It was a much quieter Thanksgiving than I care for around here.... but it was nice nonetheless. I cooked two turkeys, two sweat potatoe souffle, two pans of dressing, mashed potatoes and a new string bean dish and other assorted side items, making sure the son who lives in Athens, Ga had enough leftovers to take home, thus doing my motherly duty of sending him home on a full stomach and with enough food to feed him for a month at least.
I wish I was part of a loud Italian or Greek family.... Where there is alot of screaming and fighting and craziness around the holidays. Hmmm.... Maybe not, there might not be leftovers..... Wait, yes. Definitely yes. And, I want to host the holidays at my house. Yep, I do.
I also want to have money so that I can get up at 1am to get to stores to shop for Black Friday.
But I have neither the large family nor the money to engage in Black Friday madness, so instead I will go fix another heaping plate of leftovers and descend blissfully into a turkey coma, phase two.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Accident waiting to happen
I was tired, but went to BBQ and Whirly ball anyway.
The BBQ was good, but the band (a really good blues band) was too loud to do any chatting with the folks there. I was tired, it was a long week at work, though I don't know why, nothing unusual went on for the week.
So on to Whirlyball. I opted out of getting into a bumper car and having other people slam into me. It actually reminded me of the car wreck I had, and I thought... hmmmm..... not sure I am in the mood to relive that, even on a small scale. I'm just a party pooper I guess.
I watched a few of the games and went home.
But tired or not, I went.... which is a step up from my normal routine of being tired and just going home.
The BBQ was good, but the band (a really good blues band) was too loud to do any chatting with the folks there. I was tired, it was a long week at work, though I don't know why, nothing unusual went on for the week.
So on to Whirlyball. I opted out of getting into a bumper car and having other people slam into me. It actually reminded me of the car wreck I had, and I thought... hmmmm..... not sure I am in the mood to relive that, even on a small scale. I'm just a party pooper I guess.
I watched a few of the games and went home.
But tired or not, I went.... which is a step up from my normal routine of being tired and just going home.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
I have to get better shoes.
Salsa lessons rock! I enjoyed those moves much more than Samba moves. There were less people this week, but the lessons were still great fun.
After lessons the group went to a trendy sushi restaurant. I don't care for sushi, or spicey foods, but their menu was expansive and delicious.... and the place was 9/10 empty. You realize how the lifestyle/economy has changed when walk into an awesome restaurant and nobody is in there.
Afterwards the group wanted to go dancing. The choices everyone offered were crazy. It seems, according to some, The Holiday Inn down the road was the place to go....
O.M.G. Ok.... What can I say about the H.I. It is THE place... the place for the over 70 crowd to dance. Seriously. And no denim is allowed. It was funny/weird/awful/interesting... a little bit of everything. Remind me when the wrinkles get too bad, to never, EVER wear pancake makeup. It was both sad to see older women (and remember I am old!) squeezed into spandex, cake on makeup, and get all dolled up, ignoring the fact time had marched on. But it was also nice to see that life doesn't end at any age, and flirting and dancing at any (chronological) age still happens. So after the initial "Are you kidding me?!" look I gave to the folks that wanted to go there, I might actually go back with a group one night. It looked like a nice group that was there and most importantly, least we forget.... older men know how to dance! Not that blasted rocking back and forth stuff so many call dancing. Older me, they've got moves!
Unfortunately some of us were wearing jeans, and weren't allowed in, so off we all went in search of dancing.
We arrived at a small bar/restaurant that was what can only be described as, a meat market. I had forgotten what those felt like. EWWW. There was live music, which was really good, but when you try to squeeze 200 people in a bar the size of a postage stamp, it becomes unbearable. None of us were in the mood to play meat market, and dancing was impossible so off we went again.
This time we ended up at a large club that's been in Atl forever. And there we danced, and danced and danced.
I hobbled in my house at around 3am. Today there is bowling.... I don't think my feet can take it.
I've not signed up for anything else yet, but I will. This has been too fun, getting out and meeting some new people!
Salsa lessons rock! I enjoyed those moves much more than Samba moves. There were less people this week, but the lessons were still great fun.
After lessons the group went to a trendy sushi restaurant. I don't care for sushi, or spicey foods, but their menu was expansive and delicious.... and the place was 9/10 empty. You realize how the lifestyle/economy has changed when walk into an awesome restaurant and nobody is in there.
Afterwards the group wanted to go dancing. The choices everyone offered were crazy. It seems, according to some, The Holiday Inn down the road was the place to go....
O.M.G. Ok.... What can I say about the H.I. It is THE place... the place for the over 70 crowd to dance. Seriously. And no denim is allowed. It was funny/weird/awful/interesting... a little bit of everything. Remind me when the wrinkles get too bad, to never, EVER wear pancake makeup. It was both sad to see older women (and remember I am old!) squeezed into spandex, cake on makeup, and get all dolled up, ignoring the fact time had marched on. But it was also nice to see that life doesn't end at any age, and flirting and dancing at any (chronological) age still happens. So after the initial "Are you kidding me?!" look I gave to the folks that wanted to go there, I might actually go back with a group one night. It looked like a nice group that was there and most importantly, least we forget.... older men know how to dance! Not that blasted rocking back and forth stuff so many call dancing. Older me, they've got moves!
Unfortunately some of us were wearing jeans, and weren't allowed in, so off we all went in search of dancing.
We arrived at a small bar/restaurant that was what can only be described as, a meat market. I had forgotten what those felt like. EWWW. There was live music, which was really good, but when you try to squeeze 200 people in a bar the size of a postage stamp, it becomes unbearable. None of us were in the mood to play meat market, and dancing was impossible so off we went again.
This time we ended up at a large club that's been in Atl forever. And there we danced, and danced and danced.
I hobbled in my house at around 3am. Today there is bowling.... I don't think my feet can take it.
I've not signed up for anything else yet, but I will. This has been too fun, getting out and meeting some new people!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Happy Hour
I tried out one of the happy hour gatherings on Wednesday, after work.
On the drive there, I went through my usual spiel in my head...... "This is stupid... why are you doing this? I'm too tired to go. I won't know anyone. I don't even drink. What the heck will I talk about? I'm too old to be going to bars. This is stupid...." ok I repeated that one. Normally that one is the one that makes me point the car home.
But instead, I went anyway and actually had a pretty fun time. I guess about 80 people showed up and I met a few more women, all who were really nice and fun to talk to. I didn't really chat up the men.... in fact I kinda carefully avoided making eye contact with most of them. I'm getting out to make friendships, not meet men. Just not interested or motivated . Besides, if I wanted a guy, I could call up the barely 30 something I was kinda involved with months ago.... Oh, I forgot to mention him didn't I.
.... oh yea, I so robbed that cradle.
Anyway..... tomorrow night is Salsa lesson night. Should be fun!
On the drive there, I went through my usual spiel in my head...... "This is stupid... why are you doing this? I'm too tired to go. I won't know anyone. I don't even drink. What the heck will I talk about? I'm too old to be going to bars. This is stupid...." ok I repeated that one. Normally that one is the one that makes me point the car home.
But instead, I went anyway and actually had a pretty fun time. I guess about 80 people showed up and I met a few more women, all who were really nice and fun to talk to. I didn't really chat up the men.... in fact I kinda carefully avoided making eye contact with most of them. I'm getting out to make friendships, not meet men. Just not interested or motivated . Besides, if I wanted a guy, I could call up the barely 30 something I was kinda involved with months ago.... Oh, I forgot to mention him didn't I.
.... oh yea, I so robbed that cradle.
Anyway..... tomorrow night is Salsa lesson night. Should be fun!
Friday, November 05, 2010
Twinkle Toes
1,2,3 1,2,3, Samba lessons were tonight. 1,2,3, 1,2,3, 1,2,3. I can't keep 4/4 time, so imagine me latin dancing... it wasn't pretty. It sure felt good though to be out and doing something with real folks.
But OOOOOOHHHHHH my achin tootsies.
The teacher was really good. It was basically Samba for dummies. Perfect!
After a long week, and being a slug for a few years, I was exhausted after the hour long class.
....but it seems, I wasn't the only one, the whole class worked up quite a sweat.
I still can't dance, but at least I'm "can't dancing" with real people.
Now home, with a cup of coffee to drink and ymmmmmm warm water to soak my tired feet in... Damn, I'm getting old, but who cares, my feet are thanking me.
and tomorrow.... sleeping in. Happy Saturday!
But OOOOOOHHHHHH my achin tootsies.
The teacher was really good. It was basically Samba for dummies. Perfect!
After a long week, and being a slug for a few years, I was exhausted after the hour long class.
....but it seems, I wasn't the only one, the whole class worked up quite a sweat.
I still can't dance, but at least I'm "can't dancing" with real people.
Now home, with a cup of coffee to drink and ymmmmmm warm water to soak my tired feet in... Damn, I'm getting old, but who cares, my feet are thanking me.
and tomorrow.... sleeping in. Happy Saturday!
From the "Too good to pass up" file
An actual letter from an Austin, Texas woman sent to Proctor and Gamble regarding one of their feminine hygiene products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. This was PC Magazine's 2009 "Editors' Choice award-winner" for the best letter sent via e-mail.
Dear Mr. Thatcher,
I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi-pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts.
But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.
Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.'
Isn't the human body amazing?
As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women
The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'
Are you f------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.
For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong'.
Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bull---t. And that's a promise I will keep.
Always,
(removed the name)
Austin, TX
Dear Mr. Thatcher,
I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi-pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts.
But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.
Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.'
Isn't the human body amazing?
As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women
The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'
Are you f------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.
For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong'.
Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bull---t. And that's a promise I will keep.
Always,
(removed the name)
Austin, TX
Monday, November 01, 2010
Zombie Attack
This years' theme for the foyer was spiders. I always like to decorate the foyer so the trick-o-treaters have something fun to look at when they come to call. It looked really good this year, lots of candles, dry ice bubbling and boiling, sending a silky cloud floating out and around the room. I heard lots of "Oh that's cool!" So that always makes all the prep worth it. :)
Son3 (pictured here and named #3 only because of birth order) had a Halloween party here, again. Every year I say, "No more parties here!" and yea well ..... that never happens. I always relent and open the house up to a horde of young adults who's idea of having a party involves little more than drinking until you're senseless. Food? not usually. Music? sometimes. Liquor? just enough to supply a third world country.
But over these many years they know and follow the house rules: You must be 21 to drink. And, If You drink, you find a pillow, a blanket, a piece of floor, couch or spare room and you stay until the morning. You do not drink and drive. End of discussion.
Last night's party was tame compared to some of the previous parties. I only heard the "Zulu warrior" drinking song a few times.... or maybe I managed to sleep through the subsequent never ending rounds. One thing with this group of (son's) friends, they get into the spirit of any holiday. Costumes were mandatory and everyone looked awesome.
Last night's party was tame compared to some of the previous parties. I only heard the "Zulu warrior" drinking song a few times.... or maybe I managed to sleep through the subsequent never ending rounds. One thing with this group of (son's) friends, they get into the spirit of any holiday. Costumes were mandatory and everyone looked awesome.
The party was scheduled to begin around 9pm, so those who arrived early (and were sober) were given the task of handing out candy. Jared, who is like 6' 5" tall greeted the neighborhood trick-o-treaters and they loved him. I figured the Zombies would probably scare the little ones, so for the early trick-o-treaters I let the Nuns do door duty, since they hadn't had their turn to get Zombified. As the night drew on however, the Zombies took over door duty for the older trick-o-treater kids and the Zombies were a big hit too.
I locked myself in my room at 9:30pm, said a prayer that no candles would set the house on fire, and that no Zombie would create a ruckus loud enough to raise the dead or the cops, and finally fell asleep at 1am. Yea... made for a tough 5am wake up alarm for work this morning.
I locked myself in my room at 9:30pm, said a prayer that no candles would set the house on fire, and that no Zombie would create a ruckus loud enough to raise the dead or the cops, and finally fell asleep at 1am. Yea... made for a tough 5am wake up alarm for work this morning.
5:30am.... and I hit the snooze button and woke up at 6:30. I'm supposed to leave the house at 6:45 to make it to work by 8am..... so I raced around, threw some clothes on, brushed my teeth, splashed some water on my face and raced downstairs only to find that my car keys are nowhere to be found. ARGH! No that isn't a picture of me in the morning, but it is rather close to how I felt.Zombie son had forgotten to put the keys back in my purse... GRRRRR. So like a screaming banshee that I can be, I roused the undead in the house, resisted the urge to strangle son3 and called for an all out search for the missing keys. Fortunately the keys were quickly found and I shot out the door. Welcome to Monday!
Zombie son redeemed himself however for the temporary lost key meltdown. He had made sure my car wasn't blocked in, so at least I didn't have to go back inside and rouse more walking dead to do the great car shuffle. Hmmm... could son3 actually be learning or was it blind luck? We may never know.
All in all an active weekend, and a nice change.
Next "outing" is this Friday... Samba lessons! Have I mentioned that I have two left feet?
All in all an active weekend, and a nice change.
Next "outing" is this Friday... Samba lessons! Have I mentioned that I have two left feet?
Baby Steps
The hike Saturday was really nice. The weather turned out to be perfect too, a nice cool morning warming to the 70's towards noon. The hike took about 2 hours.
I chatted like a magpie, leaving me breathless on the uphill climb. YAY for exercise and company!
There was about 27 in the hiking group, all ages (from 35 and up) and everybody was really nice. Afterwards, about 18 of us went to lunch together. All in all a fun morning.
The colors were beautiful along the river, and we saw one deer, tons of Canadian geese, a few brave souls out in the river fly fishing, and one teeeny tiny snake that still managed to give me cold shivers. I hate snakes. I should of taken a pic of the teeny thing, but even though it was small, it managed to make all reason leave my body. All I wanted to do was move on! And move on I did, rapido!
Lunch was fun, just sitting talking to people. I probably ramble on and on.... poor tablemates.
Later that evening I went to a Halloween hat party. Once again, the group was really nice. Everybody chatted with everyone. It was pot luck, which I'm not a big fan of. I always wonder about food made by people I don't know. I don't know what their kitchens are like, or their cooking habits... ewww...I know, ugly thoughts, but I can't help it. I brought a cheescake sampler platter, and stuck to muching on the deserts. I figure cookies are a pretty 'safe' bet. Besides, I was still pretty full from the french dip sandwich I had at lunch.. yummie.
The hat party was OK. It was better than going to one of the big Halloween parties that some of the groups were promoting. I just don't feel comfortable getting dressed in a costume and heading out to a bar setting with a few hundred people that I don't know. Since I don't drink, I chose the Hat Party that one of the ladies was hostessing. We mostly sat around and just chatted. They had posted they were into trivia, pictionary, charades and the like, but we never played :( I love to play games but still, sitting and chatting and eating was nice. Better than sitting home, that's for sure.
Then Sunday, Halloween ... the Zombies came out to play.......
I chatted like a magpie, leaving me breathless on the uphill climb. YAY for exercise and company!
There was about 27 in the hiking group, all ages (from 35 and up) and everybody was really nice. Afterwards, about 18 of us went to lunch together. All in all a fun morning.
The colors were beautiful along the river, and we saw one deer, tons of Canadian geese, a few brave souls out in the river fly fishing, and one teeeny tiny snake that still managed to give me cold shivers. I hate snakes. I should of taken a pic of the teeny thing, but even though it was small, it managed to make all reason leave my body. All I wanted to do was move on! And move on I did, rapido!
Lunch was fun, just sitting talking to people. I probably ramble on and on.... poor tablemates.
Later that evening I went to a Halloween hat party. Once again, the group was really nice. Everybody chatted with everyone. It was pot luck, which I'm not a big fan of. I always wonder about food made by people I don't know. I don't know what their kitchens are like, or their cooking habits... ewww...I know, ugly thoughts, but I can't help it. I brought a cheescake sampler platter, and stuck to muching on the deserts. I figure cookies are a pretty 'safe' bet. Besides, I was still pretty full from the french dip sandwich I had at lunch.. yummie.
The hat party was OK. It was better than going to one of the big Halloween parties that some of the groups were promoting. I just don't feel comfortable getting dressed in a costume and heading out to a bar setting with a few hundred people that I don't know. Since I don't drink, I chose the Hat Party that one of the ladies was hostessing. We mostly sat around and just chatted. They had posted they were into trivia, pictionary, charades and the like, but we never played :( I love to play games but still, sitting and chatting and eating was nice. Better than sitting home, that's for sure.
Then Sunday, Halloween ... the Zombies came out to play.......
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