Chim-Chim-eny...

If we had no faults of our own, we would not take so much pleasure in noticing those of others. ~Francois duc de la Rochefoucauld

Over the past two days, we've had a houseful of guys fixing the chimney. I've discovered things about myself that I found interesting (and may have to add to a character someday! *G*).

1. I can't eat in front of people I don't know if they aren't eating also. For instance, I have no trouble eating in a restaurant, but I found it impossible to eat lunch while the workers were working. Had they taken a lunch break, I would have been fine, but otherwise? I skipped lunch both days. It was good for my figure -- I lost 3.5 lbs!! Maybe I should skip lunch every day?

2. I was VERY disconcerted by their use of my bathroom. And, when they would use it, I made a point of going away so I couldn't hear them.

2a. I couldn't use the same bathroom -- what if they heard ME? LOL... So, I went upstairs to use the potty when I had to go.

3. It was strange to hear someone older than I call me "Mrs.____" -- the man who ran the crew was easily 10 - 15 years older. I'm used to kids doing so, but not people my age or older. It made me jolt every time.

In any case, our chimney is now better, stronger and faster than before. It's double lined (appropriate for running a wood stove), and a pretty new pipe hooking it up to the chimney. Now, DH just needs to clean and repair the stove (it took a beating in the fire and we have a cracked grate and fire bricks, plus it's just plain dirty from being tossed into the snow).

This whole house maintenance thing is for the birds, I'm telling you. If DH dies before me? I'm moving into a condo.

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You Are a Blueberry Smoothie

You are original and expressive. You have a strong, vibrant personality. You tend to be attracted to the unconventional and obscure things in life. You have strong opinions and preferences, even if they do tend to change a lot. You are not particularly artistic, but you have an artist's temperament.

What Flavor Smoothie Are You?

Strong opinions? ME? Shocking...

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Monday Morning Meme and MONDAY!

Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad. ~Norm Papernick

It's MONDAY!! It's DECEMBER!!! Life as we know it is back to normal (well, at least as normal as it ever is). WOO HOO!!!!!!!



1. Please tell us about your Thanksgiving day, don’t leave anything out! Please share some Thanksgiving photos with us! (And then submit the permalink to your entry in the Coffee Chat project for a chance to win a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate!)

Geez... it was quiet. My DD, DH and I (and Dd and Dc, of course) had dinner. It all went smoothly -- I didn't have to cut my 24 lb turkey in half (probably because I had a 13 lb turkey), all my side dishes were cooked without incident. We ate until we wanted to vomit and then our neighbor stopped by with her lab puppy for a play date with Dd. DH and DD went to visit the in-laws... I stayed home because Dd has been having digestive issues (**ahem**) and I didn't want to come home and clean up.

I watched four episodes of NCIS, worked on the website and went to bed.

**yawn**

I suppose I could lie and make it more exciting. Or, hey... next year, if Karen has the competition again, I'll make sure something odd or goofy happens!

2. How is the Christmas/Holiday shopping coming along? Has the economic crunch changed how much you usually spend for Christmas/Holidays? Why or why not? How have you adapted? Did you go shopping on Black Friday? Why or why not? What are your thoughts about how out of control some people behave on Black Friday?

I'm as cheap as always *G* ... so, nothing much has changed this year from last, economically. And, ACK NONONONONONO, I did NOT shop on Black Friday. Considering the list of fatalities from folks shopping on Friday, I'm glad. I think their behavior is absurd. Why is it worth killing (or even hurting) someone to get a few dollars off?? How can ANY of the people at this WalMart live with themselves?? Worse -- people were ANGRY THEY CLOSED THE STORE!!! Um, hello -- someone DIED. Sheesh.

Dear heavens to betsy, what has happened to our society?

:::steps down off soap box:::

3. How many times a week do you eat fast food? (Be honest!) What do you think about this number? What is your favorite fast food restaurant? Do you think the food you eat there is healthy for you? Do you consciously make healthier choices when you eat out?

Um... lately? Once. Maybe twice, but usually once. We go to Taco Bell after dog obedience class. Sometimes we'll go to Wendy's, but not once a week. I think you can make healthy choices, and sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. I think it's easier to eat healthy at a "sit down" restaurant, but I seldom go to those either.

4. Fill in the blank: Can’t talk to you now, I’m just too busy _____________________.

Can’t talk to you now, I’m just too busy working on the LASR website.

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We decorated the tree yesterday. I'll have pictures tomorrow -- they're on the camera, but the dock is upstairs, and DH is still sleeping.

DD had loads of fun -- we let her do most of it. I also took her shopping for her annual ornament yesterday, and tried to steer her away from the 8" gold glitter snowflakes. Dear heavens. She ended up with an angel, still flashy but not quite as gaudy. My DD has a thing for flashy, gaudy stuff. If it has glitter or rhinestones, it's for her.

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You Are 72% Likely to Survive Another Great Depression

Even though you may not be expecting the worst, you're the type of person who prepares for the worst. You live a relatively modest life. You don't overspend, and you aren't very materialistic. You are also quite self sufficient and independent. You have many useful skills. You can take care of yourself and those you love... which is crucial to surviving another Great Depression.

Could You Survive Another Great Depression?

Honestly, I'm surprised the percentage isn't higher.... lol...

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Friday Flitting

See, the human mind is kind of like... a piñata. When it breaks open, there's a lot of surprises inside. Once you get the piñata perspective, you see that losing your mind can be a peak experience. ~Jane Wagner

Lots of randomness bouncing around in my head. I mentioned to my librarian the other day that I have so much crammed into my brain that I can't keep stuff straight and frequently come across as dingy and forgetful. I hate that.

So, I'm going to let some of it leak out...

It occurred to me this morning that I haven't taken pictures of any for a really, really long time. That's so odd. But it's probably a good thing since I haven't scrapbooked in more than a year.

Jenny Crusie is considering stopping her blog. She has, occasionally, gotten a bit controversial (mostly in the defense of friends), and was subsequently attacked. That is one of the reasons I do things like brain-dumping here instead of talking about things I'm passionate about (politics being one... but you'd never know, would you?). I'm not up for attacks.

Brenda Coulter mentioned that the girlies who love the Twilight series are truly angry about the ending of Breaking Dawn. Since I didn't read anything except Twilight (I tried... I really HATED New Moon, and since I couldn't finish that, didn't see the point in continuing. I'll wait for the movies), I had no idea why -- until I heard they were mad about who Bella ended up with. Then I found out WHO Bella ended up with, and didn't understand why they were angry. Obviously, I missed something in the last three books, lol.

I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. I love that I have home-grown, garden-ripe tomatoes. I hate that it signifies the end of summer. I had truly hoped to be relocated out west by now, but there are just not a lot of technical job openings in central Washington. Bother.

It's a sad, sad day when I'm excited that gas is "only" $3.67 a gallon. Way back when, in the 70s there was a spike in gas prices. They got as high as $.62 a gallon!! People were horrified. There was rationing based on your license plate number.

Why is local produce so much more expensive? I'm not talking about organic... I understand the why of that. But local, conventionally grown produce? I want to buy local... but when it's twice as much, and I can barely pay the bills, how do I justify it? I really do not like to decide between eating right and eating.

Wonder if I've leaked enough out to get through the day without forgetting to tie my shoes? Oh, wait... they're flip-flops.

LOL....

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No writing yesterday. Spent the morning doing LASR stuff (speaking of which, today's anniversary prize is a $15 Amazon.com gift certificate -- you might want to go play), then DD needed help with school, and we had a late doggy class that ended up taking 90 mins instead of an hour. Some days just don't go the way you hope.

DH is home for the next three days, too, so I don't have high hopes for accomplishing anything. Bother.

See, Amy -- Mondays are my friend!

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Teaching Tact

If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian. ~Paul McCartney

Too tired to be coherent today. Why can't I ever seem to sleep in?? Ah well. Spent the day putting in hardwood at my SILs house. It actually went pretty well. I think we're getting quite a rhythm going. We did her living room in a matter of hours. Yay us!

I need to teach DD to be a little more tactful, though. SIL made beef hot dogs for lunch. Um... DD and I don't eat beef -- and what DD said to SIL was, "I don't eat cow." And it became this big issue, with DH getting all upset (partly at me, because obviously my strange eating habits are rubbing off on DD and partly at DD). I half expected someone to sit on DD and stuff a hot dog into her mouth. Okay, not really, but ... sheesh.

Today, I'll sit down with DD and explain that when people serve meat, just don't eat it. Don't raise a fuss. Just eat the things you CAN eat and zip it. That's what I do. If someone notices and asks me, then I'll simply tell them I don't choose to eat a particular food.

My DH's family is one of strict carnivores -- it's all about eating half a cow whenever they get together. They wouldn't understand my choices, so I don't share them (and, no, they don't realize my eating habits yet... amazing since I haven't eaten "cow" for several years now). They usually have a veggie platter or fruit salad out. Cheese and crackers. Something.

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I'll have a short story up on LASR this coming Thursday. It was fun to write, lol. I based it on the song "Buttons and Bows" by Dinah Shore. Don't know that one? Well, here it is:



The local ice cream truck was playing it on the day I was trying to decide what to write. Yes, inspiration can strike in odd places.

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You Are Thanksgiving

You are a bit of a homebody who enjoys being in the company of people you love. It doesn't take a lot to make you happy. You're enjoying life as it is. You have many blessings in your life, and you are grateful for each one. You believe that life is about what you *do* have. You feel like you have enough of the good stuff. What makes you celebrate: Family, friends, and the changing of the seasons. At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The host of the party On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Spend so much energy preparing that it's a full time job

What Holiday Are You?