Oh, Christmas Tree….

How lovely are your branches? Well, it depends, really. Growing up in a very small town in the mountains of Puerto Rico, we didn’t have access to Christmas pine trees, so my mom would decorate whatever potted tree she had not transplanted yet with those wonderful gaudy multi-colored Christmas lights, and some mirrored ornaments. We girls didn’t care what ornaments and lights were on it, as long as mom and dad lit that sucker up at night, turning off all the lights in the living room so we could sit and STARE at the colorful spectacle. Those were some lovely nights.

Once we moved to Texas, though, my mom decided the tree was going to be a decorator vehicle. Everything matched, and while it was beautiful every year, I still missed the days of just the big bulb lights and glass ornaments. Once I was married, though, I would be more artistic with the tree, even to the point of not having a tree at all, using a huge broken branch to hold ornaments one year. And then I got into the mom rut: making a well-matched tree. And so was the pattern established, until I read this post at Innocent Bystanders.

So, I’m digging out all of my Star Trek™ ornaments, and the mismatched glass balls, and the multi-colored lights, and the crappy fuzzy tinsel garland, and every single ornament the kids have made since they started school, and I will let the kids throw it together the way they like it.

Because I want them to sit in a darkened house, looking up at the Christmas tree in wonder, the same way I did.

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 😉

Travelling Fool

Today I shall be fetching my folks from their comfortable abode, and bringing them into our Organized Chaos™! So, enjoy the Sithy for today!

And y’all know the Death Star™ really tied the Empire together… 😉

Not Quite the White Rabbit

But as usual, I’m running late around here.

Today I have to clean the bathrooms and reorganize the unholy mess that exploded upstairs craft area before I go down to pick up my folks. Oh, and the pumpkin? It was too small, and the cardstock would not adhere well to it, so no Great Pumpkin™ for the table this year. It’s just as well, since we are having a turkey, a ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, rolls, cranberry relish, and three pies and a cobbler. There won’t be any room on the table to eat, much less decorate.

Oh, and I never shop on Black Friday, so I shall have time to make this:

Maybe…. as long as my mom is shopping with my sister 😀

Picking Up the Peace

Why is that? Because the kids are still asleep.

Why is that?? Because they stayed up arguing well after I went to bed.

And why was that?? Because they tend to take things on a literal basis.

So today, one will be wiping down every single door, front and back, top and sides, and the other one will be wiping down all the baseboards. And once that has been done to my satisfaction, they will move on to the air vents and fans.

Oh yes, there will be joy today!! 😉

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Normally, I am a weighty sleeper. I don’t say “heavy”, because I can be roused with no problem. But I do tend to enjoy my REMs. However, with Hubby deployed, I can’t sleep well. I tend to stay up very late, and get up rather early. So you can imagine that any little noise will wake me up.

Last night, or rather early this morning, I was awakened by a constant rushing noise, like a tap had been left running. GAH!!! I got up, went to investigate, but everything was fine. Of course, then an unholy terror suffused my being: what if a pipe had burst?? With the house shifting it was a possibility in my sleep-deprived mind. So, like a moron, I went to get a towel and began to search for the burst pipe now flooding my walls. I started downstairs where I could hear the noise and ended upstairs where there was none, which was a relief. As I when downstairs I decided to check in the garage, where I found the culprit:

It was going through the rinse cycle….

It’s a good thing I didn’t have my gun on me. 😉

He Knows Me So Well…

Wednesday evening I got a very sweet surprise from Hubby:

He sent me a plant for my birthday!! But not just any plant. This is a garden of succulents, which require little water and tend to thrive in dry areas. I was very happy and a bit teary-eyed, because he normally doesn’t send me flowers for my birthday. When he called to talk on Thursday I was all happy about it, and the conversation quickly devolved.

Me: Awww, thank you for the beautiful arrnagement, honey!

Hubby: I’m glad you like it.

Me: It’s perfect!!

Hubby: Sure is… they are hard to kill.

Me:……

Me: (huge sigh)

Me: Yeah, you’re right.

Hubby: (smirks)*

I confess, I am not a gardener in any way. Lord knows I try, and it’s a miracle things are still somewhat green outside my house. My mom can make a tree blossom from a few plant cells on a dead stick. I so much as look at a shrub or a pretty potted plant and they tremble and wither. I once bought a thornless rose and the sucker grew thorns in retaliation.

At least I know my limits 😀

*Liberties taken with the conversation, since I was too aggrieved at the time to remember correctly…

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 😉

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?? 😉

Here I Go Again…

Time again for a birthday party. Yay, me…

This time, it’s for Little One. She is….more picky. At first, she wanted a zombie party, complete with a tombstone shaped cake. Two days later, she changed her mind. She wanted a masquerade party: costumes, masks, the works. Three days after that, she wanted a spa party sleepover. It’s crunch time, so I’m planning for the spa party. A sleepover spa party….

I shall be the manicurist and facial expert, and Eldest is slated to be the hair stylist and masseuse. Cucumbers will be sliced and cooled, ready to go on puffy eyes once I have applied a fruit masque. While that dries, I shall be giving each girl a quick manicure, while Eldest gives footsie massages to tired toes. And once all the gunk is washed off, we shall enjoy birthday cupcakes!!

In the morning, we shall be having pancakes, do some last minute pampering and hair styling, and then the girls will leave with their very own little spa kit. Thank goodness for Bath and Body Works™.

In the afternoon, I shall be breaking in my new wine glass 😉