KirstenL4W

There are just over 90 shopping days left until Christmas.  I really hope that I have been a very good girl this year, and I am only asking for one thing:

Absolutely Bananas is starting a new weekly writing project, in which she gives a writing prompt to help us find something to write about. I like the first topic, and I hope I’ll be able to keep this up on a weekly basis, so here goes!

I can’t say I have any truly horrendous travel stories. My first real trip was to Europe in February of 1996, when I decided to visit a friend who happened to be from my ancestral homeland, Sweden. Since I was so close by and had no plans for my life, I decided to take the opportunity to visit Paris, since I had studied French in high school, and London, since I just felt a calling to go there. My month at Cilla’s house and various European youth hostels was great. So, my travel horror story does not happen on this trip.

Nor does it happen on my next trip to London, a year later. Nope, that was a wonderfully uneventful trip, 1 week in London. It doesn’t even happen on my 3rd trip to London in November 1998. That time I went with my college roommate, and we took the opportunity to visit Edinburgh, York, and Bath in addition to London.

On all these trips, I loved shopping. It’s so much fun seeing what’s available in the shops that we just can’t get at home. One shop we visited is Lush (which has since made its way into the US). After travelling for a few weeks, I knew I’d need a nice relaxing bath when I got home, so I got myself a bath bomb. Little did I know that this would almost get me arrested.

My luggage had a habit of not wanting to travel with me. On my first trip to Europe, because of some last minute flight changes due to the weather (I would have missed a connection), my luggage never made it to my new flight and decided to spend an extra day in London. On my second trip to London, I stupidly packed my travel alarm clock in an effort to lighten the load in my carryon. This caused an intense inspection of my checked luggage, which again spent an extra day in London. Even on a bus trip to Toronto, when changing bus drivers at the bus station in Buffalo (they changed drivers, which signified they changed companies, but the actual vehicle did not change). When they were changing, they emphasized that if we were continuing on to Toronto that we were to stay on the bus. DO NOT GET OFF THE BUS IF YOU ARE GOING TO TORONTO. So I stayed on the bus. When we got to customs a few minutes later, I realized that they forgot to tell us something. If we were going to Toronto, we were to get off the bus, claim our luggage and re-check it, then get on the bus. So, I went thru Canadian customs without luggage. I filed a report at the bus station, and it was put on the next bus so I only had to wait about 3 hours for that one. Overall, that’s three times that my luggage has chosen not to travel with me.

This particular trip to London, I was determined to do things right. I made sure that the weather cooperated so that I would not have to change my flight after checking in, I was a pro at packing for security, and I didn’t have anything packed in a way to warrant a search. We got back home to Boston, and I had all my luggage with me. The customs officer put it through the x-ray machine and as it was coming out the other end, picked up my carry on and began to open it. I was certain that I did everything according to the rules this time, so I couldn’t think of anything that would have raised suspicion. The customs officer said it looked like there was an orange in my bag, but I knew not to bring fruit into the country. He pulled the “orange” out and emerged with a white, powdery ball in his hand. Oh Fudge. My mind raced. I tried to tell him what it was without using the word bomb - I told him it was an aromatherapy alka-seltzer like thing for the bath. I encouraged him to smell it, then remembered that I had the flyer from the store with me. I showed him the flyer, he smelled it, and luckily, I was off the hook. It took me quite some time for my heartbeat to return to a normal pace, since I’d never been in trouble before, and I was nearly panicked at the thought of getting busted for trafficking. Thank goodness I’m a souvenir hound and saved the flyer, especially since the store didn’t mark the packaging at all.

So that’s it, my travel horror story. Not too bad, really, just a close call with a federal prison. But now I know not to pack unidentified bath products when I travel internationally.

I still hold my stance that romance should happen every day, not just on a designated day. But I did have to do something special for Boyfriend; it was simple, inexpensive, and really didn’t require a lot of imagination. I went to the craft store and bought 3 packages of red heart-shaped paper doilies - three different sizes. Then I bought some stickers with various sentiments on them and applied them to some of the doilies. This morning I woke up early on time and sprinkled them in various places. Most of them ended up all around his computer, chair, and the floor area around his desk, but they were also on the tv, battery for his truck (it was in the house to be charged), mirror, the underside of the toilet lid, the wall behind his towel, in the shower, medicine cabinet, kitchen cabinet, fridge, microwave, dishwasher, underwear drawer, and on the hanger that his shirt is hanging on. He liked it.

I get the distinct feeling that Boyfriend has something up his sleeve for me, but I have no idea what it might be. He’s been asking really vague questions lately that have to do with all sorts of romantic topics, so I know the little hampster in his head is spinning away on that wheel. I’ll let you know later if there’s anything to report. Dinner, though, is out of the question - it’s our regular Thursday night oil change lactose event.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Edited at around 6pm:  Boyfriend decided to go the traditional route, since I never really had that before.  He got me a super sweet card, a mini rose potted plant (lasts longer), and a shiny heart shaped box filled with Hershey chocolate truffles, because he remembered that I said Hershey chocolate is one of my favorites.  Then he kissed me and hugged me until I had to pee. 

Valentine’s Day is coming up. Having been single for pretty much every Valentine’s Day until now, I’ve come to expect absolutely nothing on this day. It is a day full of expectations - more so than any other day. We expect that it will be the most romantic day of the year. We expect “romantic” gifts from our partners - flowers, a fancy dinner (usually at a fancy restaurant), candy, jewelry, lingerie, and of course a big fancy card gushing with romantic sentiments. Anything red or pink does the trick if you are a gift buying dunce. Personally, pink is so not my color.

I suppose my single status for so long has jaded me. I just can’t get into it. Not only is there the expectation of gifts, this holiday tells you how you are supposed to feel and express those feelings. See, I don’t like being told how to feel or what to say. Of course, I do love Boyfriend. I just don’t like a card company telling me how I have to express that. I want to express it in my own way. I don’t want to make him take me out to eat. (The owner of a restaurant we frequent calls Valentine’s Day “Amateur Night”) I don’t want him to feel that I love him any less, or that I feel he doesn’t love me enough, if he doesn’t go all out with the aforementioned dinner, flowers, chocolates, etc. You just can’t manufacture romance like that and save it all up for one big night of showmanship.

I was telling Boyfriend earlier this evening about one of the most romantic things I’ve seen. I was over my aunt and uncle’s house, and my aunt had gone up the street to fetch one of my cousins. While she was gone, my uncle carried on with some housekeeping. My aunt returned to find that my uncle had emptied the dishwasher, putting away all the clean dishes. My aunt was ecstatic! That is one of her least favorite chores to do, and seeing that my uncle had done that for her totally made her day. She threw her arms around him and showered him with hugs and kisses, thanking him profusely for doing this mundane chore. That, to me, is romantic. Romance is the little things that all add up to reaffirm and strengthen the love two people have for each other.

To the casual observer, it might seem that Boyfriend and I live a very boring life. I won’t kid you, it’s not one exciting adventure after another. We have jobs to go to and other obligations that keep life so very ordinary. But there are things that we do that I’d consider romantic. Take right now, for example. I am on the sofa, feet up, laptop in my lap, tv on, blogging while Boyfriend is sitting at his desk playing WOW. He has his headset on so he can chat with the guild and listen to their inane conversations. Yet every 10 minutes or so, he will take the time to look over, exchange our silly little greeting, and tell me that he loves me. Sometimes he even starts making kissy faces at me so that I have to get up, go over to him, and kiss him. It’s not a chore, so don’t read that as if it were. It keeps us connected while we are each in our own little virtual world. And he NEVER minds it if I come up to him out of the blue and throw my arms around him. That’s romantic. I don’t need all the fancy stuff - flowers die, chocolate makes me fat, restaurants are crowded and service sucks on that day, cards get forgotten, and lingerie doesn’t matter because it just gets ripped off. Save the money and show me you love me in your own unique way. But don’t worry. I won’t be a total cynic and blow the holiday off completely.

Enjoy your Valentine’s Day, and this classic sonnet from Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, — I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

I don’t often blog about holidays, especially foreign holidays that I don’t know a heck of a lot about. Ok, honestly, I had a vague idea that there was a holiday called Australia Day, but thanks to all my Aussie blogger friends over at the Aussie Bloggers Blog, I’m learning more about the land down under. I may not know any more about the history of Australia, but by reading their blogs I’m learning more about the most important thing a country can have - its people. I have found Aussie Bloggers to be some of the friendliest people I have (n)ever met.

In fact, a bunch of them have got themselves together and started a forum to help ordinary bloggers who may not know so much about blogging, but really want to have the blog of their dreams. The Aussie Bloggers Forum is not just for bloggers from Australia. Oh no, don’t let that hold you back. They speak English and use all the same blog platforms that you do, so they are not only capable but willing to answer any questions you can throw at them. I’ve been on the blogosphere for nearly 2 years now, and have been perusing message forums for nearly 10 years, and this is the first forum I have come across that not only caters to bloggers, but is extremely friendly and helpful. I have another forum on my blogroll that I never really got into because all the posts are titled “Please Help” or something equally vague. Not here. The friendliness of everyone involved makes it much easier to get the answers you’re looking for, whether you’re looking through older threads or posting a new question.

So stop by the Aussie Blog or Forum and wish some friendly Aussie bloggers a Happy Australia Day!

Photo © Richard Young Photography
So, here it is New Year’s Eve. I have just under 12 hours left for this year, and I’m tying to get it all done. Today is house cleaning day. Never mind that I haven’t started yet, or that there’s partying to be done tonite. And of course since Boyfriend and I are partying with our East Coast friends, that means midnight is at 9pm PST, when the ball drops in New York, so no showing up at this New Year’s party at 11pm.Yes, today is house cleaning day - an activity that I admit gets neglected until it drives me bonkers. And it’s junk food eating day. I think there’s some sort of law or something that says that everyone must make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and/or eat better. Boyfriend and I have that one in mind, which means that we have a lot of junk food to finish off today.

Since I already did my yearly wrap-up with my Christmas Post, I’ll blog about what’s ahead for 2008.

The Blog:
I have made the decision to switch to WP. Once I get paid (since this is the week without a paycheck as I switch from weekly to bi-weekly pay) I’ll get that part done. I can’t wait! It will be so exciting to do all the things I want to with my blog since I’ll be able to create different pages. My head is spinning with thoughts of all the possibilities!

The Job:
As you know, I’ve been at my job for 6 months now, and I recently got hired on permanently, which means I can take advantage of their benefits. I’d like to go back to school and study accounting, which is something I realized I actually like (not like when I took it way back when). This is a course of study that can take me anywhere, and I can take advantage of my education immediately since I’m already in the finance department of Big Company. With that in motion, there’s nowhere to go but up!

The Boyfriend:
Since I met him, my life has been better than I ever imagined it could. Sure, Aunt Flo steps in every month to try and tell me otherwise, but she can take a flying leap for all I care. Boyfriend is awesome, and we are going to continue that so in love it makes you sick thing through 2008 and beyond.

The Personal Miscellany:
I gained a ton of weight on prescription anti-depressants, which I finally was able to ween myself off of last spring. I haven’t been able to kick the weight though, and motivation has been in short supply. Personal and job upheaval hasn’t helped. Now that things are steadier, and they have the WW Cult at work, I should be able to find the motivation to stick to it. I haven’t needed the meds either, instead choosing vitamins which, except for Aunt Flo’s interference, have worked quite well. I’ll have my health insurance in effect April 1, which will be great because I’ve put off going to the doctor for well visits, so this will be the year to get healthy all around.

I also want to get more organized. Boyfriend and I have a 1 bedroom apartment, so it’s been really cramped since I moved in. We don’t know if we’re ready to buy a house or just move into a 2 bedroom. Either way, I want to get my stuff out of the garage. Yesterday I cleaned out my email and cleaned up some of my music, but I want results I can see. Over the next month I hope to organize my desk area and at least unpack the rest of my books so that the bookshelf isn’t so empty. That’s about 10 boxes of stuff that already has a home, and will give me a good sense of accomplishment. I’d like this next year to be more organized and less cluttered, not just with my material things but with my life overall.

I hope all of you have a very safe New Year’s Eve, and here’s to a Great 2008! Cheers!

I have to say that this Christmas was the best one I’ve had since I moved here to Vegas 4 1/2 years ago. Having Boyfriend to lavish love, affection, and gifts on was a huge part of that. I finally finished his stocking, which turned out quite nice (if you don’t look at the stitches). It’s in his favorite colors - the main stocking is black velvet and it’s hung by a red velvet ribbon. It’s also quite a bit bigger than a regular stocking, which is also something that he enjoyed. “I wish I had a stocking like this when I was a kid - it’s bottomless!” he exclaimed. To give the illusion of Santa, I woke up before dawn and filled it with some yummy foods, a jacks and ball set, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Two-Disc Special Edition), which Boyfriend is watching right now. I also got him a new blender, which he’s been saying he wanted, a tin and calendar featuring the art of Michael Godard, and a character portrait based on his astrological chart from Equinox. I got one when I was in London about 10 years ago, and it was quite good. Boyfriend thinks his is pretty decent too.

I made out pretty well, too. First of all, my family back east sent me loads of junk food - Tastykakes, Drake’s Cakes, and my mom even sent me a whole pan of squares! I am so gonna need to go back to Curves when this is all over.

Boyfriend gave me some pretty decent stocking stuffers - candy, fun party-favor type toys like tops and wind-up toys, some Burt’s Bees goodies, and a new travel alarm clock since mine is barely hanging on. I also got a magazine subscription that I’ve been wanting, A Winter’s Night: Best of Christmas CD, Mr. Bean’s Holiday (Widescreen Edition), and Absolutely Fabulous - White Box, which was the last CD I needed to complete my AbFab collection. I also got a lovely, luxurious spa-like bathrobe, which was also on my list because my cotton jersey one wasn’t doing it for me anymore.

My mom really loved the craft I made for her. It’s titled Memories of Home and Family. I wanted to capture some of the things that symbolize NH to me, and of course include my nieces and nephew, whom I love so much and really miss. My mom said it was her favorite present and made her cry.

We went to dinner at a friend’s house last night, which had the traditional turkey and ravioli (yes, Christmas dinner served by a real New York Italian!) and had a lovely evening in the company of friends. All in all, it was an excellent Christmas.

I hope all of you got what you wanted, and (as the card my mom sent says) want what you got. Merry Christmas!

So here we are at the end of another year. This has been a year that, while starting out rather stressful, finds me deliriously happy at the end of it. At the end of last year’s post, I was working, but just barely. Some job shake-ups left me with a part-time security dispatch job, which did become full time, and a full time major cause of stress. I quit that job in February and quickly found another job - office manager of a small construction company. It was stress free for awhile, but I quickly realized there was not enough to do to justify it being a full-time job. I was bored, and had to move on. I quit that job and before long had a new one. This new job was through a temp agency, but it wasn’t boring and had the potential to go permanent. It took a little more time that I thought it would, but on December 10 I had my first day there as a permanent employee. I’m not bored, don’t feel undervalued, and it’s a place where I can go far if I want to. I think I’ll be there for quite a while, and it feels really good to have that kind of stability and satisfaction again.

On a more personal level, I met the man of my dreams this year. A friend of mine used to date him, and she thought we’d be perfect together. A few emails and things fizzled out from there, but we bumped into each other one evening at a social event, and have been together ever since. I guess my personality just doesn’t shine through in “Hi, how are you” emails. We met, hit it off, and life is grand. He surprised me at the last minute by attending the Chantal Kreviazuk concert with me. We moved in together, which freaked me out a bit, but I got over it and now have a very hard time when he’s not here with me. We take road trips from time to time, which, although tiring because we do these in the course of a regular weekend, they are great fun. I did have another minor freak out which almost saw me moving back to New England, but it turned out that I was so much in love I couldn’t handle it. Boyfriend helped with that by being a great listener and actually having a clue, showed his awesomeness so much more. I resolved then and there to show him how much I loved him by eating fish bait for his birthday. I lived to tell the tale, and Boyfriend had a fantastic birthday. Now we’re looking forward to our first Christmas together.

I didn’t get a chance to go back to New Hampshire this year to visit my family, and I do miss them. Boyfriend and I are talking about a visit. The California boy that I fell in love with has never been to New England but feels a calling. I did get to go to Florida again, at Thanksgiving, to spend the holiday with my sister and her family. Boyfriend didn’t come since I bought the ticket before we met, and he’s not exactly fond of Florida. I missed him, of course, but it was great to see my sister again, and see how well Mia was doing since her early arrival. She’s adorable! I don’t know who that kid is in the pictures that my sister has been sending me, but it sure isn’t the adorable little girl who greeted me at the airport with an enthusiastic HI!

So that’s my year. Having The Best Boyfriend in the World has made my life all it could be. Unlike the end of last year, things are looking up and up and up, so here’s hoping that 2008 will continue that upward swing. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and for those readers who don’t celebrate, I hope the rest of your December is fantabulous!

Today was Day 2 of my 5-day holiday break. With nothing planned to do today, I slept until around 1:30, got up, and planted my ass on the sofa for some web surfing and tv watching. It was a relaxing day, but a blah day as well. I royally screwed up an omelette for Boyfriend, turning it into a runny scramble because I just can’t cook on stainless steel. So it turned into a low self-esteem day as well. Just when I was at my lowest, before I conked out for a long nap, I realized that I forgot to call my family today.

I miss having Christmas with my family, and since my parents are divorced, I always had two Christmas celebrations - one with my Dad’s family and one with my Mom’s. Today they were both gathering. Dad’s family was getting together at my aunt and uncle’s house - formerly Gram’s house, but Gram lives in the in-law apartment now above the garage. Until I moved away, I have spent every single Christmas day there in that house. It wouldn’t seem like Christmas without it, and even though I’m far away now, still doesn’t. Since I’ve been out here, though, I’ve always remembered to call so I can talk to everyone and be there in some way, and I missed it.

My Mom’s family was gathering at her house today. It’s not as large a gathering since everyone is more spread out than my Dad’s family, and there aren’t as many kids. It’s still a fun gathering, and I missed that call too.

I’m sorry. I miss you all.

Most of you know I’m not too fond of memes. Actually, I’m not too fond of the obligation to do them when I’ve been tagged. This time, I haven’t been tagged that I know of, but I’ve seen this one going around and thought, in the spirit of the season, that it would be fun.

1. Wrapping or gift bags?
A bit of both, really. It all depends on what the item is, how motivated I am to make it look good, and what kind of variety I want under the tree. I’m still trying to get rid of some awful wrapping paper I bought on sale when I was 3, so I tend to use that a lot and save the gift bags for “Oh-crap-I-need-to-buy-a-present” gifts.

2. Real or artificial tree?
I’ve had both. I like the ease of setting up a real tree, the smell, and the fact that I don’t need to find anywhere to store it for 11 months. I don’t like the cost of buying a new tree every year. On the artificial front, I like not paying for a new tree every year but I HATE HATE HATE fluffing it up. That hatred comes from 2 years of helping set up the holiday display at the mall for Officer Friend.

3. When do you put up the tree?
When I get around to it. Sometimes it’s Thanksgiving weekend, other times, like last year, it’s not at all.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Usually New Years or within the next few days. I don’t like to eradicate all signs of the holiday before it’s actually over.

5. Do you like egg nog?
I’ve never actually tried it, but if I haven’t tried it by now it probably means that there’s a good chance I won’t like it. It sure doesn’t sound appetizing.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
I really can’t remember anything that sticks out as being the most totally awesome gift ever, but once I bought my house my mom gave me a Braun Multi Mixer, which is quite the nifty little thing, and it’s not a unitasker, which I love because I really try to keep the single-use appliances from breeding in my kitchen.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Not a formal one, though I used to have a small frosted glass set. Not sure what happened to it - I last remember having it in my condo in MA.

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I can’t say that there was any one particular one that was the worst, though there have been a lot of disappointments, mostly things that people get me just for the sake of getting me something.

9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Snail mail. I would love to take the time to craft them, since I love papercrafts (though I don’t know if I’m really any good at it), and I would really like to spend time on a more personal message, but I get so uninspired and usually end up doing the assembly line thing with a box of store bought cards. Since I’ve had my blog, I’ve put my blog address in the cards and done a Christmas post “brag letter”.

10. Favorite Christmas Movie?
A Christmas Story. My mom took me to see in in the theater when it came out, and I really liked it even though I didn’t get a lot of the humor at the time. (Gimmee a break - I was 9 when it came out.) Since it’s been shown on TV for 24 hours starting 8pm on Christmas Eve (check your local listings), it’s become a favorite tradition to fall asleep with the TV on.

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I try to start before the rush, really I do. But I do love the excitement of the shopping season, and tend to go as beserk as my wallet will let me right up until Christmas Eve.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
All of it.

13. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Usually clear, once in awhile multi-colored, but never, ever all blue (Ew. Just - ew.)

14. Favorite Christmas song(s)?
Oh, it depends, but I always tend towards the classics. But when I started typing this, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” popped into my head. The version by Perry Como is my favorite.

15. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Travel is fun, but hectic during any other time of the year, but totally insane with presents. I’ll stay home, thanks.

16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Hey kids! You know Dasher and Dancer, and Prancer and Vixen. Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? That’s the intro to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as sung by Harry Connick, Jr.

17. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Star, but not with lights in it.

18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
Christmas Morning, of course.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
The fact that there’s even more to do than usual. Shopping, wrapping, cooking, parties all the freaking time and not a moment to rest. Oh, and the parking lot at the mall.

20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color?
It depends on my mood when I start to decorate. One year I did a snowflake theme, and some years I like classic red and gold. This year I just put it all up, because for some reason I don’t seem to have as many ornaments and decorations as I thought I did.

21. What do you leave for Santa?
I’ve lived alone for so long so I haven’t left anything out for the big guy in a long time. My stepmother never really encouraged the tradition, either.

22. Least favorite holiday song?
I never cared for “Feliz Navidad”, even as a kid. And “A Wonderful Christmas Time” by Paul McCartney is a bit of a turn-off, as it reminds me of some of the experimental stuff my middle school music teacher would do.

23. Favorite ornament?
It’s not one I own (yet). It’s a pale green fancy beady egg ornament that my mom has, and it always gets hung at near the top of the tree, away from cats and kids.

24. Family tradition?
Since I grew up and moved away from home, there haven’t really been any traditions. But before I moved away, I used to love Christmas with my Dad’s family. It’s almost like a recycled holiday, the same exact thing every year, but I love it - along with the recycled boxes!

25. Ever been to Midnight Mass or late-night Christmas Eve services?
My church in NH has a candlelight service at 11pm. Here, it’s at 9pm, which is a bit early for my taste. I’m not sure yet if I’m gonna go this year, since I haven’t been to church in months, but that’s another post for another time.

If you want to do this meme, go for it. I’m not going to tag anyone specific because I know how that feels.

As I mentioned yesterday, Boyfriend and I bought a Christmas tree. Today we finally got it decorated. Boyfriend thinks we need more lights, since there’s only about 400 on there. He thought that would be sufficient when we bought the lights last week, before we even had a tree. I do need to go buy more garland since I guessed at how much we would need and also had no idea that Boyfriend would feel the need to decorate the back of the tree. Lights and garland all the way around the tree. That’s how he was brought up, with a better than picture perfect tree, decorated all the way around even though it was in a corner. Ours is against the slider, and boyfriend thinks that if we decorate the back it will look nice to people outside. Um, we’re on the second floor, overlooking the pool. I don’t want it to look nice to people who are making that much effort to peek in our windows.

Boyfriend and I went back and forth on the proper way to decorate a tree and how it should look. He’s on the side of prettier than a picture. He can find fault in professionally decorated trees (and I’m not talking about the ones on display at the mall. I know what kind of rag-tag crew puts those up. I used to be one of those people). I, on the other hand, think a tree should have imperfections in it. Not deliberate imperfections, but come on now. The most important thing that should go into decorating the tree is love, not OCD. I myself have a perfectionist streak in me, but I know how far is too far with the tree. I told Boyfriend to chill on the decorating or I’d decorate the tree like I was 3 years old - you know, with all the ornaments really low to the ground and in one small area.

Now about this cold. I’m stuffy and I’m not happy. I’m not liking this a bit. At least today was a day off so I could rest up a bit. I hope it doesn’t get worse. That would be the last thing I need right now.

Boyfriend and I bought a Christmas tree today. Not a fake one like we had talked about. All the fake trees were so uninspiring. Instead we ended up with a nice Christmas-tree-scented real one. For those who have a fake tree but want the smell of a real one, I found that these candles are the most real scented ones out there. Anyway, we still have to decorate the tree, but I’m just psyched that there is a real live tree in our living room. Not thrilled that I had to go to four stores before I found a stand for the thing, but that’s what we get for waiting so long. Oh well. We have one now, that’s the important thing.

My Christmas post is done. I changed the date on it to the 25th, so it will be the top post on here until then. I put my blog address in my holiday cards, so I expect people will be checking it out. I wanted the “brag letter” to be easily accessible. You can see last year’s post here.

What I’m not thrilled about is this cold that I seem to be getting. I sneezed quite a bit yesterday, and now it seems that my nose is running. Where it’s going is beyond me, but this is not good. I will not be sick for the holidays. I will not be sick for the holidays. This will not happen.

I did get all my packages and cards mailed out today. Boyfriend mailed out the few that he had. We went to the little contract post office at the convenience store, because we didn’t want to be at the post office all day. I had 1 box, 4 bubble envelopes, 1 international letter to mail, and 28 regular first class stamps to buy. I knew what I had, what I wanted and was organized giving it to the clerk to process. Boyfriend had 4 letters, all going certified return receipt. Then he decided that 1 had to be there by Wednesday at the latest, so he waffles back and forth while the clerk tries to explain Express Mail and Priority Mail to him. He opts for (I think) Express. Then he decides that 2 of the letters can go in the same express package, since they are going to the same address. Mind you, while we were waiting in line I feverishly filled out the certified and return receipt forms for all 4 letters. Then, for the other two, for two different addressees at the same address, were as I filled out, but he had to make sure he explored all the options before sending them as he originally decided. When we got to the counter, there was no one in line behind us. By the time we left, there was a line snaking its way around the convenience store. Boyfriend said, “Chaos, mayhem and destruction. My day is complete!”

The decongestant that I took a while ago seems to be kicking in a bit, so I’m going to wrap this up, have some dessert, and get cracking on Boyfriend’s stocking. It’s cut and pinned, now I just need to sew it. By hand, since I don’t have access to a sewing machine. We’ll see if it actually holds anything.

Here’s what I’ve been able to cross off my list from the post below this one:

• Make craft for my Mom I started it - it’s in progress
• Make craft for a friend of Boyfriend This will probably not be a Christmas Gift at this point. Maybe a mid-year gift.
• Make a stocking for Boyfriend with no sewing machine and remedial sewing skills I have the fabric cut and pinned. I might go to Joann to see if I can use one of their demo sewing machines instead of stitching it all by hand.
• Find blank address labels amongst my stuff in the garage so I don’t have to buy more when all I need is 2 sheets I decided to just hand address them. Afterwards, when I was looking for something on my desk, I found the damn labels.
• Sign, address, and mail Christmas cards
• Burn and send latest CD for mix exchange working on this one - I need to test the two that I made to make sure I’m not having an issue with my burner
• Find time to finish Christmas shopping, as soon as I figure out what to get Only a few more quick things to get!
• Mail Christmas presents to family back home!
• Which means I need to buy the right size boxes, so I guess I should finish shopping first, eh? Got this info written down for today’s shopping excursion
• Make banana bread out of bananas I didn’t eat before they turn to total mush and rot through the counter Slightly burned it. Might have temperature problem with this oven, since I have never burned things before cooking in this oven
• Regularly scheduled Thursday night oil change with our friends at the Greasy Spoon. The food is great, if you like it greasy! Must remember to get salad next time. Must convince myself that a salad will satisfy me.
• Attend Sweet 16 for our friend’s daughter Friday night, which will likely be followed by an after-party for the adults No after party, but the party was a success.
• Keep from getting myself committed to the loony bin or having my insanity making the national news. Still working on this one

Boyfriend and I are supposed to go out to finish shopping today. He wanted to get out by 10 so we can be home by 2, but he hit Level 70 last night in his silly little game, and that’s where he sits right now - in front of his computer. I was up early for a weekend, got my websurfing done, addressed and signed my cards, updated my checkbook, wrote down box sizes for stuff I need to mail, and even found a tiny bit of surface space on my desk. Boyfriend just announced that he will be taking a shower shortly, so I guess it’s time to get myself all prettied up to face the Christmas crowds.

Just so you know, I’ll be writing my annual Christmas post soon, and dating it Christmas Day, so it will stay up on top until Christmas. My blog address is in all my cards, so my family and friends will be stopping by to see what’s up with me (I hope!)

The other day I stopped by the apartment office to remind them that I still have a puddle of water under my sink. I know they are having major issues with other things like leaky roofs and heaters, but some acknowledgment would be nice. They’re so very nice when I go in there, but then they never call. I did manage to figure out where the leak was - sort of. Seems that the lines to and from the dishwasher have water dripping down them. Oh, and there’s a clamp missing on one of the lines, which may not necessarily be the spot where it’s leaking, but is definitely a disaster in the making. I can’t exactly put a bucket under it, because the water seems to be not only leaking out of the various places the hoses connect at the top, and where that connection connects to the faucet, but water also runs down these hoses and dribbles all over the place. Perhaps instead of a bucket I can try to fit a kiddie pool under the sink. As it is, the floor of the cabinet is so rotted out that there’s a huge dip in the floor. I think the only thing holding it together is the peel and stick vinyl tile that maintenance put down to fix cover up the rotted cabinet. If they ever decide to come and fix it, it will be interesting to see what their solution is.

In other news, time is careening towards Christmas at a breakneck speed, and I still have so many things that I need to get done. Here’s a close to complete sampling:

• Make craft for my Mom
• Make craft for a friend of Boyfriend
• Make a stocking for Boyfriend with no sewing machine and remedial sewing skills
• Find blank address labels amongst my stuff in the garage so I don’t have to buy more when all I need is 2 sheets
• Sign, address, and mail Christmas cards
• Burn and send latest CD for mix exchange
• Find time to finish Christmas shopping, as soon as I figure out what to get
• Mail Christmas presents to family back home!
• Which means I need to buy the right size boxes, so I guess I should finish shopping first, eh?
• Make banana bread out of bananas I didn’t eat before they turn to total mush and rot through the counter
• Regularly scheduled Thursday night oil change with our friends at the Greasy Spoon. The food is great, if you like it greasy!
• Attend Sweet 16 for our friend’s daughter Friday night, which will likely be followed by an after-party for the adults
• Keep from getting myself committed to the loony bin or having my insanity making the national news.

I’m sure there’s more that I just can’t think of right now. And, of course, as if the weekends need to be any busier, there is a possibility that we need to go to Colorado the weekend of December 15. Please, let’s do it after the holidays, and if we have to go, please, Santa, bring me some winter boots size 8 1/2 narrow for Christmas. Living in Vegas means that I don’t need to have winter boots unless we actually go somewhere that has winter, and everyone who has seen South Park knows that Colorado has snow year round.

I’m gonna try to cook some banana bread now, if I don’t blow up the kitchen or something. We ended up with pizza for supper tonite because I went shopping to get stuff to make Shepherd’s Pie and forgot potatoes. There are 3, count ‘em, THREE, ingredients in Sheperd’s Pie and I forgot one. I don’t know where my brain is today. Hopefully I have enough of it to get the banana bread right. So, I’m gonna go insane make banana bread and try to get to work on a craft or two, and try to keep reminding myself that plenty of sleep and my full-time job are good things and not getting in the way of everything I have to do this month.

Last year, due to all the upheaval in my life, I didn’t really do much for the holidays beyond handing out a few presents. I didn’t decorate, play holiday music, or do much of anything else holiday related. This year, I’m ready to make up for it. I have the advent calendars ready to go (chocolate filled, of course), my cube at work is partially decorated and even has a coordinated scent, and I’m just itching to drag out my holiday decorations. I’ve been making Boyfriend watch all sorts of holiday specials, and the music will start very soon - it’s already on my car stereo, and will be in the house shortly. Some gifts are purchased, the list is made, and I can’t wait to hit the mall.

Having Boyfriend makes the holidays even more enjoyable. It’s one thing to mail gifts to my family back East, but I never really get to see them open them, so it’s a bit of a letdown. I love giving gifts, so Christmas gets really fun for me. I get all excited when I find that perfect gift. No cheese and sausage baskets from me, no way. So combining my love of gift giving with Boyfriend, and I’m gonna have a blast this Christmas. Now I just need to contain my excitement enough to keep people from wanting to kill me.

I had intended for this post to be longer, but I am really distracted by online Christmas shopping right now, so I’ll leave you to your own devices for now.

• This morning I got an email from Orbitz reminding me of my flight tomorrow. The flight numbers and times were all correct, so when I go online to check in we’ll see exactly how correct they are.
• Boyfriend had to drive to Reno today to do a 20 minute appointment. His territory is all of Nevada, and even though his company is trying to save money, they still think that because he has a lighter workload than other territories, it’s more prudent to have him drive 7-8 hours to take care of this tiny little thing, rather than having someone from the Sacramento office (2 hour drive) do it. Not only that, because his workload is allegedly lighter than the surrounding territories, he also gets to go to Kingman and Bullhead City, AZ a lot more than he would care for. This company recruited him for his brain. He’s hoping another company will recruit him for his common sense.
• My sister is starting to drive me beserk with Thanksgiving plans. She called me on Saturday to ask me if a 15lb turkey is enough for 10 people. Then she called me yesterday to ask how to cook the darn thing, because she doesn’t think that what Mom told her was quite right. What I don’t get is Sis is supposed to have cooked Turkey Day dinner before. So why does she not know this now?
• Also, I’ve been trying to plan a get together with Cousin T while I’m in Florida. T is willing to meet halfway, since she’s a 2 hour drive from Sis’ house, and another 1/2 hour to go the 2 miles past the mall on Black Friday. At first Sis said Bradenton was too far, way more than halfway, and can’t T meet us closer? Then when I suggested the Cracker Barrel in Bradenton, all of sudden that was good enough. I gave Sis and T each other’s phone numbers so I don’t have to spend my whole workday calling them and relaying what the other one said.
• I still need to pack - but I’m pretty organized about it. I won’t forget any socks, underwear, or jammies. I’ll probably end up forgetting my camera (for pictures of Mia), my cell phone charger, or the presents for Mia.
• I have a full day at work tomorrow, and will likely work late. Luckily, working late means working until 5 instead of 4, and my flight isn’t until 10:55pm. But I have a feeling that despite my warnings of not being in on Wednesday and not being able to scan until Tuesday because I’ll be covering mail for Frank (Hi Frank! How’s hi-speed internet treating you? Got whiplash yet?), I’ll get swamped with stuff at 3pm that absolutely must be scanned before the holiday. Yeah, like anyone will be in over the weekend to try and look for it, right?

I’m going to start packing now, watch Ham on the Street, cook something so Boyfriend has dinner, and relax for goodness sake. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is less than a week away, and from there it’s a rapid slide into the new year. The ladies magazines usually start the holiday scheduling with their September issues, but with so much happening in such a short amount of time, it’s easy to feel the rush.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be spending Thanksgiving with my sister in the Ft Myers, Florida area. It’s a crazy travel time because everyone in the country, or so it seems, must travel somewhere for the holiday. It was nice when I lived in the same town as the rest of my family - traveling to Gram’s house meant getting in the car and driving a half mile. Now I’m on the other side of the country from the rest of my family. I did travel home once, choosing a Wednesday-night red eye flight to arrive on Thanksgiving morning. Despite it being a heavy travel weekend, it seems that few people want to arrive at their destinations, at least by air, on Thanksgiving Day. Mom my happened to live very close to the airport that day, so she sent my stepdad out “to the store” for some milk. No one else knew that I was coming, so it was nice to surprise everyone.

This time I am also taking a red-eye, but everyone knows I’m coming. My sister and I have never really done the holidays with each other as grown-ups, with one of us hosting the other, so it will be a bit of a new experience. I’m also looking forward to seeing my niece Mia, who is doing well after her early arrival. She has a silly little laugh, and I get to hear her slobber on the phone until she decides to press buttons and hang up on me. It will be fun to see her, my sister, and my cousin in the Tampa Bay area. I always make it a point to try and see her too, and her son is 2 1/2, which will make for a fun visit. Funny, though - my sister lives 2 hours away from Cousin, whereas I live clear across the country, and Sis never sees Cousin unless I am in town.

As I was writing this blog post tonite, I went back and re-read my posts from a year ago - November 2006 - when I started on my trip back with my new car, took a detour to Florida when Mia was born, and came home to Vegas, got my cast off, and got a new job. I didn’t write as often as I wanted to, but in reading them over, I feel a bit like I was a better writer then, a better blogger. I don’t know. On the one hand, I miss being able to blog every day and dedicate many hours per week to my blog and blogging hobby, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t give up what I have now for anything, even if I am a WoW widow.

Boyfriend and I went to the Hoover Dam earlier tonite to take some night photos. They came out pretty good, surprisingly enough. We’ve been having a bit of trouble since they keep coming out blurry, even on the tripod, but he finally got it to go (even if the remote control didn’t want to work). We couldn’t go on the dam since they don’t allow pedestrians after dark, so we had to take all the photos from the Arizona side. The parking lot on the Nevada side was closed; the Arizona side has roadside parking lots as opposed to the official parking garage on the Nevada side. I’ll post a couple later, once I get them uploaded. It’s a bit late now.

Snoskred gave me a mention on her blog, and also awarded me, along with everyone in her blogroll, the Nice Matters Award. My first blogging award! I found out where the award orginated - Bella-Enchanted created it not just because her blog friends rock, but because of the friendships that came out of blogging. So, in the true spirit of the award, I would like to give this award to all of my wonderful blogging friends. Please distribute it as you see fit.

I talked to my Gram today, to wish her a Happy Birthday. She’s really an amazing woman. I’m still wowed at the fact that she earned an engineering degree back in the 40’s! Anyway, as we were talking she mentioned that my nephew, Bubba, is taller than my cousin. Now, SportsCousin is 16 months older than Bubba, and was taller than me last year when I went home to visit - and at 5′8″ (172cm), I am not considered short at all. He’s looking forward to his next birthday so he can get his learner’s permit. But my little Bubba is taller than SportsCousin! I remember holding both of them when they were born. I was just about to graduate high school when SportsCousin was born, and was just about to start my second year of college when Bubba was born. I tell ya, they grow up so fast. Soon I’m gonna hear that they’re shaving.

Question: What does 01001011011010010111001001110011011101000110010101101110010011000011010001010111 mean?

Well, that’s the news for now. I’m up late because of the Labor Day holiday - I get an extra day to sleep in. Today was a lazy day, tomorrow is a busy day with brunch with friends then a party that, knowing our friends, will last until 2 or 3am, so having Monday off to recover will be great. But first, it’s time for bed. Good night!

A day late and a dollar short, but oh well. I’m gonna post about it anyway, because that’s the bloggy thing to do.

I’ve seen and participated in some great April Fool’s jokes in my day. Probably the most memorable one goes back (caution: revealing how old I am) 18 years to when I slept over at Belching Biker Babe’s on a seemingly innocuous day, March 31. Being the out of control 15-year olds that we were, we decided to stay up late and put in place a few pranks to have some fun with her fam the next morning.

Lacking anything that resembled fake puke, and not having the means to break into Spencer Gifts at such a late hour, we wrote up a note that said “Insert Fake Puke Here” or something to that effect and laid it on the floor next to the toilet - the very same toilet that was wrapped in cling wrap. We rigged a bunch of things to fall out of the pantry upon opening the door. We set up the microwave to have stuff come bursting out of it upon opening it. And we put up black string across the doorway to between the dining room and kitchen.

Results: Fake puke got a laugh. Cling wrap was noticed before urination, saving us a cleanup job. Precariously perched items in pantry remained precariously perched upon door opening, despite numerous tests. Many scrunched up paper balls came flying out of the microwave and onto hot stovetop, but quick thinking on the part of BBB’s little sis averted a major disaster. And the string? Well, BBB’s normally calm and cool mom walked through it before having her coffee. Have I mentioned that spider webs are one of her least favorite things in the world? Now in my mid-30’s, I am still not allowed in the house on this holiest of holidays.

A few years ago, while working at MRI, the girls and I decided to play a few pranks on the fun-loving boss. We all typed up our resignations, all quitting for ridiculous reasons, and did the usual “tape the receiver down to the phone” on the boss’ phone. I was going to put lots of cayenne in his coffee, but someone spilled the beans on that one before he took a sip. The next year, we all cling-wrapped his Lexus GX, which he discovered as he was running out to a meeting. And Pretty Lady Dammit and I pretended to have a huge fight which resulted in me storming out of the office and thinking Mad Scientist had some major personnel issues on his hands.

I went out with a bunch of people from Security Company Friday night, and a lively discussion ensued regarding what kind of prank to pull for April Fools. The only reason it did not get carried out is because SOMEONE didn’t want to listen to the humorless, insecure little DOPE complain about it all week. It would have been great to see the look on his face though.

I’m having fun reading about different April Fool’s jokes. What’s your most memorable April Fool’s Day?

Now that I’ve recovered from my minor heart attack over my lack of control with the mouse, which resulted in my messing up my layout big time, I’m ready to post.

So, the big weekend. A big, beer-drinking weekend. Um, I don’t drink. And I don’t wear green on St. Patrick’s day just because I have red hair. I like going against the grain, doing the unexpected, being rebellious. It bothers people to see that I don’t display any holiday spirit, especially on a holiday that’s supposed to be for people like me (meaning pasty white skinned redheads). Whatever.

I did have a nice day though, which could have been any weekend day out of the year. I gathered with some friends and had dinner. The group I spent the weekend with was a bunch of transplanted New Yorkers, and we had ravioli and Italian meatballs along with conversation in the way that only a New Yorker can give. No green beer on the table for me! I prefer pasta to corned beef any day, so this was great. I like small, simple gatherings like that with just a few friends. I did end up crashing there, which was fine because it’s such a comfortable place to be. Slept in, eggs and bagels for breakfast, some more conversation, a catnap, and finally time to go home. It was a great, relaxing weekend.

Last night I took some time to chat with friends online and catch up with reading my blogs and a few other message boards. I’ve been starting to consider paying for a blog template, but there was just the whole paying part of it standing in my way. I couldn’t bring myself to want to pay for it when there are so many free templates available. But, after my little snafu this morning, I looked into it again. The site I contacted doesn’t require payment until installation, so it should be risk-free. Of course, if I knew more about web design and had a decent program to do it on, I’d be doing it myself. That’s probably the one thing I hate most about this new Blogger crap. I don’t get a chance to go into the code anymore and do it myself. They make it too easy to not learn any html/css/xml. So any learning I’ve been doing in that regard has come to a screeching halt, and as they say, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. Now it’s all I can do to remember how to do an href tag to make a live link. Ah well.