Christmas Escapades

So Christmas was pretty good. The previous few days leading UP to Christmas were pretty hectic, but Christmas was good. lol

Last Minute Shopping

I managed to get into work an hour early on Friday so I could take advantage of the free hour offered by management, and go home with everybody else. So Mom and I got off of work at the same time, and decided to brave the mall to grab some last-minute gifts for Boomer, as Mom insisted he couldn't NOT have something under the tree. Now see... there's a reason family tradition has dictated all avoidance of the mall within a week of Christmas... preferably within a month, but some things can't be helped. And that reason consists of two words: "Mad" and "House".

It was a narrow miss, but we managed to emerge unscathed. Mother, of course, will not let me live down the inconvenience for a while, but that's okay. I accept full consequences for my li'l impulsive decision, and I do so happily. It's been really good to see Boomer again after 12 years and, though I know he still wasn't entirely comfortable sharing somebody else's family Christmas, he also knows he was welcome... and not just by me. Some military traditions never die, no matter where you are or how long you've been a civilian.

Wrapping Duty

Amway, I ended up spending all of Friday night fastidiously wrapping Christmas presents, per usual. I'm afraid I'm incapable of NOT fastidiously wrapping packages. It's a curse. I could really have done with getting things done a li'l more quickly, as I finally finished up around 1:30 am... and then HAD to finish the movie on USA through to 3 am. (About a Boy... strange but interesting movie) And, of course, Ms. Pukesalot had to assist in the process, though her actual assistance was questionable.

Running Late... Per Usual

Saturday was cleaning day. Again, more anal attentiveness abounded, so I didn't get out on my way to the airport to pick up Boomer even remotely near to the time that I'd hoped to do so.

My 2-hour drive to St. Louis on Christmas Eve was not the most pleasant, as it was dark and raining with intermittent fog, but I survived. Since I'd started out so late from Columbia, he had already landed and picked up his luggage by time I was about 15 minutes away from the airport. So instead of parking, we decided to just meet up in the pickup area... which I had an interesting time locating (they are evidently on several different levels) but we finally found each other and all was well.

I have to admit, though, that after 4 straight hours of white-knuckle driving, I was pretty happy to get out of the car back in Columbia. Plus I was just a li'l relieved that I managed to avoid my holiday curse once more. (Every accident I've ever been in has been on either a holiday or the eve of a holiday) We managed to catch my new favorite li'l Chinese place just before they closed, and they hooked us up with some take-out. By time we got home, eaten and got him established in the guest room, it was pretty much time to crash.

Christmas Day

Boomer has had to adjust his body clock a li'l, as he's a night owl... usually staying up til about 3 am, and getting up sometime early in the afternoon. But, barring the option of going to my folks' place for Christmas morning then coming back to get him when he woke up, he managed to rouse himself early enough that we could get there around 9 am.

As mentioned earlier, Boomer received a warm welcome... as I'd expected. I think he enjoyed himself (as best as can be in such a situation) and it was a generally good day for all. After the opening of the gifts and dinner, we ended up laughing over Apples to Apples with Gram til early evening when Pop took her home... then proceeded to spend the rest of the night completely ignoring the rules for the new family game that was a gift for everybody, Scene It, and just scrolling through the trivia. It ended up another late night (at least for me), and I finally had to cry uncle and suggest heading home around midnight.

Oh, and I not only got what I asked for for Christmas (a new vacuum cleaner) but it was purple to boot! You CAN'T beat a purple vacuum cleaner. *grin*

And The Rest, to Date...

The rest of Boomer's trip has been a mixed success. The day after Christmas was great... we didn't get much accomplished, but did manage to work in lunch at IHOP, a trip to the grocery store, then caught a movie (The Producers... VERY cute movie). Mom and I had originally planned to do a movie together the day after Christmas (since Pop had to work), long before we knew Boomer was coming, and we decided to extend the invitation to him as part of our Christmas gift to him. But she ended up with a migraine that day, so I treated him to the movie on my own.

After that, the evening was the first we had to just sit and relax... Ms. Pukesalot finally crept out of hiding into the calm to meet Boomer, and we had a pleasant evening just talking.

A Few Rocks

Yesterday was a li'l rocky. We are halfway through his visit and I have concluded that a week was probly too long. And it's not that I dislike his company. It's just that my anti-social side is beginning to go into withdrawal. Boomer's a great guy, and he definately has a very distinct and almost fiercely unconventional personality... but I need to be in a certain mode to be able to accept and/or handle that personality. And I can assure you that "anti-social" is NOT that mode.

He's been really cool, though... we are both quite analytical creatures, and we're well aware of the idiosyncracies that make each other tick. When I got home from work yesterday, he gave me some space to decompress. See, my home time is my "me" time, and he did his best to not intrude. Which was really nice, and I was able to return to quasi-hostess mode and enjoy another evening of conversation (and a little bit of tv... we're both fans of Law & Order: SVU). And though I recognize that he DID tone himself down, I still found that my defenses to his distinctive method of expression were a little low.

Learning Curve

But I think this visit has been good on all levels... even being a little too long, because it's given me an opportunity to learn these things. About myself... about him... about how we regard each other, and what we want out of our connection. I think I've concluded that I'm perfectly happy continuing as we are now... and that if I'm ever ready for something more, it's certainly not now. I'm not entirely sure exactly what he wants... or if whatever his inclinations have been are changed with this trip... but I do know he will completely respect MY inclinations, and I'm fairly sure that it won't affect our friendship.

Of course, I reserve my right to change my mind at all times. *grin*

The Rest of the Week

So we have few plans left for the rest of the week. The girls at work have insisted on meeting him... pretty much because he's male, he's visiting, and they're nosy. So I suggested he pick me up one day this week from work for lunch. That will probly be tomorrow. I've also arranged to take off a couple hours early each day this week, so I can get home before dark and not COMPLETELY ignore my guest through the work week.

I believe Mom's planning dinner for Saturday (New Year's Eve)... plus another possible movie, depending on her head. Then, Sunday, Boomer and I have discussed possibly heading to St. Louis for the purpose of checking out St. Louis (as opposed to going to and from the airport). Since his flight is an ungawdly time Monday morning, I'm seriously considering just getting a hotel Sunday night and avoiding 2 extra trips back and forth.

Tonight, I hope to decorate some... something I can do with my guest and help me avoid my grumpy anti-socialness. This whole trip was my idea... including the amount of time. I don't want to make my guest suffer for my lessons learned, and I don't want him to feel uncomfortable or unwanted. Yesterday was a learning bump for me, so I hope to do much better tonight. :)

Amway, it's 3:15, so I'll need to wrap up and head home soon. I'll be sure to report back in after the New Year. :)

Eek! A Mouse!

So folks do tend to get excitable when a mouse is around. I suppose it's no great surprise, considering the mounds of Christmas food we still have piled in the students' area. But yes, we have at least one. I'll have to take everybody's word for it, though, cuz it seems all have seen the li'l thing but me. I look, but I just can't see him. Oh well.

There is also the question as to whether there might be more than one. Cuz mouse sightings have been all over the place. So we either have one very fast, very well-traveled mouse, or he has compadres.

Fortunately, most everybody is interested in a humane solution, so we're gonna try to see if we can catch and release him, rather than killing him in a trap. I remember once having a mouse in the barracks. Catching him was actually rather simple. I set down a trash can on its side... terrified mouse saw safe haven... mouse ran into trash can... I took trash can outside. Here's hoping this will be as simple.

Of course, then one of the guys from the department next door comes by a little while ago and says "I'm really not trying to be funny, but I need a mouse."

Impulsive Development

So it looks like I'll have a visitor for Christmas. From Florida. This was decided and arranged yesterday... lol It's certainly not the first time I've been so impulsive... and it's not the first time I've invited somebody for Christmas that was otherwise going to be alone. It IS the first time somebody has let me pay their way since they are a student and have absolutely no money.

But... Boomer and I have been friends a long time, so I hope pride won't be too huge an issue. Most of my friends would do much the same for me... I'm just glad when they let me do it for them. :) Besides, the flight wasn't all that horribly expensive, or I may not have been able to pull it off.

He flies in tomorrow night, so I have a lot of getting ready to do. I still need to wrap presents, clean the apartment... and just mebbe switch out the Autumn decor with the Winter stuff. *grin* Not that I imagine he'll care, but still. Thankfully, they're turning us loose at 2 pm today, so I'll have a li'l extra time to work on all of the above.

I'm pretty excited on a number of levels... One: he'll be my first visitor in my new home, and I get to put my guest room to good use. Two: I haven't seen Boomer for... geez, almost 12 years, when I got out of the Navy. Oh, we've been back in touch and chatted regularly for a few years now, but it will be good to see him again.

Third... well, I won't think too much on third. Things don't tend to turn out well when I overthink them. The only fact I'm sure of is that Boomer is a good friend, a good guy (despite his best efforts), and that I genuinely trust and care about him as such. Anything else (or not) can be figured out as we go. He'll be here for a week... and I may know no more after that than I do now, or I may be able to better define our connection. Either way, I intend to enjoy his visit and not stress anything. :)

Lesson For the Day:

When a blogsite is titled: youcantdothatonablog, take the hint. Doh!

I followed a link from my sitemeter, and was greeted with a picture that I'm going to have to find in my temp files on my work computer and delete. Curiosity really does get one in trouble every once in a while.

*smackin forehead*

Poor Cats

So this was on Yahoo's list of top websites for 2005... Too cute:

Stuffonmycat.com

Mebbe Fussbudget should contribute. *grin*

1,000

1,000 views to my blog... woo-hoo!

Of course, I can attribute most of that to some online long-hair community who googled the hair gadget Mom tried at the Ren Faire last September.

But hey... 1,000 views!

Self-Destructive Numbskulls R Us

And with that I bid you good night and good weekend. :)

Speaking of bent outta shape...

So I have to add my 2 cents worth on the Christmas vs. Holiday issue, since I'm in a crabby mood today, anyway.

Okay, Christmas is a Holiday... celebrated in many ways. By those who strictly adhere to the true origins of the holiday... by many folks who are not religious (myself included), and a whole buncha folks in between. I also celebrate Halloween, and I don't particularly subscribe to it's original pagan rituals, either. Commercialized as they may be, many holidays have simply evolved... grown, gained new traditions and mythologies. It does not diminish their original meanings... it just adds to them.

Though I am not religious at all, I am offended by neither Christmas' original purpose of celebrating Christ's birthday, nor it's subsequent evolutions, mergings and additions. It's a holiday. To me, the mutual meaning of many of the holidays this time of year is about celebration, thankfulness, family, friends and good will, anyway.

So those gettin bent outta shape over Christmas... get over it. If you prefer another holiday, get in the overall spirit and celebrate! I don't think it really matters WHAT your celebrating... there's plenty of holiday cheer (and/or stress and/or heartache) to go around. Somebody wishes you Merry Christmas... wish them Blessed Yule right back. Or whatever.

And if you don't want to celebrate anything... well, then don't... but leave everyone else celebrate a NATIONAL holiday in peace.

However, it is most certainly not the ONLY friggin holiday this time of year. I think it is supremely egotistical to get bent outta shape over somebody wishing you Happy Holidays... claiming that the PC police are trying to take Christ out of Christmas. Good fucking grief... nobody's taking Christ out of Christmas... they're simply acknowledging that there happens to be one or two OTHER holidays this time of year. Get over it.

I swear, I can accept just about anybody's arguments for believing as they do... but start gettin militant over it (read: stupid), and I've just stopped taking you seriously. Boycotting stores for saying Happy Holidays is just plain silly.

*folding up speech and stepping off of soap box*

Disconnect

So I'm having one of those "disconnect" weeks. I'm fairly sure it's directly linked to PMS... gotta love hormones. *sigh*

Whatever the reason, I seem to be taking simple statements from my friends, completely wrong. Most probly just bein oversensitive... which is not normally me. Or mebbe it is, and I'm just mood-swing extraordinaire... letting things roll off my back one day, and gettin bent outta shape the next. See, this is what I hate about this... I'm completely unsure of myself. Blah.

At least I know it won't last. And though I tend to lose my temper quickly in this mode, I also tend to get over it just as quickly.

Now, if only I can learn to keep my mouth shut in that middle area... *sigh*

Weekend Bits

Done!

So I finally got my Christmas cards done and mailed on Saturday... woo-hoo! And now my enthusiasm for anything Christmas is pretty much spent... lol

Oh well. I can lay back and relax now. Kinda. My only true obligation before December 25 is wrapping Christmas presents. Mine and Pop's (whenever he gets them), of course. I could still decorate, but it's for Winter... and Winter goes on long after Christmas, so I have time.

Still Cold!

There was still some snow on the ground on Saturday (see my bare backyard below), but mostly melted away by Sunday. No snow since, but it's still friggin COLD. We may get some flurries tomorrow.

Christmas Carol(s)

Mom and I attended our second (and last) Christmas performance for the year on Sunday night: A Christmas Carol... which turned out to be a musical. It was actually kinda nice... a two-in-one special: caroling and a play! But then, mebbe all of the Christmas Carol plays include, well, Christmas carols. I mean, it IS the name of the thing. lol Dunno... I've never seen one before. But it was nice, all the same. :)

Netflix Back-Up

So Mom has picked up a notch in tryin to get me to come over and watch the Netflix movies (and Andromeda) she's had for at least a month now. I was so consumed with getting my cards finished that I couldn't really get away for a while... and then, when I was gonna try to get over there this past weekend, I got sidetracked with the new 3-D Home Design program I've had for at least a year but never installed. Until now.

Every once in a while, I get pinched by the Wishful-Thinking Bug, and suddenly get ideas for different designs for a Dream House... some more modest than others. Well, as soon as I got home from mailing the cards on Saturday, I was so pinched. Which is horrible, considering I'd told Mom I'd try to come over that weekend. I REALLY need to work on my tendancy to get EASILY distracted.

Amway, after workin on the silly thing entirely too long every night this week, (equally shameful behavior in that I'm ignoring my cat, too), I think I've gotten it out of my system for now, and can hopefully go watch movies with Mom this weekend. :)

Die at Your Own Risk

Bits and pieces from a story I came across on cnn.com, in their Offbeat News section:


BIRITIBA MIRIM, Brazil (AP) -- There's no more room to bury the dead, they can't be cremated and laws forbid a new cemetery. So the mayor of this Brazilian farm town has proposed a solution: outlaw death. Mayor Roberto Pereira da Silva's proposal to the Town Council asks residents to "take good care of your health in order not to die" and warns that "infractors will be held responsible for their acts."

The bill, which sets no penalty for passing away, is meant to protest a federal law that has barred a new or expanded cemetery in Biritiba Mirim, a town of 28,000 people 45 miles east of Sao Paulo. A 2003 decree by Brazil's National Environment Council bars new or expanded cemeteries in so-called permanent preservation areas or in areas with high water tables. Environmental protection measures rule out cremation.

The cemetery ran out of space last month, and 20 residents who have died since November were forced to share a crypt. But even that solution has limits. "We have even buried people under the walkways," de Campos said, predicting that crypts will reach capacity in six months. "Look, people are going to die. A solution has to be found, or we'll have to break the law."

De Campos said his town wants the Environment Council to change the wording of the cemetery decree to allow exceptions approved by environmentalists.

Biritiba Marim isn't the first Brazilian town to draw attention with an unusual law. A few years ago, a mayor in Parana state banned the sale of condoms, arguing that his town needed to increase its population to keep qualifying for federal aid. Drugstores ignored the ban.


Full Story: Die at your own risk, mayor proposes

~~~~~~~~~~~

Personal Note: I'm all for environmental protection, but I suppose this is testimony to the fact that absolutes are rediculous. Doh!

Flower Power

So I picked this up from Fussbudget. I've already discovered that I am a "Unicorn Lady" in the Mystical Creature category... so I thought I'd find out what flower I am, too. :)

You Are An Iris

You are a unique woman who needs a lot of novelty in her life. An inspiration seeker, you often have to change scenery to recharge. You don't deal well with structure or rules. You need to do it your own way. Your ideal relationships are free and flowing. No one can tie you down.

What Flower Are You?

So It's a Slow Day at Work

Sometimes I like to peruse the latest political cartoons (a good site for this is: Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index), and this one by Cal Grondahl particularly cracked me up... perhaps for the expression on the poor cat's face.

More Images

Couldn't help posting a few more of the rather surreal images (courtesy of AP) from the accident I posted about below...

One is an aerial view...


The other shows the car in which the li'l boy died, pinned under the plane. My coworker just noted that it must have happened either REALLY fast, or the weather must have been REALLY bad for them not to notice a plane coming at them, and at the very least vacate the car.


Sad, sad stuff.

An Eerie Visual

So how eerie is this visual?



Bits and pieces from the AP story this morning:

~ CHICAGO - A jetliner with more than 100 people aboard skidded across a Chicago runway Thursday evening, slammed through a fence and struck two vehicles in the street, pinning one beneath it. A 6-year-old boy in one car was killed, and 10 other people, including two in the plane, were injured, authorities said.

Flight 1248 from Baltimore touched down around 7:15 p.m. Though the airport had about 7 inches of snow, aviation officials said conditions at the time were acceptable. The Boeing 737 and the vehicles remained in the streets Friday.

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said the plane had circled Midway for 30 to 35 minutes because of the weather and the flight traffic before it was cleared for landing on the airport's 6,500-foot runway. The airport, surrounded by homes and businesses, has shorter runways than most major airports, because it was originally built to handle smaller propeller planes. The larger ones land at O'Hare.

The accident happened 33 years to the day after a crash at Midway that killed 45 people, two of them on the ground. Eighteen other passengers survived. In that crash, a United Airlines jet struck tree branches about a mile from the airport, then hit the roofs of a number of bungalows before plowing into a home, bursting into flames. Among the dead were Dorothy Hunt, the wife of Watergate figure E. Howard Hunt, and CBS newswoman Michele Clark. ~


Note to self: Never live near an airport.

Dayum, it's Cold

So I have to admit that snow's pretty cool. Even driving in it's not so bad... so long as there's no ice ANYWHERE and you're not in any big hurry. Mom says that snow is God's apology for all the cold weather... I suppose somewhat akin to rainbows after storms. It's an interesting thought, anyway.

As predicted, we got our first major snow this morning. Oh, it started sporadically all day yesterday, but the serious stuff didn't start until after midnight (ie: after I went to bed, cuz I checked before I crashed). I was running late this morning as it was (per usual), so by time I dug out my snow boots, warmed up the car and brushed all the snow off it, most folks were already at work and the roads were pretty empty... until I hit some of the major thoroughfares, anyway. It was kinda peaceful drivin down white blanketed, completely empty streets with the snow steadily falling in these great big flakes.

Even when I hit Columbia's version of traffic, which was slowed to a crawl, I was pretty calm. I'd already called in to work to let them know I'd be late, so I was in no hurry. Strange as it sounds, sometimes sitting in traffic can be peaceful... so long as you have a radio. If you just stop worrying about getting somewhere on time, it's one of the few times you can just sit, listen to an overture, and not worry about the next task that needs to be done. Add a shower of snow and a toasty car, and you're set. :)

I actually would have enjoyed it thoroughly if it weren't for the vice threatening to crush my head. *sigh* But... it's pretty inevitable in this kinda weather, with the barometer plummeting. That's okay, though... I took some Excedrin this morning, and will take a half dose of my migraine meds soon (as i explained to Bus Snob this morning, a full dose would have me stickin toothpics under my eyelids at work), which should be worn off by time I have to drive home tonight.

Amway, we're supposed to get up to 4 inches, and it's supposed to stop around noon. Then nothin more in the forseeable future. Except for a lotta cold weather... forecast of 1 degree for tonight. But I suppose it could be much worse... I read that Yellowstone National Park was at 40 something BELOW yesterday morning... Doh!

The Crazies I Work With

George

So this li'l dood sits on the end of my radio antennae at work. As with all of the other novelties that we Support Staff have at our desks, everybody in the department participates in evolving these items to the next level of their existence.

This particular li'l guy (I've decided to name him George) started out his term as my desk mascot a few weeks ago. George came as a freebie with a Christmas present I ordered online (a toy aquarium for Pop since his latest real aquarium leaked all over the basement a few months ago, and Mom banned all aquariums from her home because this is the third time he's had one leak in the last 20 years) at a site called PerpetualKid.com.

So yeah... with a name like that, it makes sense that they'd throw in a silly li'l rubber finger puppet as a freebie. And, since I get all packages at work, George immediately became a part of my work environment. He's definately an attention grabber... everybody has to play with him when they pass by. One of the PM's once decided to tie his hands behind his back, in further interpretation that he reminds her of how she feels at work sometimes. Mom decided that wouldn't do at all, and proceeded to have him cross his arms in front of his chest.

But really... there's only so much one can do with this silly li'l thing, right? Well, as you can see, another of the PM's (I wouldn't quite call him the practical joker, but he certainly is a card) decided to add one of the ever-present M&M's with a decorative flair. *snicker* That face has been in George's mouth for about a week now, and morbid as it is, he cracks me up every time I pass by him. *grin*

LARGE Feathered Visitor

And just as a side note, I thought I'd mention that we had a rather large avian visitor this morning at work. An impressively sized hawk was perched on the handrail to the stairs just outside the side door at work. Close enough we could look him in the eye... from the window of my Boss' office, of course.

It was pretty cool. When he flew up into the branches of a nearby tree, a few of us ventured outside (more than one with a camera phone) to peek at him. I think he was camera shy, though, cuz every time somebody got a good shot lined up, he moved and eventually flew away. We're not sure what attracted him to the area... we looked around but didn't see any potential prey. Mebbe he just wanted a relatively quiet place to rest. He was all fluffed up to keep himself warm... in fact, he may have really only been half the size he seemed without all that fluff.

So amway, we were sufficiently mesmerized for about 10 minutes, getting absolutely no work done at all until he left. :)

Busy Weekend

So I had a pretty busy weekend, as expected.

Friday

Friday night, Mom and I crammed in dinner at Panera, then attended the Nutcracker at Jesse Hall. It was the first time we've seen it from the floor level... we normally like the balcony seats so we can see everything, and the patterns in the dances, etc. Unfortunately, I froze up on the phone while getting the tickets through the pledge drive last month, and didn't think to request balcony seats. I'll have to try next time.

Amway, we still enjoyed the play... and all I'll say about male ballet dancers and their tights is: you don't quite realize just how much those tights DON'T leave to the imagination until they're about 15 feet away at eye level. *ahem* I had to remind myself more than once that I was there to watch the ballet, not the King's derriere. Very nice derriere, though... and I'm not even an ass-woman.

Saturday

Mom and I started out pretty early on Saturday for our shopping. "Pretty early" equating to about 10:30. She had a hair appointment that morning, which gave me just enough time to get my weekend chores done before we left, so it worked out. We didn't really have a big list of things to shop for, but we didn't rush ourselves and had a pretty nice time. For shopping. During the Christmas Rush.

We found me a coat at Penney's that Gram's Christmas check will just cover, so I was pretty happy. One nice thing about Christmas Rush is the awesome sales. :) Amway, my coat is red (NOBODY can miss me in a snowstorm), pretty sturdy and most importantly, has a hood. Yay! One can conduct life with dignity only so far in a knit cap with a fuzzy bobble on top. 'Sides, I kept losing or forgetting it places. An attached hood is MUCH better. :)

Then we hit Hobby Lobby and Michaels, which are very dangerous places. I'm pretty proud of myself, though... didn't spend an awful lot. Among other things, we looked for some ornaments in case we attend the Ornament Exchange that the girls at work always give each year (it's this Thursday... we're both still on the fence as to whether or not we feel like going). And if we don't go... well, we got ourselves some cute new ornaments. :)

And lastly we caught a showing of the latest Harry Potter movie around 2:30. We'd already decided to not do our weekend dinner that night so we wouldn't be rushed and could catch the movie whenever was convenient. The movie was great, of course, and we had the added adventure of getting lost in the parking lot lookin for Mom's car in the dusk. We split up, and Mom finally found it and had to call me on the cell we were so far apart. lol

We got done just around dinner time, and Pop had gotten home from helping a friend move, shortly before we did. They invited me to go out with them to dinner, but it was beginnin to "participate" as Pop called it... it was just a drizzle of rain, but it was supposed to freeze, and I hate drivin around in that stuff. I just wanted to get home, and besides I'd neglected my cat shamefully all day long and needed to give her some attention. I managed to fit in some "lap time" with Ms. Pukesalot while cutting out the last of my pics for my Christmas cards. Then it was pretty much time to crash. So, a pretty busy day.

Sunday

Sunday I dedicated the entire day to working on my cards. Pop called around mid-day to let me know we wouldn't be doing our weekend dinner that night, either, as both he and Gram were feelin kinda puny. Which was fine with me as it gave me more card time. I finished up my address list, tweaked my label template, and got them all printed out.

Then it was time to stick 550 pictures to 50 cards. For the pics on the outer card stock I used an adhesive spray so there wouldn't be any loose edges flippin up to catch on the envelope. But I decided to leave it at that for the spray as I was beginning to get a sort of glue-high, not to mention a headache, and my nostrils were beginning to stick together. Doh! Even after opening the window to air out the library and share the 25 degree weather outside.

For the rest of the pics, I used acid-free mounting tape... which worked great, but I ran out. I'd bought 2 rolls of it, but that was obviously not enough. I'm gonna have to run by Michael's tonight after work to grab about 3 more rolls, cuz I still have 4 more sets of pics to stick. I may also look for some aerosol pot-pourri, too, considering the adhesive spray seriously stunk up my cards. I'm seriously reconsidering the wisdom if this particular brilliant idea. *sigh*

Amway, I've obviously missed my second self-imposed deadline of getting them sent out today. My next goal is roughly sometime this week or, hopefully, next weekend. I'd wanted to get them out early, but as Coffeehead reminded me today while we were chatting, I still have plenty of time before Christmas. And I refuse to allow a Christmas tradition to become a huge stressful pain in the ass and ruin my general Christmas cheer. So... I won't kill myself to get it done.

Not like last year. Whew. But last year, I started the whole process about mid December, and this year I started about mid November. BIG difference. :)

Quick Update

MIA

So it's Friday, I'm caught up with all current tasks at work (back-burner busy-work is a whole nother matter, but my brain has already clocked out for the weekend), and I have about 35 minutes until a small, support staff meeting that the Office Whisperer just set up.

I haven't been overly inspired to blog much the last few weeks... obviously. Last week was, well, Thanksgiving and associate preparations. And makin some serious headway on my Christmas card/newsletter. This week... well, I've been relatively busy at work... and makin moderate headway on the card in the evenings. I lose a LOTTA wind outta my sails on weeknights after work.

Thanksgiving

But otherwise, all is good. Thanksgiving was as anticipated... cookin with Gram was great... donuts were great... dinner was great... family was great. Thanksgiving just a great holiday overall. :) Saturday was shopping day (I avoid Black Friday as best as I can) and then the rest of Thanksgiving weekend has traditionally become my time to cram on my newsletter. Everything is so far typed, designed and printed... and almost every night this week I've worked on cutting out the individual pictures that I will then spray glue to the card when I assemble everything.

The Card

For 3 of the pics, I used this cool new deckler/ripper doodad I found online... creates that authentic "ripped" look. That went fairly quickly. But the rest of the pics require more than straight line, so those have to be cut by hand. 8 of the suckers at 50 pics each. I can only do so many at a time or my hand gets a cramp... lol. But I only have 2 sets left (100 in all)... which I THOUGHT I'd get done tonight, only I discovered this morning that the Nutcracker performance I've had firmly in my head (for several weeks now) as being on the 4th, is actually tonight. Oops.

So I'll get the last of the pics cut this weekend... then need to put 50 cards/letters together (which includes folding, stapling and affixing the pics), update address labels with some recent info I've acquired, print out the labels, hand-write a few blurbs in MOST of the cards, sign, seal, stamp and send. Hopefully by Monday. Yeah.

Weekend Plans

However, in addition to all that, Mom and I are also planning to get out this weekend... we need to do some Christmas shopping together (including a new hooded coat I've decided Gram's gonna buy me with the check she always gives for Christmas... only the stores will undoubtedly be putting out Spring stuff by that time, and my poor ears need to be warm NOW), and we also plan to catch a showing of the new Harry Potter movie, since Pop will be helping somebody move anyway tomorrow. At least all of my major Christmas shopping is done. :)

So, a busy weekend planned, indeed. At least I've given myself a LITTLE more time this year to panic about getting my card out before Christmas. lol


Okay, now I have 10 minutes to waste before the meeting... *sigh* Friday's are great, but sometimes they are SOOOOOOOO slow...