Feeling VERY bah-humbuggy this year

Things have changed so much since my grandpa passed away in the fall of 2005.  He was the family glue.  Without him there is no gathering for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas is losing it's appeal.

Forever I have dreamed and anticipated Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family (Day is reserved for my dad).  I have forever been solid in my traditions - where we go, what we eat, etc.  It's what makes Christmas.

Today I visited the cemetery, brushed off the dusting of freshly fallen snow and shed a few tears because I miss my grandma and grandpa so much.  I miss who he was and what he represented.  Is it weird I took a picture?

This year I will "host" Christmas eve and there will be a total of four of us.  Yes, it's about love and getting together with family and friends but something is missing.

I didn't decorate at all.  But I was busy making a scarf for a friend.  Turns out I was so terribly, terribly sick the night we were to exchange that I wasn't able to give it to her.

There's major clutter on my coffee table.  Nothing that a box and a closet can't handle.

I have major cleaning to do.  My vacuum cleaner doesn't work.

I have to buy the food I will be serving in 24 hours.

I'll go see a movie first... after I watch an archived episode of Bones.

Christmas will be good.  I just have to get there.

Phewy.

Last month of the year

This year went way to fast for me.

I think it's supposed to still be July or so (strange since there's snow on the ground).

I'm feeling especially lazy in the Christmas decorating department.  I have nothing up.  I just like to sleep too much these days.  I have to make my Christmas cards.

The pressure of being me.

I'm doing a lot of important things like watching the entire series of Dark Shadows in preparation of the Tim Burton movie coming out in May 2012 starring my Johnny Depp.

I'm also knitting a scarf as a gift for a name I drew.  It's a beautiful scarf.  If only I could take a picture of it to show you but I seem to have lost the battery charger to my camera.

If I took the time to clean some clutter away... perhaps I'd find it.

I did something stupid.  I organized a cookie exchange at work and it hasn't brought out the best in me.  People are SO strange about cookies and exchanging them.

I'm busy having a crush as well.  Although I'm told he flirts with me, I'm blind to these gestures.  I've decided he's maybe a little shy, not ready for anything "romantic" or not interested in girls.  It has to be the latter since I'm a friggin' catch.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I finally finished my shopping. I found plenty for myself as well. Most have been wrapped and tucked away so Sam can't eat the tape.
There will be snow for Christmas.
My cards got in the mail this afternoon.
I'm exhausted from waiting until the last minute.
I'm looking forward to spending the time with my family.

Moving at a stand still

It's been really difficult to get going with all the Christmas stuff I have to do. I haven't put up my tree and at this point I won't because I'll just be taking it right back down again in three weeks.
I'm not making my own Christmas cards this year. I guess that's about right; I've been averaging a homemade card about every other year. Still, I have to get out there and buy some so they get in the mail before Christmas!
I haven't done any shopping. I have a list and ideas but no motivation to do it. However, I'm going to knock out three or four gifts tonight on a trip out. That leaves eight or ten gifts to still buy.
Then there's the whole wrapping thing. I'm fine once I get started. It's the digging everything out and putting it all away... and the folding and the taping and the ribbon tying and the tag writing...
I better get out there before I put on the yoga pants and curl up with my knitting needles with a cup of hot cocoa.

Christmas Eve

Staring down Elmo

Growing up I always had Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family. For many, many years my mom hosted. I loved Christmas Eve! In 2000 my mom moved about 1 1/2 hours away so the family started taking turns hosting since most of us lived within 30 minutes of each other. I had it for three years in a row and this year my stepsister and her husband had it. I really don't mind hosting but I'm so obsessive that I find it really hard to relax when I'm in charge of it all. Needless to say, this was great and I didn't mind the hour drive to get there.

7 1/2 months old and she knows how to open presents!

This was Chloe's first Christmas. I love when there are children at Christmas. There are only two children left in my family. Somebody's got to start popping out some kids!

Giving the seal kisses turned into a kind of soggy stuffed animal.

Coooookies!

Every year I take a day off about a week before Christmas and my mom and I spend the entire day baking cookies. Last year we made eight different kinds. This year we decided not to make any. It was so much work and many of the people in our family only had one or two cookies. We'd make cookies that required a million ingredients and recipes that made too many cookies.

My mom stuck to the plan but I thought we needed something so I made a few.

For the past five years or so I've made baklava. This year I made baklava bars. Much easier and still has the same taste. I made simple sugar cookies with either candy cane kisses or chocolate mint kisses in the middle (they completely melted to they are little blobs). And I tried for the first time to make pistachio cranberry biscotti. Only okay but they are pretty good to dip in your coffee.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

No hustle, no bustle

I can't believe it, this is almost unheard of. I have only three more presents to buy for Christmas and I know what I'm going to buy. Usually a couple days before Christmas I'm still scrambling around for that last gift or two. This year has been so easy!
Thanks to a very blended family, every year I have about 14 - 16 people to buy for. Not only is it hard to come up with the money for all those gifts, it's hard to come up with ideas. Somehow I did it and I did it early this year.
I baked some cookies this weekend and wrapped the presents I purchased too!
I don't feel the usual stress the holidays bring. I'm calm, cool and collected. Very nice.

Long holiday weekend

This holiday weekend was a busy one.

Thursday was spent at my brothers waiting for dinner. He was almost two hours late in serving. Then onto my dad's for dessert. My favorite - pumpkin apricot cake with cream cheese frosting!

Friday was spent shopping... six hours of shopping. I usually go with my sister but she was in Europe this past week (lucky!). I went with a friend and her two kids. The 15 month old wasn't having any of the shopping business but she did well overall. I got a couple gifts purchased and a couple things for myself... of course.

Saturday I met an old friend for lunch and we ended up hanging out all day. We went on all the rides at Nickelodeon Universe. I've never been on any of the rides at the Mall of America so this was all new to me. I've always gone for the bars (way back when), the restaurants, the movie theater and some shopping. It was fun!

Unfortunately I got a cold somewhere around Thanksgiving morning and it hit me hard Sunday. I slept most of the day and then went to the airport to greet my sister - finally home from Paris and Barcelona.

Bah Humbug rant

I love Christmas, don't get me wrong, but there are some serious dip shits that come out of the wood work this time of year.

Yeah, the malls are busier and it's next to impossible to get anywhere because of all the traffic. But when you add all the people who don't normally leave their houses to the road, it causes more problems. They don't know how to merge, signal or accelerate. They don't know how to park or just move out of the (my) way.

The temporary sales people (or maybe they're permanent and just stupid) aren't helping with anything. C'mon! There is no reason it should take 3 minutes to ring up a pair of slippers for that lady while there is a line of 12 people staring at you!

It's the Christmas season and Bed, Bath and Body doesn't have jack on sale except the Yankee Candle scent of the month.

I want to scream and shriek "MY NOSE! IT'S BURING!!!" every time I go into Michael's and have to pass within 50 feet of those damn cinnamon scented pine cones.

How can there be absolutely no, none, nada, zilch silver switch plates left at Menards? And what is that funky smell when you walk in the door????


Ahhh, Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year!

Where to begin?

It's been a great 4 1/2 days off!

Let's start with Thursday afternoon. I got off at about noon and met my mom for lunch. Then we went to the Aveda Institute and got manicures. Mine was only okay but still pampering. Then I went home to relax for a bit before getting ready for graduation.

I had to be at the hotel where the ceremony was being held by 6:00. The ceremony started at 6:30. Normally the drive would take about 20 minutes, I gave myself 50 minutes. Traffic was HORRIBLE! I took me 40 minutes to go 3 miles at one point. I was in a panic. I didn't think I'd even get there by 6:30 at the pace traffic was going. I managed not to cry but called the traffic many names (such as "Where the fuck are all you fuckhead going?) I pulled into the hotel parking lot at 6:25, ran down the hall (in 3" heals), had my mom waiting there, threw her my purse and my coat, threw on my cap and gown (everyone was lined up ready to go). Some people rushed me in to get my picture taken then placed me in line. I had about 1 minute to catch my breath and rub the cramp the formed in the side of my calf from running with heals.

From there, everything went great. I saw my family as I walked down the isle and I couldn't stop grinning from there on. Once seated, anytime I turned around I couldn't find them again. Turns out I wasn't looking in the right area.

Libby gave me some earrings for graduation (she's so sweet) and my dad gave me a really grown up graduation gift. A Monte Blanc pen that writes like buttah baby.

Then Christmas. All went well at my house. My step dad took my nephew swimming and came back to get another towel. He accidentally went into the bad neighbors door He opened the door and it was dark and smokey in there. Thankfully, they have no idea!

My mom and step dad got me a trip to NC. My mom and I will go there to see the Vanderbilt home, see the Blue Ridge Mountains and then explore Charlotte. My dad and step mom got me some REAL knives. I'm afraid to use them because I know how much they cost
Christmas Day was pretty laid back. After the festivities at my dad's. Libby, Max and I went to see Narnia. It was good but I was so tired it was hard to get comfortable.

Monday I sat on my arse all day and I was just fine with that. Unfortunately I feel asleep for a couple hours and therefore couldn't get to sleep until about 1 am last night. Plus Rosco was practicing for a marathons and tearing all over the place. Jerk.


Now, back to work.

It's Christmas at my house

I finally got my tree up. I'm not so sure about the angel. It's a bit small in comparison to the tree. There are no presents under the tree because Sam I Am (pictured under the tree) likes - loves - tape. Packing tape, Scotch tape... anything with adhesive. He tears it off and eats it then pukes it up later. I've actually played tug-o-war with him with tape in his mouth.

Also, you can see my new curtains, and my new blue walls. I'd like to figure out a way to cover the AC unit to hide it or camouflage it.

Something's off

Since about Friday I have been gradually getting more and more fatigued. I slept a ton over the weekend and today I have been yawning and I am just pooped.

Could it be all the running around I've been doing? My first thought is that my thyroid is out of whack again. This is usually my first symptom that I notice. Shit. I'm sick and tired of this thyroid bullshit. Sometimes it just really pisses me off. Puffy face, puffy buggy eyes, hard to loose weight, fatigue, bloating, joint aches, WTF.

Hopefully it's just all the school quarter coming to an end, getting ready to graduate, Christmas running around, etc. that's making me feel this way.


I'm beyond plum tuckered and I'll stop complaining now because there are worse things