Last Day of 2012

And thank goodness it’s over.

This year was hard. Some people would tell me that it only made me stronger. Not really. I found I was able to withstand more, but that doesn’t mean strength, necessarily. But all the bad things made me realize just how truly blessed I am. For the first time in years I don’t find myself looking back at the passing year, but rather looking forward to the coming one. I used to think my glass was half empty, and then I started thinking it was half full.

But the truth is there’s a waiter somewhere who needs to fill it 😀

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!!

One Down, One to Go

Well, next up is New Year’s Eve.

I am…. not a fan. It’s not that I don’t enjoy company or parties. It’s just that in my opinion, it’s just another day.

Ironically, I have plans for it this year. Not one party, but TWO!!

I’m not sure if that means two outfits. I hope it does.

All I know is that it means staying up past my bedtime. So much for my beauty sleep 😉

So Much For That…

Seeing as today is a half day at the schools here, I was going to take advantage of my solitude and wrap presents.

And that was the plan, until Son came down with a fever, and Hubby decided that he was staying home for his half day.

So I have been catering to two men at home, moving piles of gifts to and fro, drinking more than my allotted caffeine allowance for today. I am severely tempted to not wrap anything and instead throw them in garbage bags and write their names on the bags with a Sharpie™.

Who am I kidding??? I will totally have the gifts wrapped by tonight and be serving hot chocolate and popcorn to celebrate the start of the Christmas holidays. It’s what I do! But I will be grumbling about it.

Courtesy of The Queen!!

Eh, my cheer will get here eventually. It arrives around the same time Hubby comes back from the liquor store. Until then, I will be wrestling with tape and paper cuts… 😉

Two Front Teeth and a Box of Rocks

For the life of me, I don’t understand what is so hard about giving me gifts.

My mother swears up and down to anyone who will listen that I am the HARDEST person to shop for. I’m sure this stems from the Spiegel™ Dress Incident of 1983. She purchased a rather nice dress from the pricey catalog for me, and I was not overly gushy about it. In my defense, it would not be acceptable at school because of it being strapless, and I was such a fuddy duddy that I felt uncomfortable wearing it.

I have since gotten over that hang-up, as you can probably tell.

I am a creature of habit. Seriously. Coffee, wine, bubble bath, pajamas, chocolate, jewelry….not ONE of those things have ever changed. Admittedly, I have found some things that I like as I’ve grown older.

Sadly, they are appliances, pots and pans, and air fresheners.

Knives, earrings, comfy sweats…. I am happy with almost anything.

Except artwork. I have no space for it, and no patience trying to decipher what the artist is trying to tell me. Besides, I quite love the artwork my kids have made over the years far more 🙂

Perspectives

First, I do apologize for the briefness of my last post. When you think about it, there really isn’t much more to add to it, except to give thanks to God for watching out for everyone.

Some things with which I had to come to terms:

Young Frankenstein is Mel Brook’s finest work. Honestly, it’s a toss-up with Blazing Saddles, but the ending of Blazing Saddles was weak.

Yellow is definitely not my color.

It’s smart to put those treating you for trauma at ease. It isn’t smart to make them laugh while they are trying to stick you with an I.V.

I found the perfect chandelier for moi. And it’s just this side of redneck.

It’s perfect, and I want it, and if I learned anything this past weekend, it’s that Life is too short to wait for the right time for anything, or to waste time pretending to be something you’re not. Which is why this is just this side of redneck!

But the best thing to come out of this? The huge blessing that is the support and caring I received from my family, and from my friends, here and in cyberspace. Y’all are wonderful and I ♥ you all 🙂

Saturday Sithy

I will be blogging light due to being in a vehicle accident last night.

IT WAS NOT MY FAULT!!

Someone ran a red and broadsided me, causing me to roll over. But I’m fine and have painkillers and VALIUM™. WINNING!!

So, here’s a Sithy, courtesy of my friend, PepeLp.

Considering Star Wars Saga is a rip-off of Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress, I thought it was appropriate!

Have a great Saturday!! 😀

I Love a Good Bargain

I was at the outlet mall this afternoon, searching for that elusive perfect gift for my in-laws.

I did not find it.

Seriously, they are very difficult to shop for, mostly because they own everything that house can possibly hold they could possibly want. But on a lark, I decided to peruse the Williams-Sonoma™ section of the Pottery Barn™ outlet. And you know how sometimes salespeople find old stock in the backroom, and bring it out at a super reduced price, because it was discontinued a looooong time ago? Well, that happened, and I was there at the right time!!

That is a 1 quart Le Creuset™ Round French Oven. It retails for $105.00. Yes, you read that correctly. The original outlet price was $65.00. And the marked down price was $22.00.

And it was 30% off.

AND I got a 10% military discount.

AND I AM ONE HAPPY CAMPER!!!

I would have given it to my in-laws, but they only like the blue Le Creuset™. Pity, isn’t it?? 😉

When You’re Smilin’

I smile as often as I can. Not only does it make me feel better, it also counteracts the frown lines that were fostered due to children. It also makes you look younger. Seriously, try it all day, and see!

Anyway, smiling can also be a not-so-good thing. I remember when I was working for Disney™, I used to walk around and ask the “guests” as customers are called, if they were finding everything they needed, if they needed help, or just pleasant chit-chat to cheer them up. One woman just did NOT like it. She took a complaint to the district manager and straight out accused me of stalking her and making her feel like a criminal. Thankfully, the manager knew me well enough to know that was complete road apples on the roadway, and told the woman that I was “in character” and that was part of my job. I always did wonder why the woman felt like I was treating her like a criminal. Usually, saying, “Hope you are finding everything you need, but in case you have a question, let me know!” doesn’t translate to “Are you shoplifting??”

Sunday was a day like that one. I was standing in line to check out of The Lego Store™, when the lady behind me asked what was wrong.

Me: Excuse me?

Lady: Are you feeling alright?

Me: Sure am, why?

Lady: Well, you’re smiling….

Me: Well, smiling is a good thing (smiling wider).

Lady: I thought someone was in trouble.

Me: HA! Wait… you thought I was plotting something?

Lady: Well, that’s how *I* look when I’m thinking of getting back at someone.

Me: ……Uh….no…. Not plotting anything.

I felt pretty bad for that lady. Seemed to me she never smiled for the sake of it, and attributed the act to nefarious doings. Don’t get me wrong. I do smile when I think of getting even with someone who has wronged me or mine. But that’s very rare. Smiling is a very powerful act. It can even break the ice!

But it can also make them wonder what you’re up to 😉

Whew…I’m Back!

Wow, what a weekend. I had three– count them: THREE!!– Thanksgiving dinners. And yet, I still don’t think you could ever have too much roasted turkey. Sadly, there are no leftovers, since we travelled and couldn’t bring food back with us. Which means I will be making a roast in the near future.

This week will be a hectic one, as usual. But for different reasons. No, I will NOT be decorating yet. I wait until December 1st to do that. But I do have to get the crafting done before the cold sets in, and bring down the ornaments and lights and tree, and start packing up gifts to send off. Because if I don’t do that this week, it may be 2013 before anyone gets anything.

March of 2013.

Provided the Mayans were mistaken.

And ZOMG!!!! IT’S CYBER MONDAY!!!

I shall return in two hours a while maybe this afternoon later to comment.

If online shopping were a sport, I would have a medal and be on the cover of the Wheaties™ box 😉

Wednesday Sithy

I am still hurting from moving the treadmill yesterday, and I also have a lot of flowers to make in preparation for my Wine Night Party this Saturday, so I am just phoning it in today.

You know dang well I would have done it, too.

Have a great Hump Day!! 😀