Thankfully Crazy?

Mood: Thankful (what? It's like the whole point of the holiday, no?)
On TV: Hell's Kitchen (It is Wednesday and nothing like seeing some chef butt kicked to start the holiday off right!) 

Tonight I have made two pumpkin pies, two chocolate pies and one banana pie. I also have bags filled with all the fixings necessary to feed a standing army of approximately 5,000 hungry soldiers - or my family. Tomorrow I will take said fixings to my mother's house where I will spend hours with my sisters preparing an awesome feast that the hungry masses will annihilate in a mere 20 minutes. What can I say? It's tradition!

You know what else is tradition? Black Friday shopping! But seriously? What is up with the whole "go to the store at 3:00 am" crap? People, we have got to stop the insanity! Most of us will spend all day tomorrow with family and friends, eating ourselves into a carb induced coma, and then we're expected to drag our tired, pie filled selves out of bed in the middle of the night to schlep through the freezing cold of a November night to save $10 on something that we probably don't even want to begin with? I. don't. think. so! There really isn't anything I want badly enough to stand in line for in the middle of the night.*

However, it's tradition so Scott and I will drag ourselves out of bed somewhere around the crack of 10:00 am on Friday (and that's a bit too early for our liking on a day off). We'll curse the crowds, we'll find some good deals on Christmas gifts, we'll see Santa** and we'll do it all with the benefit of a full night's sleep because that's what sane people do. And really? If hubs and I are the measure of sanity in any given situation then people really need to reevaluate their life choices.

*Okay, there was the Harry Potter book thing but that was different.

** Don't judge me - how else is Santa going to know that I want a Nook Color for Christmas?

Moving on Up?

Mood: Angsty (Just out of sorts and can't settle my mind to anything - even writing - which is what I should be doing)

On Tv: Hoarders (Someone please tell me why I am so fascinated by the amount of filth in which some people are comfortable living?)

Is there anything more fun that getting together with friends and family to move an entire household full of stuff for my mother in one night? No? I didn't think so. So, that's what the hubs and I - and the rest of my family and some friends gathered to do last Thursday night after work.

Some of us were obviously a bit more excited about the upcoming move than others...




At one point in the evening's work, my sister Sarah and I found ourselves left in charge of entertaining our four nephews and two nieces (all under the age of 8) in a house that was nearly empty and devoid of any meaningful forms of entertainment outside two already tired aunties.

Striving to provide entertainment for the restless masses, Sarah and I sang endless verses of Jingle Bells, The Wheels on the Bus and various other half remembered childhood songs - thankfully none of the kids knows how to operate a video recorder so these precious moments of humiliation (complete with the accompanying movements to act them out) were not preserved for public consumption via YouTube.

Through the course of the evening I found myself saying things that I never thought I'd say. My favorites?

*Stop licking your sister (really? Why are you licking your sister?)
*Stop chewing on your feet (although I admire your flexibility)
*Stop chewing on your brother's/sister's feet (Ewwww...just...ewww)
*Don't shove that in your: nose, ears, mouth (because Auntie Rhonda is not going in after them)
*Don't shove that in your sister's/brother's: nose, ears, mouth (ditto on this one)
*Stop throwing your sister's dirty diaper around (Also, I don't need your comments on the contents and/or odor associated with that diaper)
*Stop throwing YOUR dirty diaper around (ditto here)
*No. You cannot eat Styrofoam. (although I appreciate your attempt to provide for yourself)
*No, tossing ripped up Styrofoam does NOT mean it's snowing (but it does mean Auntie Rhonda's eye is starting to twitch uncontrollably).

Luckily my sister Amanda and her husband showed up before they started making snow angels in the living room.
Next time? I'm going to take a page from my brother's book and just give them some cash to behave.

The Good, The Bad, and The Super Cute!

Mood: Sleepy but accomplished (Way past my bedtime but managed to balance the checkbook and pay the bills, so I'm calling it a win!)

What I'm Watching: College Cheerleading Championships (Guess I'm a glutton for punishment because I can't think of a better way to completely destroy my self esteem than by watching a bunch of perfectly toned, tanned, tiny, athletic women half my age flying through the air in perfect synchronization).

Because it's so super late this is just going to be a mini-blog.

First, the good.

My latest obsessions?
1. Make it or Break it. I LOVE this new show on ABC Family. Gymnastics, drama, what's not to love?
2. McDonald's sweet tea. Yummy.
3. Watermelon. It's finally in season and affordable...YUMMY!!!

Now, the bad.

My latest annoyances?
1. Stupid people (okay, this is both ongoing and a given but it still makes the top of the list)
2. People who "borrow" (read: steal) the office supplies off of my desk. People? I NEED those supplies to effectively do my job, that's why they're on/in my desk. If you need a tape dispenser, a stapler, highlighter, etc. Go.Get.Your.Own. Or, at least have the decency to return mine when you're finished. (Also? the person who took my 'to do' list a few months ago? You're still on my list!).
3. Running to answer the phone at work only to hear a "click" and dial tone on the other end.
4. People who take their personal angst out on me. I don't care if you have PMS, got up on the wrong side of the bed or are just in a pissy mood. It's not my fault nor is it my problem so don't take your issues out on me!
5. Blogger...I've tried to post this blog entry for the last half hour. It has frozen up, refused to upload pictures without the use of some four letter words on my part and then will not allow me to use my new, super cool signature. Blogger...you are officially ON.MY.LIST!

Finally, the super cute. My little niece. I can neither confirm nor deny that Auntie Rhonda was an instigator in the completely inappropriate sticking out of the tongue captured in this photograph!




If that little face doesn't make you smile, there's no hope for you at all.