Two Days Late......

and more than a few dollars short, I might add. My family has been sick with ear infections and bronchitis. Not wanting to expose me, we all decided it would be the smart thing to just post-pone Thanksgiving. You can do this with a tiny family like ours. No one is flying in from another state or making long haul drives from miles away. We are all right here.

So tomorrow is the big day for us. Tonight I am baking pies and tomorrow morning I will put two turkey breasts in the oven. Cooking a whole turkey is just wasteful for us as no one likes the dark meat. My family is feeling much better and everyone is looking forward to a good meal.......cooked by yours truly. After dinner we are going to watch "How to train your Dragon" and "Toy Story 3".

This morning I got up early, made a nice cup of coffee and got online in my flannel nightgown to take advantage of Black Friday. It was cold with snow flurries outside.....and the wind was whipping around pretty good too. I can now proudly announce that I have my Christmas shopping done. I found some killer deals and had some great coupons. At one place I saved over $60..... that's with their own coupons, plus promotional coupons I downloaded. I have to admit, though, that a lot of things I wanted to buy were sold out and it was early! Not anything "Barbie" was left at all but I did snag the Rapunzel and Flynn dolls. Also found Tinkerbell and two of her fairy friends. I was thrilled over that as my one granddaughter is really into Tinkerbell right now.

So.....we're late for eating turkey but it will still taste just as good and our feelings of gratitude for what we have.....be it ever so humble, are just as heartfelt as it would have been on Thursday.

Hope everyone's holiday was a good one and a safe one. I'll be back.............. (keep smilin')

Gimme a comfy chair, I'm plum tired.....

Well, the present shopping is done, now I have to wrap the effing things. The thought has crossed my mind to just hide stuff around my house, unwrapped, and play a game of "hot and cold" to let them search for them. But it wouldn't work out. You couldn't assure the right person would find the right gift. To say I don't like to gift wrap is an understatement. I don't know why either. Its really not that hard....its just something that I don't particularly enjoy. Maybe its the idea of all the work that goes into wrapping, and it gets torn up just a few days later. Gee....I don't know. I'm just plain weird, I guess.

I still have to get groceries and clean my house. This weekend will see me doing that, I guess. Then I have to work on Monday and Tuesday. I really do expect those days to be very quiet at work. A lot of people will be too busy to worry with doing business.

I'm getting ready to go up to the drugstore in just a few minutes. I have to stock up on Nyquil and Dayquil. Both me and my grandson are coming down with something....scratchy throats and a cough starting up. I sure hope we can ward it off with these products. They've always worked great before, so I do have confidence. I just plain don't have TIME to be sick.

Unlike last year, only ONE of the things I ordered didn't come in due to being out of stock. I did not shop at the same place as I did last year. Once burned, you know. They were horrible to buy from as far as online purchases. Packed horribly and even though I ordered WAY in advance, some of the things came in only a couple days before Christmas. So this year I used two other stores and have had very good luck. I think I'll stick with those from now on.

We have some nasty weather headed our way, predicting up to five inches of snow by tomorrow morning. I was supposed to make the dressing for our annual Christmas dinner at work that's being held tomorrow. Ordinarily, I would not have to work until Friday. I called and canceled coming in because I just don't want to take that chance just for the purpose of eating. One of the workers said if I'd still make the dressing, they would come pick it up in their 4-wheel drive. I have to laugh at that, but said I would make it so they could have it. Too bad they can't cart me back with the dish, but then I'd have to worry about getting home afterwards. If it doesn't look too threatening, I may still go in.....you know how it is....you never know with weather, its so unpredictable.

Well, I'm off to the drugstore.....battling traffic all the way. Its truly a jungle this time of year. HO HO HO. Stay safe out there.

My dog needs a Xanax.....

Well, it was early afternoon and the granddaughters, age 3 and 5, opened their gifts. The Barbies were checked out and clothes removed faster than a teen on prom night. Itty bitty shoes and accessories were scattered in the carpeting for grandma to step on in her bare feet, which is always a treat. What I don’t find with my bare feet, the dog will find and chew up. Next came the various other toys; strawberry shortcake dolls and accessories, Dora and the oh-so-street-wise Bratz. If Dora hangs around the Bratz for long, she sure will be getting an education on stuff I’m sure isn’t on her “map”. She’ll be wearing eyeliner and thongs with low rider jeans and end up skipping school to get 20 piercings just on one ear. (ever notice how the teens dress now? The girls wear 2 sizes too small and the boys wear 2 sizes too big. I have honestly seen the crotch of some kids’ jeans almost at their knees. I cannot fathom how they keep them up. But this is a whole ‘nother story)

My evil ex bought the one granddaughter a Wazoo or whatever its called…that toy totally disappeared after she blew on it LOUDLY for 10 minutes straight. If I have my way, it will never be found again. Toy ponies and cow girl hats and doll house furniture….it was like a toy store exploded in my living room. Within 30 minutes I heard the girls running and squealing with delight…back and forth they ran and an odd popping noise accompanied their laughter. I had to check and what I saw confirmed my belief that kids don’t need all this expensive crap. Those girls were playing with big empty boxes, wrapping paper and bubble wrap, as their toys lay in disarray on the floor. They were popping the bubble wrap at each other in a game of cops and robbers as they were running and hiding and also antagonizing the dog with it a great deal. Such fun. They played with that more than their toys. Next year I can save myself a lot of money….just go to the grocery store and get some empty boxes and then buy a couple rolls of bubble wrap and I’ll be all set.

Christmas is wonderful, but this grandma is tired out and I’m glad its over for another year. My dog is exhausted and stressed out to the max. The weather cooperated and we did have snow, although it was only about an inch or less. We all got together in the same house and there were no arguments, no hurt feelings, angry outbursts, snide remarks or injuries during this small period of time. This is as close as we can get to “The Waltons” but I’ll take it.

Christmas thoughts.....

With today’s economy being like it is, I am wondering how much the average person spent on gifts this year….not the amount but if it is lower or higher than last year or years before.

I found myself really being aware of the price of things this year. Groceries, for one thing, have gone up tremendously. So its going to cost at least 1/4 more to have that great dinner we always have at this time. As for gifts, I scanned the stores for sales and found that even the sale items seemed to be priced way too high. I know I have gotten these same items in previous years for less money…say, perfume, for example. So, for me, I bought less this year. The love is still there, in every present given, but there are not so many this year. I’m grateful that we are able to buy what we do. Don’t get me wrong…the kids are getting some nice things…just not as many. And we adults are not exchanging at all and that has really saved not only money but a lot of stress too.

A friend of mine starts her Christmas shopping in July. I always laughed at her for that and thought it was a bit strange….but now I am seeing that there is a method to her madness. She is able to buy a lot more and not have it strain her budget so much because she’s doing it a little at a time. I think I’m going to start doing that myself this coming year.

While shopping for others, I did see one thing I wanted for me. At night I turn down the heat, so I’m cold when I first get in bed at night. I decided to buy an electric blanket to pre-warm the bed. I received it and took it out of the package and laid it on top of my bed….not plugged in yet or anything. I came back to it about 2 hours later to find a hole chewed in it and the wires pulled out and chewed in half. Yep, my precious little dog at work. Thank God I didn’t have it plugged in. I had no idea she would do such a thing….so it’s a blessing in disguise. What if I would have put it on the bed, plugged in it and gone to sleep (the dog sleeps with me)….wahoo…fried dog and maybe even fried GRANDMA. So there’s $60 down the drain but I learned a lesson.

I am joyous and grateful for everything I have and thank God every day for the blessings He has given me. I wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas or a Happy Holiday, whichever it is you prefer. I probably won’t post again until after Christmas, so stay safe and be happy. Big hugs.

Saturday thoughts.....

Its late afternoon Saturday and the dog and I are alone. The house, once more, is quiet. No little footsteps running up and down the hallway, no bursts of childish laughter, no temper tantrums......and that's just the adults. Just kidding.......or am I? Really though, its been wonderful having my family here but its also nice to kick back and relax in the silence. My batteries need recharging badly. Plus that, I have books calling my name.

I'd like to give a big hug to the person who coordinated a Spongebob Squarepants Marathon for all day long yesterday. What a brilliant idea. It kept the kids occupied and out of trouble a great deal of the time. It also amused me. Am I weird or what? I love Spongebob. He is so irritating that he is endearing.

If no one pops in on me I have enough leftovers for my dinner tonight. Yum. By tomorrow I will be totally sick of turkey and all the trimmings but tonight it still sounds mighty good.

We still have light snow covered ground and its lightly snowing now. Supposedly tomorrow its going to warm up to 40 and then rain. Then its back to work on Monday. We are not going all out on Christmas presents this year.......only the kids will get presents. As adults we will give hugs and blessings. Everything is just so darn expensive and in most households money is very tight. Since so many toys have been recalled, I will have to be very careful in my selections.

And speaking of that........what is with some of these toys coming out? I was totally surprised at some of the offerings. A dog that you feed 'biscuits' to and those same biscuits come out as poop when you push its tail. You take those same 'items' and then feed the dog again with the same result. What kind of message is this sending? I'm not getting good vibes about that one. I've heard its one of the ones that's been recalled because of lead. Go figure..... How about the doll that you feed 'special' baby food to, only to have it come out the other end in a diaper? What ever happened to imagination? Aren't these little girls going to have enough diapers to change when they grow up? Now they have to change their TOY'S diapers. And isn't that going to make a yucky mess INSIDE the doll.......talk about a breeding ground for bacteria! Oh.......and how about the dog I just saw advertised today......he is a plush toy but he lifts his leg and pees. Yep.......you read that right. You have to buy little 'pee pads' for it. Toys are supposed to be FUN.........this sounds like work to me........not to mention I bet those pee pads and special baby food and diapers all cost a pretty penny to keep in supply. These marketers really have a money thing going here. I am NOT going to buy my granddaughters anything like this......I think its terrible. But that's just my humble opinion.