nose with him. It’ so funny. He also sang the alphabet on the video and I’m a little teapot. Now I just gotta find the cable that allows me to connect the video camera to the vcr and get it transferred to vhs.
So, it’s Thanksgiving tomorrow. I keep thinking about Thanksgiving dinner at mom’s. She does the traditional stuff… turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls… Gravy only when I’m there to beg her to make it. Then there’s dessert, her cheese cake is to die for. I have the recipe and make it just as well, but the recipe makes 2 and can’t be cut in half so it doesn’t make much sense for me to make it this year. Since me and Gage are the only people eating here. I might make a small banana pudding. I think Gage would realy like that. Usually at Thanksgiving there’s a veritable dessert buffet at mom’s. Cheesecake, pumpkin pie, banana pudding and lemon meringue pie. Sometimes there’s another pie variety. Depends on how much work we’re willing to do and what everyone requests.
I have tremendous support for the US troops in serving in Iraq. It’s heartbreaking everytime I read about more deaths over there. For a couple of years, some friends and I sent care packages to some Marines while they were deployed out there, and it felt really good to know that we were doing something for them. I haven’t been able to do much lately, haven’t been able to afford it. I’ve sent a couple of letters, but that’s about it. It truly warms my heart to see other people doing things to show their support for the troops. Apparently, The Gallery Collection, a company that does Business Holiday Cards, recently donated cards that say Happy Holidays and Thanks to be sent to the troops in Iraq this holiday season. They also donated blank cards and elvelopes to Troops to Write Home, to be included in Soldiers’ Angels packages this Christmas. I love Soldiers Angels, if I have the money this Christmas, I hope to donate a little bit to them. If I were a business person, I’d use The Gallery Collection to send out cards to business associates — why not give a little back to a company that gives so kindly, you know?
It’s supposed to snow later today. I kind of look forward to it. Gage will certainly like it. He absolutely loves the snow. Tiger will probably enjoy it to a degree, but he gets so cold. Poor puppy’s got no body fat and he’s not a fluffy long haired dog with lots of fur to keep him warm. I’ve noticed that he gets all shivery as soon as he gets outside on a cold day. As much as I loathe putting clothing on dogs, there are times in the winter that I wish I had a coat for him, and maybe something to cover his paws when it snows. I know, I’m a freak.
Another plus of the whole snow thing is exercise. Assuming it sticks and doesn’t melt 20 minutes later, I can get some good exercise shoveling. I’ve been so stressed the past few months that I haven’t paid much attention to diet and exercise, even though I was trying to lose weight. I doubt I’ve lost much since May or so. Stress and lack of funds haven’t helped me eat very well.
So, I signed up for a site called grocery game and looked over the list of current sales for my local store and compared them with the coupons that I’ve got. Looking at the site, I can definitely see how people manage to buy $100 worth of groceries for 50 cents. I know part of it is that those people are never buying fresh produce or meat. But if I can get all the “prepackaged” stuff I need for just a few dollars, I can spend more on fresh produce and meat. It would be a win-win situation.
When I was a kid, my parents did a lot of country dancing. Not line dancing, two steppin’ mostly. I remember watching them get ready, absolutely in love with the clothes. They always wore denim pants and skirts, mostly pants. My dad would wear those plaid western shirts with the mother of pearl over the snaps. My mom was more likely to wear a t-shirt, she didn’t like the way those western shirts looked on her. The hats were a thing of beauty, they had those feathered bands with a spray of feathers on the front. I would hold my mom’s hat and pet the band while they got ready. My favorite part though was the Cowboy Boots. I’ve had a thing for boots all my life, and cowboy boots are no exception. There’s something about the style of a nice pair of western boots that is really appealing. I remember when I was a kid, when I got my first pair for Christmas. I was in 2nd grade. They were brown and black leather and I was so happy. I put them on as soon as I opened the box. I must have looked funny running around in a nightgown with cowboy boots on all morning on Christmas. it was one heck of a good Christmas morning, that’s for sure. Of course they make great gifts for adults, too.
Seriously, it’s a beautiful day. Hard to believe that in 2 days we’re supposed to get snow. It’s warm and sunny and there’s a lovely breeze blowing every now and then. Tiger’s outside enjoying a little patch of sunshine on the lawn. I’m on the porch enjoying the nice weather and the cats are sitting here next to me, trying to sneak out into the yard so they can lay in the sun. I keep making them come back. I’ve threatened to put Ziggy on a leash. That’d be funny, but mean. Ziggy doesn’t even like collars. Woody told me once that he put a collar on Ziggy and he passed out. The last time I put collars on Ziggy and Poe they ran and hid and didn’t come out until they’d gotten the collars off. I never did find those collars, lol. Tiger had adjusted well to being on a chain when he’s outside. It’s not like it’s a short chain. He’s still got most of the yard for wandering. It’s really just for keeping him inside the yard since he’s apparently able to jump the fence.
I need to get stuff listed on ebay. I’ve already put some stuff up on craigslist, like Gage’s old winter coat and some shoes and stuff. There’s stuff that went nowhere on craigslist which might sell in ebay, so I’m gonna give it a go there. I’ve also got some stuff I want to try on etsy, but first I gotta set up the seller account there. Right now I’m waiting on Gage getting home so I don’t have to keep an eye out for the bus, and I can focus on doing the listings.
Anyone out there wanna give me a personal loan? I’m in a fairly desperate spot at the moment as far as finances. But if I can get caught up on everything, I’ll be able to stay on top of it all and make monthly payments toward repaying said loan. It would be nice ot be in a position where I can breathe again, you know?
Yes, that is a picture of an elbow. My left elbow, to be specific. Doesn’t look quite right, does it? The first doctor I saw about it said that it was “misplaced,” when I saw the second doctor he asked where I left it and said that it was dislocated, but had never been repaired. It happened when I was 5 years old. We noticed that something was wrong when I was 10 years old. You might ask how I managed to go 5 years without noticing that my elbow had been dislocated — it’s a reasonable question, I get it all the time. Actually, it didn’t hurt. It just popped. You know how your joints do every now and then? Yeah, it was like that. There was no pain, just a pop. My cousin Willie and I were playing a fun little game, where you twist someone’s arm behind their back and they have to try to get out of that “hold.” This particular incident, I was the twistee and he was the twister. I thought I’d be slick and just straighten out my arm, which is when it popped. We discovered that there was an issue when I went in for a regular check up and the nurse was trying to take my blood pressure. My forearm wouldn’t rotate so that my wrist was turned up. As a matter of fact, it only has about half the rotation that my other (normal) arm has.
The worst part is that the bones rub together. There’s no cartilige in between, so it can get painful. Anytime it’s wet out it aches tremendously, and if I use my arm too much it can get excrutiating. Have I mentioned that I’m left handed? That’s why I consider the day I got some Freeze It Gel samples to be a great day in elbow history. It’s the only thing I’ve ever used on this elbow that actually took the pain away. Not only that, but it takes the pain away FAST, and when you’ve got a 5 year old who constantly wants to be lifted, thrown in the air, etc., fast is a blessing! Can you say love? Cause I love this stuff. It’s good for more than just my elbow, too. I tend to have a lot of back pain because of the child lifting, among other things and it takes that away faster than you can say “chiropractor.” Winning a years supply of Freeze It would make me so happy. Especially since we get a lot of snow in the winter and that just kills me. The aching and the throbbing and that “oh I’m just not going to move my arm for the winter” feeling would go away, and that would be such a blessing. Last winter, I endured a lot pain to play with Gage in the snow. It’d be nice not to have to contend with that pain this winter and be able to just enjoy the fun.
Alphine Access is not responding to my requests to reschedule my interview. I guess I’m going to just have to start the application process all over again. At least it’ll give me time to figure out how to get the headset I got to work. I have to look online and see if I can find the user manual and see what it says. I’m thinking maybe the connection chain isn’t right.
I’m listing some of Gage’s old stuff on craigslist today. Hopefully it’ll be picked up, I could certainly use the dough. I wish that the printer I have on craigslist would be taken. People don’t seem to get that “or best offer” means make an offer and I might give it to you for that price. There’s some stuff that isn’t getting any bites on it that I’m going to try on ebay. Gotta photograph and all that grooviness, of course.
Gage was very cute this morning. He was all curled up in bed so I just got him dressed for school while he was still half asleep. He’s more cooperative that way, lol. After he got dressed, he crawled into my lap (I was sitting on his bed) and put his arms around my neck. Then just laid there like that for a few minutes. So much cuteness. So much sweetness.
When I was a little girl, I had a love affair with Daybeds. I thought they were so cool, so pretty and I wanted one desperately. Even now I think that they’re perfect for guest rooms and for little girls bedrooms. Especially when the room is designed for a little princess. Even though I was a tomboy, there were a few girly things I liked. Unfortunately, with all of the moving around that we did and the fact that I had to share a bed with my little sister meant that it just wasn’t possible to have something so nice. I’m looking at the daybeds available on Home-and-Bedroom.com and falling in love all over again. Some of them are gorgeous. Someday, I’d like to have a daybed in a guestroom or something. Or maybe have a bedroom large enough to have one in there in addition to the bed I sleep in. A nice comfortable place to stretch out and read or do a little cross stitch. The site is pretty interesting, too. There’s a nice selection of furniture on the website, good prices too (most of the daybeds are under $300). Add to that, no sales tax and free shipping and it’s a heck of a good deal.
by these Pepto Bismol commercials? I mean, the Macarena is bad enough, but do we really need people running around doing the Pepto Bismol dance???? Even worse are the ones that are “auditions.” Please, oh please, tell me that these are not actually audition tapes that people sent in so they could sing and dance about Pepto treating diarrhea. I mean… I know that’s what I love to sing about /sarcasm. These are honestly the most disturbing commercials on tv right now as far as I’m concerned. And why does Pepto need to advertise so much? We know what it is. We know what it does. And if we need it, we know where to find it. I don’t need to see a Pepto commercial once an hour (no matter what I’m watching) to remind me. It’s not like we’re talking about a brand new product that needs to build up a name for themselves.
I worked for a little over 5 years for an investment firm. I started out as a secretary, then I transferred to a new branch and did all of the back office stuff: wire operator, cashier, new accounts along with doing the office secretarial work and making sure that all of the files were in compliance. There were a number of times that I considered studying and taking the Series 7 exam. I even asked once if the fees would be covered or if the process would even be supported by the branch. Unfortunately, I was told that I was told that because I wasn’t a college graduate, the branch wouldn’t support the idea of me taking the exam. It was disappointing. I even got a call recently, based on my resume, from a company that’s opening a new branch in the Denver area and was looking for people to take the Series 7 and work in the office and build up a book as a broker. If I’d had a car, or other means of reliable transportatioin, I would have jumped on the opportunity.
Like a lot of people, I love candles. I also think that a nice candle or a pretty 
