I Hear Those Sleigh Bells

I want to decorate my house for the holidays so badly but there is just one little problem. We had a new pass thru installed in our wall between the front room and the kitchen and the electric won't work now!! It also needs to be sanded, replastered and painted. And I will probably have to do most of it all by myself.
I have the Little Red Hen Syndrome. Nobody else will do it so I have to do it myself. For some things, like making cookies or decorating for Christmas or dusting I don't mind. Big things like this just get me mad.
It isn't like they don't want to help. My son already volunteered to paint but that was before I found out the electric didn't work and now I'm not sure when it will be fixed and who knows if he will be available? Same with my husband...he wants to help too but will he be here or will he be stuck with long hours at work and be on call when I need him most? At least I'm home all the time and can do it if I have to.
The pressure is on because Christmas waits for no repair. I would like to put my tree up in the front room for a change but that might not work out under the present circumstances. Besides, it is pretty messy in every room because I thought I would be painting and cleaning could wait until I was finished.
I'm getting a fresh stomach ache just thinking about the whole mess.
At least my shopping is done( unless I reexamine the piles and decide it isn't enough which I do almost every year) and I don't have too many engagements so far but that could change at any time. As much as I love Christmas, this year I hope it takes its time getting here so I can have some heavenly peace.
Oh, I know, I will just think of the plaster dust as a little snowfall and just leave it...no,no, that won't work. Maybe I could be like Santa and just wiggle my nose and it will get done...no wait, that's Samantha from Bewitched. Maybe I'll just stop worrying about it and remember the reason for the season! Yep, that sounds like a plan!

OHMYGOSH!!!!!

Why is it I always eat too much on Thanksgiving day?? It is not like I don't have plenty to eat on other days of the year. I don't do it on Christmas Eve at our Smorgasbord or on Christmas day or New Year's Eve or my birthday. I don't even like turkey that much.
I do, however, love stuffing--not just any stuffing but my sister's stuffing. It is so good I could eat the entire bowl with a little gravy and nothing else on the table....except for sweet potatoes. She makes the best sweet potatoes I ever had. Now she would say that is because my mom always burned the sweet potatoes ( I know, she what??)..but that's not it. They are just yummy with enough sweetness and butteriness(that is probably not a word but you catch my drift)!
My sister is also a jello queen. She always makes a good jello mold but this year she outdid herself. It was really really good.
Now don't get me wrong, turkey itself is okay too it just pales in comparison to the sides I have come to love.
I also love my broccoli casserole. I have had the recipe for so long I forget where I got it although it may have been from my college roommate. It is creamy and cheesy and delicious. Hmmm, I am starting to figure out why I feel so stuffed!!
We enjoy our meal so much we don't even make any appetizers any more. We used to but then we all felt a little sick after dinner not just me so we stopped.
We still have dessert. That always pushes me over the brink into stuffed from just full. We even wait for a while so nobody explodes. This year I was so full I could hardly keep my eyes open to watch Dallas trample the Seahawks. Any way, we have our choice of apple or pumpkin pie or both and I always make cut out cookies. The cookies are going south next year. I had two of them and a piece of pie and that did me in!!!
Needless to say, no walk or sports after dinner for me. We sat and chatted a little and then went home. I was in my pj's by 8:30pm and could hardly stay awake until 10. I'm pretty sure I did but my husband is not here to confirm it as he had to work today.
Black Friday is not exactly calling my name either. I have a few things left to do but I don't want to fight a big crowd for a few gift cards, you know?? I will go to the bank and then to the grocery store. Kind of boring, but that's ok. My stomach will need the rest for at least 24 hours and errands will keep my mind off any kind of food.
Thanksgiving has come and gone once again and I felt appropriately thankful for all my family has and the love we share. Near or far, we all have a special bond and for that I am deeply thankful.

Thankfully

I am really a lucky woman. I have so much to be thankful for on this holiday I felt I needed to make a list here to remind myself.

My family and I are all in good health.
My sister--my best friend.
My house is warm and snug.
I can afford to go out to eat when I want.
I'm a pretty good cook.
I have a good sense of humor.
My marriage is healthy.
My grown children still love me.
My children are thriving adults.
My husband and I still enjoy the same things.
Travelling.
We have an extended family that loves us.
I have good friends.
I'm only a little bit fat.
I know God loves me even though I probably don't deserve it.
My job.
My Christmas shopping is almost done.
I will bake cookies and eat them.
I have laminate floors(so easy to take care of).
Music--all kinds.
Peppermint Ice Cream.
Fewer telemarketers.
Caller ID.
Christmas is around the corner.
My kitty.
Being able to give to my favorite charities.
My fluff pj's.
Peppermint Body wash and lotion.
My neices and nephews.
Tea and scones with clotted cream and lemon curd
Pizza
Fall leaves.
Wine.
Cheesecake.
My candidate getting elected.
My soaps.
Feeling needed.
My doll collection.
Angels.
Old photos.
Tears.
Laughter.
I could go on and on but my heart is full and so I am done for today.
Have a happy Thanksgiving!

24 Skidoo

Jack Bauer is back. If you never saw 24, you may not be acquainted with Jack. Let's just say he is an American Hero. He is fair and just and fights everyone in sight and out guesses all the bad guys all the time. He gets in a lot of trouble just one day every so often. In the tv movie, it was just a two hour period....but tons of trouble was packed in to those two hours. Most of the time I watch Jack with my eyes wide shut because you never know when the violence is going to break out--you just know it is going to happen. The show isn't too bad-=it is spread out over 22 weeks or so but the movie was just one violent occasion after another.
Believe it or not, I don't intend to write about violence today. I am going to tell you about Jack and my old soap friend, John McBain. Apparently these two were separated at birth. How do I know that you may ask? Well, they are both whisperers. They never raise their voice above a soft whisper until the situation is so dire they have no choice and they speak in a normal voice!!!!
Last night, Jack was all whisper all the time. It really makes it hard to choose a volume level for the television as everyone else speaks in normal voices and then the explosions(of course, they have those. I didn't think I even had to mention them) are twice as loud!! Maybe that's the plan. I always find myself straining toward the tv as John McBain or Jack Bauer start to talk. I wish that meant I was engrossed by the character but it only means I CANT HEAR YOU!!!!!!!
I wonder if in hero school they teach that skill. Maybe if you talk real quiet like the bad guys come closer and make it easier to kill them!! Oh, that must be it.
If anyone ever talks real quiet like to you and he is handsome and dressed all in black(with or without a flack jacket) be very careful. He may have mistaken you for a bad guy or if you are a woman he may need a new girlfriend as all their girlfriends always wind up well.....dead.

"Hollywood Sue"

I've got a real knack for predicting the outcome of television shows and movies. I can spot the bad guy from 100 yards... so to speak. My family long ago nicknamed me "Hollywood Sue." It must be from all those years of watching the soaps and all the actors I've been exposed to through them. Let me explain.
All the television shows on in the evening are getting to be more and more "soapy." Some are easy--like back when J.R. Ewing got shot. I knew it had to be Sue Ellen's sister. It was just logical, soapwise. She was not a main character and completely disposable. So it had to be her--and it was!!!
The twists and turns of soaps show up more and more on the nightly shows so it is getting to be fun. It is really a simple formula for most of them. The person who they want you to think did it--didn't-- and someone on the periphery is the culprit. See??
I also have another unfair advantage as a lot of the time the killer(or any other general bad guy) has appeared on one of my soaps in the past. As soon as I say,"Hey, that guy(or woman) used to be on my soaps", sure as shootin' he/she is the one!
I also read a lot of novels and that helps too. I usually can figure out the end of my book before the middle. I keep changing genres so I don't get too good at it. I can't read a mystery or a romance novel anymore because I know the end usually by the end of the first chapter.
But this past month, I have done the prediction of the year and called an outcome that everyone thought was pretty out there. I said Hillary Clinton backed down in the primary because she was offered some big cabinet post to smooth her feathers and I WAS RIGHT!!!! She is going to be appointed Sec. of State....I had thought Attorney General(shades of Bobby Kennedy) but that was just the one I thought of as powerful. Now Secretary of State is a pretty powerful job too(shades of Henry Kissinger).
So last night, my husband called me "Washington Sue." It doesn't have quite the ring to it as Hollywood Sue so I am thinking of other options. "Politico Sue" is my current front runner. If I(or anyone else) come up with something better I'll let you know.

Oh, Those Commercials III

I usually use this space to complain about the commercials I detest and there are many of them to be sure. I am not sure if anything offends me as much as those women carrying their heads or the couple who own two outdoor bathtubs but today I want to talk about the commercials I love.
I love that little Geico Gecko! I think the ads with the old guy following him around at the golf course, the library and the subway are little gems. I love how the gecko gets all irritated with the old guy and a little paranoid about him too. I love how it always explains the Geico policy so clearly and I LOVE HIS ACCENT. His character sure has grown since he was employee of the month back in the day and got his own parking place(remember that one??)
The little guy beats out that AFLAC duck by a country mile. The duck has a limited vocabulary and the gecko is glib. The duck gets its feathers ruffled but the gecko is smooth. The duck has visions of grandeur but the gecko has a grand plan. Even that old man who follows him around admires his style.
The CG of the Gekko is really superior and he gets more and more agile with every ad. I wonder which Mad Man thought him up and who keeps coming up with ideas for him. Whoever it is , I hope he keeps it up. He's getting so real that I am expecting him to show up at my house for dinner after he reads this glowing report!
The holiday ads will be coming along soon and I always love those too. They are schmaltzy and sentimental and they push my buttons. I will get all teary eyed and sloppy during them...especially ones with kids in them. Remember the coffee ad where the big brother comes home from college when everyone is sleeping and the little sister finds him and they make coffee and the mom comes downstairs and she is so thrilled to see him?? Got me every time.
Now there is the card ad where the little toddler is learning to say Merry Christmas. OHMYGOSH...it is so sweet. He never really spits it out even though Mom coaches him but when she gets the card Grandma knows what he is saying and is so touched and the grandpa has a look on his face that is priceless--it is all gibberish to him!!
I usually fast forward all the commercials but I may stop for some of the holiday ones...I can always use a good cry!!

Eenie Meenie Minie Thumb

Have you seen the ad where the thumbs have the owners faces imposed on them? YUK!! How gross. It is almost as bad as those women carrying around their heads. I don't even know what the ad is for and I don't care. I refuse to watch it.
I also hate the ad Rachel Ray has for her new dog food. Oh, yes, now she makes dog food for her dog who is barely in control through the whole ad. It is a little creepy to see that thing get kissed by its owner too. I never was in to kissing dogs...such bad breath. Okus she callls the food Nutrish--she has a new slang word for everything doesn't she?? Sammies and delish and evoo-I mean really, nobody is in that big of a hurry.
The holiday commercials are starting and I really hate the Lowe's ad where the kid sees the store miraculously changing into a christmas wonderland and he tells the mom they make sparkles and magic here and then the Lowe's worker says, What kind of wreath do you want?? Is she not in the same ad??? Is she the only employee who isn't in on the whole sparkly magic thing??
Welll, my thumbs are telling me it is time to stop. Wait Is that a little hair I see peeking out of the top of my thumb and is that a ...mouth.. Oh, dear!!

Off to See the Wizard

the Wizard of the food network that is....Paula Deen!! She is going to be at the Cleveland Food Show and my best friend and I are going to see her. She will sign cookbooks so I am taking the one my husband bought me a long time ago as a surprise. I marked all the recipes I want to try while I was sitting in bed yesterday after the worst vertigo attack I've ever had.
Paula Deen is an admirable woman. Her marriage ended, she had agoraphobia, and she started a little carry out business from her home called The Bag Lady. Her two sons were her helpers and they went on to open the Lady and Sons restaurant in Savannah, GA. She pulled herself up by her bootstraps and she is full of piss and vinegar!! I always liked her but to go see her cooking demonstration was 50bucks and sorry, but nobody is that good!! So we will see her son, Bobby, demonstrate instead. Her sons adore her and put up with her antics(at least on camera) so I am excited to see him too.
There is so much food to taste at this Expo that last year we were stuffed to the gills just from all the little tastes we tried. There isn't any big meal or anything but it was eating all day--it really fills you up!! I have Tylenol and Tums with me just in case we overdo it!!
My best friend is a real foodie. She is always trying new things and so she really loves this show. Since she is my friend, I go too.
Well, it was all worth it! Paula was really nice and signed my old cookbook and her son had his show but she was his guest and so was her husband so we got to see all of them. She was out in the audience so you got a real good look at her. She is a lovely woman and the TV doesn't do her justice!!! She is just as feisty though!!
I have never seen so many salsas in my life. I ate a ton of junk on a pretzel from mustard to some kind of apple cinnamon stuff. We sat down and had some water about halfway through things and it was a good and needed break. All that free food and water was 3.50!!! Isn't that funny??
I bought a few gifts and got a lot of cards and websites. I'm sure I won't remember what most of them are. At the time you think you won't forget but by the time you get home.............well, you know, I forgot!!
Anyway, it didn't inspire me to cook tonight my husband is out getting food now!! As long as it's not on a pretzel, it's all good!

When in Doubt, Go to France

You know how much I love my soaps. Lately I've been getting a big kick out of them since as soon as a character seems to have their share of troubles and there is no way to get out of the mess, they hightail it off to France. (this is mostly because they don't know what else to put the poor character through). Usually, Paris, but not necessarily. So if you go to France there will be an overly large population of people from Llanview,PA or Pine Valley, Wherever!
I went to France a long time ago and barely met anyone who spoke English let alone were from the States and had big problems. It must have been before this trend started.
So, my question is, once you get to France are all your troubles over?? They seem to have many business opportunities and many mental health facilities so maybe that 's the draw. Unemployed?? Vive LaFrance!! Having a breakdown?? Parlez-Vous Francais!! I really had no idea.
There is a division of Cambias Corporation and the European division of the lingerie company that Dorian's daughter started with her friend. There is also a luxurious facility for mental health problems that has a courtyard and everything! Sounds delightful, doesn't it? One of the girls today lost her baby she was supposed to adopt and when her husband asked her where she was going now(they are estranged) she said she didn't know--bet I do!!
Apparently it is really cheap to get over there too. Must be a special airline so these people(those who don't own their own planes that is) can jet over there on a whim. And of course everyone on the soaps has a valid passport in their pocket just in case the need or the urge to go to France descends upon them.
I'm sure France is thrilled with all the free publicity they get from these soap characters and they must have a booming economy to entice so many businesses over there! I would love to go back to France someday but I am waiting until the soap characters have taken over so I can speak only English while I am there!

Santa's Little Helper

I just waded through all the gifts I've bought during this year for Christmas presents. I organized and sorted and got rid of plastic bags that were messing up my craft room. I feel pretty good about what I've bought so far. Boy, "bought" looks so funny to me right now. Like I didn't spell it right or something. Anyway, all those trips out and about sure paid off!
I love picking out gifts. I love spending time finding little things I know a person will like. All the kids in our family are getting older and don't need toys or anything like that anymore so I even have fun picking out the gift cards. I always try to find a little something to put with the gift card that reflects the person. It keeps me on my toes and I visit a lot of different stores to find them.
I always tell my own kids that there won't be many presents under the tree since they are adults now but it always ends up being a huge pile anyway. I'm not sure what happens-I guess Santa spurs me on and I just keep finding things they would like. I know what I want. I already left a huge hint at my husband's chair at the dining room table but he might not see it. Kinda like the tie dyed sheets. I don't really need anything anymore but there are a few things I would like.
As much as I love to shop for gifts I am not really much of a wrapper. Those gift bags we have now are a godsend to me. I love picking them out and making sure I have a lot of tissue so they look pretty. All the taping and corners we had to make back in the day were beyond me. I always managed to mess up a corner so it looked like a diaper or else I had shorted myself on paper and I would have to start all over again.
I still have some shopping to do and I will do it gladly. I will hohoho my way through the mall and Target and Kmart and Walmart and Marshalls and TJMAXX and............................ jingle all the way!!

It's Raining, It's Snowing

Geez, could the weather get any weirder around here?? Only last Thursday, I was in short sleeves and flipflops(it was great by the way) and now today I needed a heavy coat and almost boots. Luckily, I have shoes that can serve as both. We have about and inch and a half on our driveway. Not quite enough for our snowplow service but by the end of the day, who knows?? It is wet and sloppy and the kind of snow you hate to change lanes in cause it looks so slippery and it will blob up all over your car.
Fluffy snow on a day you can stay home...that I like. Sloppy damp and wet snow I can't stand!
It is only November 10th, surely we could have had some days that were in the 40s and 50s --Oh wait, they are probably around the corner!!

Whose Life to LIve?

It's not easy to be a soap actor or actress. One actress who is only 16 years old had to act out being pregnant for the last six months.(before that she wasn't showing) She couldn't stop touching her stomach(in wonder or horror, I'm not sure). It must be hard to pretend to be pregnant when you never were but compared to some of her colleagues she got off easy.
Our old friend, John McBain(not to be confused with the other John of a similar last name) had to fake hang himself in a jail cell so he could bust out and save the woman he loves who he thought was dead for the last year. He even had to twitch so the jailer would come in and try to save him. What do you think that poor actor thought when he read that script? Say, whaaaaaaaaaat? I wonder if he had a little,uh, discussion with the powers that be? If he did he caved!!
Another actress had to sit in a bed for about three months and act from there. She is supposed to have been crippled in an accident a year ago(guess who she is...see above paragraph) and was stuck in bed. She is finally up and around. She must be so relieved.
One girl who was pregnant with her dead husband's baby delivered it with the help of a figment of her imagination(that is such a long story, I won't even try) and now is off to the hospital to trade it in for a live one(no, I am not kidding).
However, the height of humiliation had to be for the poor actress on ALL MY CHILDREN who died and at her funeral there was a closed casket as her very young child was there(very discreet that poor little actor is only around 4 or 5 years old) and after all leave but the husband, he opens the top of the casket and there's that poor young girl laying in there!!!!!!! Not only has she lost her job but they make her climb into a casket to boot!!! How would you like to have been her when she read that script?? DO you think she just said okay and went off to perform?? I'm betting not. Talk about adding insult to injury!
So, see, you probably thought that being a soap actor was glamorous and exciting. Well, I hope I've shown you the other side of the coin. All your children may have only one life to live but it can end abruptly and you may have to make some BIG concessions along the way!

Curb Your Cravings

Curb Your Cravings was the happy birthday greeting I got from Sparkpeople today. Yes, I thought, curb your cravings--EAT CAKE!!! And that is what I am going to do. However my other cravings I will list here and when I am done maybe they will have gone away! That works for me when I go work out. I promise myself a big treat afterwards and Voila!! when I am done the crave is gone. Hope it works this way too!
I want a mountain of greasy french fries slathered in vinegar and salt. You know the kind you get at the county fair or an amusement park. They used to come in a paper cone..I don't know if they still do but they did when I was a kid.
I want a whole cheesecake to myself. Just plain. I wouldn't eat it all at once--just slowly through the day until I had polished it off!! I love cheesecake and there is just not one low fat version that has ever turned out the way I hoped so I hardly ever eat it now.
I want to jump on a plane and fly to Vegas to visit my daughter and to eat at the Paris Hotel. Not some big fancy meal I just one to go to LeNotre and have all the pastries my little heart desires. I love the presentation of those little cakes and tarts. They are all works of art and we have nothing like that here. I want to go shopping with my daughter and buy whatever we want.
I want a fur coat. It is so politically incorrect I just hate myself for it but there it is. There is nothing like the feel of real fur on your body. I remember my Great Aunts all had some kind of mink or fur coat or stole when we were growing up. They always smelled slightly of the Aunt's perfume and a little musky from the fur. I remember my mom really wanted a mink stole for awhile.
I want to wear stilettos and be able to walk more than 3 feet. Maybe I just want to try some on and see how they look. No, I'm not sure if I can even stand in them.
I want to go on a long vacation--like six weeks or even longer. I would go back to New Mexico and California and Vegas again on my way home. I wouldn't wash clothes or clean the house or cook for the whole time.
I want a huge diamond ring-like three carats. I know that is so material of me but I can't help it. I have loved diamonds my whole life and couldn't wait to get one. I made a lot of mistakes because of that desire but now I would get it for all the right reasons. I think I would want that princess cut and no other embellishments and one of those eternity rings to go with it.
Mmmmm those all sound yummy, don't they??

Random Thoughts on November 5th

Where was that John McCain who made the concession speech last night during the election race???? If he had shown the gracious demeanor he did during that speech during his campaign the result of this election may have been very different. He will continue to serve our country I am sure and I was happy to see a glimpse of the John McCain I remember from before the Oklahoma U speech.
Isn't Obama an inspiring speaker? He has brought hope to a nation that has lived in fear for the last eight years and has brought hope. Of course, he cannot change everything over night and anyone who thinks he can is hopelessly naive, but just a positive attitude toward change and our country's ability to be great without being a bully makes my heart sing.
Now it is time for reflection and attitude adjustments. People who were so dead set against Obama have to take a page from McCain and accept and support him as President. Those ardent admirers who think Obama is just about the second coming need to take off the rose color glasses and let this man and his team do what they can.
Hopefully, we will all contribute to a new attitude of possibility and positive change no longer living in fear that our whole system is about to collapse and that the other countries of the world loathe us because of our foreign policies.
I won't miss Governor Palin and just think for less than three months work she sure got a great wardrobe. Maybe now she will go home and concentrate on her state and her family. I hope she will use her experience as a mother of a special needs child to become the advocate she wants to be. She will no longer be the subject of jokes and cut and pastes on line of her in a bikini. That has to wear on a woman, don't you think??
I won't miss Cindy Lou McCain either. The poor thing looked like she was down to about 85 lbs. I hope she goes home and eats and gets to wear something besides those suits that look to be made of the most stiff and uncomfortable fabric known to man. She won't have to get her hair done into that helmet thing she does on a daily basis. I would think she would breathe a sigh of relief. Just think she would have had to keep that up for four years--she would have been Nancy Reagan junior!!
The one little snake I really won't miss is Joe Leiberman. Yes, I did call him a snake. He won't be skulking in the bushes or whispering in the president's ear. Thank goodness!! Goodbye Joe! I hope you will flourish in obscurity.
I really really won't miss the women on The View screaming at one another over the table. That was getting old fast. Elizabeth Hasselbach was the most stubborn, unyielding young woman I have ever had to endure. Having the courage of your convictions is a wonderful thing but it should be tempered by reason. She is very subdued today and I am glad to see that.
I really really really won't miss all the phone calls. OHMYGOSH! I am so sick of them. Even Joe Biden called me after I had already voted. Of course, the most irritating part of all is that they are all prerecorded and that just ticked me off. I think in the last week, my phone rang every 5 to 10 minutes. SO YAY that is over for a nice, long time.
I do wonder what in the world all the political satirists are going to do now. They still have George Bush to kick around for a while but I don't think Obama will give them as much to play with... but time will tell.