Sunday, November 27, 2005

Long weekends

Ah, Thanksgiving weekend is almost over. It actually made me thankful that I have a job to go to. It's been a fun filled four days, with the kiddoes couped up for longer than they are used to. On the bright side, they did not fill the bathroom with water again. I'm not sure what they are up to now, but something tells me that ignorance is bliss....

We had the usually Turkey day fair, created by yours truely. I do cook a good bird, by the way. I started on putting everything together Tuesday,by doing all of the chopping of the veggies for the stuffing and for the broth and roasted veggie portion of the gravy. I chopped the nuts for the stuffing and the sweet potatoe (a la Quayle) casserole--one of the best but positively worth heath-wise. I'm not talking canned yams with marshmallows. I'm talking sweet potatoes, cream, eggs and spices with a pecan and brown sugar crumb topping. Mmmmmmmm. This was in addition to green bean casserole with a kick, rolls (OK, I cheat here and use premade, heat 'n serve ones), sage and onion stuffing made from homemade bread crumbs, cranberry sauce, and apple pie.j (<----the "j" is DD's contribution. "I need gotta push 'j'.") I had everything done by 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon. And the feasting commenced.

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb(<-----also added by DD. "I need gotta push 'b' one time.")

I finally had to check to see what the boy children were up to... They have unloaded all of the shoes from the shoe box by the front door and are sending them flying with the sit 'n spin. At least they aren't playing in traffic and the sit n' spin is getting some use. Thank goodness for that!

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Countdown

Another day at the salt mine. Only 30 minutes to go until we close. We're off early today for Thanksgiving. For that I give thanks.

I've been killing time cruising the net, reading about stamping techniques. It's one of my hobbies that I find I have less and less time to indulge in. Although, I'm still hell bent on making my Christmas cards this year. I did make a few last year, but didn't quite get them all done in time to mail. And I wasn't completely pleased with the results. At least this year I have the idea together and have started the project. I'm doing a better job of assembly-lining, and hope to have stage 2 done by the end of this weekend. (haha) After I finish watercoloring everything, I will be ready to do all of the cut and paste work and then put everything together into the actual cards.

Twenty-six minutes to go....

I've already recorded the holiday greeting on for our office. Yes, that's my lovely voice that you hear when you call and the "night answer" message kicks in. Thank you for calling, but we're not here because our bosses are letting us have the day off while you slave away. Either that, or it's the weekend so leave us alone. And have a nice day. (<---that's for you DH)

No, I really don't say "and have a nice day." Well, not at work. I have put it on our home answering machine because it drives my hubby batty.

Eighteen minutes to go....

Saturday, I made the mistake of untying the children while DH was at school. Suffice to say, when he walked in after class, I was in the middle of flailing my arms around wildly after walking in on Sean filling the toilet with toilet paper and Ben and Ava throwing water from a plastic bottle, which they filled from the sinkful of water, all over the bathroom from ceiling to floor. He told me to leave and not come back until after they were in bed.

I decided to catch a movie, since I didn't want to go to the mall (and I thought the violent urge to cut my hair off might be stress motivated). After dialing Movie Phone, which I never believed anyone really used it, I chose Pride and Prejudice with DH's dream girl Kiera Knightly (which, by the way, she spells incorrectly. My best friend in preschool and kindergarten spelled it Kira, which is the right way and will always be the right way.). I have to admit that it was well done. (Although I still want to see the BBC mini-series version that I always miss when it's run on PBS.) It's a gorgeous movie and the audience got the humor.

Time's up....

Yea! Answering the phone killed those last few minutes. If I don't blog between now and tomorrow, have yourself a safe an happy Thanksgiving!!!

Shameless Business Promotion...

As the holidays approach, I must do a little business promotion…

Don’t slog through the streams of people at the mall, slowing circling the parking lot like a vulture and creeping behind your prey from the store exit to their parking space. Shop with me!!! (<----click) I can put together a gift for you. Don’t forget about teachers, co-workers, moms, sisters, wives, husbands, brothers, dads, girlfriends, babysitters, and holiday party hostesses. I can drop it off locally or ship it to your receipient (free shipping on orders over $50). Remember, order early, as some items will sell out!

Twelve Days of Christmas (12 box gift-tower, one for each of the 12 days before Christmas…I can leave one empty for your if you’d like to add something, too): $169-$239.

Satin Hands Set (includes hand cream, extra-emollient night cream, moisturizing wash and buffing cream): $28 ***best seller***

Coffee & Cream (coffee mug and gourmet coffee with your choice of “cream”):
Hand cream: $12
Shaving cream: $14
Mint Bliss foot and leg cream: $15

Give Her a Hand (hand cream, base coat, top coat and festive nail color): $25

Satin Lips Set (mask and lip balm): $18

Kissable Lips Set (Satin Lips set and Lip Outliner): $33

Pretty Pairs (nail color and lip gloss): $19

Deluxe Secretary Survival Kit (coffee mug, hand cream, Mint Bliss foot and leg cream, emery board, top coat, Satin Hands set): $61

Make-up Brush Set (5 brushes plus traveling case): $45

Eye Love It (oil-free eye makeup remover and Indulge soothing eye gel): $29

Private Spa Luxury Collection (sheer fragrance mist, body lotion, shower gel, sugar scrub): $58 ***note, the fragrance mist is more akin to eau de toilette, not an all-over body spray***

Tribute (my favorite fragrance): $40

For him:
Velocity gift set
(cologne & body wash): $44
Tribute for him (cologne): $25
Domain: cologne-$34 , body wash-$18 , after-shave balm-$18

Check out my website for more gift ideas!

Friday, November 18, 2005

A moment

We had sandwiches for lunch that day. Sandwiches and lemonade--sweet and sour, with melting ice cubes rotating in lazy spirals. The condensation slipped down the acrylic tumbler and wedged against the table. I stared out over the field with grasses swaying to something like music, something just out of my hearing, leaving my ears straining. I wanted to kneel among those leaves and press my hands and face against their coolness and breathe the earth, to cocoon in the mass of greens and golds and browns and see how I emerged.

It was all a mess. Flashes of light. A prickly sensation through my skin. Heat. It was all that I could imagine, like some far away memory. It should be there, you've hear the story enough times, but there is just a vague shadow, an emotional imprint, but not a real image. Rather like peering into a room through frosted glass. I didn't know what to say. I shrugged and walked away.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

76 Degrees +

My DH and I had an argument last night.

"Woman, it's burning up in here!"
"No, it's not."
"There's a reason why I'm running around in my boxers."
"There's a reason why I'm huddling under a blanket."
"Look at me. I'm sweating."
"I have been cold all day! I was shivering in my jacket at work. Someone set the thermostat for 73 degrees!"
"Um, that's called room temperature."
"Well, technically, any temperature that a room is would be room temperature."

We often wonder how we have stayed married. He's always hot. I think he's nuts. I am always cold when it's below 76 degrees. But, this Thanksgiving will be our four-year anniversary. We've survived San Angelo, three kids and the apartment from hell.

Here's to many more years of thermostat wars!