Well as far as I’m concerned, Easter is officially over. We don’t go all out celebrating anyway, but we did spend a few hours at my parents’ and came home with leftovers and little bags of candy. Nothing else to report. Hopefully you enjoyed your day even though Target was closed.
Happy New Year everyone! We spent New Year’s Eve with my family and I proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am the Pictionary queen when Brother #1 and I kicked Brother #2 and Joe’s asses. It doesn’t matter who you pair me with because I will win, muhahaha!
We also celebrated my birthday which is next Monday. My mom got KFC (my fave) and baked me a yummy lemon cake. Joe gave her gift ideas based off my CD Universe wish list so I got Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am (try saying that three times quickly) for the PS2 and Impeach My Bush by Peaches. She’s no doubt so proud of her (almost) 32-year-old daughter and her taste in entertainment. I can’t help it, I love the mooninites and I lost my “borrowed” copy of the Peaches album in The Great Hard Drive Crash of ’07.
We stayed out way too late, not leaving until 1:30 am. The expressways were slick from the snow that had been coming down all night and we almost died. Not really, but one of the people ahead of us could have. This couple in a black car flew past us going way too fast and then their car started fishtailing all over the place. Finally they shot over two lanes to the left, nearly missing the median, then did a 360 and ended up facing us. Luckily they were far enough ahead of this that we witnessed it without fear of getting hit by them.
We eventually passed them as they were pulling over to the shoulder, no doubt to calm down after such a frightening incident. THAT is why you don’t drive like an asshole on slick roads. I hope it taught them a lesson that they take to heart. I was freaked out myself having witnessed it and didn’t fully calm down until we were safe in our bed at 3 am. There were a few wipeouts on the road along the way too. Mostly people taking curvy ramps too quickly and rolling down the embankment. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
We slept until 10 am this morning and skipped a shower so we could get to the mall before it got too crowded. Nothing to worry about there, though – it was dead. In fact everywhere we went was dead. How nice! I will have to keep that in mind for next year. Plus all the merchandise was heavily discounted even more so than two days ago. My $8 Isotoner slippers were only $6 so I bought another pair for work. Before heading home we stopped in Potbelly’s for lunch. I’ve never been there before but my turkey sandwich was so good I’ll definitely be back.
Now I’m just doing a little laundry while I rip a bunch of CDs for my iPod. It’s funny how there never seems to be a large enough selection of music on it.
I am really loving my iPod much more than I imagined. Every night I add more music to it (I’m up to 960+ songs) and listen for a half hour before going to sleep. I bought a cassette connection for the car recently too. I originally got an FM transmitter but it totally sucked. I could not find a suitable station that didn’t require me to turn up the sound full volume, and even then I’d hear my music only faintly with tons of static. I can’t imagine with the all the FM transmitters on the market that none of them work but I didn’t have any good luck with mine.
Today I discovered the world of Podcasts and downloaded one from The State of Trance, a show I used to listen to on my XM satellite radio. There are also podcasts from Dane Cook! I feel like a kid in a candy store right now.
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Today was our Christmas with the kids. I was worried they’d be waiting forever for me to get home so they could open their presents because it was snowing pretty good most of the day, but they shut down the office an hour early and by that time it had stopped coming down and the streets were just wet. In fact, I didn’t slide at all until I tried to get in the driveway (don’t get me started on how every frickin time it snows our driveway is nearly the last one cleared).
On the way home I stopped at Boston Market to pick up a Fall Feast – a whole chicken, 3 large sides, cornbread, and a salad. I got two sides of mashed potatoes since the kids go nuts over them, but ironically, the boy didn’t care for theirs. I didn’t either, to tell the truth. But the chicken was good, as was the mac and cheese and cornbread. Both kids loved the chicken which surprised me since it’s infused with garlic. We never go to Boston Market with them because last time they were very unhappy with the menu, but that was years ago and I think we’ve turned them around now.
After dinner it was present time! We left the two big presents for last for the biggest impact. The kids’ reactions didn’t disappoint. Just as I predicted, the boy literally screamed in joy when he opened his DS, and then proceeded to hug it. LMAO! He kept saying he felt like he was dreaming. The girl isn’t quite as vocal, but she was beaming. It was nice to see them so pleased with their gifts.
Tomorrow we’re going shopping, mostly so the girl can get a case for her iPod. The boy already owns two cases designed specifically for the DS that his grandmother bought him awhile back (don’t ask, because I don’t get it either).
Immediately after opening their gifts, the girl began calculating how much money she had from Joe’s side of the family and whether it was enough to buy a DS for herself (it is, and then some). We’re feeling a little torn about that since we usually allow the kids to spend the cash Joe’s parents sends and put the rest of their money in the bank. After all, they just got showered in gifts. But I know she really wants a DS too even if she wanted the iPod more. I could tell by the way she kept asking the boy if she could look at it. The problem is in order to be fair we’d also have to allow the boy to spend his money and he really doesn’t need any more stuff. We always feel conflicted in these situations between wanting the kids to be happy but making sure they aren’t spoiled rotten. Although frankly I don’t think that would happen because they are really good kids. I notice it most when we’re out in public or around other kids in some manner. They don’t run around acting like fools or being loud and obnoxious like some kids. So yea, we’ll probably give in and let them blow the money. When you come right down to it, I am a softy no matter what I may lead you to believe. ;)
This is my first chance in days to sit down at the computer for more than fifteen minutes. Let me tell you about the week I’ve had.
Monday I was in a seven hour meeting which basically kept me from doing my regular work until Tuesday. I’ve been busting my ass for the last three days to get caught up and get as much done as possible since I’m off tomorrow and won’t be returning to work until after Christmas. This time of the year is pure hell where I work with all the last minute end of the year requests.
Monday evening we headed to the girl’s school for her chorus’ winter concert. It wasn’t as boring as I was expecting; the kids sang well. Plus it was only an hour. It was a little uncomfortable, however, because Joe’s ex’s parents saved us seats so I was sitting directly in front of his ex the whole time. She wouldn’t even look my way though. Heehee.
Tuesday I spent my evening making Christmas cupcakes (no photos, sorry) and helping Joe wrap presents for my coworkers because Wednesday was our gift exchange. Check out my loot! Isn’t that stuffed bear adorable? I love it.
Tuesday night before going to bed, after a little deliberation (but not much since it was a steal), I ordered a brand spankin’ new computer from Dell which is due to arrive on New Year’s. I am so excited because I haven’t had an all-new computer in forever. Just to have functioning USB 2.0 will be a dream come true (mine won’t work). Plus I’ll have a nice fast processor and Windows Vista, which is nice as long as you have enough RAM. :)
Last night we got a bunch of Christmas cards, including the one I look forward to all year – my uncle’s. I love that he sends me five scratch-off lotto tickets every year because they are so much fun but I never buy them for myself. Two years ago I won $25 but last year I don’t think I even won a free ticket. This year made up for that because I won a free ticket, $2, and $100! I totally had a blonde moment with the $100 winner (the last ticket I scratched off, no less). You have to match three like numbers to win that amount and as I was scratching off the last space I was like, “come on $100!” but it was a free ticket, so I was bummed… until I noticed I already had three $100’s scratched off. Sometimes I am such a tard!
We also got our cards from Joe’s parents and for some reason they sent us checks for five times what they usually give each of us for Christmas. Cha-ching!
Oh and we had phone service installed last night as well. Joe was like, “aw, it’s our first phone together”. We’ve always had cell phones but never a home phone. The service is through the cable line which is pretty cool. We get a monster discount so it’s like $15 a month for unlimited calls in the US and Canada. I like the ring tone for the cordless phone we picked out. Not that we’ll hear it much since we don’t plan on sharing the number with anyone. Of course that didn’t stop Joe from picking up the phone (mind you, this was before it was connected) at random times during the week and going, “hello? hold on”, turning toward me and handing me the phone saying, “it’s your mom… again”. LOL!
Anyway, tonight after work we were back at the girl’s school to watch the boy’s beginning band put on a concert. This time we sat far away from Joe’s ex. This concert was even shorter than the girl’s, and quite frankly, not as good. But it’s middle school so really not that bad when you put it in perspective. I didn’t take band until high school (I played clarinet) so I give those kids a lot of credit.
On the way home we stopped at Fry’s and I got a cute iPod case that looks like a wallet. I had bought another case made of silicone earlier in the week but I don’t like it because the plastic that came with it to cover the screen and click wheel suck. Mine wouldn’t stay put and the plastic itself actually put a long scratch on the click wheel. I was so pissed!
Alright, I think we’re all caught up now. I’ll probably be going to bed soon because we plan on doing some shopping tomorrow for some new clothes and stuff. I like getting to the mall early before it gets crowded.
Today’s missions included getting cases and car hookups for our iPods and the Nintendo DS for my stepson.
I’m sad to say our first mission failed and the second one nearly did as well.
We hit Walmart after dropping the kids off and looked at their iPod accessories but were hesitant to buy anything since we planned on visiting the Apple store. That visit, however, was a bust. I have to say I was disappointed in their selection and surprised they didn’t have more to offer. None of the cases struck my fancy and all the car kits were around $80. Who would have thought Walmart would have a cheaper and better selection? I will be going back later this week to get the car kit so I can kiss my CDs goodbye. :)
After the Apple store we headed to Target with intentions to get the boy’s DS, except they were completely out of stock. When we got home I started checking other stores and everyone was out of stock as well and had no idea when more units were coming in. Panic started to hit. “We waited too long,” I bemoaned to Joe. But Joe, always my hero, thought to check Toys R Us. We rarely shop there so I had completely forgotten about it. After calling to confirm they had the black DS, we raced over, and collectively breathed a sigh of relief once we had it in our hands. Could you imagine how fucked up it would be to give the boy two DS games and no DS? (We had gotten Lego Star Wars and Pokemon Pearl at Target).
I don’t even want talk about the Nintendo Wii. I’m supposed to get one for my parents but I can’t find any. The girl at Toys R Us said they usually get them in on Sundays but warned us that people line up outside the store between 3-4 am. I love my parents but there’s no way in hell I’m doing that. They will have to get a rain-check I guess.
At least we’re completely done with the kids’ gifts. I ordered the girl a $75 Discover gift card today and included the message – “for the girl who doesn’t know what she wants (except an iPod) :)”. We thought that was funny.