Shopping Solo

Today I got in a bit of a snit because of Dan’s excessive computer gaming this week. I decided that as soon as the Christmas stuff was taken down and packed up, I would go shopping… ALONE.

Despite the fact that it started off with a bad attitude on my part, it was an altogether lovely experience. I went to Old Navy, Ross, Panera, Kohl’s, Hecht’s, Gymboree, B Dalton, and Gap. (Maybe a few others as well, but that’s all I have receipts for.) I even considered taking in a movie, but there wasn’t anything playing that interested me that much. (Seems I’ve missed Pride & Prejudice, darn it!)

• I ate when I wanted to (instead of when Sophia was ready and Trevor started nagging). And I didn’t eat a proper lunch, just a bagel and a yummy coffee drink because that’s what I wanted to have.
• I took as long as I wanted to look at the things that interested me, without feeling guilty. I even tried some clothes on in the dressing room!
• I walked past the toy department without having to stop (or worse, negotiate).
• I walked at a brisk pace (instead of the mommy mall stroll).
• I didn’t once have to say, “Come here,” or “stay with me.”

I didn’t spend much money — most of my purchases were on gift cards, so I think I only spent $20 but came home with enough bags to make Dan and Trevor say, “wow” when I walked in. It was a great afternoon of solitude!

My Year in Movies

Well, I suppose I would be remiss if I didn’t do a year in review post of some sort. So I’ve decided to take a fond look back at the movies I saw in 2005. These are movies that I saw in the theatre, not Netflix rentals or TV adaptations.

All told, I saw 15 movies at the theatre this year. Five of them, I absolutely loved:

1. Madagascar — it was just so funny and so clever. Plus I really loved the “I Like to Move It” dance sequences.
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire — an excellent adaptation of the novel, even though they did have to leave large chunks out due to time constraints.
3. Hitch — a great movie start to finish, very funny and sweet and relevant. Plus Will Smith is just so darn likeable!
4. Meet the Fockers — oh my, I don’t know if I have ever laughed that hard at a movie before or since! It was just hysterical, and the casting of Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman was terrific.
5. Polar Express — I was biased on this one, since I have owned and loved the book for about ten years. The movie was great and the computer animation was fantastic too.

Somewhere in between “loved it” and “liked it a lot” was Herbie: Fully Loaded. It was a good, wholesome movie and true to the classic Herbie movies that I loved as a kid.

Out of the 14 films, there was only one that I truly hated: War of the Worlds starring Tom Cruise. Ugh. The only reason I didn’t walk out of the theatre was because I was afraid that if I did, the story would stick with me longer than if I stuck it out. Thankfully, I only paid $1 to see it, at the grand opening of our new stadium style theatre.

The rest of the movies I saw, which were just “okay,” were:

1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — not surprisingly, the book was much better
2. Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith — hard to feel good about such a downer of a movie
3. Robots — my kids liked it but I could have done without seeing it.
4. In Good Company — I love Dennis Quaid in just about anything — he has a terrific smile.
5. The Interpreter — I enjoyed the trailer more than I did the actual movie
6. Red Eye — very suspenseful and at times funny. Another movie with a great trailer.
7. Monster in Law — Jane Fonda was great in her role as a controlling mother.
8. Chicken Little — it was a little too intense to be a kids movie. Sophia was scared through most of it, but after the fact she seems to have enjoyed it.

My Ugly Monkey

I bought this statue at a yard sale several years ago for $6. I saw it and immediately liked it, but I thought $6 was a little too high, so I left. As I went about my business, the more I thought about the mokey. I wished I had bought it, so I went back to get it. Trevor was with me at the time and he was absolutely horrified. “Mom, this?!?!?” he yelled. “It’s so ugly!”

I brought it home and Dan agreed with Trevor. He also added that it looked like the monkey was sitting on the toilet. ha ha ha.

From that point on it was a matter on which we would poll our guests. Is the monkey ugly or cute? If I am recalling correctly, my mother is the only one who said she liked it.

I like my monkey — I bought him mainly because he’s holding a book, so I thought he would look good on my bookshelves. And he does, ugly or not.

A True Friendship

Today I was lucky enough to get a visit from my old friend, Joanne. Joanne and I have known each other since we attended Miss Ridah’s kindergarten:

(I’m in the same row as the teacher, the second student over. Joanne’s in the dark blue dress, second from the left in the row in front of me.)

Joanne and I went to different elementary schools and ended up crossing paths again in Girl Scouts and in middle school. We were the best of friends — having sleepovers and going on trips, shopping and talking on the CB radio in her dad’s school bus. (My handle was Precious Gem. LOL) We both had pen pals all over the world and even were the subject of a local newspaper article as a result:

Joanne and I lost touch after high school… she got married and I went to college, vowing never to get married and “settle down.” Through the magic of the internet, she was able to locate me about 3 years ago… I had been simultaneously searching for her but had hit some dead ends. We talked a few times on the phone and by email and found out that — just like we did in middle school — we still had a lot in common… everything from being stay-at-home moms to our love of scrapbooking.

Every time I get together with Joanne (not as often as I would like, since she lives 4 hours away and we both tend to be busy with our kids and assorted activities), I am amazed at how this friendship could endure so many years “on hold,” then pick up right where it left off. I am as comfortable with her as if she were my sister, and in fact, her family is as much a part of my childhood memories as my own. We can talk about anything and everything and be 100% real with each other.

I feel very blessed to have reconnected with my old friend. I love you, Jo!

Julie

Another Late Night

“I’m sorry, Julie. I didn’t have anything to do with it. I didn’t even wrap it.”

This is what a friend told me as her husband gave My Man Dan his Christmas present — the computer adventure game Guild Wars. Why the apology, you may ask? Well, apparently this seemingly innocuous computer game is highly addictive, to the point where grown men (even those with jobs) stay up until 3 or 4 AM playing the game. Dan’s online right now, playing the game with his buddy while simultaneously talking on the phone with him.

I’m not alarmed yet. It’s 11:20 and I’m not ready to go to bed yet. I still have half a dozen things to do tonight (at least!). But when they’re done, and I let my DH know that I’m ready to head back to the bedroom, I will probably have to wait an additional 30-60 minutes before he disengages. (This is what happened last night.)

I’m not alarmed yet… but I am suspiciously cautious. And yes, I’m jealous too. I would love to be able to devote that much of my time and attention, guilt free, to my favorite hobby.

A few Christmas Pics

Okay, I’m old fashioned when it comes to my photographs. I prefer film over digital. I know I am the last of a dying breed (but my friend Joanne agrees with me, so at least I am not completely alone on this one!). Here are a few pictures I took with the digital camera. The good ones will be developed later this week.

Trevor videotaping an “extreme close up” of his face with his new Vidster while watching same on TV.

Sophia playing with her “princess drawing thing” (aka Disney Dream Sketcher) while Dan watches. She’s also wearing her new Gymboree “Prima Ballerina” outfit.

Miss Daisy next to a teddy bear that recites “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” in its entirety while moving slightly from side to side. (I much prefer the cat, frankly.)

Dan got me a lava lamp! Groovy, man!

We hope you’ve had a very merry Christmas!

PC Holiday Greetings

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or the secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious or secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

May you have a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped to make our country the uniquely wonderful place that it is (not to imply that our country is necessarily greater than any other country, including yours, should yours be different from mine, but nonetheless including and recognizing the distinctiveness of our country) and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, political belief, choice of computer platform or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for himself (or herself) or others, is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and the warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

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Or, as we say here, Merry Christmas, everyone!
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I Scrapped Today

I finally had a chance to scrap for the first time this month, not counting the work I did on my brother’s scrapbook. So I managed to eke out two pages in our 2005 family album, this being the second one. I’m still almost two months behind, which may not seem bad, but the annual family album is the only one I’ve ever kept current on, so it bothers me to be that far behind.

Meanwhile, my new “smart” scanner won’t scan my scrapbook page… it scans each individual section and gives me the JPEG equivalent of a jigsaw puzzle. This photo is just a blurry digital camera shot, so squint a little for the full effect. LOL

I have also been technologically challenged with my keyboard today. Months of looking down at it and thinking, “Hmmm, I ought to clean that up,” and then doing nothing, has finally caught up with me. My left shift key (the only one I use) is stuck and I can’t capitalize without nearly spraining my finger and muttering under my breath quite a bit. Maybe tomorrow I will get around to cleaning out the keyboard. Then again, maybe I will scrap some more. LOL

Farewell to an Old Friend

Today we said goodbye to Katrina Sue, Dan’s cat that he’d had for 15 years (longer than he’s had me! LOL). He got her when he was stationed in Germany, back around 1990/1991.

She had been suffering lately with a weird type of skin cancer. It would eat away at her nose and one of her ears — crusting up in a big black scab and then falling off, only to get bloody and sore again. After consultations with our veterinarian, we decided that since she was still mobile and had a good appetite, she was not suffering, and decided not to put her down until it seemed more necessary for her comfort. In other words, she was a sight to look at but otherwise seemed unaffected by the cancerous lesions on her head.

Her condition had seemed to get worse over the last few days… she seemed to be having trouble breathing and was not comfortable in the cold weather outside. I had planned to talk to Dan about having her put down but decided to wait until after Christmas. But today she was hit by a car and died almost instantly. One of those cruel twists of fate that ends up being a hidden blessing, but still leaves you with an ache in your heart. We will miss her.

Easy Out

Last night I was trying to get our family calendar printed out for relatives’ Christmas gifts and wondering what I would write for the day. Fortunately, I lost internet service well into the wee hours of the morning, so I didn’t have to worry about it. (Well, okay, I could have written something up in Word and saved it, but I wasn’t that uptight about it!) Now that I’m back online, I checked my friends’ blogs to see what they were up to and discovered that Angie had tagged me for Seven Things! Yay! So without further ado, here are my lists of seven things:

Seven Things to Do Before I Die:

1. Get caught up on all of my scrapbooking projects
2. Go back to England
3. Reconcile with my brother
4. That weeping willow tree thing 😉
5. Learn to speak Italian
6. Enjoy an “empty nest,” since Dan and I have never had one
7. Work strictly for fun, not for money

Seven Things I Cannot Do:

1. Read without noticing (and then correcting) typos
2. Be impulsive
3. Drive a vehicle with manual transmission
4. Talk to people I don’t know very well
5. Watch movies with blood & gore
6. Turn down a free drink
7. Make a list of seven things without being interrupted about seven times

Seven Things That Attract Me To My Spouse:

1. His eyes
2. His playfulness
3. His intelligence
4. His values
5. His support
6. His dedication to family
7. The whole package, really!

Seven Things I Say (or Write) Most Often:

1. Really?
2. We’ll see.
3. I love you.
4. Amen.
5. Whoo hoo!
6. Yikes!
7. Sheesh.

Seven Books (or Series) I love:

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
2. The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
3. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
4. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
5. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
6. The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George
7. I Was a Better Mother Before I Had Kids by Lori Borgman

Seven Movies I Would Watch Over and Over Again:

1. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
2. Shakespeare in Love
3. The Princess Bride
4. My Cousin Vinny
5. King Arthur
6. Star Wars (A New Hope, episode 4)
7. It’s a Wonderful Life

Seven People I Want To Join In (Be Tagged):

1. Dan
2. Karen
3. Kelly
4. Suzanne
5. Christina
6. Joanne
7. Anyone else who is reading this and cares to join in on the fun!