One for the Road.....

Though I am sure that there will be more. It seems I have caught yet another "hoopla" type infection (LOL) from my dear friend Judith Shakespeare and since it is Christmas themed I figure I better get it done with a quickness so......

'Da Rules:
1. List 12 random things about yourself that have to do with Christmas
2. Please refer to it as a ‘hoopla’ and not the dreaded ‘m’-word
3. You have to specifically tag people when you’re done. None of this “if you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged” stuff is allowed…then nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag is really up to you — but the more, the merrier to get this ‘hoopla’ circulating through the Blog-o-sphere.
4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over before we know it.

Okay so now......

1. I enjoy a white Christmas. I was born in southern California and lived there for many years, when I was 6 I moved to Lake Tahoe and since then I just doesn't seem like Christmas if there isn't snow on the ground.

2. I hate to cook, but I love to bake.....Christmas is the prime baking season so it's MY time in the kitchen.

3. I only put half my decorations up evey year.

4. When I was a kid it was tradition in our house to dress up and have lots of guests over for Christmas Eve, now I usually just hang out with my small family. I miss the party.

5. I grew up a military brat, my dad would sometimes bring home a kid (airmen) or two who couldn't go home for Christmas. Those were some of the most memorable holidays because it truly put the "spirit of Christmas" into perspective.

6. I hate fruitcake.

7. Last Christmas I got a sewing machine and while I am eager to learn how to use it, I have not used it once yet.

8. This year we never got our outside lights put up.

9. I never put my tree up before the 1st of December and it is almost always down by the 2nd of January.

10. My youngest son has a Nutcracker collection that we display at Christmas.

11. I love the smell of a live tree but because my husband is allergic we have a fake, but I buy a real wreath every year.

12. I HAVE to have Peppermint Mocha flavored coffee for Christmas morning or else it's just not Christmas!!

....okay that's it....now I tag Jeanie, Jewels, and Beth.

Stuck!!

I live in the mid-west. Western Wisconsin to be exact. My in-laws live in Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb actually.

On Friday my little family packed up our little cross-over SUV and headed west to Minneapolis to celebrate early Christmas wth the in-laws. on Saturday I was ready to come home but I decided to suck it up like a big girl and be patient because we would be heading home the next day.....no biggie right?

Today the mid-west got bitch slapped by Jack Frost. So for tonight I will be stuck at my in-laws.....AGAIN, get the bail money ready and pray with me that the roads are passable tomorrow morning....LOL

Sorry this is short and whiney but hey youse guys are like family.....'cept different. :)

Thirty days hath September.......

My dear friend Dame Judy is up to her old tricks again....I've been tagged for a Meme dammit!!


And here are the instructions:

1. Mention the person who tagged you and create a link back to them.
2. Copy-paste the traits for all the twelve months.
3. Pick your month of birth.
4. Highlight the traits that apply to you.
5. Tag 12 people and let them know by visiting their blogs and leaving a comment for them.
6. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve done it!

So I'm gonna do it in a slightly different order....me first...THEN the other months, m'kay?

My Birth Month: January

Stubborn and hard-hearted. { I can hold a grudge like nobodies business, which I guess counts as hard-hearted too..lol}

Ambitious and serious. {If by ambitious you mean, sit on my ass then yes I'm ambitious, Seriously}

Loves to teach and be taught. {okay that's true}

Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses.

Likes to criticize.

Hardworking and productive. {does MOST of the time count??}

Smart, neat and organized. {2 out of 3 ain't bad....lol}

Sensitive {I use special detergent for that} and has deep thoughts. {....like Jack Handey....}

Knows how to make others happy. {and sometimes I even use that knowledge..}

Quiet unless excited or tensed. {okay how did this get on MY description...}

Rather reserved. {um, NO}

Highly attentive. {so long as I WANT to pay attention....}

Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. {usually true....just not this year}

Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. {that's only sorta true, ask my hubby}

Loves children. {babies, yes.....other people's children, sometimes...as long as they are respectful and have semi-good manners}

Loyal. {To a fault!!}

Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. {what the hell does that even mean?? lol}

Very stubborn and money cautious. {I said stubborn dammit!!! Money cautious?? Um, no, sorry....}

Now for my victims...Mwahahahahaaa.....

1. Cindi at Lady Glencairn

2. Holly at Oh How My Winter Nights Fly...

3. Stina at Zen in Motion

4. Mommy at Mommy Cracked

THE MONTHLY FLAVORS, WHICH ARE YOU?

JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.

JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.

OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

And finally.......

I finished it!! I did it!! I got the damn tree up!! Whooooo Hoooooo!

I started the damn thing on Saturday evening....putting the branches on one by one, stringing the lights and tucking just so....

I got half way done and realized that one string of lights was dead and that I needed at least two more strings to get the tree finished so I threw a baby fit (because I was frustrated dammit!!) and grabbed my purse to set off to Wally World.

When I finally returned from my WalMart trip my hubby was crabby, dinner was ready and my tree was still top-less and strewn across my livingroom.....

I finally finished the thing around 1am, cleaned up the mess from the storage bins and headed to bed only to hear from my hubby "What took you so long?"....he's lucky I let him live after that. So here it is in all it's Christmas glory...

Caitlin

Today would have been my best friends 35th birthday. I should be calling her and wishing her a Happy Birthday and chatting about the coming Holiday, how big her son Alex is getting and how handsome my boys are in their latest photo that she should have gotten in the card I sent. I miss her so much.

It was 8 years ago this last summer that she died.

If at first you don't succeed.......

Just quit trying......LOL

I'm still feeling the holidays blahs but I'm off to do some retail therapy later today and hopefully that will snap me out of it. Hubby and I also have a date to put the lights up this afternoon so maybe that will do it too, of course the tree still isn't up but hey, It'll happen this weekend....I promise!!

In any event I felt like I needed a laugh so I found a video that made me giggle and thought I'd share with you:



TGIF!! and Happy Holidays!!

So much to do.......

I spent the better part of today avoiding doing any Holiday prep at all. See I didn't notice that it was the 10th already and well, I haven't done a thing to get ready so far. There are no lights on my house, no tree in the living room, no cookies baking and NO cards sent. Yep, I haven't even started my cards, let alone have them ready for mailing.

I feel like Scrooge. I don't give two shits about Christmas this year. I don't understand that feeling but there it is, slapping me in the face every time I turn around. I don't know maybe it's because I work my ass of to get it all up and then again to tear it all down and everybody else just gets to enjoy it......

Oh did I mention that I have to do all the present shopping. Yes, me....all by myself. I buy, I wrap, I stick it under the damn tree. I do these things so that my family has a merry Christmas but dammit, I want a merry Christmas too!! I want a massage and a Mani/Pedi! I want to get my hair done and go out to eat. I do NOT want to lift a finger, oh but I will. I will dutifully bake, wrap and decorate and in January I will tear down and pack away. That's what a wife/mother does for those she loves.

I tell you what though, as soon as those kids of mine get old enough THEY will be the ones hanging lights and baking!

Something fowl is afoot......

The kids were out of school on Wednesday for a Teacher In Service day, which is just great but why in the middle of the week?? I don't know but the point is I was ill prepared because for some reason I had convinced myself that the day off would be Thursday.

Anywho, I decided to drag my kids to Super Wally World, because A) we need some groceries and B)I am a masochist. Despite all my best efforts to make the trip as quick and painless as possible it was predestined to be a complete headache and was.

By the time we got to the check out I had decided to run away from home. I loaded the conveyor belt and continued to empty the cart while trying to watch as the checker rang up my purchases..... I thought that the running total looked a tad high but hey, I'm an impulse shopper so I'm sure I just threw something in the cart that I neither needed nor really wanted and simply forgot.
Of course it did seem like a REALLY lot of money to be over.....

The boys of course are still bickering at each other and making me nuts so I pay the grand total and start to leave, as is my regular habit I decide to check my receipt before leaving the store. That's when I see......Poultry $98.54!!!

What??

Wait just a second, I bought a 1 pound package of chicken, not a fricken Ostrich!

So I turn around and head to customer service where I begin trying to explain to the idiot behind the counter that it was a small one pound package not half the meat section. She rolls her eyes at me as if to say "yeah right" and proceeds to price check my chicken.....it rings up $98.54. Slowly a look of apology washes over her face, and she credits me back the ninety-eight dollars.

So what was the point to my story??? The point is this, Check your receipts People!! If they'll over charge you for chicken you know that they'll over charge you for tinsel, gift wrap and toys.....Tis the season ya know....Good Luck and Happy Shopping!!!

Please excuse my mess.....

I had a wonderful friend design this lovely blog for me (please click on her link on the righthand bar and say hi for me) and I am currently fumbling through the set up and widgets and what not.....

I have gotten the nicest comments already and am thrilled to be linked on some very cool blogs!! Thanks guys!

I just adore my new blog and my new blog friends, so please stay tuned....I promise I have plenty more to say

A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little more Touch Me...

My ever so wonderful (and very busy blog designing) friend, Judith Shakespeare has gone and tagged me for a meme. Since I am forever in her debt for creating this whole blog for me, I guess I'll do it!!

Directions from Judy:
This is a really fun one. You need your iPod, for this. It's a list of questions that you answer with the title of a random song. So here goes nothin'....


1.How would describe your personality?
Cool (Gwen Stefani)

2. What do you like in a guy/girl?
Fully Alive (flyleaf)

3. How do you feel, today?
Don't Fear the Reaper (The Ceasars)

4. What's your life's purpose?
Blood of Eden (Peter Gabriel & Sinead O'Connor)

5. What is your motto?
Change (deftones)

6. What do your friends think of you?
Sympathy for the Devil (The Rolling Stones {Neptunes Remix})

7. What do you think of your parents?
We used to be Friends (The Dandy Warhols)

8. What do you think about very often?
Happy Phantom (Tori Amos)

9. What do you think of your best friend?
Army of Me (Bjork)

10. What do you think of the person you like?
La Tortura (Shakira)

11. What is your life story?
Sleeps with Butterflies (Tori Amos)

12. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Sexyback (Justin Timberlake)

13. What do you think when you see the person you like?
Bathwater (No Doubt)

14. What do your parents think of you?
Wild Horses (The Sundays)

15. What will be played at your funeral?
Kashmir (Led Zeppelin)....Mom would be sooo proud!! No really!!

16.What is your hobby/interest?
Rockstar (N.E.R.D)

17. What is your biggest secret?
Oh La La (Goldfrapp)

18. What do you think of your friends?
Six Different Ways (the cure)

19. What should you post this as?
A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me (Fall Out Boy)


Okay well since I don't know many bloggers yet.....I tag YOU!!

On Friends.....

I have recently (and by recent I mean almost a year now) been graced with the presence of some loverly new friends in my life. Women..... can you believe it? I have chic friends!! And they don't stand me up or flake for no good reason.

Amazing you say??

No, they are internet friends who have turned into phone friends and even snail mail friends as we have started sending each other cards and whatnot. They are moms just like me, with kids and husbands. They are going through the same crap as me and surviving. And for the first time in forever I feel less.....alone.

Okay yeah, so we met on the internet and how do I know that they aren't just some dork in his undies posting from mommy's basement??
Well I guess until I have a chance to meet them I never will know for sure, but for now it doesn't matter to me.

I have new girl-friends!!

I finally have chic friends who call to ask how my doctor's appointment went yesterday. And they check on me because I sounded "down". I have chics who make me laugh. I have chics to compare stories with.

That's not to say that my big gay (sorta like) brother is not my "chic" friend but sometimes he and I have a hard time staying in touch....we go months without hearing from each other. It sucks but it's how we work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Courtney, Rachel and Jeanie.......Thank you, for everything. I LURVE you ladies!!

Marianne & Heather .....a girl couldn't ask for better "sisters"!!

Sitt.....I will always be your biggest fan and most loyal Hag!!

A Qweenie just has to have a lap dog right??

He likes to barrel through the snow with his nose......