It's on!

It's New Years Eve. That means it's time for the SciFi Channels Twilight Zone marathon. Here's your chance to watch some of the best written science fiction ever. Rod Serling was an amazing writer.

The Twilight Zone was written during that time period when censors still viewed everything before it was aired. If the censor didn't like what it, it couldn't be aired. Most political and social commentaries wouldn't be seen. In order to get around this, many writers turned to science fiction. They were able to get out what they wanted to say, but were allowed to say it. Why not say how wrong nuclear war is? They aren't saying it about war between the US and Russia. This is talking about war on another planet. It's OK to talk about that.

I enjoy The Twilight Zone more than pretty much any other show. Why else would I have named my daughter Serling? It's a great show that tells a story while entertaining you. It's safe to watch with kids. Pop some popcorn and curl up on the couch. Try to catch my favorite episodes: Time Enough at Last, Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?, The Martians are Coming on Maple Street and To Serve Man. Those are the 4 best episodes, in my opinion.

Sleep, Glorious Sleep!!

Remember my post a few days ago about Mommy being cranky? Well, let me say it wasn't pretty. Besides Paige being sick during the night for a couple nights in a row, Ronnie has been sick & snoring. Add to that his night job waking me up several times a night. Oh, and a side effect of a medicine I have to take is the dreams. It gives you these vivid, realistic dreams which make me wake up 3 or 4 times a night. Everything added together made Mommy not a happy Mommy. And we all know the saying "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." Yeah, it's true.

The past couple of nights Paige hasn't been throwing up during the night. Yeah! Ronnie hasn't had to work nights since last week. Two of the issues down. Finally, Ronnie's snoring & my side effect dreams. To combat those, I turn to another medicine, Ambien. We don't take it often, but when we do, watch out.

A couple of nights ago Ronnie slept on the couch & I took an Ambien. I got 10 hours of sleep straight. No waking up, no snoring, nothing. Then, because Ronnie has a been so tired from working 2 jobs, he took one the next night. I slept on the couch then. People walking in may have thought we had a fight or something. No, we just needed our sleep. Sometimes, in order to get the sleep we need, we have to sleep in separate beds. Or in our case, one of us in the bed, the other on the couch. I must say, we have a really comfy couch.

And now Mommy is happy, so we can all be happy.

Christmas Pictures- Finally!

This year there weren't a lot of pictures. Paige was a diva avoiding the paparazzi. She kept putting her hand up in front of the lens and saying "No take pictures of me!" I did snap a few, since it was Christmas, but for the most part, I didn't take that many.

Santa did a nice setup in the living room. She watched Die Hard as she set up the gifts.

Santa brought a doll house that's bigger than Paige, a Bob the Builder work bench & a pink dolphin. There's also tons of stuff under that tree!

The next morning, Paige came in & couldn't believe that Santa had brought it for her. She kept asking if it was hers, and if she could play with it.

She wasted no time in opening the gifts under the tree.


We were super cute in our matching jammies. This is one of my favorite traditions that we've started. I shop early to make sure I can get them matching, and in the correct sizes. On Christmas Eve after taking a bath, I pull out the new ones for her to put on. She got so excited this year. I laid out both sets of jammies on the bed so she could see that mine matched hers.

Paige and Daddy laid down on the floor to play with the new toys. She was so excited and overwhelmed she had no idea what to play with first.

Paige loves to color, and got 2 new Color Wonder sets. She was coloring with Daddy, while wearing 3 sets of barrettes in her hair. Everything else is scattered around.

Overall, I think there was a good haul this year.



I took my camera to Granny's house, but forgot to get it out and take any pictures. Paige took pictures on her camera, but they were odd pictures. If you would really like to see Granny's floor, let me know. I've got pictures of it. And of her couch, the table, and various other objects that stood still long enough. In a few weeks I'll review the hits & misses of Christmas. We need time to play with them to decide whether they were a good buy or not.

Christmas Picture Delay

Sorry, but there's been a delay in the posting of Christmas pictures. I know, you're disappointed. You were just waiting to see the picture of me and Paige in our matching jammies. There's been complications. See, Ronnie works nights 3 nights a week and by the time he gets in from work I'm ready for bed. I get woken up. Then, when he comes to bed I get woken up again. Then if Paige wakes up during the night for any reason, I get woken up again. And let's not forget that Ronnie is having sinus issues & as a result is snoring at night. The result? Mommy needs a good nights sleep! I'm cranky. And Paige is pushing ever button trying so hard to push me to my limits. And she's doing a good job of it too.

Last night she started coughing around 2:30. The end result was her throwing up all over her bed. She ate gumbo for dinner. It wasn't pretty. And I didn't get much sleep at all. We spent the day going to Target for a few items, then meeting up with Ronnie's older sister and her family. I haven't had the time or energy to download pics from the camera.

I'm about to put Ronnie to work downloading so that I can post pics. I somehow managed to not take a single picture at Granny's house last night. I don't know how, other than the massive confusion.

If I did my math correctly, there were 39 people in her house last night. Please remember that it was only immediate family. To me, that is what Christmas is all about. The huge amounts of cousins, aunts & uncles sitting around chatting, eating & playing with kids. To be honest, I didn't even know where Paige was half the time. She was in a safe, family environment with lots and lots of adults around. It's community parenting. If you see someones child doing something wrong or possibly dangerous, you stop them. We all watch out for each others kids, after all, we're family. I knew she was in the house & that's all that mattered.

We splurged on an After Christmas Adults Only Dinner. Mommy had a couple of margaritas. I'm blogging buzzed. It's time for me to curl up on the couch with Ronnie and watch Sixteen Candles before trying to get a full nights sleep. Tomorrow it's back to normal.


Oh, and it's a journey diamond necklace, not an eternity necklace. I stand corrected.

Santa Came Through

With a little help from Circle K, Santa delivered a 12 pack of Coke to the fridge. They were nice & chilled when I got up this morning. He also brought an eternity necklace, but that's another post.

I just wanted to let everyone know the world is safe once again. Mommy had her morning Coke!

Merry Christmas. I hope Santa brought you exactly what you wanted.

Pictures & full Christmas day details to follow tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!!

It's 8:30, Paige is in bed, Santa has eaten the cookies & left the gifts. Santa even had time to play a little bit of computer game. I thought we were going lite with Christmas this year. It seemed like we were going lite. Paige got a couple of big gifts, then a few small ones. The more I wrapped the more I found to wrap. I didn't think I was going to finish! Our Christmas tree looks like it exploded presents.

It was an icky-rainy day here, so we spent it mostly indoors. We did venture out to the grocery store in order to get some last minute items. Unfortunately, I thought I still have Coke and I don't. Marc & Wendy are out, so I can't just run to the store. I did send Ronnie a text asking him to pick some up on his way home. Mommy without Coke is NOT pretty. I can go without ever drinking another sip of coffee my entire life. Do not ask me to give up the Coke. It's just not going to happen. Yes, I'm willing to pay convenience store prices in order to have a 12 pack in my fridge tomorrow morning.

We met Ronnie at work for an early lunch. Then Paige napped. This afternoon we made cookies for Santa & reindeer food. Since it was raining tonight we couldn't spread it for the reindeer. Paige settled for putting it in a big bowl next to Santa's cookies. She was super excited about the new, matching jammies for the 2 of us. She asked where Daddy's were. I couldn't explain that Target didn't make them in matching for Daddy. So, I told her they were only for girls. That always works!

Tomorrow morning will be spent here, then the afternoon with family. We'll go to Ronnie's parents house, then on to Granny's house where my entire family will be. I hope everyone has a great Christmas, and that Santa brings you what you asked for. (COKES SANTA, I NEED A 12 PACK OF COKE!) I won't be online again until Friday probably. Enjoy your day tomorrow. Spend time playing with the kids, and remembering why you always woke up so early on Christmas morning.

To Do List

I'm a list maker. There's usually so much going on, that if I don't make a list, I'll forget something. Some days I know there's a lot to do once I get home, so I'll start making a list at work. I started today's list about 3 or so. I would think of something, add it to the list, and keep going on with work. I leave off the stuff like bath, pajamas, bedtime story. But, I do put a few off the DUH! things on there. There's just that satisfaction of getting to cross it off the list. Here's tonight's list:

• Set coffe pot
• Milk for daycare
• Make rice for tomorrow's supper
• Make supper
• Clean kitchen
• Balance checkbook
• Pay bills
• Make invitations
• Make art pen pal project
• Wrap last gifts
• Fix Buzz Lightyear ornament someone knocked off the tree
• Sweep/mop kitchen
• Vacuum
• Blog
• Enter Coke rewards
• Go to drug store and gas station
• Laundry
  

That's it. It's 18 separate entries. You'll be happy to know that as of this post, I've completed 13 of them. The art project is a 3 nighter at least. I've glued, now I have to wait for it to set, tomorrow night I'll paint, then I glue again on the 3rd night. I may not finish Paige's birthday invitations tonight, but I'll at least get the 3 done for her friends at daycare we're inviting. Finally, I didn't vacuum. It's just too late. Maybe tomorrow. And as soon as I post this, I'll wrap the last 2 gifts. I've at least touched on everything on the list. I'll just have to carry a few things over.

I do recommend the list. I can procrastinate with the best of them. I find a book, a blanket & the couch and I'm done. I can spend the rest of the night right there happy as can be. But, knowing it's written down, all that stuff I need to get done, I just have to do it. I have to mark the stuff off the list. It's a good feeling of accomplishment. My secret, of course, is adding something I know no matter what, I'll get done. Like cook supper. It's a gimme, so you know you'll mark 1 thing off the list.

edited: I finished the invitations. Or, at least as many as I think I'll need. I've hand made them, but that's another post. The only carry overs to tomorrow is vacuum and work on the art pen pal project.

Ideas Wanted

I'm looking for more things to do with Paige on Christmas Eve. Ronnie is working a double this year. She's really at an age where she gets the whole Santa thing & is getting excited.

Here's what we have so far:
New, matching jammies for Mommy & Paige.
Bake cookies for Santa.
Make reindeer food to sprinkle on the lawn.

That's it. Nothing else special. I don't really want to start the opening 1 present early tradition. I want her to come in Christmas morning and go crazy with all the cool stuff!

You will be very happy to know that Santa did purchase a pink gift, then forgot about it. Santa found it last night while gathering up all the gifts to open & jammies to wash. It's a wooden percussion dolphin. Something like this, only hers is pink.

So, what do you do on Christmas Eve?

Ongoing Projects

As soon as I think I've caught up on my projects, more pop up. I guess that's always the way. But at this rate, Paige's scrapbook will never get updated!

Let's see, where to start? Well, my team didn't win the decorating contest. The judges were all guys, and they voted for the Santa Strip Club area. Completely wrong in my opinion, but it was really funny! Paige's daycare party was a huge success. The kids all had a blast and everyone loved their goody bags, including the teachers.

Last night was our unofficial office party. It was much more fun than the official one. This one involved bacon wrapped jalapenos, 200 jello shots & karaoke. Almost everyone from work showed up. There wasn't any drama, just a bunch of accountants having a good time. For those of you who think our idea of a good time is a tax return, you've obviously never been out with us!

Finally, preparation for Paige's 3rd birthday party is well underway. My latest project is to make her invitations & get them ready to hand out. Her birthday is in about a month, so there's a lot to do. Up until a week ago we were having it at Build a Bear, but Ronnie changed his mind. He wanted to have it here at home. So, we're having an arts & crafts birthday party. We're thinking lots of paint, play doh, construction paper, glue, pipe cleaners, googly eyes. The works. I think it will be a blast for the kids. I'll provide smocks for the small artists & turn them loose on the carport. Tables will be covered in cheap plastic table clothes, and the whole area can be hosed down afterwards. I think it's perfect!

Christmas Party Cubed

This is a week of Christmas parties for us. First, my office is having is official Christmas party & luncheon today. Tomorrow Paige has her daycare party. Saturday night is our unofficial work party. One of my coworkers decided we needed a huge blowout. Another volunteered her house. It all just came together.

Last night I had to finish up my last minute stuff. I made a huge bag of Puppy Chow to take to my office party today. Then, while that was cooling I made 16 English muffin pizzas for Paige to take to daycare tomorrow. They had to be made in batches of 8, so it took a bit of time. I also made Christmas tree soaps to add to her teachers gift bags. They are completely done now: 1 ornament, 2 chocolate covered pretzel rods & a soap. The bags for her friends have been done since last week. I'm ready to take them in and let the kids have them. I want to see how well they're liked.

Since none of this can happen until Paige is in bed at 7:45, it means I get a late start to doing anything. But, it looks like we're about done for the holidays. Ronnie has to make the appetizers to take to the party on Saturday. He's making spinach bacon dip & bacon wrapped stuffed jalapenos.

To answer a question posted in comments: Coke salad is a jello salad made with Coke, pineapple, cherries, nuts, celery (left out of mine cuz I hate it) & cream cheese. It's super yummy. I'll try to find my recipe or get it again from Mom and post it.

And the decorating contest has been postponed again. Well, the winner announcement has been postponed. It will now be done tomorrow. We have coworkers coming in from offices out of state. Since they can be completely impartial, they will be our judges. They won't know who decorated what area. They will vote by numbers. The area with the most votes wins! Stay tuned, I'll let you know how we did tomorrow night.

Paige's first letter to Santa

Paige has gotten very excited about Santa coming to visit. About a week ago I told her she needed to write a letter to Santa. If she didn't, he wouldn't know what she wanted. Yesterday we sat down & wrote her first letter.

She told Santa she's been a nice girl, and that she learned to use the potty like a big girl. Then she asked Santa to bring her a pink present. The letter was written on card stock I use in scrapbooking. At the end of the letter she put all kinds of stickers for Santa. Here's where Mommy had a flash of brilliance. Instead of mailing the letter to the North Pole, we put it on the tree.

We've been telling Paige that Santa finds us because he can see our tree. We put the letter on the front of the tree, held in place by the special garland we made. (It's the same garland as what we made to take to the office.) Santa must have found her letter. He even wrote one back. He told her to keep being nice & to listen to Mommy and Daddy. That if she does, he'll bring her a pink present. He also told her he's very proud of her for learning to use the potty like a big girl.

These two letters will look so cute in her scrapbook. You know that's exactly where they're going, right?

Holiday Meme

Monica tagged me for a holiday meme. I promised her I would post it by the end of the week. And this is the end of the week. At least to me it is. So, without further procrastination, here it is.

Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate. With lots of marshmallows.

Does Santa wrap presents or put them under the tree?
Puts them under the tree. This year Paige wants a pink present, so he may have to wrap 1.

White or colored lights on your tree?
Colored. And blinking.

Favorite holiday dish (not including dessert)?
Gumbo. Doesn't everyone have that at Christmas?

Favorite holiday memory as a child?
I forget how old I was. It was Christmas morning at Granny & Paw Paw's. Me and Stephine got up early. We ran into the living room & there was 2 distinct sides of the Christmas tree: mine & hers. Mine had all kinds of Strawberry Shortcake under it. We had a blast playing that day.

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I'm not sure. But, I'm pretty sure it involved my Uncle Kenny.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
With lots of help from Paige & the cats. Usually with one of our favorite Christmas movies playing in the background: Die Hard.

Snow: love it or dread it?
Dread it. After living in Germany I can honestly say I hate the stuff. I live in the South. We don't get it here.

Can you ice skate?
I live in the Deep South. Our only ice is in sweet tea & margaritas.

Do you remember your favorite gift?
Not sure I could pick one. Each year I got something that I really, really, really wanted.

What is the most important part of the holidays for you?
Playing on Christmas morning with Paige.

What is your favorite dessert?
I can't pick just one. I love Coke Salad, Fudge, Pralines, all of it.

What is your favorite tradition?
It's a new one we started last year: matching jammies for Mommy & Paige on Christmas Eve.

Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
A little of both. I love picking out the perfect gift. But I also enjoy unwrapping.

What is your favorite Christmas song?
Little Drummer Boy sung by Bing Crosby & David Bowie

Candy canes: yuck or yum?
Yum for the first 1 or 2 then yuck. I can only eat peppermint in small amounts.

Ever recycled a gift?
Yep, sure have! I usually don't give it to someone else as a gift I purchased. But, if I get something I don't like, wrong size, awful color, etc, I've given it away. There have been the odd gift here & there I presented as if I bought it.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

We pulled it off today! My team at work, Crystal, Marie & myself, with Ronnie's help, decorated our area of the office. We selected the area where Crystal & I sit. It's a bit out of the way, so we had more room to play with. The team who selected the training room or the one with the kitchen, must be aware of the rooms purpose, and design around it. The only ones who'll be inconvenienced is me & Crystal.

Please warm yourself by our fire.


Once your toes are toasty warm, take a step through our door...


into our Winter Wonderland. Complete with Frosty, Alabama style.

In case you don't recognize the hat, that's the style worn by Coach Bear Bryant from Bama.

Looking at the fireplace, it's made from poster board, construction paper, & tissue paper. The red & orange look more like bricks in person. Hanging above the fireplace is our stockings with garland draped around them. The garland is made from foam beads strung on plastic cording.

The doorway is a box cut into strips, wrapped in wrapping paper, then curling ribbon hanging from it. We needed something that would allow us to walk through to our desks and to the printer.

Finally, Frosty. This creation was Ronnie's brainstorm. He's actually made of butcher paper. It was cut and stapled basically into a beach ball. We stuffed each section with newspaper from the recycle bin. The buttons, eyes, nose & mouth are all construction paper. We filled in with trees, snow, stuffed animals, and a baby doll on a sled to round out the picture. There are also some snowflakes hanging from the window & ceiling.

I think we did a good job. I also think we did great on the spending. We took the challenge to heart when they said to try to use items you already have. We spent a whopping $12. We bought stockings, wrapping paper & ribbon. What do you think? Think we'll win?

Whew!

Finally. Exams are over. I'm free!!! Well, until I take the next class. After discussing it with Ronnie I will take that class over the summer, not in the next term. It'll be tax season and I just don't want the added stress of class on top of that.

Now that class is over I have all this free time on my hands. Yeah, right. I wish. We're having a decorating contest at work. I've been a crafting fool since Sunday to get ready for it. We're decorating tomorrow. I'll take some pictures and blog about it tomorrow evening. I think you'll be impressed. Just a taste- we made a snowman. He's about 5'5 or so. Just wait. You'll love it!

On a sad note, my sister in law, Connie, lost her cat last month. We knew Dave had been sick. He had a nice going out party & burial. Hey, they live in New Orleans, everything is a party. We got a lovely card in the mail yesterday. It looked like a Christmas card, only with Dave's vital information on the front, and a full obituary on the back. Leave it to Connie to come up with something like that. That's definitely another post once I get it scanned. Dave was 17 years old. He had a pretty good life.

With the holidays fast approaching there's commitments out the butt. Paige and I will be in the Christmas parade on Saturday. Sunday afternoon is Ronnie's Christmas party at work. Thankfully, all Christmas shopping is done. I don't have another gift to buy. I have plenty to wrap, but nothing left to buy. I asked Paige what she wants Santa to bring. She said a pink present. I need to go get some pink wrapping paper now. Santa usually doesn't wrap gifts, but he may need to this year.

I still have a few projects to finish up craft wise. I need to put together the goody bags for her classmates. Then I need to do the bags for her teachers. Their gifts are made, except for the chocolate covered pretzels. I just need to put everything together in bags & put names on them. Making the bags for all of the classmates will take more work. I'm looking forward to time to relax, read & blog. I just need to figure out when that time is!

I'm glad to be back. I will be much more regular with my postings now. Thanks for bearing with me during finals. It was only one test, but it was a really hard one. Monica, I didn't forget that you tagged me. I'll blog that before the end of the week.

I've been tagged!

While taking a break from studying tonight I realized I had been tagged. Heather was kind enough to include me in the game. I'm supposed to tell you 7 things you probably didn't know about me, and then tag 7 others. I think most people I know who blog have already been tagged. But, I'll share 7 things you probably didn't know about me.

1. Ronnie was my first boyfriend back in 9th grade. Paige was born 20 years, almost to the day, after we first met.
2. I was a broadcast journalist in the Army.
   
3. I drank beer at Oktoberfest in Munich. That was about a year after I went through the Panama Canal.
4. I lived in Honduras. And I loved it!!
5. I started college twice before finally finishing on my third try.
6. On average I read 1 to 2 novels a week.
   
7. I have a tattoo of Mickey Mouse on my right thigh.

See, just a few odd bits of trivia about Angie. Because, well, you always wanted to know where my tattoo was, right? I was in Germany, Panama, & Honduras while in the Army. I had fun in all 3 countries, and would love to take Ronnie to Germany one day.

Forgive me

This week will be very hit or miss with posts. I have ideas, I have pictures, what I don't have is time. Nothing holiday related. My final is Monday. I'm a studying maniac right now. I study at lunch and after Paige goes to bed. My weekend will be spent curled up with auditing books.

Once my final is over I'll have more time to do the things I enjoy, like blogging. I will get on here and post when I have a moment or 2. Just don't expect to see something everyday. Next week, things will return to normal.

Crafting fool

We had the usual busy weekend: after Thanksgiving shopping, putting up the tree, and crafts. I wanted to complete as much as I could before the holidays got here. It seems the closer we get, the faster time goes. Paige went to church with Aunt Wii Sunday morning & I got out the glue gun. I would work on one project until I had to wait for glue to dry. Then I moved onto the next one. I would alternate between projects until everything was complete.

Sunday I managed to complete:
7 teacher gifts for daycare
6 gifts for my Secret Santa at work
18 chocolate covered pretzels
4 Blues Clues game sets

I'm now caught up on in-progress projects. The only real project left is my on-going, scrapbooking. I do need to get that caught up. Now hopefully I'll have the time to do so.

Paige helped us decorate the tree. I'll post pictures of it in my next blog.