Screw You, 2008!

I keep reading all of these blogs that have a 2008 review in them. It's all the rage. Not me, baby!

For me, 2008 sucked. I worked for an awful, crazy, delusional and paranoid boss in a job I hated, left that job to take another job that fell through the cracks, and spent the last 2 1/2 months of the year unemployed. 2008 was the year that Dave's blood pressure went through the roof and his ugly genetically-high cholesterol decided to stop by and stay a while. We had major issues in the fertility department and to top it all off, kidney stones was my birthday gift.

Thanks, 2008. You suck!!!

But 2009? 2009 is already looking better. I have a new job which will start soon, and we'll be relocating to Columbus. Yes, things are looking up.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Hi Mom!

So, this weekend, I found out my mom reads my blog. I immediately realized that I should go back through my posts and make sure I didn't have anything on here that should be kept from her. I think I'm in the clear, though.

Mom, how come you never comment on my fabulous blog?!? (She hates how often I use the word "fabulous.")

Anyway, welcome to the blog, Mom. I'll see you next week. Love you!

My Little Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

I have to be honest...the past few years we haven't put up a Christmas tree. Sad, huh? It's just that we don't spend any time at home during the holidays. We spend 7-10 days traveling between our families. I don't wrap gifts until I get to the destination, so nothing gets put under the tree. And we have a small house. We don't really have the room for a full-size tree.

Enter the little pencil tree I rescued from my mom! I bought it 5 years ago for my office. Mom saw it when I moved, and she totally stole it. Okay, maybe "stole" is a harsh word. Maybe I meant to say "borrowed knowing full well she would never return it so I had to stage a rescue."



Anyway, it fits perfectly on a side table in the living room. The only sad thing is that the beautiful angel that I love so much cannot fit onto the top of the tree. So I have it sitting beside the tree instead.

Instead of the angel, I have a little Boyd's Bear Santa on top of the tree instead.

And you know what, I really love the little tree! It's perfect. It makes me happy. And at a time when a lot of things have made me sad this season, it's nice to come home to a warm feeling.

Hate is Such a Strong Word

You know what I hate? I absolutely hate the sound of water being poured. There is an ad on TV for Brita that kills me with their incessant pouring of water. That sounds just grates on my nerves. It's awful.

I used to work with this guy, Greg, who was hilarious! I loved being around him. He was hilarious, and he always found a way to cut the stress in our office. We worked for this absolute crazy nazi-ish manager and he could make her look so ridiculous that I would laugh myself into an asthma attack. And having to use that inhaler that made me shake like an addict was totally worth it. But he was constantly pouring himself huge glasses of water out of a pitcher he kept out of his desk.

And he knew it drove me crazy, so he did it even more. Oh, that sound! It haunts me. And when that commercial comes on, I can't mute the TV quick enough.

Thanksgiving Can Last For a Week, Right?

Dave and I braved the horror that is I-71 from Cleveland to Columbus last Wednesday in order to spend Thanksgiving with my family. Can someone explain to me why the construction powers-that-be decided the day before a major travel holiday would be good to shut down 2 of 3 lanes for absolutely no reason? I wanted to find out where those jerks were eating their turkey on Thursday and then drive really s-l-o-w-l-y in front of them, delaying their arrival by 2-3 hours just to get even. Morons!

I figured we would stay through the weekend in order to help Gramma put up the tree and decorate, but I extended my stay a few days in order to bake Christmas cookies. We freeze them so they are wonderful on Christmas Day...otherwise, yuck! Too early. We also made buckeyes. The last time I made these was for my wedding 2 1/2 years ago, and we made over 400. This time we made a single batch and they were done so quickly. How I ever convinced my mother and gramma to help me with that project, I'll never know. And somehow I managed to escape putting them in the wrappers and boxing them up, not to mention assembling the boxes, and closing and sealing them. Thank God for my matron of honor. [Side note to BJ...you are the best and I didn't deserve the amount of work you put into that weekend!]

So now I'm getting home a week later and playing catch up with emails, phone messages and laundry. Anytime you get one-on-one time with Gramma, it's good. And yummy food! 7 days of yummy goodness. Thankfully her pantry is in the basement and I had to keep running up and down the steps.

So, what did I miss?