Happy New Year

May the Year 2010 treat everyone kindly. My best wishes to all.

Damn the New Year's Resolutions

Yea, yea.....I know it's that time of year again. Tomorrow is the last day of 2009 (WTF!) and shortly thereafter begins 2010. Unbelievable. When I was a kid, 1984 was the future, man. So what the hell is 2010? But I digress. Resolutions. We all feel the need to make them. None of us EVER keep them. No.....we don't. And if you're sitting there all holier-than-thou saying, "I did!"....prove it! My usual list of resolutions includes: 1. The universal resolution of "losing weight". Uh-huh. Who can do that with all the extraneous Holiday candy, cookies, cakes and assorted junk food still laying around? 2. Not biting my nails. But my nails are awful.....they curl over the ends of my fingers and look horrible when I let them grow long. I'm really doing them a service by biting them down to the nubs. 3. Being more Patient. HA! Patience is my middle name.....not! Mostly, I have no patience with people.....cause they're idiots. They don't deserve my patience. 4. Watching less TV. I might actually achieve this one. Because God knows there's nothing on TV despite having a gazillion channels to chose from. That is....until my favorites - Survivor, Amazing Race, etc. - start their new seasons. By that time, the mandatory two week period of "really, really trying to achieve my resolution" will be over and I'll be in the clear to continue to be the couch potato I really want to be. There's only one resolution that I think is important enough to really try to accomplish. And that is to stay in touch with my friends and family. There it is. My resolution. And I promise I'll try my best to keep it.

More Kids at Christmas

On Christmas Eve, we had Hubby's kids over for dinner. Of course, 1 year old Noah was the center of attention. Christmas is hard on little children and he was pretty out of sorts when he first got here. But it didn't take him long to relax and have us all laughing. I couldn't resist posting another video of him dancing while Hubby played the guitar. Hubby made me cry by presenting me with his own hand-made "Sailor's Valentine". These are traditionally made by sailors while they're out at sea pining for their loved ones. Hubby made this one with shells he's found on our adventures, and used the colored sand from our wedding ceremony in the background. He even built the wooden box to put it in. Can you see the heart shape created by the pink rocks? Hubby, of course, enjoyed some quality time with his Tabla Drums.

Then we went to Hubby's Mom's house for Christmas there. It was crowded and noisy and so good to see his brothers and sisters again, and his mother. She's been ill, but she is recovered and always in good spirits.

Son Kenny got all silly with the Silly String.

And Noah looked like a little man in his Christmas vest. He had fun playing with new toys and enjoying the company of his first little playmate.

I Lost My Links

Putting up this new header I lost my links to my favorite blogs. If you know I've been reading your blog, please leave me a link to you so I can put you back up here. Thanks.

Done!

Yep, all done. Shopping, wrapping, decorating. Of course, I make my life easy by: 1) not doing any baking. 2) not decorating anything except the tree and scotch-taping all our Christmas cards to our doorway. 3) not having too many people over for Christmas Eve Dinner. 4) "wrapping" most of my gifts in decorative boxes and tape so I don't have to use any wrapping paper. I do have to go grocery shopping to get the fixin's for Christmas Eve dinner with Hubby's kids. But that is going to consist of a canned ham, mashed potatoes, canned veggies and some oven rolls. Not fancy, but that's what they like. And I'm hoping that if I hit the grocery store at 7am, I can avoid any crowds. I already had one casualty of my shopping endeavors. Jamie sent me a text message with a photo. The message said, "Can I exchange this?" The photo was of the tag from the new sweater I got her. The tag unmistakeably said, "Maternity". No, she's not pregnant. Not even married. Not even seriously dating. Oops.

Christmas With the Kids

For the past few years, we've had Christmas with my kids on the weekend before the holiday. Everyone has too many places to go on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so this was a nice solution to that little problem. This year we got to have the holiday at Doug and Kara's new house. We decided on a breakfast buffet. There was quiche, hash brown casserole, fruit and yogurt and a delicious peach and blueberry coffee cake. Then we got to the presents. Hubby and I both made Emmy books. Hubby's was all about the School Bus. Emily loves to go out to see the schoolbus when her friend Allison comes home from school. She teases us that the school bus is blue or green or pink. Hubby's "story" was wondering what color the school bus was. Emily loved it. My book was an ABC book in scrapbook style. Each page was a letter with a picture of Emily or someone Emily knew. That one was a big hit as well.

Kelly and Kara pose for a photo.Doug just had back surgery at Thanksgiving. Doesn't he look great?

Pepere gives Emmy another gift. We got her mostly books, since I am a fanatic on children's literature, and I know she loves books.

The one toy we did give her was "Farm Uno". It's made for younger kids. She's even a bit too young to play this as a game but she loved playing with the little ball-shaped colored animals. Uncle Nick and Auntie Jamie are giving her a hand.

And of course, Emily found the Christmas gift bag just as amusing as the toys.

How Many Times Must I Tell Him?

Hubby did some Christmas shopping today. He left work a bit early for an appointment and headed to the mall. Yes, the mall. He got a $50 gift card to the mall this week and decided he'd use it to buy some Christmas Gifts. Specifically, Christmas gifts for moi. And some for his kids. Now, I'm very proud of Hubby for doing his shopping a whole week before Christmas. That's a giant step up from his former practice of shopping on Christmas Eve at the drugstore. What Hubby always forgets (even though I've told him several times) is that....if he uses the debit card.......I will know how much he spent and where he spent it. Because I do all my banking online, and I can see on my account every time a card gets used. Usually I go onto the banking site every other day or so to keep up with recording our expenditures. But since I really love a good surprise....and I really don't want to know what I'm getting for Christmas, I'll have to forego doing any bill-paying or record-keeping or banking of any kind until after Christmas. Darn it.

How iz it?

How iz it that people come into the office to get our famous AAA triptik, cause they can't figure out how to map out a trip for themselves, and when we give them our best professional advice about what route to take, they go with the route that "someone told them would be best"? How iz it that I go to bed exhausted and can't. get. to. sleep. I don't do caffeine, I don't do chocolate and yet I lie there with my eyes wide open and my legs going a mile a minute like a dog in the midst of a dream about chasing rabbits? How iz it that one of the best hospitals in the country just outside of Boston feels the need to charge $8 to park. For everyone....visitors and patients? How iz it that that same hospital has dial up credit card machines to take the aforementioned $8? How iz it that someone can come into the office and tell me I'm wrong when I try to explain to him that any VISA gift card of $50 or more is fee-free......and he thinks that means he can buy two $25 gift cards and we'll waive the fees?? How iz it that I've used up all my Christmas fund and I still have things to buy? And have a nice day.

Museum of Science Birthday

My niece Laura is turning ten years old this week. For the past several years we've taken her on an excursion so we can spend time with her, rather than give her a gift. This year, we decided on the Museum of Science in Boston, mainly because the special exhibit is Harry Potter. As a special added treat, we took the train in. Laura loved the train. And so did we! After the train, we had to hop on the "T" (the subway) for one stop. Laura waited patiently for the T to come while visiting with a tiny little bird friend. (look closely in the lower right-hand corner)

One of the first things we did when we got there was go to the cafe to eat. Very expensive, but convenient. The Museum is right on the Charles River and we could see a cityscape from the windows of the cafe.

Most of the exhibits in the museum were "hands-on" and Laura just loved that. In this room you could take down a box devoted to a certain subject and check things out. This box was about snakes.....Laura is measuring the length of a snakeskin.

They have models of the Apollo spaceships that you can go inside and pretend to be an astronaut.

The Harry Potter exhibit was a bit disappointing to me. There was just a couple interactive components to it.....the rest was just walking around looking at props from the movies. Laura did get to sit in the chair under the "Sorting Hat" and get sorted into Griffendorf House. No photography was allowed in the Harry Potter exhibit.....so no pics.

We said goodbye to the gigantic T-Rex on our way out.

The whole day was fun and exciting with things Laura had never done before. It's always so much fun to see her bouncing around and squealing with excitement as she investigates everything. We've promised to take her back sometime to see some of the exhibits we didn't have time for, as well as to see the Planetarium and the Omni Theater.

I'm juggling as fast as I can!

Everyone knows what time of year this is. It's "Can I get everything done before Christmas?" time. It's taken me a whole year to feel like I've got some sort of system going for working full time and also keeping up with housework, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. I felt in control for about a week. Then The Holidays came and I seem to be right back where I started from......looking around and seeing my house deteriorate in front of my eyes. I have no kids at home. I did it back in the day when my kids were small. I don't remember being extremely stressed at the time. Maybe I'm just blocking it out. But I feel a bit out of control now. The house is a mess...the laundry is piled high.....the cupboards are bare.....I haven't finished gift-shopping and haven't even begun wrapping. However, the tree is up AND decorated and the cards have been sent out. So points for me on that.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like............

It turned out to be just a lot of hot air.

The air in Hubby's tires were low on his way to work the other day. So he swings into the gas station down by his workplace, where he's gotten air for his tires before. The sign says 75 cents to get air, but Hubby always goes inside and just asks them to turn it on, so he can get free air. (and rightfully so......why should we have to pay for air?) This time, the kid at the counter tells him, "We're not allowed to do that anymore....we have to make people pay." In this day and age of debit cards, we never have any cash on us. So Hubby has to buy something, so he can get cash, so he can buy air. He choses a jug of window-washer fluid (a wise choice) and brings it to the counter. The kid rings it up, and Hubby slides his card through......but there is no choice to get "cash back". "Hey, how do I get cash back?" he says to the kid. "Uh, I guess we can't do that here." is the reply. It's at this point I would have said to the kid, "Hey, idiot....why do you think I just bought your overpriced ($2.75 for a gallon) window-washer if not to get cash back so I can make change so I can go out and pay for air which should be free in the first place???" But Hubby is more patient than I am. He left the store, stashed his window-washer in the back seat and went to work. After work, he went to a different store. This time he bought two big Symphony candy bars (a not-so-wise choice) and got his cash back. $20. I asked him why he got $20. Why not just get $5. or even $10. He says, "The machine didn't have that choice. It just had $20, $40, $60 or other. Ohhhhhh! Other!" He goes back to the same gas station and goes to the door to go inside and get change. The doors are locked. The gas station is clearly open, but the sales clerk must have been out back having a toke. Hubby drives home. The next morning, he goes to the gas station down the street. (Even though I told him that the gas station up the street has FREE air......but does he listen? Nooooo.) He goes inside the station, gets his dollar's worth of quarters, and pays his 75 cents to put air in his tires. When he gets back in his car, he takes the extra quarter and puts it in his console to save for the next time he needs air. And notices 3 shiny quarters sitting there in the console.

Give the Boy his 15 minutes....

Grampy babysat yesterday. He's "Grampy" to Noah and "Pepere" to Emily. We'll see how that all works out. I'm "Memere" to both of them.

Anyway, Grampy took a video of Noah "dancing". He reminds me of his Uncle Kenny.

A Day with the Girls

Sunday was Parade Day in our town. For the past three or four years, we've taken my niece Laura to the parade. It's a fun tradition. This year Emily was old enough to join us. When I asked Laura if she'd mind us bringing Laura, she was ecstatic. Her first words were, "Now I can teach her how to roll down the hill." Because that is the most important part of the parade tradition (besides the collecting of candy) .....rolling down the hill right behind where we stand. Here for your enjoyment is a video of Laura - age almost 10 - trying to teach Emily - age 2 - how to roll down a hill. We didn't get any really good pictures of the two girls actually watching the parade. But another part of the tradition is coming home to our house, drinking hot cocoa and a snack, and playing with all Pepere's toys. Pepere got in trouble for letting Emily use non-washable markers.

Emily and Laura play a duet on the keyboard. Emily gets a chance to bang on Pepere's new Tabla Drums. She asked us if we had any drumsticks.

Emily didn't quite get the hang of the slide whistle. Instead of blowing into it, she made the whistle sound with a high-pitched scream that was actually quite credible.

Emily enjoyed her first parade. She wasn't thrilled with the fire trucks. She sat facing me when something was scary, and hugged me tight. Then when it finally passed by she grabbed my cheeks, looked directly into my eyes and said, "It's okay."

Not the Friday I Planned........

My office was open today....Black Friday........but since I wasn't scheduled for Saturday, I took Friday off for a nice looooooong weekend.

I'm seriously not a shopper, and the thought of going out on Black Friday gives me the willies. My first idea was to stay sequestered in the house for the day.

Then Hubby found what he wanted for Christmas. They're called "Tabla Drums" and someone had them on Craigslist for a good price. After I told him we could get them, I realized they are in Coventry, RI. A two hour drive from our house.

So I virtuously offered up my Friday so we could go get them. Of course, I made it clear to Hubby that he needed to make it worth my while. So he perused the internet and found that Providence has a really nice zoo. Hubby knows I like zoos. So he offered that, with the addition of dinner at Cracker Barrel in Coventry, and the deal was made.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas. It rained, it poured, the wind was blowing. Not exactly a nice zoo day. But just the right kind of day to go to the movies. So we went to see A Christmas Carol in 3D.

Excellent movie, and really cool to watch it in 3D. It was very traditional, and very, very scary. Certainly not a film for children.

After we got home from the movie, we headed out in the rain to Coventry, RI to retrieve Hubby's Tabla Drums. We met up with the seller, forked over the cash, and now Hubby is the proud owner of his very own set of Tablas.

And Cracker Barrel was delicious.

Thanks for Thankgiving

I'm most grateful tonight for the fact that we were able to have Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad's house this year. Mom has been pretty sick, and it was iffy up until the last minute on whether she'd be able to handle all the hulabaloo. But she insisted she wanted it at her house, and we bowed to her wishes. Everyone helped out.....as our family does when things are tough. Some of us helped with prep cooking, some helped set up, some helped serve dinner, some helped clean up. We tried to leave the house as organized and clean as we could. And Mom told me, when I kissed her good-bye, that she'd had a good day. Mission accomplished. We tend to forget to take pictures in the craziness of having dinner with 20 or so people. But Hubby did take a few....and here are some random ones: Dad all ready to make his famous "Turkey Carcass Soup". He boils his turkey carcass while we're all still there in readiness for making the best soup in the world. My niece Laura doing the traditional, "olives on the fingers" trick. This is a talent taught to children in our family when they're very young and passed down through the generations. We thought Laura might have to go find some super-sized olives this year....but she managed.

Our immediate family invites a couple of "stragglers". My cousin Paul is an only child and both of his parents have passed away. We enjoy inviting him and his very dry wit to our family gatherings.

My brother John and his wife Ruth are just about the only two who actually posed and took a nice picture.

My Aunt Izzy, sender of the infamous Omaha Steaks. To finish off that story, she called a couple of days later and said, "That bugger Tag, he gave my money back. I'll fix his wagon. I'm putting in an order for Omaha Steaks!" Sure enough, we received them the day before Thanksgiving! Can you believe this lovely lady will be 85 in December? And she just passed her senior citizen driving test! Now she's good for another five years!

There were many more people there, we just didn't get any good pictures of them! It was a great day!

My Annual List of Thanks

It's that time of year to think about my blessings. Here they are, in random order: 1. I'm thankful that I was smart enough to ask two months ago for the Friday after Thanksgiving off; thereby creating a four day weekend, people! Which means that today, which is usually my Hump Day, is really my Friday. 2. I'm thankful that my husband felt guilty enough about dragging me all the way to Providence, RI to pick up the Tabla Drums (don't ask) he bought off of Craigslist, that he is going to take me to the Providence Zoo AND to Cracker Barrel! 3. I'm thankful that my son felt well enough two hours after back surgery to ask for a grilled cheese sandwich and chocolate milk. 4. I'm thankful that my cousin Michael, whom I hadn't seen in 25 years or so, somehow decided to give me a quarter of his estate when he passed away, so I could turn around and give some of that money to my parents so my Dad could retire and take care of my Mom while she is sick. 5. I'm thankful that, 7 years ago, I had the guts to go on the computer and flirt with a random guy, who then had the guts to ask me out sight unseen, which turned into a love affair I never dreamed was possible. 6. I'm thankful that 20 or so people showed up last weekend to help my son move. If that doesn't prove the power of love from family and friends, I don't know what does. 7. I'm thankful that despite the poor economy, everyone I know is still working. Some may not consider their jobs that much fun......some may be hanging on by a shoestring.....but everyone is still getting a paycheck. 8. I'm thankful for the two most beautiful, cute and intelligent babies in my life. From a grandmother's point of view, they are perfect. And geniuses. And more adorable than other babies. 9. I'm thankful that I have such a large, extended, close-knit and loving family. I had a conversation with my daughter the other day.....she couldn't understand why people were living in an old run-down motel. Couldn't they go live with family? Some people have no family. I'm thankful that thought is out of her realm of experience. 10. So Thank You, God for Mom, Dad, Steve, Angie, Stephen, Sean, Sara, Shannon, Jacob, Chris, Lloyd, Jessica, Kyle, Samantha, Marc, John, Ruth, Ben, Laura, Doug, Kara, Emily, Nick, Kelly, Jamie, Kenny, Matthew, Wendy, Allen, and Noah. ( my immediate family) as well as countless aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws. I am truly blessed.

Grocery Shopping Bliss

This week is the craziest shopping week of the year......at the grocery store. And my town seems like it's ten times more horrible than any other when it comes to shopping. I carefully avoided the grocery store this weekend. A friend who went last Thursday at 10am said there wasn't a grocery cart to be had. And the few times I've been stupid enough to go the day before Thanksgiving, the line for the check-out stretches around Produce, through the Meat dept. and all along the back of the store. I've learned my lesson. I decided this year to go at 7am this morning. I made a list, I made Hubby check the list, and then I checked it again. There would be no going back to the store at any time this week. Period. I got to the store as it opened. I parked one space away from the entrance. I picked a cart from the very long line of carts still available at the front of the store. As I headed toward Aisle 1, I dug the list out of my pocket. Sadly, it was not my grocery list. It was an old shopping list for Wal-mart. Damn, Damn and Double Damn! I considered going back home for the list, but I just didn't want to put in the time and effort. I would shop from memory (Bwahhhhhaaahhhaaa!) It was so calm and blissful and quiet as I cruised up and down the aisles. I carefully thought in my head what was needed to make it through the whole week, including a Thanksgiving dinner for my Hubby's kids on Saturday. I made it to the end, then turned around and went back for the things I missed. It was absolute heaven to have no people, no lines, no waiting. The cashier and bag-boy were pleasant as we joked about how insane it would be later in the day/week. It was the cashier's first time, but the bag-boy was a pro with three years of experience. I even remembered to use my Gift Card and to get quarters for my laundry this week. When I got back to the car.......there was my list sitting on the front seat! After I stopped laughing, I checked the list. I had not forgotten a single essential item!!! It's a Thanksgiving miracle!!!! The only thing I did forget was the Tension Tamer Tea......but I won't be needing that, now, will I?

Moving Day

Is there anything more fun/aggravating than moving? My son and his wife were living in a condex, and are moving into a split-level house. Hurray for them! I got to see the house for the first time yesterday, and it was so much fun to be given the "grand tour". Even more fun was seeing my daughter-in-law's excitement as she bounced around the house, showing each new visitor her new home. I took the day off and spent the day helping her, along with others, clean the house and paint Emily's room so things would be ready to move in today. I have to work this morning :( The rest of the moving crew is meeting at the "old house" this morning and will move until it's done. I'll join the crew and/or go take care of Emily after I get out of work. It's exciting and fun.....but so much work! It'll be worth it when they're all cuddled up and cozy in their new house.

I don't know what to name this post cause it's so stupid...........

A new government task force has declared there is no need for mammograms before age 50 and no need for self breast exams. You can read the whole article here. Are they crazy? The American Cancer Society has been advocating for years that all women of every age should do breast exams, and women beginning at the age of 40 should have mammograms. And now this "U.S. Preventative Services Task Force" is saying there's no need? What is wrong with these people???? Have they ever seen a woman go through the rigors of Breast Cancer treatment? Chemo? Radiation? Surgery? Well, they should. Because if they did, they'd know that it's no picnic, people. It's serious business. And if feeling myself up once a month and going for a booby-squishy once a year is going to keep me from dying.....I'm all for it. If this "Task Force" convinces just one person not to get a mammogram.....they should be shot.

Are there MORE Omaha Steaks in my Future?

As I've mentioned before, my very sweet old Auntie Izy is now living about 2 minutes away from me. She has no immediate family since her son died last October, so our family has adopted her (she's my father's brother's widow). We invite her to holidays, etc, and we've let her know to call on us anytime she needs help. Last year my sister and her husband helped her move from her house to the elderly housing in my town. As a reward, she sent them a box of Omaha Steaks. I offered to help her with her medical directives and her finances......she then sent me a box of Omaha Steaks. Just a couple weeks ago, my brother John, who is an auto-body tech by trade, offered to fix up a little dent and scratch on her car from a fender-bender. He was finally bestowed the honor of receiving a box of........you guessed it.......Omaha Steaks. This weekend, Auntie called and asked, "who in the family might be best to put together a small cabinet for her". Since Hubby is an assembler, I assured her we'd be happy to come over and Hubby could put her cabinet together for her. We went over this morning and I spent two hours visiting with Auntie while Hubby built her cabinet. As we were leaving, I could see her fishing in a drawer and thought, "Oh crap, she's going to offer him 20 bucks for helping her. There's going to be a big fight". She didn't offer him 20 bucks.....she offered him $100! They argued....and Hubby surreptitiously left the money on the kitchen table while I said goodbyes to Auntie at the door. I'm sure she found it after we left. I can only guess there will be some Omaha Steaks in our future now.

I'm Guilty.......

I've said over and over again....in this blog as well as in the "real world".....that I hate it that the Christmas Season is so rushed. Big sales beginning before Halloween. Decorations and Christmas music in the stores just afterwards. Why can't they keep Christmas for just the two weeks before the actual holiday?

But I started my Christmas shopping yesterday. Yup, I did. I couldn't help myself. I had some time off......I had money saved in my Christmas Club account......and the internet was just sitting right here in my bedroom, begging me to spend money.

So I did. I love shopping online. I found all kinds of wonderful things. I placed a huge order with Amazon, sent for some gift cards from various stores, and checked out prices on lots of items.

And I got in the car and actually went to a couple of stores. Yup, I did. It was tough, cause I had to get out of my nightgown and brush my hair to do it.

But there were a few things that I couldn't get online, and a few other things that I wanted to look at in person before I bought them.

It wasn't bad. There wasn't much traffic and few lines. Not bad for a Thursday afternoon 5 weeks before Christmas, huh?

Just Stuff

* I know I've said it over and over again, but my grand-daughter is just so darn smart. At the age of 2 and 3 months she knows all her letters, some of the sounds, all her numbers, all shapes (including things like trapezoid) and can name almost any picture you point out to her. It just amazes me. She might be one of those kids who reads at the age of 3. The best part is....she's got personality galore.

* It's been over a year since I started working full time and I may have finally gotten the hang of it. You know...the balancing act. Trying to keep up with stuff in the house and still do my job and have a life with my husband. Our company just switched our hours so we start a half-hour later.....and somehow that half hour adds so much time!

* Thanksgiving is the forgotten holiday and that makes me sad. It's my favorite one. I love the "getting together with family" without the "stress of shopping, wrapping, buying gifts". It's sad that people are already so focused on Christmas.

* Speaking of shopping, wrapping and buying......I have done all my Christmas shopping online the past 2 or 3 years. I live in the shopping capitol of the world....nothing but retail stores in my town.....but I hate going in them. I hate the traffic, the lines, the people, the waiting and most especially the going from store to store and never finding what you need. When you shop online, you can do it in your jammies, cruise all the stores, order what you need and then sit back and wait for them to deliver it to you. It's like magic!

* I love that my Hubby gets my teacup ready in the morning....fills the teapot and puts the bag in a clean cup near the pot. It's the little things, ya know?

For those of you in the Heartland......

Hubby and I went to the beach yesterday. It was a balmy 60 degrees in New England and, in our humble opinion, the perfect day for the beach. No traffic, no crowds. A bit chilly but comfortable and heart-lifting. You can't tell in this photo, but the waves were actually pretty big for New England. Later in the day we actually saw a crazy person...in a wetsuit....practicing his surfing. I don't think it was actually cold enough for Hubby's hat, but he likes wearing it and couldn't wait to bust it out.

Ours weren't the only footprints. There were other people there....we're not the only crazy ones.

Hubby spied a red wooden box bouncing around in the surf. He had to risk life and limb (and wet sneakers) to capture it.

Success!

As the day got later, the sun was hitting the waves just right to make them look flourescent.

The Sunset was so pretty!

And of course, we concluded our day with a trip to the center for some fried dough. Good thing there are no photos of that! Powdered sugar sure knows how to fly everywhere!