CAUTION: Woman In Progress

Photo Friday

2012-01-27T14:10:00.000-06:00

We had fun coloring last Saturday. She picked out which My Little Ponies book I could color in and then proceeded to tell me that I was using the wrong color for that pony.

"Yes, that's very good, Aunt Jana but she's supposed to be red."

Untitled Post

2012-01-26T13:22:00.000-06:00

Today I...

...got up at 5:01, stumbled into my yoga pants and "walked" until 5:20. It takes me five minutes to stumble into my yoga pants. Mostly because I also am stumbling into a jog bra thingy, socks and shoes. Dressing myself in workout clothes at 5:01am sorta sucks.

...Have been planning my supper since I woke up. Since supper is the only time I really eat eat (almonds and grapes don't count as eating) it's really special. Plus, in my "old" age, I have come to look forward to the whole cooking thing. Even though my pantry and fridge are perpetually bare. Cooking has become somewhat a de-stresser. Something about the creative, mindless busywork of it with all those tasty rewards, I guess.

Tonight's supper? A hamburger (Originally typed "handburger." Not sure I want to think about that.) with leftover potato pancakes. Not the Jewish lattkes potato pancakes. These. Although, when my mama fixed 'em for us as kids, she called 'em potato patties. Either way, they're a delicious and simple way to recycle leftover mashed potatoes. I ate five last night with my overdone little mini steaks that I cooked. I'll have the leftover five tonight with my onion and cheese laden hamburger. Don't fret too much over the hamburger calories. I'm using bread thins instead of a bun and mustard instead of mayo. It's all good.

...got on the "no book trucks allowed" elevator with my empty book truck. My bad. I forgot until I was already on it that book trucks aren't allowed on that particular elevator. We're supposed to use the freight elevator because careless student workers have cracked so much of the marble baseboards in the smaller elevator that half our building repair budget was being spent on replacing marble baseboards. I'd remembered to use the freight elevator when I was taking the load of books downstairs. But on the way back up, I completely forgot. I didn't get off when I realized what I'd done. Mostly because I'm lazy and rebellious like that. But also because I reasoned, the whole point of no book trucks on that elevator was to protect the marble. And since I was already successfully on the elevator without crashing into and subsequently busting any marble, I may as well stay on.

Had I gotten caught, my rebelliously snarky internal Jana told me to respond with, "I've been driving book trucks since I was eighteen. I got this." The socially awkward nonconfrontational external Jana would have apologized profusely and explained that I'd forgotten.

...stepped on the scale and was happy with the number I saw there. Today feels like a skinny day. Yes, even 200-something pound weirdos have skinny days.

...ate lunch alone today because Mama had a seminar to attend. It was actually really nice. Mostly because it was quiet. Mama is one of those types who thinks every second of silence must be filled with some sort of noise. If not talking, then yawning, chewing loudly, drumming her fingers on the table, etc. Yes, she's a noisy yawner. I often make a point of yawning completely silently just to see if she can take a hint. She never does.

...managed to tuck all twelve of my grey hairs into hiding. They've been letting their freak flag fly all week to the point that people noticed. What is it with other people getting their glee on just because I'm sporting a few visible silvery grey strands these days, anyway? Yes. I'm almost 33 and I have grey strands salting up my pepper. What of it? It's called aging. Everyone does it.

...have drank five glasses of water. Three more to go! A side benefit of drinking a ton of water is all the exercise I'm getting ifyouknowwhatImean. *wink, wink*

...printed off two of the most tempting (and easy!) recipes I've run across all week. This and This. Food bloggers are the new heroin.

...still can't get over how Big Love ended. I've been watching the DVD's of the last and final season for the past four weeks and wrapped it up last night. And man, why didn't anyone warn me about that crap? It's a little bit shades of Medium which I'm still totally mad as all heck about but oddly sorta okay with in the instance of Big Love. I think his wives are actually much happier now. (He was a douche.)

...finally cleared three stacks of junk off my desk that I have been littering up my work life for a while. One of those stacks has been hanging around for a couple of years waiting on someone to tell me what to do with it. Today I got proactive and just did what I felt needed doing and got it out of my hair. Also, I love handing off my stacks of desk litter to other people--especially Mama. How awesome is that? I get to hand my mother loads of books and junk and say, "You need to do X Y Z to these." All shades of my childhood in reverse. And yes, she back talks like I did but at least she gets paid. I think I only ever got like .50 for making my bed that one time.

...need to get back to some actual work. Cio!

So Maybe I AM Crazy

2012-01-25T14:54:00.000-06:00

That blog post I mentioned yesterday? Today it's dated the 23rd and there's another above it dated the 23rd and new one dated the 24th. I'm losing my mind. Obviously.

Anyway, that's not really what this post is about. Today is ~~Wordy~~ Verbose Wednesday. Except this time with photos. Because I'm a rule breaker. And if I can bore you with words, I can also bore you with photos. I'm just fun like that.

So. For the past two days I've gotten up at 5am and walked with Denise. Yes. Five. In the morning. I'm not even kidding. I've read in a few places that said morning activity gives your metabolism a boost and is also heart healthy. Since I have a family history of heart disease (both sides!) I figured I should give it a shot. Besides, I'm not doing anything at 5am anyway. Besides hitting the snooze button three times.

So. Yeah. Yesterday was a stumbling mess. I'm not all that "together" when I first get up. Hot shower usually cures that. But not showering pre-walk. I did, however, managed to not hurt myself. Yay me! Then today went a little smoother. All in all, I'm going to try to stick with it. I can't tell that it has amped up any energy but it hasn't hurt, either. Unless you count the extra thirty minutes I could have been laying in bed hitting the snooze button.

I've also still been walking in the afternoons, too. Thirty minutes a day is the heart healthy recommendation, doncha know. And so far this week I've felt good, my knee has felt good(ish) and I've managed to muddle through.

Well, everyday but Monday. Monday I went home with the headache from you-know-where and I don't know about ya'll but kicking and side-stepping and knee lifts are just not conducive treatments to a headache from you-know-where.

So instead of walking, I popped an Advil, guzzled a couple glasses of water and cooked this:

And it was calorie laden and completely delicious and I thought about eating both halves. But wait, what is this, you ask? It is what I fondly call a "Pizza Empanada."

It is merely one refrigerated pie crust cut in half, each half filled with cooked sausage, pepper, onion, mushroom and cheese with an herb flavored tomato paste sauce. Bake at 400 for about 12-15 minutes until the crust is golden and...And...I only managed to not eat both halves by reading the nutrition label for the calories of the crust. *Eep!*

It's kinda like a calzone except instead of pizza crust I used pie crust. The pie crust made it special, I think.

I love pie crust.

Anyway, speaking of cooking, Jen will be pleased to know that I made this Sunday:

That, my friends, is Jen's sweet fluffy omelet. It was a cinch to make and actually does taste a bit like a pancake! I think I may have gotten it too brown, though. Jen? What'd'ya think?

Oh, and I may have mentioned that Sis1 was coming for her birthday this past weekend. Would you believe I did not take the first photograph the entire time? Of course, they ended up only coming for the day Saturday. Stuff happened so they had to do a turn around trip.

But yeah. I didn't take any pictures. I just wasn't feeling it. Can't say why, except that it was cold and rainy and I had better things to do. Like play with kids and eat.

Mama managed to take a couple of shots, though.

Yes, we made her wear the "hat." She was a good sport about it, bless her heart.

And how weird is it that my big sister is officially pushing 40? Seems like just yesterday she was the moody rebellious 16-year-old from hell. And yes. Her moody rebelliousness was bad enough to warrant a "hell" instead of a "you-know-where." hehehe

Ack! I got to git. I'm being paged by my cookie pushing friends to go on break. Ya'll got off lucky this time!

Wait, what day is this?

2012-01-24T13:02:00.000-06:00

I'm confused. While blog hopping (from my blog list) I came across a blog with today's date but it was a post I read yesterday. I looked at the calender, looked at the post and thought, "Oh, okay. Today must be Wednesday, then." But then, "No, I watched Pretty Little Liars and Being Human last night. They come on Monday night. So today is Tuesday." Looked at the calendar, looked at the post.

How did I read a post yesterday that is dated for today? I don't know. But I know I'm not crazy. Not entirely.

What day is where you are? Tuesday, Jan 24? or Wednesday, Jan. 25?

2012 Goals

2012-01-23T14:00:00.001-06:00

It's almost cliche now to say that one doesn't make resolutions. Just about every blogger I read has said that and just about everyone I know has said it. Heck, I've said it in past years. But always in the back of my mind was something that I wanted to change about myself in each new year. Usually to do with weight loss and finances. But then, those too seem to be cliched responses to the New Year's resolution question.

I thought about the whole resolution thing for a while leading up to and a while after New Year's but it just seemed so silly to me. I, like nearly everyone else in the world, never keep my resolutions. But for 2012 I thought maybe a short list of goals might be a better way to keep my "Progress" progressing. I've already put most of these in motion and have a PLAN to git-r-done. So here they are, for better or worse.

Warning: I get very ~~wordy~~ verbose after the underlined portions of the list. So if this post puts you to sleep, it's your fault for reading it.

Jana's 2010 Goals

Financial Goals.

Just FYI--If you don't want to know the actual numbers of the financial mess I'm in, you may not want to read beyond the underlined portions of each goal.

* Pay down 1/3 of my Mastercard balance. For this I started out by transferring the ($6400) balance over to another card I already have. It was offering a 1.99% transfer APR for a year and an 11.99% APR after the intro rate expires. Since my Mastercard APR is currently 13.99% I figured even without the super low intro rate I'd still be doing myself a favor.

To continue working toward this goal, I will pay no less than $200 a month toward this balance. According to the last Mastercard statement (the one with the 13.99% APR), payments of $225 a month would ensure a 3-year payoff of the balance. I'm hoping, however, that with the low intro rate, $200 a month will knock out a little more than a third. But even if it only evens out to a third, I'll be happy. Because it means there's an end in sight to the unsightly mess I made for myself over the course of about eight years. (I've been steadily paying on and not charging on this card since 2009.)

* Pay off the balance of my Visa. This one really makes me sick because my Visa had been paid off for nearly two years when back in the summer I went on a spending spree and jacked it back up to nearly $1000 and have charged more on it since. Current balance? $1500. Yes. Over the course of about six months, I ran up $1500 on my credit card because, well, I got careless. And on-line shopping is WAY too easy. Not sure what I'm going to do to combat my impulse buying. Prayer, most likely. :)

One way Danica said she is going to simplify her spending is by asking herself before each unnecessary purchase "Do I really need this?" And really, that's a simple question but I don't ask it nearly enough. I've started it already, though. "Do I really need this latte or can it wait until another time?" Another thing I'm going to start asking myself is, "Do I have the cash for this?" If the answer is "no" then I don't buy it. No more running myself into the red each month when I can live perfectly comfortably on what I make without pulling out my credit card. Credit cards are EVIL. Often necessary, but EVIL nonetheless.

Beyond teaching myself to avoid using my credit card, I plan to pay no less than $125 a month toward this balance. I know that won't cover the interest, but it'll at least cover most of the balance and whatever's left at the end of the year, hopefully I'll have put back enough in savings to pay it off.

* Build Up My Savings Account. At one time I had a nice little nest egg of savings. But I spent a lot of it and then when I got it built back up a bit, I had a root canal and my septic tank's air pump needed replacing. So, bye-bye cushy savings. I still have a decent amount in there for the moment--MUCH more than most years--but less than I now feel comfortable having. Being a homeowner has opened my eyes to the realities of saving because homes require repairs and upkeep. Which ain't cheap. Plus, as I age I fear there's going to be more dental and health expenses and I don't want to be caught unprepared as I have in the past. So, the plan is: Put away an initial $50 a month. Whatever, if anything, is left in my checking account at the end of each month gets transferred directly to savings.

I know $50 isn't a whole lot but I'm starting small and working my way up. As I get my credit cards paid down/off my savings contribution will increase.

Financial Wrap-up: I have been and am blessed beyond what I deserve and more than I ever imagined. God has been good to me and it's time I start being responsible with what He's given me. Past time, actually. I've been responsible in my tithing but not in my spending. I've been wasteful and that needs to stop.

Health and Wellness Goals

* Build my endurance to be able to walk Leslie Sansone's 3-mile belly busting brusque walk. Back mid-2011 I was able to do the first mile that included the warm-up and the last mile that included the cool-down. I was NEVER able to do the middle mile where Leslie amped up the pace so I always skipped it. I did try it once and nearly died.

Now I'm so pitifully out of shape again that Denise Austin's easy walk mile is about as challenging as I can handle. And I admit, I did take last week off because my knee was in a bad way. It's feeling better now so I can start back this afternoon assuming this headache from you-know-where goes away before I go home.

* Limit my latte consumption. This one's gonna be the most difficult of all. I love White Chocolate mochas and they're just downstairs! But they're also 410 calories a pop. (370, at Starbucks) As in, nearly a third of my day's calorie allotment. (I generally aim for 1400 but usually end up at 1600-1800 which according to SparkPeople is a good goal range for my height, weight and weightloss goal.) Yes, they are delicious and yes, they make me happy. But they're also contributing factors to keeping me fat. ALSO, they cost nearly $4 for a 16 oz so that's a part of my financial problems.

I have whittled it down to 2 a week but I desperately need to whittle it down to once a month. Make it a treat or a reward for making it through the month. I actually succeeded at this back in July 2010. I lost 4lbs and saved a TON of money. I can't remember how much because that was over a year ago and back then I was regularly eating bagels AND guzzling lattes.

* Learn to eat smaller portions. During the week when I'm cooking for myself and eating alone, I do super awesome with this. When I'm eating out or eating with the folks I tend to get carried away. Mostly because the food choices are more delicious than the meals I cook for myself. But also, I tend to give myself a free pass to eat what I want on special occasions. I've got to stop that, for reelz.

Heath and Wellness Wrap-up: My goal is to form healthier habits. Notice there are no mentions of the number of pounds I hope to lose. Yes, I want desperately to lose weight. But if I focus on that, I'll get discouraged and quit. So my goal is to live a healthier lifestyle. I do have a number in my head that has lived inside me for the past ten to fifteen years. It hasn't changed much and it's always in the back of my mind--I'd love to lose 100lbs. But realistically, a one hundred pound loss isn't a healthy option in one year's time. And as I've read and heard so often--and know from personal experience--the scale is such a subjective thing anyway. So no, I'm not going to let myself focus on a number. I'm aiming for healthy habits. Walking more, eating (and drinking) smarter.

Spiritual Goals:

*Attend evening services no less than three Sundays a month. I've actually been working on this for several months now. I know I've talked about it before and how I felt pressured to go and how wrong that was and all that. So when the pressure from others finally ceased, I was able to really think about it and pray about it and open myself up to what I really wanted to gain from my spiritual walk with Jesus. My ultimate goal in life is to know Him better. And what better way than to commit myself to learning from a shepherd He's appointed to tend His sheep, so to speak?

I've had to push myself some Sunday evenings and talk myself into going because let's be honest here--I'm a hermit. Leaving my house is not at the top of the list of things I like to do. But loving Jesus requires sacrifice. And I always reason with myself that if He can be born just to die a violent death to save me from my sins, the very least I can do is drag my hermit-y but out of my house for an hour every Sunday night.

But I've never left church thinking, "I wish I'd just stayed home." Even though the visiting afterward is awkward and uncomfortable for me. Even though sometimes I'm so tired I can't hardly keep my eyes open. And even though I had to re-warm my pj's once I got home. I've never come home from a church service regretting that I'd gone.

Well, maybe on the Wednesday night Council Meeting nights when I have to attend the meetings that last until nearly nine o'clock sometimes and all we discussed was the floor tile that needs replacing. THEN I wish I'd skipped it and stayed home.

* Continue Nightly/daily individual Bible Study/Prayer time. Ya'll, I pray off and on all day but I've come to realize that I need that quiet alone time with God to really pour it all out--the thankfulness, the confession and regret for my sinful nature, the pleading to bless and heal those who need blessing and healing--to really draw me closer to Him. And while I've been a Christian since I was eleven, I had never gotten into the habit of daily Bible study. I know I talked about that a while back. But for the past five months or so I've gotten into the habit of reading a daily devotional called Daily Bread (a free devotion magazine that I get from church) each night before I go to bed. And it's wonderful. I feel a closer connection to God and I'm learning things in a way I hadn't been learning before. I'm no longer a stagnant Christian. Not perfect but better than I was!

But me being me, unless I fully commit myself, I may let it fall by the wayside. And I don't want that to happen. So this goal to continue on is a daily reminder of what I hope to accomplish and how I pray it helps me to continue growing.

I do think I need to switch the time of when I do it. I'm often so sleepy at bedtime that I don't fully comprehend what it is I'm studying and sometimes drift off to sleep mid-prayer. I've thought about trying it in the mornings but I'm never awake enough then, either. I need to figure it out, though.

Spiritual Wrap Up: I'm doing okay in my journey to live for, obey and get to know God better but I need to keep seeking Him and do even better.

So thems my 2012 Goals. I'll try to do a monthly check-in to update you with my progress but I can't make any promises. ;-)

What I got

2012-01-20T12:00:00.000-06:00

Though Christmas is nearly a month past, while looking through my photo files, I realized that I took pics of what I received from my loved ones this past December. As you know, I'm all into overshare and since I have nothing better to write about (unless you just want to hear about my early mourning period of tonight being one of the last two episodes of Chuck EVER!) here the are, in no particular order.

This is a plate/platter that Mama and I stumbled across while shopping in Tupelo the first Friday of December. We were actually looking for something to get Sis1 for Christmas and when we saw this, Mama was all, "This would look perfect in her den." And I was all, "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis? This would look perfect in my house." So we walked away from it because if I couldn't have it Sis1 sure wasn't gonna get it because I'm a selfish hussy that way. But then Mama sent me out of the store so I kinda knew I was getting this. (She got it from Kirkland's in case anyone wants to/needs to know.)

A cast iron skillet, also from the parental units. I asked for it because all the time I was growing up this was what Mama cooked in. And I learned to cook in a cast iron skillet. It wasn't until we were teens and Daddy won a fancy nonstick cookware set at his company Christmas party that Mama put her cast iron away. I've used it a few times since Christmas and I now fully recall why I loved the cast iron. :) Eventually I plan on using it to make a deep dish pizza. YUM.

A stainless steel skillet with a lid, also from the parental units. Again, I asked for one. Stainless are terrific for frying and I needed a larger skillet to scramble the 3-4 lbs of sausage I used to make sausage balls. I've used it a couple times since Christmas--once for said sausage and once for frying venison. It is mah-velous. ;-)

This bowl and rolling pin came from Sis2. She saw the bowl at TJMaxx and said it whispered my name. The rolling pin, I asked for. I used it when I made my pizza crust last weekend. Also used it when making some failed biscuits the other night. Love them both.

This is the whole kit and caboodle which is the only pic I have of the black sheets Sis1 got me. The black sheets I had were about six years old, faded and had a new hole in them. So when Sis1 asked me what was on my Christmas list I said, "Black sheets, full size." She said, "Done."

I also got three sets of Avon jewelry from Mama but I forgot to photograph them. Trust me, though. They're beautiful.

My absolute favorite gift though, was this:

Lyssa and Efan made these for me. Aren't they they just the sweetest things ever?

In case you can't see the portrait well enough:

In its new home on my fridge. I can't help but giggle every time I open the freezer door. Too. Cute.

And that's a wrap on what I got for Christmas. And a wrap for me today. I'm headed out.

Happy Weekend!

Talkative Thursday

2012-01-19T16:00:00.001-06:00

JUST KIDDING!

All you get is this obviously staged photo:

Enjoy!

Wordy Wednesday

2012-01-18T14:54:00.003-06:00

This morning I woke up with a song stuck in my head that I could not for the life of me remember where I'd heard it. I knew it had been on a movie or a television show or something. I just couldn't recall which one. It bugged me all morning. I kept playing it over and over in my head and I wanted to know who to blame for this affliction. It wasn't a song I would have heard on the radio mostly because I never get to listen to the radio anymore.

I was sitting at the reference desk changing out the stats sheets when it finally came to me. It was a song from Being Human. The haunting song they played during last season's finale episode. This is what I get for watching the marathons Syfy keeps showing.

Anyway, I was relieved. Then the song was gone from my head and I got distracted cutting recipes from the newspapers I was reading. Because I have to read newspapers as part of my job. And since reading newspapers ranks right up there with plucking my eyebrows as one of those painful things I least want to waste my time doing (thank goodness I have thin, mostly light eyebrows!) I figure I may as well get something other than a paycheck out of it, right?

One of my all time best most popular pie recipes came from my morning stints reading newspapers.

Getting paid to read newspapers would be my mother's dream job. She subscribes to one newspaper and relentlessly hunts down another that is distributed for free. When she misses one she is NOT HAPPY.

I need to go back and update that pie post with a photo. Good enough excuse to make a pie this weekend, right? And since Sis1 and Emmy are coming this weekend, I'll have plenty of folks to share it with. Although, eating that entire pie all by myself would be the epitome of AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL. But since I'm, you know, trying to get fit and healthy, that would be an amazingly BAD IDEA.

As I was drinking my lunch shake this afternoon, it occurred to me how much happier I am now that I drink "chocolate milk" for lunch instead of eating a frozen dinner or sandwich. Lunch used to be one of the most depressing times of the day because I almost always hated what I brought. Bringing a quick and cheap lunch to work everyday isn't the most delicious thing in the world. But drinking a velvety smooth chocolate drink and noshing on almonds or grapes? Feels decadent and makes me happy. Plus, I don't lose half my thirty minute lunch time prepping a meal. Used to be I'd only have ten to fifteen minutes to actually eat my lunch. Now I have a full thirty minutes to drink/eat my lunch. Delicious.

Why only thirty minutes for lunch? I mean, don't I work at a professional institution? Why, yes. I do. Technically I have an hour for lunch. But because I live 45 minutes away, they allow me to split my hour...Thirty minutes at noon and then thirty minutes at four--which means, kids, I get to go home at 4pm instead of 4:30 and can get home by or before 5pm instead of 5:30.

Anyway, Sis1 and Emmy are coming this weekend to celebrate Sis1's 38th birthday. Her birthday isn't actually until next week but she can't come next weekend because the dork volunteered to work nursery at her church next Sunday. So anyway, last year I treated her out for a fancy steak supper which she did not reciprocate when my birthday rolled around last year. So, guess who's NOT getting steak for her birthday this year.

Is that, like, super childish of me? I mean, I understand if peeps can't afford to reciprocate a full on steak supper but lemme see...she didn't take me anywhere! for mine. She didn't even bother to come over for my birthday at all last year. So essentially, I rank right up there with crusty toes to her. And I love my sister, I do. I'd give her the xxxlarge shirt off my back if she ever needed it. But she's not getting steak this year.

I hadn't heard from BFF since July, I think. Not since I called her for her birthday. It's not unusual for us to go a few months without calling each other because she's a busy mom/wife/nurse and last year she was diagnosed with MS. So, she has a life. Me, I just hate phones. But six months was a little extreme. So I sent her Christmas gift. And a card. I still didn't hear from her. Which, sadly, I didn't even realize until one day last week when it dawned on me that I hadn't heard from her or gotten a card or anything. We always exchange cards. And she usually calls me when I send her stuff.

Suddenly I was obsessed with why she hadn't called me. Was she mad at me? The t-shirt I sent her..had it offended her? It was highly sarcastic but so is she so I thought it suited her. But maybe it hadn't. Maybe it had just made her mad or hurt her feelings. Or, Heaven forbid, maybe she was in the hospital again and nobody had bothered to tell me. It happens. When she had her first MS episode last year, she had been in the hospital for two weeks before I found out from someone at church. (Her husband sucks.)

Monday, after I got home from Sis2's, I called BFF. No answer. I left a message. She didn't call me back. Chewed it over and worried all night Monday and most of Tuesday.

She finally called me last night. She hadn't bothered to check her messages the day before and she had been too busy/tired/whatever to call me before. She apologized. I told her I was glad she wasn't dead. We talked for an hour and all was well. Phew! I don't even think she realized that it had been six months since we'd talked. She's had a lot going on. Her daughter is 14 now, in all AP classes, is a cheerleader with practice three days a week and displaced her kneecap twice and has been in physical therapy for three days a week since October, I think. So yeah. She's been busy.

Anyway, I think I've rambled long enough. Happy Wednesday Afternoon!

(Long) Weekend Review

2012-01-17T14:26:00.001-06:00

I love a long weekend. I especially love a long weekend a couple weeks after returning to work after ~~Christmas~~ Winter Break. I adore how that expectant Monday off helps ease the transition back from a long vacation to full time work.

I only wish it was a four day weekend instead of three. Because I'm an ingrate that way and am never satisfied. Also, I'm spoiled.

So what did I do with this gloriously long (but not long enough) three day weekend? Well, Friday night during Grimm (which was kinda gross) I got my tree nekkid. I didn't even hafta get her drunk first, either. My tree is a total floosy. But the act of strippin' her down wore me out so I stopped and watched a depressing episode of Dateline before bed. (Bleh. Dateline is ALWAYS depressing.)

Saturday morning I did my usual early morning run to town for groceries. Which, remind me later and I have a story about my early morning runs during Christmas vay-cay. Not a funny story, just one of those, "huh." stories.

But anyway, THIS Saturday I did my early morning grocery run and bought all the fixin's for homemade pizza because all the food blogs I read have been making pizzas lately and I had the sudden neeeeeed to make a pizza crust from scratch. Because my life will never be complete without having ever made a pizza dough from scratch with stuff like yeast.

So. Once home I neglected my nekkid (and headless) tree

in favor of making a pizza. Never mind the 10am time.

Well, this was all AFTER I'd eaten a Sonic Jr. Breakfast burrito, guzzled a large Sonic coffee and drooled over the cowboys on the newest episode of The Pioneer Woman on Food Network.

Anyway, I used Jen's Last Minute Pizza Crust recipe because it sounded easy and Jen said it was good. And it didn't require a lot of rise time. Less rise time=mo betta.

Anyway, I didn't get any pics of the dough as I mixed it or rolled it because I'm a bad blogger who didn't think to start chronicling this pizza adventure until it was already rolled out and sauced.

So here it is rolled out and sauced on my Pampered Chef pizza stone. (I own a pizza stone. Fancy.)

See that can of tomato paste? That's what I used for my sauce. It's Italian herbs and spices tomato paste which I tried on a whim because a) I don't like jarred pizza sauce and 2) I saw a chick on Cooking Chanel use tomato paste as a pizza sauce once and thought, "That looks good!" Jarred pizza sauce or marinara sauce makes too wet a pizza for my taste. I wanted something thick and rich and so tomato paste it was. Had I not lucked up on the already Italian herbed and spice variety, I'd have simply sprinkled some Italian blend seasoning on that puppy and called it a day.

Next, I scrambled up a little breakfast sausage (because they were out of Italian Turkey sausage and regular Italian sausage is WAY too expensive for me) and threw in some sliced red onion and green bell pepper just to get a little softening action on them.

Note: I could have used a TON more sausage but I was trying to lower the fat ratio. But I SHOULD have used some more onion and peppers.

While that was cooking, I skimpily tossed some Mozzarella cheese on top of the sauce:

Then once the sausage was drained, I layered it on and followed it up with some sliced mushrooms, pepperoni and more cheese--this time a mix of moz and cheddar.

I read later that you should actually heat your pizza stone before plopping your pizza on it. But ya'll? I don't think that makes much difference because look at what that thing yielded:

Oh my.

Sweet heavenly gracious pizza.

The crust was nice and crunchy on the bottom, soft and chewy on the inside and made an excellent lunch, supper, supper and supper. (I ate on that pizza for four meals, yes I did. With one slice as a snack, too.) The only thing I might change next time is perhaps splitting it to make a thinner crust on the bottom. While I like the thick crust that you grab to hold the pizza, I like the bottom a bit thinner and less bread-y. (that's totally a word.)

Also, next time I may try the other crust Jen recommended. The one that the refrigerator has to babysit overnight. And I may use butter instead of oil because I'm naughty like that and love a buttery crust. Also, will hafta remember the black olives! What was I thinking with not getting black olives??

Once gorged on pizza, I got busy and got the tree taken down, boxed up and stored away until next year. Also dragged the rest of the Christmas boxes back to the storage room (how much do I love having a storage room?? A TON!) and finished the laundry and passed out on the couch with the DP to watch Gilmore Girls on SoapNet.

Note the "orb" in the above photo. Somebody call TAPS! My house! It is haunted! Or really pitifully dusty. Either way, I wouldn't say no to a visit from Grant and that other guy. ;-)

Sunday was the usual church/lunch with folks/church thing. And also, if you're not watching Once Upon a Time on Sunday nights...Why the heck not? I'm seriously loving that show. Desperate Housewives? Meh. Probably good that it's the last season.

So yesterday, being the long in my weekend, I took the DP to the vet for a mani/pedi because she totally ripped up my face with her gnarly shark Edward Scissorhand claws and then we spent the rest of the day with the kiddlets. You know which ones.

I don't have any photos of our playdate, though because I was too busy playing paperdolls, candy land, go fish and being berated for saying "boobs."

"We don't talk about that, Aunt Jana."

Also put together three puzzles and a train track, chased a boy for our go fish cards and ate "ice keem".

Libby was thoroughly and properly terrorized as was my back from sitting in the floor all day but it was a good time. Best way to spend a Monday off, for sure. Well, other than maybe sleeping.

Then last night was the season premier of Being Human so someone ask me how stoked I am for my favorite wolfy eyecandy. *swoon* The answer of course is: Extremely. I've been looking forward to this with agonized anticipation since last season's finale. (Note: I'm pathetic and have no life.)

And that, my friends, was my long weekend.

Also, nobody ask me where that pizza up there fits in with my renewed resolve to work on losing weight. The answer would be even sadder than my infatuation with dreamy eyed fictionalized werewolves.

Never Giving Up

2012-01-12T13:45:00.000-06:00

I'm dragging out my broken record and letting it play. Again. Which broken record is that, you ask? The dreaded weight loss one. Remember the Christmas Day photos of me? If you don't, I'm sure not linking to them because it took every ounce of courage I had to post them in the first place. So why did I? Because I'm all into not hiding who I really am. Not here, anyway. Not with ya'll. And also because I'm all about overshare. With ya'll, at least. Mostly because ya'll are the only ones who listen.

Anyway, I've been thinking about this blog post for a while. The "I'm back to trying to lose weight" post. I've held off on it because I know it's an eyeroll worthy subject and frankly I get tired of my own broken records so I know for sure ya'll do, too.

So I wasn't going to announce my "trying again" status. I was going to just work quietly in the background and if things worked out this time I'd surprise ya'll with a "Look at me! I did it!" post. Not that I think that will ever happen. The "I did it!" part. Because a woman can only try so many times before she stops believing things will ever change.

But in mulling over the whole "post or not to post" thing I realized: doesn't matter how busted up that record gets, I'm never gonna stop playing it because to do so would mean I'd given up. And I'm not going to do that. I may never reach any sort of weight loss goals and I may die fat (and young!) but it won't be because I gave up and stopped trying. I'll try until my dying breath. Which may be next week because I've been hit while crossing the street on my way to the vending machine in the building across from the library. (Dying to get to a vending machine:The real truth about dying from obesity!)

The sad truth is, those Christmas Day photos have a two fold crossing each other out effect: They make me determined to lose weight but they also make me depressed. And depression makes me want to eat to feel better. A disgustingly vicious cycle.

For the past two weeks, though, I've been tugging a war with myself. Back and forth, up and down. Fortunately for now, there've been more ups than down and more forths than backs. I'm not doing great, but I'm not sucking either.

So, in interest of full disclosure, here's the plan:

**Continue drinking Special K protein shakes for breakfast and lunch, a small low calorie snack such as almonds and/or fruit for mid morning snack, a small serving of fruit and or nuts with my lunch shake and a small snack (can be healthy or junky like chips--no saying no to me!) mid-afternoon and a sensible lowish calorie supper. Maybe a small snack or a cup of coffee with half and half after supper.

Since I've officially eaten the last peanut cluster and all the Christmas treats junk in my house is now completely gone, the after supper snacking should be mostly gone. That's a great thing. Because if it's there, I'm gonna eat it. Just a fact. Willpower? Never heard of it.

Now, just to clarify about the Special K shakes--those are mostly to help with my digestive issues. Them being low calorie? Just an extra special benefit. I like that they taste good (much better than Slimfast), they're easy (though not cheap) and they keep my acid reflux from getting out of hand like it did over Christmas break. I don't have to think about what I'm going to eat for those two meals or plan ahead. I just grab and go. And I add almonds and/or fruit to my lunch shake to give me the act of chewing and that extra bit of fiber and protein to tide me over if I want to skip an afternoon snack.

**I've resumed my afternoon walk-a-thons with Denise and Leslie. Right now I'm doing the 15 minute easy walk with Denise because I'd gotten really out of shape and need to ease myself into it. Also, I realized that if I started out like gangbusters expecting to do the hard stuff right out of the gate, I'd burn out really quickly. So the easy walk's second benefit is to help me just get into the habit of getting my yoga pants and New Balance on when I get home from work.

I read somewhere once that it takes thirty days to begin a new habit. I don't know that I'll do the easy walk for an entire thirty days, but I'm committed to not pushing myself before I'm ready. I'm not going to do anything just because I should. No have to's or shoulds for me!

Eventually I will increase the walks, adding in the interval walk or switching it up to Leslie's kick boxing walk. My main goal is to be able to do the three fast miles walk that's on the "belly busting" DVD I bought months ago. I've just got to build up my endurace and stick to the habit first.

**I'm taking it at my own pace and reminding myself daily that this is a one day at a time endeavor and that even if I get discouraged and quit for a while I'm never giving up. Not entirely and never forever. Even if I never lose another pound or finish that three fast miles walk, I'm never giving up.

**My motivation? I'm following Krissie and Crusie over at their Re-Fab blog. They've dedicated a year to making positive changes in their lives. I want in on that!

Mostly, though, I don't want TLC to ever do a special documentary on the 600lb library senior associate blogger. The commercials for those type documentaries scare the ever lovin' crap outta me.

A Purple Tree

2012-01-11T13:42:00.002-06:00

Okay, I'm not done with Christmas just yet. I forgot to post these...

I provided the stuff but she decorated it all by herself.

Sis2 said Lyssa wanted to keep it up forever but went along with it when Sis2 told her she could move her BIG GIFT into that corner.

What was her BIG GIFT?

Her own salon, of course.

Chrstimas Vacation 2011 Pt. 504,583,932

2012-01-10T15:15:00.001-06:00

Since we're officially a week into my being back at work, I promise with a capital "Probably" that I'm done. This is the last one. Pinky swear.(ish) So. In true quick rundown style...

Monday (day after Christmas): I slept in, moved from the bed to the couch and planted my butt for a twelve hour Being Human marathon on Syfy. New episodes begin Jan. 16 so I just HAD to get caught up. And drool over Josh. AND Christmas had sort of sucked all the life outta me so I had to recuperate. Being around humans is a beast, Syfy.

Tuesday-Wednesday: I know I got out of bed. Just not sure what I did other than bum around the house. Emmy had ~~been forced~~ to go with her dad to visit her other grandmother Monday-Wednesday so I didn't hafta help entertain a twelve-year-old.

Thursday: Emmy was back so we (Emmy, Mama and I) picked up Sis2 and Lyssa and we went to paint pottery.

Efan was supposed to stay with his daddy that day but Goofus's cousin decided that that day was the ONLY DAY he could work on the breaks on Goofus' truck. So Goofus had to bring Efan to the pottery place. We hadn't really wanted Efan to come because he's destructive and (as Lyssa says) he's wild. And being a pottery shop, everything is breakable. And if you break it, you buy it--painted or not.

Fortunately, by the time Goofus dropped him off, Mama was done with her piece so she nabbed him and helped him paint a piece for himself.

He did really well with it. No mess. No breakage. So it worked out rather well.

Emmy's piece took the longest to do because she'd chosen a cross with a stained glass effect and it had tiny lines that had to be painted in between the "panes" of "glass." Which, yes. Aunt Jana ended up having to help her with. But that's okay, too.

I chose something simple because I wanted to pay attention to the kids. They were the main reason I was there, after all.

It looks better now that it's been glazed and fired. ;-)

I haven't seen it since it was glazed and fired but Sis2 says Lyssa's starfish turned out mostly black. She layered too many different colors on it apparently. BUT, the experience was the main thing and Lyssa seemed happy with it. That's what matters. That, and when she's older I can tease her mercilessly about it.

Anyway, after we finished painting, we walked around to McAllister's for lunch.

That face Lyssa's making up there? She's demonstrating the "mean face" one of her friends apparently sports a lot.

She wasn't really upset, as you can see.

It was at this point, though, that we realized we had a conundrum. Goofus had dropped Efan off with us. We had come in Mama's one car seat car. All of us. There was no room! And not enough car seats! Oh noes!

So, I got elected to stay at the shopping center with the girls while Mama took Sis2 and Efan back to Sis2's house. What to do while stranded at a shopping center with a twelve-year-old and a four-year-old?

Look at fish!

That particular shopping center has a goldfish pond/waterfall in front. Lyssa had a ball picking out her favorite fish.

Then, because I'm the cool aunt, we walked down to the frozen yogurt bar and got "ice cream." Really, it was frozen yogurt but Lyssa didn't want "yogurt." Pah!

This is one of those fro-yo bars where they charge you by the ounce and have a gazillion toppings choices. Lyssa, of course, wanted EVERYTHING. I had to tell her, "Pick two." She picked chocolate "ice cream" with white chocolate chips and sprinkles. The sprinkles turned out to be Nerds and they gushed out so she got at least $2 worth of Nerds with her "ice cream."

Fortunately she loves Nerds. Or "Neds" as she calls them.

Emmy, the alien child who doesn't like chocolate (the weirdo) got vanilla yogurt with gummy bears, nerds, and cherries. Oh! And Whipped Cream. Don't ask me how she got away with four toppings when I only allowed Lyssa two. Probably because she's a sneaky pre-teen who objects to authority. The bum.

I (no pictures, thank the good Lord!) Got a mix of chocolate and white chocolate yogurt with chopped Reese's cups and hot fudge.

For the three of us? Sixteen. Freakin'. Dollars.

It was the Nerds that tipped the scales I think. And Emmy's two extra toppings. I'm adding that to their tab of stuff they owe me when they're grown. Eighty-year-old Aunt Jana needs someone to carry her to the podiatrist to have the corns removed from her nasty disgusting feet? Emmy! Lyssa! Remember that time I took ya'll for frozen yogurt and ya'll cost me an arm and a leg with all your toppings?

But it was good and the girls enjoyed every last bite. And it killed time until Nana finally showed up to take us home.

Friday: Daddy and I went to Granny's that morning and I hooked up the VCR/DVD combo that the folks got her for Christmas. Bless her heart, I don't know why they don't make stuff easier to operate because teaching her all the buttons and processes to watch a bloomin' VHS took an hour. And she still wasn't sure what all she was supposed to do. Daddy ended up having to go back up there later and write it all down for her.

We got back just in time for me to hop in the car with Mama and Emmy and head back to town to meet Sis2 and the kids for lunch AGAIN. This time we ate at a BBQ place and I was too busy retrieving Efan's Thomas train from beneath the table to take pictures. (I heard that sigh of relief, ya'll!) While there, we ran into a guy I was friends with way back when I was Emmy's age. (He's married so don't get too excited.) He totally made my day by telling me I look exactly like I did as a teenager. Then when I got home I realized that probably only meant that I was a) still fat 2) still have long dark hair and c) still blush whenever anyone talks to me. BUT. I'll take it.

After lunch we went to see Chipwrecked and both of the littles actually sat enthralled through the whole movie experience.

Unfortunately, we had gotten there late and had to sit up front and I got a serious crik in my neck. (krick? Crick? Creaque? Krik? Whatever.)

Saturday: I woke up feeling like CRAP with acid reflux so wicked and vile I would have prayed for death but I didn't have time. Saturday was the family Christmas with Mama's side of the family. So I suffered through baking cookies that morning, wore my loose dress slacks and generally avoided most everyone while I was there. I nibbled through lunch and escaped outside with the kids in case I had to throw up.

And I'm only sort of joking about the throwing up part. Acid reflux is a nasty vile monster.

The rest of vacation was spent napping, eating lightly and wishing I had one more week off.

And then I was back at work for a few days before I started ~~tormenting you with~~ sharing my vacation photos/stories with ya'll. Ain't ya'll a lucky bunch?

Also, upon viewing the photos taken of me at various times throughout the break I have decided to stop eating altogether and pray God takes pity on me long enough to let me be thin before I die.

Christmas Day, Pt. 2

2012-01-09T13:02:00.001-06:00

Dudes, I know ya'll are getting tired of my Christmas stuff but it's totally my blog so I'll, just, you know, DO WHATEVER I WANT. Because I'm great like that.

So. Where did I leave off? Right. After eating/visiting/avoiding annoying cousins, we went back to the folks' house for more gift explosion.

I'll be the first to admit that I go a little nuts buying for the little kids. Toddlers love stuff and Sis2 had warned me that if I got them more than one thing I'd need to wrap each thing separate because the unwrapping of the gift/gifts is the ACTUAL gift. They don't really care what's in it so long as they can unwrap it. Which is kinda awesome.

But the most awesomest part?

Missing this expression head on.

It was just a Little Golden book about how Dora saves the Unicorn Kingdom or something. But she loved it. And yes, I gave it to her. So I was pretty thrilled that she got so excited. But since her mama was sitting off to the left taking pictures, Sis2's the one who got the awesome full face excitement shots.

Story of my life.

That one right there was a $5 wooden Tinkerbell puzzle set. Also from me. I'm a winner at picking gifts, apparently.

These kids had a TON of stuff to open, though. I got them five gifts, each all individually wrapped and I the Nana and Bobo got them about five or six gifts each. Plus Sis1 got them each one or two things. She went for the "big" ticket items where I went for five gifts costing around $5 each.

Except for the horses. Those were $8 at Dollar General. They make horse whinnie sounds and so far no windows have been broken or eyes poked out. Yet.

I didn't get hardly any decent photos of Efan because (or bacuz, as a speaker we had last week pronounced it--an attorney, no less) he was off in the corner opening his stuff with Nana and Bobo's help.

That up there? Just about all my shots of Efan. His back. How awesome is that??

Not very. Except he's cute all the way around so still I"m not losing. And all that stuff over by Sis1? That giant stack? That's about a third of Lyssa's haul. I'm telling you. Those kids wracked up.

And Lyssa's set to be any Disney Princess she wants to be. Nana was smart and hit up the after Halloween sale and scored three Disney Princess costumes at like $2 a piece or something--Snow White, Cinderella and Ariel. And if she'd bought these out of the toy section for dress-up? $10-12 bucks each. Or more.

Anyway, after the kids got done and us sisters swapped gifts, Sis2, Goofus and the kiddlets had to get home. Well, first they had to unload the folks' living room into their Volvo and THEN they had to get home. ;-)

I headed home a few minutes later, full of exhaustion

Libby was thrilled with this turn of events, too. She had toys to explore, as well!

Lyssa picked this hamburger plush out for Libby and that devilish pup had a BLAST with it when we got home Christmas night. She tossed it, carried it, chewed it, hit me in the face with it and generally made merry with it.

See the odd star shaped thing in the background of the above pic? Yeah. That's what "Santa" brought her. It's actually a deer. A long legged cartoonish plush deer. She couldn't care less about it now. Won't go near it. Next year? Totally getting coal.

She finally gave out and gave her new blanket a spin. With her burger, natch.

The blanket is actually one of those pet blankets they make to protect furniture of muddy paws, dog hair, etc. Since I'd been covering the love seat with a sheet during the day, I figured this would be a stylish(ish) alternative. Except it's too short. So it goes under the sheet now for it's water proof qualities.

Anyway, after the DP finally settled down, she and I snuggled up and watched a Christmas movie on Hallmark.

And you want to know the most absolute bestest part of the day ever?? I DIDN'T CRY!! Not one tear. It was a happy day and my soul was thrilled. A no tears Christmas. Utter joy. :-)

Christmas Day, 2011

2012-01-06T14:00:00.002-06:00

I don't know why but this year I just wasn't really all that into Christmas. I know, I know, I did all the fussy decorations and the baking and all that. But in true confession style--I was phoning it in. I didn't feel it. I did those things because I knew they were expected. In reality? I think I'd have been happy leaving my tree in the box. And Christmas music? I think I listened to maybe four of my CD's and then only rarely. And not because I really wanted to but because I hoped it would push some of that elusive Christmas spirit into me.

It didn't.

Usually I'd have finished the majority of my Christmas shopping the first week in December. This year? I did a little bit of it when Mama and I went to Tupelo that first Friday of December. But the rest of it? I put it off until the week before Christmas. I just wasn't into it.

I think part of it was that I was just so worn out from the previous months of birthday parties, work and church stuff. And another part of it is that for the past few years, I've held on to the Christmas spirit thing and was always inevitably disappointed. To the point of tears, if you recall. If you don't recall, it's all in the archives. ;-)

All that to say: I just wasn't into this year. My expectations were less they low. They were non-existent. I didn't really care one way or the other.

I'd prayed about it because I felt like it was something lacking in me. Why couldn't I get into it? It's such a special season and all. I felt like a bad Christian for not caring about Christmas.

And all through December all manner of thoughts played through my heart, wondering what Jesus really thought of the whole thing. What does He think about us putting up trees and sending out cards? What are His feelings on us rushing around going crazy, being greedy and glutenous all in the pretext of celebrating His birthday? I know that sounds cynical and downright Grinchy but I truly began to wonder about it. Maybe the reason I wasn't "feeling it" was because I wasn't supposed to.

Well, I don't know that there was ever a moment were I just "got" it. Where I opened my ears and heard God speaking to me. It was more like a lot of little moments, thoughts and sermons that helped me realize that it wasn't anything lacking in me. And there's nothing, necessarily wrong about a Christmas tree or all the other trappings. What was wrong was that I had been putting my heart toward all the wrong things. I was what was wrong with me.

Christmas isn't just a season. It's not even just a celebration. It's a recognition of a loving God who came to earth as a flesh and blood person in the most humble of forms, in a very quiet and humble way so that ultimately He could die for our salvation. All those past years of Christmases singing Away in a Manger I had totally been missing the point. Even reciting Jesus is the Reason for the Season I was still looking toward people to make the holiday special. I'd been depending on people to make the big day merry and bright. I'd completely missed that the whole thing isn't about happy greetings and cheer, the perfect gift or even time spent with family.

Christmas is about thanking Jesus for coming to earth as a babe so that I could live under grace and mercy.

And I feel so inadequate in the way I'm describing my thoughts and realizations. I know I'm not saying it right. I just can't seem to put into words what's actually in my heart.

With all that said, I can truthfully say, this was the most wonderful Christmas Day I've experienced in YEARS. Yes. All those years as a kid with the anticipation of Santa were great and I have some truly beautiful memories of childhood Christmases. I even have some warm memories of adult Christmases spent with family and lots of love. But this year...It was just so plainly altogether lovely. So peaceful...I can't really describe it.

First of all, I realized that nothing I did could make other people live up to my expectations. There would be no Hallmark movie Christmases in my life because the people I love aren't that perfect. The only way to find joy in anything is to look to God. So I dropped some things that I'd done in the past to try to make the day perfect. I let go of the idea that the day even had to be perfect and everyone had to be happy and thoughtful and kind. I woke up that morning and instead of rushing around packing the car with all the gifts and making coconut toast and working myself into a tizzy, I just breathed.

I'd taken the gifts to the folks' house the night before so that I wouldn't have to worry about loading and unloading. All I had to do Christmas morning was roll out of bed, shower and get dressed. After I did all those things, I went and got the DP up. She made a quick trip outside and then she and I opened her gifts. She was so hilariously excited I can't even describe it. I know she's a dog and non-dog/pet owners think it's ridiculous but she got into it as much as any kid I know. She went right to her bag and stuck her head in it and wagged her whole body as I first pulled out a toy and then a new blanket. She played with her toy a moment and then insisted on me unrolling her new blanket so that she could give it a sniff. Then we excitedly opened her brand new package of denta-stix and I gave her one to chew on and the expression "just like Christmas morning" is the only way to describe it.

And so instead of rushing around and sweating it out, Libby and I sat on the couch while she chewed on her denta-stix. We listened to Elvis croon about Christmas while the lights on our tree danced a merry jig. As I stroked her soft fur, I thanked Jesus for His sacrifice and prayed that our day would be joyful and loving. And it was one of the most happy moments of my life. A happy Christmas morning.

Did I mention that I got up at 5am to enjoy all this peace? Yeah.

Emmy, who was at the folks' house with her parents, had told me to be there by six because she wanted me there for her Santa time. And there's no disobeying the twelve-year-old. It's in the aunt handbook.

I'm still amazed at how peaceful that morning was. Libby and I got to the folks' house and Mama and Daddy were the only ones up. And they were both in a good mood! Mama was in the kitchen and Daddy was in his chair and we talked quietly and shared soft laughs over puppy stories and it was great.

Then everyone else got up and the house 'sploded.

Santa brought new movies!

I went to the dogs.

Milo flying off to check things out.

Yes. Santa brought the kid a laptop. I'm officially jealous.

A new robe.

Libby wants to see.

What's in the box?

Twilight, that's what! I'm officially the best aunt EVER.

Wrapping paper makes a snuggly bed.

"It's never too much!"

She's thirteen again.

After the 'splosion, I went back to my house and changed clothes to get ready for church. It was a nice and blessed respite. Although I did enjoy the morning of gifts and laughter, hermitty me needed a moment.

The church service was really nice. I sang and everyone fell out in the floor in shock because I haven't sung a solo in church since last Christmas. ~~And because I'm just that awesome~~. The preacher gave a sermon on what Christ's birth actually means and we observed the Lord's Supper...or as some folks call it, "communion."

Then it was back home to change clothes, throw my sweet potato casserole in the oven and then sprint off to Granny's for lunch with ~~our redneck cousins~~ the extended family. My ~~redneck~~ cousins were late getting there so Sis2, Emmy, the two troublemakers, Goofus and I got the good table. Oh, and Mama pulled up a stool and joined us, too, I think. And it was a quiet happy meal where nobody spilled anything.

Serious talk. With an abundance of rolls.

After lunch we went BACK to the folks house and it 'sploded again.

But I'll save those picks for Monday. Ya'll've had enough 'splosions for one day.

Christmas Vacation 2011, Part 2

2012-01-05T14:55:00.001-06:00

So yesterday I totally meant to share this pic with you:

Because this was what Lyssa was doing after we finished the peanut clusters. She had some baking to do on her own. ;-) Why do I not have a photo of her helping with the peanut clusters? Well, there was the whole "two rowdy kids on my own" situation that blocked out all thoughts of cute photo ops. Do I regret the lack of photo? YES. She was so precious scooping out clumps of "chocolate soup" onto the wax paper. I will forever wish I had committed that memory to paper.

Anyway, the two days following Baking Day 2011 were a complete snoozefest. Mostly because that's the way (uh-huh, uh-huh) I wanted it. The Devil Pup and I literally were complete bums.

Seriously. I was so lazy I didn't even get up to take this picture. I just leaned over with the camera extended, my butt never leaving the opposite end of the couch.

And, well, actually, I did get up long enough to bake another batch of cookies. I made Paula Deen's White chocolate chunkies on that Thursday. And I did get up early Thursday morning and run to town to get Christmas groceries. But other than that? Complete. Bums.

It was utterly, insanely DELICIOUSLY wonderful.

I miss it.

Christmas Eve was a quiet day, too. I got up and cooked myself an amazing breakfast of pancakes with warm maple syrup, pecans and whipped cream, three slices of bacon and three sausage links. It was too glorious to stop eating long enough to take a photo. Just trust me on this...it was the stuff of dreams. If you dream about pancakes and pork products. Which I totally do.

After my decadent breakfast I got up and baked my nine thousandth three batch load of sausage balls because Daddy wanted some. I also made a cheese ball for Emmy because I knew she'd want one and didn't ya'll know that food=love?

I MEANT to make PW's BBQ jalapeno poppers but, uh, well. I bought everything to make them EXCEPT the jalapenos. Awesome, right?

But that's okay. I scraped jalepeno guts LAST Christmas Eve and it was not the highlight of my holiday. ;-)

AND...I baked yet another batch of cookies. This one was my take on Suzanne McMinn's Coffee and Cream Cookies. It was a first time try for me. And my only variations from her recipe was to add two or three teaspoons of Kaluha and use regular sized chocolate chips instead of the minis. Also left the nuts out in concession to Emmy's allergy to nuts. And ya'll??? Those, I think, are some of the most AMAZING cookies I've ever baked. Seriously. And you don't even have to like coffee to think so. Emmy and Sis2 both hate coffee but LOVED (as in faux-fought over) these cookies. They're super moist, not too sweet with just the vaguest undertone of chocolate and coffee.

AND...I went ahead and baked the sweet potatoes and mixed up the sweet potato casserole that I was taking to Granny's for Christmas Day. Figured it would make it easier to just pop it in the oven after church and run to lunch. I wanted to make Christmas Day as painless as possible.

Once all that baking was done, the DP and I snuggled in with a book and turned the television to GMC which had their "Yule Log" playing all day Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The ambiance of a fireplace with Christmas music playing in the background.

It was so peaceful and restful and just such a good happy place to be that I wish it could have lasted longer.

But alas, Sis1 and BIL rolled into the country and brought T-Bone steaks with them. And steak is a different sort of happy place so it won out over the yule log and book. So we ate steak and made crude jokes and laughed until our faces hurt and then watched something ridiculous on television until Emmy started getting giddy. That was my cue to go home and wait for Santa.

Which, we'll have to cover that tomorrow because this chick has a meeting to run off to. But I'll be back tomorrow with Part 3: Christmas Day

Christmas 2011, The Essay: Day One

2012-01-04T11:59:00.000-06:00

Well, ya'll, I'm BACK! And a happily glorious high calorie new year to you all! At this time, I'll ask you to buckle your safety belts, tuck in all arms and legs and hair and prepare for a wild and highly photo-centric guide to "What Jana Did On Christmas Vacation, Part 1."

Remember baking day? Well, it almost didn't happen. Sis2 called me that morning not feeling well and said she may not come out. I was ~~a little bit~~ majorly bummed but after she did come I was maybe sorta kinda wishing she hadn't. She still didn't feel good and boy did her mood tell it. She finally just went and laid down so I was left mixing peanut clusters and supervising two rowdy kids. Alone. Efan tried cleaning out my "china cabinet" and Lyssa had to help spoon out the peanut clusters which took FOREVER long enough so that I had to put the bowl of chocolate peanuts back in the microwave to remelt the chocolate.

Funny story related to that, though...When they first got to my house I just pulled the melted chocolate (1 bag semi-sweet chips and one package of chocolate almond bark) out of the microwave. It was in a large white bowl and called to mind a small chocolate filled swimming pool. So when Lyssa asked me what I was doing, I held the bowl down to her and said, "I just made your most favorite thing ever...Chocolate soup!" to which she giggled and said, "I want to help." To this day when asking for a peanut cluster she asks for for some chocolate soup. :-D

Anyway, chocolate soup aside, I have a patch of hair that's still missing from that day.

BUT, after Sis2 got up from her nap and ate some lunch, she was good to go. Since her oven is broken and this was the only opportunity she'd have to actually DO any baking I and the turtles I was working on by then got out of the way and let her do her thing.

I can't remember what these are called by they were AWE-some. In case you can't tell, that there is a chocolate thumbprint cookie filled with caramel, rolled in pecans and drizzled in chocolate. Those were my favorite.

There was a lot of yakkin' going on, too, though, after Mama and Emmy finally arrived.

But it was also a mess. A yummy mess, but a mess nonetheless.

I should have been more organized. Knowing what a tiny kitchen I have, if I'd been thinking clearly, I'd have dragged the little desk/table from behind the loveseat to help hold stuff while we mixed and cooled and whatever. But I wasn't thinking clearly. Obviously. Mostly because I don't know how to entertain. But also because I rarely ever thing clearly.

Efan, however, had the right idea.

It was a great day for memory making, for sure. But I'll just go ahead and admit it--it was a little overwhelming. With Sis2 not feeling good, the lack of space to spread out, having someone else in my kitchen needing things, rowdy children, both my parents in my house making suggestions (I'm grown, dag-gummit!) it was a bit much. I was exhausted by the time the day was over. And I ended up not even baking anything while everyone else was there! For real, my only contribution was the peanut clusters and turtles. Melted chocolate and nuts. Oh, and caramels.

Speaking of caramels, I did manage to scorch a pot with caramel, though. Sis2 had used it to melt the caramel for her cookies and when she was done, she turned the eye off and left the leftover caramel in the pot with the spoon. Well, as it does, the caramel rehardened with the spoon in it. So, me being BRILLIANT, I turned the eye back on and WALKED. AWAY.

Yes, my friends. This is how smart I am. I had stuff to do, though, and kids to photograph. I didn't have time to stand there and WATCH THE POT.

Needless to say, sometime later, I was sitting at the table chatting with Sis2 and it dawned on me that the caramel pot was still on. Maybe it was the burning smell coming from the kitchen that triggered my memory. Because ya'll? That stuff was burnt.

And no, I did not take a photo of it because a) I was busy trying to rid my house of smoke, b) Sis2 as upset because she said it was her fault for not emptying the caramel out in the first place and c) I was trying really hard not to cry. It was my favorite little stainless steel pot that I'd bought at a yard sale for a couple of bucks 10 years ago when I first moved out on my own. That pot and I have been through A LOT together.

I played it off like it was no big deal though because who wants to end a perfectly insane day of baking with tears? Not me.

After ~~the chaos~~ everyone else left, Emmy and I got back in the kitchen to bake cookies. Emmy hadn't gotten to do any baking either and she had been looking forward to it. Her mother, Sis1, doesn't really do the whole baking thing. No time for measurements and mixers. So since someone's gotta teach the girl how to do it, she hung around and I showed her the difference in measuring out flour as opposed to measuring out brown sugar. You know, light sifted scoops as opposed to packing. I even let her use the mixer.

She was super thrilled about this. At twelve, she'd never used a mixer!

I don't know where we went wrong with Sis1 that she hasn't even taught the kid to use a standard hand mixer. When I was Emmy's age I'd been baking cookies by myself with a mixer for a couple of years! Mama taught us early on the art of mixing and baking cookies. Plus, she used a mixer to mash potatoes and would always hand that job off to whoever was nearest to her while she was fixin' supper.

Anyway, Emmy and I baked Toffee Cookies until nearly nine pm and watched two episodes of Ghost Hunters. Which leads me to my next revelation...EMMY LIKES GHOST HUNTERS!! *wipes a tear*

That's all I've got time to leave you with today. Tomorrow? Part 2: Jana, Home Alone.

Libby Sez

2011-12-31T13:18:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

For the Birds

2011-12-29T13:00:00.000-06:00

I purchased these two birdhouses for the sisters when Mama and I went shopping at Hobby Lobby. The one on the left went to Sis2 and the one on the right, went to Sis1. You may not can tell, but I altered the one on the right. It used to look like this:

But Sis1 is getting away from burgandy so I just panted over the burgandy parts with some craft paint. I think I like it.

Sis2's has a neat feature on it...

It opens up in the back! I can see me using it as a bank, of sorts. I have a rule that when I come across a dollar bill in my wallet, it gets tucked away in a "fun money jar". But wouldn't it be neat to stuff it in a birdhouse instead? You know, if you don't intend to actually stick the thing outside. ;-)

I'll let you know when I get back "in office" if the sisters liked them.

Backlit Begging

2011-12-27T13:00:00.000-06:00

It was late and she was tired of me trying to wrestle her into a Christmas portrait with me.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T13:00:00.000-06:00

Luke 2:1-20

1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

This, my friends, is what it's all about. May none of us ever forget.

You done yet?

2011-12-24T13:00:00.000-06:00

Christmas shopping, that is.

When the above photo was taken, I thought I only had one gift left to purchase--BIL's. He's hard to shop for so I decided to pick him up some gormet cheese straws at a local gift shop. Easy peasy.

But then, when I got ready to wrap Mama's (the scarf, two sets of gloves and the mini-umbrella) I decided that it looked rather skimpy in comparison to Daddy's. (The Skil Power cutter.) So Monday evening, after work, Mama and I popped in to Wal-Mart to pick up Granny's gift and while Mama was doing that, I picked out a new pea coat for her. It's double breasted and a soft gray fabric. I didn't snap of photo of it, unfortunately, but trust me--it's nice. And it was on sale. When she saw me with the bag, I told her it was a sweater I'd bought for myself. hehehe

The rest of the stuff pictured are for adorable toddlers in my life. Except for that wooden plane pieces and the bear claw tool. The plane is for BIL the bear claw is a back scratcher I got for Daddy. I hafta get 'em a gag or it just wouldn't be Christmas.

Everything else I've bought had already been wrapped and placed beneath the tree. So now? I'm officially DONE.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Photo Friday--Christmas Edition

2011-12-23T13:00:00.000-06:00

My, what big ears I have!

Three Foot Beauty

2011-12-22T13:00:00.000-06:00

So last Friday I reclaimed my trusty ol' three footer from the library and took it home. Friday night I dressed that baby up and sat her down in my bedroom as I've done for the past two years. Libby, of course, was bored with the subject almost as soon as I got started.

But, I got'er done anyway.

New to the tree this year are the addition of the smaller red and gold balls and the star topper. Oh, and the red bird perched at the top. I always try to coordinate this tree with my bedroom colors and this year, I finally got them all! :)

Baking Day 2011

2011-12-21T13:00:00.000-06:00

Well, obviously I'm actually at home today and nowhere NEAR a computer with Internet access, so I can't, like, show you what we're ACTUALLY baking. (Maybe someday wifi will come to my neck of the woods...) BUT, I can show you the fruits of my shopping labor aka what we're baking with.

Sis2 and I met up Saturday for some Christmas shopping and put our lists together of the items we'd need. Last year we were so disorganized and ended up having to send Mama to the store to pick up what we needed. That ate up most of our day. Since this year we're doing all the baking at my tiny little country house where the nearest grocery store is a good twenty minutes away I took the lead, cracked the whip and got this crap organized.

In case you can't tell what all is going on up there, we have (starting from the very back):

Fruity O's (off brand fruit loops), a huge bag of sugar--14lbs? (I think), two jars of dry roasted peanuts, a can of whole almonds, powdered sugar, brown sugar, coconut, a big honkin' dark chocolate Hershey bar, a box of semi-sweet baker's squares, six bags of various chips (milk choc, semi-sweet, white choc, butterscotch and Heath bits, respectively), a can of sweetened condensed milk, a can of evaporated milk, a jar of instant coffee, two bags of caramel bits, a large bag of pecans, all purpose flour, a jar of peanut butter, a bag of Reese's minis, storage bags and aluminum foil for packaging, white choc and milk choc almond bark, a bag of miniature marshmallows and 3lbs of sweet potatoes.

Granted, the sweet taters were what I cooked for church lunch Sunday, and I used the evaporated milk for the pie I took to said church lunch, but the rest of it? All for tomorrow.

And then there's THIS:

Cream cheese out the wazoo, sausage and cheese for sausage balls, sour cream, cool whip, eggs, half
and half, heavy cream, milk, margarine, butter, pie crust (for the pie I baked Sunday)...of course, there's lots of stuff that isn't for baking. The Dr. Pepper and sweet tea are a concession to the fact that there will be actual guests in my home who expect something a little more than water and coffee to drink. And there's stuff like aloe jelly that I keep in the fridge for when I burn myself. Not to mention the package of ground chicken I bought to try out How Sweet's Buffalo Chicken burgers. And some diet Barq's that Sis1 left in my fridge back in...October? Oh, and button mushrooms. And tiny bottles of water I keep on hand for Sis1's sporadic visits because she refuses to drink tap water. Also a few condiment type things.

So. Yeah. When the cashier rang me up at Wal-Mart Saturday? I almost cried. I have NEVER spent that much on groceries before. I think I may have had a small panic attack handing over the cash for it all. I mean, it's one thing to drop a load of dough on a new flat screen that you can enjoy for (hopefully) several years. It's quite traumatic, however, to spend a ton on stuff intended to be eaten.

Fortunately, I had saved some nickles and budgeted down to the penny so that I didn't have to charge a dime on Mr. Mastercard. (Take that, evil plastic!) And I actually came in $20 under budget! But still...panic attack. lol

Grand total? $134 and change. I know. For some people that's their regular grocery budget. My regular grocery budget is usually around the $30-40 mark. $50 if I hafta buy stuff for potlucks/parties. See where I'm coming from?

I'm not quite sure what all will be baked ~~tomorrow~~ today. I've gotten a head start on some things. For instance, all but one roll of the sausage and one block of cheese pictured has already been used to bake sausage balls for my co-workers. I do know that I'm making some Starbuck's brownies, peanut clusters, turtles and possibly spiced sugar cookies. Also, the white chocolate chunkies I made last Christmas will be making a reappearance--minus the cherries the recipe calls for. I like the cherries but I liked the cookies better without them.

Anyway, as you read this, I will likely have been mixing and baking as well as chasing toddlers for HOURS. Picture me exhausted. ;-)

Happy baking!

Feliz Navi-gone!

2011-12-20T13:30:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again. The last day of the year for me to yammer in ya'lls ears about whatever. Fret, not, though, dear friends. Unlike previous years, I fully intend to scedule a few posts to keep ya'll entertained while I'm away.

But let's get on with it...the year end post.

I can't say that 2011 has been all that terrible. For all the evil in the world and all the natural disasters that occurred, I and those I love most have been extremely blessed. Good health and new "wealth". Sis1 and her family were spared the devestation of the Tuscaloosa tornadoes back in April. All my "babies" have continued to grow up healthy and wonderful. I was able to finish some major projects in the house despite a knee that would have loved to have seen me dead. Paw-paw H. turned 80 and is still kickin' despite a recent galbladder surgery. I have not lost my mind. Well, not completely, anyway.

Yes, 2011 hasn't been bad at all. Not without it's losses, but nevertheless a not sucky year. It is with that in mind that I look forward to the coming year in hopes that 2012 will be an equally not sucky year and instead full of more blessings than we can stand. That is my prayer for ya'll as well, my friends--A blessed and joyful 2012.

And also? May all your kisses be sloppy and full of tongue!

Merry Christmas!!!

Little Helper

2011-12-19T13:02:00.000-06:00

It's super fun to wrap gifts with the Devil Pup. She's sooooooo helpful.

Anyone need to borrow her?

The Agony

2011-12-16T14:07:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I feel like all I do is listen to other women gripe about their husbands. All the way to work this morning I got to hear Mama ranting over Daddy. Then at first break E and A spent the whole time griping about THEIR husbands. I'm not even married and I can sympathize with them over the butt-ish behavior of men because...I HEAR ABOUT THEM ALL THE TIME.

Thank GOD I'm not married.

On a related note, I'll be baking cookies this weekend. How is that related? Stress relief. Yes. Stress relief from other people's marriages.

On an unrelated note, us girls all went to the just off campus Chinese joint for lunch today. Heard said around the table:

"I'll sit all over your cooties for hours."

"I'm going to eat your cookie now."

I may or may not have said at least one of those things followed by, "That didn't sound right at all."

Then on the way back they made fun of me for saying "totally."

Good times. Thank GOD for a nine day vacation coming up next week! lol

Also, we were totally hoping the university pres would, like, give us Monday and Tuesday off? But, like, it's Friday and no word yet so we're, like, totally sure we've got to work those two days. Bummer.

Also, also, I just spent thirty minutes looking for a printout that was IN MY HAND. Blergh. I think I need to start my vacation NOW.

Happy Friday, ya'll!

Coconut Bars

2011-12-15T11:53:00.002-06:00

I remembered!!

This is the recipe for the coconut/oat bars that I brought to work for our "dessert social" Tuesday.

via Nov./Dec 2010 issue of Unwrapped--A supplement to Mississippi Magazine

In case you can't read that...

1 stick margarine (I used salted butter because it's what I had)
1/3 cup oil (I used canola...again, because it's what I had.)
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste because...YOU GUESSED IT...It's what I had!)
1 cup coconut
1.5 cups oats (I used old fashioned oats--oatmeal)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick baking spray. With mixer, cream margarine, oil and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, and blend well. Add vanilla. Stir in coconut, oats, flour, and salt, and beat well. Pour batter into pan and smooth top with spoon. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool and cut into bars or shapes.
Yield: 24(ish--that's my ish. *g*) bars
Edith Mangnum, Terry.

These are gooey and taste a lot like a blondie. The oats and coconut kind of "melt" into the bar and is just overall yummy. Needless to say, Libby has been harassing me for these since I pulled our batch out of the oven Saturday. lol I skipped the shapes and went strait for bars because, really, who has time for cookie cutters when there's dessert to be eaten? lol

Blaming Christmas

2011-12-14T14:07:00.000-06:00

It's all Christmas's fault that I...

...have taken a long lunch every day this week, plus last Friday. And that I ate out all four of those days. Christmas makes people need to get together to EAT. Christmas is about Jesus and food. Apparently.

...baked two batches of coconut oatmeal bars (Recipe tomorrow, maybe. If I remember to bring it.) and kept one batch at home to eat and brought one to work for yesterday's dessert social. The one at home is halfway gone and I baked it Saturday night. It was a 9x13 pan full. Now reduced to half that. Probably LESS than half that, if I'm being entirely honest.

...have not vacuumed the bedroom carpet in TWO MONTHS. Yes. You can blame decorating for Christmas on chores you've neglected since the middle of October even though you didn't actually start decorating until the first weekend in December. I said so, that's why.

...have four pounds of sausage defrosting in my fridge next to four bags of preshredded cheese. Yes, Virginia, it's sausage ball time again. And my work buddies don't know it yet, but that's all they're getting from me this Christmas. I usually bake them an assortment of goodies (cookies, ranch oyster crackers and whatever else I come up with) but this year? Well, I'm focusing my extra dough on family and charity (Lottie Moon Christmas offering for foreign missions is in December, ya'll!) and also, I'm lazy. But. Thankfully they're only nice to me the other eleven months of the year because of the sausage balls anyway so I doubt they'll even miss the other junk.

...got an inch cut off my hair Monday. Apparently I hadn't had it trimmed since LAST CHRISTMAS so it was well past time. An inch, ya'll, just to nab all the nasty split ends. Prior to that, though, my hair was dangling just past my bra-line. (Mid-back, for all you who don't know where the bra-line is. hehe) Now it's right AT my bra-line. Longest I've had it in YEARS. I think. But I never notice my hair until Christmas. Got to look good for all the Christmas photos, you know.

...spent thirty minutes yesterday making out the grocery list of items JUST FOR this years baking day with Sis2. Which I will be hosting at my house this year. In my tiny kitchen. JOY. Did I tell ya'll this already? It's next Wednesday. Ya'll pray.

...just pre-ordered THREE copies of The Pioneer Woman's new cookbook that doesn't come out until March. One for me and one for both of the sisters. Because I NEEEEED a new cookbook and since I introduced her last one to them a couple of Christmas's ago I was feeling generous in enabling them to remain hooked. I'm a cookbook enabler, I am. I may not give them their copies until next Christmas, though. It's called shopping early!

...am considering trying my hand at baking Grandmother Bread again. Something about Christmas makes me wish I were a domestic goddess who bakes homemade bread. What's up with that, Christmas?

...really want to run away from home until March.

What all does Christmas get the blame for with ya'll? Anybody else wishing you could celebrate it hidden away alone in a cozy cabin with a stack full of ~~naughty~~ books and a pantry full of Bailey's and Godiva?

Today I...

2011-12-13T13:37:00.001-06:00

...got to eat lunch with two of the three most awesome kids in the entire ~~world~~ universe. We ate at Chic-fil-A and then came back to the "libary" and rode the "alligator" aaaaaaalllll the way up to the top floor where all the Max and Ruby books are kept. We picked out a TON of books.

...marvelled at the "kid in a candy story" reaction from Lyssa when we entered the juvenile section. "I want this one." "Ooo, look at this one." "I haven't read that one!" "Can we get this one to?" It warms an old aunts heart to see a complete and unabashed love of books from her.

...received an open mouthed kiss from a two-year-old boy. It was...slobbery. Sweet. But slobbery.

...marched across the drill field holding a four-year-old girl's hand while we giggled.

...got to laugh out loud while reading Sis1's email about Emmy's new "attitude problem." Let's just say, if we reap what we sow, Sis1's in for a heck of a time--and Emmy's getting a head start on it!

...responded to Sis1's email with..."Believe it or not, it won't actually kill you. If it did, we'd have become orphans a long time ago." To which she replied, "Ha ha your so funny!"

...realized that the Starbucks at the student union is closed for the rest of the year. But the campus bakery's open and they have Starbucks' lattes AND donuts. Take that, Starbucks!

...took the stairs--THREE TIMES!!

...printed off four new recipes...dag-gum you, How Sweet It Is! My recipe drawer overfloweth. I need a second job just for this new recipe trying addiction. But then when would I have time to cook? What I really need is to be independently wealthy. Yes. Let's make that happen.

And I'm out. Happy Tuesday, ya'll!

Moar Chrissmas

2011-12-12T14:09:00.001-06:00

Because ya'll ain't tired of that crap, yet. ;-)

So, Saturday I felt a little less like death (after breakfast and a nap) and got busy finishing(ish) the Christmas decorations. You know, by the time I'm actually done it'll be time to take them back down again. So ya'll? Just to warn you? I may celebrate Christmas clear into Spring.

Now, as for what all else I done gal-darn done did...

I "finished" the dining room?

What all else did I do, you ask? Well here. Let me show you it.

I put up the garland over the doorway to the kitchen. (A five minute job with a 85% chance for injury--a step stool was involved.) And can I just say that clip on poinsettias are DA BOMB even if nobody says "da bomb" anymore? Because they totally are.

Seeing that pic makes me realize how badly I need to clean off my fridge. It's a clutter of stuff I don't even know what all.

Also, I did this!

Which is only vaguely different from last year. I added the small painting (from Kirkland's circa. 5 years ago), the table runner (made by Granny circa 10 years ago--it's reversible!) and the white bowl with Christmas cards (from Southern Living at Home circa 7? years ago).

I've received exactly three cards so far. I've mailed exactly zero. I haven't even bought cards this year. Partly because I'm lame but mostly because I'm cheap. And none of the cheap cards I can afford are worth a darn. Too bad I'm not as crafty as Trixie or I'd make my own. So ya'll? If I normally send you a card and you don't get one this year? Now you know why. Doesn't mean I don't still love ya/send you Christmas wishes.

But, back to the point of this post. (If there is one.)

I also tweaked the decoration (vignette) on the small chest.

Basically, I removed the frosty lantern thing and added my Southern Living at Home round tray (that usually/used to live on the table) with some greenery and junk. I like it much better. That black lantern is one my all time favorite things I own even though it was mispriced by $10 when I purchased it a couple of years ago. I think it's been worth every penny just because I've never packed it away and love it more and more. (Could I wax more poetic about my stuff? I'm annoying me.)

The table is a little overdressed in this pic. I've since removed the stacked compotes and the other bowl thing. I think they'd be great if I was serving little treats or something but otherwise just crowd the table.

Now, we move out of the dining room (finally) and onto the "finished" bookcases/faux mantel.

Do ya notice anything different there? (Other than the ugly blue step-stool I was too lazy to move for the photo?)

How 'bout now?

One more hint, for the kids in the back...

I finally reclaimed my wreath from work and reconfigured it to suit this spot between the bookcases! I may be biased, but I lurrrrrves it. I think it's the topper to the whole shebang. All I did was wrap a bit of the silver "garland" to the red that was already on there, stick a prefab silver bow and that thing in the middle? That's a Dollar Tree door hanger in the shape of a big jingle bell. Who says door knob hangers are just for door knobs? ;-)

I also took my genius outside and tarted up the big front window.

And planted a little faux tree...

Because nothin' says "Merry Christmas" like a funky yard ornament draped in garland and sporting a bunch of balls. (Yes, balls.)

Please ignore the random brick and the junk in the background. As a general rule, I ignore the exterior of my house and thusly have a lot of random stuff in weird places.

Also, I'm a sucky photographer and that's why I didn't manage to get the whole house in this shot.

More fun stuff:

Gratuitous Christmas Tree shot with presents.
(and Libby's toys).

Nativity set.

Obligatory Libby watching Mama work shot.

And so concludes my 2011 Christmas decoration extravaganza. ~~Probably~~. Possibly.

Groggy

2011-12-09T13:16:00.001-06:00

So. Ya'll remember that cold that was stopping me up the other day? Yeah. It's still hanging around. And while the cold itself isn't all that miserable (yet) the meds I'm taking to kick it to the curb are kicking MY butt.

Nyquil and Dayquil, while I loveth thee more than any other cold medicine, thou art totally kickething my butt like, woah!

I'm all...

source

I really probably shoulda oughtta stayed at home today and like, you know, slept it off. But, well, I'm a martyr. And also it's kinda a pain to call in sick since my former supervisor retired. I have to call TWO people now and, well, I don't like phones. Which is dumb because it's like I'd rather come to work half drunk on Nyquil and pass out at the reference desk (which I totally didn't do and you can't prove otherwise) instead of just sucking it up and just using the dag-gum phone.

But also again, I get to mope around the office and show off my pitfifullness so that people can be all, "Man, she's so dedicated because I'd have stayed at home but she's just such a good little employee that she came on in anyway because she knew we neeeeeedded her."

Obviously, my co-workers are the queens of run on sentances, too. (sentences? wth do I know? ~~I'm half~~ ~~drunk and hung over~~.)

So, yeah. Here I am all ~~hungover~~ groggy from Nyquil (and I don't care what they say, Dayquil does TOO make you drowsy) at work wishing I'd just stayed home.

Dag-GUM my aversion to phones and my matyrish tendancies.

When Mommy's "Working"

2011-12-08T10:52:00.001-06:00

The Devil Pup will often follow me around, completely under foot when I'm busy doing stuff around the house. You know, like cleaning. Or crafting. Which with me usually closely resembles a chicken with its head cut off. (Is this a just a southern expression? Or do ya'll "up yonder" use this expression, too?) I can't tell you how often I've nearly accidentally stepped on, tripped over or kicked her. Let's not forget that she ought to know from early experience what can happen there...

December 2007

After a while, if my headless chicken routine lasts too long, she'll finally settle down. Sometimes to pout.

Tuesday night during crafting session.

And sometimes just to watch.

Monday night during bookcase decorating.

Maybe it's a dog thing, but why can't she ever just START OUT staying put in one place instead of nearly getting maimed a couple dozen times?

And why does it guilt trip me into stopping what I'm doing to cuddle her when she DOES settle down to pout or watch? :-|

If I had only had a mantle...

2011-12-07T12:53:00.001-06:00

None of the places I've lived in the past ten years have had fireplaces with a mantle. The lake house had a propane space heater (and that was the ONLY heat!) but no mantle. If I'd had the money or energy I would have faked one over the space heater but back then I think I was just too beaten down by the broken down mess that house was to really want to invest in that kind of inspiration.

Anyway, all that to say, I've always been terribly jealous of the people in magazines, TV and the Internet (and my sisters!) who have mantles to decorate at Christmas. You know, with garland and stockings. My stockings have always hung on the wall. See here. That was at the apartment. Apparently I never bothered taking pictures of the stockings in the lake house or this house the past couple of years. That's how sad it is to hang stockings on a wall, ya'll.

All the time we were growing up we hung them on the mantle. Even after we removed the old wood stove that used to live beneath it, we'd always hang our stockings on the mantle. Still do. I still have a stocking at the folks' house. :-)

THIS YEAR...I still don't have a mantle or a fireplace BUT there were some major (to me) changes 'round my house over the past several months. Furniture reassignment. Paint. You'd be surprised what a difference it makes to the way I've decorated for Christmas. Granted, I'm still not entirely finished because I'm still missing a few key pieces to help me git'r'done. BUT, the thing that excites me the most is...

I have someplace other than a wall to hang my stockings!!

My original intent was to push the two bookcases together for one long faux mantle. And I did actually shove the one on the left down to meet the one on the right. But (and I never noticed this in all the years I've had these bookcases) the one on the left has "feet" making it an inch taller than the one on the right! They weren't flush! *sob*

So I shoved 'em back apart, moved my great-grandmother's antique sewing table in between 'em (I've decided I like it better there than small chest )and decided I could still treat it as a faux mantle if I wanted to. Because I'm the boss, ya know.

Here's another POV.

Once I claim my wreath back from work (this weekend!), my plan is to hang it in the empty spot to fill that in. Also, I need to swap out the blue candles for some red but you see where I'm going with this, right? And while it may just be "making do" I love it.

Meanwhile, the small chest got moved back to it's original home.

It's fully dressed in it's new dark walnut coat (albeit not polyurethaned yet) and sparkling with it's new "jewels." Don't know if you noticed, but the clock above it got a little holiday makeover.

Sorry this is so dark. I had to take the photo without the flash to avoid a flare
and it was like 9pm. Sadly, the only time I ever actually SEE the inside of my house
anymore is before daylight and after dark. Can you spell "depressing?"

I just cut some wrapping paper to fit and inserted it like I did previously. Only this time, it was much easier because I already had the template done. All I had to do was roll out a square of snowflake wrapping paper, trace the template on the back, cut and voila! Instant holiday clock!

It, too, is imperfect but I'm too ~~lazy~~ busy and important to go back and tweak it. Plus, the screwdriver I use to unscrew the tiny little screws in the back to remove the face is just about worn out. Blah. (I need better tools!)

Hopefully this weekend I'll get the rest of the house blitzed up for Christmas and give ya'll the full on tour. *fingers crossed* I just need a) some command hooks b) my wreath and c) the energy. That's going to the be the hardest part!

Note: In case you noticed it, the little black and white checkered/cowprint stool beneath the sewing table is what Granny bought Mama for Christmas at the flea market this year. It's at my house because I had to slyly buy it and smuggle it home in Sis2's car so that Mama wouldn't see it. Which, she almost did...and may actually have. I was AT THE DOOR of the flea market building about to rush it outside to Sis2's car when Lyssa and Mama spotted me and Lyssa came rushing up to ask me where her mama was. Thankfully, I'm wide enough that I think I hid it fairly well between me and the door as I rushed out with a "She's still inside!" I don't think the door hit Lyssa in the face on my way out.

All Stopped (and Shopped!) Up

2011-12-06T14:23:00.001-06:00

I think I'm finally taking a dreaded head cold. My nasal passages are all stuffy and the spot in my forehead between my eyeballs is got a total hate goin' on. Sweet!

The past few days have just been a whirlwind. Friday I took off work and Mama and I went up to Tupelo to do some Christmas shopping. Also, we just wanted a day outta town and Tupelo has all the really fun places to go. Like Hobby Lobby. And Kirkland's. It also has a large mall. Which, unfortunately, we didn't ever make it to.

We started the trip off at Hancock's Fabrics on a whim. Neither of us knew that they had more than just fabric! They have all sorts of crafty stuff. Right off the bat we found acrylic craft paint for $.50 a bottle! We didn't buy on that first stop because we weren't sure if that were a good a deal as we thought. But after a look at Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart we discovered that it was indeed and excellent deal and ended up going back on our way home and bought $5 worth for Sis2 and the kiddos who are currently really into crafting.

I gotta admit, though--the bulk of our day was spent at Hobby Lobby. I haven't been to a HL in probably three years. Not since the last time I spent a long weekend with Sis1 in Tuscaloosa. So Mama and I had fun. They had all of their Christmas stuff marked 50% off so we stocked up on a few items for the kiddos. Well, Lyssa, mostly. She fell in love with the colorful Mardi Gras trees from the Showcase/Gala especially the one with the feathers. So we decided to do her up a purple tree (her favorite color) with feathers and sparkly stuff. And oddly enough, feathers appear to be in this year. We found a nice selection of clip on feather ornaments and got three each in white and red. (Red's her other favorite color.)

I also put a dent in my gift shopping there, too. I bought Sis1 a collage frame in the colors she redoing in her den and bought both sisters a pretty birdhouse. Birdhouses were marked 50% off, too! I'll try to remember to get pics of them tonight before I wrap 'em up. They're pretty. Also bought Lyssa a set of Disney Princess magnetic paper dolls. She's really into the princesses right now and I recall how much I used to LOVE playing with paper dolls. Assuming Efan doesn't destroy them, I think she'll enjoy them, too.

Also bought a set of clear glass balls to try my hand at decorating them. Kinda mixed feelings on how they've come out so far. I'll hafta get pics of them, too.

After lunch at Taco Bell (yes, Taco Bell--I never go to the one here in town because it's in an odd spot on the highway too far from work to quickly get to and I loves me some Chalupas!) we hit up Kirkland's which--*swoony sigh*--is one of my other favorite places on earth. Everything in there is just so beeeeeuutiful. I fell absolutely in LOVE with a couple of peacock pieces--a wreath made of peacock feathers (so lush and decadent looking!) and a glass platter with a metallic painted peacock. (Much more gorge than it sounds, trust me.) Both were out of my price range but I may or may not be getting one or the other for Christmas because Mama sent me out of the store so she could do some Christmas shopping. (fingers crossed!)

By the time we left there, we had just enough time to hit the Wal-Mart for a couple of items Mama needed, swing back by Hancocks for the paint, shop the discount bread store and stop for gas before we had to head home if we wanted to make it back before dark. Driving down the Natchez Trace after dark=Not our thing. The deer! They will jump out and keel you!

Speaking of deer...we had a close encounter with one this morning. I think one of Santa's got loose cause that thing sure looked as though it flew right over our car. Either that, or he had springs on his feet. Seriously, driving to work this morning we were about halfway here when just outta nowhere one almost literally flew right in front of us to cross the road. The thing was so close that had it not being going 150mph I'd have been able to see the whites of his eyes. Mama didn't even have time to apply her breaks before it was gone. Seriously. It missed us mowing it down by like maybe a foot. Wanna talk about getting woke up? Yeah.

Anyway, we made it home Friday without incident.

I had to work a few hours Saturday so after I got off, I went to the Wal-Mart for groceries and to buy Lyssa's tree. She wanted a purple one and just so happened I'd seen one there the week before. However, when I went to get it, I just about cried because I couldn't find one in a box anywhere. They had a TON of pink and blue but I couldn't find a purple one to save my soul.

But then! I was just about to give up and call Sis2 to ask if Lyssa would settle for a pink one when I spotted one lone purple tree at the very tip top of the pile of pink ones. The conundrum, of course, being how to get it down. The trees are back in the garden section and both cashiers were busy so I just stood there waiting for one to get free. Probably about ten minutes or so. Finally one got done with no one else in line and I walked up to her station. "Excuse me," I murmured politely and smiled. She turned around and walked off. I followed her. "Excuse me, I'm so sorry, but could you help me?" She kept walking. I jumped in front of her. "I'm sorry but could you help me get a tree down? It's at the very top of the shelf."

The woman glared at me. GLARED. How dare I ask her for assistance?? She sighed and wordlessly retrieved the ladder from where it stood TWO FEET AWAY, climbed three steps up to slide it out and hand it down to me. The whole thing took less than two minutes out of her day but she glared at me the whole dag-gum time. "Thank you soooooo much," I exclaimed.

Customer service. Right.

I don't even care, though, because dag-gummit, I got Lyssa's purple tree! :-)

I dropped it off at their house on my way home and had to leave it on their doorstep. THEY had gone to Tupelo. lol

Sis2 called me after they got home, though, and said the child just about flipped cartwheels when she realized what was in the long skinny box and found all the sparkly ornaments and feathers we'd bought her.

I'd bought Efan a Thomas the Train ornament, too. Sis2 said he exclaimed "Thomas! Ball!" and promptely threw it across the room. Fortunately it isn't breakable. Now she says he retrieves it from their tree and carries it all over the house. That boy? He's a mess!

Sunday was cold and rainy so I stayed in and napped after church.

Yesterday was a long and busy day and today hasn't been all that calm either. I just love meetings. Except not.

Hopefully I'll have photos tomorrow of all the "work" I've been doing at the house. Christmas decorations ahoy! ;-)

Makin' Stuff Again

2011-12-01T13:21:00.000-06:00

Prior to mine and the Devil Pup's photoshoot Tuesday night, I made another Christamas decoration. This time, a wreath.

Mine from last year is currently out of commission because I had to use it to make a wreath for the showcase/gala at the library. One of the head cheeses liked it so well she decided to keep it up in our department until we leave for ~~Christmas~~ Winter Break.

It's just a basic green garland wreath with some photo reproductions from a collection attached to it with a Dollar Tree bird and pine cone clip clipped on.

So Tuesday after work, Mama and I had to stop at Wal-Mart for a few things and while there, I picked up the stuff to make myself a new wreath. Because my door looked nekkid without one and it's three weeks before the break.

All I used was some hotglue, two clip on poinsettia blossoms, a tree ornament, and two boxes of these...

on a new green garland style wreath.

I managed to burn my fingers probably only a half dozen times which is like, HUGE for me. And the end result?

I like it, I think. I've definitely not seen another one like it around here. It's probably a little wonky in places but since when do snowflakes fall into perfect placement?

I'm calling it my "Edward" wreath. You know. Because it sparkles. Rawr.

We're a couple of Misfits

2011-11-30T13:01:00.001-06:00

So last night I decided it was Christmas Tree photography time.

When Libby showed up in this one, I decided it was Libby and Mama Christmas photo time.

Libby was absolutely NOT into it.

But I could not be deterred. I was determined.

But she was all, "Hell no."

So this is the best I got.

Because nothin' says "Christmas Cheer!" like pinning your puppy into a stronghold just to get a dag-gum Christmas photo with her.

Libby finally escaped, though. She's stealthy like that.

I love the look on her face. She's all chagrined.

I couldn't get her to come near me again until I brought this

in the living room. She coveted my marshmallows.

Stinker.

And yes, those are my pajamas. They may look familiar. I do own others but these are my favorites.

Also, I think I'm about to hafta invest in a new camera. I want one, but also because this one has started giving me a lot of blurry shots. Even when I'm NOT half nelson-ing the Devil Pup. I had to shoot off half a dozen shots of the tree last night to get a couple of clear ones. And since it's a point and shoot I figure it can't have MUCH to do with user malfunction. Much.

Makin' Stuff

2011-11-29T13:33:00.000-06:00

I've seen a ton of DIY'd little Christmas trees around the internets over the past few years made of various materials such as card stock or floral cones. I always thought, "I could do that." My favorites were this one (the wax paper tree) and this one. Well, I tried both and ended up with a big fat mess. And lots of burned fingers.

I had already bought two floral cones--one smallish one from Dollar Tree and one bigger one from Wal-Mart so I knew I had to use them for SOMETHING. And then it came to me...Yarn trees!

I still had some soft white yarn left from the afghans I'd made Lyssa and Efan when they were babies and I had a box of corsage pins--you know, the ones with the pearl on the head?

I had to paint the green Wallyworld cone to keep the green from showing through but after that it was simply a matter of wrapping each cone in the white yarn and decorating them. It was a slow and tedious process but once it was done, I liked these two so much that I went back to Dollar tree and bought another one to cut in half for a smaller tree and...

Voila!

A trio of white Christmas trees.

As you can see, I filled in the flat top with the corsage pins to give it more of a tree look and then just stuck a few around the "trunk" of the tree for some added glam. Also, you can't see from this pic, but I studded the bottom edge with a few, too.

I arranged them on a cake plate stand for some added drama and dressed the stand part with some Dollar Tree Christmas "garland" I already had.

And that is my take on some four dollar DIY Christmas decoration!

Check it out!!

2011-11-29T08:16:00.001-06:00

My pal, Jen, is having a giveaway over on her blog this week. She's got a cute little baking set to giveaway that she and her daughter picked out at Joanne's recently. So go on over and be sure to enter. I did! :-D

Exhaustified

2011-11-28T14:15:00.001-06:00

One would think that one would experience rest and relaxation during a five day weekend. One would be wrong.

I'm exhaustified. No more so than I was BEFORE Thanksgiving break, but I'd hoped to feel BETTER. Not THE SAME. But such is life.

Wednesday I stayed home most of the day just me and the Devil Pup. We watched a few episodes of something on HGTV (I think) and ate a disgusting bowl of oatmeal for breakfast because I'd bought oatmeal for this sweet potato casserole recipe and since it only called for like, a quarter cup or something, I knew I'd have a buttload of oats left and I may as well try to eat them, right? (Why hello, run on sentence.) I doctored them up with the maple syrup I'd also bought for the recipe as well as some brown sugar and a handful of pecans. It would have been delicious if I'd left out the oatmeal. Next time, I'll know.

Anyway, I finally got around to staining the little chest of drawers and the top of the drafting table. I did it inside because it was humid outside and ya'll...THE FUMES!! I'm still a little high even after opening all the windows and turning on the ceiling fan. BUT, most of the chest came out awesome. Except for the top.

Here's where I'd show you pictures if I'd taken any. I never even so much as pulled my camera out of my work bag all weekend. Not to take pictures of the chest, the drafting table, my family, my tree--nothin'! So. No pictures. Just trust me when I say, the top didn't take the stain well. I'll try to remember to photograph it tonight and show ya'll tomorrow. Cause the drafting table top didn't stain well either. It was a disaster. Just random splotches of no stain. *sigh* Sometime next year I'll sand it down and try again but for now I'm sick of sanding and staining and want to just, I know, rest a while. Or something.

So anyway, after the staining and debating about why some parts took the stain well others didn't, I ate lunch and dove butt first onto the couch to mindlessly watch television with a warm and snuggly puppy. I don't even remember what I ate for lunch or if it tasted good or if I cooked it or what. I think I was seriously high at that point and lost a bit of the day. The next thing I really remember about Wednesday was driving twenty minutes just to get a burger and fries.

Yep. I drove twenty minutes into town to go to McDonald's for a Bacon Angus Cheesburger, fries and a Coke. I justified the trip as my personal Thanksgiving because otherwise it would have felt exceedingly ridiculous to drive twenty minutes just to go through a McD's drive-thru for a burger. But I've done stupider things so I call it good.

The burger was good, too. Hadn't had one in a while.

Oh! I just remembered what I did Wednesday afternoon. I went ahead and made this pie for Thursday. I will go ahead and tell you that not one single slice was eaten at our Thanksgiving lunch but Sis2, Goofus and I dug into it Thursday night and we all died of sugar overload. Seriously. I'm writing this post from my grave!!!

No, for real, it is a delicious concept and a good pie but Oh! The Richness! It's too much! So. Not a keeper.

Anyway, Wednesday night I...I can't remember. I know I watched Suburgatory on ABC and scoffed at Syfy for running Ghost Hunters reruns instead of a new show but I that's it. I wish I could say I spent the evening reading or writing poetry because that would make me sound so much more intelligent. But I think I mostly just vegged on the couch and contemplated my belly button.

Thursday I made a mess in my kitchen cooking the sweet potato casserole before jetting of to my grandparent's house. It was a seriously quiet (and dull) Thanksgiving lunch this year. There were only seven of us this year--Me, Mama, Uncle R and his wife, Uncle M and Ma-maw and Paw-paw H. No crazy cousins running in and out. No loud Aunts jabbering about junk. No crazy Unlce T making up junk for a laugh. Just lunch, an after lunch walk and standing around outside yelling at Maw-maw because she didn't have her hearing aids in.

Thursday night, Sis2's bunch of crazy came over to Mama's and we ate leftovers and talked and yelled "EFAN!!" twenty million times because seriously, ya'll, that boy is into EVERYTHING. lol

Friday we (Mama, Sis2, me, Granny and Aunt G) all trekked to the big flea market in Tupelo for the day. I didn't buy anything but an ornament ($1) and two bags of macadamia nuts at the second chance grocery thing there. ($2) But I spent $6 on breakfast and lunch and $3 for ice cream for me, Lyssa and Sis2. Oh yeah, Lyssa came with us. She was only interesting in seeing the various dogs for sale there. Otherwise she was "done." Twenty minutes after we go there she was all "I'm done Mama." We had to bribe her with the promise of more dogs to see and looking for movies--cheap DVD's. She did find an Ariel DVD (she's into mermaids, these days) and tried her darndest to talk her mama into an adorable discounted Pomeranian puppy. Alas, they came home puppy-less.

Meanwhile, all us old folks could hardly move by the end of the day. And Saturday it took me a good minute after I got out of bed to convince my legs to carry me to the bathroom.

So Saturday I got my tree up. Again--no pictures. I suck.

I think next year (or after Christmas sales?), though, I'm going to look into buying a smaller tree. The 7.5 footer is just too freakin' big for my tiny living room and it takes me too freakin' long to put it together. I really need like a five foot or something. Maybe cave and get a pre-lit one that comes in two or three sections. Ding, dang, done. Easy peasy.

Yesterday it rained all day so after church I snuggled in at the folks' house and ate lunch and watched Food Network while we took turns napping.

And today...Today we're under a winter weather advisory. For realz...They're talkin' SNOW. In November...IN MISSI-freakin'-SSIPPI!

I could use the snow day off work, though, so I'm actually crossin' my fingers we wake up to a flippin' blizzard tomorrow morning. Not likely but a girl can dream, right?

Gingerbread and Trees

2011-11-23T13:38:00.000-06:00

One of the more awesome exhibits from the Showcase Gala was this...

It is a gingerbread replica of the library. Two of the staff from the Instructional Media department built it. It's super awesome. The details are just amazing and I can't imagine how they pulled it off. Super talent, I guess.

Below, is allegedly our dean as portrayed by a gingerbread person. It's pretty much spot on, right down to the ~~demon eyes~~ pearls.

At this particular exhibit, the two who created the replica were also hosting a "decorate your own gingerbread person" party. The kids, especially enjoyed this one, though I must say at least three of the staff I work with made their own, too. I didn't because I was too busy searching for the buffet table. :-D

As was the case last time there was a tour of trees on the fourth floor. This year's weren't quite as interesting but they were pretty.

A Glistening Forrest of Christmas Trees

Winter Wonderland

I forgot what this one's theme was...my bad!

Marti Gras-esque

The International Tree

Silver and Gold

Team Spirit/University Archives

Recipe Tree with recipe's submitted by Library Staff

Library "Family" Tree with Photos of
Library Staff--Not me 'cause I refused to submit one.

Antique Ornament Collection

Unfortunately, this is all I've got. I was, you know, werking, so photography time was limited. Thanks to my friend, B, though, there is a group mugshot to be seen...

Em, Me, D, and DD

That's one for the garden, for sure!

From Birthday to Showcase

2011-11-22T13:59:00.001-06:00

I'm not hating on anything or anyone today. Much. hehe Yesterday was a mass of frustration and I realize my reaction to that frustration was a little on the childish side. I tend to be like a toddler when I get frustrated--I throw tantrums. Except, instead of falling down in a screaming fit I cry over yucky recipes (Ritz broccoli casseroles, REALLY? *hurl*), vow to NEVER read certain websites again because their redesign sucks (Smart Bitches anyone?) and post George Strait videos about hating everything.

Mama pulled me mostly out of it at lunch yesterday but the Coke and Chili Cheese Fritos I indulged in at last break didn't hurt. Plus, I had cookies at home so I'm all good now. Still a little in a "I don't want to talk to certain people" mood but for the most part, I'm good. It helps that my best office friend is back at work today. She was out yesterday. She usually pulls me out of my tantrums. Ya'll pray for her. ;-)

Anyway, so here's the weekend review!

Saturday was, of course, Emmy's birthday party. We had it at Sis2's house because it's bigger and easier for Em's other grandparents to get to. And shock of shocks, BIL actually came. I haven't seen him since July 4th so I wasn't exactly sure if he was even still alive. Maybe Sis1 had killed him and was just TELLING us he was working all the time, yanno?

But yeah, so he was there, as ~~was~~ were the usual suspects. You know, these guys?

They were uber helpful.

And seriously hungry.

Does this look familiar?

Let me give you a hint...

She hasn't changed all that much, huh? lol

I'm not sure what the peacock feathers were for except she requested them. And then she kept putting the middle one up to her chin and saying "Gobble, gobble." I'm thinking we need to get her a book about birds, right?

And for the proof that BIL is, indeed, still alive...

Poor BIL. He can, in fact, still walk. Just barely.

So anyway, yeah. Emmy had a fun party. She collected a ton of money that is now burning a hole in her pocket and the best part of all was when we surprised her to go see Breaking Dawn. We didn't tell her where we were going, just that we had to leave at around 2 to get there for our "appointment." She was half convinced that we were taking her to a spa. lol Of course she figured it out as soon as I put my blinker on to turn at the theater. lol She got so excited that she started bouncing around in the back seat and grabbed Sis2's shoulders and started shaking her and squealing. Sis2 now needs some physical therapy, new eardrums and a neck brace, but it was worth it for the excitement on that child's face.

She sat between Sis2 and I and my friends E and A came in almost right at 3 (when the movie started) so they sat next to Sis2 as the seats next to me were full. :-( Emmy spent most of the movie alternating hugging my or Sis2's arm in excitement or with her face pressed into my shoulder to avoid any "nekkid" scenes. She even covered her eyes during the kissing scenes because she says they're "gross."

She didn't think THIS

was gross when she first unrolled it, though. Silly girl. (Love the bewilderment on the other two's faces, though. They're like... "What's the big deal? It's not Dora or Thomas.")

But she LOVED the movie and is super bummed that she hasta A WHOLE YEAR for the next one. She's asked for the first three on DVD so that may be what she's getting for Christmas from dear ol' Aunt Jana.

Anyhoo, after the movie, we went back to Sis2's house and played with the kids a bit before Em and I left for the country. I took her to Nana's and stayed a bit to visit so that we could gross Nana and Sis1 out with details of a few scenes. hehehe

So Sunday I skipped church altogether since I had to be at work at 1:30. I probably could have gone but I'd have been rushed and probably late for work. As it was, I took that extra hour to curl my hair with the curling iron. A completely wasted effort because apparently, my hair is too long to hold a curl anymore. By the time I'd finished the second half of my head, the curl on the first half had ~~fell~~ fallen out. I ended up just pulling up the whole mess and calling it a day. Serves me right for trying to get all fancy.

I did get to work on time and snapped off a pic or two before everyone else got there.

Below is the "homespun" Christmas tree that Mama and her co-workers decorated. Since their tree was going to be near the Ulysses Grant collection Exhibit and displayed with the quilt exhibit they researched Christmas trees from the Civil War era and based their decorations around that. I hate that you can't really see all the details from this picture but they used burlap instead of ribbon, hung real pine cones (plucked from my yard!), strung cranberries (albeit, fake ones), used crocheted ornaments and Mama's BFF fashioned birds from newspaper and magazine pages. I may be biased, but I think theirs was the most awesomest tree there. They put weeks of thought and planning into it and made the ornaments specifically for this event. All the other trees were pretty basic--regular stuff brought from home! (Like the one I did for my department. lol)

I didn't get any photos of the Grant exhibit because it had a "no photography" rule. It was pretty interesting. And I could tell you why a university in Mississippi has the papers of THE Union general, but it's a long convoluted story that involves lots of factors that I'm not at liberty to discuss. BUT, it's cause for great excitement in the world of academia, lemme tell you.

I did managed to snap off a couple of shots of our department before everyone showed up.

Below is the view from the workroom door. As you can see, our exhibit was mostly documents and photographs. They were all pretty interesting, though. Famous autographs--including the original Spanky from Little Rascals and J. Edgar Hoover. Also important documents from our state history and photos our agricultural collection, circa 1950's. I couldn't get any close up shots because for preservation purposes there's a no flash photography rule and it was too dark to get a good shot without flash.

This is the view from the front of the Reference desk--this is the desk I sit at and ~~allow patrons to bother me~~ assist patrons from for 2.5 hours each morning. See the little tree on the corner? That's mine. It's very generic--BALLZ--so I didn't take any close-up shots.

This is the reference shelf that I decorated with my junk from home. Looks familiar, right?

And that's all I'm gonna cover in this post.

You're Welcome. ;-)

I Hate Everything

2011-11-21T11:09:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow I'll (likely) share the quips, pics and happy tales from the weekend but for today, good ol' George Strait sums up how I feel about this day and everything and everyone in it.

My Buns!

2011-11-18T14:38:00.001-06:00

They are tired! I've been workin' my buns just absolutely OFF all day today. We're gearing up for our big library showcase thing and yours truly was put in charge of decorations--as in Christmas decorations. So I loaded up my junk the past couple of days and hauled Christmas from my house to the library. And I gotta tell ya...it's positively weird seeing a bunch of my Christmas stuff in our reference area. lol

It took me a good three hours to get it all set up and THANKFULLY I didn't have any little helpers. And I'm not even being sarcastic, ya'll. I don't really like to share decorating duty with others because I know what I want done and I spend more time explaining things than it would take to actually just do it myself. Hopefully I'll have pics to share Monday. We've got patrons right now or I'd take some pics today. But by waiting to take them, I can be sure that the exhibits are in, too, so I can share those along WITH my Christmas merry making.

Beyond the decorating though, was cleaning. We have paid custodians but they don't do much more than emptying out garbage cans. No dusting. So I dusted all the shelves in the ref. room and picked up visible lint from the carpet just in case they don't get around to vacuuming--a definite possibility. Also straightened up some of the shelves that had gotten kinda wonky.

THEN, on top of that, one of the organizers of the event contacted me this morning and asked me to help gather materials for a last minute exhibit. So that's what I've been doing since I finished my work in the ref. room.

I honestly don't mind the extra projects...it's nice having something different to do. And it's a little exciting to see all the exhibits and such going in. BUT, I'm still dog tired and desperate for a nap. However, a nap will be hard to come by before bedtime.

After I get off work I've got cookies to bake, a devilish pup to snuggle and Chuck to ~~drool over~~ watch. Not to mention that Sis1, BIL(!!) and Emmy are coming in tonight. Thankfully they'll be spending the weekend with the folks since I only have the twin sized guest bed. (Smart thinkin' on my part, amirite? hehe) But who knows if they'll come by my house tonight to visit. I'm anxious to see if BIL is actually still alive, though, since I haven't seen him since the 4th of July. ;-)

Tomorrow is Emmy's birthday party at Sis2's house and afterwards I'm surprising her with a trip to see Breaking Dawn with me and my friends from work. I'm trying to talk Sis2 into going with us but Goofus usually gives her the puppy dog eyes whenever she mentions going anywhere without him especially when he hasta babysit. *rolls eyes*

Speaking of Breaking Dawn, though, Sis1 emailed me yesterday morning all concerned because she'd had a couple of people tell her some weird stuff about it. She asked me had I researched it because a few people had told her that Edward and Bella weren't married when she got pregnant and that the baby is a wolf! lol I told her that not only had I researched it, but that I'd read the dag-gum book and none of the things she'd heard were true. Where do people come up with this stuff? lol I also told her that if it did get a little too risque, I'd be sitting right next to Emmy and would cover her innocent little eyes. :-D

Honestly though, she lets Emmy watch Lifetime movies with her and I've seen some of them get WAY steamier than I'm sure Edward and Bella will. ;-)

Anyway, that's the plan. Party and Breaking Dawn. Then the library gala thing Sunday. Needless to say, I'm gonna have a FULL weekend. I'll be stupid ready for three days off next week!

Not. Smart.

2011-11-16T08:16:00.001-06:00

So, ya'll know I'm not terribly brilliant, right? If for some reason you're not 100% certain, let me help you out there.

Okay, so I have had these two ant beds near my carport for a couple of weeks. One is long and narrow and pressed right up against the carport and the other is a smaller round bed situated just slightly away from the carport. I've been looking at these things for a couple of weeks thinking to myself that I really needed to get the stuff out and kill them. You know, I hate to be a murderess but nobody needs two (or any!) ant beds that close to the house. Besides, the Devil Pup had just about walked through both of them at various times because they're sort of flat on the ground instead of built up. And heck, I've nearly walked through one of them! But for some reason (laziness) I just never did get to killing. Apparently I'm a failure at murder.

And no, this isn't a tale of me reaping my laziness by walking through one and getting eaten a live. That would just be unfortunate. No, this is a tail of me not being all that bright.

Yesterday when I got home from work, the DP and I had walked around the smaller bed and I thought, I've seriously got to get those things taken care of. So, after we picked up the mail (a Snapfish catalog and a loan offer of up to $450,000!!) and the DP did her "business", I let her back in the house and dug out the bug killer stuff from the storage room and hit those babies hard. I soaked 'em good enough that half the bugs in America should be dead right now. Once I felt they were sufficiently poisoned, I smugly went back in the house, fixed supper, ate, watched TV and worked on some craft projects. You know. Snoozefest stuff.

Fast forward to 9pm when I took the DP out for her last "constitutional". I was in my nightgown and the cruddy old clogs I've had longer than the DP has been alive...my "outside" shoes. Ya'll remember clogs, right? Those open backed shoes? Like Berkenstock mules? Those're clogs, right? Anyway, they're open backed shoes. So while the DP was sniffing out which blade of grass she wanted to water, I decided to check the antbeds to see if they were good and dead. And by check, I mean, kick. (You see where I'm going with this, right?)

The long narrow one pressed against the carport appeared good and dead. I kicked it and nothing started running out in chaos to rebuild it's fortress. In fact, I kicked it a couple of times. Dead.

So I smugly bebopped over to the smaller round one and gave it a good kick. Out swarmed a couple hundred black ants to slay the dragon who'd destroyed their castle. I thought, well, crap. It's not dead. But oh, boy. Not only WEREN'T they dead, they were also PISSED.

Yes, my friends, I felt the sting of death by ants on my kicking foot. Apparently I didn't hop back far enough away from the bed after I kicked it because a dozen ants latched onto the exposed part of my foot and chowed down. Eight of 'em actually managed to sink their teeth into me. Oh the burn! Fire raced up my leg, ya'll. I managed to brush them all off but I kid you not, I think they'd rallied the troops because there was a veritable STREAM of ants coming after me. I had to stomp them if I wanted to live because I'm pretty sure they were intent on MY death.

Needless to say, my foot and ankle are slightly swollen and hellishly itchy today, despite my immediate rubdown with alcohol last night. I'm determined not to scratch because 1) scratching only makes it itch worse and B) I don't want them to get infected or anything. Also, it was raining today so I had to wear actual shoes to work BUT I did have the good sense to pack my flip flops to change into once I got in the building. Because ya'll? Shoes rubbing on those bites all day would have been an experiment in TORTURE.

So, there ya have it. My tail of woe and stupidity.

Happy Wednesday!

She's Twelve!

2011-11-15T09:00:00.003-06:00

I was twenty when she was born.

A sophomore in college, I was positively stoked to become an aunt. I wasn't sure what else I wanted to be, though my major was in broadcasting, but I knew instinctively that becoming an aunt would be one of those monumental moments that would change my life forever.

I think it's prettymuch safe to say that being the first grandchild spoiled the girl. Her Nana and Bobo doted on her and she had three devoted mothers as far as she was concerned. For the first couple of years she called us all (Sis1, Sis2 and myself) "mama." And why wouldn't she? Sis2 practically lived with them for the first two years of her life and I spent nearly every spare weekend there, too. When I wasn't at her house, she was with me at the folks' house.

I talked about her with my classmates as though she were my own.

In a lot of ways, she was. I babysat her. I changed her diaper and rode her around in her stroller. I taught her how to play with Barbies and how to be silly. I danced around with her for hours trying to get her to go to sleep when she was tired and cranky. CMT was our best friend because she loved the music. And when that wouldn't work, I'd sing I'll Fly Away to her until she konked out.

I got to see her take her first steps.

She was spending the weekend at the folks' house (where I lived at the time). Sis2 and I had been playing with her when just all of a sudden, she took off walking across the floor. It was one of the most exciting things I've ever witnessed. Sis1 and BIL were upset that they missed it but it's a memory I cherish to this day.

She loved Ritz crackers and juice boxes. And had the most amazing laugh. Always smiling. Always quick for a hug or a kiss. Always excited to see me.

I can barely rememeber a time when she wasn't a huge part of my life. Difficult to think how quickly she's growing up. How someday soon there may be that awkward distance that occurs between children and their aunts as they grow up. I know I'm not as close to my aunts as I was at her age.

But then, I don't think my aunts ever loved me as much as I love this kid. Probably because they had their own kids to love. For me, Emmy and her cousins ARE my kids.

My first little girl is growing up before my very eyes.

First Birthday

Fourth Birthday

Tenth Birthday

She's turning Twelve!

I pray every day that she stays the awesome person she is and skips all that nasty rebelliousness that her mother put us all through. With the heart of gold and sassy mouth she's got right now, it's a toss-up! ;-)

Happy 12th Birthday Miss Emmy.

Back in Action

2011-11-14T13:52:00.001-06:00

Action laced with pain killers, that is. Stripping is hard work. Stripping furniture, that is. I'd show you pics but I'm lame and didn't take any. When I "get in the zone" of a project, I tend to only slightly muse that "hm, I should take a pic to document" and then I keep working and the camera stays in its bag on the mudroom table.

I'm still working on stripping/sanding the small wood chest of drawers. So far I've sanded three different Saturdays and stripped it one Saturday. Apparently I was supposed to, like, strip it first. See statement above about my lameness. *shrugs* Both sanding and stripping are hard work, though, especially when you're a) out of shape b) over thirty and c) don't know what you're doing. And so far I'm $36 into this project and about ready to just ~~dump the thing in the trash and call it a day~~ paint it and be done with it. Who knew deciding to re-stain it would be such a PITA? Probably a lot of people who just didn't wanna tell me. Meanwhile, I've got a gallon of paint that's just BEGGING to go on some walls and no time to help it out. Also, my muscles are all like "What the crap are you DOING to us?"

Seriously. Stripping brings out a whole new set of muscles I never knew I had.

Heh.

Sis1 and Emmy were supposed to come this past weekend for Emmy's birthday party but Sis2 and all her family were sick with a nasty stomach bug so we postponed the party until this coming weekend. Meaning, I got an unexpected Saturday to work on the chest this weekend but next weekend is all party all the time. Almost literally. Saturday morning party, Saturday afternoon Breaking Dawn, Sunday afternoon Library Showcase Gala at work...which I have to work at. Blech. The weekend after that is the weekend after Thanksgiving which will probably be busy with something or other. Either flea market or some family junk. I think Mama's working on getting me to ditch the flea market so that I can babysit Efan so that Sis2 can go to the flea market. Nice, right? The Saturday after THAT I have to work. So maybe sometime before Christmas I'll get the chest stained and poly'd. The gallon of paint may have to wait until ~~Spring~~ Christmas vacation.

But anyway, all that rambling aside, here's a little 411 on what was up with me last week (in a nutshell). A.) I was disastrously PMSing. 2.) I found out that Sis1, Emmy and BIL are ditching us for his family on Thanksgiving (and Sis2 and her family are NEVER around on T-day) 3.) My place at any given Thanksgiving table was in limbo because of, well, it's complicated (my crazy jacked up family) and D.) Did I mention the disastrous PMS? Yeah. I was a total wreck last week all because my hormones teamed up with my crazy family life. I'm (mostly) over it now. I think. I don't think I'd have been THAT upset over the family issues had I not been completely run over with PMS. It was the worst (all around) it's been in a WHILE. I'll spare you all the gruesome details.

You're welcome!

On Hiatus

2011-11-08T13:55:00.002-06:00

Bleh. Ya'll probably haven't realized it yet, but I have been remiss in blogging lately. Lots of drab and dreary thoughts goin' on in the ol' noggin. Not sure yet if I'm ready to share any of it with anyone outside my head. It's a lot of whiney "woe is me" crap that sounds stupid when I type it out. But I can't really make myself interested in writing anything else right now.

So, until I decide to blog about it or suck it up and move on, I'm leaving ya'll with this:

Because she looks how I feel right now--Not quite sure about what lies outside my door.

BUT!! There should be a new addition to Kessler County Chronicles in a bit. I wrote it last week before my head went all wonky on me.

Mr. Engineer, May I Ride Your Train?

2011-11-03T11:54:00.001-05:00

Just TRY gettin' this kid off his most prized birthday present. Ever heard of the terrible twos? He'll show you terrible two's and then some. ;-)

He's Two!

2011-11-02T14:01:00.001-05:00

Okay, so technically he turned two last week. The 27th, to be exact. But I'm a bad aunt and completely forgot to post his birthday tribute. Not that he cares. All he cares about is "Thomas Train!" And "Bite!" as in, you know, eating. Although he was all "I ready party" all morning as we waited for his guests to arrive Saturday. I fear we're raising a frat boy here. (See how I inserted myself into the raising of this child? As though I'm one of his parents? It's the joy of being an unwed and childless aunt. I get to "help" raise them all but they'll blame their parents years from now when they're in therapy. Ahhh, the sweet life. hehehe)

Ahem.

So anyway, Ethan--also known as Brother but better known as Efan turned two last week.

One of the sweetest things in life is an unexpected, unprompted and completely spontaneous kiss from a little boy. Well, it's one of the sweetest joys in MY life. Almost as sweet as when we have conversations in growls instead of words. Boys are a special kind of different but in a totally wonderful way. To say that I love mine is putting it mildly. :-)

Happy Fright Night

2011-10-31T13:50:00.000-05:00

Libby and I are going to snuggle in and read about vampires. But not just ANY vampires. Sexy vampires. So you KNOW we're gonna have a good time. How 'bout the rest of you? Any Halloween plans? Or just the new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, 2Broke Girls and Mike & Molly? Oh wait, though. That's me again. My bad.

Bleh

2011-10-28T13:44:00.003-05:00

I started writing a totally downer post about friendships (or the lack of them--the ones here, notwithstanding) but deleted it because I made myself wanna puke. And if I don't want to read my OWN depressing musings, ya'll sure as shoot won't wanna.

You're welcome.

Anyway, in an effort to be more positive, here's three random things you never realized you always wished you never knew about me.

1. I keep used dryer sheets in my purse. Why? Because most of my purses are hand-me-downs from Sis1 (who has better fashion sense than me and doesn't feel guilty frivolously dropping wads of cash on accessories) and sometimes the insides are kinda stinky. They smell like whatever that lip bomb stuff is she uses. A used dryer sheet freshens them right up. It just looks odd when one pops out while I'm trying to find all the change that emptied out onto the bottom of my purse because I forgot to zip the coin pocket on the back of my wallet. Oops.

2. I always wash towels last because if they get left in the dryer all week--as happens more often than not--it's no big deal. It doesn't matter if towels get wrinkly and I have enough of them to not have to go to the dryer to get a fresh one each morning. Unlike this past weekend when I inadvertently washed my darks last and left them in the dryer all week. Wrinkly pants AND I had to remember to walk all the way to the laundry room to get a fresh pair of dress slacks every day this week. Except yesterday. Yesterday I wore my gray flair legged stretchy pants that I hate because they don't flatter my humongous hiney at. all. and hadn't gotten washed over the weekend because they were still hanging in my closet from not being worn the week before. Last week a wore a skirt one day so my fifth (and atrociously unflattering) pair of slacks didn't get worn.

Didja get all that? Me neither.

Also? I spelled "atrociously" correctly on the first try! Where's my cookie, ya'll??

3. I caved yesterday and bought a latte at the coffee shop. I blame my pal, E, of course, because she's the one who told me about the new vanilla hazelnut latte they just introduced this week. But then the wrong barista fixed it and it wasn't all that good--she's stingy with the syrup!-- and I burned my tongue on it and my tongue still feels weird. So. I feel like I wasted nearly $4 AND did myself bodily harm all over a stinkin' latte. But seriously, I can't be trusted anywhere near a coffee shop. Lattes and coffees are my biggest weakness. Well, them and her:

But ya'll already knew that.

Bonus: In addition to going sugar and bread lite, I've also been doing a mild version of the Special K challenge. (A meal bar for breakfast and a Boost shake and an apple at lunch--raw veggies or the occasional tater chip for snacks.) I'm doing it not entirely to lose weight but more to help my digestive system out. Not only do I feel 100% better but I've lost 4lbs and can once again fit into my jeans. Haven't been able to do that all summer. So yay! Also? I just ate Snickers Mini. And I don't care. :-D

Bad Brain. Or Fingers. Whichever's the True Culprit.

2011-10-27T14:24:00.000-05:00

I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing to re-read your previous day's posts/comments. It always makes me feel like an idiot. All the to/too/two and you're/your mistakes I've caught recently. Not to mention all the they're/their/there typos. Honest to Pete, I do actually know the difference. Just sometimes the ol' brain likes to play jokes on me. Meanie.

If nothing else, I hope ya'll at least get a good chuckle out of it. But don't be like Carrie Bradshaw and celebrate my idiocy with your friends, ala Sex and the City (the one where Big's wife sends Carrie a note and writes "you're" where it supposed to be "your") because that's just rude.

Also? I have a dreaded meeting in five and I'm HUNGRY. Belly is makin' all manner of noises. Where's a Snickers when you need one?

Updated:

Meeting was cancelled!! Yay!!! I'd flip cartwheels if I weren't so lightheaded from hunger. Or if, you know, I wasn't such a big girl. ;-)

Let There Be Light!

2011-10-26T13:11:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned Monday in the weekend ~~snoozefest~~ review Uncle R finally got around to installing the new and totally gorgeous new light fixture in my boudoir. It only took him a month but since he's such a busy guy and, you know, family I'll give the guy a break. ;-)

And since there's not a whole lot more to be said about it, here's the visual you've all been ~~hoping to avoid~~ waiting for.

View from the doorway

Notice how well it ties in with the scroll-y nature of the rest of the furnishings?

Here it is all lit up.

It does render a nice soft ambient light which would be romantic if I had a hot fella to share it with. Anybody got one they wanna send me? Anybody? How 'bout you, Jen? No progress locating a chubby chasing fireman who wants to move south? *sniffle*

View from the master bathroom.

Anyway, it even compliments and sorta echos the design of the chair. How fortuitous is that?

Needless to say, this chubby girl is super thrilled to go from builder grade and shorted out snore to sexy glam.

BTW, I'm still accepting carpet fundage donations. Anyone? ;-) ALSO...what's the verdict on the crown molding? I'm thinking of painting it white but I'm sorta lazy. What're your thoughts? Get off my butt and just paint it? Or is it cool to leave it? What say ya'll?

Fun With Knives

2011-10-25T13:47:00.000-05:00

Just some thoughts on the fancy lunch I just attended...

The university catering needs to develop some new recipes. The cheesy chicken breast and roasted potatoes are gettin' kinda old. I've been to three or four events this year and at each one they served the same cheesy chicken breast, the same roasted potatoes and the same apple cobbler.

Don't get me wrong, I loves me some apple cobbler and theirs is pretty dog-gone good. Good enough that I'd have loved to faceplant in it and lick the tray clean. And also good enough that I'm going to start bringing my own big bowl to compensate for those tiny little dessert bowls they set out. BUT, shouldn't you have more in your catering arsenal than just chicken, potatoes and cobbler?

Oh, wait. I forgot. This time they did have green beans instead of the squash from previous events.

But also, what the crap is up with not having sweet tea??? This is the dag-gum south, ya'll. You do NOT not offer sweet tea at ANY event. I'm sorry, but serving unsweet tea and placing "sweeters" on the table does not constitute a sweet tea option. Ever try to dissolve sugar into iced tea? Yeah. It's basic physics. Or chemistry. Or whatever. Sugar does NOT dissolve quickly or well (if at all!) into cold beverages. *dramatic sigh* At least they had water.

Oh, but they do redeem themselves by having good coffee and serving half and half with it instead of that non-dairy dusty powdered crap that most places have. Now that I think about it, I wish I'd just forgone the lunch and went straight to dessert and coffee. Next time. Also next time, I'm bringing a bigger mug with my larger bowl because tiny little cups just don't cut it when the coffee's good.

Anyway, yeah. I had to attend a fancy schmancy lunch thing today for our visiting speaker. Black cloth napkins and everything. I somehow only managed to embarrass myself once when my knife tried to divebom my lap. Fortunately(?) my plate caught it. Loudly. I'm real classy, doncha know. Guy across from me was nice enough to only lightly smirk.

Awesome.

And also? Buuurrp.

'Scuse me. ;-)

How I Spent My Weekend

2011-10-24T15:40:00.002-05:00

Friday Night.

I watched Bad Teacher on DVD Friday night. I'm not a huge Cameron Diaz fan but the trailer seemed to funny to pass up. I especially like when she gets hit in the face with the dodgeball. *snicker*

My take? Not bad. It was really laugh out loud funny in places although some parts were bordering on ridiculous. And while there's nothing really all that redeemable about any of the characters (I don't think there was supposed to be) there is a little bit of "redemption" in the end to make it a happy ending. However, if your expecting Diaz's character to suddenly become "Good" teacher, you'll be disappointed.

One thing I really wasn't all that crazy about in the film was the blatant drug use. Granted, I did watch the unrated version as opposed to the theatrical release. Not sure if the bulk of the nasty drug use was just in the unrated version or not. BUT, unlike a film or two that I quit watching because of it (I'm looking at you, Going the Distance) the drug use was actually funny and was mostly used to emphasize Diaz's "badness."

Best part about this film? Jason Segal. Love. Him.

Also, totally blew away my sugar-lite resolve with a box of chocolate covered almonds. I bought them to help E's daughter raise money for their school and then I ate the entire box. Well, not the box. More like the contents of the box. But you knew what I meant. Either way, it was a sugar-lite fail.

Saturday.

Saturday was our women's bible study brunch at church. Actually we call it Sisterhood. I took a sausage and cream cheese crescent roll square thing. (scramble sausage and mix with softened cream cheese. Roll out can of crescent rolls to form a rectangle and spread sausage/cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle grated cheddar and cover with another rectangle of canned crescent rolls. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until bread/crescent is golden brown.) There was also caramel french toast, lemon cookies, breakfast casserole, sausage balls, pigs in blankets and banana bread. I ate a little bit of everything. YUM.

Uncle R's wife, Gail, was our guest speaker. Her Bible study focus was on thankfulness and being thankful for what we have even though we often want more. Also, not comparing your blessings to the blessings of others and likewise, not trying to "out-struggle" someone else. We all have struggles in our lives and they are unique to each of us. No one person's struggle is any worse or any less than another's. It's all in perspective to each individual. And we're to be thankful even (and especially!) during times of struggle and heartache.

I think that's a subject everyone can relate to. Being thankful in times of struggle is HARD. And being thankful for what we have when we always seem to want more is HARD.

After the brunch, Gail and I went back to my house where Uncle R had been (finally!!) installing the light fixture in my bedroom as well as a new hardwired smoke detector. By the time we got there, he'd long since been finished and was kicked back in the recliner watching the Ole Miss/Arkansas game. (Blech! He's an Ole Miss fan. Blech!)

The light fixture looks great but I'm more thrilled with the new smoke detector more. I know that's weird. But the old one was falling out of the ceiling AND impossible to change the back-up battery in. The builder of my house (who apparently has no clue what he's doing) had screwed the old detector into the ceiling drywall instead of the junction box. Hence, it was falling out. (I wish I'd taken pictures!) And I never COULD change the back-up battery because the cover was stuck and the more I messed with it trying to get it open, the more it came out of the ceiling. Meaning: Since the battery was dying, the alarm would go off without provocation whenever it felt like it to remind me to change the battery.

Soooo, Uncle R installed the new one and screwed it into the junction box thing like you're supposed to! Now it's flush against the ceiling AND the back-up battery door can be easily opened with the flick of a tab. Uncle R said he tried it out and it's easy peasy. Yay!

So...SCORE!

After they left, I snuggled with the DP a bit and put a load of laundry in before hauling the little chest of drawers outside for a thorough sanding. I've been putting it off forever but I really need to get it sanded, stained and poly'd before the weather gets too cold. I spent probably two hours on it without complete success. I need some finer grit sandpaper sheets to tackle the tough spots but Daddy's sander only has to grits--100 and 150--with it. Wal-Mart only carries 60 and 100 grit for that particular sander so I guess I'll hafta try Lowe's and see what they've got. If they don't have anything that will work, I don't know what I'll do.

Once I gave up on that, I came in and switched out the laundry before settling in to finish Victoria Dahl's Bad Boys Do. Ya'll, that was a really great book. I'm a Vicky Dahl fan anyway, but this one ranks up there as one of her best. Filthy sex, a hot bartender in a kilt and lots of character growth are just the biggest of the best elements.

Once that was complete, I watched three hours of Gilmore Girls on Soapnet before realizing that I'd forgotten to go clean the church! (It's my month.) Ugh. So I had to quick run up there in the dusk of the evening and get that done. I admit, I rushed through it because it was coming up on dark and I do NOT like being up at the remote church after dark by myself. Seriously, ya'll, my church is located in the middle of nowhere and the closest neighbor is a quarter mile away around the corner. Well, not counting the hunting club but it's not deer season yet so it's vacant at the moment.

Not that anyone's ever been assaulted out there after dark but if someone were looking for an opportunity to rape, murder or otherwise torture an innocent 32-year-old chubby girl, that church after dark would provide the perfect setting.

I can't rightly recall what I did the rest of the evening. Flipped channels and hugged on Libby, I guess.

Sunday.

Yesterday was cold and rainy, a rather dismal and dreary looking day. Whether it was the rain, the cold or the fact that I was wearing pantyhose, I'm not sure, but for some reason I was half asleep through most of the church service. I'm sure the sermon was good and the bits that I wasn't half dozing through were thought provoking but Heaven help me, during each prayer I had to force myself to open my eyes at the end. And during the invitation time when we were standing with our heads bowed and our eyes closed I was seriously wondering if I was going to make it through without falling in the aisle asleep!

I was so tempted to go home and plant myself there for the long haul. But Mama had already fixed lunch and had it ready so I dragged myself and Libby to the folks house. She'd cooked a cheeseburger meatloaf (one of my faves) and fried some okra. Yum. Can't say that I'm sorry I went. Plus, after lunch Daddy and I vegged out in front of the Cooking Channel while Mama went to visit her parents.

Once home, I did pass out on the couch for about an hour and ended up not going to evening worship. I felt bad about that but I was snug and cozy beneath the fleece blanket I'd finally dragged out of the closet and just could NOT make myself get up and dressed and leave again. Just couldn't do it.

What I DID do was watch ABC's newest drama Once Upon a Time. Did anyone else watch? I thought it was pretty darn good. I love Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White and I think the premise is actually pretty interesting. I don't believe that the woman portraying Emma is 28 (looks closer to 38 to me) but I think there's definite potential for an interesting series.

Unfortunately, Sis2 called about halfway through wanting me to come up with some floral arrangements for her house before Efan's birthday party Saturday. Thankfully I had a blank DVD+RW in the player so I recorded what I missed and finished watching after Desperate Housewives went off.

But back to Sis2, I told her I'd think about what she could do but honestly, I'm just not in the seasonal decorating mood lately. I'm considering not even decorating for Christmas come November 25. I'll probably change my mind before then but I'm just not into it. Plus, I'd have to buy whatever flowers we used and I'm a little tapped out on fundage right now. Between birthday presents, insurance membership dues, and saving for Christmas, the green stuff is hard to come by right now.

Anyway, I didn't sleep all that great last night and woke up with a headache this morning. Still have it, actually. FUN.

Hope everyone else had a good weekend.

Photo Friday of a DIY

2011-10-21T13:35:00.000-05:00

Did I ever show ya'll this? It's the finished and dressed newly blackened bookcase. In case you can't tell, I went with brushed nickle spray paint on the legs. I'm totally diggin' it.

Savin' some dough for some major carpet replacement. Wish me luck! Or send donations! Totally your call. ;-)

Apparently It's Genetic

2011-10-20T15:38:00.000-05:00

Mama, as you know, went to Uncle Don's memorial service in the Delta yesterday. As we drove to work this morning, she told me of all her cousins who were there who she had not seen since many of them were babies or young children. It was a joyful reunion, of sorts.

As she was relaying individual stories of each of them she came to one, who's name escapes me now, who she said is a "Jana."

So I'm apparently an adjective now. But whatever.

When she said this, I thought, Okay. That could mean anything. Emmy is compared to me because she has my sass. Lyssa is compared to me because she has my craziness and creativity. Ethan is compared to me because he likes to eat. A lot. So this cousin of my mother's, I wondered, in what way is she a "Jana"?

Turns out it's our inability to find mates, penchant to live near (or with, in the cousin's case) our parents, read and be morbidly obese that we have in common.

Mama said, (And this is a direct quote...) "So you get it from both sides of the family."

She is, of course, referring to my great aunt on Daddy's side who also never married. Aunt Grace, however (unlike me and the cousin who's name I can't remember) isn't morbidly obese. I'm not sure about her stance on reading and I'm pretty sure she paid rent on a house in town for years before her mother (my great grandmother) went into a nursing home because she wasn't all that fond of living near (or with) her parents.

So maybe it's just the "never been married" thing that's genetic. I need some scientific research done on this subject.

Uncle Don

2011-10-19T15:09:00.000-05:00

You've seen and read the frivolous happenings of my weekend. And now I suppose it's time to divulge the rest of it.

Paw-Paw H's younger brother, Don, passed away sometime Saturday. He was my great uncle, but I didn't know him all that well. For whatever reason, Paw-Paw and his three siblings scattered to the four winds upon adulthood. Maybe because Paw-Paw was a pastor and moved around a lot. I don't know. What I do know, is Uncle Don was the only one who ever came to see Paw-Paw.

I've seen him a handful of times over recent years. His first wife was in poor health so he couldn't get here very often for many years. I recall once when I was around Emmy's age that he, his wife, daughter and grandson came to our house for a short visit on their way to somewhere. And that was the only time I recall having seen him until his wife died a few years ago.

After his wife died, he remarried quickly. He met his current wife (now his widow) while their spouses were in the same nursing home. I suppose they bonded over their terminally ill spouses and once both of them were free, they married. His children disowned him for remarrying so quickly. And while I can understand their hurt and anger, I can't imagine ever disowning one of my parents. Not for the long haul, anyway.

But Aunt G made him happy. She loved him, she encouraged him to visit his family and she always came with him when he did. She was good for him. Or, rather, they were good for each other.

Uncle Don's passing was rather quick, though not entirely unexpected. Back in late June he had surgery to remove some tumors they'd found on his liver (I think) and the tumors were malignant. However, it wasn't until just about a month ago that his doctor informed him that the cancer had spread to pretty much everywhere. They hadn't even had time to begin treatments!

Saturday, Aunt G and Uncle Don were at their home--as far as I know, he was doing okay. Not sickly or bedridden. Obviously he didn't feel good but he seemed okay. But Aunt G said he just suddenly looked upward, his face awash in wonder and told her "Oh G, I see Heaven. It's so beautiful!" Mere seconds later, he was dead.

When my mother relayed this to me it sent shivers up and down my spine. Oh the Glory! He's at peace now, with our Heavenly Father. It so amazing and wonderful to know that he's there and that through him, we all got to see a glimpse of our future.

Mama and her brothers went down to the Delta today for his memorial service. He didn't have a funeral or burial because they couldn't afford one. He'd already decided when he found out about the cancer that he wanted to be cremated and his aches spread over his parent's graves. So Mama and the Uncles went to meet Aunt G and her children at the cemetery over there and one--or all!--of my uncles were going to preach a short sermon for him.

I didn't go because I felt like those who knew him best--those he loved best--should be free to fellowship with each other. I did love him, yes but I hardly knew him. And I'm sure he loved me in some distant "I think she's probably my grand-niece" kind of way but truth be told, I'm not sure he knew my name or which of Paw-Paw's children I belong to. He had 20-something grand-nieces and nephews so I can't hardly blame him for not being able to keep us all straight.

At anyrate, I'm sad for Paw-Paw H to have lost a brother--the only sibling he was still close to. And I'm sad for him that he isn't healthy enough to have gone to the service. But I'm happy for him because he knows he'll see his brother again someday.

And you know what? I'll see him again someday too. And I can't wait to get there, too.

Uncle Don and Aunt G,
June 2011

Livin' For the Weekend

2011-10-18T15:17:00.000-05:00

Today has been crazy busy, as in, I think I've been up and running for 6 hours straight. Even when I was sitting, I was up and running. Periodicals and map retrievals wait for no man--or chubby girl.

Anyway, now that I've got a few secs to sit and play, here's the rest of the "yard" tour photos and some completely "should be embarrassed because I'm so silly" photos. A tour of my Saturday morning, if you will.

Contain your joy. You're embarrassing me.

You probably have no idea what you're looking at, but trust me, those are azaleas. Two of the five I planted back in the spring. They haven't grown much--or at all--but at least these two are still alive.

The same can not be said for this poor thing.

It's one of the pair that I set out a few feet away from the two above it. It looked fine when I planted it but a week or two later, the leaves started turning brown and by the middle of the summer, it was dead as a doornail. Sad.

Mostly because it's partner is lonely now.

Oh well.

Next year, assuming I haven't waisted all my money on frivolous things like a new stereo system (mine's losing it's grip on reality) or a 3G Kindle (yeah, i'm finally getting the e-book/e-reader fever) maybe I'll plant a new partner for Mr. Lonely up there.

Meanwhile, the one I planted in front of the house is doing okay and has been blooming off and on all summer. In fact, it was blooming as late as last month. I'm liking this little baby beast. Unfortunately, I deleted the pictures I'd taken of it because they were all crooked and I knew they'd drive Trixie nuts. Now that I think about it, I shoulda posted them for that reason alone! (hehe, J/K)

Anyway, continuing our yard tour...

The leaves are already starting to ~~run screaming from~~ fall from this tree...whatever kind of tree it is. And excuse the shadow pic. The sun was high in the sky and it was either shadowy or blind. I chose shadowy.

On down around behind the house, is this...

And this...

Both of which I'm SURE are just excellent for folks with allergies. Fortunately, I've been blessed to lack the allergy affliction.

And then there are these which make the place look happy.

And there were some blue tufty puffy things but they don't photograph well at all. Came out white-ish. But trust me, they're blue.

Then, just because I thought it looked gross, here's what the cicadas did to one of my pine trees...

It used to have a dried cicada skin clinging to it but I waited too long to photograph this yuckiness and the dried cicada skin is gone. Sad.

But wait! I do have a crooked picture of the azalea in front of the house! Don't sprain your face cringing, Trixie!

It's a super dwarf azalea apparently but I hope it grows to a nice fluffy size...hopefully before I'm dead.

And then there are these...

Spooky, huh? I picked them up for a buck each at a yard sale three years ago and then promptly forgot I had them. So this is their debut to society. Also, their pretty much it as far as Halloween decorations at my house. I'd go all out but I don't have the energy. Or the time. But mostly I just can't be bothered.

When the yard tour was over, She greeted me at the door.

And demanded a scratch.

Touring and photographing the yard on a lovely Saturday morning is nice and all but I had this waiting for me inside.

And a Sonic coffee beats nature any day of the week. Have I mentioned that Sonic has the best plain Jane coffee on the planet--possibly the UNIVERSE??!! I haven't? Well, they do. But you already knew I have an unhealthy obsession with Sonic anyway so it stands to reason that I'd heart their coffee above all others.

Unfortunately, this was also waiting for me inside. Ugh. Can't dishes figure out how to wash themselves already?

But first I had to do this...

And once we got done with that, I did this.

And this...

What I never got around to(but should have!) was this...

That furniture isn't going to sand itself! But, I had a ton of other things to do so I ignored the furniture and instead spent the day cleaning my house, cleaning the church, laundry, and reading In Seconds.

Priorities, people.

Shrooms

2011-10-17T15:04:00.001-05:00

So, Saturday morning after I got back from town and finished breakfast (yes, I'm still indulging in Sonic breakfasts) I took the DP out for her "poop walk". While we were making tracks all over the yard, I noticed a strange new "breed" of mushrooms littering my yard. Actually, they're "clumping" all over my yard.

I know ya'll probably don't care about mushrooms or my yard but I thought they were interesting. And since it's my blog I decided to take pictures to share with you! No, no. Don't thank me.

They clump against tree stumps...

They clump in bouquets...

Small clumps...

Black clumps...

Heck, they even clump in formation!

See the triangle??

Then there was this one lone green-ish one all on it's lonesome.

Sad.

That's it for the 'Shrooms but I'll be back tomorrow with more yard finds! Please. Contain your excitement. ;-)

Oh my sugar

2011-10-14T11:56:00.001-05:00

Somebody stop me. Hold me back. Strap me to my chair and give me a stern lecture. Cause ya'll? On week two in the "sugar-lite zone" I've been doing pretty good. But this just might undo me. Ack!

So, you ask, how have I been?

Well, let me tell you. I have been BLERGH all week. Not from missing sugar, really--although there was that one point the other day that I wanted a Coke so bad I almost cried. But really, I haven't missed it all that much. I've been off coffee this week, as well, which hasn't been as emotionally devastating as I'd thought it would be. Instead I've switched to green tea that only requires two teaspoons of sugar instead of three and offers the added bonus of not requiring half and half--aka Extra Calories!

But I've had no bread. No desserts. No soft drinks...Okay, I did cave one day and have a Coke. Oddly enough, it wasn't the day that I nearly cried. It was a day (much like today) wherein my tummy was not liking me so much and I thought the Coke might help settle it. It did, but I felt bad for drinking it. Other than that? I've been SO good.

However, I haven't FELT all that good lately. Tummy issues that may or may not be related to acid reflux. I can't decide. It doesn't really FEEL like the AR I normally battle. It's more of a heavy nauseated feeling like I've eaten too much and am miserable. Except, I'm also hungry. Totally weird. As a result, I've been eating lighter meals--lighter as in, smaller portions of not-so-dense foods--just because eating is miserable.

One thing I do know...I'm SICK TO DEATH of eggs. That's what I've been eating for breakfast the past two weeks instead of my waffles with Nutella. One "fried" egg (in a non-stick skillet with no grease/butter) and a ham steak. It's very filling but I am SICK TO DEATH of eggs. Sadly, I still have a half dozen in my fridge. *sob* Normally I'd use them to make cookies or something but I'm off sugar for the month. May have to donate them to the folks. Daddy lives for fried eggs. (And sausage. And bacon. And most everything he shouldn't eat.)

Even just writing about them right now is making me wanna hurl, so I'm changing the subject.

Anybody got some healthy ideas for a filling and sugar free breakfast? Preferably with no bread, either. I'm off bread, too, I've decided. The last bagel I ate three weeks ago made me sick, too, so I'm off bread and bagels for a while.

I really wish I knew what was up with this ol' chubby body of mine. I'd go to the doctor but the last time I went to a doctor with tummy issues she diagnosed me as fat. Oh so helpful of her, right? Cause I didn't already know that!! Said if I laid off the cheeseburgers and fries I'd feel better. Never mind that back then I was too poor to AFFORD cheeseburgers and fries. I could barely afford hot pockets and mac and cheese.

Of course, that WAS a totally quack doctor who also told my mother she didn't have diabetes and Mama had to BADGER her into checking her blood sugar. And also, it was probably around eight or nine years ago. And no, neither of us still sees that doctor. She should really be run out of town on a rail.

But honestly? I just don't trust doctors to really give a crap about my tummy or acid reflux issues because of that. I already know I'm fat and I don't have to pay myself to figure that out.

Anyway, ya'll've probably heard enough about my body issues for one day. Bless your hearts if you made it to the end. And anyone who DID make it to the end of this post, raise your hands and I'll send you some sausage balls for Christmas. :-)

And also? Ya'll go make this and eat an extra slice for me.

I'd Laugh If I Weren't So Tired

2011-10-13T11:13:00.002-05:00

I've been super extra special busy lately playing pin the tail on the overloaded and needs to be emptied book cart. Not as fun as a donkey, but at least I'm getting a work out, right? [edited to add: I've been writing this post for three days. That's how nutso it's been around here.]

So, Trixie asked me about lunch with Sis2 Saturday. And you know, there are some instances in life where even as you're living it, you're thinking, "This is excellent blog fodder." That is, if you're like me and heavy into overshare. Except in my case, I usually forget to ever blog about the truly interesting stuff. So thanks, Trix for reminding me. :-D

Lunch. Lunch was interesting mostly in how it started out. So our local newspaper has what they call Dawg Deals wherein local vendors/restaurants/etc. offer discounts and stuff if you purchase through the Dawg Deals website. Kinda like Groupons, if you've ever heard of/used those. Mama is very into this because we have scored some awesomeness through it. My azaleas (that I forgot to update with pictures!) were purchased at the CoOp using one of these deals. The birthday supper at the steakhouse Sis2 and I went to (that got us in trouble!) was purchased through the program, as well.

So the local bookstore cafe got in on the action and offered a half price lunch. An $8 value for $4. Total score! I've been to their cafe before and know it's good food and with all them books around, the ambiance can't be beat. Mama purchased a couple of the lunches and gave them to Sis2 and I for our lunch out Saturday. She had originally intended on going with us but Daddy changed her plans at the last minute.

Anyway, Sis2 and I go up to the counter to place our order, show them the receipt for the deals that Mama had purchased and they were all, "Of course. That's great. Lemme have your order." So I place my order for a chicken salad sammy, chips and a drink and Sis2 places hers for a Reuben wrap, etc and the cashier's like, That'll be $8.47."

I was a little chagrined and flustered so I pulled my wallet out and was about to hand over my debit card when I just...I couldn't do it. This wasn't right. I'm not supposed to be charged.

I looked at Sis2 and I looked at the receipt for the deal screwed up my courage. I'm totally non-confrontational, in case you're new here or have been reading my blog from under a rock. "I thought the meals were paid for when we purchased these," I said, pointing to the receipts.

"How would you do that? This a coupon," the cashier replied as though I were nuts.

I could tell the lady that I actually am usually nuts but in this case I wasn't. I was so flustered by being pushed out of my non-confrontational comfort zone that I kinda stammered out a lame explanation about how, "You, um, go to the website? And you, uh, put in you're, uh, debit card number?"

The whole time the lady's nodding at me with this look in her eyes like she KNOWS I'm pulling a good one on her. Sis2, seeing the look and knowing I was not doing so hot, jumps in with, "Our mother gave us these and she said they were already paid for."

So the cashier says, "Well, that's now how we understood it. It's a coupon for half off your meal. But let me go ask [insert manager's name]. I'll be right back."

She was gone for about ten minutes or so. Or maybe a hundred. Long enough for me to think I might need to throw up and Sis2 and I whispering in indignit worry over it. I mean, you know, what if we ARE wrong? What if somehow this deal is different? But Mama bought it and she said it had been paid for. Are we really the first people to ever argue with them?

Keep in mind, when I say "argue" and "confront" I don't mean belligerently. I was nice and outwardly calm. Panicky. But not rude. I never raised my voice and if anything I got quieter as the conversation went on.

When the cashier finally came back she said, "[The manager] agrees that this is simply a coupon for half off but we'll go ahead and give you your lunch and take it up with the paper on Monday."

And I gotta say, she wasn't belligerent either, even if she did come off as suspicious of us like we were making it up to score a free meal. By then, had it just been me alone I'd have said "No thanks," and left. Or I may have even gone ahead and paid. Even though I was 99.9% sure I was right, her suspicious voice and facial expressions made me feel just awful. I felt like a thief! But since Sis2 was with me, we thanked her and sat and ate our lunch.

After all that awkwardness, it was really difficult for me to get my head into conversation or even enjoy the food. I just kept worrying it over in my mind and I don't know why. I wasn't lying. I hadn't made it up or twisted the truth. I was fairly confident that I was in the right. But it just still felt awkward. And when I say I was only "fairly" confident, I mean, I knew I was right but she'd made me doubt myself.

Anyway, we did finally get past it and have a decent time. This time, however, we were more conscious of how long we spent there. Didn't want Sis2 to get grounded again! lol

We did take a few more minutes after we left the cafe and walked across the street to a children's consignment store. Sis2 was looking for some fall/winter shirts for the kids and sometimes you can score a good deal there. Sometimes you wonder what the proprietor was thinking--some of the nicer things they charge almost what the you could buy it new for!

I found Efan two shirts as part of his birthday present. One is Elmo, which Sis2 assures me he's into right now. The other has a picture of a pretty skunk on it that says, "So stinkin' cute." Suits him. lol I hesitated giving it as part of his birthday gift and even tried to give it to Sis2 to take home to him. But she told me to wait. I just wasn't sure if some folks would think it tacky to give used clothes--even if they're nice--as a gift. *shrugs* But he won't know and unless we tell them, I don't suppose anyone else will either.

So anyway, that concludes my Saturday lunch drama with Sis2. lol Took me long enough to share it. Maybe tomorrow I'll have a second to quick jot down some thoughts about this week. Wish me luck with that! :-D

[edited to add: I did actually email the person at the paper who is in charge of the deals to report that there'd been an issue--not to complain, just to let them know. I haven't heard back from her, though, so who knows if she got it or gives a crap.]

Dude, where's my Saturday?

2011-10-08T11:21:00.000-05:00

It's at work! Blech.

Yeah, 'nother one of those pesky work Saturdays. Fortunately, it only lasts three hours and I'm already an hour in. Two hours left! Booya!

Sis2 and I are meeting for lunch after. She wanted to get away from Goofus for a minute before she's stuck with him in Dallas all week. hehehe Poor girl. Hopefully this time, we can keep it under four hours. If he has to come looking for us again, it will NOT be pretty. Especially since she's supposed to be packing for their trip.

She told me the other night while we were making plans that when she mentioned it to Goofus he didn't say anything but he did give her THE LOOK. After last week's late night out he'll always give her that look when mentioning going out with me. I'm such a BAD influence, doncha know.

Anyway, I have good news and not so good news.

The good news is: Yesterday when I stepped on the scale I was down 4lbs. Most of it is probably just water weight, or something. I certainly don't FEEL four pounds lighter, nor do my clothes fit four pounds lighter. BUT, there had to have been an ounce or two of real weight lost in there somewhere, right? That's what I'm choosing to believe, anyway.

The bad news? Oy. I fell off the wagon yesterday. I fell hard. To be fair to me, it's not entirely my fault, though. You see, I was TRYING to be good. I had my little palmfull of almonds and my glass of water for break yesterday morning. Walked in the breakroom and A had two dozen donuts sitting on the table.

"I brought donuts so you don't have to eat your almonds today. You've been eating them all week."

I gave her a look and shook my head and let her know that I really wish she hadn't have. She gave me a mild lecture on it and then went back to reading her magazine. The boxes of donuts stayed closed and bagged on the table. AND I WAS FINE. As long as I didn't SEE them, I didn't really WANT them.

So I started eating my almonds and sipping my water and E came in and we were all chatting and giggling and having a good time making fun of the "manly men" in the Esquire Mag someone had left on the table. Then E says, "Are you not going to actually share those donuts?"

Of course A pulls out the boxes, opens them up and waves an entire dozen chocolate covered donuts under my nose. ARGH! Before I knew what was happening, my chubby little hand snuck in there and grabbed one. I snarfed that sucker in four bites. *heavy sigh* Curses!

I'm so not good with temptation. At. All.

So that was an infraction of the sugar-lite commitment but I told myself, it's okay. It's just this once and we just won't do it again.

Then I had a Coke at lunch. I got off work at 12:30 yesterday so Mama and I went to Sonic for a $1 burger. Of course I got a Coke. Then Sis2 needed me to make her some chocolate peanut clusters for their trip and I ate two. Okay, fine. I ate three. AND I had the coffee I'd already allowed myself.

So if you heard a booming thud yesterday, that was me, falling off the sugar-lite wagon. But I'm (mostly) back on it today. I know I'll probably have a Coke at lunch today just because the cafe we're going to offer have free water and I refuse to pay for something I could get from the tap for free. BUT, I won't have my coffee tonight to make up for it. AND, I won't get dessert. Probably. Ugh.

I suck.

I did do something proactive yesterday, though. I finally got around to buying a bottle of multivitamins and I specifically chose the ones for active metabolism. I don't know if they work at actually boosting metabolism or not but they can't really hurt. Best part? The label said that they contain the amount of caffeine of one cup of coffee. SO, maybe with that boost of caffeine, I can lose the nightly coffee! We shall see, anyway.

Ugh. Sorry. I did NOT mean to ramble on about this sugar stuff. That's why I hesitated even mentioning it here to start with.

Lucky for ya'll, I have some actual werk to do today so I'd best sign off. Cio!

Photo Friday

2011-10-07T11:33:00.000-05:00

This princess don't need no stinkin' knights ridin' in to rescue her. She's rockin' her own pony.

Don't throw out the caffeine with the sugar water.

2011-10-05T12:59:00.000-05:00

Ya'll, I've made a monumental mistake. I've tried going cold turkey on sugar for the month of October. I had actually written up this long meaningful post about why and all that but never actually posted it because, well, I didn't think ya'll would really want to know. I fell kinda dumb going this route anyway. But trust me I had/have good intentions. One part spiritual, one part physical and one part insanity. Oddly enough, I think I could have actually pulled it off, too, if there hadn't been this one little detail that I failed to realize prior to my bold decision...

All of my caffeine sources are laced with sugar. Giving up sugar meant giving them up, as well. And, well, anyone who's ever gone cold turkey on caffeine can tell you--it ain't pretty. Two days in I'd had the headache from you-know-where and it was NOT going away. 800 milligrams of ibuprofen could barely even touch it. So last night I caved. I had a cup of coffee with three small teaspoons of sugar. Today? I'm feeling much better.

And don't even bother suggesting artificial sweeteners like Splenda. Blech. Been there, tried that and would rather die, frankly. Okay, maybe not die but definitely not going to punish myself with that.

So now I've decided to avoid Angry Caffeine Deprived Jana!!! I'm going more sugar-lite than sugar-free. Which is mostly sugar free--no desserts, no sugary tea at lunch, no Cokes, no Nutella with breakfast, no sugary lattes (*sob*) and no trips to Starbucks, full stop. What I will allow myself is one single cup of coffee with three small teaspoons of sugar probably in the evenings because that's oddly when I usually crave it.

I should probably give up caffeine altogether, too, but I'm not stupid and it ain't really hurtin' nothing. ;-)

In other news, Sis1 is being forced--forced I tell you!! forced!!--to go to the beach for five days. And that's only slightly kidding. Her MIL is taking their family to the gulf coast during Emmy's fall break and Sis1 doesn't want to go. And she's not even the one with the crazy MIL! Her's is just mildly strange. So honestly, if someone wants to take me the beach and being around them doesn't make me want to jam a pencil in my ear? I'm totally game. Sis1? Not so much.

Sis2 is off to Dallas next week with Goofus and the kids. Goofus has a training thing to attend for his job so Sis2 and the kiddos are tagging along. They're staying in a nice hotel and have already googled all the places they want to sight-see while there. Well, when Goofus isn't in his training seminars. I'm totally jealous. Not exactly of the 12-13 hour trip across three states with two toddlers and a whiny man. But the nice hotel and sight-seeing? I'm all over that.

Meanwhile, the big news in MY life involves caffeine and sugar. Oh, and the 8:30pm bath I had to give the DP last night because she had wet poop in her booty hair. *sniffle* Someone quick! Give me a trip to go on so I can pretend how horrible it is to have to go to the beach or stay in a swanky hotel.

Weekend Short

2011-10-03T13:51:00.002-05:00

This being Sis2's birthday weekend, we had her big family "blowout" Saturday. Basically we all descended on the folks and made a bunch of noise. And there was fire! And hotdogs! And marshmallows! And babies!

I'd share some pics but I don't have any. I didn't even remember to take my camera with me. I'm a terrible sister.

Funny story about Efan...

Sis2 and her family got there well before I did because I was finishing up some things at the house. Sis2, Efan, Bobo and Sis1 were sitting outside on the porch swing when I pulled in. Sis2 told Efan, "Here comes Aunt Jana."

Efan's response? "Oh no."

And once he confused me with his mama--I was a little bit away from him--and when Bobo told him, "No, that's Aunt Jana," he said, "Oh no."

I'm sensing a theme here.

:-/

Booger. Guess he forgot that he's got a birthday coming up, too, and Aunt Jana gives the good presents.

Wild Night

2011-09-30T13:32:00.000-05:00

Sis2 and I went out last night as an early celebration for her 34th birthday. It's not often that she and I get to go out just the two of us anymore so we were like kids in a candy store. As much as I love mah beebees, sometimes it's nice to get to just talk to their mama without out kiddie interruptions. Just like in the good ol' days, pre-Goofus.

So we ate steak and talked...for four hours!

Honest to Pete, we didn't realize we'd been sitting there that long. Yeah, we knew it had gotten dark out but we figured it was somewhere closer to 7:30 than 9:00. We'd covered the gamut of conversation--faith, parental concerns, venting about "stuff"--ya'll, there were even tears at one point. Just good, honest conversation. I guess if I hadn't had to pee so bad we'd've still been sitting there talking when they closed the joint down.

Before anyone goes ballistic about us holding up a table for that long, on a Thursday night the place was pretty much dead. We held down one table while forty more were open.

Anyway, I decided to check my phone for the time (I can't always read my wristwatch because I am made of lame) before I went to the restroom and holy cow! 8:45! We'd been there since 5-ish. Sis2 kinda went into a tailspin of panic because she'd left the kids with Goofus and he can get kinda antsy when left alone with the kids too long. We were both surprised that he hadn't called already so we scrambled from the table and left. (I never did get to the restroom!)

Sis2 called him on our way to the car and he and the kids were driving around town looking for us! Oh noes! lol He said he'd tried calling her several times and couldn't get her so he was worried something bad had happened. Just as she was apologizing and assuring him that we were indeed fine and on our way home, he spotted my car pulling out of the parking lot of the steakhouse. He was, well, not happy.

However, Sis2's phone showed no missed calls and neither of us ever heard it ring. Like I said, the restaurant was pretty quiet so we'd've heard it. *shrugs* Just one of those things, I guess. I felt bad that we'd worried him. But, you know, if he was really that anxious, he could've...I don't know, called me? The folks do that. If they can't get one of us on the phone they call another of us to see if we know what's what. If I can't reach Mama? I call Daddy. Apparently he doesn't even have my number programmed in his phone, though. What's up with that, Goofus?

Anyhoo, nobody died or got thrown in jail so it's all good. And Lyssa and Ethan were tickled pink (and slightly shocked) when I came in their house to go potty at a quarter after nine at night. Lyssa thought we should have a pajama party. hehehe

Goofus just may never let Sis2 go anywhere alone with me again. Can't say he hasn't been warned, though. There was that one time in college when the campus police got sent looking for me... during a late night editing session at the TV center. ;-)

One of those days...

2011-09-28T13:28:00.003-05:00

Really wish I could work from here...

A TV Ho's Fall Review

2011-09-27T14:59:00.002-05:00

Admittedly, my taste in television runs vastly different from what the masses seem to enjoy. Seems everyone I know talks about how amazing Modern Family is and how all the Real Housewives shows are their guilty pleasures. Me? I WANT to like Modern Family. Sofia Varga (isn't that her name?) is hilarious but the so-called comedy just kinda thuds at my feet. As for Real Housewives...gag. All this is my way of saying, "I'm probably not the best person to go to for Fall premier reviews."

Anyway, here's the rundown:

Monday: Since Chuck is moving to Fridays, my Monday schedule is free to watch How I Met Your Mother. For YEARS I was certain I hated this show. Then Lifetime began showing the re-runs and I fell in love with it. I'm a little behind on what's what right now because I'm a Chuck ho and the past four seasons has been spent decidedly dedicated to Zachary Levi. This new freedom to watch HIMYM lends me to watching the new CBS comedy TWO BROKE GIRLS. I like the premise and the girl who plays Max is awesome. Over all, it's a cute show. I haven't worked up any real passion for it yet but I'm only two episodes in. There's still time for love to bloom. ;-)

I skip Two and a Half Men because, well, it's never been my cup of tea--with or without that crap load of crazy Sheen. However, makeing a come-back to my Monday night viewing extravaganza is Mike and Molly. I abandoned this one mid-way through last season because it was at odds with Syfy's Being Human. I enjoyed Mike and Molly but, um, a hot werewolf named Josh vs. a couple of adorable chubby folks? Um, duh. Josh would win over just about anything. Since Being Human won't return until January, I'm enjoying Mike and Molly again. And how thrilled am I that Melissa McCarthy won an Emmy for it? Super totally flipped out crazy ecstatic. Melissa McCarthy has always been amazing. I think I liked her better than Laura Graham when they were both on Gilmore Girls a bazillion years ago. ;-)

Anyway, that carries me to 9pm when I pretty much am done for the night. Over the summer I'd set the recorder to record Rizzoli and Isles on TNT but it's gone until November so 9pm is free for beddy-bye time. (I'm not an old lady exactly. I just get up at nearly 5am every morning!)

Last night I also read Victoria Dahl's Good Girls Don't and it was fab. A little bit close to filthy, but fab. And hawt. And funny. :)

Tuesday: I know at least one of you (Heather) is all about CBS and NCIS on Tuesday nights. (Where do you stand on the LA version of that, Trix? I don't recall you ever saying.) I, however, have never gotten into it. I was somewhat interested in viewing the new show, Unforgettable though--mostly because I like Poppy Montgomery. I couldn't, however, muster up enough interest to either record it or stay up to watch it. Mama reported the next day that it was boring. Which doesn't say a whole lot because she finds most TV boring. But I figured if my interest was that blase, her dismissal of it was all I needed to write it off this season.

One new show I did watch last Tuesday was New Girl on Fox. Zooey D....whatever her name is, is usually pretty funny and quirky so I gave it a spin. It didn't suck but it got a solid "meh." I'll tune in again tonight to see if it's any better. Other than that, though, Tuesday night's kind of a bust for me TV-wise. HGTV and channel flipping. Or reading. Or all the above.

Wednesday: With ABC Family's Melissa and Joey gone until November, Wednesday nights are freed up for trying some new shows. Last Wednesday night I viewed NBC's Up All Night and Free Agents. The first was kind of funny but on the ridiculous side. And while admittedly, I can be down with some ridiculousness at times, Christina Applegate and What's His Face Arquette (not David) just didn't do it for me. I ended up flipping over to check out The X Factor on Fox about halfway through. The X Factor btw, is just a glamourized version of American Idol. And apparently Simon has taken to wearing eye-liner. If he's not actually wearing it, he's doing a good job of looking like he does.

Anyway, Free Agents was just "meh" as well. I would have watched it all the way through, though, if Sis2 hadn't called to chat. But since I didn't feel as though I missed anything, I could probably give this one a pass if something better comes along later.

Then, of course, the rest of Wednesday night is consumed with Syfy. Ghost Hunters and Paranormal Witness. Ya'll, GH might be getting a little stale but Paranormal Witness kinda gives me nightmares. I had been recording it and watching later so it wasn't that bad. Last week, however, I decided to just stay up and watch it. Big mistake. I was so paranoid and nervous I almost didn't get to sleep that night. Scary!

Thursday's are still pretty much a bust, except I did watch NBC's Whitney. It was funny but I'm not feeling complete love yet. I'll give it another go or two, though. HGTV steals the rest of the night, though, with The High, Low Project and something else I can't remember right this moment. I was interested in seeing CBS's Person of Interest but it conflicted with Whitney and I chose her because comedy is a much better stress relief than anything with that creepy guy from Lost in it. (Michael Emmerson) And let's be real--TV, for me, is as much about stress relief as it is entertainment.

Daddy, however, LOVED Person of Interest. He was all excited about it when we went through our run down on new shows and what we'd watched. But, he loves a lot of things I don't care for. Hunting shows, the NCIS franchise, Bones and RFD TV so I don't know that I trust his taste. The only shows we've ever had in common are The Closer and Covert Affairs. (TNT and USA) I may still have to figure out a way to give it a look.

Friday: I kinda sorta watched A Gifted Man on CBS but I was hip deep in pumpkin muffins so I only saw bits and pieces. It was intriguing and I love the guy on there even if I can't recall his name right now. And it has a ghost in it! I'm all over some ghostly shows, doncha know. ;-) I will definitely give it another whirl.

I also watched the encore of ABC's Revenge and finally(!!!) we have a winner. I loved it. Mystery, drama, lots of movement, a decent cast, a great plot and lots of questions to keep me interested. My only issue with it is the jumps between past, present and future. Kinda makes my head spin. But since I hung out with Lost for all those years, I figure I can take it. If it doesn't encore every Friday night, I will have to add this to my Wednesday night que and record it since it airs at 9pm.

Saturday: I started watching NBC's encore of Prime Suspects because Maria Bello is a good actress and I thought it looked interesting. About twenty minutes in I was bored enough to start channel surfing and finally gave up to read a book.

Sunday night I mostly read until Desperate Housewives came on and then I went to bed. And how sad am I that this is the last season for DH?? VERY!

I can say this...I will be seriously over the moon glad when TNT, USA and ABC Family bring back my "summer" shows in November. And...Chuck! He's back Oct 21st!

So, anyone else watch something new that they enjoyed? Anything I missed that I should have watched? Anyone love something I didn't?

A Total Pain in the Neck

2011-09-26T13:49:00.000-05:00

No, literally. I've had a pain in my actual neck for the past several days. It started Thursday, I think. Painful to move, painful to stay still, painful to sleep--just an all around painful neck. Not sure what I did to inflame it, but I wish I could undo it.

It's not bad today, actually. Just a twinge. But I was near tears with it yesterday. I've been staying doped up on 800 milligram ibuprofen and the occasional Lorecept. Or Lorestat, whichever. I can't keep all these drugs straight. That's why I'd never make it as a pharmacist. Yeah. That's why.

Also been icing it. But you want to know something? Side of the neck where your shoulder meets it is an awkward place to keep an icepack. I think I've mostly iced my head and ear more than my neck.

Then yesterday at the height of my pain when I was about ready to cry Mama decided it was time to make jelly. Granted, I had not told her I was in pain because then I'd have to hear all about HER pains and she'd try to diagnose me with some hideous disease (like her torticollis which I'm already paranoid about possibly getting someday since it can be genetic) and then I'd get depressed and...well, it's not pretty. I generally suck it up and pretend I'm fine even when I'm seriously not.

So we stood over the stove for about an hour and she showed me how to make Muscadine jelly. I'd bought a quart last weekend thinking I'd like to eat them just as fruit except...even though Muscadines are technically a part of the grape family? They don't eat like grapes. So I was the one who suggested jelly and I may have mentioned wanting to learn to make it. So it's really my fault that I learned to make jelly while trying not to cry from neck pains.

Making jelly is not hard. Just tedious. And hot. And possibly dangerous if you aren't careful. But mostly not hard. My quart of Muscadines made four pints of the stuff and I gotta tell ya, after the ibuprofen I finally begged from Mama kicked in and I no longer wanted to cry, I was fairly proud of myself. I felt kinda Suzanne McMinn-ish. lol All old school canning and stuff. I'd show you pictures but I don't have any. All the batteries for my camera died while I was taking photos of my styled bedroom bookcase and have been recharging since Saturday.

It was actually a weekend of food prep, though. Friday night I baked pumpkin muffins for Saturday's women's Bible study brunch and Saturday morning I followed them up with a broccoli ham and cheese quiche. (Which I used to mentally pronounce "kwich" whenever I saw that word in a romance novel as a kid.) Sunday morning I made a chocolate pie because the pie crusts I buy come in twos and because I wanted chocolate pie.

I may not bake/cook again until November. Unless Sis2 requests something for her birthday this weekend. If I can keep myself from offering, maybe she won't request anything.

Now I'm off to go hear the U.S. Archivist speak as part of a library program. Wish I was into all that stuff. *snore*

Alyssa: Budding Photographer

2011-09-23T12:59:00.000-05:00

The littlest baby girl loves the camera. This is some of her work taken back in August. She's photography genius, right? :-D

Our feet. And my sexy fat calf. Contain your jealousy. And your vomit.

I'm not really mentally impaired. I just act like it.

Bobo is SWEATY. Grilling outdoors in August will do that. But we needed documentation.
Also, Lyssa is the only person alive who can get away with photographing her Bobo.

The entertainment center I dreamed crashed down.

Nana who I apparently inherited my mentally impaired-ness from.

Efan at the table.

Nana carrying a plate. Love the artistic "looking up" technique she used.

Me, my belly and Libby.

Okay, so I took this one. It was the only way I could get my camera back from her.

I'll be acting as her booking agent for anyone interested in hiring a pint-sized photographer.

Kinda sorta

2011-09-22T11:57:00.000-05:00

So the other night, Mama and I hit up Wal-Mart after work. She had to pick up some things for the kiddos so while she went off in search of juice and yogurt, I headed to the fabric department. I still wanted to finish that corkboard and get the fabric to finish covering the chair in Libby's room. I searched and searched and drooled over fabric and debated and compared and decided for sure this is it five times. I finally found a pink piece in the pre-cut squares that I thought might be big enough. It was an inch wider than the piece I'd bought the previous trip and was a solid...well, sorta solid...instead of patterned. I figured if all else fails, I could use it on the chair.

Then I discovered the scrap bin. You know, where all the pieces of bolts go to ~~die~~ be sold. Actually, I think they're called fabric remnants instead of scraps. But whatever. Anyway, I found a bundle of this soft plum colored remnant that was marked as 3/4 of a yard and priced at $1.13. Score!

Except not.

As the cashier scanned my two little pieces of fabric I nearly had a heart attack. The fabric remnant rang up as $10 and some change. I stopped her and had her check it because $10 is a lot more than $1.13. She mumbled something about it being $7.35 a yard and this was over a yard and something. I don't know. I was too busy being disgusted to catch it all. I politely told her, "Please remove that from my total, I don't want it."

So much for the fabric remnant bin. Totally burned me on that, it did.

However, I still had the pink piece of fabric that I only paid $1.25 for so when I got home--after I walked twelve miles and ate a salad for supper (yeah, right)--I got the corkboard down and worked on it for about half an hour. The fabric piece would have fit exactly perfect, except the extra inch was actually a white strip. *sigh* BUT...I was not to be defeated. Not this time. I was so over this project and just wanted it done. SO...

I got creative. That's two kinds of ribbon that I already had on hand. I actually love the addition of the paisley ribbon. Makes it all girly and pretty without being too busy once I start pinning stuff.

It's all held on there with upholstery nails.

Back when I'd first started planning this little project, I'd intended to put batting beneath the fabric and tuft the board, lining it with the upholstery nails. After I saw that a small package of batting is $7 I decided to change my mind about the tufting. Then the addition of patterned ribbon knocked out the idea of lining the fabric with the nails because the ribbon was too pretty on it's own to detract with nails--even if they ARE daisy head nails. Doesn't help that those nails turned out to be a PITA to push in. Weird.

Anyhow, two at each corner and three in them middle top and bottom and it's all snug as a bug in a rug.

Now, to start USING it without junking it up. :-/

Thieving Heifer

2011-09-21T13:52:00.000-05:00

Turned my back for ONE SECOND and little furry heifer stole my seat AND my book. Meanie.

Two Years

2011-09-20T13:33:00.002-05:00

I can still hear his voice. I can clearly picture the lines and wrinkles on his face when he laughed. The silly Daffy Duck voice he used to talk with just because he knew it made us laugh.

It still seems weird that he's never at their house when I go to visit. I keep expecting him to come down the hall or come in from outside with some wiseacre remark. At birthdays, Christmas, etc, I expect to see him with Granny.

I still can't sit in his chair at the kitchen table and not wonder if he minds. Sitting there to eat just feels wrong. And to see someone else in his recliner makes me sad.

He was so much a part of who I was and who I am--such a huge influence on my life, my emotions, my spirituality. Such a good part. Always encouraging, rarely judging--there are so many things I can sit here and think of that I wouldn't have done had it not been for him telling me that I could...that I should. So many ways he made it possible for me or my sisters to follow our dreams and achieve our wishes. So many positive ways he influenced me that he probably never even realized. How special and important he always made me feel at times in my life when perhaps I didn't get that from a lot of other people.

I miss the funny--and often embarrassing--stories he used to tell about me all the time; reminding me of how much fun I always had with him and Granny.

I woke up at 2am with him on my mind and a kaleidoscope of images besieged me. All the years of laughter and hard facts. He was blunt but he was rarely ever unjustified. He wasn't perfect but he was nearly so in my eyes.

It's difficult to not be sad about losing him. He was, after all, one of the greatest gifts God ever gave me. I know he's in a better place where he is no longer in pain. He no longer suffers the indignities of a life sucked dry by cancer. He's with the Father. But I still miss him. Deeply.

A lot of people like to talk to their deceased loved ones but I never talk to him. I know he can't hear me. He's having a ball up there telling Jesus how to run Heaven and if he knew how sad I was without him, it'd make him sad. And the Bible said there is only joy in Heaven. So no, he can't hear me. Instead, every now and then when I pray I ask the Father to tell him I love him. I wish I'd told him more often while he was here.

I dread the day when he begins to fade from my memory. I know the ache will continue to lessen over time but part of me wishes it wouldn't. I don't want to forget the cadence of his speech or his often dry sense of humor. I want to keep it with me forever or a least until I'm with him in Heaven someday.

I lost him far too soon.

A Sandy Saturday

2011-09-19T14:09:00.002-05:00

Ya'll, I am in love...with an electric sander. As you might recall from my pretentiously long and rambling post from last week, Daddy loaned me his. It's a Black and Decker with the little bag that allegedly sucks up the errant dust.

Since I'm not stupid--not entirely, anyway--I first read the manual which is pretty basic. "Load the paper, grip the handle, press the 'on' button and let the sander do the work." (meaning, don't apply pressure) Naturally, having never used one before, I was a little hesitant about applying it to the drafting table or to the small chest in the dining room. I did, however, have this small bookcase that used to live in the guest bedroom and now lives in MY bedroom.

It originally belonged to Daddy. He'd had it since before he and Mama married (I think) and it used to live next to his recliner in their house. I inherited it about eight years ago and it has moved with me everywhere since then.

As you can imagine, it's pretty beat up after all these years and three kids--not counting all my cousins and the two kids Mama babysat back in the 80's before she started working at the library. In particular, was this spot where Daddy always sat his glass/can of Pepsi for a couple decades.

To be an antique, it must be said that this piece isn't exactly good quality stuff. It's basically the same kind of cheap laminate/veneer press board stuff I've always bought. But I like the lines and the sentiment of it so I can't part with it. But it did need some work.

So I decided it would be my guinea pig for the electric sander. Poor thing. It took me a while (and no, I don't have pics...boo!) but I did get it passable. A few notes on the sander, though...I couldn't get the dust collecting bag to stay on AND when it wasn't flying off it also wasn't collecting any dust. Thank goodness I had the good sense to do all this sanding outside! Also, it is LOUD and I had to use cotton balls to stuff my ears to keep from going deaf. BUT it worked so smooth and the paper was easy to switch out and I think I would marry it if such a thing were legal. I love anything that does all the hard work for me. ;-)

Now, here's where my lack of experience/knowledge comes in...

I seriously should have used wood filler of caulk or something over that bare patch of press wood. It would have made for a smoother finish AND it would have soaked up less primer. But hind sight being what it is...*shrug*

At any rate, I did get it primed and painted Saturday in between other projects and Libby snuggling. So here's the hastily shot this morning after...

It's not a perfect job at all. I keep finding spots I either missed or hit poorly. I don't know if it needed a thicker coat of primer--I used oil based--or if I am just a completely crappy painter. Probably that last one. More touch-ups in store tonight, though. And before I call this project done, I've got to decide what to do about the legs. I'm torn between spray painting them and replacing them with something more modern. I already own some spray paint--brushed nickle and oil rubbed bronze, depending on which I decided to use--so I'm kinda leaning that way and making this a completely free project. (I already owned the black paint and the primer and all the brushes and stuff.)

After the successful use on this piece, I happily dragged the drafting table outside and set to work on sanding it. It took me a little longer and two different grit sandpapers, but I got it smooth and clean. Well, mostly clean. There's one spot of color that I could NOT get to come off and I didn't want to risk ruining the table so I left it.

hastily shot this morning

But you can't tell it from here so I'm hoping the stain will cover it.

Then, after working on the top for a while I realized that sanding the legs would not be an option. There's simply too much hardware connecting it all to get the sander in all the tiny spots. However, thanks to the Youngsters I had the brilliant idea that a two toned table wouldn't look bad. I plan to stain the top a dark walnut color and having seen the Youngster's new desk done with a dark walnut top and white cabinet bottom I decided that would be a fun look for this table. So I got busy priming those legs.

Oil based primer is a...well, rhymes with snitch. It works like magic mostly because it sticks to everything. Mostly, in my case, skin. Wouldn't be an issue if I weren't such a messy painter. But ya'll, I got to church yesterday and was still finding spots of primer on various places I rarely look--the back of my leg, the pinky toe on my right foot, the underside of my arm. I honestly don't know how it got on some of those places. My hands were the worst, but I managed to get them presentable looking. But picture me behind the sound booth ruthlessly scratching at dried primer on the heel of my foot (I was wearing flip flops and a short-ish skirt, of course) before church started and praying no one noticed.

Anyway, back to the table. It's difficult to fathom how many parts there are to the legs until you start priming/painting them. It took me a couple hours and some contortionist maneuvers to get to them all and I STILL managed to miss a bar and half a leg. And I didn't notice those missed spots until I was hastily photographing it this morning.

Awesome. So now I've got to drag the table back out and deal with the primer AGAIN. Good news, though, is I already love the two toned look and that's just with a sanded light wood surface and white poorly primed legs!

But, as if all that weren't enough work, I decided to fix up the corkboard/bulletin board in Libby's room. I bought some deep plum glossy spray paint and a fabric square with hopes to pretty it up.

Unfortunately, I don't have a before pic of it because I am lame. But to give you an idea of what I started with--I've had the thing since I was in junior high and it was filled with all sorts of scraps of my life from my high school/college years. Dusty as all get out and kinda fun but messy.

Oh wait! Here's a picture of it when it lived in the apartment a couple years ago! I hadn't changed anything but the location since then. See it hovering above the book case sort of behind the Barbies?

Yeah, a typical hodge podge of teen age stuff.

I'm trying to streamline Libby's room, though and make it less hodge podge and more clean and purposeful. Meaning, not junky. It's one small step in a large overhaul but it's a start.

Anyway, the fabric that I bought wasn't big enough to cover the whole thing so I temporarily covered it with a combo of graphic tissue paper and ribbon...

It's kinda fun looking like that, I think, but it actually photographs a little better than it looks in person. My original thought process is to over it in fabric and detail it with decorative nailhead trim. Maybe even add some padding to tuft it a bit. I still want it to be functional but also pretty. *shrugs* I'll head back to the fabric store someday and see if I can get a larger piece of fabric to finish it. Someday.

Needless to say, all that kept me pretty busy Saturday. Also needless to say, the DP was NOT happy with me. I had to share some extra bites of my lunch just to get her to speak to me.

The Applebees

2011-09-16T13:50:00.000-05:00

So yeah. Lunch yesterday was...

Well, I don't want to say that I didn't have ANY fun because there were moments of laughter. But--E invited a girl from the 2nd floor (a relatively new girl) who she's actually known since college. Fine,whatever. I don't care. New people can be fun. Although, I have had a few work related run-ins with this person that left me feeling a little cool towards her. However, through most of the meal they had their own little conversation about their college years, the girls' weekend they had this summer with their other college friends, etc of which A and I had nothing to contribute. *shrugs* Whatever. That's cool. A little rude, but... *shrugs*.

But then...THE BARTENDER. FORGOT!! TO PUT THE KAHLUA. IN MY MUDSLIDE.!!!!

I mean, seriously. If I'd wanted a milkshake, I'd've gone to Sonic and paid half of the $6.99. The whole point of a mudslide is the Kahlua. E and I stopped the waitress and complained and she said, "Oh, I'm sure it's in there. But if you get down to the last quarter and aren't feeling a buzz I'll ask her." Then she laughed and walked off.

Ya'll, I have never in my life gotten buzzed off a mudslide. I missed the TASTE of the Kahlua, not a buzz! Needless to say, her tip was rather slim. I mean, even though she didn't actually make the mudslide, when a customer complains, aren't they supposed to, like, make it right? I mean, heck. If she'd just offered to have the bartender come bring us a shot of Kahlua, I'd have stirred it in myself and thought her the best waitress ever! But she did not. She made light of it and walked off as though we were nuts for even asking.

The next time E suggests going to Applebee's for mudslides, I'll suggest we go to Sonic instead and I'll bring the Kaluha. Much cheaper and lesser opportunity for disappointment, right?

Anyway, I ordered the Cowboy Burger because a) I was hawngry (that's way worse than hungry, btw) b) I was in the mood to splurge and c) those things are like the most amazingest burgers EVAH. Which, yes, the one I ate yesterday was Deee-Lish. Not disappointed, there. I was the envy of the table, actually. Everyone else ordered off the soup/salad/pasta lunch menu and were all like, "Oh, I wanted to order that" or "I should've gotten that."

I mentally gloated for being brave and doing the one everyone else wanted to do but were too "ashamed" to do. The polite thing to do in a group of girls is to eat salads, right? Not for me. I mean, yes. I made a mess of my face and went through three or four napkins but I got what I wanted instead of going with the crowd and being "polite."

Oh, but then...My body was like, "Oh no you didn't!" And that's all ya'll need to know about that.

ALSO, after we were done eating (and I was trying not to embarrass myself with a manly sized belch) my name got hollered out from the table diagonal to us. Which would have been fun except the person clamouring for my attention was a girl I went to high school with who, incidentally, wouldn't spare two words for me (to my face, at least) back then. But fourteen years later she's all, "Hey girl, how you doin'?" as though we had been cheerleaders together or something. *rolls eyes*

I know. I'm not terribly mature for seeming to hold a grudge. That was fourteen years ago. It isn't as though we aren't all allowed to grow up and change and all that. But, really? You looked down your stubby little nose at me and called me racist names behind my back in high school but you're so excited to see me fourteen years later that you holler out my name in the middle of "The Applebee's"? Whatever. "I'm fine. How're you?"

After lunch I went to Wal-Mart and got Sis2's birthday present (Lady A's new CD) and some things for (yet another) project I'm planning to work on. Also went to Lowe's for another part to this project. Because I don't have a long enough list of things I want to do. This is a small project, at least. I'd tell you, but I'd rather show you so ya'll can wait till it's done. ;-)

Then I went home, watched TV, played with the DP, did a 30 minute walk with Denise Austen, ate supper, ~~promptly threw it up~~, and watched the Netflixed DVD of Something Borrowed. Pretty good movie. Nice laughs, little bit of a heartache, romantic and lesson learning. Also, the guy that plays Dex? Total hottie. His eyes! They are amazing!

Meanwhile, today has been...frustrating. Challenging. Annoying. In other words, I'm ready to go home. *whah*