It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!!!

All Christmas related today folks- so if you're in a Scrooge or Grinch kinda mood- you might as well skip it.

And speaking of THE GRINCH....they made us turn the lights OFF the 12 foot Christmas tree in the lobby this week.
Why? Because, despite the fact that its an ARTIFICIAL, FLAME RETARDANT tree and only has the tiny twinkle lights on it and isn't left unattended for more than 10 minutes at any time, it's been deemed a fire hazard.
We are PISSED about it too!
I mean, if they had decorated the tree and left the lights off it would have been fine. But it doesn't have nearly enough decorations on it to be pretty without the lights- and after seeing it in it's glory with the lights ON, it's just not the same with them off.
It SUX!

Bad news too- I have to work 12 hours on Saturday so I won't get to get my tree and decorate it til TUESDAY!!!! Eh- It's okay...I can wait another three days. It'll give me time to get all my Christmas gifts wrapped so when I finish decorating the tree I can put them under it right away.
Awesome!
I have almost all my shopping done....I mean I DO have all the main shopping done- I just have to get a few incidentals and I'm done.
I think I'm going to do a big ole batch of rice crispy treats for the girls at work next week. I make three batches. Brown(chocolate), regular(and then tint them with green food coloring), and the mixed fruity flavored for the color. I then stack the green and multi-colored ones alternately to resemble a Christmas tree and stack the choco ones around it.
It looks real pretty too. I have on occasion made some plain ones and cut them in smaller squares and then put star buttercreams on top of them to look like prezzies...M&Ms work well for that too- Gives them LOTS of color!!!
I just gained 5 pounds talking about it.
I think I'll be wrapping our gifts on Saturday while I'm at work, too. We need to get Paulius' Parents gifts in the post and on the way to them no later than Monday morning!!!
I got some AMAZING deals on the Christmas gifts this year. I hope everyone likes them.
I'll post pics of the living room when it's all done. I can't wait.

Do you guys have office or company Christmas parties? If so, do you attend them?Do you get Christmas bonuses?
Yeah, I'm being nosey.
My company doesn't throw Company parties. They do encourage us to go to the company parties that are at our particular sites tho. Good PR they say. The give Christmas bonuses, tho..........sort of.
Year before last it was a six dollar gift certificate to Bi-Lo supermarket. The year after that it was a TEN dollar GC to the same place. I was so overwhelmed I couldn't even talk about it.
*wipes a grateful tear from her eye.....*
Pffffffffffffffft............Hmpfffffffh.................

I changed our message for our voice-mail on our phone this week as well.
Now the message says(in an elven voice)
"Hi You've reached the North Pole, Paul and Sunny M- Santa's Helpers. Santa and Miz Claus are busy going over the Naughty and Nice list at the moment, but if you'll leave your name and number, they'll call you back as soon as possible!! Happy Holidays!!!!"
My boss called while I was sleeping and got a HUGE kick out of it.
He said"Hi- this is George and you'll find me under "L" on the NAUGHTY list- Gimme a call back about some OT this weekend- I need someone to cover all or part of the noon to midnight shift on Saturday. Talk to you later!"
He's a HOOT!


Well, my sleep meds are doing a number on me, so I guess I had better go to bed before I fall asleep sitting here at the computer. Last time I did that everyone thought I had gotten a weird tat on my forehead and side of my face and I almost got fired. Like that's never happened to them before.....well maybe it hasn't since I'm the only computer geek over there- everyone else is ancient and is useless when it comes to using a computer for anything more than sitting in front of it LOOKING like they might be getting ready to Google something.
It might work too if they didn't have to look up the word GOOGLE in the Websters Dictionary before they get started.

Anyways, I'm off to La La Land now....Sweet Dreams all!!

My Kinda Job Interview!!

Today I heard about a company that calls their applicants/interviewees up, tells them to report to such and such a place at 9AM sharp and to dress comfortably- no suit and ties or dresses- business casual is fine, and to prepare to stay all all day..
When the interviewee arrives, they are ushered into a huge room that looks like a big playground, complete with swings, teeter-totter, slide, monkey-bars, basketball goal, volleyball set-up, a few baseball mitts, an assortment of balls, and a card table with playing cards, a board for playing chess or checkers, and a few board games..
They are told it may take a while to get to them, so make themselves comfortable.
Then they are left all day long with the other interviewees.
The ones who get bored and actually PLAY together while they are waiting are invited back for a REAL interview and are offered a job.
The concept is that the employer wants to see who is a team player... ie who plays well with others-literally.
I want to work for this company- and NO I don't know what company it is.
Dammitt.

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

Guess what? I got my Christmas Village set up yesterday. I also got my entertainment center decorated. And NO- the living room is nowhere near finished yet.
BUT then I went in to work last night and THEY had their decorations up and they are BEAUTIFUL!
HUGE 12 foot tree, swags hanging from the lights, and two four foot topiary trees in the main glass enclosure...all decorated with purple, teal, red and silver ornaments and ribbons with white lights. Odd color combination, but it works!
And I was squealing like a little girl when I saw they had decorated everything. Seriously I did.
...................................................................................................................................................................

I get my tree this Friday!
WHOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The Rest of the Story.....

Paulius made some observations on his blog.......here are mine......

1) A husband should never wander into the kitchen on Thanksgiving day and stand directly behind his wife when she is doing about 10 things ,alternating between the stove/oven, sink, and refrigerator. It IS getting in the way-even if you are trying to kiss them on the back of the neck and be sweet. The safe way to do it is to stop in the DOORWAY of the kitchen and chat, or ask if there is anything he can do for his (insert pet name here).She won't remember it as you getting in her way- she'll remember it as her sweet husband offering his help from a safe distance.
2)Number 1 also covers staying out of the kitchen and being accused of not lifting a finger. You offered from a safe place. Think of that kitchen doorway as Switzerland- it's not IN- nor is it OUT.
It's a mans safe-haven.(Unless she has to use it heading to the bathroom-but that RARELY happens so you really don't need to worry about that one. Women don't take breaks of ANY kind when they are preparing T-day dinner)
3)Yes, if a man actually DOES help by doing something simple as mashing the potatoes, he WILL and SHOULD get credit where credit is due. Rightly so. Luckily for Paulius, I made instant potatoes for our Thanksgiving day dinner (Awww, get OVER it- I worked the night before and the night OF Thanksgiving and Potatoes take forever to do and I would have had to use a KNIFE- meaning I probably would have cut myself peeling them and added to our ever growing hospital bill. Besides- they all get drowned in an ocean of gravy anyway- it's not like anyone can actually taste them.)
4)Yeah the part about him getting at least 10 minutes of high praise is true- but I see that little tradition coming to an end in the foreseeable future because a lot of men are beginning to take more of a part in the preparing and cooking of the holiday meals. I'm honestly not sure I like that idea either. The holiday meals have been MY time to shine for so long I don't know if I could take it if it weren't mine any more......on the other hand...........I DO like football and would LOVE to watch the Macy's Parade all the way thru (I COMPLETELY missed Santa this year because i was in the kitchen and no one TOLD me when he was on his way-I have NEVER missed Santa coming down the street in the Macy's Parade before...I'm CRUSHED!!!)so maybe I WOULD like to try it one year! We'll see about it after that.
5)Does men getting high praise bother me? Nope- I LIKE that I have a man who can actually cook. And I get PLENTY of praise about the things I made as well. Have your lime-light sweetness.
6)My favorite is his comment that....'If a wife asks for help (such as "pass me the milk from the fridge") that help received automatically allows the husband to say 'he helped make that'....'
OMFG...If that's true wives can claim that because she handed her man a hammer or a wrench she "helped" put the engine in the car or helped build the addition onto the house.......Are you sure that's a good idea?
Hahahahhahahahahahahahaha!!
7)Yes, women DO make too much. BUT if they didn't, there would be none of those leftovers men love so much the day after Thanksgiving- or in our case, later that night when we wake up from our after-dinner nap.
NOR would there be leftovers for guests to bring home for THEIR next day dinners!!!
MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMM-Turkey and dressing sammiches.
Another reason I personally make so much is I have an open door policy at my house. If my guests have a relative pop in on them unexpectedly, or they know someone who has no place to go on Thanksgiving day- they KNOW it's fine with me to invite them to come to our house with them. I have yet to have a Thanksgiving dinner that at least ONE misplaced soul didn't come. One year I had 8 misplaced souls come and it was one of the most interesting parties we have ever had. It's always been like that at my house- and always will be. It's a time for sharing and being with friends and family- something I love more than anything else I could be doing.
Thanksgiving is a day to be enjoyed for at least a couple of weeks - it's not just a ONE DAY holiday!!
8)And the only reason the turkey and dressing sammiches are their fav is because they can pig out in the comfy clothes at home on their own sofa. And I TOTALLY agree. That's why I don't have a dress code for Thanksgiving dinner at my house. For so many years I had to dress in my Sunday best to have Thanksgiving dinner. I HATED that- so when you come to my house- come in your fav jeans or dress- or even in your sweats. I would rather my guests be happy and comfortable than worried about spilling something on their outfits. Ditto on the tablecloth.
9)Falling asleep is allowed- and messing with them while they nap is required at my house too. Taking photos of the drool dripping from their open mouths is especially entertaining for guests in the Thanksgivings to come. The only thing I don't allow is for the kids to be woke up if THEY fall asleep- that can ruin everyone's day because kids get cranky and whiny when they don't get their naps out....and believe me- if the babies ain't happy- NO ONE is- Especailly Nana Sunny.!!!
10)EVERYTHING is a competition at our house with the women's dishes....But we also know the truth.
Mom makes the best hand made biscuits and ham
Nina makes the best Dressing(Gar-un-teed cold and sinus cure!)
Julie makes the best Ranch potatoes and deviled eggs
Sunny makes the best cakes and dinner rolls(Hopefully I added sweet potato pies to that list this year too!!)
And Teresa makes the best mac and cheese pie in the world!!!
And those titles are always up for grabs. We KNOW who makes the best whatever- but we all secretly hope to someday find a recipe that will top the high rollers. And the high rollers always are tweaking their recipes to make sure they KEEP those places of honor.

This year was bittersweet. Clay and Kathy were so missed- but they were with us in spirit.We had our moments of sadness and regret, but we also kept the spirit up because it was what Clay would have wanted us to do. He was very big on holidays- especially eating ones.

So now it's time for me to begin phase two of this holiday season and get started on the Christmas decorating. I'll get that started next weekend. No OT for me that week!!
I'll post photos of my living room when I get it finished.

I hope you ALL had a Happy Thanksgiving with your families and friends- and I hope to hear about the antics at those dinners on your blog soon. I have a saying in my house-

"Enter at your own risk- anything you say or do is subject to be placed in either Sunny or Paulius' Blog."

They laugh........I smile .........and open the door.

Happy Holidays!!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS To ALL Y'ALL!!!!

Virtual Laugh

'Virtual theft' leads to arrest

A Dutch teenager has been arrested for allegedly stealing virtual furniture from "rooms" in Habbo Hotel, a 3D social networking website.

The 17-year-old is accused of stealing 4,000 euros (£2,840) worth of virtual furniture, bought with real money.

Five 15-year-olds have also been questioned by police, who were contacted by the website's owners.

The six teenagers are suspected of moving the stolen furniture into their own Habbo rooms.

A spokesman for Sulake, the company that operates Habbo Hotel, said: "The accused lured victims into handing over their Habbo passwords by creating fake Habbo websites.

"In Habbo, as in many other virtual worlds, scamming for other people's personal information such as user names has been problematic for quite a while.

It is a theft because the furniture is paid for with real money Sulake spokesman

"We have had much of this scamming going on in many countries but this is the first case where the police have taken legal action."

Habbo users can create their own characters, decorate their own rooms and play a number of games, paying with Habbo Credits, which they have to buy with real cash.

"It is a theft because the furniture is paid for with real money. But the only way to be a thief in Habbo is to get people's usernames and passwords and then log in and take the furniture.

"We got involved because of an increasing number of sites which are pretending to be Habbo. People might then try and log in and get their details stolen."

Six million people in more than 30 countries play Habbo Hotel each month.

Virtual theft is a growing issue in virtual worlds; in 2005 a Chinese gamer was stabbed to death in a row over a sword in a game.

Shanghai gamer Qiu Chengwei killed player Zhu Caoyuan when he discovered he had sold a "dragon sabre" he had been loaned.

I had to laugh............sigh.

To Be- or Not To Be.......No ...Wait..........

Paulius and I have an ongoing battle.

He wants me to use a calculator when I balance the checkbook and I don't like using one.

First of all, I haven't EVER relied on a calculator to do my math for me. I use my good old brain or sometimes even resort to using my ten little fingers for the advanced stuff.
Don't go there.....I can hear you.

Second, I don't get along with mechanical or electronic things very well. If it can screw up and I have it- it will. Has happened before- will happen again so I just want to keep the odds of me messing something up down to a minimum.

Third, I HATE having to use a calculator and then putting it down to have to make the next entry in the checkbook- it wastes time and that's not a commodity I have. I just take the PEN- yes I DO use a pen- and do it all without all that switching back and forth. I get it done in less time and annoyance than if I used the little calculator. And for that matter- what is with those tiny calculators that if you aim a ten-thousandth of an inch too much to one side or the other it screws up the math and you have to start over?

And last, but certainly not least- I'm numbers dyslexic and when I use a calculator or the computer I tend to key in the numbers like it's laid out on the phone and believe me- that can cause some REALLY BAD balances in a checkbook.

I could just leave it all for Paulius to do- but, seeing as I have direct deposit, I never see the check anymore- or get to touch the money and smell that green ink smell as I'm handing it over to someone else(even if it is a bill collector) and I like to see that I actually AM going to work for a reason......so I occasionally take over the checkbook balancing once in a while.....usually around the holiday season because I know how much I have left to get and I need some sort of idea as to my budget. I can adjust it according to needs- but I want to have an idea.

So there ya go- To use a Gadget- or Not to use a Gadget....that is the question.

RANT_RANT_RANT!!!!!!!!!

With all the trouble with things being imported from China lately everyone is up in arms about it here where I live. they're all Boo-Hoo ing about "What will we do about Christmas this year with all the lead paint in the toys and this and that being recalled from Chinese based companies...?????"


Well here's a freaking idea.
BUY AMERICAN.
You big dumb-asses. You should be buying AMERICAN products anyway!
I cannot believe how dang MORONIC people can be sometimes. How about pulling your head out of your BUM(BUTT)(ASS) and using your crap covered brain for a change?

BUY AMERICAN-
BUY AMERICAN
BUY AMERICAN!!!!!!!!!!

What part did you NOT get? The BUY- or the AMERICAN?

Well for the more sophisticated readers who can grasp the concept easily here's the more complicated version......
BUY AMERICAN PRODUCTS
BUY AMERICAN PRODUCTS
BUY AMERICAN PRODUCTS

Sorry about the rant- and I don't mean to insult anyone of YOU guys(you read my blog so obviously you're more intelligent than the average joe or josie) but those whiney idiots really PISS ME OFF !!!!!

PFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTT...........

Well???? So WHAT Happened?

I received a forward the other day that I sent out to a few friends as an experiment.
It had an exact time that something would happen the following morning. My time for it to happen was 12:56 in the afternoon.
Others got a different time.

So now for the results......
I didn't hear anything I had wanted to hear- nor did anything extraordinary happen to me at that time. I would have remembered.

Any of you that i sent it to have anything happen at the time you were told?

I hate when that happens- or in this case-doesn't.

Are You a GOOD Witch Or A BAD Witch?

Watching the Wizard Of Oz tonight after missing it for a few years . I LOVE that movie altho I used to have nightmares about the flying monkeys invading and taking over Easley.....altho in MY nightmares it was Flying Gorillas and for some strange reason I thought that just leaning back into the hedges and being very still would make me invisible to them.

I also had a regular nightmare where I was sucked up into a tornado funnel and somehow managed to grab onto a mattress and then the tornado died away and I began to fall from the sky back to earth- that's when I would wake up on the very edge of the mattress in my bed and be about to fall off into the floor.

I was a weird kid.

I have to say my favorite character in TWOO was a dead tie betwwen the Cowardly Lion and Glenda. The Cowardly Lion was so adorable with his unruly tail and his big tears that I just wanted to scoop him up and take him home with me and protect him.
Glenda because she had a really cool dress- oddly enough- it looks amazingly identical to my wedding gown except hers was cotton candy pink and mine was white.

I'll repeat myself-

I was a weird kid. And I haven't changed much either.

Follow The Yellow Brick Road.......

I haven't caught this movie in years but tonight I'm sitting here watching the Wizard Of Oz.

I just hope it doesn't cause me to have nightmares about the flying monkeys again tho.
(In MY nightmare it was flying gorillas invading and taking over Easley and for some strange reason I thought that leaning back into the hedges and being very still would hide me from their view)
Go figure.

Of all those characters the one I loved the most was the Cowardly Lion with his unruly tail and his big tears. I just wanted to gather him up and take him home with me.
Hehehehehe......

I could fly on a broomstick.
I really could if I wanted to..........

Tagged By Poetikat!!!!

Poetikat tagged me for this Get To Know Me Meme.

So here it is.

* What Was I Doing 10 Years Ago?
I was homeschooling my two boys and working as a Courier Supervisor at the hospital with ACME LOGISTICS.
* What Was I doing 1 Year Ago?
I was getting ready for the holidays like I am this year. I love the holidays, spending time with my family, eating special foods, and just being together. My family is my world.
* What Was I Doing Yesterday?
I was sleeping, and I went to Aldis to get groceries by myself for the first time in about 6 months. Paulius and I usually do that together and grab a bite to eat while we're out, but he couldn't be roused up, so I grabbed the card and went on my own. I have to say- it wasn't nearly as much fun without him with me.
* 5 Snacks I Enjoy
1-snow cream
2-ice cream
3-jalapeno and cheddar potato chips
4-sharp cheddar cheese melted in the microwave
5-a bowl of cereal
*5 things I Would Do If I Won 100 Million Dollars
1-get my debt paid up and my credit straight
2-buy a car
3-buy a moderate house with a pool
4-buy my kids a house each
5-set up a fund and build a homeless shelter with a kitchen
*5 Locations I Would Like To Run Off To
1-Montana
2-the Bahamas
3-Great Britain
4-A remote cabin in the Blue Ridge mountains
5-A remote deserted Island with all the amenities
*5 Bad Habits I Have
1-biting my nails
2-emotional/stress eating
3-McRibs
4-expecting the best of people/trusting too much
5-acting without thinking
*5 Things I Like Doing
1-spending time with my family
2-decorating for Christmas
3-reading
4-cuddling with my hubby
5-painting(as in oil painting)
*5 TV Shows I Like
1-Ghost Hunters
2-The Tudors(on Showtime)
3-M.A.S.H.
4-Ninja Warrior
5-DEXTER(on Showtime)
*5 Things I Hate
1-loud engines revving,lawn-mowers andloud music when I'm trying to sleep
2-couples arguing in public
3-parents who don't discipling their kids
4-bad table manners
5-having a migraine
*5 Biggest Joys Of The Moment
1-Waiting on my youngest sons baby boy to be born-(He was taken from us in late August in an auto accident, Poetikat)
2-having a very supportive and understanding husband who loves me and isn't afraid to show me.
3-Having the rest of my family with me
4-getting ready for the holidays
5-having good friends who listen-(I have the BEST friends ever!!)


Okay!! I would like to tag....
Paulius
Saffy
Ozzy
MC Etcher
Pine Dreams

IF you have the time, that is!

Another Meme...Tagged By Kathleen!!

WICKED EVIL OPTICAL ILLUSION....

Thanks Rick!
he's got a couple others there as well but this one just GRABBED my attention.

I love stuff like this!!

Pics of Bad Buddy

In some of his "Good Doggie" poses.
*Sigggggggggggggh........*
Why can't he be like this ALL the time?

Our Dog- Bad Buddy

Buddy in some of his "I'm not in trouble" poses.

CONTINUATION..........I AM SOOOO Mad!!!!

OZZY-Paulius WAS here with him all night so he has access to the entire house when we are with him- no worries there. If we leave to go out- we either put him in his room and close the door- or he goes out on his run, if the weather permits. He's not left alone in the house with free run of it if we aren't here.
Read on.........

Saffy- He only chews stuff like that when I'm gone and Pauli is busy doing something else(ie not paying him any attention).

I'm thinking it may be separation anxiety, maybe?

He knows WE are the Alpha Dogs in this pack- altho lately he HAS been trying to establish dominance in the usual adolesence ways.....remember a few weeks ago for a few days -when he took that snapping/growling attitude with Pauli? And, lately, every time I put that red robe on he is trying to plant his nose in my lap or trying to hump my leg.....Really annoying I can tell you.

I guess it's just time for some more intense training so he KNOWS that chewing is NOT acceptable behavior altho I'm not sure how to go about more intense training. I do it the way the trainers say now.
:-P

I AM SOOOOOOO MAD!!!

Came home from work this morning. My Red Victorias Secret terrycloth bathrobe is in the middle of the living room floor. Buddy The DOG is sitting beside it with "that look" on his face and Paulius tells me that Buddy likes ME more than him because Buddy has sat in the living room floor on my bathrobe all night with his nose buried in it "missing me".
(Usually Buddy annoys the heck out of him wanting attention-I can see where Paulius would think Buddy was "Missing" me.)
As Paulius says this, Buddy hangs his head and glances up at me with a sad 'I 'm in trouble, poor puppy-dog' look.
I know then something is up.
I go over, pick up my bathrobe(which BTW , cost almost a hundred and fifty dollars 8 years ago), and hold it up.
There are a dozen palm sized HOLES chewed down the side of the robe and the sleeve is almost COMPLETELY chewed off.
I was so mad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I ground my jaw- and thru clenched teeth told him to "GO -TO -YOUR -ROOM...NOW."
And he did. Quickly, quietly, with his head hung and with no argument or dawdling whatsoever.

I closed the door and didn't speak for about 10 minutes. I get very quiet when I am really pissed off and Paulius gets worried when I get quiet. With good reason.

So far that sweet little doggie has chewed up; two pair of MY shoes, a sweater, two blankets, and a comforter.............. and now my bathrobe.

I'm trying to decide how to handle this one. The LAST blanket he chewed up was our king sized Velux Blanket- another hundred dollar item.
I want to get him a muzzle- but I have an inkling that Paulius would let him out of it as soon as I went to work- which is also when he(Buddy) has destroyed all the items he has chewed up so far.
He knows I will beat his butt for doing stuff like that- unless I am as pissed as I am now, that is.
I don't DARE try to punish him when I'm this mad. I would lose it.

Any suggestions, my friends? Or do I just go ahead and shoot him and put him out of my misery?

I'll wait for suggestions and consider them all before making a decision.
:-(

What A Weekend!!!

We had the first frost of the season this past week- and a family tradition of ours is to have a Chili Party the weekend after the first frost.
Soooo.......I went to the supermarket and got all the stuff to make a HUGE pot of chili, sharp cheese to shred and sour cream to top it off with, and both corn chips and bread for garlic toast to go with it. I had some leftover pineapple-coconut cake (which, by the way, gets better if you let it sit for a COUPLE /Three days in the fridge before serving it!!)for dessert too. I had to make 3 gallons of sweet tea which ALL my kids love and there was hot chocolate had anyone wanted it instead.
So the kids came over- my son actually came that morning and he and my baby brother did yard-work all day- and we all ate chili. Wiped it out almost. I actually had to put some back for Paulius since he had been up all night long(he isn't able to adjust his sleep schedule like I do) and was asleep while the party was going on.

It was the first one we have had that Clay hasn't attended and he and Kathy were missed terribly. Of course there were a lot of stories about all their antics when they were little, a lot of tears as well when it hit us that these were the stories we would be sharing, but no new ones would be made involving him.
But that's not quite true either.

Julie related a story from just last week about her brother........
She said she was driving down the road and her baby, Christopher, was bugging the heck out of his brother in the backseat. So she told him to stop several times. Finally she had had e-nough and so she started fussing at him about misbehaving when all the sudden he pointed out the window and said in a VERY URGENT voice, "LOOK MOMMY!!!!!" She said the urgency in his voice prompted her to slow to an almost stop and look at what he was trying to show her. She couldn't see anything so she asked him, "What is it baby? Mommy can't see anything- what are you trying to show mommy?" And he calmly said, "A Tree!"

Clayton used to do that to me when I was fussing at him and he knew he was in deep trouble. Christopher is only three and has never HEARD Clayton say that!!
I told Julie that Christopher must have had an Angel named Clay on his shoulder whispering what to do to divert her attention from Christopher misbehaving!

We all laughed and agreed.

I'm coming to realize that just because Clay is gone from us- doesn't mean that he isn't WITH us still.



Another thing that happened this weekend was that Paulius tried to print my photos so I could start my scrapbook for the kids for Christmas. He printed one off and it did just fine- then he tried to print off the rest and the printer just decided it didn't LIKE that photo paper and it wasn't going to print anymore on it.
And even after an hour of Paulius messing around with various things trying to make it start working again- it was adamant that it was NOT co-operating. So we gave up. That paper is relagated to use for use in the scrapbooks- but as frames and snowflakes and autumn leaves and such instead of photos. Which will be great for both me and Paulius because I can get some watercolors and markers and color them myself which will keep me occupied for HOURS, which, in turn, will keep Paulius happy because it will keep me out of his hair with my nonsense for a few hours!
The kids will get something hand-crafted special for them, so EVERYBODY wins!!!!


My mom came by as well. She showed me the photographs she had done at Glamour Shots.
Yes, 71 years old and she had her photos done at G-S.
Can you tell where I get MY audacity and obnoxiousness from? Yep- and her mother was the same as well. I LOVED my Granny Coyle! She was the most awesome woman I had ever come across in my life. She had 18 kids and ONE husband in her lifetime. And she could dish it out better than anyone I know. There was NO chance of getting by with a lie, fabrication, fib, fiblette, or even a detour around the truth with her.But she knew how to have fun- and MAKE fun as well.
She and all the girls in the family used to have a HAT DAY where they would all get together and have a picnic and every one of them had to wear a hat- the more obnoxious the hat the better. They ate- and drank- and took photos- and had a BLAST!
Occasionally for the family reunion she would command that everyone dress "Old Fashioned".
No one thought to NOT come old fashioned. If Granny wanted it- you just complied. Not because we were afraid of her-(Altho we could have been that as well)- it was because she would do anything in the world for us- and we did the same for her...because it's what families do. Or so we were taught.
I hope I can live up to her standard.

It was a GREAT weekend!

ROAD TRIP!!!!

Is it just a Southern tradition to just hop in the car and go for a joyride with no particular destination in mind?

When we were kids we would be sitting around enjoying the wonders of our THREE TV Channels with diddly squat on them on a lazy Sunday afternoon and Daddy would take out his keys and jangle them and say......"Okay- Let's go for a ride young'uns!!"

Sometimes we would go towards the mountains. Sometimes we would go towards the lakes. Sometimes we would go by one or both sets of Grandparents for a short visit. And during the holidays we would go out and ride until it got dark enough to see the Christmas decorations twinkling in the windows of the houses and on the front lawns.

Of course, it was a time when gas was 10 cents a gallon.....but then again, wages were much less as well, so I suppose it balances out in the end.

The point is we did it - and enjoyed it. I still love to just hop in the car and ride for a couple hours on a lazy weekend afternoon. I don't do it very often now because of the rising gas prices....well, that AND the fact that my auto has almost 200,000 miles on it now and I'm almost afraid to drive it very far- or for very long. Heck, I washed it the other day after two years of NOT washing it and afterwards was nervous about going too fast in it just in case the grime that I washed off was all that was holding the body parts together!

But I digress..........The best way in my opinion to go on a true "ride" is to go with at LEAST one partner/co-pilot and take turns deciding which direction to turn or which exit to take.

Paulius and I took a road trip like that up towards Brevard and Asheville NC a couple years ago and it was a blast....despite the fact we not only got TOTALLY LOST- we got caught in a God-Awful Thunderstorm in the process!! It really was fun tho. We like to refer to it as one of our "Little Life Adventures". We took another one a while back as well to White-Water Falls and decided to go on an impromptu hike......no water- in July and hot as hell.....not a fun hike let me tell you....but we can look back on it and laugh NOW.

Do yourself a favor and just go for a ride with nowhere in particular in mind soon.......Create some memories.
You won't be sorry.
Unless you get seriously lost.
Have some FUN for a change.
Don't be such grown-ups all the time.
And you only live once so PLAY once in awhile!!!

Eh- Just bring your cash card....and some cash just in case you get lost in an area where there is no ATMs.

Let's Go For A Ride!!!

Is it just a Southern tradition to just take the notion to hop in the car and go for a ride and not necessarily have a specific destination in mind when you go?



Growing up we did that quite a lot. Of course gas was about 10 cents a gallon then as well. But then again, wages were MUCH lower then too.

It was one of the great joys of our childhood to be sitting around bored to tears with our three channels of nothing to watch on Sunday afternoon and have my Daddy grab the keys and jangle them and call us to the car saying"Let's go for a RIDE, young'uns!!"

Sometimes we would ride up towards the mountains. Sometimes we would go toward the lakes. Sometimes we would stop by one or both sets of Grandparents for a short visit. And during the hlidays we would do it about darkfall and

Mythical Creatures....

If you could be ANY mythical creature you wanted- what would it be?




Me? .........I'd be either a vampyre or a wood-sprite.
I'm already into the vampyre lifestyle. Up all night- sleep all day, love bloody food.........
Wood-Sprite would be a nice change tho- get to create all kinds of mischief....much like my REAL life!!