No Place Else I'd Rather Be Tonight

This time last year we were having a Blue Moon party.  I remember it was cold outside and I had bought a lot of fireworks.  This year it was a crazy 65 degrees today and I just checked and we have some bottle rockets and firecrackers left from the 4th of July.There will be another Blue Moon in August, 2012.

I measured the boys on my pretty measuring stick and the two oldest have grown four inches since last Christmas.  One has a faint beginning of a mustache and the two oldest have feet bigger than mine, and both their voices crack every day.  At about 5'6" I am still taller, though. (Youngest still appreciates a stuffed animal and I knew he'd like a pet pillow).

We'll be up until past 1:00 a.m. because Oldest son is at a party in a nearby neighborhood. Clearly he has a more active social life than we do, and we had to have a chat last night about how another parent needs to help do the driving as we shouldn't be the only ones to drive Oldest and his friends to a bowling alley at 6:00, pick them up at 8:00 to transfer to a house party, and then retrieve at 1:00 a.m.  Plus, Hubs and I had not had a bite out to eat alone in forever so Oldest did find another buddy's parent to do the 6:00 bowling alley delivery.

Hubs and I walked on a trail at a nearby park for 2 or 3 miles in the late afternoon and we reminisced about some past New Year's Eves.  For several years, before kids, we went to an English pub that included dart playing, a roaring fire, lots of smoke in your eyes, an 80-year-old woman playing show tunes on a piano and the owner would pass out champagne and party favors. Hubs would order a "Black and Tan" and years later when we found a dog to adopt at the Humane Society, his description read "black and tan" and I suggested we name him Guinness, which I heard of at this English pub.

This year we went to a Cuban cafe for a 5:00 dinner (we may be getting closer to the "Del Boca Vista" lifestyle-age like Seinfeld's parents, but mostly it was because we wanted to try this restaurant and it was booked at 6:00).  It was just okay.  I did try a frozen mojito and it was good but the food was disappointing...in the few times we go out alone a year that happens a lot, unfortunately. We were back home at 6:15 and I fixed something to eat for Middle and Youngest sons and baked some brownies to go with ice cream and got into my fleece pajamas as fast as I could.  I never have coffee at night but I made some a little while ago and we bowled on the Wii (wearing my soft, fuzzy socks and not bowling shoes, and I won but don't even ask me about the golf--I couldn't do it and quit).

Tomorrow the tree gets hauled back to Home Depot for recycling, the decorations get put back in the attic, the boys get put to work cleaning the bathrooms and the Christmas ham goes into a soup pot with split peas.

Two days left of Christmas vacay.  I wish I could make time stand still!
Happy, happy New Year!

Santa Laughed about the Snow Request, but he Delivered

It's been a glorious, peaceful past couple of days.....on 12/23 I worked a few hours and when I got home I literally kicked my heels into the air, making a scene in the kitchen and then the family room, overjoyed to be home.  The 14 yr old looked at me and said, "Gee, Mom."

I did go out for two hours on Christmas Eve for some last minute TJ Maxx, Target and food shopping and was home at 12 noon and more jumping for joy followed. Everyone did what made them happy on Christmas Eve....I baked some cookies for Youngest and two friends to decorate...Middle Son went skateboarding, and Eldest made social activity plans.  Hubs watched movies, cleaned and napped after he helped me wrap some presents.

Our very dry tree from Home Depot has been hanging in there.  Hubs is one to love to clean up after Christmas so he is already hinting it may not last till January 2nd......

 I added a crafty item to the decor this year....At Goodwill I found three identical vases and Goodwill also had a bag of plastic fake snow and I bought three strands of lights--the kind that don't connect and created this blue and white light display below.

After Christmas Eve dinner we watched Toy Story 3 and in the middle of the movie our dvd player conked out.  Thank goodness for buying the $25 spare one one year during Black Friday (today Hubs spent 4 hours trying to repair it and found a stray dvd that had escaped into the guts of the machine but that wasn't the culprit. It may be the receiver).

One of our traditions is having the boys get a present for each other.  Oldest had mentioned wanting a cologne called Mambo (!!!) so he got cologne for the first time ever.  Hubs took Youngest shopping to four stores in search of Mambo and then he went to TJ Maxx and they found it (the whole family now understands why I go there).  After he opened it (see below) we asked how he heard of it and he said the older high school guys put it on after P.E. (they have no time built in for showering...eww).

Youngest was in Nerf gun heaven.....

You may recall that at our visit last Sunday to see Santa that Oldest asked for an electric toothbrush and so he was pretty happy to find it:

You may also recall that Middle son asked for a White Christmas and Santa laughed...  But it historically snowed in Georgia on Christmas (here is Middle son who loves warm clothes and got a new robe and slippers):

 Hubs and I went for a walk and it felt slippery underfoot.  When we got home I took this picture:

On Christmas Day the boys woke up one at a time starting at 9:00 a.m.  They check out their stocking and wait.  We didn't get out of bed till 10:00 a.m.  This year we had a stocking for a hamster also. Right away I make those Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and coffee for me and juice for all of them and then later at about 2:30 we have what I call "party food": spiral ham, rolls, shrimp cocktail, mexican dip and chips, artichoke dip, deviled eggs, raw veggies and mac 'n cheese.

I got a few new scarves that I love to wear and I asked the boys for some music to be loaded on my Ipod before the big day (I have no patience for any of that) and I got a coffee grinder for the first time (haven't tried it yet).

A whole seven days ahead of us with no where to be at any specific time!  I think that tomorrow we will go see True Grit and another day we'll see Black Swan.  We have plans for bowling, having lunch out, maybe a hike if it should warm up (tonight is 19 degrees).  Today I told Hubs that every day I am going to do a little cleaning project like clean out the spice/baking cabinet, something for me like make a bracelet, cook something and do something with the boys.  he said, "Oh, and exercise too".  I said, "Well, now I am overextended."

I hope you had/are having a wonderful holiday with people you love and the rest of the year is filled with good times.

P.S.--Decided to make mulled wine and I always forget stuff on the stove and just remembered and now 35 minutes later half of it evaporated (it tasted good at first but one small glass later it doesn't sit so well).
P.P.S.-- After enlisting Youngest's help for hours earlier on the dvd situation, Hubs now has Middle son helping to figure it out for the past hour.  Now it is working.
P.P.P.S.-- Remember Oldest's platonic female friend who is super-organized with arranging get-togethers and clothes-wearing advise??  She just invited him to a big New Year's Eve party at her house.  Our eldest has a more active social life than we do.

Santa Visit Tradition Continues.....

The two oldest boys didn't protest much this year as they did last year.  I told them weeks in advance that the Sunday before Christmas is our traditional day of leaving the house at 8:45 and being just about first in line to see Santa.  Then they know that after they visit Santa we walk around the mall and shop and invariably they get stuff.

(Middle is on the left--he will be 13 in 5 weeks.  He looks bigger than Eldest but Eldest is bigger by 1/4 inch.  Here they are 12, 14 and 10).

We were first in line and there was hardly anyone there.  We just chill with coffee and the newspaper (the only one who has a handheld is the eldest at age 14 who updated Facebook to say "In line to see Santa with my little brother who still believes--too funny!").

Another family right next to us had kids of all ages including a 15 year old boy so we had the same philiosophy of not leaving anyone at home.  Eldest asked Santa for an electric toothbrush.  Middle asked for a new skateboard and a White Christmas, which made Santa laugh--but the forecast is for 21 degrees and snow flurries here in Georgia on C-mas so we'll see!  Youngest had his list of 4 items rehearsed.  And then the cool thing is that Santa told the boys to make sure to clean their rooms when they got home.

Getting their yearly photo with Santa is especially near and dear to Hubs' heart.  He LOVES to see how they change each year, for example, here is last year's. 

I am off to work now for a few hours and then I take my remaining week of vacation!  Only a few more items to buy.

Stuffer's tip: Hobby stores have the coolest items for stocking stuffers: geodes to crack open, those balsa wood planes for $2.00, those old fashioned car board games where you play bingo by closing a little window if you see a silo, etc., plastic cases to display the winning baseball game ball, magnets, silly putty and more.  The older boys get Itunes gift cards, gum, a magazine and beef jerky!  Need your help on any other items.

Almost Missed the Full Moon Post--Don't Miss the Full Lunar Eclipse

I really wanted to crash to bed early tonight, but remembering it is not only the Full Cold Moon, on the Winter Solstice, but it is also a Lunar Eclipse, which supposedly can be seen after midnight tonight.


So, the full moon is officially on the 21st at 8:15 p.m. but since tonight is the warmest in weeks I think I'll check it out tonight.  And if I am up late enough maybe I'll watch the first lunar eclipse in three years. (Update--just learned that on the East Coast we can't see it till 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. but you are in better luck on the West Coast with 11:30 or midnight to see it...).


I love this tidbit about Christopher Columbus and the Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse (not loving what he did to natives though): (the following is from the site called Starry Skies)

"Chris Columbus asked the native chiefs to attend a meeting with him just before sunset on February 29, 1504.  They were tired of being treated badly by him and wanted to cut off supplying him with food/supplies.

Columbus opened the meeting with a somber announcement, "The Almighty was unhappy, He didn't like the way the natives were treating Columbus and his sailors. The Almighty would now show his disapproval by removing the Moon from the sky." Shortly thereafter, the full moon began to appear over the eastern horizon. As the Sun set, the full moon rose, and the sniggering probably continued. 

And then, ever so subtly, the moon began to change. The Moon began to dim and turn a blood red colour. Soon all eyes were riveted on the dimming orb. Clearly, as it rose, there was something wrong. Not only was the Moon the colour of blood, by the time the lunar disk was completely above the horizon, the lower half of the Moon was missing! 

Over the next few hours, little by little the Moon became harder and harder to spot. A dim red orb hung in the sky where once the brilliant Moon had bathed them in moonlight. It looked as if the Moon had been reduced to a dim ghost of its former self.

Supposedly, the natives were terrified. It is doubtful that they had never observed a lunar eclipse before, but they likely believed the gods controlled such events, and now, here was a mere human who could not only communicate with the gods but could predict his actions as well! Clearly they were frightened by this display of power.

The natives pleaded with Columbus to return the Moon to its former self. They promised food and anything else Columbus or his men wanted. They begged for forgiveness With high drama, old Chris told the natives he would just nip inside and seek a bit of counsel with the Almighty and see if he was in the forgiving mood. In this particular case, "the Almighty" was most likely an hourglass clever Chris was using to time the 48 minute duration of totality. 

Strolling casually back out from his ship, Columbus reappeared just before totality ended and announced that the Almighty Power was indeed in a forgiving mood and if the natives would thusly promise to provide food for Columbus and his crew, the Almighty Power would have the Moon reappear. Of course the Natives agreed and with much nodding, smiling and posturing, the deal was sealed and quite soon thereafter, the Moon was its former brilliant self. 

Thereafter, it is doubtful that Columbus had much trouble with the Natives. He probably even gained a bit more respect from his sailors but one thing is for sure, Columbus did have a good bit of knowledge from Persian, Greek, Islamic and European science. He reportedly had an almanac which he used to schedule the meeting with the Natives based on eclipse times! "

(I will finally get some time off after Thursday....been driving all over the ice in Tennessee last week, but what was crazy is three neighbors slid into our flower bed at home in Georgia......flew to Oklahoma! and back today....got groped at the OK airport......took the boys to Santa and they were happy to see another teen boy was there too with his parents).

Enjoy the Full Cold Moon, Lunar Eclipse (tell me if you see it!), and the longest night of the year!!

The 12 Days of Christmas Begins with a Gift of Plumbing

Today I was up at 8:00 and went to have my car's oil changed while I sat in a nearby Chick-fil-A reading a People magazine and having a chicken biscuit and coffee.  Next stop was having my hair cut and highlighted. Good Saturday so far. Eight or 9 weeks ago in the same chair my hairdresser told me I needed to go out once in a while with Hubs, just the two of us.  Yes, I told her, we will soon.

Today we were going to go out shopping and maybe have a bite to eat together.  We were going to look for a new loveseat because when we watch TV we have a sofa that is perpendicular to the TV and need additional seating.  We'd love a loveseat to put in front of the TV, which is near the fireplace--maybe even a reclining one.  That is what we said we'd get each other for Christmas.

After I got back home I checked my email and there was an email back from the water company.  I had finally gotten around to sending them a note as to why our water bill had doubled or and tripled in the past couple of months (no one there ever answered the phone which is why I emailed).  A customer service rep suggested looking at the meter out front to see if the meter was running and had suggestions on how to determine if we had a leak.  Yeah, right, I thought.

So we lifted the metal grate and looked down in the dirt...and there was water bubbling.  I called the emergency hotline and was told...if the leak is on our side of the meter (as opposed to the street) the problem is ours.  It was.  Panic mode set in as our elderly neighbor across the street told us he had the same problem a few years back and the pipes had to be fixed from the street all the way to the house.  Well, Hubs dug around the bubbling leak and was glad to see the pipe was copper (and not polybutylene).

The good news is a plumber was there within an hour and that I had a coupon for $25 off any service over $150 and bad news is the job cost the same as a new loveseat.  New plans for the evening = staying home and watching a movie on our sofa.

Soon I was off to pick up the two oldest boys -- and as I drove off I couldn't but think of this old Kenny Loggins song (Danny's Song): "and even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey.."

Earlier in the day when I was getting the oil changed, a neighbor called Hubs to see if the two older boys wanted to earn $10.00 an hour (!) helping at a Christmas tree lot.  The Hubs is very big on the boys finding jobs to earn their spending money so he roused them at 9:00 a.m. and they grumbled at first, but $40 each later they were very happy.  

Tonight at dinner Hubs told the boys how someone needs to go into the plumbing business as he met some plumbers today who made about 12 times what they made in about half the time.  

The movie we watched tonight was Winter's Bone, taking place in the Ozark Mountains--what a rough life--it certainly puts the plumbing bill inter perspective.

And now late at night, Hubs just told me his old, favorite movie is on...Body Heat with William Hurt and Kathleen Turner.  He is watching some of it and dvr'ing it.  It reminds me of how long we've been together and reminds me why we collect wind chimes and hang them on our porch.  Maybe we'll get a loveseat next month.....

Clashing over the Christmas Tree

I always described myself as an easy-going person.  But it became very obvious this year that I like to decorate the Christmas tree a certain way.  And I am extremely uptight about it.

But first let me say that I have been grumbling about how Hubs insists we get a real tree.  It seems we have had issues over the past four years with our trees.  Four years ago we celebrated our first Christmas in this house and supposedly I selected a tree that ended up being too tall and about 8 inches extra had to get cut off at home and it ended up scratching the newly painted ceiling pretty bad.  And then one year the tree didn't get watered one day and supposedly it dried out.  And a couple years ago to compensate for the under-watering drama that occurred, I overwatered the tree stand, and it overflowed and got under the wood floors in one spot and the floor buckled.  A little.

So every year I talk about getting an artificial tree, but Hubs won't hear of it.  This year he stated that we wouldn't support China if we bought one from the U.S.  I agreed.  So off we went to the usual Home Depot the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  We typically let it sit in its stand for a day or so.

Then he tells me that this year he'd like to have some colored lights instead of all white ones.  Since our ornaments have evolved into bright colors (a million years ago before kids we had Victorian looking tree decor).  I agreed that this would look good and wondered where I could find those bright jewel-toned lights.  Then he clarifies that he'd like to get those large, old-fashioned looking lights--the ones from when we were kids, that got really, really hot.  Well, we already have the old school colored lights outside, which look pretty neat, so I agreed to look for them (not thinking I'd find them).  And I do the shopping because there are actually some areas that I am not laid back and that is using coupons and saving money.  He would have never known that those lights were at Michaels crafts for buy one, get one at 50%.  So I brought home 6 packages (they are plastic over mini-lights so no hotness or electricity sucking from these).  I am 100% sure that we supported Michael's and China with that purchase.

I can't even tell you how bummed I was after I put these on the tree (23 years ago Hubs told me that he has no patience for lights and he'd never wrap them around like I do or push them way into the center of the tree).  They did not illuminate the tree.  I really tried to talk myself into trying to like them.  The boys said they liked them.  That helped.  But I pretty much grumbled to myself about why do I have to have the husband who has an opinion on decorative matters?  It helped a little knowing I wasn't alone--while in Florida for Thanksgiving, we sister-in-laws comiserated that we can't even buy dishes or linens without the Hubs' having to like them too.

Well, I couldn't finish decorating the tree because as you can imagine, with only 25 lights per strand the 6 strands didn't go far so off to Michael's I went again the next day and bought a few more.  But I still couldn't have a happy heart without some little white lights so I put some in the middle of the tree, and on the side that faced the window.  It worked.  The tree is now lit up properly for my taste and he is happy with the old school looking colored lights.
(I'm having camera issues with a blue tone on everything so I need to consult with the 4th grader on my camera to get a better picture....)

Actually last year I had evidence that I am a little particular with how the tree gets done.  We had brought my mother-in-law back from FL with us and as usual we bought the tree a couple days after Thanksgiving.  I of course had my 8 strands of little white lights that I had to put on thoroughly.  Then I have this order of other things to go on before the ornaments get added.  There's twisting ribbon that gets gets unraveled and wound all around starting at the top.......then gold bead strands....and some red beads.......then ornaments,.....and then I stick in these dried decorative sticks that have are twirly-swirly on the ends, and spray painted red or gold or blue.  I'm sure she thought I was nutso.  Come to think of it, she did head over to the artificial tree and enjoyed putting that together with Youngest.  Yes, I did get one when we moved here to keep on the screened porch.  If I hear anything next year about no white lights at all on the tree I may have to get another tree just for me......