I have been waiting!

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And now it's time! See me dancing around? No? You're better off! Okay, I found this a while ago and I was very excited. My kids looked at me cross-eyed and I'm sure many won't understand my excitement. But - every Christmas season when I was a kid, Frazier Thomas and Garfield Goose would introduce this little cartoon and would play it several times in the days leading up to Christmas. I remember not so much thinking it - but feeling - it was. Christmas. time!!! I'm not sure if this was only on local Chicago TV or not, but I hope there are a few of you out there who are old enough to have seen it and will remember and enjoy it.

Hardrock, Coco, & Joe

Stay tuned - if you are familiar with Hardrock, Coco, & Joe - you're gonna love Suzy Snowflake!!

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Obsessed

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There are people who would say I am a bit over the top when it comes to my Christmas tree. That I really don't need to take 2 or 3 days to put it up, with meticulous detail and order. I do not order my life like I do my tree.

I have mentioned that I am behind, my tree is usually up the weekend after Thanksgiving. So putting it up this week is way behind schedule but there is no way I could just throw it up without the attention to detail that it deserves.

The tree itself went up last night, and most of the lights. I got to the end of the last strand and was a bit short, but seeing as I had already used about 10 strands I knew I could rearrange a bit and there would still be plenty. I figured I would finish that up after work today. Lights, garland, glass icicles, glass ball ornaments, and then every other little thing. I must do it in order.

The lights were arranged to perfection, I did the blur test - looking at the tree with squinched up eyes to see only the lights - gives me a good idea if they are spread out more or less equally. Beautiful.

I was putting on the garland and without even a how-do-you-do - the lights went out. Every. last. one. I had a small heart palpitation but (in denial) decided I would continue with the garland and by the time I was done with that - all the lights would come back on by themselves. Uh huh, because things work that way for me, don't they?

When the lights did not come on again, magically, I did what I do instead of throwing a fit of some sort. I ignored it. I sat down and made a few snowflakes, watched some TV. The lights were still out. I was not doing Lamaze breathing yet. That would have meant I was acknowledging the problem.

Walking around the tree randomly shaking a strand of lights here and there didn't work so I did what made sense to me. I took the garland off knowing in my heart of hearts that the lights would spring to life again as soon as I finished that task. Of course I was not willing to think about the fact that once they came back on - it could happen again once I got all the ornaments on and the tree decorated to my exacting standards.

So, when nothing I did worked and contemplating throwing the tree out into the snow didn't quite seem to fit the situation, after all, I am an adult, I deal with a problem right? Of course I do! I decided to make everything better by doing something I do quite well. Put it off until tomorrow. For the moment - I took a picture or 2 and made blog fodder out of it.

I don't want to think about what I might have done if I had allowed myself to dwell on this turn of events much longer. This way - I have effectively distanced myself from it and have soothed myself as well.

Neurotic much? Not me!!

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I got nothin'

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I have not been reading blogs, currently I have 65 posts in my reader waiting for my attention. I have been Christmas shopping. Who hasn't, right? For the last 4 years or so I have bought everything online and I got a late start this year so I have been playing catch up. For me - the Christmas season does not even approach enjoyable until after I complete my shopping.

I decorated my blog, but not my house. It's midnight and I have clothes to put in the dryer, the dishwasher to run and some other chores before bed. No time for blogs!!!!

Can you say spaz? That would be me right now. I will calm down and be back soon. In the meantime - go back one post and make another snowflake for me. If I had more time right now that's what I would be doing! :)
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It's snowing!!!

I went over to Goochmedia a little while ago and she was making snow! I had to try it, it's kind of addicting - here are 2 of mine. If you want to give it a try - click here - make your own SNOWFLAKE and have fun!!























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Jingle all the way ...

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As I'm sure you've noticed by now, I recently got a new design for my blog. I am very happy with it and just found out that Lara, the designer, is having a contest where you can win design elements for your own blog! Since I don't have any reason to win now, I am not following the rules required to enter. But I am posting the button for the contest because I am so pleased with Lara's work, besides the fact that she is simply a very sweet lady. Click on the button on my left sidebar to see some of Lara's other work, or click on the button below to see the contest rules and win some designs for your blog!

I hope some of you decide to enter, and good luck!

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I have been very lucky lately it the awards department. I just received a lovely new badge from Holly at A Spiritual Dog Blog. The blog buddies badge! Holly knows full well that I am a cat person through and through but she and her small dog pack have won me over. Okay, I am still a cat person but I do enjoy seeing the pictures and hearing about Holly's dogs, especially Daisy the baby of the pack. What an adorable pooch! Thanks so much Holly!


I would like to pass this badge on to one more person who has given me an appreciation of dogs, Shelagh over at Cat Calls. She is certainly a cat person who recently adopted a huge black greyhound she named Alice. It's great to read about this dog being accepted (or not) by Shelagh's cats!
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Don't ya hate it when ...

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I have been tagged by Holly over at A Spiritual Dog Blog. She got tagged for a random 7 things meme, and she changed it up and made it 7 things that really bug you. Or tick you off. Or make you go postal. However you say it, we all have things that drive us crazy so this one should be easy, right?

So let’s go.

1) In traffic people who do not do the courtesy wave when you let them in when you obviously didn’t have to. They just drive on without acknowledging your act of kindness as if it was their right to slide in right in front of you simply by virtue of the fact that they are on the road. Makes me crazy!!!!

2) It really annoys me when (okay this sounds silly even to me) I am listening to the traffic on the radio or TV and they say there is an accident or a crash and then insist on calling it a “gapers block”. I don’t know about anybody else, but I slow down passing an accident because I am not sure what is going on, if someone might step out into traffic or if there might be debris in the road. It’s a safety issue to me, I am not simply rubber-necking and I would really appreciate it if you would stop saying that is what I am doing!

3) Loud people are so annoying when their volume directly affects the people around them. There is no reason I need to hear every detail of a personal conversation of a co-workers simply because they just don’t care how loud they are.

4) I hate it when I am driving my car at say – 5 miles over the speed limit and some moron wants me to go faster. Message to morons – if you get right on my butt to make me get out of your way – I get this irrational compulsion to go slower. Much slower. Just sayin’.

5) It annoys me to no end when I have to open an email attachment and another and another until you finally have 17 windows open to get the lame joke inside because the previous 17 people who forwarded it don’t know how to just forward the joke. My limit is 2 windows – after that I delete.

6) People on power trips irritate the snot out of me. If they have any control over me for some reason and they need to micro-manage everything I do just because they can – that will drive me right over the edge.

7) I will not, I repeat, will not forward an email no matter how cute the pictures, no matter how funny the joke, if at the end it tells me I have to send it to 15 people in the next 14 minutes or 13 really bad things will happen to me. I don’t respond well to threats.

Oh I could go on and on, maybe categorize my annoyances into things like email, telephones, driving, work, friends, family, etc. Yeah, this may have to be an ongoing thing. Wait – let me add a number 8.
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8) Family members who feel because they are family they can say anything to you. “Oh Honey, are you working on the weight?” ARGH-H-H-h!!!
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Now I get to tell you about something I like! Awards! Awards are so much fun and coincidentally I was given the same award by 2 very different people, Dixie from Deep Fried-Southern Style who basically said she didn’t know what the award was but she was passing it on, said in the colorful way that only Dixie can get away with!

The other wonderful award giver was Holly at A Spiritual Dog Blog, a sweet sweet lady who is the only blogger I know who can post videos of herself in her underwear and get away with it!! Read this if you want to see all the thought Holly put into giving out this award.

Be The Blog

I will most likely pass this on myself, but just not right now. I would like to say thanks to the 2 ladies who gave this to me as they are great ladies and great to read! Thank you!!!

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The verdict is in.

I called Dani before I left for work this morning to wish her luck with her court appearance for her Halloween trespassing ticket. She was nervous which I suppose any kid would be, but I told her it really wasn’t that big a deal and not to expect some big courtroom scenario like a trial or something. Tried to make her feel a bit more relaxed before going in there.

My daughter called me when she got out of court, feeling properly chastised and with a renewed sense of respect for the rules.

A $250.00 fine will teach just about any college student with only vacation employment that it’s not a good idea to buck the establishment when they have the power to reach into your pockets. She also got 6 months court supervision, which will be removed from her record (but not the Internet) as long as she stays out of trouble during that time.

I told her she should have told the judge she has a 4.0 grade point average (I’m not bragging, really) but I doubt it would have helped. She said the judge was very nice and seemed somewhat amused by the young people he had lined up, but it sounded like he had a standard way of dealing with this particular issue. Dani, as well as the other 16 kids who were lined up, all got the same fines. The county sure made some money on Halloween, didn’t it?

On the way out one of the girls who was there for the same offense saw an interesting spiral staircase in the courthouse and wanted to explore. Dani quickly said something to the effect of – “Oh no – we’re not going up there! We’re not going anyplace we don’t have permission to be!”

Good girl! Lesson learned.