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December 30, 2004
Christmas Pictures
Man oh man. What is it about me and waiting until the last minute? On Christmas, I discovered that I did not have my mother's new phone number (found it via Kim but had to leave a message anyway), Dad was not at either of his numbers (left messages) and that I did not have Grandma's phone number (Palm Pilot died and nobody else was home to give it to me). I also do not have Steve's parent's new Florida number and Steve wasn't home, oh, and his sister's number has been changed. So there you have it. I struck out every whichaway. Appy polly loggies to everyone (obscure Clockwork Orange reference there, hahahahahaa)
Anyway, we had a nice quiet Christmas all by ourselves (seems like EVERY neighbor went back to the States! Bah humbug). Steve got the guys some fantastic remote control airplanes. They had been coveting Grandpa Codding's and were very excited to get these. The only problem is that you have to have some wind but not too much. We only get zero or 20 knots here! It makes for some spectacularly gory crashes though. We have since enlisted the help of two of my neighbors who happen to be pilots. They can't make them fly either, hahahahahahaaa.
Pictures in the gallery. CLICK HERE
In other news, our trip to Austria is a mere two weeks away. Santa (Grandpa Codding) was very good to us and we will have lots of spending money. We are hoping to get up to Innsbrook to go play in the snow and also over to Salsburg to do a Sound of Music tour.
Can. Not. Wait.
It may just be the last BIG trip we get to do because I want to start the house buying process and they tend to get creases in their forehead when you try to apply with no down payment. I have identified a couple of really interesting looking properties just south of Carbondale, Illinois, so hopefully I will be a homeowner soon.
Posted by DebC at 06:46 PM | Comments (2)
December 22, 2004
Dear Santa
I found this great web program to help me write a letter to Santa. You answer some questions and it practically writes it for you. Click here to try it yourself. Here is my version.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Santa,
It really wasn't my fault what happened at Kim's Christmas party. It was Dad who spiked the punch with too much wine. I can't help it if I drank 3 glasses. It was so good---smelled and tasted just like lavender.
I thought it was funny when I put Keith's shirt on my head and danced the lambada on the couch while singing `this love'. I didn't mean to break Kim's camera and don't know why Kim would sue me for stealing.
I don't remember calling Bill's wife a great sheep---even though she looked like one with purple eye shadow and gold lipstick!
And when I threw up on Angel's husband's arm, it was only because I ate too much of that cookie.
After all that fun, I admit I was a little tired. So I fell asleep on my way home and drove my Sienna through my neighbor's living room. I don't think that was any reason for my neighbor to call me a huge cat and have me arrested for speeding!
So, Santa...here I sit in my jail cell on Christmas Eve, all terrible and scary. And I'm really not to blame for any of this wonderful stuff. Please bring me what I want the most---bail money!
Sincerely and quickly yours,
Deb (Really a nice girl!)
P.S. It's only 7 bucks!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted by DebC at 09:47 AM | Comments (3)
December 19, 2004
Happy Holidays
I am at my usual state of procrastination, as a matter of fact, I have two scarves that I just started this weekend (!) - one for my nanny and one for my neighbor. I haven't mailed ANY gifts, even though they are mostly ready to go. The Christmas Cards are still in their box, looking disgusted with me. I put them on my computer desk in hopes that I would actually remember to send them on time this year. Yah, that worked well. Oh well, we are just calling them "Holiday" cards now.
I did get the most fantastic fake tree for just over 45 bucks. The real ones here cost nearly $100 and are not much more than Charlie Brown Christmas trees. It is funny how your ideals shift over the years, hahahahaha. I started out in my twenties saying "I would never, ever have a fake tree". Then in my thirties I was saying "I would never harm a tree for such a short fused, selfish pleasure" (I had potted Christmas trees for a few years). Then in my late thirties, I was whining about how expensive trees were and wishing for a fake tree that could be recycled year after year. So now I have a fake tree that looks real, is cheap and doesn't continually hurt real trees.
Anyway, the most important things are done: lights on the house (better than the neighbor's), check. Christmas tree decorated with ornaments from years past (a tradition each year), check. Gifts for the boys stashed in my closet (waiting for me to get busy and wrap), check. Office Christmas potluck eaten, check.
I realized at the last minute that I wanted to make two scarves for gifts (what, I have five days, come on!). So I went to the only yarn shop that is actually a yarn shop around here, Barone. We (my kids and I) had a wee adventure before we even got out of the car. Each time I have gone there in the last few months, the parking situation is a little different due to major road construction. This time my favorite parking lot was roped off and the cop there said I had to go away. So as I am driving away, the little old parking lot guy comes running across the lot waving his arms. He runs up to my door and orders me out of my van (he speaks zero English and I speak horrible Italian). He then gets in the driver's seat. I laughed and thought "cool", I hate parking my big honking van anyway". It only took half a minute before I realized the magnitude of the situation. He was trying to shift my automatic van like a manual. We lurched and chugged, sped up and slowed down and slammed to a stop (narrowly missing a lady with a stroller). He drove around to the back of the lot and neatly parked us in a nice big space. And then jumped out, leaving my car in gear and rolling. I managed to jam the gearshift into Park just in time to avoid calling the tow truck for the fifth time in two years. Eli said that he felt sick and I had to agree. Wheee that was energizing hahahahahahaha.
Oh, I forgot to mention that we saw the Harlem Globetrotters last week. I remember seeing them on TV when I was a little kid, they were a much bigger deal then (remember the bald guy, curlie?). The kids had no idea who they were. I told them that they were like the Blue Angels of basketball. They played in a helicopter hangar, set up like a basketball court. We waited in a mile long line and ended up getting bad seats. The guys loved it anyway and it was great fun. I put a couple pictures in the photo gallery - CLICK HERE.
Posted by DebC at 08:17 PM | Comments (2)
December 12, 2004
Well that wasn't very nice
I moved my website
Posted by DebC at 12:55 AM | Comments (3)
December 07, 2004
We Partied Like It Was 1999
I am going to fast forward through the part where I had a meltdown on Thanksgiving and almost changed my mind about retiring. I am all better now.
Last Thursday was Seth's 3rd birthday. He is absolutely not a baby anymore. He has this little mickey mouse voice with the vocabulary of an eight year old. He tells me things like "thanks mom, I really appreciate that". He is so gol-darn cute that I have to force myself not to laugh at him while he is talking to me. And he talks, and he talks and he talks. Oy. There is no silence in my life what-so-ever. On his birthday, Eleonore (his nanny) took Seth and I to her house for a traditional Sicilian lunch. Her mother is literally the essence of an Italian mama. She doesn't speak any English but we manage to get along just fine, thanks to the language of food. Seth, on the other hand, understands a shocking amount of Italian. He calls Eleonore's dad, "grandpa". Grandpa speaks streams of Italian, of which, I can guess the context, but Seth obviously not only understands it, but answers back "si" or "no" at the appropriate moments. Anyway, Eleonore gave Seth this huge plastic front loader that is beyond cool. You can see it in the picture link at the bottom of this post.
Saturday was another party but this time it was a grown up party. YAY! It was a semi-formal holiday party for the hospital. I got all dolled up in a mini dress and high heels and came downstairs. Seth took one look at me at said, with huge eyes, "mom, you a gwirl!" hahahahahhahahahahaha Shhhhhhh, don't let the secret out. I think it is a compliment that A. I am one of the guys and that B. I looked pretty. As much as I complain about being forced to look like a girl, it is actually fun every once in awhile.
Sunday was a surprise birthday party for my boss's 40th birthday. She is six months older than me and has been in the Navy nearly as long. We have been giving her hell about being old but we have decided that "old" is always going to be defined as at least ten years older than what you are at the moment. The best part was that the party was the second grownup function in two days. That is officially more grownup time than I have had in several years!
Posted by DebC at 08:19 PM