Ghosts in the Machine

I swear my appliances are possessed. My dishwasher decides when to turn on, and IF she wants to leak. My microwave? Her light dims if I touch the door in a certain fashion. The filter in the refrigerator decides it needs changing one day, but not the next. The stove is the only thing that works in my kitchen without a glitch. The washing machine talks if she is…. agitated. And the vacuum cleaner? Let’s just call her Jaws.

At least I’m used to their little quirks and complaints. Where some people talk to their plants, I talk to my appliances. I soothe them before turning on a cycle, and I tell them they did a great job after they are done. I even buy the expensive cleaners for them, and make sure to keep them spic and span.

I’ve seen too many movies where they can turn on you for being an ingrate. I don’t want to take chances 😉

Things I Learned This Thanksgiving

No Thanksgiving is ever the same in our family. But here are some things I learned this time around:

1. My family prefers apple pies over cherry or pumpkin. They are heretics.
2. Baking the turkey in an oven bag is a lifesaver.
3. A turkey STILL only has two drumsticks, so do a lottery next time to determine who gets them.
4. Avoiding the “What the hell is that supposed to mean??” question will make for a very peaceful day.
5. It is perfectly acceptable to lay about in a comatose state. It is also acceptable to rise from comatose state to get more food to further enhance the comatose state.

I hope y’all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Now I am off to the mall with the girls.

Prayers are welcome 😉

Saturday Obligatory Post

I shall be travelling again today, so here:

Courtesy of Mrfixit 😉

Checking It Twice

I know, I know…. it’s still early for Christmas. But not too early to make the Christmas List™!! It used to be rather simple to write down the names and pick a random toy to go along with it. But kids are teens and young adults now, and adults are the ones wanting the toys. And of course, there’s always that someone that’s always difficult to shop for. So, I tend to start early in the year to figure out what to get everyone, but I don’t sit down and do the actual list until the week of Thanksgiving. That way I have a bit of leeway in case I change my mind, or if someone drops a hint.

They always drop a hint…

Hubby claims to have a very, very hard time trying to give me a Christmas gift. He usually ends up telling me to get what I want, which leaves the whole surprise out of the equation.

Honestly, I don’t know what is so hard about gifting me knives or ordnance.

Or bling 😉

Today is the Day!

Yep…I’m 45!!

And I made you cupcakes!

I’ll return tomorrow with some less fluffy content, though by my standards around here, it ain’t by much. In the meantime, enjoy your day, and remember: birthday calories never count! 😉

UPDATE!!

Look what our friend SG brought me:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

How Lucky Can One Be?

A couple of days ago, Hubby and I were talking about the happenings over there. The MFO is literally in the middle of nowhere, and getting entertainment for the troop is pretty rare. But this weekend they were going to be getting a visit from the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders.

Now, American football may not be appreciated by most of the countries represented at the MFO, but their cheerleaders sure are.

Anyway, we were talking about it, and Hubby asked me to look up a certain cheerleader that he really, really wanted to meet. I was smiling at that, thinking she sure must be attractive or maybe was originally from his neck of the woods, but no. That wasn’t the reason. This is the cheerleader :

Her name is Talmesha, and it is her fourth year as a Redskins Cheerleader. Most men would love to meet her just because of that, but Hubby isn’t most men. This is why he wanted to meet her:

[I’m] currently a graduate student at Johns Hopkins Medical School, pursuing a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Medicine.  The focus of my research is breast cancer.  I graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a B.S. in Mathematics.

Beauty and brains!! I was hoping he would get to meet her and have a few minutes to talk with her, but sometimes in cases like this things go too fast and there isn’t enough time to converse with everyone. So imagine my surprise to get this text from him:

Hubby: OMG. I am here treating one of the cheerleaders. She was bitten by a dog three days ago*.

Me: GET A PIC WITH HER!!!

Hubby: She left already. AND it [was] the one I wanted to talk to!

So he got to talk to her, and had a great time! Sometimes Fate decides not to twist our threads into knots, eh?

*Since she is on tour throughout the Middle East, it was difficult to get treated for a while.

There is a Tide…

Or in this case, Gain™. It’s Sunday, and the kids have to do their laundry. That means a lot of whining and complaining. But eventually, I calm down and let them do it their way.

I used to be a stickler for folding clothes a certain way. I got that from my mother. Shirts in thirds lengthwise, and then in thirds again widthwise. Pants folded in half, and half again. And don’t get me started on underwear. My mother is very old school, and used to iron boxer shorts. That is one thing we never had to do at home, thank goodness. But yes, we had to fold everything a certain way at home. But now having my own family, I feel I can give my kids leeway when they do their own laundry. Son likes to fold shirts in half lengthwise and widthwise, Eldest does the thirds and then in half, and Little One likes to fold in half and then fourths. It’s their laundry, so they should fold as they wish.

As long as it’s not just wadded up into a ball and shoved in a drawer, that is 😉

A Local Haunting

Today is Halloween, the day when we gorge on ill-gotten sweets try to fake out evil spirits before All Saints Day. I shall be super busy altering Eldest’s costume today, but I thought it would be fun to regale you with one of our famous ghosts.

Her name was Sally White, and she was a chambermaid at the famous Menger Hotel. The Menger is the oldest continuously operating hotel west of the Mississippi. Opened in 1859, it was built on the site of the Menger Brewery, for the frequent visitors who otherwise couldn’t travel back to their homes. It has hosted presidents, generals, and celebrities. Sally White worked there during the 1870’s. Legend goes that one night she and her husband had an argument, and Sally decided to stay at the hotel overnight, instead of returning to her home. Her husband, in a fit of rage, threatened to kill her the following day, and later went on to attack her in the hotel. She suffered for two days before dying of her injuries. Mr. Menger paid for her doctor and her funeral, and in her debt for that kindness, Sally White roams the halls of the Victorian Wing, wearing a gray skirt, and carrying a load of towels for the guests.

The Menger Hotel is still a big attraction for the famous and not-so-famous alike. It is also part of the local ghost tour, which includes The Alamo. If y’all ever come to San Antonio, it is worth checking out, not only for the beauty of the hotel, but the rich history.

And on that note, have a great Halloween!! 😀

Things You Didn’t Know

I love random facts. Trivia is useless crap that floats in my brain, but it makes me happy. This week, Hubby is organizing a quiz night for several friends, so I thought I would help him out, as well as provide y’all with even more stuff for your memory holes.

Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten. This is probably why dogs are Man’s best friends.

The white part of your nail is called the lunula.

Porcupines can float in water. They also like to eat teeth and bone. Just FYI for CSI.

The dot over the letter “i” is called a tittle.

Charlie Brown’s dad was a barber. This explains a lot.

Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards.

Grapes explode when you microwave them. Trust Son on this.

A “twit” is a pregnant goldfish, among other things.

The plastic things around the ends of shoelaces are called aglets.

There are no coins used in Vietnamese currency.

A group of unicorns is called a blessing.

Scissors were invented by Leonardo Da Vinci. But the man couldn’t be bothered to finish St. Jerome in the Wilderness…

The island of Guam has no sand, only ground coral.

The infinity sign (as in infinite numbers, not the Nissan luxury vehicle) is called a lemniscate.

Aren’t you glad you read my blog today?? 😉

Playing Dress Up

Yay!!! Less than a week, and it will be Halloween!! The candy, the lights, the candy, the haunted houses, the candy, the decorated trees, the candy, the little kids dressed up, the candy…. WHAT??

I admit, I like to make my own costumes. I prefer to make my own using stuff I already have. One year I managed to wrap some leftover silver lamé around me, and wore a shiny metal trashcan lid on the back of my head: I went as a spoon. Then there was the time when I took two brown towels, sewed them together, cut out felt letters and ironed then on with no-sew stuff, and went as a bag of M&Ms. And who can forget the time I took a brown sweatshirt, brown sweatpants, and made “wings” and sewed them under the sleeves so I could be a bat??

Good times, good times….

This year, Little One decided she wanted a more blingy, high-maintenance costume. Eldest decided to take a pair of scissors to an old evening dress of mine and do her own thing. Son decided to not dress up. I believe he is the lone sane one among us. I had toyed briefly with the idea of purchasing a costume, but decided to save a bundle few bucks and go with what I have on hand. As I looked in my closet, I came to the realization that either a) I need to divest myself of unnecessary stuff, or b) I’m a throwback to another age. I think it’s “b”. At least, I hope it’s “b”, because I don’t want to get rid of anything. Sigh…

Anyone else dressing up for Halloween?? 😉