Christmas Nails

With the exception of the snowmen in the window I still haven't decorated the house.  I do have Christmas nails though.  Cheryl calls the glitter she painstakingly places "cracked ice".    I have finally gotten Christmas cards in the mail but I haven't gotten the presents wrapped.  Tomorrow night is my staff party at the Lodge for dinner, drinks, comedian show followed by a dance.  A Christmas party on a Thursday night?  The office is paying for cab rides home for anyone who doesn't feel they should drive.  And still have to work the next day?  Personally, I can't see partying much when you have to get up at 6 a.m. 

The only thing Christmassy that I have done is Challenge #48, creating a layout inspired by something in your wardrobe.

Our home; taken in 1968 or 1969?  One of the heavier snowfalls we received.   

Elvis Presley & Martina McBride, "Blue Christmas"

http://release.theplatform.com/content.select?pid=5mCzgDf_lCZ3uKBDkKLY2_dqmD4_S0yF&UserName=Unknown

Got to love it!

Christmas Decorating

I made this snow family a few years ago.  This year they were in bags alongside the four boxes of my purged belongings that I had ready to be donated when the Diabetes Clothesline picked up in November.   I guess this is why I ALWAYS have something to donate when they phone ~ I always seem to hold something back to keep for a little while longer.   For now, these happy snowmen are the only Christmas decorations that I have put up. 

Right now the wind is howling and I can hear our shovels and garbage cans banging about outside - a southern Alberta phenomenon known as a Chinook.    Warm winds can make a 20 degree change in the temperature in a matter of a couple hours.  This one is not so drastic as it wasn't that terribly cold.  Its a shock though when you take the dogs out at night and it is -17 or thereabouts and when you let them out again in the morning it is +3.

Larry and I have have both caught colds and are very unmotivated; lethargic even.  Too bad I hadn't gotten all of my Christmas cards and letters finished and mailed before this hit.  Thankfully the parcels I had to mail were done a day or so before this hit. 

Black Friday

Back home and recuperating from a 4 day trip to Great Falls to partake in their annual Black Friday sales. 

The tradition is to arrive at the hotel to check in Thursday, pick up your newspaper from the desk, which is about 2.5 inches thick because of all the sales flyers, and go to your room to pour through the flyers and map out a plan.  I remembered to pack scissors this year to cut out the coupons in all the flyers; and pen and notebook in hand marked down which stores opened at 3 a.m., which opened at 4 a.m., 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.    Then marked down what I wanted from each store with its sale price to compare with other stores advertising the same thing.   (This procedure was repeated Friday night to remind oneself of what was on sale only on Saturday.)  

Being a good sport, I agreed (why???) to get up at 3:30 a.m. Friday to go shopping with my friend at the Holiday Village Mall, on the understanding that we would catch the early morning specials and then go back to our hotel to sleep a little bit longer before we went shopping for the entire day.   Oooh, really red, ugly eyes.  Someone forgot to tell me plans had changed... there was no rest back at the hotel.   Trust me, lack of sleep affects you much like drinking all night does.  Despite only drinking very strong (awful) coffee all day which required far too much sugar, we were walking and talking like drunks long before we finished shopping at 5:00 p.m.  And after 11 or so hours on my feet I really needed to throw away my running shoes, and wasn't looking forward to having to wear them for 2 more days!  Even repeated shots of Kiwi's Fresh Force couldn't sweeten those puppies. 

After an awful supper at a restaurant across the street from a perfectly gross-smelling oil refinery (not my idea), it was back to the hotel to finally get some sleep... but only after reading the sales ads for Saturday.   I woke up at 9:45 lying fully clothed on top of the covers with all the lights on, the t.v. on (vaguely remember watching part of a Christmas movie) and flyers spread all over me.    I'm just now remembering parts of the movie. 

We didn't get up until 7:30 Sat. morning.  Despite all the sleep I got I still could barely walk on my very sore, stiff legs.  So, of course, we went shopping at Kmart, Walmart, Shopko, Michaels, Old Navy, Famous Footwear and drop me off at the hotel because there is no way in hell I'm going back to the freakin Mall with you!  

Guess it shouldn't be surprising that I slept most of the drive back home Sunday; unpacked, showered and then slept sitting up in my chair while supposedly doing laundry (I'd throw a load   in the washer and my sweet husband would take it out, put it in the dryer and then hang it up while I slept.)  At 9:00 he convinced me that I should probably just go to bed.  No argument there.  Sigh.  I now have to tally up the receipts/damages.  I'm delaying the pain and typing this instead.

Christmas Flash Mob

Although it will take about 4 minutes to watch, the following video is pretty awesome!

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

Diarize this 5 years from now

Very groggy day today but I'm starting to wake up (6:30 p.m.). After our family's scare in March when my sister, Carrie, was diagnosed with colon cancer, we sat down and discussed our family risk and decided that all four of us had to be tested regularly. Our Dad and his mother both had colon cancer, and now Carrie. We were very lucky and are all thrilled that Carrie's surgery was a success and she did not have to have chemotherapy or radiation. Carrie and I took on the task of convincing our other sister and brother that they, too, needed to start testing if they haven't before. I was shocked to learn that our brother wasn't even getting regular annual check ups and didn't even have a family doctor. So I nagged him until he did get a doctor and he is scheduled for a colonoscopy in December. Marlene hasn't mentioned a date yet. I had one seven years ago and had a polyp removed. I was supposed to have the next one in 5 years but my alarm clock doesn't work that far ahead. Two years behind, but I had my second procedure this afternoon. Another polyp; another polyp removed. See, since Carrie had cancer this spring we have all read a lot more about the issue and have discovered that those small polyps is how cancer starts. So, consider me thankful.

I can't seem to get a photo that does the colour and sparkle justice. Mom would have loved this. I wish that I could have had her nails done for her.

I'm amusing myself with trivial things right now to try to keep my mind off the miserable winter weather. Within a matter of a week we went from having above-average temperatures for this time of year to below-average temperatures. The dogs can't be let outside by themselves as their feet freeze so every time they want out one of us has to bundle up to take them out and freeze while they fiddle fart around so that we can rescue them if they can't walk.

My boss is on his way to North Carolina for a week where the temperature will be in the mid 70's. Sigh. Now counting down to our trip to Cabo 76 days from now.

Dancing at the movies... love it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYL3j27sSH8

I LOVE TO LAUGH

Who knew reading the newspaper & classifieds could be so funny:

"Full size mattress. Royal Tonic. 20 year warranty. Like new. Slight urine smell. $40. Phone ***-***-****."

"WANTED: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. P.O. Box ***, Oakville, CA, 93022. You will get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before."

"TOMBSTONE. Standard gray. A good buy for someone named Grady."

"1995 Nissan Maxima, Green, Leather, Loaded, CD, auto start, sunroof, 4 door, good condition, $4500. Not for Sale."

"Debra Jackson said she likes shopping at the Dollar Palace because it is convenient and casual. "I don't have to get all dressed up, like I'm going to Wal-Mart or something..."

Aiming for Healthy!

I almost forgot to mention... I quit smoking September 23rd... have made it almost through two weeks now. (This time) it isn't as hard as it was in the past. This time, I vow to make it stick. Larry quit on September 24th. We're both using nicotine inhalers. Larry was bragging that he only needed three nicotine capsules in a week. I've used a couple more than he has but its not a competition. The most important thing is to quit smoking and to remain a non-smoker!

(I'm giving myself the excuse to splurge on gel nails as it isn't nearly as expensive as smoking was.)

Did I mention that we have booked our winter holiday. We leave February 3rd for two weeks in San Jose del Cabo. Can't wait!

Warning to Readers

If you surf through blogs for entertainment, I must warn you. This blog has been created by me for me; just a journal for myself (which will come in handy should I succumb to Alzheimers). There is nothing wonderfully clever for the amusement of the public in these pages. Sorry to disappoint.

Last night Cheryl gave me Halloween nails... pretty brave for a person who isn't overly fond of orange (and I'll have to live with them for 3 weeks). I had her cut them back quite short as I was creating a lot of new words on the computer and slowing down productivity. Silly spellcheck does4n't recognize word4s with numbers in the4m as errors!

Indulge!

The last couple of months I have given in to my less frugal side... so I now have a great moral booster every three weeks or so. I have found a wonderful artist who does manicures/nail art. I didn't take a photo of the first set of gel nails that Cheryl did for me.

The house was 80+ years old and, although it could do with a few repairs, I would love to own it. It had two bedrooms up and three down plus a rec room with fold out couch - perfect for a scrapbook retreat for our group of seven.

2010 Scrapbook Retreat

June 4 - 7: Seven of us gathered at a house we rented on the hillside overlooking Kelowna. It was a perfect weekend; we accomplished a lot but still took time out to enjoy the sunshine, use the pool and the hot tub and, of course, take pictures.