Life in the Cracker Factory

and the search continues....

so we were denied for twiggy. why, you ask? oh....that one is easy. all because we said we'd be willing to crate a dog.

i have to say tho....i've been declined for a few things in my life, and never once was the denial so damn curt and well....downright nasty. oh well. que sera, que sera. and all that jazz.

so the search continues for another doggie. this should get interesting. i so don't want a puppy. so rescue is the only way to go and sooooooo many of them have that damn age restriction that won't place a dog in a home with a child under the age of 10. huh? whatever.

anyway....getting things ready for christmas around here. we're all decorated and the tree is up. presents are in various stages of wrapping and only a few special people left to buy for. and my in-laws. teehee.

john placed his very first online order on friday. i almost cried it was so monumental. keep in mind this is the man who only uses the internet for sports news and car parts - which he asks me to buy for him. (insert rolly eyes here) so yeah. HUGE deal around these parts i tell ya. HUGE.

good gawd....it's almost midnight and i have a ton to do still. damn. if i want to have my lunch / shopping date tomorrow, i better get my arse moving.

keep your fingers crossed for us that we find the right four legged fit would ya? thanks. see ya tomorrow! with pictures!

why do christmas lights

come in such ugly colors??

well. not ugly per se, but wouldn't it be much nicer if there were different than the standard blue / red / orange (really....orange???) / green combo.

obviously my lighting choices for the tree are annoying me this year as i stare at it in its non-blinking and non- seizure inducing glory. poor john has to suffer the indignity of non-flashing, light speed chasing lights inside and heavenforbidwhite lights outside. but i figure he can deal if my uber type-a self can deal with the inevitable clumps of ornaments carefully placed (thrown) on by the 6 year old. which, btw, are all at his chest height.

so the question begs....do i tempt the temper of a 6 year old scorned and rearrange them in a more um....pleasing arrangement while he's at school, or do i suffer through the mish-mashed clumps and just deal?

and while you're pondering that one, what color lights would you like to see?

well. i've officially gone off the deep end....

i just sent away an application to adopt a gorgeous 2 year old female yorkie.

aj has been begging for a dog for so long. after mugsy, to say i'm gun shy is an understatement. he was just a handful and then some. the damn dog ate the molding not to mention the plethora of stuffies, couch cushions, down comforters and that's just the short list. destructo-doggie. puppy mill reject. but man did we love him. then the allergies came. and so did the tears. lots of them.

but i think we're ready again. i hope we're ready again. but this time with a hypo-allergenic older dog, one who is house trained, with a good temperment and not a yapper. john even wants this.

so application sent. the dog is in queens i think. so cross your fingers for me....i fell in love with her pic and am hoping she will come home soon.

okay. seriously?

so i've been catching up on my dvr'ed (dvr'd? dvred? how the hell do you spell that???) shows tonight as i wrapped aj's christmas gifts. to say i'm confused is the understatement of the year.

grey's - okay. seriously? seriously! denny? don't get me wrong, but seriously? eye candy, yes. a ghost screwing izzy? a bit out there. shonda....wtf? seriously. and is it just me or did the whole thing between the chief with mer & xtina miss something. one minute they're both getting the look and the next they're in a supply closet - uh, edit much there? just seemed disjointed. and the whole "death" and "die" thing...i don't like it. not one bit. must say tho, still loving alex. even more so than ever. the whole i can handle crazy line....swoon.

then i watched heroes. another head scratcher. that show just got too damn confusing. so confusing that i can't even keep up anymore. but i can't let it go. odd how that happens.

then there was ugly betty. for some reason i just can't see the friendship between her and mark going anywhere. and the writers having amanda move in with betty? just odd. another total head scratcher.

the only show i can seem to follow and still love without scratching my head over the writers decisions is big bang theory. maybe it's because i get the geek humor. i dunno. but seriously....this whole thing is killing me.

and please, don't even get me started on smallville. i mean really....doomsday? are we following the cartoon (justice leauge thankyouverymuch) or the comic book? ugh.

so is it just me? has tv collectively jumped the shark? and if so will the fonz ever get together with pinkie tuscardero?

lots on my mind these days

somehow i've managed to overfill the void that taking the year off of school has left. between home and aj's school, i'm busier than ever. most of the time i'm chasing my tail trying to make up for things i've forgotten, but still. i'm short on memory, time and patience.

like today. i was ready to kill the boy. he wasn't paying attention to anything. homework was a battle royale like we've never had. i was so freaking busy trying to get my head out of my arse, i didn't even notice that something was very, very wrong with him.

poor thing had a miserable day at school. he accidently knocked over a cup of water onto his friend. of course the kid yelled at him, he was embarassed an almost cried. it ruined his whole damn day. and when i yelled at him before knowing this, well, it ruined mine. sigh.

i need to pay more attention to the details. there has to be something i can do to get my mind back from this thick fog that has enveloped my brain. double sigh.

in other boring news, i have 48 card sets ready to go for tomorrow night's vendor / craft fair that i'm chairing at the school. sold 45 tables, made a buttload of cash for the school and am petrified it will all blow up at me. ack!

oy vey. john's bitching. time for bed.

later taters. when i remember to update that is......

oh the weather outside is frightful....

and yet there is no fire inside, therefore, it cannot possibly be delightful.

obviously, i have christmas on the brain. must be all those damn cards i'm making, or the fact that i finished shopping for aj already and need to get it all wrapped before he starts seeing his presents that are not well hid in my bedroom. could also be that i'm considering getting the tree a few days early this year - before thanksgiving....the horror! we're just too damn busy thanksgiving day weekend. ugh.

anyway, i forgot why i started this post. damn i hate that.

guess i better get back to cleaning until i figure out what the hell i was going to say. ugh.

loosing my mind

seriously. no joke. i am loosing my damn mind. or at least my memory.

my dr's are looking into it. yes, i have more than one dr. and some day i may just say why. but for now, know that i am under medical supervision. and loosing my mind.

so if i forgot something, regardless of magnitude, please call me on it. i can't remember to eat. i can't remember to feed my child till he begs with hungry eyes. i can't even remember when i went to the bathroom last. hell. i'll probably forget i wrote this. short term memory is shot. gone. buh-bye.

so yeah. call me on it. please. too many people in my life are far too polite to tell me when i forget something. don't be, k?

if i get upset, it's because i forgot. not because you told me i did. i want to remember. i want to live. i want to go back to school. but for now, i just have to write things down and hope i remember where i put the list.

so yeah. call me on it. please.

so the votes are in....

as i sit here hacking away sick as hell, after an early morning of bake sale at the school that started for me at 5:15am (yikes!) and after an unplanned nap that followed a lovely bout of difficulty.....'m watching mccain's speech as i'm sure many of you did.

i want to share with you the conversation that just took place:

me: wow. i'm impressed. this is the best speech mccain has given since the 3rd presidential debate.

john: i really love those palm trees. can we get one?

me: .................

honestly. he is intelligent. i swear.

i have to say tho....i'm so damn impressed and proud at the turn out today. i witnessed lines at 5:15am in my little town. a steady stream of voters all day. that makes me happy. i don't care who you voted for. that's your personal choice and one i certainly would never try to object to or begrudge....but the fact that you voted. that is what makes me proud. we have these rights, we have this voice this ability to push a button, pull a lever (or in some states bitch about a broken one) punch a hole and ultimately exercise our rights. that is a beautiful thing. and that makes me swell with pride that so many people flexed their muscles and performed their civic duty. nuf said on that.

cross-eyed from coloring

after a weekend of being laid out, i found myself with a lot of time on my hands. so i started coloring. figured i'd make a few cards start a stash going....who knows, maybe set up shop at the vendor / craft fair that i chair at aj's school.

then john saw what i was doing. he thinks it's cute. he loved my snowman stamp and decided that i should make those as our holiday cards - altering the colors for those who celebrate christmas and those who don't. snowmen, he claims, are winter...not tied to a holiday. i agree.

trouble is, i already stamped out all of my christmas cards and was planning on making a few hanukkah ones later in the month. but how can i deny a man who likes my colored snowmen?? gah.

so here i sit coloring in snowmen and adding ridiclious amounts of detail for something 98% of the people i send to will throw away.

but something good came out of this.

i now know that i could never sell my cards. no matter how damn cute or detailed. they just take too much damn time to do. it takes me at least 20 minutes to color one image - and that's without mounting or matting or stickling. that's just applying color. so figure at least 30 minutes per card.

so while he snores as he;s supposed to be watching the rays beat the sox, i'm cross eyed and cursing since i have perfectly good adn easy cards sitting here mocking me as i painstakingly color in snowmen.

one day i'll learn to color in private ;) till then, i suppose i'll suck it up and appreciate the fact that my darling husband appreciates what i love to do. may we all be so lucky!

too pooped to pop.

pop off pictures that is.

today is picture day. aj went to school sporting a cute wrinkly button down shirt from old navy complete with skull & cross bone tie (that i can't find a pic of online....damn), gap jeans and of course, chuck taylors.

my friend janice said he looks like a burnout who got his head shaved for picture day. teehee. but hey. that's my boy. and i wouldn't have it any other way.

i should have taken my own damn pictures this morning - in fact, john was surprised i didn't. but honestly, the dark when i get up and dark when i eat dinner thing is kicking my ass right now! i'm having the worst time adjusting to the light change. heaven help me when the time changes! so mornings around here have been a little....shall we say, hectic? yeah. that works.

on the upside, i did manage an hour of cardio this morning, and despite skipping breakfast i should be okay in the protein dept. i'll add in a high protein snack later. like i said, mornings are just a bit nutty.

well. i'm off to finish the laundry and find the stamp i bought for my christmas cards and promptly lost. i know i bought it. now to find it. this may take till next christmas. then i think i'll color. i love me some coloring. especially with my copics. thanks to marge. muwah!

later taters.