Things I'm Not Happy About Right Now

1. Turns out the smoke alarm is "hardwired" and needs a service call. It started "chirping" in the middle of Sunday night again. (Update here---turns out it wasn't even the smoke alarm but our carbon monoxide alarm that does take batteries. The security system guy replaced them for us. Of course, we had to pay a service call because it really wasn't their problem. 95 bucks to change 3 batteries---sheeesh).

2. The new aquarium is too damn darn loud. Really, it's driving me nuts---wakes me up at night. I have to remember to close our bedroom door. Maybe that will help. No more sleeping on the couch.

3. The florescent light in the pantry is screwed up again. It won't turn on. Mr. Thrifty says we need to leave it on ALL the time. What??? This is the same guy that doesn't like to use the garage door opener because it wastes too much electricity. Plus, I'm a habitual light turner outer.

4. Taylor Swift won the role of Eponine in the screen version of Les Miserables (my ALL TIME favorite Broadway show). Don't get me wrong, I LOVE, love, love our hometown girl---just not in my favorite play. I wanted Lea Michelle. I get that they want to try to get Taylor's fans in the seats. I guess it really is all about the money.

5. Mindy just scared me to death! It's 4:30 a.m. and someone just drove around our driveway. And it wasn't even Mindy. Hhhmmm, I wonder, why did I jump to that conclusion?

6. When it comes to products, why don't companies test them with the people that will be using them? Several cases in point:
   A. I've been complaining about paper trimmers for a long time and have purchased wasted money on every one. I would love to be the person that tell them: "the blade flies out when you lift the cutting bar" or "it simply does not cut straight." I have always relied on Fiskars to have the best scissors/cutting systems on the market. Not so with paper trimmers. A scrapbooker should have tested all trimmers.
   B. There are several serious blind spots on my car. And I can't see to back up---I know, I have a back up camera, but it's not "true to life" so it's hard to get used to. Maybe I'm just too short for it. A short driver should have tested the car.
   C. Mindy's cabinets in her new condo are configured "wrong." For one thing, she has 4 tiny drawers---none big enough for her cutlery holder. I'll have to see if they make a 10" one. And they put 3 shelves in each cabinet (making 4 if you count the bottom). As a result, you can't put a box of cereal or bottle of oil or anything taller than 8"---and she has no pantry, so the cabinets have to be used for food. In order to remove a shelf, or even adjust them, you have to take the cabinet doors off. What idiot designed that? Butch figured out a way to do it, but, let's just say it was NOT how it was supposed to be done (don't want Mindy to freak, here). A cook should have tested this kitchen.

7. I turn 60 today. I've never been bothered by birthdays and actually look on each one as a milestone. I haven't been all that bothered by this one either---until I saw the number in "print." Man, 60 seems old. When I sort of complained about it, one of my friends emailed me with this: "Barb, you have the energy of 3---20 year olds." That made me feel better. Then Connie said, "I'd say 4---15 year olds." One thing is for sure, I have more upper body strength than my girls. (Heading towards 70---now that seems really old).

8. I have a slight headache---and it's my birthday! I shouldn't complain, I rarely get headaches anymore.

I was hoping to come up with 10 things, but can't. So I guess that's a good thing---I'm pretty darn lucky and happy in my life that I don't have much to complain about. Just give me a few more days....

Things I've Learned in 2011

1. Having half/walls in your bathroom is not a good idea. They become clothes racks. I'm guilty too.

2. Apparently, the chair is another clothes rack---and the floor too---on Butch's side. 

3. No matter how many needlework supplies you have, when you start a new project, you NEVER have what you need. This may look like a mess, but it is really all neatly organized.

I have all of my fibers organized on project rings by type. 

There are over 100 on this one ring.

4. PetSmart allows dogs in the store! And they give them doggie biscuit treats when they leave. But nothing for us human's that are actually paying the bill! A piece of chocolate would be nice. I found this out when I was hunting for an aquarium for Butch for Christmas. It was an unpleasant experience. As soon as you walk in the store, it really smells. I couldn't stand it. And I had to go to 2 other pet stores before I decided that I couldn't pick it out for him---there are too many choices. All I wanted to have a say in was the stand anyway.

5. Dr. Oz was validated about 2% milk being the best for you. Fat free milk has more sugar which converts to fat anyway. I was so happy to go back to 2% milk. I'm really loving milk again---2% just has more flavor and tastes richer.

6. When the battery dies on your smoke alarm, it will ALWAYS be in the middle of the night. Frighteningly annoying!

7. Cameron on Modern Family is NOT gay. If someone had said that one of the two guys was NOT gay, I'd have picked the other guy, Mitchell (who actually is in real life). Cameron just nails it!

8. Apparently, I don't like ANY wildlife. Remember this post? I rest my case.

http://www.barbaraeads.blogspot.com/2011/05/you-cant-make-this-stuff-up.html

9. I seem to have some control over Connie when it comes to our needlework. I have been able to convince her to "throttle back" a few times this year. After all, as soon as we commit to something, the needlework store will have something better. However, she did cause me to "cave" when sight, unseen, I agreed to order a button pillow canvas. I was in London when she emailed me about it. I told her to go ahead and sign me up. That's how I discovered, yet again, that I don't have any of the fibers needed to complete it! 

10. Yankee candles from Target do not smell as good as the ones from the Yankee Candle store. Seriously, they are about half the price. Either they are seconds, last year's candles, or they make something completely different for Target and leave out some of the scent. I won't be buying them again. Plus, when you give someone a Yankee Candle for a gift, you would like for them to know you bought it at the store and not the cheap ones from Target. Maybe that's why they don't smell as good. When you receive one, you can tell whether your friend "cheaped out" on you or not.

I'm sure I learned a whole lot more in 2011, but these are just the ones that came to mind. What did you learn last year?

MIA

I know it seems like I've been missing in action this past week, but I've been crazy, busy. Plus, since I'm sleeping better, I have fewer hours in my day. I do miss that. It's much easier to stay on top of things with a few extra hours a day. But, actually, it's a good thing I'm sleeping more. I need it. It's not good for the body to get only 3-4 hours a night. Add to that the proven fact that people that get less than 7 hours a night gain weight---well, we all know I don't need that. Just because I'm sleeping better doesn't mean I'm off the prednisone, just a slightly lower dose---which is a very good thing. However, I haven't been able to taper down since the "heat seat" incident a couple weeks ago. The things that set off my hives this week are: sleeping with my hand clenched (caused a huge hive in the palm of my hand---this one really drove me crazy), wearing a ring I "found" in my jewelry box and then, just last night, plucking my chin hairs (paying for that today). The good news is that I've been able to "tough" it out and get by without increasing my prednisone. It just means I can't taper down another level for awhile.

We went to St. Louis after Christmas last week. We had a great time as always and managed to see everyone we wanted to. Sometimes that's hard to do. Luckily, we stayed with Aunt Marie and Uncle Tony or we really wouldn't have seen them much. We took them to dinner on the "hill" to Aunt Marie's favorite place, "Lorenzo's." Every place on the "hill" is good---there are so many.

I quit relying on Butch to bring a blow dryer when we travel because this is what he thinks qualifies. It is so tiny and the air that comes out is more like a soft "blow"---kind of like a whistle without the sound. My hairbrush is normal sized, so you can see how little the blow dryer is. I guess it fits nicely in his "ditty bag."

Angie and Brian got married the first part of October. He's been around for awhile, but it was nice to officially welcome him in to the family.

Comparing "baby bumps." I think Angie will pass him up before long.

This picture doesn't really do Angie's wedding ring justice. It's really pretty. Besides the big diamond in the middle, there are two pretty big diamonds on each side. Girls now-a-days really get nice rings. I didn't get my first diamond until we'd been married 10 years. And now, since our insurance company has cancelled us since I've lost 3 things in 9 years, I'm about ready to give it all away. No sense in having it if I have to be afraid to wear it. I'm not careless either---well maybe that drunken time in New Orleans---still, the bracelet shouldn't have fallen off.

My sister,  Joyce and her darling girls, Devon (sitting) and Madison.

We brought Morgan with us so she could hang out with her cousins. They don't get to see each other often enough. In fact, the main reason I made the trip to St. Louis was to see Joyce. They live in South Bend, IN. I told her that whenever she was going to St. Louis, if at all possible, I'd come in too. Same goes for my sister, Janice who lives in Texas. I'll be seeing her at the end of January.

Butch and Morgan---I have lots of cute pictures of the two of them. He's a grandpa that can't resist his grandkids (or daughters for that matter)---anything they want. On the drive "in", we actually stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel and ate inside. A far cry from the usual---"quick drive through, run in the bathroom, and I'll pick you up on the other side, order off the dollar menu and we'll eat on the road" that I usually get. God forbid if I order the butterfingers shake...I'm just sayin'.

The only sister missing was Janice. Our sister-in-laws, Janet and Sharon weren't there yet when I got this picture. I wish I would have thought of it when they arrived. After all these years, they are definitely sisters too. In fact, years ago, we said that if anything ever happened between them and our brothers, we'd keep them and let the brothers go! Only kidding, we love our "boys" too.

I had to have an updated photo of Johnny and me. I'm his godmother and the last one was on his First Communion. That was some years ago---I guess darn near 20---18 or 19 to be exact.

The amount of food this family consumes always amazes me. When we started the evening with this spread, I thought, "oh, my, gosh, this is way too much food. By midnight, it was nearly gone. We take several food breaks during our poker game to refresh drinks and graze. Works for us.We had honey-baked ham and turkey, assorted cheeses, crab rangoons, cheese spreads, relish tray, Italian olives, assorted dips, salami and more cheese, veggies and dip, meatballs, terrible guacamole (it was store bought), tons of chips, cookies, candy, brownies, and gooey butter cake and I'm still probably leaving out some stuff.

Getting a Kindle for Christmas was a really great surprise. I put it next to my datebook so you could see how small it is---fits nicely in my purse. It's really fun to get something you don't expect. I spent quite a bit of time downloading 60 free books. The obsessive part of me had to check out every one of the top 100 free books available. It just takes about 3 seconds to download them, but then I have to organize them into categories. I added a few free games too. I bought a trilogy which is for my book club. I am reading the first one now---The Hunger Games. Very good---I really don't want to put it down. The only thing that I don't like about the Kindle so far is that you never know what page you are on. It has a little meter at the bottom that tells you how much percentage you've read. It's another thing I am obsessing about---each time I "turn the page", I have to look at the bottom to see if the percentage has changed. Plus, when I'm down to the wire before book club, I like to know how many pages per day I need to read to finish the book. We'll see how that goes. I don't really know how everything works. I've lost my place twice and had to start from the beginning of the book and figure it out. I need some private lessons because I'm afraid if I go back to the tutorial, I'll lose my place again.

My cousin, Judy---who apparently was worried about me because I hadn't posted lately---gave me this book for my upcoming 60th (ouch, it hurts to even type that number) birthday. I have never heard of it.

I haven't had a chance to start reading it, but I can see that it is right up my alley. It is written in scrapbook form. As soon as I finish my book for book club, it's next on my list. Judy has read it and says it's really good. The only thing---I forgot to have her inscribe it. When people give me books, I like to have them do that. It's really kind of self-serving because they usually say something nice about me. I'm not above getting a "forced" compliment!

 Last year, Connie, Nancy, Katie and I needlepointed the Christmas tree pillow above.This year, Connie and I did the companion piece---row of presents. I'm having the original one re-done to match the new one. I wasn't happy with how it was finished anyway. I think they took an extraordinary piece of needlework and made it in to an ordinary pillow. I bought a blue, tartan plaid fabric to use. The only thing about our fancy, stitched needlepoint pillows is that no one can sit on them. They better not dare! Although, sometime over Christmas, one of my darling grandchildren did---as the pillow was a bit smashed, but it fluffed back out okay.

And just when you think you have put all the Christmas decorations away, you discover this---darling "sugar cookie magnets" on the refrigerator. It's been a week and a half since I got all the Christmas stuff put away and I just now noticed them. I'm not known to be particularly observant.

And finally:
Here is my favorite song from 2011. In fact, I'm going to use the title in my ABC album.
The original by Adele:
Someone Like You
This is a couple singing Adele's song for a contest hosted by Perez Hilton. They are pretty amazing.
Someone Like You
And if you haven't had enough of this song, here's the video of Adele around London:
Someone Like You

Stay tuned for my next post: "Lessons Learned in 2011." Until then, stay warm...

Christmas Re-cap and Damage Report

Our regular Christmas was interrupted this year due to Jordan's work schedule. We had to be flexible with the timing of everything. Christmas Eve started off with our "big" breakfast in the dining room---that's the only room that can hold all of us anyway. Jordan had to miss all of our regular daytime activities---breakfast, "santa of the sleigh", manis and pedis, food prep and games. Greg and Mitchell went to the Titan's game. When they got home, the family went down to see Mindy's new condo. I stayed behind to do a few things and slip in a little nap.

When the family got home, we started getting the room ready---we move all of the furniture against the wall so we have the room wide open. We "held" Christmas Eve until Jordan got here---7 p.m.---we usually start around 5 p.m.---we did go ahead and start eating at 6:30 because everyone was starving. I make the some things every year with a few new things: beef tenderloin on Sister Shubert rolls with home-made horseradish cream, boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce, spinach balls, crab spread, chicken almond cheese ball, beef/cream cheese roll-ups, clam dip, party mix, Christmas cookies and petit fours. We like doing pick up foods so we can graze all night while opening gifts---we do them one-by-one, so it takes awhile.

Elizabeth checks out the presents. It wouldn't be Christmas if the kids didn't rattle and shake a few things.

Waiting to begin...from left---Nicky, Stephanie, Butch, Mindy, Elizabeth---everyone complains that the house is freezing, hence the blankets. But it seems to me, if you are wearing leggin's, no shoes or socks and short sleeved t-shirts in the middle of winter, you deserve to be cold! We didn't light a fire, because then it gets too hot. You can't please everybody---especially 12 people.

 Mindy, Elizabeth, Sandy, Greg, Mitchell and Victoria---flannel p.j.'s are the best bet.

Morgan sat next to me---I should have had someone take my picture.

Butch is all ready with the trash bag. He takes all the wrappings and checks to make sure nothing important is thrown away---directions, gift cards, etc. He's fanatical about this. I requested a trash bag on our side of the room and right away, he told me I was "doing it wrong." I was just cramming the wrappings in the bag without twisting it into the tiniest of wads---to conserve space---plus, I wasn't checking it properly. We went back to throwing it across the room to him. He was happier that way.

Everyone had a few surprises and thought this was the best Christmas ever---of course, we say that every year. I got a really good surprise---a Kindle. I didn't ask for it, but Butch knew I'd been "on the fence" about it for over a year now. Everyone I know that has one just loves it. I didn't know if I'd like it as I love books and the tactile experience of books. I'm excited to try it out and have already downloaded 2 free books and 5---99 cent ones. I'm thinking it could save me money in the long run as I would only purchase the "real" books that I want for my collection. This Kindle holds 1400 books and is so cute. On the other hand, it could be just one more thing I obsess about---purchasing more books than I could ever read.

I think we finished unwrapping gifts about 10 p.m. and put the room back together. Then the poker games began. We move back in to the dining room for that.

Mindy gave Mitchell this "game" called Reaction. It's a real shocker! Literally, 4 people take a handle. The object is to hit your button when the light flashes. The last person to "buzz" in gets shocked. I imagine this game was invented by a bunch of drunk, college, frat boys as a drinking game.

I lost the first 3 games in a row. There are different levels of "shock" you can do. We had it on the lowest setting. It felt like that shock you get when touching something electrical while barefooted on a concrete floor. Elizabeth was the only smart one and never tried it! Mindy thought Mitchell and his friends would get a kick out of it. I'm sure they will as these are the same boys who play "sting pong." If you lose at ping pong, you have to take off your shirt and let the other boys "zap" you with the ping pong balls---it hurts and leaves welts---something boys would think of.

This is where you will find me early in the morning, or just when I want a break from the craziness and noise---in front of the fireplace in the living room with a book or my computer.

This is what a "sexy" man looks like. Butch is always helpful around the house, but he really "kicks it up" a notch when the whole family is here. There is a constant mess, but everyone helps, so it's not so bad. There is just a lot to do with 12 people around.

And now for the damage report:
spills in the family room---too many to count---caused me to institute a new rule---no drinks unless you keep it in your hand at all times.

spills in the rec room---I have no idea as I didn't even go up there and the kids would not be mentioning that.

broken dishes---3---I dropped 2 of them filled with party mix---they shattered like a windshield and shot all over the kitchen---that brought the games to a halt while we got out the vacuum. The usual yelling ensued---"don't come in here, you're barefooted." "Stop, you have socks on." etc.

BIGGEST DISASTER OF ALL:
It all started innocently enough. We were watching a Muppet's Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve afternoon as the Lapps family had never seen it. Elizabeth was sitting in the recliner with Morgan when they suddenly jumped up and said that Jeannette had "gotten away." Jeannette is Victoria's hamster that they have to travel with. We didn't even realize that Elizabeth had gotten her out. We knew Jeannette had to be in the chair, so we carefully started to hunt and feel for her. Having no success, Sandy and I raised the chair to see if she would "shake" out. That's when we discovered that Jeannette didn't make it. Apparently, when Morgan and Elizabeth got out of the chair, Jeannette somehow got underneath it and didn't survive the chair "rebound." Butch came to the rescue while Elizabeth kept saying, "Victoria is going to kill me, Victoria is going to kill me." Victoria was napping. When she woke up, she was pretty upset. I guess it was good that it was Christmas Eve since there's nothing like a bunch of presents to distract you.

Yesterday, Greg took the girls to PetSmart. Butch totally "called it." He said they would come home with TWO new hamsters and they did. It was pretty close as the girls were now "vie-ing" for a dog. We just hope these two little hamsters are as gentle as Jeannette was. They held Jeannette's funeral later in the day.

Other than that, it was another great Christmas. The Lapps family leaves today and the "take-down" begins. Morgan is going to help me. I dread it.

A Minor Setback and the Craziness Begins!

I had a minor setback with my hives---and you won't believe what caused it. I've been on the prednisone for 12 years, December 1st. I was finally back down to 20MG but had to go back up to 30MG because of the heat seats in my car. My whole back was one massive hive. I also had a huge one on my stomach from my new jeans that are actually too big in the waist---just that little bit of rubbing set me off. Luckily, by now, I know my body and how it reacts, so I was able to "ward them off" and not descend to the flu-like, fever-running state that puts me to bed. Still, I keep hope that this will be over soon.

On to more fun stuff. Last night we had our annual trivia party. Butch and I started it 7 years ago. We invite all of our friends, their children and now the grandchildren. Each family brings an appetizer, a list of 10 questions and puts in $10. We all compete as families. The losing family has to host the next year. This year, we had 48 people. Each family gets a room in the house to discuss and answer their questions. We have the largest team with 12. Our grandkids say it's their favorite thing we do every year. We usually try to do something all alike to intimidate the rest of the teams. Last year we all had on red sweaters. This year it was the santa hats.

I had this idea on one of my Pinterest boards. I was happy with how it turned out. I also brought a huge pan of toasted ravioli, and a platter of crab roll-ups---an old recipe from Janet---one can of crab meat (drained), mixed with 8-oz. cream cheese and a small can of green chills. Spread on flour tortillas, roll-up, chill an slice. Easy and delish.

 Mitchell, Victoria and Morgan ready to answer questions. What is Ken's (of Ken and Barbie) last name? Morgan said she and her friends were just discussing it last week in art class, but she couldn't remember it. We got it wrong. The answer is "Carson." We all gave Morgan a hard time because her boyfriend is named Carson! How could she have forgotten that??!!

 Jordan, Butch and Elizabeth---who said it was the most boring party she's been to. This year, I had a set of questions just for the kids with a prize. She would probably have felt differently if she'd won. She wanted that box of chocolate covered cherries. Did you know they only put 10 in the box now? Can you spell "rip-off?"

Sandy was our official team captain. Mindy, Nicky, Steph and Greg in the background. Getting everyone to be quiet to answer the question is the hardest part. All of our friends think we have the advantage since our team is so big. But really, it's a hindrance because everyone is a "know-it-all." This year the arguing was kept at a minimum---I think because everyone was all "fought out" just coming up with our questions.

 The Sperrazza's hosted this year. Dennis has the house all decked out.

The best part of the night---Team Eads WON!!! I have to admit, type "A" personalities aside, we have some pretty smart cookies on our team! Everyone brings something to the table.

When we got home---around 10 p.m.---we decided to open a few family gifts. Sandy, Steph and Mindy handed out their gifts to everyone. We have to do things a little differently this year due to Jordan's work schedule. It's really messing things up. She works for a vet and has to work every day. To make matters worse, she works a split shift---7-1 and then back from 3-6:30 on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. We're trying to be flexible, but it's hard to cram all of our family activities in to such a tight schedule.

We kick off Christmas Eve with a big breakfast. We do what I call "santa of the sleigh." I started that about  10 years ago. I put all the little (in size) gifts in a sleigh in the entry. Then, after breakfast, whichever kid has been appointed the "santa of the sleigh" dons a santa hat and hands them out. Afterwards, it's clean-up time. We started a new tradition last year---remember, in this family, if you do something one time, it becomes a tradition---all the girls go for manicures. After that, it's food prep time, nap and a Christmas movie. And did I mention the games? Constantly. Like I said, since we don't' get to be together that much, it's intense when we are.

Let the fun begin---or, I should say, continue...

I've Always Loved Donnie Osmond

I wish I could have seen him on Broadway in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. That would have been something. Instead, enjoy this beautiful holiday song.
Mary Did You Know

And it just wouldn't be Christmas without this:
White Christmas

Here's hoping that you all have the BEST Christmas, from our house to yours! I love you guys!

Merry Christmas!

The Lapps' family arrives today for the holidays. We're all pretty excited. Stephanie, Mindy and the girls will "move in" for the duration. It's wild and crazy---but tons of fun---around here. This might be my last post for a few days or even a week. We'll see. I might be able to slip something in during the "wee"hours.

I'm down to 20MG of prednisone which I'm really happy about. That's still a far from my maintenance level of 5MG, but a far cry from the more dangerous level of 80MG I've been on all fall. I'm feeling a lot better too. I'm sleeping normally again---5-6 hours---normal for me. I feel well rested. I'm still all bloated and don't know how long my face is going to feel so tight. I don't like that---it's bothersome and weird feeling. Hopefully that will go down a little soon.

Enough about me---oh wait, this whole blog is mostly about me! Really, though, I have some Christmas photos I want to share.

My day group met at Nancy's last week for our annual Christmas party. This is her "live" tree. I just love seeing everyone's trees and decorations during the holidays. I don't get to see too many as most people don't do things anymore. I can't really recall the last time we were invited to a Christmas party.

 I thought this was the coolest idea---just heap a bunch of stuff on a red tray---all glittery and sparkly.

Nancy even put a feather tree up in her scrapbook room. It is the cutest thing. I told her I'd leave it up all year round. I was so in love with this that I found a pink one on Ebay. Now, I have to figure out where I'm going to put it. I'll have to get rid of something---my scrapbook room is completely full. Believe me, I'll make room for it. I just think it's the cutest thing.

My friend, Sally invited me over for a glass of wine and to view her magnificent tree. Actually, I invited myself. We used to get together weekly. We went through the Master Gardener program together and spent a lot of time in each other's gardens. When the girls were little, we bored them with many a conversation using the latin names for all of our plants. They still joke about that.

Since I've known Sally, she's always had these 12 foot trees. About 3 years ago, she finally went to artificial due to the cost. It truly is the most incredible tree---her ornaments are really cool too---lots of handmade, designed by her. In their old house, the tree fell one year. That only had to happen once---she tied it to the ceiling after that.

This is Kim enjoying a laid back moment. It was the first time these girls got to experience Sally's tree. I sort of invited them.

Mary Jo, Susan and Sally on the far right. Sally and I have been friends for over 20 years. We started out in St. Matthew's Women's Club together. We worked on many fashion shows and other projects together. Actually, I've been friends with all of these girls for over 20 years. I was always the chair person of everything and they were my "committee chairs." They are quite a talented bunch. We worked well together and had a ball doing it all. If it weren't for A Year of Memories, I'd only see them a couple times a year for lunch. At least this way, I still see them every month. Mary Jo is in my book club and we meet for lunch now and then, so I see her a little more. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of Madelyn---she arrived a little late and I forgot. Her daughter, Alyson (Al) and Mindy are best friends. I see her regularly too.

This is probably the most unusual Christmas present I've ever received. Nancy gave me this old vegetable drawer. I love it! My cookbooks kept falling over, so I used this old potato masher as a book end. Worked perfect.

Here you can see the edge of the drawer that says "vegetables." I just put it up. I don't know if Butch has noticed, but if I call his attention to it, I'm sure he will think it's stupid---as he thinks about most of my junk. I just say back to him---"well, Mr. "let's recycle everything"---this is the ultimate in recycling---
re-purposting other people's junk."

Some of the cookies we made last Saturday on "family baking day." I haven't let anybody eat any of them, until yesterday when Mindy begged for 2 to put in her lunch and Steph's. I caved.

We're all set with a variety of coffees, teas and hot chocolate for the Kuerig machine.

"The Girl"must have needed a roll. But then she forgot to take it. No telling what she used instead.

And now I leave you with a blast from the past.

Mindy's two weeks old here. Reminds me of Randy from "A Christmas Story." When he had his snowsuit on, he couldn't put his arms down. Then when he fell, he couldn't get up.

I surprised the girls by having Santa stop by. Mindy wasn't too happy. I think this was 1986.

This time, they were really surprised. Sandy and Stephanie would rather forget this picture. They were dancing or something when Santa arrived. After all, it was the 80's when leg warmers were all the rage! This was 1987---Sandy was a sophomore at St. Cecilia Academy.

I hope everyone has the BEST holiday and that you get everything on your list!