Help me understand.
I'm a basic girl who doesn't know much.
For my Jewish friends, how do you decorate for the holidays?
The reason I ask is because I have a Jewish neighbor across the street. You know. The guy who has had a lot of problems with his house? Well, he's decorated on the outside of his house.
The first decorations to go up? Two moving lighted reindeer in the yard plus a lighted snowman at his front door.
The second bunch of decorations to go up? The lights along the roofline of his home. The light bulbs alternate red and green all along the front of the house.
On Saturday? I heard him building something. I heard a saw. I smelled the scent of freshly cut lumber. I looked at his yard before dinner. He had a bunch of black iron candle holders in a row. You know. Those ones that you use in the summer with citronella to keep the mosquitos at bay? Anyway, he had those all lined up together. All lined up like a menorah. That night I looked out and he'd strung blue lights in the front of it in the shape of the Star of David.
I'm from one religious background. So this fascinates me. Now in the homes out there that have different faiths in your home. How do you explain Christmas and Chanukah? Do you have both sets of decorations out at once? Teach me! Enlighten me!
Monday, December 12, 2005
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Men who wear buttondown shirts & a wish list
This might sound silly but I need advice. On undershirts.
I'm serious.
Now what brand and style of undershirt do you wear under your button-down shirts?
These are the questions in my mind. Yes. I'm going to buy my husband some undershirts but don't know what to get.
Come on. I'm the practical gift giver. Actually, I also ASK for practical gifts.
In the past, I've asked for the following:
On Thanksgiving, for the Hubs' side of our family we select a name out of a hat. Then we each buy presents for the one person we picked. So the "list" I give out each year goes out to one person. As you can see from my past, I'll put pricey items that I'd never buy for myself. I would normally just buy a $20 iron or toaster. I'd normally buy brushes that are less than $5. But for the holiday wish list? Pricey items.
Demanding? I'd say not. The Hubs' family are the ones who started the gift exchange. They are the ones who said to make a list. They are the ones who put a dollar limit each year. Since everyone has a good job it's up to $150!!!!
What was on this year's list?
Boring? Some might say so. But it's stuff that I'd like to get. I didn't put specific brands on anything because it doesn't matter for the stuff on the list. In the past, I did put down specifics. It's especially important when it comes to clothes. I would put down the store (if it's exclusive to one location), the size, the various colors, etc.
I tell you. My style of "list" has caught on. I selected my BIL out of the hat this year. He put down a brand of shirt that is only sold at one store chain. He also put down a pillow. A pillow? Yeah. From that $elect Comfort place. The Hubs and I could NOT believe the price points of stuff in that store. But it was on my BIL's 'wish list'. Stuff that he'd never buy for himself! So the Hubs and I didn't bat an eye when we paid for it.
As for my side of the family. We get the kids the gifts. All the adults get a 'couple gift'. We're all paired off now. Remember that LilSis and Shorty are engaged? They get ONE gift. HA!
Now what does YOUR family do for the holidays? Do you buy every child and every adult a gift? Do you have a price limit per gift? Do you only buy for the kids? Do all the married adults get only a 'couple gift'?
I'm serious.
Now what brand and style of undershirt do you wear under your button-down shirts?
Crew neck? V-neck?
Loose fitting? Body hugging? Why?
What brand lasts the longest?
These are the questions in my mind. Yes. I'm going to buy my husband some undershirts but don't know what to get.
Come on. I'm the practical gift giver. Actually, I also ASK for practical gifts.
In the past, I've asked for the following:
An iron. It was a Rowenta. About $80.
A toaster. It was a DeLonghi. About $60.
Make-up brushes. From MAC. And you women know how much those can be.
On Thanksgiving, for the Hubs' side of our family we select a name out of a hat. Then we each buy presents for the one person we picked. So the "list" I give out each year goes out to one person. As you can see from my past, I'll put pricey items that I'd never buy for myself. I would normally just buy a $20 iron or toaster. I'd normally buy brushes that are less than $5. But for the holiday wish list? Pricey items.
Demanding? I'd say not. The Hubs' family are the ones who started the gift exchange. They are the ones who said to make a list. They are the ones who put a dollar limit each year. Since everyone has a good job it's up to $150!!!!
What was on this year's list?
A 5 to 8 cup rice cooker (I've got a little 3-cup one that isn't quite enough for a family of 4)
DVD/VCR combo (so the kiddos can use the old DVD player and the old VCR player upstairs for their shows)
Fuzzy slippers (the ones I've got were from 2 Xmas's ago and are WORN out)
BIG coffee mug (since I'm working from home and the small cups I have aren't cutting it)
Boring? Some might say so. But it's stuff that I'd like to get. I didn't put specific brands on anything because it doesn't matter for the stuff on the list. In the past, I did put down specifics. It's especially important when it comes to clothes. I would put down the store (if it's exclusive to one location), the size, the various colors, etc.
I tell you. My style of "list" has caught on. I selected my BIL out of the hat this year. He put down a brand of shirt that is only sold at one store chain. He also put down a pillow. A pillow? Yeah. From that $elect Comfort place. The Hubs and I could NOT believe the price points of stuff in that store. But it was on my BIL's 'wish list'. Stuff that he'd never buy for himself! So the Hubs and I didn't bat an eye when we paid for it.
As for my side of the family. We get the kids the gifts. All the adults get a 'couple gift'. We're all paired off now. Remember that LilSis and Shorty are engaged? They get ONE gift. HA!
Now what does YOUR family do for the holidays? Do you buy every child and every adult a gift? Do you have a price limit per gift? Do you only buy for the kids? Do all the married adults get only a 'couple gift'?
Saturday, December 10, 2005
It must be nice...
The other morning I received one of my many online orders.
The Fed-Ex guy was surprised when I opened the door. Wearing my big blue plaid flannel jammies & pink fuzzy slippers.
I cheered when I saw the box. He looked at me with a funny little smile.
First of all son. It was only 10:30am.
Second of all. I don't know why you were commenting on my outfit. YOU were wearing shorts when it was 35 degrees outside!
Third of all. Working from home doesn't mean it's a piece of cake. I work my kanoodles off.
The Fed-Ex guy was surprised when I opened the door. Wearing my big blue plaid flannel jammies & pink fuzzy slippers.
I cheered when I saw the box. He looked at me with a funny little smile.
"Must be nice to be in your jammies at this time of day."
"I work from home."
"I wish I could."
"Well. I also work late a lot. Midnight. 3am."
"Oh..."
First of all son. It was only 10:30am.
Second of all. I don't know why you were commenting on my outfit. YOU were wearing shorts when it was 35 degrees outside!
Third of all. Working from home doesn't mean it's a piece of cake. I work my kanoodles off.
Friday, December 9, 2005
Who knew that stream would make me happy?
A stream?
Yeah. A stream of pee-pee!
Ha! Those of you parents who are dealing with or have just dealt with potty-training...you can relate.
My little guy has been learning to urinate on the toilet. He'd push and push. Then when he'd see a little bit come out he'd freeze up. One little squirt.
He'd be hopping off the toilet. Finito. Done.
The last couple days he's been making STREAMS come out. Two nights ago he had 4 LONG squirts. Kind of like "ahhhh...." It was FABULOUS!
Like I said in my title...who knew a stream would make me happy?
Yeah. A stream of pee-pee!
Ha! Those of you parents who are dealing with or have just dealt with potty-training...you can relate.
My little guy has been learning to urinate on the toilet. He'd push and push. Then when he'd see a little bit come out he'd freeze up. One little squirt.
"Aw done!"
He'd be hopping off the toilet. Finito. Done.
The last couple days he's been making STREAMS come out. Two nights ago he had 4 LONG squirts. Kind of like "ahhhh...." It was FABULOUS!
Like I said in my title...who knew a stream would make me happy?
Thursday, December 8, 2005
The smell of newness
My ever faithful readers know that my folks have lived in their home for over 22 years.
Yeah. It's a long, long time for today's standards. But for their generation, it's typical.
Just this year they've finally made changes to their home. Remember the changes over the summer?
Well, last week they got the flooring in all the bathrooms changed out. I think they went with more vinyl. They couldn't do tile upstairs because of the sound issue. Their house isn't soundproofed so well. So if they had tile in the bathrooms it would be mighty loud downstairs if someone would walk in the bathrooms.
This week they were having new carpeting put on the 2nd floor. The second floor has ALL the bedrooms. I'm sure it was a huge mess. Lots of dust and gunk in the air. This was the FIRST time they've had those carpets changed out. Yeah. Over 20 years of use out of that orange/brown carpet.
I don't know what the new carpet color is or what kind of pile they decided on though. I'm not going to ask either. I'll just see the results when we visit for Christmas. I'm sure the house will have that "carpet" smell still in a couple weeks. It'll be like see a whole new house. I can't wait to see it all!
Yeah. It's a long, long time for today's standards. But for their generation, it's typical.
Just this year they've finally made changes to their home. Remember the changes over the summer?
Well, last week they got the flooring in all the bathrooms changed out. I think they went with more vinyl. They couldn't do tile upstairs because of the sound issue. Their house isn't soundproofed so well. So if they had tile in the bathrooms it would be mighty loud downstairs if someone would walk in the bathrooms.
This week they were having new carpeting put on the 2nd floor. The second floor has ALL the bedrooms. I'm sure it was a huge mess. Lots of dust and gunk in the air. This was the FIRST time they've had those carpets changed out. Yeah. Over 20 years of use out of that orange/brown carpet.
I don't know what the new carpet color is or what kind of pile they decided on though. I'm not going to ask either. I'll just see the results when we visit for Christmas. I'm sure the house will have that "carpet" smell still in a couple weeks. It'll be like see a whole new house. I can't wait to see it all!
Sunday, December 4, 2005
Progress report
Tree: up & decorated
Accessories in the house: up & displayed
Outside: Not even touched
Presents: 25% purchased
Gifts wrapped: 0% complete
Now how are YOU doing with your holiday progress?
Accessories in the house: up & displayed
Outside: Not even touched
Presents: 25% purchased
Gifts wrapped: 0% complete
Now how are YOU doing with your holiday progress?
Saturday, December 3, 2005
Making Mommy Laugh
Bear: "Uh oh...spaw-geh-ee-oh!"
I wonder where he learned that expression from?
****************
We were headed off to school the other morning.
Prin: "Mommy? What is your car called?"
Me: "What do you mean honey?"
Prin: "Tia's car is called a Pathfinder."
Me: "Oh. Mine is a Freestyle. That's the name of the model of the car. The manufacturer of Mommy's car is Ford. That's the name on the little oval thing in front of car."
Prin: "Oh yeah. There's a lot of cars made by that manu..."
Me: "Manufacturer."
Prin: "Manufacturer. So what's Daddy's cars manufacturer?"
Me: "Daddy's truck is manufactuered by Dodge. So is his other car."
Prin: "Really?"
Me: "Just like your Tio's car. His is a Dodge too. A Dodge Durango."
Prin: "Hmmm...Durango. Durango and mango rhyme."
That's how our conversation ended. I was too busy chuckling in my head. I mean. She didn't skip a beat when she said that.
****************
Bear: "OH NOoooo!
silence...silence...silence...
Bear: "Hewp!"
I run over and there he is. Standing with both legs through one hole of his knit shorts. He's pulled them and can't understand why it's SO TIGHT around his legs.
Me: "Bear. You have got both legs in the same hole in your shorts."
He looks at me and smiles.
Bear: "Hewp. Peas. Mommy?"
****************
My daughter LOVES doing assignments.
To keep her occupied the other day, I tore out pages from a Kindergarten activity book. I then pretended to be her teacher. I assigned her some pages to do.
She went off to her table and finished up the work.
She handed in her work. Got graded. And put the pages away in a folder.
I've gotta buy MORE of those activity books!
****************
"Soup-man!"You guys got it? That's SUPERMAN and BATMAN.
"Baa-man!"
Friday, December 2, 2005
Thoughts on our Thanksgiving
Yes, I'm WAY late with this but here it is:
I have got to hand it to people who oven cook their raw turkeys. I definitely don't have the talent or the patience for it. As we have done before, we purchased our Thanksgiving dinner from our local grocery store. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Cranberry sauce (I made my own though). Pumpkin pie. Stuffing (I made my own). But the real essence is the precooked turkey. All we had to do was warm up the bird for 2 to 2 1/2 hours! No cleaning out the guts. No basting. No fuss. No muss. All we did was get a salad together, get some corn and some green beans,fresh cranberry sauce, real stuffing and some yams with marshmallows.
Everyone enjoyed the food. And there was a LOT less work involved going this route. Now that they know our secret, they might try it next year!
****************************
That's the thought that crossed my mind.
The Hubs had just announced that the food was ready. The Hubby's cousin's wife (HCW) and I were standing facing the food on the kitchen counters deciding what to put on our kidlings plates.
Then my MIL goes into a half-hearted prayer. I couldn't even tell she was praying. It was more like she was telling us something.
HCW and I stood there next to the food. Frozen. We didn't know what to do. We both hesitated. Then the pseudo-prayer was over. It was like 30 seconds.
It was weird. She could have at least announced that we were going to take a moment to pray. Given us all a second to gather around and THEN begin the prayer.
****************************
My kidlings and their second cousins ADORE each other.I love it when we all get together.
My son followed the girls around like a little puppy.
The girls treated my son like a little baby boy.
The girls treated my daughter like their sister.
FANTASTIC!
****************************
HCW discovered that her first daughter actually ate some new foods at our house. HCW and I sat at the bar next to each other. We wanted a clear view of the kidlings at their kids' picnic table. HCW looked over at one point and noticed something GREEN entering her daughter's mouth.
A little later on, HWC notice more green stuff entering her daughter's mouth.
After we'd had our fill of food. I let everyone relax for at least 20 minutes. I then started some coffee and warmed the pie.
The kidlings? They chose the brownies with ice cream and a little whipped cream on top. Kind of like what you get over at DQ.
My FIL, MIL, HCW, and I all had a large cup of coffee along with something sweet.
****************************
The kidlings played in the backyard after dessert. They had to run off all the food and the sugar they'd consumed. They kicked the balls around. They hit the t-ball. It was enjoyable letting them run and laugh while we (HCW and I) sat on the patio chairs drinking another cup of coffee.
What was pathetic was that I had so much electric static on me that whenever I touched the patio chair, I would get shocked. I mean, HCW even heard it!
****************************
My ILs house still hasn't gotten any offers on it.
There are a bunch of homes that are for sale in their area. They've even lowered the price since I last mentioned it. Still nothing. Definitely a buyer's market where they are located.
The only sucky part of the situation is that once they sell their house they're going to buy my BILs house. So the delay in selling their house is delaying my BIL & his fiancee moving.
****************************
Now you might wonder why I only talked about the kids and HCW. It's because the rest of them sat on the couch facing the tv. Watching football! So HCW and I spent quality time together with the kidlings. Now THAT is the kind of family gathering I enjoy. Just like if I was with my sisters and parents.Sitting around together. Talking. Not sitting in front of the tv. Oy!
I have got to hand it to people who oven cook their raw turkeys. I definitely don't have the talent or the patience for it. As we have done before, we purchased our Thanksgiving dinner from our local grocery store. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Cranberry sauce (I made my own though). Pumpkin pie. Stuffing (I made my own). But the real essence is the precooked turkey. All we had to do was warm up the bird for 2 to 2 1/2 hours! No cleaning out the guts. No basting. No fuss. No muss. All we did was get a salad together, get some corn and some green beans,fresh cranberry sauce, real stuffing and some yams with marshmallows.
Everyone enjoyed the food. And there was a LOT less work involved going this route. Now that they know our secret, they might try it next year!
****************************
"Wait a second."
That's the thought that crossed my mind.
The Hubs had just announced that the food was ready. The Hubby's cousin's wife (HCW) and I were standing facing the food on the kitchen counters deciding what to put on our kidlings plates.
MIL: "Let's say a prayer."
BIL: "Rub a dub dub. Thanks for the grub."
Then my MIL goes into a half-hearted prayer. I couldn't even tell she was praying. It was more like she was telling us something.
HCW and I stood there next to the food. Frozen. We didn't know what to do. We both hesitated. Then the pseudo-prayer was over. It was like 30 seconds.
It was weird. She could have at least announced that we were going to take a moment to pray. Given us all a second to gather around and THEN begin the prayer.
****************************
My kidlings and their second cousins ADORE each other.I love it when we all get together.
My son followed the girls around like a little puppy.
The girls treated my son like a little baby boy.
The girls treated my daughter like their sister.
FANTASTIC!
****************************
HCW discovered that her first daughter actually ate some new foods at our house. HCW and I sat at the bar next to each other. We wanted a clear view of the kidlings at their kids' picnic table. HCW looked over at one point and noticed something GREEN entering her daughter's mouth.
HCW (oh so casually): "Hey honey, what's that?"
Daughter: "Green beans."
HCW: "Are they good?"
Daughter: "yeah."
HCW: (whispering to me): "What kind are those?"
Me (whispering back): "French cut green beans from a can."
HWC: "I've got to buy some of that!"
A little later on, HWC notice more green stuff entering her daughter's mouth.
HCW (again in a casual tone): "Hey honey, is that good?"
Daughter: "Uh-huh."
HCW: "More beans?"
Daughter: "No. Salad."
HCW: "What kind of salad leaves are those?"****************************
Me: "Spinach."
HCW: "She ate spinach?"
Me: "Yeah. I guess she did!"
HCW: "We've got to come for dinner at your house more often!"
After we'd had our fill of food. I let everyone relax for at least 20 minutes. I then started some coffee and warmed the pie.
Me: "Anyone want dessert?"
"Whatcha got?"
Me: "Pie. Pie with vanilla ice cream. Pie with whipped cream. Chocolate chip cookies. Chocoloate chip cookies with ice cream. Chocolate chip ice cream with ice cream and chocolate syrup. Brownies. Brownies with ice cream. Brownies with ice cream and chocolate syrup. Take your pick!"
"Oh...no!"
The kidlings? They chose the brownies with ice cream and a little whipped cream on top. Kind of like what you get over at DQ.
My FIL, MIL, HCW, and I all had a large cup of coffee along with something sweet.
FIL: "What kind of coffee do you use?"
Me: "Just this regular Folgers"
FIL:"It's good. It's strong."
Me: "Thank you. I like strong coffee."
FIL: "Me too. But (pointing towards my MIL) she doesn't."
HCW: "I like strong coffee too."
Me: "Yeah. I just use about 3 TSP for 4 cups of water (I have a 4-cup coffee maker)."
FIL: "Wow. Really? Maybe I should try that."
HCW: "That's a good idea. It's not like you can make a weak cup of coffee stronger! She can let you have some strong coffee and dilute hers (pointing to my MIL)."
****************************
The kidlings played in the backyard after dessert. They had to run off all the food and the sugar they'd consumed. They kicked the balls around. They hit the t-ball. It was enjoyable letting them run and laugh while we (HCW and I) sat on the patio chairs drinking another cup of coffee.
What was pathetic was that I had so much electric static on me that whenever I touched the patio chair, I would get shocked. I mean, HCW even heard it!
****************************
My ILs house still hasn't gotten any offers on it.
There are a bunch of homes that are for sale in their area. They've even lowered the price since I last mentioned it. Still nothing. Definitely a buyer's market where they are located.
The only sucky part of the situation is that once they sell their house they're going to buy my BILs house. So the delay in selling their house is delaying my BIL & his fiancee moving.
****************************
Now you might wonder why I only talked about the kids and HCW. It's because the rest of them sat on the couch facing the tv. Watching football! So HCW and I spent quality time together with the kidlings. Now THAT is the kind of family gathering I enjoy. Just like if I was with my sisters and parents.Sitting around together. Talking. Not sitting in front of the tv. Oy!
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