Yorling: It’s Not Just For Breakfast Anymore

Every time I think I can’t possibly find something way cool that I can’t live without, I find it.

I love pajamas. I must own a LOT of pajamas. And if I have a special attachment to one, I will NOT give it up. I still own the Winnie the Pooh™ nightie my mom got me at Sears™ when I was 6 years old. I still own the one set I got for my hospital stay after my son’s birth. I don’t know if I should be happy that it still fits. During the closet cleaning I found several sets that were so very worn, I cut them up for outdoor rags. It hurt, y’all. I felt like Travis did when he had to shoot Old Yeller, only there was no rabies involved. Or a shotgun.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I went to the outlet mall with a friend of mine, and we spied the Soma store. Now, I have heard of this store before, but never went in, mostly because if I’m at the outlet mall, I go to where I need to go and get out. Too many people around. But as we walked by they had this in the window:

Flutterbys, y'all!!!

For the gentlemen that read this here blog: no, the gal wasn’t in the window. Just the sleepshirt.

Anyway, we went in, and lo and behold, the sleepshirt felt like the most soft cottony silk!! That pajama got under my skin, and I came home and cleaned out as many PJs as I could possibly donate, just so I could go back and get my flutterbys. I managed to clear out eight sets, which means, as per my dictate, I can get FOUR!! No, not of the same style and print, people. So, today will be a good pajama day for me!

At least I will feel good in my PJs as I give up everything worth having for Lent tomorrow 😉

Have Tote, Will Travel

I have been on the lookout for the perfect tote bag for about ….. 22 years. Most women look at a tote and think, “Oh, I like the (fill in the blank here)”, and are done with it.

Not me. The prettiness is secondary to the functionality. It must have three pockets. It must be just wide enough for a laptop. It must have a 12 inch drop, no more, no less. It must be east-west (wider than taller). It must accommodate schoolbooks (in case one of the girls needs it).

And I think I have found it!

I have resisted Vera Bradley for a long time, mostly because their patterns are a bit too busy for me. But they just came out with a pattern that screamed my name.

It’s called Camellia, which is 1) one of my favorite flowers, and 2) one of my favorite names. And black?? With slate blue accenting?? The only thing missing is me, at the store. So I’m going Yorling™ today, and before Hubby freaks out, don’t worry. I am getting rid of a lot of crap in my closet to compensate 😀

Yelling at Paper, and Why I Don’t Run With Scissors

I’m trying to be more involved in scrapbooking this year, so I joined a little club on Facebook that has been a lot of fun. One thing we do is card swapping: we all make a few of the same card and then exchange them. It’s fun, and amazing to see the amount of creativity on display, not to mention we learn new techniques and shortcuts.

Normally, this is not a big deal for me. Making cards is therapeutic, and I enjoy knowing that someone appreciates the effort put into it. But sometimes, nothing goes right.

NOT my room, but close enough. Courtesy of Carfter.org

I had purchased lovely heart embellishments, since we are making Valentine’s Day cards, and now I can’t find them. Usually I resort to doing my scrapping on the floor, since I don’t have a nice, large, comfortable table from where to spread the destruction. As I was looking for the little hearts, I realized that my precious Tonic™ scissors are missing. These are teflon coated and sharp, and I tell my kids to always put them back when done. GAH!!! On top of that, as I sat on the floor to cut the paper I needed with the paper trimmer (which I call Bladerunner™), the bottle of my favorite glue tipped over against my thigh, and as I moved, my thigh was attracting all manner of pieces of scrap paper laying about. My frustration knew no bounds this morning, manifesting itself as I screamed bloody murder to sheets of paper, who in turn were lucky that I couldn’t stab them with my scissors.

So, here I sit at the kitchen table, preparing another mess, and wondering if I could convince Hubby to get a new pub style table for the breakfast area so I could use this one for my scrapbooking. There is always a plan 😉

The Best Surprises

Yesterday, UPS came by and delivered a few packages. Weirdly, not at the same time, which made for very happy dogs, and not-so-happy UPS guys. But that’s neither here nor there, because I GOT A PACKAGE FROM MY FRIEND NICOLE!!!

Click to embiggenify the culinary goodness! My tummy was quite happy last night, and this morning. The biscotti are sooooo good with morning coffee. The kids descended on this bounty like a pack of starving wolves. I was glad to share, but I had to put my foot down hard with the fudge and truffles. Those are for Momma only!!

Ice Cream to Eskimos

I worked retail for a long time. Weirdly, I totally enjoyed it, even on bad days when customers would complain about store policies, or when someone tried to shoplift, or even when a complaint was filed against me for being “too friendly”. No, I’m not kidding. Apparently, the customer felt “threatened” and complained that I was shadowing her as if she were a thief. Things like that seldom happened, though. After years of being out of the workforce, I found I still have the gift.

I was shopping at Target™ last week, looking to see if I could find a gift for Son. I am woefully illiterate on videogames, but I can figure out which ones he owns by the cover graphics. I was perusing the whole Assassin’s Creed to the Brotherhood of Infinity Times Chuck Norris, when I noticed a gentleman looking at the e-readers. Now, I’m not an expert, but I have been wanting one for a while, and have been reading up on them so I can FINALLY, ONE DAY come to a decision.

Anyway, he was muttering to himself, indecisive over which to get for his wife’s Christmas present. And being the nosy busybody that I am, I asked him what she uses her computer for. He went on to say what she liked facebook, and watching movies, and TV shows, and reading, etc. So I explained that either the Nook Tablet or the Kindle Fire were his best options, and the pros and cons of each. He thanked me and asked the employee, who had been hovering over us that he would like to take the Nook Tablet, and I skilfully told him to add a cover for it, and an SD card. After the sale, when I walked up to the register with my purchases, the young man thanked me for my help, explaining that the gentleman had been coming in every day for a week, trying to decide, and that he had never seen someone sell like that before. I joked with him hoping he learned something, and walked away smiling.

Until I recalled that I still didn’t have a Nook Tablet or a Kindle Fire.

Apparently, I can sell ice cream to Eskimos, but not to myself 😉

All I Want For Christmas

The other day, Hubby and I were chatting through Skype™ when he asked me a most unusual question.

What do you want for Christmas??

I drew a blank.

You see, Hubby stopped shopping for Christmas waaaaaaaay back in 1994. That’s when he married me, see? So since I would do the shopping, most of the time I would also shop for myself. Not always, and he does a good job when he shops for me. But since he is in the middle of a desert, it’s hard for him to actually go shopping, even online. So the fact that he asked me threw me for a loop. I have a gift for quick recovery, though. So, without further ado, here’s my list of Things I Want For Christmas, But Will Probably Not Get™:

1. A Kindle Fire™.
2. Hubby home early.

That’s pretty much it. I can’t think of any other material things that I really want. But Hubby home early would be perfect.

Anyone have Santa’s email address?? 😉

Saturday Sithy

FOR REAL!!!!

Want like BURNING!!! 😀

Saturday Obligatory Post

I shall be travelling again today, so here:

Courtesy of Mrfixit 😉

Rainy Days and Mondays

I only wish it would rain. That would lift my spirits, not bring me down. I never did understand that song by The Carpenters. Living in a tropical area growing up, rain was always punctual and always welcomed, and living in such a dry area now it is always appreciated when it falls. And now that I’m a mom, Mondays are a BLESSING. There is nothing more relaxing than drinking a hot cup of tea while watching rivulets of rain dance on your window.

I used to drive my mom crazy every afternoon while living in PR, because as soon as it started to rain, I was out the door. Eventually I stopped that habit, but I still love to watch the rain fall. It’s better than Prozac, and cheaper than therapy 😉

Crunch Time

In more ways than one!

Today I am hosting a cooking party, and a jewelry party. I still need to finish shopping for Christmas, and this also provides me with adult conversation, and food. Food is big around here.

Yes, chocolate will be featured heavily. As will wine, but I won’t be making that. Just serving it.

And of course, there will be bling!

Pretty!!! Hopefully, we will get all the last minute shopping done, and have a great time doing it. If all else fails, at least we can spend the afternoon talking and drinking and eating. And that is a success in every way 🙂