Daily Ooos: Monday, December 13

[faerywings]

Hey there and how are you all today? I was up early again, starting back on the 4.30 am wake-up route. 4.30 is still much, much better than 3.30 so I am hoping that it doesn't backtrack.

Even though I can't stop yawning, I am not in a terrible mood. I had a mainly productive day yesterday. I wrapped for 2.5 hours. (Sad to say it is still a very small pile of gifts for the fam but what can you do.) I put on It's a Wonderful Life on. It is streaming on Amazon and I figured I would try the colorized version this year. Not a fan. It loses some of its charm, IMHO.

Tom and Caitlyn cooked sesame broccoli tofu and rice. I am not a big fan of tofu because of the texture but it really came out so good. I teased Tom that I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it but I really enjoyed it and he could make it again, anytime.

I did a bit of research on some recipes that I can use the coffee butter in aside from the coffee scrub. I might end up doing a lip balm with some of it. That will be the big project this morning. I also have to call the dentist to reschedule an appt I made. I don't know what in the world I was thinking when I made an appt on Dec 23rd hahaha!

xoxoxo

 

[faerywings]

@LSlycord Food always tastes better when you grow it yourself, but everyone enjoyed the lemon meringue pie. I am not crazy about meringue (texture again) but I bet the custard part was delish! Did you do anything with your pantry? I would be more than happy to send you some of the scented air if you want to send me some parchment paper in return Bwuahahah!!!!

@tanteva ok, I will give you that-- your GGGGGGGGrandma doesn't sound she was too good as a "faithful wife."

@bcgal00 Remi is just adorable! I love when I throw snowballs to the dogs and they try to catch them. When they miss, they dig around in the snow trying to find them. But- me-- I am more like Taz. Meh. Cold.
How is Taz feeling today? Is he able to start eating regular food? I haven't had much time on FB, did you post any of your pics of the pups with the tree and in hats? I LMBO at your freaked out squirrel
I hope that you and B and J had a fantastic and calm evening looking at the lights.

@Cherylndesigns That stinks that you are sensitive to vanilla, it is a base note in almost everything.
Sooooo, Did Chuck order the Fluent Pet??? I still haven't- I am trying very hard to not.

Hi Buddy!

 

[tanteva]

@Cherylndesigns That stinks that you are sensitive to vanilla, it is a base note in almost everything.

Vanilla SCENT is terrible. Sweet & heavy - makes me nausious. However, vanilla TASTE is the best. Proper vanilla, not that fake sweet one. Vanilla icecream with hot chocolate sauce. Oh, I haven't had lunch. Now I'm hungry.

I'm so happy with the layout I finished today (John Christmas Eve 2007) - It was made for a progressive scrap at JA, and I'm really not good at those. But this one turned out really nice. We got instructions in 5 parts, and you didn't know what would happen next. That's way scary for control freaks. LOL

Today I took the first step to declutter this chaos. Just spent 10-15 minutes with "Garbage Bag Therapy" - i.e. just looking for stuff that can be thrown away right away - trash basically. Clutterbug mentioned in one of her videos that one important thing is what you THINK about yourself. Basically - if you "know" that you are sloppy, messy & disorganized - you will be. It becomes like an excuse to not do things, cuz it's no point - you'll end up messing it all up again. But if you think "I AM A TIDY PERSON" you will do stuff. We'll see??? Maybe @faerywings & @mywisecrafts - the presidency might be up for grabs eventually????? LOL

 

[LSlycord]

Good morning ladies. I spent several hours on the pantry yesterday. It is definitely not done but it has improved immensely! I now have a canned goods/boxed goods shelf and a baking shelf. In the middle of doing the pantry, I moved the ripe bananas off of the counter to the bowl where we keep fruit. Well, of course, they were so ripe that they broke from the stems so I needed to stop the pantry project and bake banana bread. Nevertheless, I feel that progress was made.

Both kids are now out of school and neither of them works today. I offered to go with Syd to return her books to school and then drive down to St. Augustine to have lunch and do some shopping. She was really excited about it on Saturday evening when I suggested it but this morning she said "We'll see." So who knows how that will work out.

She had to go to the high school this morning to take a Civics exam. The state of Florida passed a law last session that all Florida students entering college must have the appropriate classes and pass a Civics exam. She has the classes---has taken both government and AP US History so she is off to take the exam. It is 80 multiple choice questions and you only need 60%. She wanted to know if I thought she should study. I recommended taking the test cold and not overthinking the answers. I think it will work out.

Shaun got up early even though he has no school or work so that he could "walk" us. I really enjoy that time each morning. Have a good day all!

 

[BrightEyes]

Real quick in and out this AM... Our lunch bunch is today. I still have to make something for my brown bag lunch and haven't a clue as to what to make. I did find my 'white elephant' for the gift exchange. It is a 2-piece flower pot decorated with beautiful Japanese garden scenes. I found it when rummaging in the kitchen cabinets.

@tanteva I need to declutter the 2 lower kitchen cabinets... found a bunch of decorative stuff from when we lived in Egypt back in the late 80's! ! Haven't used any of them since we moved into this house 11 years ago. Glad you got some scrapping done. I did a bit... still have 1 challenge LO to do. Yes, I hate to see the end of the 12 days of Christmas coming to an end, too. It has been a fun one again this year.

@faerywings So glad you enjoyed the dinner that Tom fixed. I am not a tofu fan either. Wow, you have been a busy bee getting all that done. I haven't seen the colorized version of A Wonderful Life but am with you in feeling like it loses some magical something.

@LSlycord Had to LOL over you finding 4 rolls of parchment paper in your pantry. Yep, time to get it organized so you can find stuff! I love my pantry - 7' X 12' with over 100' of wood shelving... I know because I measured it so I could buy enough shelf paper to line them when we moved in. I am a great fan of bins to hold packages, bags and boxes. Love those that have flip-handles that work to stack them. Now, I have to confess... I do have a huge box of Food Service plastic wrap (18" X 3000') that I bought many years ago... at least 25 years! What was I thinking... it is too large and cumbersome to have sitting out where it is easy to use. Still over half full... Oh... love the photos of what you have done in organizing all ready!!! BTW, when I have over-ripe bananas, I peel them then pop them in freezer bags and freeze them. Then I can thaw and use them later when I want to make banana bread.

Got to go figure out my lunch and get it made. CYL

 

[LSlycord]

@faerywings I love the idea of coffee scented/flavored lip balm. That would keep me going. And I'm laughing at you and @Cherylndesigns and the Fluent Pet buttons. I have been talking about getting these for the entire summer. And finally, I caved. So far, the dogs don't seem to have any idea what to do with the buttons but I have some training that I will do over the next couple of days.

@bcgal00 you are such a busy (and energetic) lady! The dog park, CT work and driving to see a Christmas display. Wow! Makes me tired just thinking about it. I hope Bailey enjoyed it.

@tanteva that sounds like such a fun challenge to do a layout without knowing the end game. It would make me frantic because I am definitely type A control freak...but still sounds like fun. I need to go checkout the layout.

@BrightEyes I thought my pantry was big...WOW, yours is huge! And I love your confession about the 25 year old plastic wrap. When we moved here, I brought about 300 plastic utensils (forks, knives and spoons). We used to have team dinners for swimming and soccer so I had lots of plastic utensils. Well, when we moved, we never did host a team dinner...just not quite the thing here. Anyway, I finally threw them out about 6 weeks ago. When I did, Sydney asked where the plastic forks were. I said I threw them out. Turns out she uses them when she takes her lunch to work. Who knew? So I did buy a small box of plastic forks. That is why I'm a hoarder!

Ok...got to go get cleaned up just in case we are heading to St. Augustine.

 

[bcgal00]

Good morning ladies. What a busy wkend. I'm exhausted but that's the way it goes the last few weeks before Xmas. We picked up Bailey, came back to the house to hang out for awhile before heading out to the Xmas display. She started triggering along the way, getting agitated, close to tears, but I distracted her with chocolate covered pretzels and redirecting her thoughts by asking her to check the dogs, who were all piled around her in the backseat. Whew. That was a close call. Then, a few minutes later we were coming out of McDonalds with her fries and some guy almost hits us as he's pulling in and honks at us. That set her off and she started yelling and wanting to get out and fight, she started shaking and muttering. But again, we were able to redirect her, I talked about how my mom would always try to see the best in people, saying you never know what's going on in their world, what happened to them that day, to make them behave like an asshole...so we talked about things that might have happened to him. Maybe his girlfriend dumped him, maybe he lost his favorite sunglasses, etc so it became a game and she completely came out of the trigger and starting laughing and giggling and we have fun the rest of the time. The drive through display was well put together, we enjoyed it. B's fave part was driving through the tunnels lit with hundreds of lights and she stood up through the sunroof and enjoyed all the lights. I snapped a few pics from the front seat, looking up at her through the sunroof. Not great pics but a fun memory that I'll scrap about.

By the time I got home it was time get my jammies on and I played with the dogs for a bit, then settled in to watch 3 episodes of The Rookie.

D's excited, this is his last week of work (except for being on call for Xmas Day). His boss' boss is taking him out tomorrow for lunch and then Friday all his work buddies are taking him for lunch. In January he's have another lunch in Vancouver with his boss and 8 others (only groups of 10 allowed in the restaurant). It'll be weird having him home everyday with me but nice that I'll be able to get him to run some of the errands that I normally do. I plan to put him to work

@faerywings Glad you enjoyed the dinner, tofu can be so good if prepared well. I marinate mine in the freezer and then air fry them or crumble them up into a stirfry. Taz is doing better. He is still not back to normal yet so there may be some irritation still but he's taking his probiotic, greek yogurt and pumpkin so hopefully that will all help.

@LSlycord I am jealous of that pantry! My pantry cupboard is much smaller, it's not a walk-in, just a few deep shelves in a space the size of a small closet, better than nothing but man, would l love to have a big walk-in to organize. That's on my list for when we start house hunting next yr.

OK, I'd better get another coffee and get to work. I know its a busy work day ahead. Hope everyone enjoys their day.

 

[Cherylndesigns]

Good morning all. Woke up early again and just cat napped until about 9, then got up. The MB is so bright now that the sun has changed and the trees are bare. I think that's why I'm waking up so early. I know I talk about getting room darkening curtains, but I just don't do it. I really need to look into that.

Ava came and took Daisy yesterday afternoon and did a photo shoot with she and Lila. Some of the pictures are a riot - Lila wasn't amused and her Santa hat is clear over her face. You can only see her nose. I don't know how Ava wrangles both dogs like she does, because Daisy weighs 50 pounds and is a handful. She put them both in the back of Roger's antique Chevy truck with a little Christmas tree. She put some of them on FB and again, the color isn't to my liking, but they ARE cute. I put one on my FB cover and I might change it to black and white.

Chris @faerywings it sucks that I'm allergic to the vanilla smell, but like Eva @tanteva I DO like the taste. Odd, isn't it? That smell just nauseates me - I can't stand it! I didn't know vanilla was a base, but it makes sense - must be why SO many scents drive me crazy! I had to laugh at you talking about the consistency of tofu and meringue. Some people really have a problem with how food "feels". I've heard so many people talk about that.

Linda @LSlycord that's a NICE pantry! I think it was even bigger than the one I had. Ours was almost too big - things got lost in there and our DD and GS lived with us, so somebody was always in there messing things up. I'm big on containers and nothing ever got put back in the right container.

Rae @bcgal00 it was so touching to read about how you brought Bailey out of her triggers. That must be something that you're always on guard with. Glad she enjoyed the holiday ride and that tunnel sounds gorgeous - I've seen those in pictures.

I had to laugh about the plastic cutlery. We actually love it and the grandkids always want plastic even though we have perfectly good "real cutlery". They have always preferred plastic and I kind of do, too. Especially when I eat ice cream - "real" cutlery seems too cold to my teeth, which are very sensitive. Chuck brought me a little ice cream cup the other night and a real spoon. It was SO cold. Plastic cutlery was always part of coming to our house because they didn't have it at home - that and straws. LOL The things kids love - we ALWAYS have straws and they still think that's great. They always want a straw.

Chris @faerywings I don't know if Chuck is going to order those or not. I sent him the link and he likes to "digest" things that he's never heard of before. I know he's reading up on them. If he decides he likes them, he'll definitely order them. I'll let you know.

I agree, that it's sad to see our Christmas event winding down. It's gone so fast! I haven't done any of the games, but am working on one of the challenges that I missed plus I think there's a new one posted. All these super scrappers here are slamming out the layouts! It's kept me busy giving love to everybody who's playing in my challenge. I love it!

Must go - today is booster day - we hope Walgreen's isn't out of them. Then I think we're going to Walmart. I've been cleaning my closet, as you all know, and decided that I need more stretch pants. I buy those really cheap cheap ones at Walmart - they're in packages of 2. Last time I tried to buy some, they didn't have much of a selection in my size. It's hit or miss with those. Mine are getting a little shoddy looking since that's all I wear, 99% of the time.

Have a good Monday - sun is shining here and it's a balmy 58 degrees going up to 65!

 

[taxed4ever]

Morning ladies... popping in to let you know that I will be MIA from here until most likely the end of the Month. MIL is not doing well and now we are having to make sure that FIL is ok while she is in the hospital. We are hopeful that it is just a matter of her not taking her meds correctly, but time will tell and she is not happy about having to be in the hospital!! Can't say as I blame her, but we need to find out what is going on. Sure hope she is able to have Christmas with all of us at SIL Linda's. Anyway with so much happening here and the kids coming at the end of the week, something had to give. Unfortunately it is me being here with all of you. I will miss you all, but need to help care for the elders and all the property. Keep your fingers crossed and send good thoughts to MIL please. I will pop in when I can, if I can. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!! if I don't get to say it later on.

 

[tanteva]

@taxed4ever HUGS!

 

[Buddy the O' Elf]

The house I'm at right now is NOT a good place! Haven't been given any candy ... at all! I need to move on!!!

 

[Cherylndesigns]

Morning ladies... popping in to let you know that I will be MIA from here until most likely the end of the Month. MIL is not doing well and now we are having to make sure that FIL is ok while she is in the hospital. We are hopeful that it is just a matter of her not taking her meds correctly, but time will tell and she is not happy about having to be in the hospital!! Can't say as I blame her, but we need to find out what is going on. Sure hope she is able to have Christmas with all of us at SIL Linda's. Anyway with so much happening here and the kids coming at the end of the week, something had to give. Unfortunately it is me being here with all of you. I will miss you all, but need to help care for the elders and all the property. Keep your fingers crossed and send good thoughts to MIL please. I will pop in when I can, if I can. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!! if I don't get to say it later on.

I'm so sorry to hear about your MIL, Trudy. Merry Christmas to you and we'll see you when you get back. Family comes first!!!

 

[bcgal00]

@taxed4ever Hope your MIL recovers quickly and is soon back home. Have a wonderful Xmas with the family.

 

[mywisecrafts]

Vanilla SCENT is terrible. Sweet & heavy - makes me nausious. However, vanilla TASTE is the best. Proper vanilla, not that fake sweet one. Vanilla icecream with hot chocolate sauce. Oh, I haven't had lunch. Now I'm hungry.

I'm so happy with the layout I finished today (John Christmas Eve 2007) - It was made for a progressive scrap at JA, and I'm really not good at those. But this one turned out really nice. We got instructions in 5 parts, and you didn't know what would happen next. That's way scary for control freaks. LOL

Today I took the first step to declutter this chaos. Just spent 10-15 minutes with "Garbage Bag Therapy" - i.e. just looking for stuff that can be thrown away right away - trash basically. Clutterbug mentioned in one of her videos that one important thing is what you THINK about yourself. Basically - if you "know" that you are sloppy, messy & disorganized - you will be. It becomes like an excuse to not do things, cuz it's no point - you'll end up messing it all up again. But if you think "I AM A TIDY PERSON" you will do stuff. We'll see??? Maybe @faerywings & @mywisecrafts - the presidency might be up for grabs eventually????? LOL

Oh please don't tease us with the potential to run for office.......