Christmas prep

I just ordered W some books and a DVD from Amazon.com to take advantage of their free super-saver shipping (I think today was the last day to get it in time for Christmas delivery). They also have their great 4-for-3 promo on a lot of stuff. I was able to get him three books, a DVD, and a 2008 calendar for me for $30. Not bad. The DVD is a Sesame Street one called "Sing, Hoot and Howl with the Sesame Street Animals." He'll love it since he loves SS and he is nuts about animals of any kind. The DVD has the muppet animals, plus videos of real animals. I got him a few "lift the flap" books as well since he has a few already and really likes manipulating the flaps and gets all excited when he sees what's underneath. The calendar I got for myself is by Anne Taintor. I love her stuff. She takes (real) pictures of women from the 1940s and 1950s and adds kitchy, sassy phrases such as "of course it buys happiness" and "make your own damn dinner." I think I'll enjoy it all year long. I had a grocery list pad for a while (I've used it all up" by Anne Taintor that said "frugal is such an ugly word" across the top. It was great. I miss it.
I assembled several cross-stitched Christmas ornaments last night that I've got to get mailed tomorrow. Our mail around here is super-slow, so I need to give it plenty of time to get to Mississippi. I did ornaments for some friends' kids and I assembled the "Welcome Tooth Fairy" door-hanger for another little girl. I'll post pics when I get a chance.

Christmas scent

I am very into "smells." I like the smell of "Christmas," whether it's pine- or cinnamon-scented candles (cranberry is good too!). Unfortunately a lot of the "seasonal" candles irritate Mike's allergies, so I have had to find an alternative. Lots of people do some sort of variation of a stove-top potpourri, but I started doing this particular "recipe" last year and really enjoy it, so I thought I would share.

In a saucepan, combine the following:

• 1 quart water
• 5-6 cinnamon sticks (break some if you want)
• 3-4 bay leaves
• tablespoon of whole cloves
• 1/2 an orange, cut into quarters (you can squeeze some juice out into the water if you want)
  
• 1/2 a lemon, cut into quarters (again, squeeze some juice if you want)

Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn down the heat to simmer. You can store the mixture in the fridge (covered) for a few days, just add some water when you put it back on the stove. Some of the ingredients (cinnamon and cloves) can be expensive, so just buy the cheapest available. You're not going to be eating it, so the quality doesn't really matter. I got one of those "restaurant" size containers of cinnamon sticks at the store because they were priced 2/$7, as opposed to the McCormick brand, which would have cost $4.99.

W is doing some fun new things. To name a few:

1. Identifying (pointing, etc) certain body parts, namely arms, hands, nose, tummy and mouth
2. Says "ga" for "cat" and "ba" for "ball"
   
3. Says "da" for Dad and "ma" for Mom
4. Points at kitchen cabinet when he wants food (this isn't necessarily a positive development)
5. Follows some two-step directions (today I asked him to "Go get the ball and bring it to Mama", which he did)
6. Gently pets his kitties and doggie

He's a busy boy!

Wintry mix

I need to go to the grocery store, but can't because the weather is too nasty. We are down to one pitiful banana. Mike and I ate the last grapefruit last night, W and I ate the last apple at lunch. This is pathetic! It's snowing/raining/sleeting outside and it's just disgusting. We are under a winter weather advisory until 11 tonight, so it doesn't look promising for a late-afternoon run to the store either. Looks like another night of cereal for dinner!
The entire right side of my Christmas tree is ornament-less right now. Between Kramer and W, I can't keep it decorated to save my life. I can't put the decorations back on when W pulls them off because then he gets the idea that it's fun to take them off and have them put back on again. I found him chewing on a gold glitter "snowflake" earlier today. God knows what kind of toxins he ingested.

Christmas cheer

In spite of the continuing dreary weather, I am actually feeling somewhat chipper. I think I can chalk that up to feeling the Christmas spirit. Even though W doesn't know what is going on, he gets so excited about the Christmas lights that are up everywhere, including those in our house. We have them on our Christmas tree, as well as mixed with evergreen garland on top of the entertainment center (the LSU helmet lights add a nice touch, I think). Unfortunately he has figured out how to turn OFF (and therefore, ON) the tree lights. There is a little step-on button that sits on the floor that makes a satisfying "click" noise that he really appreciates, so a few times a day, our living room turns into a "strobe-lit club scene."
I am also feeling Christmas-y because I got my Christmas cards mailed today--all 93 of them! W helped me get stamps yesterday; boy, was that fun. The line at the PO was annoyingly long, of course. There was a woman there with a dolly of gifts, plus more stacked on a counter. She was ahead of me, but when she got to the counter and the clerk asked her if she needed to insure anything, she said yes, but hadn't filled out the form, so she had to go do that, and volia, it was my turn! Thus began the Choosing of the Stamps.
I am not a big fan of either Christmas design this year, but had settled on these:
Well, they were sold out. I don't like the other Christmas design this year AT ALL:

Well, these looked sort of Christmas-y...

And this just doesn't say "Christmas" if you know what I mean...
So naturally, I picked these:

A dreary day

I've been a little under the weather for the past week or so, which explains the lack of updates. It stayed cold all week, but this week should be warmer. My in-laws were here all week, so they were able to keep W pretty busy so I could get to feeling a bit better. When they left on Friday they took Eudora with them back to Mississippi. She is going to be living with my parents from now on since she can't really be around the baby. We just couldn't trust her.
I've gotten a lot of cross-stitching done recently. I did a birthday one for my friend's daughter's 2nd birthday, a "Welcome, Tooth Fairy" piece for another friend's daughter, and I'm putting the finishing touches on a "My 1st Christmas" ornament for my dearest friend's son who was born in March.
I couldn't fall asleep last night so I stayed up for a while reading a book I picked up at the library yesterday, The Pinball Theory of the Apocalypse, by Jonathan Selwood. It's pretty amusing and very brief. I'm about halfway through it. The book is about a disillusioned native Los Angeleno artist who makes her living painting reproductions of masterpieces and replacing the people in them with today's pop icons. Her work is favored by the nouveau riche who have enough money to throw around on original art, but not enough to acquire pieces by the masters. The narrator's life seems to be as unstable as the ground beneath her native city (which is plagued by a quake and aftershocks throughout the book). So far, she has locked horns with her art dealer/wannabe agent, lost her boyfriend of 6 years to a 16-year-old Latina Britney Spears, and been turned away from her apartment due to damage from the quake. Can it get any worse? Probably so; I have 100 pages to go.

Geaux Tigers

Victory for LSU? We'll see. January 7, 2008, 7 pm, Louisiana Superdome. It'll be televised on Fox.
It's a shame, though, that Mizzou didn't make it to a BCS bowl. Reason #29865 that the BCS system is dumb.
For a comprehensive schedule of bowl games, click here.

White stuff

We had some of the white stuff yesterday. Not much, just a light dusting. It was fun seeing W's reaction to his first snow experience. He liked "marching" in place on the sidewalk where it was a little icy, and therefore, crunchy. His Grandpa Bob helped him up several times when he slipped and wound up in a split. He wore his new snow boots, along with his heavy coat, mittens and hat. He was pretty cute.
I'm working on a "Birthday Blessings" cross stitch for my friend's daughter's birthday. She turns 2 mid-month, so I'm working feverishly to finish it and get it mailed to her in time.
We have our Christmas tree up and decorated. I got non-breakable ornaments so that W and the cats wouldn't be able to cause too much damage. It's decorated with burgundy and gold. I'll post pictures at some point; I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. We don't have any of our "special" ornaments on it because of W's penchant for curiosity. Those will have to wait till next year to go on display. I suppose I could hang a garland above a doorway and put them on the garland... That's a possibility.
I need a new tote bag. Of course, like every female I know, I have tons of bags, but (again, like every female I know) I have a "favorite" that I use all the time. I've been carrying the same Longchamp bag on and off since college. It's a great size; I can use it not only for a purse, but also for a W stash bag. However, I think it's time to mix it up a bit. So this is what I hope I get for my birthday. I think it's a fun color, and it's the perfect size for my needs. I could use it as an everyday purse, plus I could stash a book, Sudoku, or cross stitch project inside. Excellent!