Very Happy Animals.

Earl:

Shiloh:

What I did this weekend

As you're well aware, it's the night before the night before Christmas. This weekend was crazy busy with last minute getting ready-type activities, as I'm sure it was for many of you. So a brief recap:

Friday:

Dah had the Geej because Friday was the first day of a 2-week stretch that the Geej's school is closed. So Friday evening, I ran a couple of shopping-related errands after work, and then BH and I went out for a nice dinner and went to a club to hear some music. That's right, fools! We actually had a grown-up's night out, and it was nice!

Saturday:

• Vacuumed and washed car
• Paid storage room bill
• Deposited $46 refund check from Austin Radiological Association at the bank
• Tried to get a bracelet repaired; Was unsuccessful
• Got a pedicure (the first one since September...YIKES!)
• Read a chapter-and-a-half in the book I'm almost finished with
• Ate migas
• Did two loads of laundry
• Changed sheets
• Cleaned GJ's bathroom and bedroom
• Swept tons of leaves off the front porch
• Got a bunch of stocking stuffers at CVS
• Went for a nice walk with Shiloh and BH (it was nice except the wind was blowing a gazillion miles an hour)


• Saw this on our walk--


• And this--
• Watched Earl enjoy a sunbeam
• Made a menu and shopping list for Christmas eve, Christmas brunch, and Christmas evening
• Ordered Chinese food for delivery
• Drank wine
• Took a shower
• Watched "Knocked Up"

Sunday:

• Went to Whole Foods to get 98% of the stuff that was on my shopping list I made on Saturday
• Ate lunch
• Folded laundry
• Went to HEB and got the other 2% of stuff that was on my shopping list
• Took a long drive
• Took a short nap
• Looked in on and fed Bookhart's cats (They're doing fine, by the way.)
• Was reunited with The Geej
• Made frito pie
• Drank wine
• Bathed the Geej
• Watched Milo and Otis with the Geej who told be to be on the lookout because, "Those animals poop out babies in this movie."

And now here we are. Tomorrow I've got to work most of the day. Bummer. But tomorrow evening, we're going to try (once again) to make some Christmas cookies for Santa, and then it's showtime after Geej goes to bed.

I can't wait until Christmas morning...

File Under: Puh-leez Give Me a Fookin' Break

I've been meaning to post about this unbelievably stupid bullshit ever since I saw the seedy little trailer open for business on South Lamar.

Their mission? To "successfully provide high-quality coffee based products with a provocative flair."

I don't even DRINK coffee, and this pisses me off.

Good GOD! Now you can't even get coffee without a little T&A? Way to alienate 50% of your potential coffee-drinking clientele, geniuses.

And you know what's sad? It'll probably succeed like crazy. These little stands will start popping up everywhere. U.S.A!! U.S.A!! We are devolving faster than I ever thought possible. By this point, I'm pretty sure "Idiocracy" was a documentary.

It certainly doesn't FEEL like Christmas.

It's 74 degrees right now. I'm not complaining, mind you. It's lovely outside. But it's just hard to get into the yuletide spirit when you could be wearing shorts. I'm just sayin'...

After two nights of wrapping, ribboning, and labeling, our tree finally has presents under it. It looks so nice! And Earl's trying to find another favorite spot to rest his substantial chubbiness.

I've really only got one more item I've got to buy--for my mom--and then some little things for the stockings, and I'm DONE! I really can't believe it. It's been a pretty stress-free shopping season, thanks to the internet. Seriously. It's the working woman's best friend.

Let's see, since I haven't done a "real" post in a while, let me catch y'all up:

My first ever Christmas cookie making/decorating session started out well.

However, one whole pan of cookies got burnt.

Really burnt. And I don't know how it happened, either. They were on the same rack, in the same oven for the same amount of time as the other cookies (that did NOT get burnt, and were actually quite yummy). The pan must suck. I don't know, because I DON'T BAKE, and this is just one reason why.

We're going to try again on Christmas eve...you know, to make cookies for Santa. I heard Santa also enjoys martinis...

Something that worked out FAR better was Pajama Day last Friday at The Geej's school. They got to wear pajamas to school (duh) and make "gingerbread" houses and watch a holiday movie in the gym. The day was perfect for it--cold and drizzly. I was totally jealous. And Geej, being the candy FREAK that she is could barely wait to get home to start eating her house. She did a pretty nice job decorating. But that didn't stop her from chowing down on it. Last weekend was BH's work Christmas party. It was at one of their facilities near the cute little town of Mason, TX--about 2+ hours from Austin. The drive was nice, and once we were there, the property was lovely.Seems some rich old dude donated this 8,600 acre plot of land to BH's state agency about 10 years ago. Now its used for managed wildlife hunts, hence this sign. You'll be happy to know, we turned left, not right. Getting to meet BH's workmates was nice. They all seem like very nice, down-to-earth people--the exact kind of people you'd imagine working in land and wildlife conservation management.

Finally, I'll leave you with this recent discovery: When it's really chilly outside, Earl is not only a loving, sweet cat. He's also a warm fur stole!

Tres elegante!

Sage holiday advice from The Geej:

[Told to me in the absolutely most earnest way ever while I was rocking her before bed the other night.]

Mommy, Santa Claus doesn't like it when you say bad words...like "stupid" or "jackass" or "panties-in-a-wad."

Okay, "stupid" she got from school. "Jackass" she got from me (I've got a wee case of the road rage dontcha know...), but "panties-in-a-wad"? That's 100% her grandmother.

Oh really? Well screw you too.

Thursday I was in the elevator at work, heading back to my MWS* after a meeting, when this lady got on with me who I'd never seen before. The fact that we were complete strangers didn't stop her from saying, "It looks like today has gotten the best of you."

Um, what? Excuse me? Did you just tell me I look like tired-ass crap? Why, yes. Yes you did.

Here's the thing, though: I did NOT feel particularly tired that day nor did I think I looked it. But hey, the random elevator stranger never lies, right?

So to try and counter this apparent drain on my usually astonishingly perky good looks, I ended up taking a FOUR HOUR NAP with the Geej today. We got in bed to read books at around 1:30, and didn't wake until 5:38 as the sun was setting. The upside is now I'm feeling chipper as Donna Reed and am in the midst of making some Christmas cookies (more on that later). The downside is that the length of the nap probably confirms what I've been suspecting for a couple of days--The Geej is coming down with something, AND she'll never, ever go to sleep tonight.

*MSW=my luxurious cube