hanging out with the Dream King

I'm back to dreaming weird things again. Last night I had 2 dreams about the following individuals:
1. British Prime Minister Tony Blair
2. A nearly-nude Gene Hackman
Yikes!

game on!

Wow, what a busy last week or so, which explains my lack of posting. So many good things happened, I couldn't possibly go into detail over them all...

My family was here, and actually Mums and Dud are leaving this morning while I'm at work. They've been here for a week, and surprisingly I haven't wanted to kill them. Kevin even suggested they stay through New Year's, to which they declined. I guess my Dad's got to get home for an x-ray on his leg. Anyway, we had a wonderful Christmas with lots of food, fun, and presents. Now it's back to work. Blah.

Everything went by so fast that it's hard to remember all the stressful anticipation I experienced. January, when it comes, is always such a let down. The months ahead, however, will be filled with wedding planning. Yep. Time to get back at it again. *Sighs*

the Winfield Petting Zoo back together again

I picked a very sore, tired, groggy Isabel up from the Vet yesterday afternoon. Poor baby. Her paws are still very tender, and the underside of her belly is marked by a long red incision which is also fairly sore. Her spunk will return, I'm sure, soon as she heals. She normally runs around like the Devil, but last night and this morning she had to calculate how much pain it would cause to do various things, i.e. jump on the kitchen counter while I was getting her food = lots of pain; jumping into the bathtub to lick the faucet after my shower = not enough pain to deter her. You get the idea.

got a cat named Easter, he says "will you ever learn?"...

Last night, Kevin and I went back to the Vet to pay for Isabel's stuff, and to see if we could possibly bring her home early. No such luck, which I knew would happen. I tried telling Kevin this - they don't want her sutures to come out so they keep her over night for observation. Kevin got wicked crabby and asked if we could at least see her. The Vet said no, so Isabel doesn't get excited and bleed all over the place. Plus, she's still drugged with pain meds. You would have thought Kevin's only son was on his deathbed, the way he was reacting. He pouted and cursed all the way home in the car. True enough, I'm sure he'll be an excellent father when the time comes, but if he's like this with a kitten, I can't imagine how he'll behave with children!

is Thumbalina size 10 on a Wednesday --

Adjusted the Christmas tree last night, but I didn't get a chance to put the lights on it as I had planned. Instead, I had a little cooking mishap which kept me cleaning most of the night. I'll not go into detail, but let's just say that I had to wash the walls, floor, and complete stove top when I was finished. It kind of ruined our plans to go to the jeweler's to pick out wedding rings.

Tonight will be quiet without Isabel. I dropped her off at the vet this morning for the full deal - shots, front de-claw, and spaying. I hope she'll be ok. She has to spend the night, and I know she will completely ignore me tomorrow evening when we pick her up. I'm the bad Mom for taking her to the vet. Last night she was in heat (her first one) and howled the entire night, chasing her brothers all over the house trying to seduce them. They had no clue what was going on.

falling down as the winter takes one more CHERRY TREE

I was very productive last night - found the Christmas dishes, unpacked and washed them. We even went to get our Christmas tree. This was so last minute, though, and I am very disappointed with what's now sitting in the living room. I feel bad for the poor tree. I think someone painted her, because on the underside of the needles are lots of dark green splotches which rubbed off on my fingers. This is what I get for refusing to spend too much money on a tree and waiting till the week before Christmas. I'm really not a procrastinator. Really.

lay me down in sheets of linen, you had a busy day today

Most of my weekend was spent at church, rehearsing the kids for their pageant, which was last night. I have to say, that despite all my complaining and bitching and moaning, I really love what I do. Especially working with kids. Hearing all the laughter last night was totally worth it. Seeing their faces when Santa made a surprise appearance really got everyone in the Christmas spirit. They performed fantastically - they really hammed it up on stage. Everyone has been so stressed out over Christmas, that I think a good laugh was really needed by all. I'm so proud of those kids.

Saturday was a real blessing for me - I was waited on hand and foot. Friday night I had been at church till 10pm setting up for the pageant, making sure our lighting and sound systems were working, etc. I had to be back at 9am for the dress rehearsal on Saturday. By the time I got home that afternoon I was wiped out. I took a nap and when I woke up, Kevin and Gerry had not only made dinner, done the dishes and laundry, but Gerry had also made cupcakes for me to take to the Potluck yesterday. I am truly a lucky gal.

Kevin and I finished all our shopping yesterday afternoon between rehearsals. We still haven't gotten a tree yet, but that's hopefully going to happen tomorrow night. This week is going to be crazy - tree shopping, Isabel going to the vet, possibly some wedding-ring-picking-out...we'll see! :o) That's what I want for Christmas!

For a little computer-oriented comic relief, go here.
If yours has ever caused you excessive grief, you'll like this one. Promise.

To Do
1. Get tree but not decorate it till the family comes.
2. Find, unpack, and wash the Christmas dishes.
3. Take Isabel to the vet. (Note: Must first make appointment.)
4. Finish up last bit of shopping, which includes forcing myself to purchase the GTA4 Vice City Sound Track Boxed Set for my husband. *Gags*
5. Replenish the barren cupboards ASAP.
6. Make something for a Potluck on Sunday night.
7. Get guest rooms ready for family visitors.
8. Keep the peace between family members when I tell the in-laws I won't see them on Christmas day. (I have two families now and must learn to make concessions, i.e. I must sacrifice time with my own family who is only all together this one time a year.)
9. Clean and stock the basement bathroom with necessary cleaning supplies in case we start having a little too much fun.
10. Make Orange Refrigerator Cookies or suffer the wrath of my husband.
11. Plan and execute our office Christmas party, which no one wants any part of.
12. Drink.

Julia posted this first, but I always knew I was a Choirgirl...

Which Tori Amos Era are you?
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cutting back

The other day we cancelled our cable, because I refuse to pay $40 a month for something we never use. We got out the ol' antenna and slapped it back on top of the TV. Nothing. We got nothing. Unbelieveable. So we call the cable company. This is totally new to me- no one out here can get anything with an antenna. You still have to pay for local reception to get any channels like NBC, etc. *Grumbles* What a crock of you-know-what.

Got my Christmas cards done last night. Well, almost. I ran out of cards, with a few people still left on my list. I didn't think I would want to wish that many people a Merry Christmas. I didn't think I liked that many people. But I guess being married obligates one to send cards to one's spouse's family as well as one's own.

When do I sleep?

The Christmas party Friday night was actually fun. I had a really good time with Kevin's co-workers. Except for the one who couldn't hold his booze. We car-pooled with a 300-pound megalomaniac who projectile-vomitted out the back of the Jeep for a straight 25 minutes on our way home from the party. Bleah. Too drunk to drive home, he spent the night in our guest room. Ew, ew, ew, EW!

Saturday, my car died. Despite being married to an ASE certified mechanic, I am horrible with car maintenance. I was on my way to rehearsal Saturday morning when at the intersection of Ridge and Pleasant Valley, my car refused to accelerate. I coasted into the Citgo on the corner and luckily had the cell phone with me. Since Kevin was at work, I called Lou who came to get me and took me to the autobody shop. I cannot say enough good things about friends who are mechanics, especially those who only charge me wholesale cost for parts and nothing for labor. I only needed new plugs and wires and a general tune up, but because I drive a Mercury "Mistake", parts are wicked expensive. My repairs cost less than half of what they would have, had I gone to some ordinary joe-schmoe garage. I love my friends.

I spent 6 hours at the mall yesterday, shopping with my in-laws, Kevin's brother and his girlfriend. It was enough to make me nuts. That's all I have to say about that.

good year for hunters and Christmas parties

First, congrats are in order to: 1.) My Dad for getting a deer on Thanksgiving. I know he will try to sneak in some of that venison in our Christmas dinner, but I will outsmart him. And, also 2.) Sue for getting out of this winter weather for a spell. I hope she has a fantastic time at Club Med in Mexico with Andy. And I also hope there might be a proposal involved at some point. :o)

Second, tonight Kevin and I are off to our first Christmas party of the month. Hopefully this will also be the last. I know, I know. I'm such a Scrooge. I just have so much to do. Anyway, we're going to one of his co-worker's house tonight. It should be interesting. Everyone in attendance will also be bringing their children. We are the only childless couple. LOL And the youngest.

it's not so bad after all

Looks like my cold was short lived, to say the least. I'm feeling much better lately. Now if I can only manage my stress! I've got 2 weeks till the kids' Christmas Pageant at church, and 3 weeks till the choir concert. Yikes!

Weird dreams again last night...I can't remember all of what I dreamed, but I remember one part where it seems Oscar, my big fat baby kitty, tried to drown himself in a gigantic toilet. I pulled him out just before he got sucked down into the depths of wherever tiolet water goes to in dreams. I was happy to see him purring away this morning on top of my pillow.

sniffle, sniffle

I have come down with a monster cold, which most likely was caught from my husband. I thought I avoided it when I took extra Vitamin C and Zinc, coupled with consumiing mass quantities of green tea. No such luck. At least this isn't strep, like I had last year. Knock wood.

It's been a while since last posting...Mom went home Sunday and I miss her already. I got out a few decorations and put up some lights. This weekend is reserved for getting our tree, rearranging the living room to suit the tree I am envisioning, and decorating the house. Most of the shopping is done, with the exception of a few stocking stuffers here and there. (Thank goodness for Amazon.com, because I love one-click shopping.)

Wow I am tired. If I'm not posting for a while, it's 'cause I'm trying to get healthy. :o)