She Leaves and Heaves a Sigh and Says Goodbye

Today is going to be pretty low-key.  Leigh is still away at college, and Rebecca is getting ready to move on Tuesday.   To add insult to injury, she’s taking my new “grandson” with her.  Meet Dexter the adorable corgi.

Rebecca will be taking a break from her packing to spend some time with me this afternoon.  I invited my mother over for lunch (salmon and pasta salad), and Becca will be joining us.   It’s kind of sad to be bidding my daughter a fond farewell on Mother’s Day.   The sting is lessened, however, because she’ll still be around for a while.  She’s going to come back twice a week for summer and fall classes at a local SUNY school.   There’s nothing comparable in the area she’s moving to, so she decided to commute until she completes her Bachelor’s degree.  I don’t know what she’s going to do about her Master’s, but I’m sure she’ll work something out.

I’m amazed at how quickly Becca and Matt were able to put this move together.  At first, it looked like it was going to be difficult to find a decent apartment, especially one that allows pets.    They were very disheartened after looking at one unsatisfactory place after another.   But then fortune smiled upon them, and they found an apartment they really like.  I hope they will be very happy there.

Goodbye and good luck, my dear daughter!  (Becca is in the front of the photo.)

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mother’s out there.

Song of the Day:  So Long, Farewell from The Sound of Music

Isabella, We Are Rising

Wednesday morning, My Friend asked me to act as a model for her Reflexology display at a Wellness Fair at a local college.  It was great.  I lounged on a zero gravity recliner chair wrapped in a blanket, getting my feet worked on.  It was so relaxing.

Afterwards, I paid a long overdue visit to my chiropractor, who said that my neck was in distress.  That would explain the horrendous headache I’ve been plagued with all week.  While the headache is not quite gone, it is more bearable.  It also helps that we’ve had a couple of days of decent weather.  Yesterday morning I put some pansies into porch planters.

In the evening, we went to dinner to celebrate Leigh’s birthday. My baby is 21.

As for Easter, at first we weren’t going to do anything. My sister, Michele, and I declared that Thanksgiving and Christmas are more than enough when it comes to hosting family gatherings. We refuse to bear the burden of another holiday. It would suit me just fine to stay home and try to mentally prepare myself for returning to work on Monday (I’m dreading it), but The Ex invited us to his place. Fortunately, it will be very low-key.

Rebecca is taking me out to lunch for Pad Thai this afternoon, so I’d better get back to what I was doing (moving the light clothing up and the heavy clothing down). Groan.

Song of the Day: Easter by Patti Smith (from which the title of which this entry comes)

You Make Me Smile With My Heart

I’ve got a few things I want to talk about, but before I get to that I’d like to post the Bucket List that’s going around Facebook.  I was tagged by Penny.  (This list, by the way, is not the same as Fifty-nine Out of One Hundred.)

Things you have done during your lifetime:
( ) Gone on a blind date
(x ) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada
(x ) Been to Mexico
(x) Been to Florida
(x ) Been to Hawaii
(x) Been on a plane
(x ) Been on a helicopter (in Kauai, Hawaii)
(x) Been lost
(x) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang Karaoke
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t.
(x ) Made prank phone calls
(x ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(x ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Danced in the rain-naked
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(x ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x ) Watched the sunrise with someone
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
(x ) Been deep sea fishing
(x ) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
(x) Gone snowmobiling
( ) Lived in more than one country
(x) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(x ) Seen a falling star and made a wish
(x ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(x) Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
( ) Been on a cruise
(x) Traveled by train
(x ) Traveled by motorcycle  (It wasn’t exactly traveling, but I have been on motorcycles, as a passenger.)
(x) Been horseback riding
(x ) Ridden on a San Francisco cable car
(x ) Been to Disney World (Actually, it was Disney Land in CA)
( ) Truly believe in the power of prayer
( ) Been in a rain forest
( ) Seen whales in the ocean  (I’ve been on whale watches, but didn’t see any whales.)
(X) Been to Niagara Falls
(x ) Ridden on an elephant  (I have a picture of that experience, but don’t feel like digging through thousands of photos to find it.)
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying
( x) Been water-skiing
() Been snow-skiing
(x ) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
() Been to a Major League Baseball game
() Been to a National Football League game

On to the next item… The last time I saw Dr. What Do You Want Me to Do, he referred me to an allergist because of my frequent problems with runny nose and sneezing.  I went for allergy testing yesterday, and it turns out that I’m not allergic to anything.  I do, however, have a deiviated septum.  I also have nonallergic rhinitis, which means that I am very sensitive to irritants such as dust and odors.  Changes in weather and chronic health conditions can also trigger nonallergic rhinitis symptoms.  The Mayo Clinic notes that this condition can make you miserable.  It sure does.  Lucky me.

In other news, we are going to pick up our new car today. Our current vehicle is a 1995 Chevy Cavalier.   It’s getting to the point where we are putting more money than is fiscally responsible into a car that is fourteen years old.  So, we looked for the cheapest decent car we could find and decided upon a 2009 Hyundai Accent, ranked number 17 out of 35 in affordable small cars by US News & World Report.  The color is charcoal grey.

We’re going to have to be even more creative in our budgeting now that we’ll be adding a car payment to our monthly expenses.  Our car insurance has gone up,too,  but it’s not as bad as I had feared.  Daniel called around (including Geico), and the best deal we got came from Liberty Mutual.  They also offered us a better deal on our home insurance, so we switched that over, as well.  Wish us luck!

Besides picking up our new car, we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with take-out food.  I don’t want to go to a restaurant because they’re too crowded and you get the bum’s rush on holidays such as this one.  Take-out Chinese will do nicely.  Not having to cook is a beautiful thing.

After dinner, I will snuggle up with my sweetie, savor my Lindt Lindor Truffles,  and watch a romantic episode of The Sopranos.  We don’t have HBO, so we’ve been getting the DVDs from Netflix.  We’re almost at the end, and I have to say that I can see why the series was so popular.  I’m really loving it.

Speaking of loving, go on and kiss the girl (or guy, whichever the case may be).

HAPPY VALENTINE’S Day!

Reading: Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
Song of the Day:  My Funny Valentine by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart

Christmas Past is Here at Last

The holiday gathering at my house was very nice.  At least that’s what I heard.  I wouldn’t know because I was on my feet in the kitchen from 7:30 am until 9:30 pm.

Actually, I did sit down a few times, but the breaks only lasted for a few minutes.  I didn’t even have a chance to eat.  Just about the only socializing I did was when someone would come into the kitchen to either lend a hand (my sister, Michele, and my sister-in-law, Stephanie) or to get in my way (everybody else).

My mother came over in the morning to help stuff shells, thank goodness.  (By the way, Nancy, I followed the recipe on the Ronzoni jumbo shells box.)  If she hadn’t done that, I would have been greeting guests in my pajamas.

It really was a brutal day.  Little things were piling up and wearing me down.  For one thing, my ex MIL kept asking for coffee and ice cream, and this was before dinner, mind you.  Never mind the fact that I didn’t have any ice cream.  Anyway, I had a mini-meltdown at one point, and had to keep my face averted to hide the tears.

I’ve been feeling pretty awful since then, both physically and emotionally.   A lot of people have had a sad Christmas this year, and I know I should be grateful that all my family members were together, with everyone in festive spirits, but I can’t help feeling like I was left out. I feel like I missed Christmas.

And then there’s this god-awful pain.  By the end of the day, I was in agony.  Yesterday I was hurting so bad I could barely move, and today doesn’t look like it will be much better.  Every muscle in my body is aching.

Fortunately, my niece, Kristen,

took over the bulk of the photographer duties again this year.  I’m glad of that because there wouldn’t have been many pictures otherwise, since I was trapped in the kitchen for most of the day.

While Kristen was busy snapping photos, her sister, Rachel, curled up under a blanket with an Archie digest.

My ex MIL loved the afghan I knitted for her.

I wish this shot of my mother had come out better.  Her outfit was gorgeous.  Of course, she bought it at a thrift shop.

Penny was chillin’.

Ellie hung out with my grandmother and ex MIL.

Speaking of my grandmother, here she is in all her ninety-seven year old glory.

This is me in the kitchen, putting on the brave, false face.

And here I am on one of my rare excursions out of the kitchen.  This smile is more genuine because I’m finally relaxing.  (You will notice that I chopped off a lot of hair.  I was getting bored with my hairstyle and needed a change, but didn’t want to do anything too drastic… yet.)

By the way, in my last entry, I mentioned that we would be squeezing twenty-three people into my small house, but we actually ended up squeezing in twenty-six people.  My sister, Patti, called in the morning to ask if she could bring a friend who had no family and would be spending the holiday alone.  Of course I said yes, and even wrapped up a bag of Lindt chocolates I had bought for myself (I love those things) so she wouldn’t be left out during the opening of gifts.  Then I invited my cousin and her friend, Bob, to come over for dessert.  What the hell.  The more the merrier.

I do have to say that I received some really nice gifts.  I’ve always wanted a red pocketbook, and, thanks to Rebecca, I now have one.  She and her boyfriend also gave me a gift certificate to the restaurant that My Friend and I call “Our Place.”  Leigh gave me beautiful leather gloves with a cashmere lining.   The gorgeous boots and comfy slippers are from Daniel.  My ex MIL gave us money, bless her heart, so I guess that made up for the repeated requests for coffee and ice cream.

I have a dentist appointment for root planing and scaling this morning (oh joy, more pain), and a party to go to this evening, so I’d better get moving.

Song of the Day:  It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over by Lenny Kravitz

Make the Yuletide Gay

First of all, I’d like to thank everyone for the good mojo. Leigh’s ultrasound revealed a cluster of cysts, but they look benign. She’ll know more when she goes for her follow-up visit in two weeks.

Secondly, I’d like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Including me, there will be twenty-three people crammed into my small house. I set up three tables, but there’s still only room for 20. My brother’s two young daughters will have to find someplace else to eat, and so will I, if I get a chance to eat, that is. Hostessing duties will keep me pretty busy throughout the long, hard day I have ahead of me.

Today’s menu for 23 people:

Appetizers:

Crabbies (The recipe can be found in this entry.)

Mexican Chili Cheese Dip:

Spread softened cream cheese (8 oz) on bottom of a pie plate or quiche dish. Add contents of 15 oz. can of chili. (I use Bush’s or Hormel.) Spread contents of small jar of salsa over the chili. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly, approximately 20 minutes. Serve with Tostitos Scoops.

First course:
6 lbs stuffed shells
meatballs (I “only” made 50, so people will have to be considerate.)

Second course:

18 lb glazed spiral ham

Corn casserole (I have to double the recipe):

Melt one stick of butter. Beat 2 eggs. Drain 1 can whole kernel corn and put in bowl with one can of creamed corn. Add 8 oz. sour cream and 1 box Jiffy corn bread mix.   Mix all the ingredients together. Bake in a 2-quart, buttered casserole dish with a lid in a 350-degree oven for one hour. Remove lid for last five minutes so the top gets golden brown.

Crunchy Cole Slaw (Everybody loves this, so I have to triple the recipe.)

Dressing
1 cup oil
½ cup sugar
½ cup whie vinegar
2 packets beef flavor (comes with Ramen noodles; the block kind, not the noodles in a cup)

Slaw
1 lb. cole slaw
2 packages of Ramen noodles. Break them up and cook them according to package directions, although they should be slightly undercooked for this recipe.
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup slivered almonds
1 bunch green onions, sliced
2 carrots cut into strips

**Prepare dressing 2 hours early and do not add to slaw until ready to serve.

Dinner rolls

Dessert

I made fudge, and Mike’s girlfriend is making cookies. My mother and brother, Frank, are also bringing desserts. Michele and Patti are providing the wine. I think I’m going to need it to get through this holiday.

Click here for an interactive Christmas message.

Follow this link to see another special greeting from me to you.

Song of the Day: We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Scrooged

On November 18th, I received an email from a local company I’ve been doing business with for the past few years.  They make the best toffee I have ever tasted.  The email advertised free shipping, and informed me that I could pick a date for receipt of the shipment.  I wanted to give toffee to some of my co-workers, so I submitted an order the same day I received the email, and chose the delivery date of December 17th.  It did not arrive on that day.  I sent this email to the owner:

December 17, 2008 6:02 PM

Hello,

I was supposed to receive my order today (December 17th), but I did not.  I really need to have this order by tomorrow at the very latest.  Please advise.

Thank you.

This was the response:

Sent: Dec 17, 2008 7:03 PM
To: Stephanie
Subject: Re: Order Confirmation No: 359

Stephanie,

Thank you for your email.  Looking at our records, your order was shipped last evening.  You can expect it no later than December 18th. (Yeah, right.) Your desired delivery date is not guaranteed as stated on our website.  “Selected delivery date is approximate, not guaranteed.” (For the record, the email neglected to mention that fact.  Also, why would they mail something the evening before the requested delivery date??)

Unfortunately, we do not have control over your package once it leaves our hands.  (Excuse me, but they do have control over when the package leaves their hands, which is the issue here.) We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.  We ship hundreds of packages during the holidays and the best we can offer is an approximate arrival date.  For future orders, just write us a note in the comments section at checkout and we would be happy to fill and ship your order sooner.  (Why should I have to write a note in the comments section?  Common sense dictates that you don’t ship a package the evening before the requested delivery date!) We appreciate your business and wish you a very Merry Christmas.

The next day, I sent this email:

Dec 18, 2008 2:29 PM

I just wanted to let you know that I still have not received my order, which means I spent an awful lot of money on boxes of toffee I won’t be able to give to the co-workers for whom I bought them, since tomorrow is our last day of work before the holidays.  This is a most distressing (and costly) situation.

The response:

Date: Dec 18, 2008 11:54 PM

Stephanie-

We hope you receive this email in a timely manner.  Our suggestion to you is to check with your local PO first thing in the morning (before your postman leaves for his daily run) if this is at all possible.  I’ve seen cases where the postman does not deliver the package the day it arrives and we have found that our customers have found their purchase sitting at their local PO.  This does not happen often but has happened.  It has got to be there…It was shipped out the evening of the 16th.  We apologize for your inconvenience and please notify us that you have received your package.

This is the email I sent on the 19th:

Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 2:22 PM
Subject: Re: Order Confirmation No: 359

I received my order today (December 19th).  For the record, the package was postmarked December 17th, the day I was supposed to receive it.  (You say it was shipped the evening of the 16th.  That was too late to ship an order that was supposed to be received by the 17th.)  I’m really disappointed due to the fact that,  as I mentioned before, I can’t give the toffee to the intended gift recipients because I work for a school district, and we are out until January 5th.

The response:

Sent: Dec 19, 2008 3:42 PM
Subject: Re: Order Confirmation No: 359

Once again, we are not responsible for the length of time it takes the post office to deliver a package that is 10 minutes away from our bakery. (Huh?  WTF does that mean?) It clearly states on our website “A desired delivery date and not a guaranteed one”.  We do our very best to estimate timeframes and get our packages out in a timely manner and do not want any of our customers disappointed with our service. We have shipped hundreds of packages this holiday season and have had no delivery issues with our customers.  Something we pride ourselves on.

In saying that, please feel free to return the unopened package for a full refund.  Once we receive it, we will issue your refund.  Have a Merry Christmas.

My response:

Dec 19, 2008 6:57 PM

Of course, I already opened the package.  So, instead of a refund, all I want at this point is an apology and acknowledgment of an error on your part.  You yourself said that the package was shipped out the evening of the 16th.  Surely you have to admit that a package that was shipped the evening of the 16th could never reach its destination by the 17th.

It was not my intention to make such a big deal out of this, but there was something in the tone of your latest email that bothered me.  It was not necessary, for example, to tell me about the hundreds of packages that have been shipped without delivery issues.  The fact remains that there was a delivery issue with my order, regardless of the timeliness of your other deliveries.  There is also no need to defend the integrity of your business.  I never suggested anything to the contrary.  I merely expressed disappointment over receiving my order too late to give the toffee to the intended recipients, and pointed out that the package was shipped too late to be delivered in time.  The post office cannot be blamed for that.

I really like your products, and have enjoyed doing business with you in the past.  It would be a shame to have this incident leave us both with hard feelings.

Merry Christmas to you, too.

---

Is it me???  Am I turning into a Scrooge?? Or am I justified in feeling frustrated by the owner’s refusal to assume responsibility for the late delivery?  I just want her to admit that it was her fault, instead of blaming the post office.  The package was actually delivered in a timely fashion, considering that it was brought to the post office on the evening of the 16th.

Oh well.  At least it looks like we’ll have a White Christmas.

Before I go, I want to share a couple more photos with you.  This happened the same night we had the torrential downpour (and the leaking roof).  And we don’t have a chainsaw.

Oy gevalt.

Song of the Day:  Scrooge by The Muppets

Five Golden Rings

Schools are closed today, in anticipation of the big snowstorm that’s headed our way.  This means that I won’t get my last gift, and my Secret Santa won’t be revealed until we go back on January 5th.  Aww, isn’t that a shame.  NOT.

Actually, I am kind of curious to find out who would give me such crap.  I finally began to receive gifts on Wednesday, when I found three presents in my mailbox.  I guess the person was absent on Monday and Tuesday, or else they just plain forgot. Anyway, after opening the first four gifts, I have to say that I was better off with nothing.  Everything I’ve received has gone straight into the garbage.

It is very obvious that I am a victim of re-gifting. For day one, I got an ugly makeup bag.  It looks like one of those freebies you get when you make a purchase.  Day two: a sample size of stinky body wash.  Day three: a sample size of stinky body lotion.  Day four: a sample size of stinky body spray.  I imagine that day five will be a sample size of stinky bubble bath, or something like that.  Everything is from Bed, Bath and Beyond.  What I think is that my Secret Santa received a gift basket of all these items last Christmas or for a birthday, and is giving it to me, piece by piece.

It is possible to give tasteful gifts on a low budget.  I am living proof of that, having spent less than twenty dollars on the five presents for my co-worker.  On day one, I gave my gift recipient Crate & Barrel snowflake soap; six soaps individually wrapped and stacked in a clear box.

Day two: Pirouline rolled wafers filled with cocoa and hazelnut cream.

Day three: A Crate & Barrel twig kissing ball

Day four: Stefani Tadio’s popular sticky notes (That link doesn’t take you to an active purchasing site, but it does show a good sampling of this terrific item.)

Day five: A ceramic bowl with decorative potpourri

Last year I had a wonderful Secret Santa.  She gave me a really cool holiday candle, a gourmet candy apple, and pretty earrings. (I can’t remember what the other two presents were, but I do remember that I was pleased with them.) Oh well.  Maybe the real Santa will bring me something nice to make up for this year’s disappointing Secret Santa.

I know it’s supposed to be the thought that counts, but thought was most definitely not involved in this fiasco.  Bah, humbug.

Song of the Day:  The Twelve Days of Christmas

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

I took Penny to the vet yesterday.  She had a fever, so the vet wanted to check for Lyme disease.  The test came back negative, thank goodness.

So, what was the diagnosis?  Intestinal colic.  I looked it up online and the symptoms include restlessness and whimpering.  Yup.  I’m so relieved it was nothing more serious, and am happy to report that Penny seems to be back to her old self.

Since I wasn’t at work yesterday, I asked My Friend to check my mailbox to see if there was anything from my Secret Santa.  There was nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  A big fat goose egg.

I wasn’t going to participate in the Secret Santa gift exchange this year, but the organizer talked me into it.  The morale in the high school (actually, the whole district) is very low.  Ms. Organizer believes that the Secret Santa thing is a way to lift our spirits and promote friendly feelings.

Unfortunately, my spirits are being deflated by this whole thing.  I know that it is better to give than to receive, but not in this case.  The whole point of a Secret Santa is to give and receive.

This really sucks.

Song of the Day:  You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch by Dr. Seuss

Penny Lane is in Pain

When I got home from work yesterday, the first thing I did was hitch Ellie to her lease to take her out to do her business.  As I was closing the door, Penny got in the way and the door hit her.  Not hard, though, so I didn’t think anything of it.  When I came back inside, I fed the dogs, got dinner started, and sat down to watch General Hospital and work on the afghan I’m knitting as a Christmas present for my father.

Penny was lying on a fleece doggie bed at my feet.  She kept moving around, as if she couldn’t find a comfortable position.  What’s worse, she was whining, whimpering, and crying.  I picked her up and sat her on my lap, but the moving around and crying continued.  I put her back on the floor and she surprised me by going to her crate.  (There’s another doggie bed in there.)

I was getting very worried.  This was not like her at all.  I called Daniel to see if he would be able to leave work to take her to the vet if I could get an appointment.  Unfortunately, the receptionist at the vet’s said they wouldn’t be able to see her until the next morning.

Besides constantly changing position and whimpering, poor Penny was shaking uncontrollably.  When Daniel got home, he took her upstairs and put her under the covers. At one point, her head snapped back and she made a scary sound, sort of a strangled yelp.  She continued to squirm around, but finally settled down.

During the night, her yelping woke me up, but she went back to sleep pretty quickly, so I was able to do the same.   She seems better this morning, but I still want to have her checked.

In other news, our Secret Santa gift swap at work started yesterday.  Each day this week, we are supposed to leave a present in the mailbox of the person whose name we picked.  As luck would have it, I picked the name of one of the few co-workers I can’t stand. Nevertheless, I placed gift number one in her mailbox yesterday morning.

I checked my own mailbox at various times throughout the day only to come up empty handed by the time I left.  Perhaps the person who picked my name was absent… Still, it was disappointing.   I’ll be absent today, but made arrangements for My Friend to put gift number two in Ms. Co-worker’s box.  Even though I’m not crazy about her, I wouldn’t want her to feel left out the way I did yesterday.

Song of the Day:  I’m Gettin Nuttin’ For Christmas (‘Cause I ain’t been nuttin’ but bad.)

Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera

The Christmas edition of “Getting to know you.” (My Friend sent this to me via email.)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both.  Bags are easier, but unwrapping presents is part of the fun, so I always make sure to wrap some gifts.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real.  This year, we have a gorgeous Fraser Fir.

3. When do you put up the tree? The first or second weekend in December.

4. When do you take the tree down? The first weekend of the New Year.

5. Do you like eggnog? It’s okay…

6. Favorite gift received as a child? A Mary Poppins doll.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Daniel.

8. Easiest person to buy for? My brother, Mike.  (A gift certificate to Outback.) Even though my siblings and I have agreed not to exchange gifts this year (and that includes the kids), I wanted to get something for Mike because of all he’s been through.  He owes $60,000 in medical bills, and can’t afford to eat out anymore, so I thought this would be a nice thing to do for him and his girlfriend.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, but I haven’t put it out in years because there’s no place to set it up.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Snail mail.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don’t think I ever received a gift for which I wasn’t grateful.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Nightmare Before Christmas

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? The day after Christmas (for the next year, obviously)

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I can’t remember ever doing that.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Crabbies!

16A. Lights on the tree? Yes, multi-colored.

16B. Lights outside? No; we don’t have an outdoor outlet.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Oh holy night.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I’ll be home for Christmas.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder (or Donner) Blitzen and Rudolph.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? A star made out of grapevine.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Having to be super frugal.

23. Favorite Ornament theme or color? I’m not into themes.  Since red is my favorite color, I guess that’s what I’ll go with.

24. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? We typically have a pasta dish (this Christmas, I’m making stuffed shells) and some kind of meat.  I usually make a turkey, but wanted to do something easier this year, so I’ll be making a spiral ham.  Personally, I hate ham, but most of my family members like it.  Maybe I’ll make a turkey on New Year’s Day, just for us.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? SHOW ME THE MONEY.

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Frosty the snowman.

26. Who is least likely to respond to this? The Grinch.

Song of the Day:  Getting to Know You from The King and I