what christmas means to me…. part two:

When I think of the christmases of my youth it just makes me all warm & fuzzy inside. It probably seems weird because of the sorta negative way that I talk about my mother and sister now, but most of my happy childhood christmas memories involve them.

I think of making that yearly trip to what seemed like this far away place to pick out our tree (turns out to only be about 20-25 minutes) what was normally just an ordinary garden store just seemed like this magical place at christmastime! mmmm the smell of all those different types of trees couldn’t help but fill you with that christmasy feeling!! That time of year they had a little petting zoo and we always got to feed and pet the animals… they also had this HUGE christmas tunnel with all these animatronic people and animals in all these cute scenes and every year after we had our tree all picked out, while the guy tied it to our car we’d go through the tunnel and at the end we’d each get to pick out a piece of candy. I always picked a santa shaped lollipop – either the red kind with the white beard and stuff or a chocolate one with crispy rice in it!! I remember carefully unwrapping the foil because I always wanted to save it!!

we were excited to get that ONE piece of candy!! We didn’t SCREAM for MORE!

I think about decorating the tree with my mother and sister, it always seemed to take HOURS waiting for the branches to fall and for mom to FINALLY get the lights on!! I remember my sister and I fishing through the box looking for all the ornaments with our own names on them…. and battling over where to hang the absolutely horrible ornament I made in BROWNIES with the bits of fabric all falling out and coming untucked from the styrofoam ball. I always messed around and tried to put it right up front and every time I’d turn around I’d find it hiding somewhere in the way back where nobody had to look at it! hehehe

I think of the star wars…. every year me and my sister would make a new star for the tree and then whoever won got to hang theirs at the top. I have no idea what determined the winner or who won more often – I just remember making the stars… one year I made this awful ‘chinese star’ - remember those ones made from paper all folded together to look like something from a ninja movie? This thing was terrible and I colored it with cray-pas so it smeared and got all over your fingers every time you touched it!! it was this horrible pinkish color similar to what the janitor used to sprinkle on vomit – I did NOT win that year!! hehehe

I think of baking cookies with my mother and sister. Struggling to roll out dough and fighting over the sprinkles, it was just too much fun! and in the end we had a huge plate of the most yummy christmas cookies

I think of how somehow along the way ALL of mom's old cookie cutters got lost and I remember the look on her face when years later she opened a box my sister and I chipped in on, filled with all the same old cookie cutters that I somehow managed to find on ebay!! now she'll be able to make all those same cookies with her granddaughter....

I think of being warm and snuggly in my new christmas eve pajamas – the one gift we were allowed to open before christmas morning! I think of a fire in the fireplace and having my mother’s homemade eggnog, putting out some of our homemade cookies for santa and carrots for the reindeer…. I remember trying to pick out just the perfect cookies for him and being amazed when we’d get up in the morning and they’d be gone!!

I think of the year we each got a bag of coal in our stockings, stuffed in with the rest of our gargantuan pile of real presents – as a reminder that Santa knew we weren’t always behaving! and then using that coal to make a snowman the next day….

I think of making all sorts of different ornaments with my grandma every year, most of which I still have and hang on my own tree now….

I think of the year I was 6 years old and I kept saying I heard a bell ringing but nobody else heard it. I never told anyone but I thought it was a message from my great grandmother from beyond the grave (I was a weird kid!)

I think of laying in bed and SWEARING I could hear reindeer on the roof!! and being SO excited I couldn’t sleep!!

I think of watching Frosty and Rudolf and all those weird claymation looking animated Christmas specials

I think of popcorn balls and making snow forts and how my stocking was ALWAYS on the right…. but arguing with my sister every year over who’s went where!

I think of playing with my cousins and meals with family and how for some reason in spite of certain events I remember feeling warm and comfortable.

what I DON’T think of is what gifts I got!! I doubt I could make a list of more than a handful of the actual gifts I got over the years!! and I got A LOT!!

I DO remember the 64 box of crayola crayons with the sharpener in the back that we each got every year - and the stereo I got when I was 12 (because I still have it) but aside from that nothing really sticks out. maybe that’s because we got so much… or maybe it’s because there were just so many more important things to remember to hold onto and cherish!

So I guess I just have a hard time figuring out WHY everyone thinks that all this shopping and stressing and freaking out is so important….

I remember the year Cabbage Patch Kids were the hot item (I was probably about 10 or so) and we would hear stories on the news about parents beating eachother up for the last doll on the shelf!! I remember thinking ‘this is NUTS!! who would clobber someone for a DOLL?!?!?!’

We certainly weren’t hurting for money but I didn’t get a cabbage patch doll that first year. I may have been a little disappointed but here I am 32 years old and I gotta say – it didn’t make a huge impact on my life to have to wait until the following year for a slightly less popular present!! In the long run I’m just glad my mother wasn’t willing to shoot someone over a doll just to please me!!

So why do people do these crazy things??? Why do they honk their horns when someone doesn’t move fast enough into the mall parking lot? Why do they freak out on the stock boy when that MUST HAVE item isn’t on the shelf? Are they THAT concerned with disappointing their obnoxious children? These days kids curse out their parents for an offense like NOT getting them what they asked for!! It’s so sad to me....

are they THAT concerned with having more under their tree than the neighbors? or with bringing the BEST gift to yet another person who certainly doesn’t need any MORE?!?!

Is this what christmas is supposed to be about? Making sure we have MORE MORE MORE than the guy next door???

to be continued….

p.s. click here to see the ghost of christmas past

what christmas means to me…. part one:

the C word….

I have so much to say I don’t know where to start…. This will probably end up being 3 posts hehehe

Ok so I spent a long time rejecting the word Christmas. I always thought that it was because I don’t consider myself Christian. Maybe that was just juvenile non-conformist anti christian silliness!! Because Christmas as I know it has gotten so far away from being about celebrating the birth of Christ that it doesn’t seem to matter if you are Christian or not.

anyway for some reason it just seemed wrong to use that word even though I participate in all the typical christmas stuff. I have incense that I ONLY burn for christmas, I put up a ‘christmas’ tree, send out ‘christmas’ cards (even though I take great care in making sure they don’t say the C word!!) I make ‘christmas’ cookies and a ‘christmas’ list, I do ‘christmas’ shopping (mostly online because I’m evil that way) and when all is said and done I pack up all my ‘christmas’ decorations in boxes marked ‘CHRISTMAS’

So why do I care about SAYING the C word? it seems to me that christmas has come to be about greedy children and even greedier adults, it’s about long lines and traffic jams, it’s about making wallets and waistlines fatter!! It’s about all the things that make me sick in this world!! at least that’s how it seems to me

Then it occurred to me that THIS is what has had me so turned off to the C word all these years!!!!

I just don’t understand why OVERABUNDANCE and OUTDOING the Jones’s seems to be so important to everyone, because it seems to me that this is NOT what it's all about.

it got to where I dreaded christmas!! I would get seriously depressed just hearing jingle bells on tv.... and you know how hard it is to escape the sounds of christmas this time of year!!

I spent a lot of time thinking about this and how we could change what christmas means at least in our little corner of kittyville, and what we could do to bring back the feelings of christmas as I remember it when I was a child.

to be continued....

thanksgiving update....

I’ve been completely lazy about this place lately with thanksgiving and all that. I’ve been reading other blogs here and there but staying in the shadows pretty much. I just don’t seem to have much to say…. but I’m guessing that will pass… it always does!! hehehe

Thanksgiving went pretty well even though my turkey took like 6½ hours to cook!!! Next time I’ll either cook two smaller turkeys or make the bird the day before.

Everyone wants to be helpful so they all buzz around the kitchen doing this and that asking for a spoon or a knife or a dishtowel or pot holders. But pretty much all they do is get in the way. Apparently my aunt thought it odd that I didn’t seem to have enough potholders to go around. I’ve personally never needed more than 3 or 4 potholders (I only have two hands!) and I’ve cooked multiple holiday meals and never had a problem.

Anyway after asking for one too many spoons or potholders I guess, my aunt exclaimed ‘I’m shopping at the kitchen store for YOU this Christmas!!’

I said ‘GIFT CERTIFICATES PLEASE!!’

The last thing I need is MORE junk I don’t need or have room for!! – I basically have ZERO storage space so if she gets me another giant cookie jar shaped like Santa’s head I may have to ask if I can keep it at her house!!

Otherwise though everything went well…. the food was good. once again Martha came through with her rules for a perfect roast turkey!! We had more than enough food but not way too much for a change.

It took me two days to get all the dishes done!! but that is partly because once everyone left I noticed that my left ankle was all swollen (still is) so I’ve been trying to stay off it as much as possible. I think it’s probably from standing on this cold concrete floor for 2 days straight…. either that or I have some sort of heart or kidney disease. I’m keeping an eye on it and if it’s not better by next weekend I’ll go to the doctor. Ugh!!

Keep your fingers crossed or send good vibes or whatever it is that you do because I SO don’t want to be sick or have to go to the doctor!! With our limited funds that could seriously drain our TOYS for TOTS or food drive money :(

Anyway I just wanted to leave a quick note so you didn’t think I choked to death on my cranberry sauce or something hehehe

but now I’m off to enjoy the day with my honey!!

ugh!! hunting season!!

isn't this just the funniest picture ever? ok well maybe not but still it's pretty damn funny!! I almost wish I had a tree visible from the road to hang one in myself!! hehehe

anyway have I mentioned before how much I dislike hunting season? It makes me a nervous wreck!! The thought of my husband, the love of my life, my rock, my heart, my soul, the person who figures out the tip and tells me how much something will be after the 20% off, my best friend, the one person who I can stand spending the majority of my time with and who actually seems to like spending time with me or at the very least, can put up with me!! – out there in the woods with a bunch of morons with loaded shotguns!!

Not saying that HE is one of the morons…. HIM I trust to be safe and smart but seriously some of these people have LITERALLY been known to shoot a horse or a cow!! You probably think I’m kidding and I wish I was, but I’m so NOT!!

So if they can’t tell the difference between

how can I expect them to recognize

anyway I know I’m kind of an overly nervous person but I can’t help it whenever Sam is out hunting I usually sit here biting my nails until he comes home in one piece!!

Therefore I keep my fingers crossed every year that he’ll get something on his first day out, because then there’s a decent chance he won’t go out again. I know that’s totally selfish of me, because he REALLY enjoys being out there in the woods doing his thing. It’s just one of those things we have to deal with about eachother. he puts up with my nail biting and I put up with his nerve-racking hobby.

One thing I do enjoy about hunting season is how it’s like Christmas to all the guys!! They spend like a month before hand talking about almost NOTHING but hunting!! It’s almost time, gotta do this and that and get this ready etc. then the time comes and it’s ‘opening day eve’ they spend the whole night making sure they have everything they need all ready to go, they lay out their clothes and boots and accessories as if putting out a tray of cookies for Santa.

Then they all call eachother and make sure they’re all still going (as if there was ANY doubt!) you ready to go? yeah I’ve made 30 trips to the big manly hunting store, I have this and that and the 80 times I checked it my gun was dead on! – ‘DEAD on’ I’m thinking… GOOD THING!! we wouldn’t want an undead deer hanging from our tree!!

These people are DEDICATED they’re up at like 3 am removing any trace of man scent and suiting up in 8 layers of specially designed tree like clothing that was made specifically to look like the very trees in THEIR particular woods!!

After several hours of them being out the phones start ringing – is he back yet? Did he get anything? Once they’re all home for the day they call eachother or stop by eachothers houses and regale eachother with their big hunting stories!!

They never tire of telling the same story over and over again either – even years later they’ll get all excited about a particularly good day and they practically can’t sit still when they discuss it – just like a kid opening his presents on Christmas morning and then telling all his little friends about all the great stuff he got!!

I think it’s sweet!! The way their eyes light up and their ears perk up and they pace back and forth on the phone. Now they have digital cameras to add instant visual aids to their discussion when they can’t be together to actually see the bloody carcass for themselves!!

It’s really quite a sight!!

This year for the 3rd year in a row I got my wish and Sam nailed a decent sized deer on his first day out – YAY!!

and for the first time I didn’t have to help him butcher it!! DOUBLE YAY!!!

He went over to his friends house and they did it together like some kinda bloody male bonding deer butchering party!! they hung out and drank beer and paced and grunted and probably exaggerated about their hunts and I’m sure they had big fun!!

I on the other hand, did my best to sleep (I DON’T sleep well when Sam’s not home!!) but knowing that thanksgiving is just a couple days away I couldn’t afford to be a baby. he figured on being home around 10pm…. For some reason I nodded off around 9…. and he called me around 9:30 to say he’d be home closer to 12:30 or 1:00!!!

Apparently story hour ran long and they’re all so excited that they can’t possibly cut meat while talking!!

I said ‘ya know you have to work in the morning right?’ this is where they’re NOT like little kids anymore… they can’t stay up half the night and actually function the next day. They need naps in their old age and it takes a couple days to recuperate after getting no sleep one night hehehe – it’s fun being old ain’t it?

‘yeah yeah I know, I’ll be fine’

‘uh huh ok well see ya when ya get home, I’m sure I’ll be up, wide awake, tossing and turning ’ (code for get your ass home ASAP!!)

‘ok, bye!’

grrrr…. the code flew right over his head!!

By some miracle I nod off AGAIN and I’m sound asleep in my big comfy chair

*rrring rrrring*

it seems like it’s been 10 minutes…. ‘hmmm what now’ I wonder

I look at the clock and it’s 12:40!!

‘hi honey’ he says as if it was 12:40 in the afternoon and there’s no chance he woke me up… I guess he DID hear me say I’d be wide awake after all – haaaa!!

‘I’m gonna be closer to 1:30 I guess’

by now I’m sure he could tell I was irritated… I have a LOT to do tomorrow and I need some sleep!! - but I don't complain because I'm just grateful he called. he's GREAT like that, calling to tell me where he is or that he'll be late, because he knows how much I worry!! - and I REALLY DO appreciate that!!

But that was it for miracles…. I was up until he got home somewhere between 1:30 and 2:00!! and I didn’t get back to sleep until at least 2:30!!

now here it is the day before thanksgiving and we're both walking around like zombies!! of course my head chose THIS day to have a migraine, albeit a minor one - still I'm working in slow motion and what am I doing? I'm sitting here blogging instead of concentraing on what I'm gonna feed this mob of people tomorrow hehehe

one thing's for sure!! there WILL be VENISON!! woo hoo!!

YAY!!! it'll be just like the FIRST thanksgiving hehehe

recipe blogging & stuff....

I feel swamped and a little overwhelmed lately so in true kitty fashion I had to take on a project completely unrelated to the actual REAL work I need to get done… so that I have no choice but to cram a weeks worth of stuff into 2 days… because THAT is really the smart thing to do, isn’t it? hehehe

this time it was this recipe blog…. I’ve been wanting to do it for months and just kept putting it off (obviously waiting for a time when I really should be doing other things!) why a recipe blog? Because I don’t trust my computer and I have come to not trust my back up disks either!! This way (eventually) all the recipes I use the most will be sorta neatly organized and easily accessible from ANYWHERE.

If I go to someone’s house and need one of the recipes or a portion of one for example sticky toffee pudding…. I make the cake at home but the sauce at my sister’s house every year and I can never remember what I’m supposed to do – now when I forget to bring the recipe with me I can just get onto my recipe blog and find it - woo hoo!!

plus this way I can share them with you… because you REALLY give a fat rats ass right? hehehe

anyway it’s not done by any means and it probably never will be, but it’s a start and that’ll hafta do for now. anyway there's a link over to the right ---> see?

now I guess I have to go get my real work done – I have a massive amount of cleaning to do today and I wanna get a big jump on any of the thanksgiving foods I can cook ahead of time, tomorrow. So if I don’t get back here before Friday I hope you all have a really GREAT thanksgiving (those of you who do thanksgiving this week anyway) hehehe

since Brian claims he’s no longer blogging around I’ll leave you with this totally adorable and hysterical thanksgiving thing he sent me the other day, which I just can’t get enough of!!


Disco Gobblers - it's family friendly but requires sound

first things first....

Somehow in the last few days I’ve managed to jam a splinter under my fingernail (the same fingernail) – TWICE!!! It feels like there might still be something stuck in there but how do you know? and worse… how do you remove it?

I HATE SPLINTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know who… who doesn’t? hehehe

But in my continuing quest to provide you with completely boring crap to read…. here’s a strange and not so interesting tidbit about me…. twice in my life I’ve had a toothpick lodged in my foot!! (no not the same toothpick)

Once when I was about 5 for some reason there was a toothpick on the living room floor and I managed to not only step on it, but cram it halfway into my tiny little foot!! I freaked – apparently so did my mother because she had to carry me over to my great grandmother (who lived next door) and have her remove it. She was an old Polish lady who came over here on a dingy rat infested boat and had a bunch of kids so she had seen MUCH worse! She could handle anything!! Unlike my mother who needs a shot of vodka just to work up the courage to make dinner!! hehehe

But I digress…. the second time I was about 13…. I lived in the 70’s ranch house from hell!!! The entire house had shag carpet, finding ANYTHING in there was like trying to find a needle in a haystack!! (at some point when we were little someone spilled an entire box of BB’s on the floor and for the rest of the time we lived there it was like a game, whenever anyone was laying on the floor, to pick out the BB’s)

anyway apparently I dropped a toothpick in my bedroom (this must have been before I discovered dental floss) at some point I stepped on it… and just like the first time, rather than just stepping on it lengthwise, thus avoiding injury, I somehow managed to jam it pointy end first deep into my heel! I pulled it out (or so I thought) and went on my merry way.

About a week later I noticed my foot hurt and it was just getting worse and worse as the days went on. Eventually I was hobbling around school barely able to walk, my foot was throbbing and in really BAD pain!! You’d think my mother would have tried to do something about this, but I guess that’s another story for another day.

Eventually I could take it no longer, my back hurt from walking funny, I couldn’t concentrate (even worse than normal) because I was in so much pain! I asked my mother to take me to the doctor. By now it had been at least 2 weeks since I stepped on the toothpick so it wasn’t even in my mind anymore. The doctor took one look at my foot and with his thumb and forefinger, squeezed my heel slightly

*POP*

immediate relief!! ‘What the heck did you do?!?!?’ I asked

‘looks like I removed a piece of…. wood? from your heel’ he holds it up and takes a closer look ‘toothpick maybe?’ and sure enough in his hand was about a half inch piece of the toothpick I had stepped on 2 weeks earlier. I couldn’t believe it!!!

He put some antibiotic cream and a band aid on my heel and sent me on my way and I walked like a normal person out the front door – it was a MIRACLE and I vowed to never EVER step on another toothpick as long as I live!! hehehe

Now toothpicks scare me and I only keep them in the kitchen to test the doneness of cakes and stuff – NONE are allowed on or near carpet…. EVER!!

Twice since then I dropped a whole box of toothpicks all over my kitchen floor!! Both times I spent the whole afternoon on my belly with a magnifying glass peering between the fridge and cabinets, choking the life out of giant dust bunnies, feeling around in the dark under the stove searching for any little wooden spears that would like to hide and then jump out when I least expect it. they attack like that you know!! toothpicks are evil!!

You’d think I’d just stop having the things in my house…. but I’m trying to learn to confront my fears

first toothpicks…. when I get over that I'll start on the rest of the list….

lets see... that should be sometime around.... NEVER!!

NO SOUP FOR YOU!!

Ok this is for all you CAMPBELL’S SOUP searchers out there…..

When I first started this blog I was on a quest to unravel the mystery of my mental soundtrack. Ya see every day I wake up with a seemingly random song in my head and I would come here and post the lyrics along with some recent events that may have explained why THAT song would be playing in my head as I woke up.

I have long since abandoned that project in favor of even more random rambling!! But along the way I’ve noticed something I find pretty curious…. to this day the most commonly searched item that brings people here is the campbell’s soup jingle I woke up humming one day, lo those many months ago…. (yes that’s right I'm watching you… I know what you search for and some of it is pretty frightening!! hehehe - but that's another post for another day)

Anyway I get at least two hits a week from people searching for campbell’s soup related stuff!! who woulda thought THAT many people were interested in campbell’s soup?

I know that doesn’t sound like A LOT but think about it. Those are just the people that made the mistake of clicking on MY link! Yahoo alone has 71,400 campbell’s soup jingle related results. And believe me it’s not easy to stumble upon MY blog in that sea of soup!!

I find it hard to believe that even two people a YEAR would be searching the internet for campbell’s soup jingles. Especially since you have to know that if you just turn on your tv and wait 30 seconds you’re sure to catch another campbell’s soup commercial. hehehe

So I beg you campbells soup searchers – when you stumble across this post… and I KNOW that you will – PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take a moment to leave a comment telling me YOUR story about what brings you here and why you’re searching for this particular item – inquiring minds want to know!!

and hey ya never know… maybe YOU hold the key that will unlock the mystery of my mental soundtrack!!

As for the rest of you…. because I’m sure you’re all dying to know now, my favorite campbell’s soup as a child was always CHICKEN & STARS!! – care to share yours?

c’mon you KNOW there was one you just thought was so Mmmm mmm GOOD!!

yawn....

the borrowers:

I just had to call my sister to ask for our drill back which she borrowed like 3 months ago (and probably still hasn’t used) She has a habit of borrowing things and holding onto them until they somehow become hers OR until ‘your crap’ is cluttering her house. I HATE having to track down things I let people borrow!! One time when I was over there babysitting I had to swipe back a movie I had let her borrow a year earlier!!

and people wonder why I have a sign out sheet I make them use whenever they take anything from our house!!


snorasaurus:

my poor husband…. I love him dearly but if I don’t get a good night sleep tonight I might have to hurt him! hehehe the problem? He’s snoring!! He doesn’t do it all the time, usually only if he’s sick or needs to lose a few pounds. Since I don’t think he’s sick I guess I’ll have to start packing him lighter lunches or something.

Normally if he wakes me up with his snoring I nudge him with my foot. If that doesn’t work I toss and turn…. or sigh LOUDLY until he wakes up. Then I call him a snorasaurus and he says he’s sorry and rolls over into a position that is hopefully more conducive to clear breathing.

Last night once we finally went to bed after both falling asleep in the living room for a couple hours!! I crashed nicely only to be woken up by his snoring for the 3rd or 4th time at what I was sure was around 6am. I was about to get up and come out here and blog hop for a bit until it was time to start the day. But then I rolled over, looked at the clock and what did I see?

It wasn’t 6am at all!! it was only 2:30!!!

I can’t get up at 2:30 in the morning, I won’t get back to sleep!! So I tossed and turned for a few before I loudly sat up and started to put my sweat pants and slippers on and trudge into the living room to try and sleep in my big comfy chair.

Sam asked what was wrong… I told him… he apologized and asked if I wanted him to go sleep in the living room but I said no, I’d be comfortable out there, you won’t. Then I grunted and went on my way.

It took a little while but I FINALLY fell asleep in my big comfy chair only to be woken up an hour later because I had to pee!!

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I really wanted to lay down so I thought I’d try and sleep on our ‘new’ couch, which is more like a love seat. Well…. I wasn’t in love!!

After another hour of that I got back in my chair and sacked out dead until almost 7:30!!

When I woke up I felt like a zombie…. now all day long I’ve been feeling like I’m coming down with a cold!!

Ack!! 5 days before thanksgiving is NO time to be getting sick!!

But I refuse to get sick!! I’m gonna spend the whole weekend resting, drinking plenty of water and orange juice, taking my echinacea and eating the big pot of chicken soup I just made and with any luck I’ll be perfectly fine by Monday!!

wish me luck!! hehehe

GOBBLE GOBBLE II

I feel kind of overwhelmed today…. Like I have a mountain of chores and absolutely NO motivation to do any of them. Yes I feel like that most days but sometimes it’s MUCH worse, and today is one of those days!!

thanksgiving update:

ya know how I said I was inviting MY family because Sam’s family was doing their own thing and I felt funny doing thanksgiving with just me Sam and 3 vegetarians in the middle of a divorce?

Well guess what!! While we were over at K’s (Sam’s sister) house for the nephew’s birthday the other day she says to us ‘so I hear you’re doing thanksgiving this year’ – I said ‘we’re doing SOMETHING, but I thought you guys were going to your mothers?’

‘I think they’re planning to go to your house’ she says ‘and then do something at their house on Saturday instead, to kinda combine thanksgiving and C’s (Sam’s brother) birthday’

‘first I’m hearing of this’ I said – 'from what I understand according to Sam, when he invited your mother and them she said she already bought her stuff so was doing her own thing….’

yadda yadda yadda – you guys have heard this part before

K says ‘I think they changed their minds’

‘umm ok well you’re totally welcome to come’ I said…. ‘I just thought you were busy’

as usual her and her husband have no idea what they’re doing yet – it’s almost impossible to get a commitment out of them

but we tracked down their mother and she says ‘oh I was meaning to call you about that, we’ll be at your house for thanksgiving’ and then proceeded to tell us about dinner at her house Saturday for C’s birthday.

So NOW instead of having just a couple people here like I originally thought (my ORIGINAL original plan was 9, possibly 11 people) which went down to 5 after I thought Sam’s family declined.

Now I’m up to 19!!!!!!!!!! 19 invited anyway…. 11 confirmed – I still haven’t heard back from my father or my one cousin. I think my other cousin is otherwise occupied for the next 90 days. We still don’t know about K, her husband and kid or this other couple and their kid.

Sam is gonna have to call and find out about them ASAP because I need to start figuring out how I’m gonna squeeze this many people into our tiny little house, which when it comes down to it is probably smaller than a trailer!! hehehe

bargain hunting:

Back in the olden days when it came to holiday dinners, the man would trudge out into the woods and fetch his family an animal of some sort to eat. Ideally if I weren’t trying to feed 300 people, this is how I’d prefer it to be with us too!

However nature doesn’t make a turkey big enough to feed that many people (thank goodness!!) so I have to trudge to the supermarket and spend $25 so that I can get one of those gargantuan over sized genetically enhanced mutant super turkeys for 29 cents a pound!!

They suckered me in – they had so much great stuff on sale!!

16 oz. mozzarella for $1.69!!!
8 oz. cream cheese for 59 cents!!
canned chicken and beef broth for 39 cents!!!

How could I NOT stock up?!?!

of course it wasn’t long before I was up to $25 and therefore eligible for the insanely cheap bird!

I got a nearly 25 pound BUTTERBALL turkey for $7!!! I’m never gonna beat that bargain again as long as I live!! hehehe

Yesterday I went out with my best friend Natalie in search of MORE great thanksgiving bargains (or SOME way to feed this many people on our seriously tight budget!!)

We went to Aldi’s if you don’t have one of these places somewhere near you well then that just really sucks!!

Normally I’m not an Aldi’s shopper…. I’m kind of a food snob I guess. But this place is a gold mine for the shopper on a very tight budget!! And I have no problem getting certain items there like canned goods or white breads, rolls etc.

They sell whole loaves of white bread for 49 CENTS!!!

I walked out of that store with 2 huge overflowing bags plus some!

I got:

4 loaves of bread (3 white, one wheat)
a package of hamburger rolls
4 cans of corn
a big bag of potato chips
2 boxes of imitation ‘ritz’ crackers
a gallon of 100% pure apple cider
a pound of butter (the real thing not that fake crap!)
two 10 oz bags of fresh spinach
a bunch of celery
a 1 pound bag of baby carrots
a 13 oz bag of ‘holiday’ reese’s peanut butter cups (not the fakes)
and two huge disposable roasting pans (with removable handles)

and all I spent was $20!!! – TWENTY DOLLARS!!! can you believe that?!?!

I did the math last night and so far TURKEY INCLUDED I’ve spent $44 on thanksgiving dinner and I have everything I need to make:

the turkey
stuffing
mashed potatoes
fresh cranberry sauce – plus a can of that jelly stuff
gravy
corn pudding
cheese & crackers
pigs in a blanket
this other bacony appetizer
cranberry apple cider punch
plus I bought two 2 liters of pepsi!
I got 20 croissants incase the roll bringer doesn’t bring enough rolls
plus I got paper plates & bowls and plasticware (the good stuff!) – because there’s no way in hell I’m doing THAT many dishes!!!

All I have left to buy is the vegetable stock and butternut squash I need to make my maple butternut squash soup – and mushrooms to make stuffed mushrooms (so the vegetarians aren’t left out on snacky time)

My aunt is bringing green bean casserole, some kind of turnip thing, sweet potatoes and something else.

Sam’s mother is bringing MORE sweet potatoes and homemade dinner rolls

My mother is covering dessert – she’ll probably make 4 different things!!

The vegetarians are bringing a TOFURKEY *gag* and hummus & chips

and when all is said and done I’m gonna have enough food to feed an army, for less than $65!!!

I'm so proud of myself I could just faint!! hehehe

WILLLLMAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

I've been doing pretty well watching my language lately... trying to sound less like a truck driver and more like a *gasp* lady.... but sometimes it's just not so easy :(

..........................................................

Well we did it!! it took THREE weeks but we were FINALLY credited for the insanely HIGH price of Sam’s recent doctor visit!!!

It took, like I said 3 weeks of near daily phone calls to a lovely, friendly and extremely inefficient woman named Wilma.

I’m not sure if I mentioned it or not but just a few days after the doctor incident Sam was at the bank using the ATM to deposit a very generous gift from a friend and he left his card in the machine!!!

The next morning when this little mishap was discovered, I being the panicking nutcase that I am immediately called the bank and canceled the cards!!

Little did we know this would turn around to bite us in the ass in more ways than one….

When we called to question WHY on earth a 5 minute doctor visit, where there was no actual diagnosis cost $144 (or $6 shy of the max price on their fee chart) Wilma agreed that something must have been wrong! She did some checking and came back and told us that she would be crediting us the $144 and would send us a bill for $92 instead (or $2 more than the minimum price on their fee chart) still INSANE if you ask me but hey it’s something, right? and I wouldn’t have to pay it all at once!!

For the first week and a half Wilma would tell us every day that it was going to be done that day and every day I’d check my account and ZIP – ZERO – ZILCH (why are there so many ‘Z’ words for NOTHING?)

Anyway…. one day she misplaced the paperwork, another day she claimed someone else was supposed to do it but they obviously forgot, another day ‘accounting’ took the paperwork out of the office and never brought it back – you get the picture.

At one point my mother had to go there for a physical to start her new job (hallefuckinglujah!! but that’s a whole other story) so I sent her with a voided check with my account number written in the memo field – and on the back every bit of pertinent information about our other bank account incase, as I suspected, this little debit card fiasco had anything to do with the hold up, figuring they could just use a different debit card to credit our account, makes sense right?

Every day we’d talk to Wilma and it would be like she didn’t hear a word that was said to her…. I was really starting to get ummm HOMICIDAL at this point!!! I was sure that they were just trying to wear us out so that we’d forget about it and go on our merry way. I’m sure this works on many people but it wasn’t gonna work on us – that’s A LOT of money and we just can’t afford to be out THAT much!

THEN sometime last week I open my mailbox and what do I see? a revised bill in the amount of $92!! So I start FLIPPING out!! my head was spinning and I was projectile vomiting pea soup for at least an hour!!

Well SOMEONE over there is doing their job… too bad its ass backwards!! NO WAY am I even thinking about giving them a single penny until I see that other money!! And they better not try to pull some crap like ‘I’m sorry ma’am but all we see in our computer is a bill for $92, there’s nothing about a credit owed or anything’ because heads WILL roll!!

time goes by.... more runaround phone calls with Wilma, phone tag, veteran's day etc.

Sunday morning I’m sitting here quietly easing into the day, catching up on some blogs – reading all the new cards at Post Secret, listening to FLASHBACK

*ring ring*

I look at the caller ID and there’s an unfamiliar number and the name Wilma Somethingorother

Hmmm could this be my Wilma?

I answer it and sure enough it IS my Wilma!! She apologizes for calling me at home on a Sunday morning and tells me all the same crap she’s been telling us for weeks only this time she tells me that Monday (the next day) is her last day there, she’s moving to another office. So basically if this doesn’t get squared away before 2pm the next day we’re screwed!!

I gave her all the same information she seems to keep losing and told her AGAIN about Sam’s little debit card cluster fuck and how perhaps she could use a different card?

She likes to try everything in tiny tidbits and then call you with a progress report – rather than taking ALL the information and trying all the possible solutions until one actually works and then calling you with good news, like a normal person would!!

Of course Monday morning comes and nothing was done…. Sam called and got the same crap ‘I’ll try this first (AGAIN) and call you back’

tic
tock
tic
tock

no call….

So we said fuck it and drove to the office…. Sam went inside, if I had I would have had to be on a leash!! (which actually wouldn’t be a bad thing, but that’s another story for another day too hehehe)

He gave her all the information AGAIN and she said she’d do it and call us back… UMMMM do you have this script memorized or something? we’re clearly NOT HOME to answer our phone!!

We go about our morning, running errands and eventually stop at a pay phone and call to get our messages. Sure enough Wilma called to tell us that she needs the actual debit card.

I’m not sure how many times she was made aware that, that particular card was canceled – I’m guessing 3 or 4, one of them being that very same morning!! So ummm WHAT THE FUCK WILMA??? Were you hired through some kind of program that finds jobs for the mentally challenged????? Surely you’d be better suited to a job capping toothpaste tubes or something!!

We were right down the road so we headed back, once again Sam went in alone because if I went in I would have probably clawed her eyes out!! we were both seething at this point – not only has it been 3 long weeks but now this has eaten up our entire morning!!

But ya feel bad because she’s so damn NICE!! unfortunately NICE doesn’t get the job done!!

Sam strolls in there and calmly hands her the card from our other bank account as if it was the original card. She looks at him and says ‘oh I thought you lost that card’ he matter-of-factly says ‘it’s ok now’
She runs it – bing bang boom – in a matter of 30 seconds he has a receipt saying bank #2 has been credited $144

They have no clue it’s a different bank – we have our money – and as soon as I figure out what our time is worth, I’ll be sending them however much money I think they deserve in an equally untimely manner along with a letter telling them what a bunch of flaming morons and thieves I think they all are.

THE END!

grrrrrr

Well somehow I got roped into babysitting duty this morning from 9 until noon. It’s been a while so I guess I shouldn’t complain BUT I’ve told my sister several times NOT to call me at the last minute when she knows she has an appointment a week in advance! I guess she thinks if she calls at the last minute that I’ll get flustered and not be able to come up with an excuse. But it’s not about not wanting to babysit the most adorable little girl in the world – it’s about her thinking I have so little to do that I can just drop everything at the drop of a hat to accommodate her.

If she had a babysitter planned that fell through at the last minute then fine or if something came up at the last minute that she couldn’t take the kid to – I have no problem with that but if you know you have to be somewhere, ask someone as soon as possible so they can make arrangements!!

The ONLY reason I’m doing it today is because I haven’t watched my niece in months and I’d like to spend some time with her. But the next time my sister calls me at dinner time the night before she needs a babysitter at 9am I’m NOT going to be available!! She needs to learn that she has to consider other people’s lives when she requires their assistance!!

Here’s the thing…. I don’t drive, never have – hopefully never will!! I KNOW that if I need to go somewhere, like the doctor for example, I have to arrange for someone to take me. What I usually do is call my first choice and tell them I need to go to the doctor and ask if they can give me a ride. When they ask ‘when?’ I say ‘when’s good for you?’ and I try to make the appointment as convenient for them as possible. Because after all they ARE doing me a favor!

All I ask of my sister is that if she’s gonna need a favor from me that she ask me as soon as possible and not wait till the last minute. I can’t imagine what’s going through her mind! I’ve said no before when she’s pulled this and I’ve flat out told her – ‘you knew you needed a babysitter a week ago and you waited until the night before to ask me after I’ve asked you not to do that, so NO!’ not because I was busy, but simply to TRY to teach her a lesson!!

It worked for a little while but apparently since she hasn’t needed ME in a while she’s forgotten. I guess other people just bend over to accommodate her. Other people didn’t spend their whole lives on the back burner because people were bending over to accommodate HER so maybe it’s easier for them hehehe

I know you can’t teach an old dog new tricks…. but you don’t have to reward them either!!

* update

I got a last minute pardon….

The reason my sister asked me to babysit was because she felt like she was taking advantage of this other girl, a friend of hers who’s a nanny. I guess she watches emmy loo (my niece) pretty regularly because it’s cool for all the kids to be able to play together. My sister has no money so she felt bad always leaving her kid there and never paying her, BUT this girl only has one kid today and that kid likes to sit in a corner and suck his thumb, and since it’s a rainy day and she can’t take him to the park or something else where he might interact, she thought it would be nice if he had someone to play with. She’s one of those rare babysitters who rather than just be content that the kid is leaving her alone she actually wants him to interact and play! So she called and actually requested that my sister bring emmy loo over....

I guess I might watch her next week instead…. we'll see

now I guess I have no excuse not to do laundry this morning - grrrrr again.... hehehe

GOBBLE GOBBLE HEY!

I LOVE this picture!! I wish I knew where it came from so I could give the genius credit!!

Anyway let me start out by saying that I’m very grateful to have so many people who want to share these holidays with us and I realize there are many MANY people, maybe even some of you, who spend the holidays alone. So I want to make it clear that I’m NOT complaining here!!

Holidays around here usually go one of two ways – either nobody claims hosting them or everyone does. Between me and Sam our families are split up 4 different ways. See y’all think that divorce is hard on kids? Wait till they’re older and have to constantly either spend their holidays driving all over the countryside to see everyone, or skip certain people : (

Last year I decided early that I wanted to have Sam’s mother’s side over to our house for thanksgiving. In all these years I had never had them over, not even for a barbecue! In my defense though Sam's step father is about as sociable as me so I never thought she'd get him to come over before this.

Not to be rude but I thought it might be nice if they got somewhat of an idea of what thanksgiving is actually supposed to taste like. I know that sounds messed up and I guess I am a bit of a snob when it comes to such things BUT forgive me if I think that your entire thanksgiving meal shouldn’t come from boxes and cans, unless you live alone!!

I had never attempted a thanksgiving meal before so I was slightly nervous. For some reason cooking a turkey seemed intimidating to me. But I turned to Martha for tips on how to make the perfect roast turkey and well once again Martha kicks ass. It was THE MOST moistest and deliciousest turkey ever!! And everything else came out great too!!

I was SO proud of myself… and trust me THAT is an accomplishment in itself!! hehehe

It was my nieces FIRST thanksgiving so even though I was having Sam’s family and not mine I invited my sister because the rest of my family was going to an aunts house about 3 hours away, and who want's to take a 10 month old on a day trip like THAT?!?!?

The ONLY glitch in the whole day was when my sister in law showed up for dinner with her son who’s a few months older than my niece. He had a chicken pox vaccine the day before. After much back and forth yakking with pediatricians they determined that he could potentially get my niece sick – and it was airborne so she couldn’t even come if they left!

Then if that wasn’t enough, the sister & brother in law and their infectious kid didn’t even stay for dinner!!! He has a huge family and they had to make the rounds with them yet… well don’t tell me you’re coming for dinner, bring diseases and then not fucking stay!!

Anyway my sister came by and I packed up a bunch of stuff for her and they had a pretty miserable thanksgiving all by themselves :(

This year my mother claimed Thanksgiving months in advance, she finally has decent furniture and places for people to sit – she just painted her downstairs and was all gung ho to FINALLY cook a holiday dinner (she used to be the usual host but that all changed when we moved into her current house about 17 years ago)

Unfortunately she’s been unemployed for nearly a year so there was no way she could afford to do a big dinner.

Then my grandfather’s wife decided that November would be a great time to go on yet another vacation so they said they wouldn’t be around for thanksgiving (as if this was the most normal thing) golly gee I know your grandpa is over 80 years old and when we got married he moved 2½ hours away from you but we’re gonna go on vacation so you don’t get to see him for what is sure to be one of his last thanksgivings (at least that he’ll remember…. apparently he has Alzheimer’s now)

So ok anyway grandpa won’t be around for thanksgiving – there are still plenty of other people!!

At this point mom was still considering doing thanksgiving (she lives in constant denial about her situation!)

A friend of Sam’s asked what our turkey day plans were….

And then Sam’s mother said that since we did thanksgiving last year she wanted to do it this year. Ugh! That’s very nice but now I feel pulled in 18 directions!!

Anyway my sister and her husband are in the middle of a divorce and he’s not allowed to see their daughter on holidays unless they’re in public or with a group of people (judges orders!)

That meant either someone has to step up to the plate or my niece is gonna have to spend her SECOND thanksgiving probably eating curried chickpeas at the Indian restaurant alone with her feuding parents : (

Usually my aunt who lives down the road would pick up the ball but I figured she made plans with her husband’s family since grandpa wasn’t gonna be around.

So I had this idea that I would do it at our house – invite Sam’s family again, the other couple who asked us about thanksgiving and their 7 year old, my mother, father and sister, her 2 year old and her husband so that at least the kid can have a normal holiday. After all thanksgiving is about being together with friends and family!!

Sam called his mother 2 weeks ago and told her of the plan and she said she already bought all their stuff so she’s definitely doing thanksgiving there but would stop by our house if we let her know what time.

How can you be out at someone else’s house who lives a ½ hour away if you’re cooking an entire thanksgiving meal by yourself??!!

And who the heck has all their thanksgiving food bought at the end of October?!?!? And won’t the cans and boxes hold up til next year?

Ok so that plan won’t work. Someone is gonna have to be left out in the cold on this deal….

I felt bad and I spent two weeks mulling it over in my head (this is what I do… somehow making sure everything is copasetic is my responsibility) I think this must drive Sam insane because I can’t let it go until I feel like the best plan has been figured out.

I know other people don’t fret over these things… I know this isn’t normal behavior but I can’t help it!

I finally decided that Sam’s mother is a big girl and she has other family so they could live without us but the thought of my niece sucking down chai tea and shag bhajee for THANKSGIVING especially after last year just wasn’t workin’ for me, even if they are vegetarians.

So thanksgiving will be at my house and whoever can come will come.

Like I said I figured my aunt & uncle had plans but I invited them anyway, even though Sam is never thrilled with having them all here. Turns out they don’t have plans, she was planning on doing it herself but they're having a minor family meltdown with some crap involving my cousin so she totally spaced, so they were pretty happy it was being taken care of! I know Sam won’t be thrilled at first but I think it will be good, like things are maybe normal for them, for the day anyway! once I put it to him that way he’ll be fine with it : )

She offered to make like a dozen different things which is cool because I really had no idea how we were gonna swing this being as tight as we are money wise lately.

But it’ll all work out… it’ll be pot luck.... just like the first thanksgiving - haha

YAY thanksgiving is saved!! I feel so much better now!!

doors open at 1pm – you’re ALL invited!! hehehe

reality check....

I’ve been lazy about reading blogs lately so I missed this post by Armaedes the other day, but I found it interesting and since I’m late I thought I’d post my thoughts here instead....

His post was about why girls feel the need to NOT be seen naked, since the guys we’re having sex with obviously think we’re hot enough to fuck.

I think part of it has to do with the fact that chances are the body attached to the girl you met isn't the same once it's unleashed or should I say unfurled from the equipment that chicks use to give the illusion that they’re somehow filled with helium and less lumpy than they are in reality.

Hearing that you deem us ‘hot enough to fuck’ does NOT make us feel better. Possibly because you came to that conclusion based on a lie…. or a whole string of lies, tied together with padding, under wire, several yards of super strength lycra and possibly duct tape! Dressed and made up, most girls go to great lengths to deceive you. Believe it or not most breasts aren’t shaped like siamese twin grapefruits and most are not naturally positioned just under the throat. Most girls, even the tiny ones, have some kind of cottage cheese action going on in the thighs or ass by the time they’re in their 20’s! But you can’t see it because they spend hours searching for just the right jeans to hide it from you!

Most girls would rather spend eternity on their knees to distract you from the idea of turning on the lights so you don’t find them out for what they REALLY are….

HUMAN!!

Most girls don’t realize that when it comes down to it most guys don’t care….

Things generally go in one of two ways:

casual sex – wherein the parties involved don’t usually know eachother all that well and may or may not fall into the sack again – this usually takes place in dimly lit areas or is so frenzied that the strobing effect of quick movements and the blurred delirium of the moment, disguise the truth about our bodies.

The guy is just happy he’s getting some and wouldn’t notice your tits are lopsided if his life depended on it!! He’s just psyched he found a chick who’s ‘eager’ to give him head!

When this girl is saying ‘harder harder’ it’s because she knows if her tits bounce enough you’ll never notice that one is bigger than the other!!

It won’t be until later, when you live together or may as well live together that you find yourself with time ‘afterwards’ to more closely examine the situation. When you share the bed for more than sex and you actually spend some time just hanging out BSing errr I mean basking in the afterglow. This is know as:

committed relationship sex – wherein the couple have been together for a while and are comfortable with eachother (she’s used to his flatulence and he’s used to her wearing ‘wrinkle cream’ errr… ‘moisturizer’ to bed)

At this stage the girl has started to let her guard down and agrees to sex during a full moon, not realizing how brightly it lights up the room. the guy, feeling confident that things are going well between them may then turn to his girl in a post coital daze and point out that her tits are uneven (as if she didn’t know) or jokingly mention the cute way in which her thighs or ass ‘jiggle’ when their bodies slam together.

It’s at about this point that the girl, once seemingly eager to ‘please’ slowly stops spending so much time on her knees. Knowing she now has nothing to hide, she no longer feels the need to distract you from reality. all bets are off!! and eventually the guy is just so glad to be getting anything at all that in the blurred delirium of the moment he wouldn’t notice your tits were on fire if his life depended on it!!

This is when your relationship has come full circle and you can now both feel free to flail around naked under the blinding glare of an interrogation light for all you care because you’re SO used to eachothers defects and flatulence, that NOTHING stands in your way….

Of course by now all those years of her 'distracting' him has given her TMJ and all that time in the glowing light of internet porn has given him 'erectile dysfunction' so now they aren’t swinging from the rafters because they spend all their time at the doctors office in search of pain pills and viagra.... and they're both too tired to notice if either one is actually naked!! hehehe

time for a change....

I know I’ve mentioned before that there are a couple different kitty’s in me – while normally I seem to favor the darker kitty, once in a while I feel suffocated by her and need to brighten things up…. I guess this is one of those times

I know you’re probably saying brighter? What’s she talking about? there’s hardly a change at all – right? hehehe

Well if you look closely you can see the difference, it’s subtle but it’s there!! ;)

Anyway so that’s done…. if there are any glitches let me know, I’m sure there are.

While I was skipping around blogville recently, I came across this nifty place called video code zone so I added a video over there to the right that will help ease us from the darkness into the light. just hit play (I hate being shocked by loud music when those things play automatically)

Ok that’s it for now…. I have bunches and bunches of stuff to do and none of it involves sitting at this desk hehehe

just another weekend update....

I do enjoy my weekend TV… there are movies and shows and junk you don’t get to see all week and once in a while tv land runs a 2 day marathon of a new show they plan on adding to their lineup. This was one of those weeks… the show…. WHAT’S HAPPENING!!

Go ahead and laugh, call me a dork – whatever…. I LOVE this show!! and for years after all the reruns stopped rerunning I actually missed it! there truly were days when I would say to myself – MAN I wish What’s Happening was on right now!! I feel the same way about Gilligan’s Island and probably at least a handful of other shows…. mostly from the 70’s

This is the reason I feel that the DVD is one of the best inventions EVER!!

However since I’m not usually in a position to be buying myself such things I have to wait and tape them when there’s a marathon – hey it’s better than nothing right? so I spent all day Saturday and half the day Sunday taping myself 18 hours of one of my favorite shows!! WOO HOO 18 whole hours!!

This is a good thing because if we do wind up having to shut our cable off, it will give me something to watch. That and my 12 hours each of All In The Family, Good Times, the Twilight Zone, plus every episode of The Addams Family and my dvd set of every episode of Freaks & Geeks and my bootlegged VCDs containing EVERY SINGLE EPISODE of BATMAN which Sam and our friend Mike chipped in to get me off of ebay a couple christmases ago and my crappily done disks of every episode of The Oblongs which I got for Sam that same year.

I should be set for most of the winter – I HOPE!! hehehe
ahh yes, I DO LOVE MY TV!!

Next….

weather could this weather BE be any more awesome? Well actually I don’t know where you are or what the weather is like but here it’s been beautiful. Between 60º & 70º and sunny (for the most part) for at least a week now! and Sunday night we actually had a thunder storm!!!

The weatherman had been saying rain all day but thunder and lightening? I couldn’t believe it…. we were just sitting there watching tv when there was this sudden flash of light. I turned to Sam and asked ‘was that LIGHTENING?’ he said no. then there was a loud RUMBLE and I said ‘uh huh was too!! – that was thunder!!’ then there was more lightening and well you know how it goes from there hehehe I just couldn’t believe it…. a thunderstorm in NOVEMBER?!?!

This is the northeast, we should be getting flurries and snow showers now NOT thunder storms!! Of course this happened just minutes before that movie Category 7 was coming on so Sam told me it was from that hehehe GREAT the end of the world and all I did was blow $45 at a flea market on my last day on earth!!

Which brings us to SHOPPING – I HATE shopping…. normally I’d say hate is an awfully strong word but I really don’t think it quite describes the way I feel about shopping hehehe

However there are a few exceptions…. yard sales, thrift stores and flea markets!! You may have guessed I tend to like some kind of weird things. Most things I see being sold new look boring and ordinary to me.

Remember the episode of Friends where Rachel bought an apothecary table at pottery barn and she had to lie to Phoebe because Phoebe HATES pottery barn, because everyone ends up with all the same stuff?

That’s me! I HATE all that matchy matchy crap! The only way you’ll see something in my house that would have been in a pottery barn catalog is if 10 years have gone by and some yup moved up here and sold it at a yard sale hehehe

My whole house is a mismatched hodgepodge of hand-me-downs and yard sale, thrift store and flea market finds. If I ever get a digital camera I’ll show you all some of my super awesome nifty neat bargain finds!!

I’m TERRIBLE at spending money on myself but I have an easier time of it at these places when I KNOW I’m probably never gonna see that odd one of a kind item again. like my orange paper-maché owl ‘piggy’ bank with the groovy flowers painted on it or my strange little owl salt & pepper shakers made of bumpy little purple bottles with strangely fashioned metal heads and wings which could never actually be used as salt and pepper shakers but catch the light quite nicely on my window sill.

Of course not everything I get is strange looking, some of it is just pretty or unique. People are always saying how much they love this or that and asking where I got it – I just say ‘yard sale! Ha Ha! you’ll probably never see another one as long as you live!’ hehehe

Aside from having a thing for strange one of a kind items I also like the reuse/recycle aspect of this type of shopping. why should I go to the store and buy a brand new colander with all it’s packaging and crap for $15 when I can surely find one at a yard sale for a quarter? Then instead of someone’s old colander ending up as landfill along with the packaging from my new colander, I rescue what is most likely a superior crafted vintage colander, that looks nicer and will last longer (probably long enough to be handed down to yet ANOTHER generation) as opposed to the piece of crap we got new that barely lasted 3 years!!

About 30 minutes from kittyville is a HUGE monthly flea market that I try to get to at least once a season and this Sunday was the final one this year. I had a goal in mind ‘try to find something for 2-year-old nephew’s upcoming birthday, preferably for under $20!!’

It wasn’t looking good! one of the first things I saw were punching puppets…. Ya know like Mr. Tillard who I got at the same flea market last year. I couldn’t help myself and this year ended up buying this! he was only $8 how could I resist? Now me and Sam can have punching puppet fights!!

Next I found patchouli rose oil for only $2.50!! two of my favorite scents rolled into one! What’s a girl to do? of course I had to get it!

But then I started to feel guilty… I mean here we are totally tight money wise and I just spent $10 on unnecessary crap! Natalie said ‘it’s TEN DOLLARS! You never spend money, SURELY you are worth TEN dollars!!’ how could I argue with that?

Then I proceeded to buy myself two new pairs of super soft fluffy socks!! Just incase my slippers die before I can get a new pair…. I know it’s gonna be a chilly winter and I want to be prepared hehehe

I found two kinda neat things for Sam for Christmas which I can’t tell you about since he reads this too….

And then FINALLY when I was just about to give up I found these cute things called aquadoodles - so that is what I got the nephew. I was tired and it was cute so it will have to do!!

I feel bad because since I so rarely see that kid I find I don’t put as much effort into his gifts as I do for my sister’s kid who I probably spent $50 and about 2 weeks making a scrapbook for last year. I really know nothing about him, which doesn’t help!! but he is only two…. So he doesn’t really know the difference yet… as he gets older and has more interests I’ll get better about it. For now I’m just happy we won’t be going there empty handed!!

Sam decided to come down with a cold on Saturday night so aside from that not much got done. It sucks because he had two perfectly good opportunities to spend his days off hunting and since he was sick he couldn’t go. Well I guess he could have, but you probably won’t see too many deer if you are sneezing all over the woods :(

So on Monday we pretty much just vegged at home watching movies and stuff. It was nice but I still feel bad that once again he wasn’t able to go hunting. He is NOT gonna be happy if this keeps up…. but with any luck he’ll get to go next Monday!!

Well I guess that wraps up another exciting weekend in kittyville and that's good because this idiot box is pitching yet another fit on me!! grrrr….

anyway I plan on tearing this whole place apart and completely redecorating this week so bear with me while I work out the glitches and stuff ok? I just really feel like I need a change!!

again???

welllllll she’s done it again…. apparently I’ve been tagged for the 3rd time this week!!! (I'm just slow in posting it) thank you angel I was wondering when I’d get my next chance to spew random tidbits about myself hehehe - I doubt this many people are really interested in me so I have to assume you've all just run out of people to tag hehehe

anyway here goes….

1. Were you named after anyone? ~ yes, but if I told you what I was named after, my secret identity would be revealed

2. When did you last cry? ~ oh geez, ummmm I don’t remember the last time I actually CRY cried – but I tear up pretty often!

3. What is your favorite lunch meat? ~ bologna – but a specific brand and it has to be paper thin!!

4. What is your most embarrassing CD? ~ probably one called Power Ballads which is one of those compilation things, but I swear I only got it for two songs – Sister Christian by Night Ranger & Ballad of Jayne by L.A. Guns (it’s never been opened)

5. Where is your second home? ~ a parallel universe

6. Do you trust others too easily? ~ I’d say I’m the exact opposite!! but I don’t really know since I rarely let others into my life

7. What was your favorite toy as a child? ~ when I was REALLY little it was matchbox cars but when I got older it was probably Merlin I actually got myself a replacement Merlin on ebay a few years ago!! I get all nostalgic from the sounds that thing makes!!
although I REALLY liked sitting in the dark playing with my Lite-Brite too!! and I would totally buy myself one to play with now if I had the space to store it!!
I also LOVED playing with Legos and am on a quest to build a kick ass giant Lego collection – when I’m in ‘little girl mode’ that is the one thing I most often wish I had!!

8. Would you bungee jump? ~ hell no!!

9. Do you think that you are strong? ~ I’d have to say that’s a big fat NO!

10. What are your favorite colors? ~ earth tones mostly – but I also like certain purples, oranges and greens – wait I guess green is an earth tone huh?

11. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? ~ oh geez – ummmm I could seriously go forever on this one! I guess my fear… I’m afraid of everything!!

12. Who do you miss most? ~ aside from the girl I was before life interfered and banished her to the dark corners of my mind? – my grandma!

13. What was the last thing you ate? ~ a sloppy joe

14. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? ~ oh hmmm I’ve done this quiz – I think I was…. Spank Me Pink!! Or maybe that was just wishful thinking hehehe

15. What is the weather like right now? ~ I dunno it’s not even 7:30 in the morning – I haven’t been out there yet!! It’s supposed to be sunny and 70º today so I’m guessing it’s kinda nice out

16. Last person you talked to on the phone? ~ Natalie – she’s called 3 more times since I started filling this out!!!

17. Do you wear contacts? ~ no.... but I kinda wish I had some

18. Last Movie You Watched? ~ last movie I watched on TV - The Blair Witch Project ~ last movie I rented - The Amityville Horror (remake) ~ the last movie I saw at the theater - Wedding Crashers and The 40 Year Old Virgin (at the drive-in)

19. Favorite Day of the Year? ~ I think I’d have to go with HALLOWEEN!! – I really like Thanksgiving too for some reason

20. Where Would You Want to Go on your Next Vacation? ~ a road trip like I mentioned in #13 of the twosies post from the other day

21. Favorite Smells? ~ roses, fall (leaves), chopped fresh bell peppers, ground black pepper, and sautéed onions & celery (like for stuffing)

22. What’s the furthest you’ve been away from home? ~ Hawaii - when I was 12 my grandparents took me and my sister there for 2 weeks… I spent alot of the time in pain and unable to go more than chest deep in water because my eardrums have a little problem with altitude. but it was still fun and absolutely beautiful!!!!

Now lets see, who’s next? I think I’ve already tagged pretty much everyone already this week so I’m just gonna go with Sam – I know he won’t do it but I’m tagging him anyway…. Sam – YOU’RE IT!!

of course everyone else can feel free to tag themselves if they wish : )

memories....

I've been wanting to tear this place apart and completely redo it, all this black has been feeling sorta claustrophobic - but my mind hasn't been in it - maybe next week.

anyway I was about to spew a whole bunch of negative crap because I’m in a very wound up and unpleasant mood!! but then I was over at Jocelyn’s reading about her vacations and it made me think of my honeymoon so I thought, even though it’s nowhere near our anniversary or anything, that I’d leave you for the weekend with a brief but happy memory instead….

Our wedding was kind of spur of the moment…. When we decided to get married we were very efficient and decided to get our marriage license right away! but they neglected to tell us that it was only good for 6 weeks – after that we’d have to pay again!! Well we were broke so that wasn’t an option!!

Because we were broke we also didn’t have money to go anywhere, not that Sam could have gotten the time off from his ultra crappy job at the time. We also didn’t have a credit card so when we decided that at the very least we would spend our wedding night in a motel, as opposed to the second floor of chateau de Sanford & Son also known as my mother’s house (where we lived) we had to ask someone else to book the room for us. Sam’s father was nice enough to do it and pay for the $150 a night room as part of our wedding gift which we thought was very very nice of him because he wasn’t exactly rollin’ in it either.

I'll skip over the actual wedding for now. When the day was finally over for us (everyone else hung out and partied) but I wanted OUT!! I just wanted to relax with my honey in the peace and quiet!! We drove to the next town over to our lovely motel room, about 15 minutes away - when the guy at the desk (who can best be described as BIG GAY AL from South Park) realized it was our honeymoon (such as it was) he apologized for not having any champagne but was kind enough to offer us a much needed joint!!

Once we got over the initial shock we shook our heads YES like two desperate pot heads who had been ‘out’ for 2 weeks (which we probably were) at the time we really liked our pot!! We’ve since gotten old and given it up for more inexpensive and useful drugs like motrin and mylanta!

We had just enough time to peel out of our dressy clothes (me a $40 sundress – him black jeans and a Jimi Hendrix shirt) before big gay al knocked on our door with one of the sweetest gifts we got!!

of course we needed munchies then so we dipped into our other gifts and went down to the quickie-mart and got cookies and chips then spent the night soaking in the jacuzzi getting high and watching beavis & butt-head, pigging out and reading all the nice cards from our loved ones!

Oh yeah we had sex too…. turns out sex in a jacuzzi isn’t as much fun as you’d think!!

We both like to go to the movies so the next day we dipped further into our gifts and treated ourselves to a double feature. We saw Twister (good) and The Truth About Cats and Dogs (not so good I guess since I don’t really remember it) and gorged ourselves on yummy delicious buttery popcorn and pepsi!!

It wasn’t a long honeymoon but it was totally US and I’ll never forget it!!

Now every year for our anniversary instead of getting eachother gifts, we go see a movie, sometimes two and get dinner out. It might not sound like much but it’s OUR little tradition and I LOVE it!!

This June will be our 10th anniversary!! I can’t believe it
TEN WHOLE years!! Who woulda thunk it?

I wonder what movie we’ll see….

twosies....

Well I said I was tagged twice – but I’ve been lazy this week I guess hehehe
This is for NSM because I was kinda hard on him yesterday....

TWOS:

two names you go by:
besides kitty and ginger?
1. honey
2. brownie (don't ask!!)

two parts of your heritage:
1. italian
2. irish

two things that scare you:
1. being alone
2. spiders

two of your everyday essentials:
1. tv
2. water

two things you are wearing right now:
1. velvety black lounge pants
2. slippers

two of your favorite bands or musical artists (at the moment):
I can’t think of anything I’m particularly into right now so I’ll go with a couple old favorites….
1. Led Zeppelin
2. Alice In Chains

two of your favorite songs (at the moment):
I haven’t been listening to much music lately I guess so I’ll go with the last two songs I intentionally listened to….
1. jolene (the Mindy Smith version)
2. bookends – Simon and Garfunkel

two things you want in a relationship (other than real love):
1. communication
2. laughter

two truths:
1. life is what you make it
2. everything’s better with CHEESE!!

two physical things that appeal to you (in the opposite sex):
1. voice (is that physical) hehehe
2. height

two of your favorite hobbies:
1. cooking
2. eating

two things you want really badly:
1. financial security
2. a world without violence

two places you want to go on vacation:
1. U.S. road trip - to all the weird roadside attractions
2. I’d like to travel all over europe – can’t pick just one place

two things you want to do before you die:
1. make a horror movie – that really doesn’t go with my no violence idea huh?
2. get healthy – wouldn’t that be a kick in the ass? - ahh kitty, you were finally healthy… too bad you had to get hit by that bus!!

two ways that you are stereotypically a chick/guy:
1. I giggle ALOT
2. I save anything that’s even the smallest bit sentimental

two things you are thinking about now:
1. this headache I have
2. what an awesome, warm, windy day it is!! woo hoo!!

two stores you shop at:
1. Jo-Ann’s fabric and crafts
2. Michaels (another craft store)

two people I would like to see take this quiz:
1. LiVEwiRe – because it’s only fair
2. Brian – because you love me

looks like I'm it....

over the weekend I was tagged…. TWICE!! I’m gonna cover LiVEwiRe first, because well.... I saw hers first hehehe

Angel got me with a very similar one a while back but as luck would have it I have many many quirks so I have no problem at all coming up with a whole new list!! hehehe

So here ya go.... a not so random number of my seemingly endless list of quirks:

1) rhyming: I rhyme all the time <-- see? hehehe I don’t even mean to half the time. Sam does it too…. if I ask him to get me a spoon I’ll say something like ‘hey get me a spoon ya hairy baboon!’ or he’ll say ‘close the door, whore!’ Sometimes we’ll come across a word we like so much we’ll go back and forth rhyming it till it can’t be rhymed no more!!

2) names: I rarely use my real name for anything I don’t legally have to!! I have at least a dozen different email addresses all with different names attached (usually some variation of either Ginger or Kitty) – seriously my name ISN’T really Ginger Snapped or Sleepy Kitty – it’s not even anything that somewhat resembles Ginger or Kitty

3) zip: I also never use my real zip code! when a store asks for my zip code when I’m checking out – or online if something I sign up for asks for a zip I use the zip code of an old chat buddy who lived in Missouri.

4) license plates: when I was working in the deli I often identified people by their license plates and made goofy names for them based on the letters. I’m kind of obsessed with license plates.... especially a particular first 3 letters ‘BYM’ I have no idea why…. One day while I was gazing at license plates as I often do I noticed there seemed to be an awful lot of plates that start with BYM. now whenever I see one I have to call out BYM!! Sam got pretty tired of this when in one day I saw something like a dozen BYM’s and he decided that from now on whenever I call out BYM he’ll pinch my nipple!! HARD!

Now I shout out anything that is even close to BYM – OOH BYN that’s ALMOST the same!! hehehe

* note – I don’t only call out BYM when I’m with Sam…. other people in my life think I’m like RAINMAN or something – but it really just makes me feel closer to Sam when I’m out with other people and can’t be with him hehehe – I told my best friend (Natalie) the whole story… now whenever I do this when I’m with her she just rolls her eyes and says I’m NOT pinching your nipple for you!! hehehe

5) fabric: I hoard fabric – I swear if I go to a thrift store and see a pretty pillow case even I’ll buy it because I’m sure I’ll find a use for it eventually – I have bags and bags full of fabric I swear I’ll find a use for some day!! – I’ve made things like christmas stockings, ornaments, halloween costumes, pillows, throws, even a make-shift lamp shape out of an old slip. I particularly like vintage sheers.

6) repetition: If I’m bored I’ll write my name (my real name) over and over again all over a piece of paper till I just can’t squeeze another letter in! I've been doing this since I first learned to write my name - apparently it's hereditary because I have an aunt that does the same thing.

7) pens: all my pens have to be black, fine, ball point – I prefer the PENTEL R.S.V.P.

8) pasta: I won’t eat spaghetti from a bowl… I swear it makes it taste different! I also won’t eat any weird shaped pasta!! No wagon wheels or corkscrews or rugrats or anything like that!! I trace this back to a time when I was about 4 and threw up space ship pasta.

9) numbers: I do everything in 5’s or 7’s but never 5 AND 7 because 5+7=12 and 12 is 2 sixes. and six is BAD – there are other things I do to avoid 6 as well.

10) compliments: they make me nervous! Not that I don’t like praise but for some reason it makes me uneasy. Probably because I so rarely got any as a child haaaa

ok that’s it 10 is enough… and 10 is ok because it’s 2 fives – get it? hehehe
lets see…. who to tag – ummm this one has been around for EVER so I’m sure most of you have done it – so I’ll go with Jocelyn and whirl because I don’t recall seeing you guys do it yet. If I’m wrong just ignore me hehehe
of course anyone else who's bored can feel free to do it as well!!