well, it's over.

and now the returns begin. i spend all day telling people that they can't trade their christmas gifts for cash. i shouldn't have to tell them why we don't do that. are they really that hard-pressed?
i mean, jimmy told me some people returned a fence to home depot the other day. used. these people tore their fence out of the ground, brought it to home depot covered in mud and bothered the employees for two hours until somebody agreed to give them their money back.
is this just the beginning?





it might be time to read grapes of wrath and get some food storage together.

merry christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

i've been thinking about the christmas movies we loved as kids.
here are a few that we'll never forget!
(youtube is a christmas miracle.)

i think we used to call this orphanage christmas or something. the song is my favorite.

this is the real rudolph. like, really old.

i love this one because a lot of our movies were recorded off of the television, just like this. our mickey's christmas carol had all the commercials included. haha.

how can you not love muppets doing, well, anything? my sister used to sing all the songs from this throughout the year.

nestor, the christmas donkey. he's just too cute. the music is even better.

this one cuts off just in time. it's a bit much. i can't believe we used to watch the entire movie!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

actually, it's looking like late september.
it's seventy-two degrees outside right now!
we have the back door open so judge can roam in and out as he pleases.
it's overcast and looking to rain, that's why it is so warm and humid.
i mean, it's downright balmy! too bad we're not closer to the beach.

i'm used to sliding my car down a snowy mountain to get around.
i'm not used to crunching the leaves in december.
it's so odd! i like it, though. it's different, but i like it.
i'm putting a lot more of the layering items in my closet to use and my boots aren't ruined from salt in the parking lot. so it's good for my wardrobe, i guess.

i keep doing holiday sorts of things to feel like it's christmas time:
making cookies, putting on music, turning off the radio in the car so i can sing carols at the top of my lungs, looking at the holiday issues of home decor magazines, keeping the lights on the tree on all the time, making holiday cards, etc, etc.

judge just brought me a frisbee, so it looks like i better head outside into the heat.
that's not christmasy at all.
weird.

ginger snaps!

anybody want some?
homemade!
i'm just going to have to eat them all alone in my red and green outfit.

i've been really lucky.

i don't think i've been "sick" once this whole last year. i've had some days when i didn't feel so hot, but nothing that prevented me from going about my business. today i think something might be coming on. i've had sinus headaches for a few days and last night my nose exploded! that's right. i was just sitting in an armchair when, suddenly, a large amount of liquid popped out of my nose. it looked like water so it wasn't a snotty mess but WEIRD, right? in any case, i took some nyquil and went to bed. i woke up this morning feeling groggier than ever. my nose is stuffed and my throat is sore. i'm about to take some dayquil and start cleaning up the house with the hopes that it's just exhaustion and not some kind of infection. if that doesn't work, i'll try and sleep it off. that's plan b.

but i don't even have time to be sick in bed.

update: scarf day.

so this is me, all ready for scarf day.

making and baking.

last night i baked about a thousand cookies.
okay, not that many, but a lot!
it's a miracle - they taste exactly like the pink cookies you get from vending machines. i can't tell you how or why, i just know it's the truth.
i'm going to have to take them to work and make other people eat them. we can't do this alone.





in other news, i'm finally mailing my christmas cards. most of them.
they turned out pretty great.
this little guy is jimmy's favorite:









have to work the next few days in a row.
it's going to be crazy, especially since we have a dress code. it's like being in a clique. they call me and tell me what we're wearing so we all match. today is scarf day. tomorrow is grey and pink day.
i've never thought so hard about outfits in my life.

blurbies!

i'm up really late and that's a bad thing!
(we watched pride and glory at the dollar movie. it would have been free and better if we had watched the wire at home.)



i love my christmas tree!
(so far i haven't given in to jimmy's desire for colored lights. my mom has ingrained upon me her ideas about colored lights being tacky. i'm trying to overcome.)



i'm the family's financial president!
(and i'm still getting settled into my new position. i really hate conducting business on the phone. i'm really great at the charts and graphs part.)



it's the week of $100!
(we're playing this game where we only spend $100 total this week. so far we've only bought groceries and gas and we're doing fine. i just have to try not to crave candy.)



jimmy's going to kill me if he finds me online in here!
(he's watching the late show, but he doesn't have to work tomorrow and i do - early! whooooops!)

Judge is asleep underneath the Christmas tree.

This is when I wish I had a camera (and not just a camera phone.)
Too bad I can't carry my computer into the room and snap a quick one without waking him up.


I guess I'll just go look at dogs online instead.
I'll also look for a second job. Sort of.

crafty.

I made some Christmas cards to send out. I like them quite a bit.
I'm making a few more.
Hopefully I can get them out at the right time. Doubt it . . . :)

How We Spent Our Day:

Hear this:

KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic

Music junkies, bask in this gift of free performances.



See this:

Planet Earth

You've probably never been more amazed by nature.

life for dummies.

this is my first real day off in a little while, so i'm warranted a couple of posts. right?


okay.


ever since i was a little kid i've always thought that there is some secret manual to life, one of those "for dummies" books, and that everyone but me must have one. some of the time, i still think that. i just don't understand how people know about all the procedures involved with riding the bus or how to make small talk in the walmart checkout line without some kind of instructions. how do people pick careers? how do they know what books to read? it just seems like everyone is really good at life and i'm really . . . not.
i'm one of those people who can't make a decent response to everyday greetings. i trip on my own feet regularly. i talk to myself. sometimes i have to really concentrate on remembering to close the fridge when i'm done. every day i wake up and make an effort to just do normal things - go to work, brush my teeth, talk on the phone. it's like i wasn't programmed for this.

another conspiracy theory i've imagined is that everyone can see what i'm thinking displayed on my forehead, like a cnn news feed. i've also thought that, possibly, i'm some sort of disabled but everyone in the world is involved in an elaborate charade to keep me thinking i'm just like everyone else. when i was eleven, i wrote a will because i thought i was going to die after reading the book bridge to teribithia . sometimes i worry about the day when everyone i know jumps out and says "surprise! we hate you and we've been pretending to like you all this time because we thought it would be THE BEST JOKE EVER. ha ha ha!"
i also worry that i'll wake up and everything will be a long, long dream.


is this possibly a disorder? i think it's a most likely disorder. at least i'm getting over the phase where i thought i had every disease i read about online.

except diabetes. i still think i have diabetes.
why else would i drink so much water and still be thirsty?!

thanksgiving.

our internet was out over thanksgiving, so i didn't really get a chance to squawk about it.

it was great, really.

this was the first thanksgiving i've had off in a few years. it's nice to remember that holidays are about having the day off to relax with family - not working your butt off so that everyone else can relax with theirs (and sneaking some pie in there, somewhere). we had TWO dinners, the night before and the next day. i met some new family here in georgia and i adore them all. once we get a break in our schedules, we have to do more visiting. we're actually not that far away from our family out here. i'm also enjoying georgia this time of year. it's really beautiful.

this was also my first thanksgiving far away from home. i don't like to think about it too much, but i never realized how many little things i would miss. i miss grandma's kitchen, packed as full as it could be with people i love and every kind of pie known to man. i miss my loud family - never a dull moment. it's strange how things that seem to bother you become the things you really love the most.

this was, above all, my first DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING. i worked black friday, 10 AM till 9 PM. it was insanity. it was really great deals (30% off everything in the store). it was tiring. it was like nothing i've ever seen. we made twice as much as they expected, so it seemed like the economy wasn't as bad as everyone thought. then i worked last night and did so many more returns than sales that we could hardly make change at the end of the night. go figure.


gobble gobble.

eight eight eight.

tagged!


eight things that I'm passionate about

• family
• reading and literature
  
• a job well done
  
• beauty
• learning
• all sorts of weather
• going on adventures
• trying to be a little better every day

eight words or phrases I use often

• "I know, right?"
• "Are you serious?"
• "Come ON."
• "Dammit."
• "Sorry."
• "Pleeeeease?"
• "JUDGE. GET OUT OF THERE."
• "Oh man."

eight things I want to do before I die

• read as many good books as I possibly can
  
• travel with my husband
• be better at goal setting and accomplishing . . .
• master cooking and baking
• be a great mom
• own our own home
• learn, learn, learn
  
• uh, basically just feel complete
  

eight things I want or need . . . (this one's hard.)

• no more debt! (need and want)
  
• a camera (strictly want)
  
• a vacation!! (need . . . want)
• better communications with the people I care about - and an address book! (need and want)
• new glasses (sort of need, but mostly want)
  
• a second vehicle, paid off completely (all want)
• a house all our own (want - I really can't complain about no rent)
• more fun time with family and friends (neeeeeeed!)

eight things I've learned from the past
(and I'm still learning and working on many things, make no mistake)

• spend your time wisely
• know when you need to do things for others and when you need to do things for yourself
• just take a deep breath and do it already (because you can usually do it if you just try)
• be patient
• you have two ears, two eyes and one mouth for a reason - listen and watch before you speak
• most people mean well, so give them a break
  
• a few people are just mean, so forget about them
• perfection is just doing your best (not someone else's best)

eight restaurants I love
(even though usually we eat out and realize that we could have made the same thing at home)

• Foundry Grill (including the Sundance BAKERY!! yum desserts)
  
• Del Taco
• Rice King
  
• Pudding on the Rice
• Nicolitalia's
• Purple Turtle
• Osaka
• Taco Amigo

I have to add eight establishments I love

• thrift stores and junk stores
  
• Harts in Pleasant Grove
  
• craft stores
  
• any museum
• the General Store
• bookstores
• IKEA
• sometimes Wal-Mart

eight shows I love to watch

• Cold Case Files (NOT Cold Case)
• The Office
• Unsolved Mysteries
• American Justice
• Law and Order (any kind, but the original is the best)
• Freaks and Geeks
• Rock of Love Charm School
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
  

and that makes eight lists of eight.

"JUDGE! STAY OUT OF THE GARBAGE YOU PIGGY! I'M SERIOUS, MISTER!"

quickly . . .

when we got home this evening, i checked the facebook. my cute little sister had added some pictures to her profile, including one of the family dog, trigger.

before we moved, judge and trigger were best friends. i mean, dumb and dumber. i have never seen two doggies get along better in my life. i think judge has really been missing him.



so jimmy and i clicked on trigger's photo. judge was curled up on the bed. we thought it might be a cute idea to see if judge recognized his old buddy.

well, he definitely DID.

judge stared at the picture for a few seconds with a serious look on his face, then started growling and yelping and hopping around on the bed. it became a full-on freak out. he jumped up and down in circles and right off the bed. howling, he ran behind the desk and started looking for trigger behind the computer. he looked at me and then at the back of the computer with a pleading look on his face, waiting for me to let his friend out.



we both miss our friends and family. luckily, we just had a wonderful day with our other friends and family - so it's okay.

christmas list.

jimmy has been begging me to tell him what i want for christmas.

problem: i'm the worst at knowing what i want!

i'm serious. i have a hard time picking out what to eat of the drive-thru menu -- "a numberrrr . . . 4? no, 2. yeah, 2. with coke. oh. uh, do you have mountain dew? that. and make that a number 7 with no mayo. i don't want the number 2." if, on some rare occassion, i do know what i want - it's usually something weird and impossible or outrageously expensive.



for instance, here are some things i'd like to have eventually:*

*(be prepared! this list is probably going to be much more domestic and feminine than anyone has ever expected from me. don't die of shock.)





this linen cupboard from ikea. i love the yellow!
(since i can't wear yellow, i want to put it everywhere else.)

i'd also like a relatively nice camera. something with more to it than a little pocket digital and something that isn't so expensive and gadgety that i'm afraid to use it. (suggestions? i don't know where to start.)

i'd like (sometime) to have spectacular appliances, but most of all i'd like a dishwasher. currently, i am the dishwasher. between all the places i've lived, i haven't had a working dishwasher in almost four years. i also love all the bright colored washers and dryers.





i want a little friend for my dog! i know it can't happen.





i also want a real vacation. it doesn't have to be extravagant. just real.








i have to think of a less dreamy list for christmas.
well, pretty much i'd be satisfied with a minor shopping spree, a day without dishes and plenty of yummy christmas treats. i already do have just about everything i need to be happy.

doggies in the yard.

we bought judge an electric fence.

i know, i know. i didn't like the idea of my littlest friend being shocked in the neck, either.
however, seeing as we don't have a couple thousand to throw at putting up a fence around a house that isn't ours . . . this is our best alternative for letting our buddy run around outside without a leash.
so far he sits on the porch most of the time. we walked him around the yard to try and teach him the boundaries but really he just has to learn on his own. we send him out to explore and he loves it until he gets that little shock. that's when he runs right back to the porch and sits on the top step, his back against the sliding glass doors.
the first time we let him out on his own we put his toys outside with him. he immediately brought each one back in the house so that it would be safe.
luckily, i can tell he's slowly getting smarter and braver. he sniffs around longer and spends less time on the porch, afraid, before going back out to try again.

my little boy is growing up.

also, i don't have to stand outside with him until he's finished doing his business. that's a real plus.








p.s. - that's our real backyard! crappy camera phone pic!

sometimes i have too much time on my hands.

waddaleeattcha, doodleleedoo.

favorite things this week:

making bajio's at home, 

modest mouse, 

excedrin, 

low gas prices, 

cilantro, 

vision video, 

metacritic, 

vinyl art,  

local stores, 

movie marathons, 

windex, 

flagpole, 

using loose change, 

pepsi cubes, 

no more laundromats,

oprah specials,

gigggggles, 

animal friends,

reliable pens,

burning cds,

under the radar,

oh, and "sexual nightmares and sleep crimes."

blurbies

first day on the job!
jungle bean. fiercefairylavaenglish. that is starting to make sense to me.

michael crichton is dead!
it was a case of the andromeda strain. okay, it was a t-rex.

we have a new president!
and he's pretty close to being a black guy. juuuuust kidding.

we didn't vote!
it was just really complicated . . . and we just didn't try.

i love "this american life"!
we love it. i made my husband love it, too.

finished a real long book!
now we're both going to read philip roth.

i hate this!

i have the best family. period.



yesterday we all got together to celebrate the life of this man.
i don't think any day could be better.
i just wish jimmy could have been with us, because jimmy loved grandpa and grandpa sure loved him. you might not believe it when you first met him, but grandpa loved pretty much everyone unconditionally.
a lot of people talk about unconditional love. i'm not sure if they've really ever seen it. there is no greater example of unconditional love than this man, right here.
well, except maybe one example (but just that one).

bye, grandpa.

we'll eat you up, we love you so.

today, at walmart, i saw a pretty interesting car.
the hood had a scene from "where the wild things are" painted on it.

i thought i heard somewhere that the book is being made into a movie?
let me check on that.



yep. checked imdb. it's for real. so spike jonze, this time next year?

my partner in crime

the skull in the mail

judge and i explored the woods today.

i discovered something:

judge is the worst exploring buddy i can imagine!
he's loud and rough and he pulled me through a brier patch!
(now i have band-aids on the tops of my feet. ow.)
i had to lead him back to the house! what kind of hound is he, anyway?!


anyway, i also discovered the woods in our backyard lead out to an open field. i wonder where the property ends? annnnnnnd . . . i really just want to build a fort out there. bad.

also, i found a perfectly intact squirrel skull. my dad keeps a bucket full of small skulls in the kitchen at home. i'm trying to think of a way to send the skull to my dad in the mail, but after the big move i really don't trust the postal service with my belongings.

we sent all of our books by media mail and the box with our best books apparently exploded in denver and the books got all mixed in with the rest of the mail. (i think whoever opened the boxes to check the contents couldn't resist our great taste in literature and took off with our books!) anyway, we also ended up with someone's bible that had a rock taped inside of it. what?

mailing a skull will be a good challenge, i think.

saxon woods

i took judge for a walk last night and a cute, chubby little mexican boy asked to pet him.
then he asked me if judge "fights with other dogs" or not.

i didn't see any other dogs or any chain link fencing.
i told him that judge mostly just likes to be friends.
and his baby sister with hoop earrings tried to feed my dog a stick.
and judge had an asthma attack.
it wasn't as loud as the donkey that lives down the street, but it sounded pretty similar.

and now, for the main event . . .

forevermore, this blog shall be the blog in which our escapades shall be recorded.

but don't expect much from a couple of couch potatoes and their dog.






sorry.