Ten Things Tuesday- Christmas Memories

I am a little late today, but my clock/calendar says it is still Tuesday so I'm good.

Christmas has never been my favorite holiday.
Growing up, it was never all I thought it would be.

I never got a pile of gifts and a belief in Santa.
My mom didn't believe in that.

Sometimes I get caught up in the not so fun Christmas times.
They weren't all so bad.

This weeks Ten Things Tuesday is about Christmas memories.
The good and the bad


1. My grandma died
  The coroner listed the date of the death as December 22, but they weren't sure. She was found by my aunt on Christmas Eve.  24 years ago this year and I still remember that day.

2. My cat climbed the Christmas tree
   She was a pretty rotund kitty and as she neared the top, the tree started to fall. My mom caught her and the tree.

3. Kiddo's first Christmas
   We had a tiny 3 foot tall artificial tree. I turned on the lights, put her in her carrier, and set her in front of the tree. She was mesmerized.

4. Honeyman stringing up lights in the garage
   We always go to Christmas Eve at the inlaws. Not a ball of fun. But, we do it. Anyway, when we got home he backed the car into the garage and he had put up Christmas lights. We didn't see them when we left because we usually keep the car out except when the weather is bad.
He was so excited to see our surprise.

5. Picture time
   My mother-in-law used to always have this thing about family pictures at Christmas. Ever since my brother-in-law got divorced she has never done family pictures, even though he always has his sons. It is weird, but we just don't question it.
Anyway, when Kiddo was a toddler she was hungry, but she couldn't eat because pictures came first and other people were late. We had to wait for them to do pictures. She was not happy in those pictures.

6. A robe and nightshirt
   When we were kids we got 2 gifts from Mom and Dad and  they were not always toys. One year all three of us got a nightshirt and a robe. Maybe it was because I'm the youngest, I don't know. But, I didn't mask my disappoint too well and Mom got mad.
Give me a break! I was a kid and I wanted something fun.

7. Pissing off my mom from 200 miles away
   We don't go to my parent's home for Christmas. We go out about a week later. It has been that way for years. Last year they got it in their heads I was going to be there. I never said I would because I never do. About noon, I wasn't there and my sister called from Mom's and asked me because she didn't think I was going but the parents were sure. Mom blew up. I could hear her screaming. I felt bad for my sister. Later I called and talked to Dad and I didn't even talk to her. She was still pissed.
It's a gift!

8. A boyfriend getting me something he likes
  Technically we weren't together at that time. It was all very complicated. But, anyway he gave me a keychain with Taz on it. He loved Taz(Tasmanian devil), I did not.

9. Christmas Bells
    My mom has this group of bells that she hangs up every Christmas. A few years ago, she didn't. That was the only year I remember she didn't put them up. It always seemed a sure sign of the season when the bells went on the door.

10. Going to Grandma's
     We always went to Grandma M.'s for Christmas. Except one year. We got to go to Grandma B.'s. We never went there because it took hours to get there. But, one year we got up, opened gifts, and got there in time for Christmas dinner.
Grandma and Grandpa were so happy.


Do you have any special memories of Christmas?

Pimp That Ride

Even a station wagon needs pimped.

Don't you think?

 

The One About Thanksgiving

To all that will be celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow:

Have a good one!


To all others:

 Happy Thursday!


I really thought about reposting my lovely Thanksgiving post from last year.
Ultimately, I decided against it.
It is in the past and will remain so....
unless you really want to read how uninvited people came to dinner. If you do, go ahead and click here.

It's a different kind of year for me.
I have never been one to really enjoy the holidays.
Growing up holidays were more of an obligation to go somewhere and not necessarily where I wanted to go.

Since, we have moved here, we started our own day.
We stayed home.
I cooked.

It was small.
It was peaceful.
It was awesome!

This year is different.
We are going to my parent's home for the first time in ...
... over a decade?
Oh, wow.

I didn't realize it has been so long.

My parents are tickled to death.
All of their children under the same roof on a holiday.
That seldom happens.

I don't pick one day out of the year to be thankful.
I am grateful for things on a regular basis.
If I only waited til the 4th Thursday of every year, I'd really be a pain to live with.

But, Thanksgiving is not just about me and my thankfulness.
It is about my daughter being thankful she gets to see her cousins, aunts, and grandparents.
It is about my parents being thankful for having their whole family together.

So what if my nephew's ADHD drives everyone just a little bit insane.
So what If my mom is bound to blow a gasket at some time during the day.

I am determined that it is going to be a good day.

Now, I have to go make my deviled eggs.

Ten Things Tuesday- The 2am Epiphany

 

I am one of those people that can never just lay down and go to sleep.
Even when I am exhausted, I seldom can.

Things just pop into my head and refuse to leave.

I have even gotten up and written emails to state senators before.

So, this week's Ten Things Tuesday is about some of the great ideas I get in the middle of the night when most people are actually sleeping.


1. I should redesign my blogs.
   That worked. Until, I thought I should add a favicon to Yummy Stuff. I already had one for Welcome to Me. Than I realized I couldn't remember how I got the favicon uploaded. So, I have one made to be finished another time. Apparently 2 am isn't such a good time to do that.

2. Leaving your windows open automatically sends a signal to a skunk to walk through your yard.
   At first, you think it is a coincidence, but after it happens every time you realize it is not.
If you've never had the privilege of a skunk walking within 20 feet of you, know the smell is so bad it could singe nose hairs. The smell on the road after one has been hit- tame by comparison.

3. I'll just get a Roku so I can get rid of Directv.
   I have Directv. I am far from being a fan, but living out in the sticks has its disadvantages and that is poor TV reception without a dish. Of course ESPN professional football and NFL Network football games would have to be streamed from "dubious sources" and Honeyman wants to watch TV and not the computer. That could be a little bump in my plan.

4. School should have a later start time.
  Getting up at 6am pretty much sucks when you are wide awake at 2. But, it still should start later. When buses are picking up students in the dark, it's a bit early.

5. Maybe I should just stay up until Kiddo heads to school and than go to bed.
   That would work if I didn't get super tired about an hour later so I decide to nap for a couple hours. Then I feel worse than if I had just stayed up. And yet, I still keep doing it. Will I never learn?

6. Hashtag sounds like an illegal activity.
   I actually twitted this one. But, come on. It does.

7. A quitter never quits and a twitter never twits.
  And this is why they call it tweet and not twit when you post.
See, I'm a good thinker this time of night.

8. I'll get on Facebook and actually turn my chat on and see what's going on.
  Apparently, I am the only one up. Hmmm, strange.

9. I should have started the dishes sooner.
  I have a compulsion that says the dishes need to all be done before bed. If I don't do them, I feel guilty in the morning when I see dirty dishes. I can go around thinking I am going to wait until morning. Then at midnight or later, I will see the sink and realize I have to do them.

10. I'll make donuts in the morning. Get started at 5.
    I make breakfast every morning. Kiddo doesn't realize how good she has it. I had cereal everyday and I got it myself. She gets eggs and toast or pumpkin pancakes.
The donuts?
Yeah, that never happens. I can never seem to drag myself out of bed at 5.

Honeyman tells me I just need to quit thinking when it is time to sleep. I can't help it. I am a thinker.
Except I don't sit like The Thinker, that would hurt my back.

I Love It!!!!

 I grew up watching WKRP in Cincinnati. This is one of my favorite episodes. Here is a little bit.





I laugh every time.

Ten Things Tuesday- Redundancy

Being redundant is using more words than necessary to describe it, or repeating the word.

Some people don't realize they are doing that.

Saying the letters or words and than the word or words to describe it is what I am talking about.

Would you say LOL laugh?

No, you wouldn't.
Or at least I hope you wouldn't.

But, there are certain word redundancies that society seems to be OK with.
And it isn't until you say the words, you realize that just doesn't make sense.

So, here's my Ten Things Tuesday list of word redundancies- in no particular order


1. ATM machine
  We have all heard it. Most of use have said it before.
Why do you need to say machine? ATM means Automated Teller Machine, so you're saying Automated Teller Machine machine.

2. NFL football
  Maybe I don't pay enough attention to the rambling of the sports announcers on TV.
Or maybe this is new. Why do you need to say NFL football? NFL is National Football League.
Maybe they are saying it to differentiate this NFL and that other one over there, you know the one that plays chess.

3. ITBS tests
  This one is pretty much in Iowa, but I am sure every state has their own version.
ITBS stands for Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. When I was in school, we called it Basic Skills or Basic Skills Tests. When Kiddo was taking them( they only go through 8th gr.) she kept calling them ITBS tests. I'd tell her that if she was going to say the letters, not to say tests cause that didn't make any sense. Guess where she got the idea to call them that? The teachers. Yeah.

4. LMAOROTFL
  I know, I know, I know. There are no words after this acronym. But, it popped in my head so I am going with it.
This means Laughing My Ass Off, Rolling On the Floor Laughing. I get it. It means that something is just hilarious in geek speak( even if it isn't really). But, you said laughing once, do you need to do it again? I think not.

5. FEMA disaster relief
  FEMA is Federal Emergency Management Agency. That is what they do- manage an emergency which means the same thing as disaster relief. Is saying aid so hard? I mean really, how often in this world is an emergency so awesomely good that FEMA has to be there?

6. NBA basketball
  Yes, I already covered sports, but this makes a little more sense because the NBA players are not doing a whole lot of basketball playing right now. So, you need to specify. National Basketball Association basketball.

7. Puree in a blender or food processor
  You can't puree by hand. You can mash, but not puree. Common sense says, " Hey, use this nice electric appliance over there." I understand if you don't cook a lot this information could come in useful. However, it still is redundant.

8. Whispers quietly
  Have you read this in books before? I know I have.  By very definition, a whisper is quiet. If it isn't, the person doing it obviously needs whisper lessons.

9. Cut into dice
  Once again, another cooking term. To dice is to cut something into small pieces or cubes. I am not sure why you need to instruct someone to cut into cut in small pieces.

10. Fill the oval in completely until no white is seen.
    You know those tests where you have to fill in ovals? Why does it say completely and until no white is seen? Do you need both? They mean the same thing.

It Depends

I love getting mail.
Don't you?

A lot of times, I get freebies in the mail.
Some are stuff I sign up for.
Some are not.

Like, somehow I ended up with a subscription to Jet magazine.
I do not know how.
But, I get it until next April.

In case you don't know, Jet is a black people magazine.
It is geared to them and so far I have not seen a white person in any of the pages.
It is mostly entertainment stuff, but sometimes some actual information.

I don't read entertainment magazines so I don't have a clue why I am getting it.
I do look through an occasional magazine, but I don't care about people I don't know getting married.
Or how Will and Jada Smith are raising their kids.

Here's another freebie I got in the mail.
I was excited.

What could it be? It's from Kimberly-Clark. Maybe it's napkins or some kleenex. Awesome.

                              I can't wait. I just have to know. Free stuff, so it has to be good.

                                                                   Doesn't it?

                                                                  What the hell?



Sure, it's a freebie.
How the hell did I get Depends as a freebie?

Pic of the Day-11/10/11

Changes

Is anyone with me on this whole time change thing?

Meaning that it's crap.

I keep hearing how people love dalight saving time because there is more light.
There is no more light than if it were standard time. The government just moved it.

It is lighter because there are more daylight hours during the summer.

Between the winter solstice and summer solstice the days gradually get longer.
After the summer solstice, the days gradually shorten until winter solstice where they start lengthening again.

I read that the Department of Energy did a study that we actually do save energy because of the change.
Is it really due to the change?
Or is it because it naturally stays lighter longer during the same time frame as daylight savings time?



Instead of it starting to get light when I get up.
It's gonna be pitch black.
Awesome!

I have a hard enough time getting up at 6 am.

 Now, we have come to the end of daylight saving time.

And other people are excited because they get an extra hour of sleep.
Does that even really work?
Don't you kind of lose it at the end of the day?
You know, you end up staying up later since you are not tired and are more tired the next day.

I really wish it would be left well enough alone.
Just leave it standard time all the way around.

I used to know exactly when it would be.
End of April.
End of October.

Congress had to go screw with it some more.
After 50 years.

Yep, it's what I love about America.

Ten Things Tuesday- Memorable Movie Quotes

Some movies just stick with us, for whatever reason.

Maybe it has a lot of action.
Maybe it had a great story.
Possibly, it was just that hilarious.

In a lot of movies, there are pieces of dialogue that just stick out.
They are really funny
Or
They have meaning and speak to me.

I am sure it is that way for all of us.

Some quotes just come back to me time and again.

This weeks Ten Things Tuesday is on the movie quotes that I really remember.

1. " Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they never stopped to think if they should."
   Jurassic Park
This is so true of so many things. A lot of people do because they can and never think of the consequences. Or they don't care what may happen.
Ian said it to John.

2 "Intellectuals, liberals, peacemongers, IDIOTS!"
    Mars Attacks
I love this movie. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend it. Martians invade and the governments keep trying to be their friends. Most of the people seem to have their heads up their asses.
The general said it because he was mad no one would listen.

3. "It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me."
     Batman Begins
Isn't that the truth? It isn't about your name, how much money you have, or what clothes you wear. It's about the way you chose to live.
Bruce said it to Rachel. He was paraphrasing something she had said to him earlier.

4. " POTATOES! You know potatoes? Fry 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew."
    Lord of the Rings: Two Towers
As to why I remember this phrase, I really don't know. I just do. If you don't remember- Sam said it to Gollum.

5." You're goin' down like a sweet muffin!"
    Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
This was a funny, funny movie. About a group of guys playing in a dodgeball tournament to pay off a loan.
White said this to Peter during the competition.


6. "If you're here and I'm here, doesn't that make it our time?"
    Fast Times at Ridgemont High
So, the dude was a stoner. Isn't that actually true?
Spicoli said this to Mr. Hand in class one day.

7. "I do not think that word means what you think it means."
     The Princess Bride
Don't you just want to say that to people sometimes? I know I do.
Inigo said this to Vizzini because Vizzini kept saying things were "Inconceivable!"

8. " Now, get out of my Van Halen t-shirt before you jinx it and the band breaks up."
    The Wedding Singer
If you grew up in the 80s, you can definitely relate to this movie. But, my daughter loves it too so I'd say all around winner.
Robbie said this to Linda when she tried to get back together with him.

9. " When you grow up, your heart dies."
    The Breakfast Club
My mom always thought this was horrible, but in some ways it is true.
When you grow up, you aren't the same. You can't do things just because they are fun. You have responsibilities and to a teenager that can seem like you don't care about what they want.
Allison said this to the rest of the group.

10. " Life is a do over."
      City Slickers
 Life really sucks sometimes. Sometimes all you can do is start over.
Just because things have turned to crap doesn't mean they always will be that way.
Mitch said this to Phil after Phil majorly FUBARed his life.

So, what are some of your most memorable movie quotes?