What Christmas means to me- home improvement!

The Mr. has 16 days off for the holidays this year. You would think we could get a lot done during that time. You would be wrong. There are a lot of "reasons" behind this. Such as-

• The first week is all about Christmas. That would be a good excuse - but I had all the shopping done way before this week. And the tree and the decorations have been up for weeks. We did go shopping that Monday- but really just to point and laugh at all the fools rushing about. So we could have done some work- but just chose not to.
  
• the weather was awful. It really was. 4 major snow events preceding Christmas. That should have let us get a lot done- but most of our time was actually spent digging out and shoveling the roof so it didn't collapse.
  
• the second week ( which we are now in) has not started out well. I got a little uptight yesterday (the Mr. was concerned I would pick up a gun and start shooting apparently) so I was sent away for a day of shopping- alone. Sounds more fun that it really is the week after Christmas. Although I did not have my child with me- everyone else did. And no ones child was happy about shopping. I did buy a few things- this pendant (two kinds of Jasper- I think it looks like a tree-the boy thinks it looks like a snow storm)
A new make up bag by Fossil that I am going to use as a spring purse. I love this-



my Mr. is not an expert anything, so it takes a long, long time to get anything done. Point of fact- it took all day to install the new light in the bathroom. Now, he did need to get up into the rafters to drill a hole- but still....

new light! Yes, we did re install the cabinet. The angle is wierd on these pics- in reality there isn't that much height in that bathroom...

middle



Before - only one light is lit because they all burned out and I refused to buy new lightbulbs for a fixture I hated and was going to replace.


My Mr. now is having a gall bladder attack. Work has come to a stop.

I have gotten the bottom kitchen cabinets re painted. They are very close to the same color they already were- just this white is blue-er than the other white- which was yellow-er. And they are now semi-gloss- so they will be easier (I hear) to clean.

Doesn't look like much now- but it will get done this week.

We have also removed the laundry room door. It was an exterior door (inside the house) that we never actually closed. He will have to fix the trim etc.. this spring because there just isn't enough time to fix that right now. That whole laundry room was built (not by us) with Popsicle sticks and duct tape. When we moved in if I looked between the ceiling trim and the ceiling I could see inside the garage. I caulked the hell out of that room just so I didn't have furry nighttime visitors. The laundry room actually tilts a bit too. It needs to be torn out and replaced- but that's getting a bit ahead of ourselves at this point. The Mr. needs to learn more about general carpentry, electricity and water before that can be attempted.

Now we have to install a kitchen cabinet- build a small pony wall, extend the kitchen floor one foot, put up a post, and put up a few more heat ducts in the basement. In 5 days. The countdown starts....Now.....

PS> just in case someone thought we had no fun this past week- we also did this---


we did art ( a lot of art with glitter!) , built a snow fort and did a lot of gaming- dominos, cootie, leapster, and lincoln logs!

Wal Mart is so lame-

So very, very sad.

And yes, the poinsettias were lame.

You have the right to remain silent....

but anything you write here could be held against you. It's an inteview meme!!!!!

1. If you could speak to your 18-year old self, what major advice would you give her?
Get away from that boy. Right now. He's really ewwww...... he won't get any better. You will end up leaving him, crying (not you- him) with nothing really gained. Do not go to college for a jounalism degree. It will get you nowhere- fast.


2.. What is the first thing you would buy if you won a million dollars?
Well, number one, a million just isn't all that much money. I would pay off my house, buy a new car that actually has room (just in case I find a cool chair somewhere) and invest the rest. Wait a minute- with the financial downturn- maybe I should do what my great Grandfather did and just put it in jars in the basement.
3. The year is 2010. What are you doing?
Getting the boy into first grade- that is if he doesn't have a criminal record by then. That boy child is crazy.
4. What single person has had the biggest impact on your life and how?
My Grandpa. Now that was a man who had a crazy life- hopped trains as a kid, ran an illegal gambling house out of his station, had friends named "buttertooth" yes, for the reason that just ran through your head, left school before he was 10 but was a very wealthy man when he grew up. Why? Common sense. Something that is in very short supply these days.

5. What would surprise people about you if they met you, having only known you from your blog?
I am really funny in real life. I am very lazy. I know I get a lot done, but given a chance (or that million dollars) I think I would sit on my ass all day long.

6. If we got drunk together and I got sick, would you hold my hair?
Oh hell no. I won't even be in the same wing of the house. The sound alone makes me chuck.

This may be my last post until after Christmas- so everyone enjoy what ever holiday they observe (so very PC of me) and I will get back after the holiday.

PS> I will probably post a picture of my holiday card in a few days. I've been told it's a "knee slapper" Really, that exact phrase.

My political humor for the month....

I got this email from an ex- W supporter. I think that pretty much says it all.... enjoy it while it lasts- which, thank God, isn't that much longer!


The Bush Library is being built in Dallas. The "W" Presidential Library will include:

The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction and will remain so for at least a decade.

The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you won't be able to remember anything.

The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you won't even have to show up.

The Walter Reed Hospital Room, where they won't let you in.

The Guantanamo Bay Room, where they won't let you out.

The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room, which no one has been able to find.

The National Debt room which is huge and has no ceiling.

The 'Tax Cut' Room with entry only to the wealthy.

The 'Economy Room' which is in the toilet.

The Iraq War Room. After you complete your first tour, they'll make you go back for a second, third, fourth, and sometimes a fifth time.

The Dick Cheney Room, in a famous undisclosed location, complete with shotgun gallery.

The Environmental Conservation Room, still empty.

The Supreme Court's Gift Shop, where you will be able to buy an election.

The Airport Men's Room, where you'll be able meet some of your favorite Republican Senators.

The 'Decider Room' complete with dart board, Magic 8-ball, Ouija board, dice, coins, and straws.

The museum will also have an electron microscope to help you locate the President's accomplishments

I'm just a little behind right now....

I still can't do much. The leg is bothering me and it makes me walk funny, which in turn is making other parts of me hurt. The leg is causing me to have knee problems and my back is killing me and all because my gaite is wonky right now. So I have chosen to sit on my butt and do a little windows shopping.

I really needed to get this whole "style icon" thing wrapped up. I did the whole Style Statement earlier this year and I do believe that I hit the nail on the head with "rustic timelessness". I think it fits me, I like the way it looks on me- now I just have to incorporate it fully into my wardrobe. I have to figure out a way to take "boring woodsy" which is me right now- and turn into "rustic timelessness".

Tonight I have started here Sundance catalog. Nice stuff- a little pricy- but it fits the bill for what I am looking for. And what is it that I am looking for??- here's a few pieces-

Earings.

wrap coat

cardigan

boots

It's a start. I will be doing more windows shopping later on this weekend- and doing some supply line work. I think it's time that I started taking care of myself.

When just a snow is not enough-

We are in the middle of a "major snow event" as they like to call it up here. We have gotten an awful lot of snow since yesterday- here is my car which was clean yesterday

If you look out by the fence you will see where the road is (supposed to be)

and here is my front door. I can't get it open more than this......

And I can't shovel. I spent yesterday in the ER- I slipped and hurt my back. I spent yesterday in a muscle- relaxant coma. Of course, I wasn't as bad as the man in the room next to mine at the hospital. He slipped and fell- and when he looked down he knew he was in trouble because his foot was backwards.

I have no tv right now- the dish is covered up by the snow. It just keeps coming down..... I think this may be the largest snowfall I have seen since I moved back here in 6 years. It's a good thing I have emergency food and movies or this would be mighty uncomfortable....

In the year 1984,84

The "planning " committee for my 25 th high school reunion met tonight. I couldn't make it- a combination of snow and lack of child care made that impossible. I think I actually wanted to go tonight. I think. I haven't been to a reunion since I graduated. The last one (20) I had just had the cancer surgery, and the new baby, and I REALLY didn't want to go.

I see very few of my old classmates- on purpose really. I mean, I see my husband obviously- and a few select others. But I don't go out of my way to do "townie" things. Hell, I don't remember most of the people I went to school with and certainly don't recognize them now. It can make for some uncomfortable meetings- for them mostly- since honestly I don't much care. But my husband likes this sort of thing. He's always lived here and these are "his people".

I left this town a few weeks after graduation and never really looked back. That is, until I moved back to get married and actually live here. I suspect that I will have to get off my high horse and involve myself in this reunion. I have been told by some that I will "enjoy" it. I don't think they are right.

I graduated in 1984. I didn't hear my first Madonna song until after I graduated.( Yes, her first album DID come out in 1983, but I already told you I live in a one horse town. ) I went to school and there were no computers. I drove a 1964 Ford Fairlane (which looked like this- except mine had a hard top that was the same color blue as the car)

We went to see Footloose at the theatre, The Terminator, Repo Man, Breakin' and it's evil cousin- Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo (which wasn't so much electric or full of boogaloo ) , 16 Candles, Amadeus, Porkys. I listened to AC/DC, Rush (not so much me-but my boyfriend), Ozzy. A lot of my memories of that time have the album "crazy train" in the background. We had older brothers buy us beer and had parties and drank in abandoned summer cottages and in the woods. We played video games in an arcade- no home systems for us!

It seems so long ago, I guess because it was. I am going to be 43 in less than 2 months. I have been able to drink longer than I was unable to legally drink. Plus some, because I moved to Texas when they changed the drinking age to 21- they grandfathered in all the 18 years olds so they could keep on drinking, and naturally, I took full advantage of that situation.

I have been driving for 27 years. I have worn everything from preppie to trashy the first time around. Toe socks and Candies heels- but not together. At one time I had big, feathered back hair. Parachute pants and Gunne Sax dresses. I used to get sun tans. I remember when pagers were the rage, then when getting a cell phone was a really, really big deal. But now, my classmates have actually been dying of natural causes. I am old. And I have a 4 year old.

Right now you are probably thinking- ohhh- it's a friday night and she's doing some drinking and blogging- never a good combo. But I'm not. I just put the chicklet to bed and looking over the huge list of emails that I have gotten from ex classmates. I'm just thinking out loud. No Gin involved. Yet.....

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.....part 2

This is what has already fallen from the sky.

We have about 6 inches right now- and I know that for a fact, because I had to shovel the driveway. We are getting ready to have another big storm coming our way- anywhere from 6 more inches to 2 more feet. Yes, 2 more feet.

It's an early snow- and we don't have any money in this state for snow removal. The highway that I am closest to just gets the MIDDLE plowed, so that both lanes of traffic have one tire in the plowed section in the middle, and your other tire is on snow. Side roads don't get plowed at all until storms are over. I think that kids are going to have a lot of free time this winter- they sure won't be going to school if this keeps up!

When I moved here I didn't own a real coat. I did have one long Calvin Klein dress coat that was warm (it was my "winter" coat in Texas) but it just wasn't enough up here. My husband bought me a parka last winter and I bought a new winter coat this year to wear back and forth to the car etc....

Here are my piles.



These are my lighter weight leather coats. There is actually a third suede blazer- just like the one on the left. Around here if it hits 35 degrees in January it's convertible weather, so these fit it just fine!

This is a bad picture. On the left is my Calvin Klein long dress coat- it's a staple. Great condition and semi warm. The middle is a Columbia trench coat. NOT warm- more for fall or spring, but sometimes it's more wet here than cold, so I keep it out year round. The grey wool flannel is about 15 years old and I just can't get rid of it now matter what I do. I don't wear it anymore. It goes with nothing really. It doesn't even fit me that great. But I can't seem to get rid of it.

These are my heavy winter coats. I dumped a 4th wool coat in my 41lbs of karma earlier this year. The wood coat I got rid of just made me look like a dumpy, little old lady. It was from Benetton so that should say a lot. Anyway, on the left is a long wool Eddie Bauer coat with an attached hood. Warm, but funny looking. Keeping it though. The middle is a brown faux suede winter coat with fur lining. WARM. Decent looking- especially with jeans. Not to heavy. The last coat on the right is my Columbia parka. Super warm. Black and grey so it hides dirt etc...

I have many, many scarves, hats, gloves, etc... but I never wear them. I keep a pair in the car just in case it breaks down, but I hate wearing those things....

All in all, I think that I am in good shape for the upcoming winter season. I don't plan on making any purchases unless I see something very cute, and very, very cheap.

Gratuitous picture of what I made for dinner- sausage, peperoni and ham pizza.