Five More Days till Christmas

Whoa! It's nearly here and I'm too glad about it. Ugh! The crowds have become stadium worthy at the malls and I haven't gone anywhere besides home, work and the gas station in days. It's snowing again today (and it snowed a bit yesterday), and their predicting four to six inches on the valley floor. Please, let me make it home first before that happens. I'd much rather be watching it come down from my window seat than driving around in it.

The basement is done? Yes and no. All the priming, painting, drilling, grouting, caulking and assembling is done. Decorating? That's next and I'm actually happy about that part. The posters I've ordered over the past few months are nearly all framed and only need to be placed in varying areas of the room. I think that will be my responsibility, but something tells me hubby will step in and want to decorate too. It's fine, but I think this area should be mine. He decorated the sitting room (and rather well, yes) but I should be in charge of the super heroes. No doubt about that!

I ate out for lunch today and it's the first time in weeks. It was so good; beef tamale with refried beans and rice, along with a Mexican soup. Yum! I forgot my own lunch today and so had to find an alternative by going to one of the restaurants in our complex. I'm terribly full now and I don't know if I'll do dinner tonight. It's true what they say about your stomach shrinking when you loose weight. There was once a time when all that would have only dusted the bottom of my stomach.

I have a list of movies to rent tonight for the babe (well, me and the babe mostly). Most are holiday flicks that either she hasn't seen or would like to see. I hope I can find them all at one place, but I have a feeling I'll have to visit both Hollywood and Block.buster tonight:

• Hairspray (2007)
• Babes in Toyland (Disney version)
• A Muppet Christmas Carol
• The Nutcracker ("Misha's" version)
• Little Women (Liz Taylor version)

We'll also watch these over the break. Thankfully, they're titles we own:

• Scrooged
• White Christmas
• A Christmas Story
• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• Die Hard (takes place at Christmas time)
• Lethal Weapon (also takes place at Christmas time)
• Home Alone
• Total Recall (This was released on video at Christmas time, so I watch it around Christmas time every year. I know. I'm weird.)

First Snow Pics (Saturday, December 1, 2007)

They're a bit late, but they're here!

A Needed, Quiet Day

So far, this has been the better of days this week. Monday and Tuesday were somewhat stressful and I was beginning to think I needed bad-driver-frustration intervention. I'm coming to grips with the fact that the idiots are out there and they're not going anywhere. I should just do my best to get to and from my destinations safely...without directing my energy towards the morons and thus taking my attention away from the road.

I'm listening to a mixture of Christmas tunes and jazz, helping to smooth out my mood. I have to remember the calming effects of music and use them to my advantage. So much good can come out of listening to the right song or lyrics.

My coworker "J" has gone home sick. She was sounding a bit like a frog and there are others around me with similar symptoms. I appreciate her leaving and not spreading the "love" to the rest of us. I hope that she takes my advice and drinks a lovely hot toddy to soothe her throat (too bad I can't have one right now).

More painting and cleaning last night in the basement. The paint started to turn really thick...it looked a lot like glue, so hubby stopped and asked me to pick up some more on my way home. I hope that Wally World isn't as scary as it was Monday night. I may need a sedative...or a hot toddy. (wink, wink)

Still Spending Money

And why am I still spending money? Because I haven't really gotten anything for my hubby. It occurred to me that I spent a small fortune on movies for him, but nothing else (besides the gift certificate at the spa). Well, normally, I'd say, "That's all. He doesn't need anything else." But, the truth of the matter is, he is one of those that gives through out the year. In fact, I get nominal things at Christmas time because he's so good about doing what we should be doing all year long. I always feel like I have to make sure I take care of him at Christmas because I'm so bad about the "giving throughout the year".

So, I found a few things; a couple of great print T-shirts that he can wear to the gym (he's gained a size, so all his larges no longer fit), some great manly smelling stuff from Bath and Body works, a couple of awesome posters (which I need to frame before the big day) and his favorite movie. Oddly, we didn't have it on DVD already. Now, he will. There are three more things coming that I ordered for him and he should be set. Then, by goodness, I'll be done. Seriously. I can't spend anymore money. I really can't. This is the first Christmas I've not used a credit card (Amen to that!) so, I've had to make sure I'm spending within my means. I haven't been, and I don't want to pay the costs (as it were) next month.

The weekend was nice. We got dumped with about four to six inches of snow on Saturday. I shoveled from 7:30 to 8:30, then realized that a thin veneer had fallen again. Thankfully, by late afternoon, that thin veneer had melted and the streets were clear. Our yard was lovely and white, but I didn't take pictures. Ugh! I gotta remember to do that!

We worked on the basement a bit more and have our schedule outlined for the week. My eldest went downstairs and nearly lost it when she saw the couch all put together and arranged with the new t.v. and sound system. She's so excited...and so are we.

A 300 Pound Man on My Back

Well, not really, but it sure feels that way. The Motrin and I are going to be good friends today. I am certainly reaping what I sowed; pounds and pounds of salt will always make TOM completely unbearable! Why do I cave into those cravings? I've been inhaling salt for two weeks and look at where it's gotten me? Laying in bed wishing I knew where the heating pad was. It's typical of me but I certainly know better. Last month, I managed to exert some self-control and boy did it make a difference. I gotta remember to do better next month. Oh, the agony! Boys don't know how good they've got it.

In other news, my daughter announced to me and the neighbor yesterday that she doesn't like to read. My heart sank. I loved reading (still do, when there's time) and I told her how it kind of hurt my feelings. Well, my extra-super-sensitive kid didn't want to hurt mommy's feelings, so she went to her room in tears. Oh, geeze. So, I explained that books are wonderful and creative. They allow us to use our imagination. She said that she only meant she doesn't like to read hard books. I told her that most things are a bit difficult, at first. Then, you learn how to do them and it's no problem. I reminded her about her Dick and Jane books.

She said, "But those are easy, mom."

"Yes, but they weren't always. There was a time when you couldn't read a single word in one of those books. Remember Kindergarten? Now, you could read those in under a couple of minutes. You're reading chapter books, for heaven's sake!"

She smiled. I hope she understood. She said she didn't mean to hurt my feelings and I told her that sometimes, mommy's get they're feelings hurt; however, I was more concerned about her enjoying to read than my feelings. I really want her to enjoy reading and get the most of out it. I guess I would feel worse if she weren't a very good reader. The fact is, she does a pretty bang-up job (nearly at a fourth-grade level). I plan to do a lot of it with her over the Christmas break. I hope I can change her mind.

Indy has become a clean house's nightmare! This little girl gets into so much stuff, I can barely keep up with her! When the babe was a toddler, she was content to play with her toys in pretty much one place. Oh, she'd spread out a bit but was mainly happy to stay put in one room. Indy will drag stuff everywhere. She also loves shoes, so sometimes we'll find her sister's shoes, my shoes, her daddy's shoes or her own, scattered about the house. This kid loves oven mitts, too. (oven mitts?!) I have to wash them every week. On top of that, she climbs onto everything and we've seen her take more than one fall where our hearts have stopped for a second. We clean and tidy, but it's really no use. We push chairs and stools in for safety and she pulls them out again. I guess I'll have a danger-ridden, pig-sty for a little while.

"Paint da Fence, Sand da Floor"

With all the work we're putting into the basement, I keep hoping that it's going to manifest itself with me becoming a master, Kung-Fu artist! Remember those lines above from Karate Kid? Remember how surprised you were to find that he was, indeed, learning the necessary skills to kick some serious bully butt? Well, my shoulders, back, wrists, knees all should be the ultimate weapons by now. The trim has been completely painted and now awaits minimal clean-up. We have some wood treating to do, doors to paint and rooms to organize, but we're nearly there!

Monday, of course, I assembled the t.v. stand; however Tuesday evening, I put together our new sound system (seen here). I need to get the technical writer for the Sauder furniture and the technical writer for our Sony system together because the Sony guy is an idiot!

At the beginning of the instructions, you're told to connect the wires to the speakers. There are six total: two front speakers, two surround sound speakers, the bass speaker and the center speaker. I intuitively figured that the color coded tape used to enclose the speakers (and by this, I mean the speakers were wrapped in plastic and the plastic was held together by this tape) was the indicator for which wire to use in which speaker. Good thing I figured it out because two pages and many steps later, the writer decided to enlighten the frustrated reader to this ingenious fact. Moron! There were other special moments from the writer, but I won't go into all those.

Hubby later told me that he checked the Internet to see if people who'd purchased the same system had any gripes. Every time I'd say, "What the hell?" He was like, "Yep! The reviewers all said assembly was a joke...but other then that, the system was great." I have to agree. It took about two hours to get everything together with the goofy instructions I had, but I finally got it. We gave it a test run and all I can say is...whoa. Our basement is essentially going to be an in-home movie theater. The new t.v. and system together? They rock!!

I was a little disconcerted when hubby said, "We should have everything done by New Year." New Year? What?! I can't watch White Christmas, Scrooged and A Christmas Story on the kick-ass t.v.? What gives? Then, I said, "You don't think we'll be done by Christmas?" Then he was like, "Well, we could. We'll just have to make sure we do something every night." And that is how it has been. Tonight, we begin clean-up of the paint that magically dripped on the floor. I will also spend time breaking down all the cardboard boxes and getting them out of the house so that we'll have more room to work. Those dang boxes take up too much space! It's going to be a busy next few days but maybe, just maybe, we'll get to enjoy the fruits of our labor and win the Karate championship (so to speak).

An Evening for a Wife

Sometimes my hubby leaves me absolutely speechless. Many moons ago (Mother's Day), hubby purchased a gift certificate for me to use at my favorite spa. That was a very difficult period of the year so, I wasn't inclined to use it right then. I guess I was feeling so bad about things I didn't feel that I deserved to feel better. So, it sat in my night-stand drawer.

Recently, I came upon it again and discovered that it had an expiration date (December 12th of this year, to be exact). I talked with hubby about when to use it and when he could watch the kiddlings without loosing his mind completely. Yesterday was the chosen day and boy was I thrilled. The afternoon began with me arriving to a newly, sparkling clean household. The smell of fresh pine wafted around the garage as I gathered my belongings to take into the house. My eldest and her friend were quietly watching a movie and I was greeted by my hubby with a smile. I changed Indy's diaper and had a quick snack before heading over to the spa.

The first of my treatments consisted of a foot soak and a shoulder pack, while I read the latest ad-filled magazine (I noticed very few articles but loads of fabulous clothes and jewelry that I'll probably never get to wear). My attendant presented me with hot cocoa and a chocolate covered candy-cane stirrer as a treat while I waited. Thirty minutes later, I was led back to the massage room where I was presented a choice of body butters. Yum! What a wonderful invention! My choice? Gingerbread. And, after 80 minutes of mind-blowing bliss, I walked out of that room smelling like a fresh-baked cookie.

I met the attendant at the counter to arrange for tip, then purchased a gift certificate for my hubby at the same time. I hope he enjoys his treat as much as I did. (I thought I was done with Christmas shopping? Why am I still buying stuff?)

A Busy, Busy Weekend

Friday evening, I thought I might rest and hang out with the family for a few hours. Dinner would be served and I would enjoy conversation with my hubby and children about the day's events. Oh, not to be! Instead, we ate dinner at the speed of light and then I rushed my oldest to a birthday party. I was hoping that pounds of snow they were predicting wouldn't arrive until after and I was fortunate. I picked the babe up (who was happy, but exhausted after the evening's event - skate party) and scoured the city for Honey Buns for my hubby. He was craving them and, truth be told, they're his passion. Everywhere we went, we couldn't find any. Oh, we found Starcrunch, Pecan Spinwheels, Triple Fudge Brownies, Nutty Bars, Zebra cakes, Devil Squares and a host of other Little Debbie treats, but no Honey Buns. I knew I would surely be able to find them at Wal-Mart but I just can't bring myself to shop there on weekends during the holidays. That place becomes more than a zoo. It's a dang jungle!

I came home empty handed, but he wasn't disappointed. He was just glad we arrived home safely, as the snow was just beginning to fall upon our arrival. It would have been nice to drift off to sleep and wake up leisurely the next morning, but no way. This family had plans.

So we awakened around 5:30 (an entire hour later than I usually get up) and got the kids up and ready for the day. It was time for both cars to have a tune-up and oil change. When I went to let the dog out back for his morning walk, I was greeted with several inches of white fluff on the deck. It was beautiful and a perfect entrance for the month of December; however, I was not prepared for how cold it was nor was I prepared for the mess the roads were in. We pretty-well crawled to the Goodyear location at 25 mph and what normally takes ten minutes, took nearly a half hour. Hubby's car was first. Three hours later, the work was done and we were heavy with purchases from various stores. My car was next and three additional hours later, we were back at Goodyear, even heavier with packages. I think we've gone above and beyond with our Christmas shopping (I thought we were done?).

Sunday, we went to church then ended up at the Ashley Furniture store making a purchase on a new couch, love seat and recliner. They will be beautiful in our home! I'm excited because we haven't purchased new seating furniture in years. It was desperately needed since our couch literally has white, fluffy stuffing being birthed from the cushions. Not good. The kids watched movies as we tidied up the house, then downstairs we went; hubby to paint and me to assemble the new t.v. stand for our projection t.v.

Two and a half hours later, the stand was completed (and not too shabby, if I do say so myself). We ate dinner and hurried to bed. I'm hoping that this weekend I'll actually have some down time. I'm not a fan of the rushing around to do everything under the sun on my only two days off. Sometimes, though, that's exactly what you have to do in order to get anything done. I hate to say it but I wasn't at my nicest this weekend. TOM is on the way and I was more than a bit short-tempered with hubby and the kiddlings. I had to apologize more than once to everybody for being a total witch at times. Hubby was very patient. I think he's learning to read the signs.