What are you up to today? This week?

[Anna]

Made the first batch of Christmas cookies, the house smells like heaven right now LOL, will chocolate coat them tomorrow though, still a bit off after the rounds with the soar throat/no voice ordeal (the voice is still not all there which is a bother when trying to sing...) I really like this time of year with all the things one does while getting closer to the holidays...

Looking forward to the weekend as well as that is when we will get the tree and dress that as well as take out the rest of the ornaments the really Christmassy ones as we mostly have the light ornaments out for the first of Advent...

Hugs

[Kalygirl]

What a weird fall/winter its been! I've been online lots but I feel like I'm getting nothing done as far as emails and reading here, etc. Doing that now and trying to find my office at the same time...too much junk mail!!! This evening, DH and I are putting up the tree and putting together my Santa table. Maybe I'll even remember to take pictures this year!!!

[havanaholly]

We stopped by DS' and served his soon-to-be-former-roommate with his eviction notice and took DS to lunch & shopping, but not before I went room-to-room with my trusty little camera, snapping pictures. Bless his little heart, DS asked me why and I told him (loud enough for the "roomie" to hear, as I snapped his room with the door open) that was in case we also had to file a property damage suit. From what DS said later, at lunch, he talked to the guy and apparently he has gotten the idea that he shouldn't bully us and we are going to get his butt out of there with all the legal means at our disposal. To be continued...

Meanwhile we bought DH's Christmas pressie today, a 42" flat-screen plasma HDTV to replace the one the lightning ate while we were camping at FL Caverns last month.

[heidiiiii]

Still feeling a bit craptastic today. Very tired. It rained for 3 days straight plus Christmas stuff, running around, and all over yuck. I scored at the grocery store today..Now I know we just had Thanksgiving but I bought a 3 lb split turkey breast for a smidge over $3. It is all done roasting and I have some baby potatoes almost done in the oven.

That is lunch for Fred and I today. The house smells so good right now.

The rain is finally over but that means it is going to get cold again. It is almost 60 today..it was that warm yesterday. Going to drop tonite and it will be in the 30s tomorrow. So I better sit out on the porch today and enjoy it.

Nothing mini today...just do not feel good. Going to read my two newspapers, watch Top Chef on the DVR, eat my turkey, and take a nap. Chelsea is out with Fred Christmas shopping and Nat is in school. Nat is going to a slumber/birthday party tonite so it will be just me and Chels. Nice and quiet..ahhh! No teenagery tom foolery going on.

I am almost finished with beading the branches on the tree. I will post pics when I have it all assembled.

[heidiiiii]

I forgot to say..

I added some more fish to the tank yesterday. Since the catfish, two platys, and the molly are doing good. I bought a small algae eater, and two silver/black tetras.

I am having issues with cloudy water. I was able to find a charcoal filter to add to the filter pump, so I will see if that does the trick. If it does not, I will have to do some investigation.

One of the problems is that you cannot hook up a under gravel gate system for an air pump for the shape of tank I have. I went to 3 pet/fish stores and they do not carry them. If I had that (like I did with the 75 gal tank) I probably would not have the cloud issues I have now.

Anyone who knows what I am talking about may can jump right in and help me. I never had this problem ever before so I need to learn what to do.

[Peachie]

I've been cleaning closets...putting summer clothes away and going to find them a new home this spring...

[Anna]

We just got back home and took in the tree to "defrost" a little prior to dressing it, ahhhh, new tree smell....

Hugs

[heidiiiii]

Lazy saturday. Fred left about an hour ago (7am) to go Christmas shopping with his friend. Godspeed to them both! ROFL

I am a little upset. I went to purchase tickets to the showing of the Nutcracker this weekend and it was all sold out. Natalie and Chelsea love that ballet. Will try sooner next year.

I have overdone it all week and now I must rest. I will do a lil work around the house but basically I will just watch cooking show, work on minis, and that is that!

[KathieB]

NJ will be here in an hour to finish up the general store. Last night I made the neatest little two man crosscut saw. Today we have to make the polyclay fruits and vegetables for the crates. NJ will work her magic in putting everything in place, and we'll take photos. Both of our entries will be in the mail on Monday. Talk about cutting it close, but real life intervened for both of us.

Temps here will be in the 50s and 60s today and tomorrow. I'm going to decorate our neighbors' porch with garlands and bows and put a wreath on their front door. They moved to Colorado last June. We've been keeping an eye on their house, which is up for sale. It looks so lonely without any holiday decor that I want to do this for them (and the neighborhood). I've had the decorations for a while, but it's been too cold to decorate outside!

[heidiiiii]

Chelsea is sick with a cold. There goes my nice quiet day in front of the tv watching cooking shows... She is watching I Love Lucy, coughing her germs in my work area, and waiting for the soup I made to be done.

I threw together a garlicy and spicy soup to get her juices unflowed. Carrots, mushrooms, 3 cloves of garlic, spinach, peas, black beans, lemon rind(and juice) and fingerling potatoes. I think I will add either rice or pasta to it (i will ask what she prefers). It has got some ginger in there, some tumeric, sea salt and pepper and for spice..some chinese hot pepper paste. Smells really good.

I do not want to be Florence Nightingale today. I want to watch Ina Garten and do minis today!

If Nat comes home with a cold I will run away..LOL

[TinyJudi]

Sorry to hear Chelsea isn't feeling well. Hopefully she will sleep a lot to regain her strength and you will have some 'Heidi' time. I had a very productive night last night. Stayed up waaaay past my bedtime. I am hoping to continue today now that things have had a chance to dry. It is funny though. I wasn't tired at all while I was crafting, but once I had to stop and wait for things to dry..I got sleepy . So today I will be finishing up the wine casks and the shelves to set them on and the topiaries. I really need to get more wine glasses and bottles. No hurry though. It will all come together in time.

[heidiiiii]

She is prostrate on the couch and not talking. She is sick. I just did a 1st round in her bedroom. Washing her blankets, sheets, etc. I dusted, put her books away, sprinkled carpet fresh, and sprayed her bed and pillows with Febreze. When she is ready to go to bed, it will be in a nice clean room.

Her room was not that bad. It used to be WAY worse so I think she is growing..ROFL

I do NOT clean their rooms. If they want it to be a pigsty..I keep the door closed. My Mom taught me that one. But when they are sick, I clean it in nice manageable piles so that they can relax. Being sick in a dirty room makes you feel worse..IMO.

This is giving me a chance to hand new curtain hangers and rod for her window. I am not overdoing Deb..so do not worry. Any heavy lifting (like carrying the vacuum upstairs) will be Fred`s job when he gets back from Christmas shopping.

[bookmarm]

"run run rudolf" day for us. Kellan and I picked up the load of band fruit and have been distributing it to coworkers and library patrons who ordered it. We've taken some fudge to the garden center where Christopher works for the staff to enjoy. Got grocery shopping, more fruit deliveries, leaf blowing and litter pans on the honey do list. I'll be in the car most of the afternoon and Kellan will start house chores. Got to come up with a mini club gift for the party tomorrow.

[ilovecats]

I got home from work, at lunch. did the dishes, started the laundry. i want to mini really bad! it's been about 1.5 months or close to it. so what do i want to do? if i work on the garfield it would be to sand the siding. or i can work on my greenleaf store. i'm in the mood for cute but i don't have enough spackle for what i want to do. or i can work on my glencroft, the next step is to sand and stain the stairs. or i could decorate a dollhouse, which i am really in the mood for but would have to move many boxes and look for furniture and accessories. plus i don't have a spot set up yet that is cat free so the furry beasts would steal stuff. i also could inventory my new beacon hill and start punching out pieces to build the shell with. heck, i don't know what i want to do, i just want to do it! lol. Guess i'll make another cup of tea and think about this.

[Starfire]

My cold has settled into my chest and after no sleep the last two nights, (could not breath lying down, coughing with no product and flooding nose) went into Urgent Care first thing this morning. Not much of a crowd thank goodness and got right in. After three inhalent treatments, I can breath again but my rib cage is so sore it hurts when I do cough or laugh. Christmas is only partially done, no cards or letters out. Tree is only just started. We may have a pretty bare house this Christmas. At least I have the groceries in and presents all done. DH is doing so much better then me!

[heidiiiii]

I hope you feel better soon Beverly. I myself just realized that Chelsea has Secret Santa gifts to get. She has to give out the first one tomorrow! She is too sick to go shopping.

So I will have to get it and maybe Tuesdays gift for her. She is a major trooper so I know she will go into work tomorrow even though she does not feel well...takes after Fred.

For the second time this past week, someone has asked me how long Fred and I have been together. When I tell them...married 17 yrs (in Jan 09) and together 23 yrs (Feb 09)..they have a look of shock on their faces. These are people that are our ages. I guess we are an oddity. We are the parents of both girls and we all live together in the same house. Dumbstruck and What is your secret? are the things that happen after that. What is our secret? Ummm.. there is no secret. We just live and love. That is it. I always knew he would be the one that would be sitting next to me on our front porch rocking away into old age..even as a 17 yr old. Some of them do not like the answer. Fred gets the same thing. How do you do it? Do what? Live. We just live..that is all. I thought it is just funny. We are the sages of our circle of friends. Tell me Master..What is the secret to long life with only one partner???

If they rub my belly, they are going to have to pay me!

[havanaholly]

DH & I were married the day after we graduated from UF in 1963, so we've been together over 45 years! The "secret"? Not killing each other and a shared, wierd sense of humor.

Yesterday all I wanted to do was go get groceries to replace what we'd eaten for Breakfasts & lunches & buy stuff for baking for the Christmas party we're going to today, and we ended up making a "few" stops along the way... finally got to the grocery store after 5 PM!.lol

We got up with the clock this AM and after breakfast I baked banana nut chip bread and made one of my variations on pulau to take to the party. We stopped at one of the thrift stores we don't get to very often; Peggi, wait until you see the counted crossstitch book I found!

[Starfire]

Oh Heidiii,

Ouch, lol, ouch,ouch. :jumping: Well I did my laugh for the day, But thanks for your good wishes. Well I am breathing better but it still hurts when I cough. Absolutely no strength. Hope to do better next few days.

[grazhina]

Bev, maybe you got what I got? it's the pits.

This year will be 34 years for DH and me. Like Mr & Mrs Paul Newman and Pres. & Mrs. Dwight Eisenhower, the secret of our sucess is having absolutely nothing in common?

The power is still out in my neighborhood, the generator is chugging away for the 3rd day now. We had to empty the freezer in the basement because everything was thawing. What didn't fit in the refrigerator freezer had to go out on the deck. Our next door neighbors came home and put the contents of their fridge on their deck.

I've been decorating the tree on and off for the past 3 days. I've been sick, with a cough, bronchial inflamation, moderately high fever, yesterday a runny nose, and sleeping when I can. There's no light in the living room where the tree is, and I get out of breath hanging ornaments, so it's slow going. I'd like to just stop right now, but then it won't look right to me and that'll drive me nuts.

The outdoor lights are piled up in the hall, but I might skip them again this year. It might be 50 tomorrow, with rain in the afternoon, but DH and I haven't shopped for presents for our 15 year old son yet. He wanted a Wii game which his sister is giving him, and another Wii numchuck, and he can't think of anything else he wants. He knows he's getting clothes, cause he's not a little kid anymore, but he thinks it's a bit depressing, he'd like to get toys, even though he doesn't want any anymore.

I guess I'll have to drag myself out to the store to find something to cook for dinner. I'd love to just order a pizza, but DH is a home cooking person....pooh, not much tastes good to me. I'd love a spicy pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and green peppers. Actually, I've been stuffing myself the last few days. I found that if I was nibbling or drinking it kept me from coughing, and coughing hurts, especially when I'm having a hard time doing it. Mostly I do a weird huh-huh, befor I finally manage a cough. ouch...just did it again.

I wish I could lay in bed and watch TV with a heating pad on my chest, but we only have power in 2 rooms downstairs and one bathroom.

Okay, I guess I've moaned, groaned and complained enough for now. :jumping:

[heidiiiii]

The "secret"? Not killing each other and a shared, wierd sense of humor.

Those are extra important. Also..never say anything awful you will regret later. You cannot take it back once it has left your lips to their ears. You can THINK it but do not say it. Be honest but also know that some information you can keep to yourself (not anything super bad, mind you). You do your thing. They do their thing. Put up with their stinky friends. They will put up with yours. Do not make a big deal about *must haves*. There is no.."I must have a gift for my anniversary"

We have not given each other OR celebrated our anniversaries at all. It is just another day to us. It is also jammed into the middle of both our birthdays so it gets celebrated in our own way.

Always show love. Offer a beverage if you are going to get one. Relinquish the remote/computer. Share..even if it is your most favorite piece of chocolate cake in the world.

Do not be jealous but keep your eye out for interlopers!

Always say Please and Thank you..Always.

You do these things on a regular basis and you will have a happy relationship..be it marriage, partnership, friendship, or family.

[havanaholly]

It also doesn't hurt to continue to go out on dates with each other...

Today we have appointments with the eye doctor this afternoon, at out age it's twice a year. If DH wakes up & we hit the road early enough, I need to renew the tag on my car and my driver's license is finally due for renewal (after 16 years!!!), and I have to retake the written test (age). oh, joy.

[Steve_in_PA]

Besides working on mini houses, I also have to work on my real one ! I got an excellent deal on some new carpet on Craig's List & am going to put it in my living room. Yesterday I tore the old stuff out & the entire house is covered in dust ! I'm going to run to Lowe's first thing & get some plywood underlayment. If I figure it right, I should have enough left over for guess what....a mini project !!

Steve in PA

[heidiiiii]

Wow Holly, 16 years. Is that normal for your part of the country? Ours is every ummm 5 yrs I think. All I know is I have to get mine renewed in January.

Chelsea was much better yesterday. I think her immune system is getting stronger being around all the snotty kids..hehehe I have to take her to the police department today to do her fingerprints again (she is a procrastinator) and she has to buy Secret Santa gifts also. Final exams start today for Natalie. Then she is off of school for winter break (Dec 21-Jan 2). oh joy. *i hate teenagers*

More beading. It does take a long time to do when you have RL stuff to do. I have been able to get one layer (5 branches) done a day. I want to get it done before Christmas.

I have laundry to do and floors to wash today. The rain has stopped so the floors will dry quicker.

[havanaholly]

I don't know about "normal", the last time I renewed by mail was when I changed s from Tallahassee to Havana, and that was 1992. Something about being a safe driver...

[KathieB]

This morning I need to pack up my Creatin' Contest entry and get it to the post office, and this afternoon we go to Sedalia for Lloyd's radiation treatment, but beyond that the day is open, open, open. No minis on deadline. Phew!

What has been calling my name ever more insistently for the past several days is the White Orchid. I've had the vision in my head ever since it arrived. It needs to be executed! :lol: