Category: Holidays

Shopping day

Posted on

We’ve been up since 6 am because we wanted to get to the stores early. Our first stop was Target at 7 am and there was a line at the door. Everyone headed straight to the Christmas section when they opened, but we swung by Electronics first to pick up a new dvd player that was on sale for $29.99. We have two Memorex dvd players now and they’ve never given us problems. The reason for buying another one is that it is a progressive scan that plays cds and mp3 cds too which will come in handy if we end up buying this Panasonic home theatre system we’ve been eyeing since it doesn’t have a built-in dvd player.

After grabbing the dvd player, we went to the Christmas section too. It was crowded, but nothing unbearable. I grabbed four boxes of Christmas cards which will have me set for a few years since I don’t send many out. We also got more garland for the tree so it will look nicer next year. I got a ton of wrapping paper too. This is the best time to get this stuff: when it’s 50% off. I am nothing but frugal you know.

We went to the bank next to deposit our Christmas money and then to Meijer. I was shocked that it was rather dead inside. They didn’t have as nice of a Christmas selection, although I did get some gift boxes 50% off for those awkward shaped presents that are always a big pain in the butt to wrap.

Next we stopped at the gas station to cash in my winning lotto ticket and then Circuit City to look at home theatre systems. Nothing struck our fancy, so we went to the much-hated Best Buy. I really can’t stand that store, but it does serve it’s purpose when you’re looking to try before you buy. I had been torn between wanting a JVC or Panasonic, but after hearing both, I think we’re going to go with a Panasonic in the near future.

Our last stop was the library to drop off some books and get some new ones. The last batch I picked were awful, so hopefully these new ones will be much better. When we got home we immediately took down all the Christmas decorations and packed them up. I’m done with Christmas already. This is why I hate when all the Christmas stuff comes out before Thanksgiving: by the time December 25th comes along I’m already sick of all of it. Plus we got our dining room back so we can watch tv at the table when we eat. It feels a lot less cluttered too.

We’re just hanging out at home right now, waiting til 11 am so we can go out to lunch. I’ve got a Red Lobster gift card burning a hole in my pocket and a craving for their delicious coconut shrimp.

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve at Nicole’s Parents’

Posted on

Christmas Eve with my family was pretty nice. The commute was a nightmare, however. They are doing all this work on the expressway, so we had to get off further south from my house and drive up the side streets for a bit. We drove through Calumet City which must host only the dumbest, most ignorant drivers I have come across in a very long time. Some asshole made a left turn in front of us and then the passenger had the nerve to give us a double-bird. Yea, like it was our fault his buddy couldn’t drive. We saw numerous people blow red lights, including this one person who stopped at the light, then just went straight through when no one was coming. I will never ever go that way again lest I’m feeling suicidal.

We got to my parent’s house around 4-ish. My mom was heading out to church, my dad was asleep (he had hernia surgery the day before) and my brothers were playing video games. So we took the opportunity to work on my mom’s computer (after we hacked it and changed her password since I forgot what it was). I have it set up now so that Trillian loads and connects her to AIM, Yahoo, and MSN when she logs on so she doesn’t have to worry about doing it manually. My mom is on her computer often, but she usually just checks e-mail and plays Solitaire.

There was a lot of food as always. And as always, I forgot to take pictures, but here’s a quick snap I took this afternoon of my lunch of leftovers. In addition to all the food my mom made herself, we had food catered by our favorite Polish buffet, Warsaw Inn. We usually have a ham for Christmas, but with pirogies, blintzes and polish sausage, I didn’t miss it.

After dinner we exchanged presents before my cousin took off for her friend’s house. My mom got Joe and me a set of cute snowman mugs from Target. She gave us the receipt because she knew we don’t use mugs often, but I assured her I plan to keep them and use them as decorations since I love snowmen. I had just commented on how cute those mugs were the other day when I saw them at Target too. My cousin got me some nice-smelling candles and body spray, and my parents also gave us some cold hard cashola. Joe’s officially part of the family since he got the same amount of money as I did. It’s funny how that works: before we were married, each of us would always get twice as much than the other from our own parents. Now that we’re married, we’re treated equally when it comes to presents.

My mom always does this thing called Crazy Bingo where there are gifts you can win and steal from one another, with there only being one or two that aren’t silly gag gifts. This year she had these mini stockings stuffed with (as we later found out) Wendy’s gift certificates and cash. We played Uno, and every time someone would win, they picked a stocking. The intent was that once everyone had two stockings each, they could swap stockings if they won. Well, everyone kept winning except my brother and me. So then we played Uno against each other and the game just went on and on with no end in sight. Finally I won two games in a row against him so he got the two remaining stockings by default. In essence he was the biggest loser and I teased him about it. After all the swapping, both my brothers ended up with the “good” prizes: one got two twenties and the other got a fifty in addition to the Wendy’s gift certificates that were in every stocking. I got a five and two singles and Joe got two fives and a few singles. I think the whole thing was fixed. ;)

But that’s ok because my uncle sends us these scratch-off lotto tickets every year for Christmas and my brothers didn’t get any winners, but I did! I scratched off the numbers along the left first and when I saw 2 and 24 over and over I didn’t think those could possibly be the winning numbers. So then I scratched off the winning numbers and almost died when they matched. I scratched off what the dollar values were last, hoping for a couple of thousand, but it wasn’t meant to be. $25 is still nice, however!

We didn’t end up getting home last night until after midnight. We were so tired by then we just went to bed. I slept until 11:30 am this morning which is a fantastic Christmas present. I don’t get as much sleep as I would like to on average, so it was nice being lazy. In fact, I don’t plan on doing anything today, although I am tempted to take down the decorations. I know that’s probably a bit premature since it is still Christmas day, but we’re done with all the celebrations and my home is looking just a tad too cluttered for my taste, so we’ll see how long the tree lasts.

Ultimate Wish List

Posted on3 Comments

In the spirit of selfishness, and to copy every other blog I’ve read tonight, I present to you my Ultimate Christmas Wish List numbered by desire.

#10 – A new washing machine since ours is falling apart.

#9 – Fender guitar. I’ve been threatening Joe that I’m going to buy him one since I secretly want to learn to play too.

#8 – A GE dishwasher, possibly this one.

#7 – Samsung camera phone. Just because I like techie toys and it’s pretty.

#6 – Sigma 70-300mm lens. I need more telephoto zoom, baby!

#5 – Sleep Number 3000 pillowtop queen-sized mattress with dual chambers.

#4 – Sound Soother 50. I often have a hard time relaxing and falling asleep, so this would be an added bonus to the mattress, or a much cheaper alternative.

#3 – 60GB iPod w/ Video Playback – Black. God knows I don’t need one, but it’s so damn sexy in black, plus it would plug into the Sound Soother.

#2 – ViewSonic 19″ LCD monitor. Flat is where it’s at.

#1 – JVC DVD Digital Theater System. Because we need some awesome audio to compliment our new plasma tv.

Seeing as how I went through the effort of thinking long and hard about what I want, I feel it’s only fair that you buy me something off my list.

Or how about a cute stocking stuffer?

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Posted on

Went back to work today after five wonderful days away. Blech! It’s like I go into an instant depression once it’s time to start working again. My job isn’t horrible (well, horribly boring most days, but easy at least), I just prefer being home. The time we had off just flew by.

In that time I missed more drama at The Cure’s official site with Robert posting snarky messages in the comments. The funniest thing about all of this is that it turns out that the supposed “rumors” posted at COF were in fact true: Perry Bamonte and Roger O’Donnell have left the band… or were they let go? I don’t even care enough to check. As I’ve learned over the years, The Cure has always thrived regardless of who was in the band because the central force, Robert Smith, is what drives the band’s direction.
Read More …

Christmas Eve

Posted on2 Comments

I decided to bake a pistachio cake to bring to my mom’s for our Christmas Eve celebrations tonight. It’s in the oven as I type this. I wonder if anyone will like it. I never tried it before until my boss made it for a co-worker’s birthday last year. It’s so simple to make – just add a box of Jello Instant Pistachio Pudding mix to a yellow cake mix and bake as directed on the box. Yummy in my tummy! And if no one eats it, that’s just more for me. ;)

Today’s plan is to leave our place around 3 pm, pick up the kids, visit Joe’s aunt for a little bit, then go to my mom’s. Dinner is at 6 and she’s having pizza and fried chicken. Now that’s my idea of a great Christmas feast: fast, tasty and a diet-destroyer. ;)

After dinner we’ll open presents and goof off until about 9 or so when we’ll head for home where I predict both kids will fall asleep during the ride… or at least the boy since he always does.

When we get home, the kids will freak out over all the changes we’ve made since they visited two weeks ago (last time Joe’s son screeched when he saw the new tv stand; he cracks me up) and then go to bed. I will make every effort to catch tonight’s 11 pm (CST) showing of South Park as it’s the one where they sing all the Christmas songs.

Tomorrow morning we’ll do presents at our place and stay in our PJs all day, and Sunday the kids will go home and we’ll come back to play with our new toys. Then it will all be over. All that muss and fuss for two days. It’s rather funny when you think about it.

Have a Merry Christmas!