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The State of the Blog

Time sure flies when you’re busy! I hadn’t meant to go this long before posting again. Whoops!

Things are going better. Christmas was great over all. I scored some great gifts from my hubby, spent time with friends and family, and was just grateful for … everything, really. Things aren’t fantabulous, but they are a lot better now than they have been over the last couple of years. Work is still uber-busy, which is a good thing. I have so many friends out of work, I know I’m very lucky to have a job right now. It’s not my dream job, but I like the place and I like my coworkers. Most importantly, it pays the bills and the benefits cover my family’s needs … I really can’t ask for much more than that, now can I?

I’m still spending a lot of my spare time gaming. Aion just had another significant update and the next “big” one is probably 6 months out. It’s fun, and I’ve met a lot of cool people. I have a few “real life” friends who play and I get to keep in touch with them that way. Plus Jess and I both play on the same server and it’s fun to just do that as a mother-and-daughter fun time.

Heck, I even created a whole separate blog just for my gaming stuff: Daevic Flux. (I didn’t want to dump all my game stuff on here because I know not all of y’all wanna see that )

So I guess I can’t complain about much going on lately. (Well, I could, but it wouldn’t do much good! LOL) I know I’ve been quiet … things are just busy, and busy is good, I think. Jess is growing up into a beautiful young lady right before my very eyes — and getting more like her father every day (oh boy, the attitude and that mouth, LOL!!!!). We have good days and bad days, but luckily things are mostly good.

Warmer weather would be nice to have though — NO MORE SNOW!!!!

So … y’all stay in and stay warm. Feel free to keep sending me funnies — they really do make my day.

Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice and Merry Yule, y’all!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

– Luke 2:8-20 NIV

So far, this Christmas is turning out much better than last year’s. I’m hoping the trend continues.

Jim let me open one of my presents from him this morning: a Philips Fidelio docking speaker. I’ve been wanting a speaker/player for my iPhone and he got me a NICE one! It hooks up to my iPhone to play tunes off it, or I can hook it up to my MP3 player. It can also charge my phone and sync up on my pc with a USB cable. It’s much nicer than the ones I had been looking at, and so I brought it to work with me today to play with it.

A new toy! YAY! Teehee!

We’ll be heading out of town tomorrow and will be in and out all weekend. I hope everyone has a safe and very Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice, and Merry Yule!

Holiday appropriate

It being the first day of December, I thought I’d put on the ole holiday dress-up for this site. Simple, but pretty nifty I still think.

Our Thanksgiving was fantabulous. Jim, Jess, and I loaded up the car and drove down to Jacksonville to surprise his aunt for her 75th birthday and spent Thanksgiving with his family.

IT. WAS. AWESOME!

Seriously, it was nice to finally have a family get-together where I didn’t have to stress over which parent to please, or what topics to avoid, or dreading what awful insult might be uttered from a particular person’s mouth, … We just sat around and chatted about family, food, and football. We ate a TON of food — including fried turkey, my favorite!!!

There were pies of every kind, and cakes, and ice creams of every imaginable flavor. There was baked turkey and stuffing. There was fried turkey. There was supposed to be a smoked turkey too, but it was accidentally burned, LOL! There was a plethora of cream cheese filled veggies, eggs, and other goodies. There were baked beans, and homemade mac ‘n cheese, and potatoes with gravy. (and God, I’m starting to get hungry just thinking of all this food!) We ate until our bellies felt as if they’d explode, then later we’d eat some more. We sat outside (and the weather was soooooooo nice!), watching the kids play football in the front yard and caught up on family that couldn’t make it or that were out of town.

It was great seeing some of Jim’s family that I’ve met over the past few years again, and even more fun meeting those I’d heard about but never met in person. I’m pretty sure my folks would have looked down on many of them, but I don’t care. These were my kind of people: simple, loving, and just plain fun.

There were a ton of kids around Jessie’s age. One particular set of cousins (twins, they were so cute!) latched onto Jessie and looked up to her, so of course she just soaked in the attention and all the funnery. In a way, it made me miss the old holiday family gatherings that my family used to have when I was a kid. Perhaps next year we’ll either do something similar up here, or just go back down there again!

We had originally planned to swing by to see my folks on the way home but that didn’t pan out. Part of me was worried about that, because (understandably) Jim didn’t want to go. Can’t say I blame him. I was dreading the visit for the very same reason: my father.

I am hoping to stop by and see them soon though, or maybe take them out to dinner. Jessie hasn’t seen them in so long, and I am hopeful that we might can just enjoy a nice night out for a change. There’s probably not a snowball’s chance in hell it will be as nice as I’m hoping, but I’m hopeful just the same. Maybe Christmas will be nice … I may be setting myself up for a disappointment, but hope is all I have and I have my claws dug in deep.

Hope y’all had a good one, I know I’m thankful that we did.

Humpday Hilarities

Today’s funnies start off with this one from I Can Has Cheezburger?:

And these are from my mother-in-law:

Humpday Hilarities

Today’s funnies start off with this one from Uncle Monster:

This one is from I Can Has Cheezburger?

And while I’m on the subject of kittehs, if you’re in need of some cute and furry goodness, these are a few of my favorite feline bloggers:

• Maru
• Winston (and sometimes Rudy too)
• Melvin, and his new sister Zoey
• Conan

Go now! Clicky clicky!!!

Arm warmer love

I’m a bit of a sucker for ‘odd’ accessories, and for years my long black Express arm warmers have been my absolute favorites. I love wearing them with t-shirts on days/nights where it’s too warm for a jacket or long sleeves, but too cold to be bare-armed. And when I get too hot, I simply pull them off and stuff into my backpack. I had bought them on Gothic Auctions years ago and unfortunately the material is now pilled to Hades and back, and is wearing thin around the wrists and palms.

I had been searching on and off for the last year for a set of replacements. On a whim, I tried eBay and after about 5,000,000 pages of lame excuses for arm warmers that would barely cover my forearms, I see an entry that said something to the effect of, “Black extra long arm warmers”

I hit gold!

It turns out there’s a young lady who hand makes these, so I ordered a pair right before Christmas. I’m happy to say that they are EXACTLY what I had been looking for all this time!

Here are a couple pics from the auction:

And a pic of the tag on my pair:

These things fit great, are super soft, and look fantastic!!

She makes them in varying sizes and colors, so next payday I’ll definitely be ordering more. Her website is being re-done at the moment, so check her eBay store in the meantime.

She makes all kinds of interesting clothing and accessories. I can easily see Jessie wanting to shop there in a year or so.

You can find her via the following locations:

www.trixyxchange.etsy.com
www.diytrixy.etsy.com
www.stores.ebay.com/trixyxchange
www.myspace.com/trixyxchange

Thank you, Trixy!

Shopping power, I has it

Chico’s is one of my favorite places to shop. Not only do their clothing hold up and wash well, they fit and feel great. Even better: their unique sizes will make ANY woman feel good about herself (no matter what size you wear!).

I was overjoyed when I got home yesterday and read my mail. My membership has finally been upgraded!

Basically what this means is I’ll get extra benefits now, like: previews to sales and new collections, 5% off all my future purchases, free shipping (basic), and more. They also own Soma (think Victoria Secret), so it looks like I can use the card there too. My folks gave me a gift card to Chico’s for Christmas, and I’ve been itching to go get some new “going out” clothes and a few frilly numbers (sexy lingerie, squeee!).

I showed the card to Jim and said, “Guess what I’m doing this weekend!”

Humpday Hilarities

This funny bit comes courtesy of my Cotillion sister, Vivian:

11 People on a Rope

Eleven people were hanging on a rope, under a helicopter, 10 men and 1 woman. The rope was not strong enough to carry them all, so they decided that one had to leave, otherwise they were all going to fall. They weren’t able to choose that person, until the woman gave a very touching speech.

She said that she would voluntarily let go of the rope, because, as a woman, she was used to giving up everything for her husband and kids or for men in general, and was used to always making sacrifices with little in return.

As soon as she finished her speech, all the men started clapping …

Not to be out-done, one of my co-workers sent me this one:

And finally, this one from Steve:

Holiday Fruitcake Recipe

Ingredients:
1 C Water
1 C Sugar
4 Large eggs
3 C dried fruit
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 C Brown sugar
Lemon juice, nuts
1 FULL bottle of your favorite whiskey

Directions:

• Sample the whiskey to check for quality.
• Take out a large bowl.
• Check the whiskey again to be sure that it is of the highest quality.
• Pour 1 level cup and drink. Repeat.
• Turn on the electric mixer; beat 1 C of butter in a large fluffy bowl.
• Add 1 tsp. sugar and beat again.
• Make sure the whiskey is still OK.
• Cry another cup. Turn off the mixer.
• Break two geggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
• Mix on the burner.
• If the fried fruit gets stuck in the beaters,
• Pry it loose with a screwdriver.
• Sample the whiskey to check for toxisisticity.
• Next, sift 2 cups of salt. Or something. Who cares? Check the whiskey.
• Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
• Add one tablespoon of sugar or something…whatever you can find.
• Grease the oven. Turn on the cake tin to 350 degrees.
• Don’t forget to beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out of the window.
• Check the whiskey again. Go to bed. Who the hell likes fruit cake anyway???

Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice and Merry Yule, y’all!

 

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

– Luke 2:8-20 NIV

Christmas comes early for some …

I received an email today from Soldiers’ Angels notifying me that the infantry where two of my soldiers are has a “mailstop.” This means only one thing …

THEY ARE COMING HOME!!!!

I know their families have got to be so excited!

God bless you, Casey and Steven. Wherever you are and wherever you’re headed, I wish you a safe trip.

Thank You!

Whenever I’m out and about and see a soldier or veteran, I always go up to them and thank them for their service and hand them a small Soldiers’ Angels card. Something Jessie said a while back sticks in the back of my mind every time I meet one … she said, “‘Thank you’ doesn’t seem like enough.”

I know what she means. For such a small phrase and gesture, I hope I’m able to make a big impact on that person, or the people around them. And I hope I come across as truly grateful.

To all troops, veterans, and their families: you have my thanks, gratitude, and support. May God bless you, and those who love and support you!

We’re outta here!

Welp, I’m finishing up wrapping tonight and we’ll pack up the car early tomorrow to head out of town for a bit.

My overnight bag’s packed tighter than a Ju Ju Be, LOL!

Hopefully I’ll have some goodies to share when I get back.

I hope everyone has a safe and very Merry Christmas!

Some room to breathe …

Ever have one of those really good productive days at work? One where when you get done accomplishing things you just feel like you can breathe again? I’ve had one today. I spent a good bit of the afternoon clearing out my major email accounts and am pleased to say that I got quite a lot done. Jess is over at her mother’s tonight. Jim came home from work early and has been in bed most of the afternoon (most likely he’s finally coming down with that awful crud that Jess and I have both already had), so the house is nice and quiet.

Tonight I treated myself to a very fantabulous meal from Hamburger Heaven and am currently downloading 6 months’ worth of photos from my Helio Ocean to my laptop. I’ve finally had time to sit down and go through a new cookbook I had bought on Black Friday. I’ve made a laundry list of items I’d need for various recipes that caught my eye — from Chicken Tortilla Soup, to Easy Cajun Stew, to 30-minute Paella, to Spanish Skillet Supper, to Catalonian Stew, …

Yum, yum!

I’ve also started clearing out my desk. I found myself tossing out old notes, papers, and various promotional brochures — everything from Victorinox Swiss Army watches to vacation places …

Gah, I collect a lot of crap!

I’m toying around with the thought of upgrading this blog to WordPress 2.7 RC1, but I think I’ll hold off as I have not yet updated this theme to handle all the new features. I’ve also started on and have almost finished my Christmas card mailing list, and am scanning the Soldiers’ Angels forums to see if there are any new card or letter requests.

Something I had meant to post a couple weeks back — my soldiers’ Christmas packages. Jess, Jim, and I had a lot of fun playing “Santa” and filling up a stocking for each soldier. Each stocking was filled with all kinds of Christmas cookies and candies, different types of trail mixes, a CD of Christmas songs, a wool scarf, various little toys, a novelty tie, and a handful of other things …

I so wish I could see their faces when their packages arrive over there!

I hope everyone’s having a good week. I think I’m going to take off for now and curl up next to the snoring snuffle monster (Jim, LOL!) to catch up on some DVDs.

Ja, mata ne!

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