Monday

Taking a little break from my extensive to-do list-

I do have a few things crossed off, feeling pretty productive today. Scheduled some work too, woo-hoo! January 09 is already looking busier than January 08, so the year is off to a good start. Now if last month's invoices would just start coming in... Getting ready to do those tax forms, big huge fun.

Watched Rock Of Love Bus last night, that show has got class out the ass, my friends.

Ok, back to work.

End Of Vacation Blues

Yesterday we went out shopping so the kids could spend their Christmas money. Finally made it into Scheels. Holy crap! It is huge, I mean HUGE. It has everything sports/camping/fitness/hunting related that you can imagine, and then some. And, it also has one of these:


Note Evan's super cool outfit. He's all geared up for kayaking - we were there to buy him some gloves to keep his hands from freezing off. Shane took him to the whitewater park later and it was chillllly. Nutty boys!

Back to school/work tomorrow, and I am so not ready for that alarm clock in the morning. We've all been staying up way too late, sleeping in way too long - it's gonna be rough getting back into ze routine. You play, you pay, right?

Later-

Yo Yo Yo

I did it, cleaned the office yesterday. Took most of the day but it's worth it, so much better. I can actually see my desk!

Hopelessly addicted to the Bouncing Balls mind jolt game on facebook. It's good for zoning out and decompressing. And I kinda shred at it.

Also made a daily card yesterday, whoot! So I'm currently up to date for the year, or I will be after I make one today. Better get on that.


Other projects:

This hat, for me-


Mittens for the fam. One pair down, four to go-


We have had the most bizarre weather today, high winds, rain, snow, sun, slush, no wind at all. Think we about covered the whole weather spectrum.

Oh, and a special thanks to Kate for turning me on to The Tree Man. Lovely.

New Year's Housekeeping

OK, time to clean up le blog and get ready for the new year. I am personally glad to put '08 behind us and move the hell on. On my very first to-do list of the year:

• Take better care of myself. This means exercising and eating healthy food. Simple, right? Yeah.
• Clean up this office! No wonder I can't seem to get any work done.
• Start making daily cards again - it's a great way to stay in the scrappy mood. I miss my favorite hobby!

I'm not calling those resolutions, because that word just has too much expectation attached. Words I do not want to hear this year:

• Economy. Everyone, everywhere is talking about the "new economy," the "state of our economy," the "bad economy" - e-freakin'-nuff already! This is not raising consumer confidence and is stressing me right out.
• Bail Out. If you need a refresher on where I stand here, check last week's post.
• Hope/Change. Let's not overuse these two very important words.
  
• Jigglypuff. My son has taken to chanting this lately. Over it.

Switching gears. I didn't quite make my goal of 50 books last year. For 2009 I'm going with a goal of 26 books, one for every two weeks. Making a new list over on the side bar but for record's sake, here is a recap of last year's reads, with my favorites in bold:

37. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
36. Snow Flower And The Secret Fan (Lisa See)
35. The Broker (John Grisham)
34. The Motel Life (Willy Vlautin)
33. The Heretic's Daughter (Kathleen Kent)
32. Three Bags Full (Leonie Swann)
31. Fearless Fourteen (Janet Evanovich)
30. A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)
29. Stitch N Bitch Crochet (Debbie Stoller)
28. Worse Than Watergate - The Secret Presidency George W. Bush (John W. Dean)
27. I lock My Door Upon Myself (Joyce Carol Oates)
26. No Time For Goodbye (Linwood Barclay)
25. Boy Still Missing (John Searles)
24. The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwater)
23. 84, Charing Cross Road (Helene Hanff)
22. Black Out (Lisa Unger)
21. The Tent (Margaret Atwater)
20. Dead Sleep (Greg Iles)
19. The Book Of Lost Things (John Connolly)
18. Sharp Objects (Gillian Flynn)
17. Zombie (Joyce Carol Oates)
16. The Fourth Hand (John Irving)
15. A Friend Of The Earth (T.C. Boyle)
14. The Courage Consort (Michel Faber)
13. Tallgrass (Sandra Dallas)
12. T Is For Trespass (Sue Grafton)
11. The Historian (Elizabeth Kostova)
10. Lean Mean Thirteen (Janet Evanovich)
9. The Forest Lover (Susan Vreeland)
8. The Rapture Of Canaan (Sheri Reynolds)
7. I Am The Messenger (Markus Zusak)
6. The Madonnas Of Leningrad (Debra Dean)
5. Blood Memory (Greg Iles)
4. True Evil (Greg Iles)
3. Extremely Close And Incredibly Loud (Jonathan Safron Foer)
2. Fierce Invalids Back From Hot Climates (Tom Robbins)
1. Mortal Fear (Greg Iles)

Happy New Year! Crossing fingers for a peaceful, prosperous 2009.

PS I wonder how many blogs are playing this song right now?

Christmas: The Aftermath

We had a nice quiet Christmas, just the five of us. Missed you Mom and Dad! Big hit was the wii - we played it all night and day, and all the next day and night, and... so much fun! I've got a bit of a cold, which is giving me a great excuse to just relax and snuggle up at home. Been reading a lot, working on a hat for myself, and making some ATCs for another swap. Oh, and blowing my nose just about constantly. Blech. Watched a couple good movies this week - Step Brothers (totally stupidly hilarious), and Trans Siberian (intense!) and ate a lot of good food. Hope y'all had a great holiday, and a huge thank you to everyone who sent gifts and cards. Love you!

Oh Christmas Tree

This is our second year with the fake tree...I love it! Couldn't be easier, and no messy needles everywhere. The decorating went very smoothly, mostly because I have stopped trying to control the ornament placement. I didn't say things like, "the balls go first!" or "no, spread them out!" or "don't put that one on top!" Nope, I just sat back and let them have at it, and guess what? It worked out just fine, and no tension. The photos are dark and blurry but I kinda love them like that.




So cozy and festive, why don't we have a tree in the house all year?

Bail ME Out!

Well, it's official. The latest bailout is going forward, giving the auto makers a shitload of money the government cannot afford. Awesome. This really grates my cheese. Maybe if they had started making energy efficient cars that people want to buy instead of churning out the biggest beasts possible, maybe if they made some hard changes in the way they run their business, maybe if they were ultimately accountable for their own failure...LIKE THE REST OF US. And all the billions given to the banks with no strings - where did it even go? Things are still just as effed up, even after Citibank got bailed out twice. Shaking my head. And they called Obama a socialist, HA!

OK, enough ranting. Just couldn't help myself. On the holiday front, things are winding down a bit. Christmas break starts tomorrow, kids are excited. Last minute gifts being boxed up and mailed out today. I know it's late, and I apologize peeps.

I have baked/eaten enough sweets to last until next Christmas. Favorite of the bunch:

Peanut Clusters

• 2/3 pound vanilla flavored confectioners' coating
• 1 (11 ounce) package white chocolate chips
• 1 (12 ounce) can peanuts
• 1/2 (6 ounce) package almond toffee bits (Heath Bits O' Brickle)

Line baking sheets with waxed paper. In a double boiler heat confectioners' coating until melted, stirring constantly until smooth. Pour in white chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Stir in peanuts and almond toffee bits. Remove from heat and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Cool for an hour, or until hardened.


Deckin' the halls-







Notice that Evan is wearing shorts. This was a week or so ago when it was warm and sunny and felt like September. This week has been frigid. Single digits in the morning and raging wind, little bit of snow on the ground with more expected today...winter has bitch slapped us.