Grocery Store Etiquette

It's been a while since I've blogged about my pet peeves.  I went to Target Saturday.  So now I have quite a few more.  How many of these things bug you?

• People who stop their shopping cart right in the middle of the aisle while they study something on a shelf.  They are in another world and are totally oblivious to the fact that you need to pass by.  Even a polite "Excuse me" gets no response.  One of these days, I might be in the wrong mood and ram one of them with my cart.
• People who walk in groups (very slowly) down the aisle.  They can't follow one another in a straight line...they must all be side by side so that I, again, cannot pass by.  When I go grocery shopping, I am on a mission.  I like to speed walk, get what I need, and get out of there.  (By the way, old ladies are exempt from the slow walking rule.  When you're old, you have earned the right to walk slowly.  These aren't the people who irritate me.)
• People who leave their shopping cart messy.  Saturday, I found a half eaten, orange peanut butter cracker in my cart.   Baby Girl picked it up and showed me, saying "Ewwww!"  Sure, my kids make a mess in the cart, but I clean it up afterward.  Also, don't leave the deli paper in your cart from your sample of maple ham.  Don't leave your store ad or shopping list in there either.  Take all your trash with you when you leave.
• People who block off half the parking lot because they're waiting on a space.  If the person before you has just started loading their groceries into the trunk, you may not sit there and wait on them.  (If no one is behind you waiting, you are exempt from this rule.)  It is not proper parking lot etiquette to wait on another driver unless they are already in their car, getting ready to pull out.  (Another exemption- when it's Christmastime and there are no spots to be found anywhere in the lot, you may stalk another shopper and follow them to their car.  Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.)
• People who write checks.  Seriously.  It's 2012.  They have this little plastic card now called a debit card.  It does the exact same thing as a check, only it takes a half of second to swipe instead of the fifty-three seconds it takes you to fill out a check.  "Was that fifty-two cents or sixty-two cents, Mildred?"  Come on, join us in the 21st century and get a debit card already!

And yes, believe it or not, every one of these things happened to me during one solitary Saturday shopping trip!  I think I should write a book on Grocery Store Etiquette.  Anyone have anything else I should include in the book?

Toaster Talk

We have had some bad toaster luck around here.  We had a cheap-o one Hubby brought to the house when we got married.  It lasted several years and now I wish I would have hung onto it.  But no, I needed a toaster oven.  You ain't cool unless you have a toaster oven.  We went through our share of those too.  They always seem to have some sort of problem

A few years ago, my SIL had this fancy, red toaster/toaster oven combo.  I thought it was the bees knees and wanted one for myself.  It opens like a toaster oven in the front and also has a slot on top like a regular toaster.  I got mine in silver so it would match my kitchen.  Yeah, we broke that thing right away, I guess.  It has never worked well.  Any time you fire it up, the smoke detector down the hall is definitely going off.  And don't even think about putting toast or Pop-Tarts in the top...they will get stuck.

Lately, I've noticed that people have kind of switched back to regular toasters.  They make them so cute now in stainless steel to match the rest of my kitchen.  Hubby really wanted one so we bought it.  It was shiny and new looking and worked perfectly.  I was ready to pitch the half-working toaster oven but the kids threw a fit.  How else would they cook chicken nuggets?  True.  I sure don't want them heating up the entire oven for four chicken nuggets.

The toaster worked well for a year or more.  UNTIL- Hubby decided to try these frozen blueberry muffin (disgusting-looking) things.  The very first time, they got stuck in the toaster.  He went to war with a fork trying to get them out.  Meanwhile, a burning smell was overtaking my home.  I finally pushed him aside and worked on getting the half frozen, half burned muffin things out.  The battle left some scars.  Now, only the outside heating elements work in the toaster.  That means that one side of the bread gets perfectly toasty while the other side remains just regular bread.  So now, I have to push my toast down once, flip each piece around, and cook the other side.  This is getting plain ridiculous.  Anyone else think this poor lady is finally deserving of a new toaster?

It's the little things in life....

2011 in Review

I heard someone say that she "names the year" each year.  Hers was The Year of Yes.  I thought about it and determined that I don't want to name my year.  First of all, I don't think there was one ongoing theme for the year.  If there was, it would probably be The Year of Yelling as I did quite a bit of that.  But who wants to remember their year by such a horrible name?  We'll just leave it nameless and do a recap of All Things 2011.

~January~
We had snow, warm feet, and sneak attacks by action figures.  I also spent a bit of time trying to figure out my odd neighbor.

~February~
I did a lot of cooking and baking.  I guess that's what happens when you get stuck in the house during the winter months.  (Let's hope it doesn't happen again this year!)  Some notable things I made were cinnamon rolls, broccoli cheese soup, and chicken tortilla soup.  I just love comfort food!  We also booked a train vacation that later ended up becoming a nightmare!  Valentine's Day was celebrated with homemade chocolates and a gift that was not very well received!

~March~
I tried some new things.  I made homemade sourdough bread, which was a lot of fun while it lasted.  I haven't made any in a while and I really need to get back to it!  I planted tomato seeds, which yielded a fabulous garden in the summer.

~April~
I went on vacation and organized a sting op around my mailbox.  I enjoyed the spring flowers as they blossomed.

~May~
I celebrated 15 years of marriage with a trip to Las Vegas and had bad photos taken.  I also coordinated a Mother-Daughter Banquet for nearly 200 guests.

~June~
I had a birthday and remembered my younger days.  In my younger days, there was no such thing as texting.  I planted a garden and cleaned out my basement.  I travelled to Niagara Falls and made some poor parenting decisions that had traumatic results.

~July~
I discovered where I'm from, made S'Mores cupcakes, and saw a girl nearly take her life.

~August~
Potato Stories were discussed; cell phone pics were aired.  I did a lot of venting that you surely don't want to read again.  I must have been pretty grouchy in August.

~September~
Our big train trip was nearly cancelled but was redeemed with only a few glitches.  The school called 911 for my daughter, I made my own salsa, and ran a 10K.

~October~
We painted a room during our Staycation and I discovered how much I love homemade tortillas.  I also began my new time-consuming hobby of couponing.

~November~
I wrote a letter to my 18-year old self, began a new sourdough starter, and made pies.

~December~
I got really busy in December.  I had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit but finally found time to take my family's Christmas photos.  I also found time to bake up a storm and poke fun at Christmas Carols.

OK, maybe I will name the year...The Year of Busy! 

Losing My Mind

Sure, we've all been guilty of walking into a room, stopping in our tracks, and thinking, Why did I just come in here?  I do it almost daily.  But have you ever been guilty of putting a load of wet clothes into the dryer, adding a fabric softener sheet, closing the door, and walking away without starting the dryer?  If not, you're doing better than me!  Luckily, I happened to realize it as I was halfway up the basement stairs earlier today.  If I  hadn't, I surely would have had some stinky clothes tomorrow!  I must confess, I've done it before and it's quite annoying.

I mentioned on my blog that the only Christmas gift I returned was an expensive pair of pajamas that I couldn't bring myself to sleep in.  Well, I only got that half right.  I somehow returned the top but not the pants.  "How can a person do that?" you might ask.  My only defense is that the material was really slippery and somehow the pants slid out of the box.  I found them behind a large Christmas present that was still in the living room.  I can only say, Wow, I'm dumb!  I am quite embarrassed to return to the store and offer my silly explanation.  I'm sure they thought that someone was trying to take them.

Feeling a little dopey today...

+ & -

+ We finally have some snow around here!
-  We have snow here.

+ The kids are home from school which means all-day playmates for Baby Girl.
-  There is also a whole lot more noise around here.  At times, I must say the kids are driving me crazy!

+ Tonight, we have a double date with some new friends and I couldn't be more excited!  Going out with adults and no kids is something much to be desired around here.  We're even trying a new Italian/New York style restaurant that looks right up my alley!
-  Us going out means another non-homecooked meal for the kids.  I don't do much (any) cooking the week between Christmas and New Year's.

+ You can finally see the carpet in my house.  It's brown.  Remember, I requested "the color of dirt" when it was time to order carpet.
-  I still have a lot of stuff to put away.

+ I am dreaming about spending the Christmas money I received this year.  I think the list includes gray high heels, camel flat boots, a new scarf or two, anything from Forever 21, and a couple sensible things.
-  Finding time to shop is not easy.  I could take the whole family with me but they would drive me crazy, wanting to get out of there the entire time.  I am too nervous to buy shoes online.  I had toe surgery on both feet when I was in college.  Ever since, buying shoes has been a bit difficult.

+ New Year's Day is almost here!  After church, we will go to my mom's.  We will make a crazy amount of party food to snack on while the guys watch football and the girls play games.
-  The kids have to go back to school the next day.  Come on, couldn't have they given us just one more day off?

+ Hubby is off January 2nd (shocker!) so we have the day for just the three of us (Baby Girl comes velcroed to me.)
-  January 2nd is usually the day diet resolutions start.  Bummer.  Why even start a resolution if I know there's no way I'm going to keep it???

+ Dunkin Donuts chai.  Enough said.  I didn't realize it was that good!

-  I am totally frustrated with changing my blog layout.  I ended up using one of Blogger's backgrounds because I just could not get my own photo to look right.  They make you use such a small image that it won't fit all the way across the screen.  Tiling just does not look pretty, folks.  I have a snowy landscape picture of my own backyard that I am not able to use.  I am just not as technical as I'd like to be.

And to end things on a positive note:
+ Did I mention I'm going out with friends tonight?  Oh, yeah...sorry to bring that up again.  I'm just really looking forward to it!  I have a new friend and we seem to have been separated at birth.  She's a lot of fun and I'm really enjoying getting to know her.  I've had some bad luck when it comes to close friends.  Hopefully this one will be around for a while.

What pluses and minuses are in your life right now?

Normalcy

Glad it's all over.  It's amazing how much time you spend planning and how quickly it's all said and done, isn't it?

My house has seen better days.

Baby Girl is feeling much better and is back to running around the house like a banshee.  She was so precious to watch opening presents.  She enjoyed every moment.

The size of the trash pile taken to the curb yesterday morning was surprisingly small.  That means that there are still tons of trash in my house, somehow disguised by the rest of the clutter.

Hubby had to return to work, which makes me sad.  It was nice getting to spend some time with him.  He went from several work weeks of six days down to only four days this week.  Unfortunately, the upcoming paycheck will represent that.

I took back only one gift- a silky pair of pajamas from Victoria's Secret.  Big Sis helped Hubby pick them out and they were beautiful.  I just couldn't live with myself if I wore something that costly only to bed.  Even though one of my biggest pet peeves is people who wear their pajamas in public, these deserved to been seen outside of the home.  They were that pretty.  I scored some pretty big cash from Mom, MIL, and Grandpa, so some shoe purchases are in my near future.

Me, reading Luke 2 on Christmas morning

I haven't been able to read any books yet.  Maybe this week will allow some time for relaxing reading.  With four kids home all day long, I kind of doubt it.  I have three books on my side table staring at me, waiting to be read.

I have two (much younger) friends whom I have been trying to hook up for about a year now.  They are both amazing people that I respect and I could always see them as a couple.  Recently, they went out.  I think I was more excited than either of them!  Seeing them together makes my heart sing!  I know, I'm a sappy, hopeless romantic.  He sent me a text a couple days ago asking my opinion about a date for the two of them.  It was a local dinner cruise.  I thought it was a great idea and told him so.  Sadly, they couldn't get tickets.  I racked my brain all day trying to think of something equally adventurous.  This part of the country seems to shut down in the winter, unless you like to ski.  He finally decided to take her to a sports game, which I wouldn't recommend.  Nevertheless, I'm thrilled they are getting together and I wish them eternal happiness.  If it all turns out, I'd better be mentioned somehow in the wedding program.

I had a bad meal at Chipotle yesterday.  Yes, apparently it happens.  The person on the grill was new.  He burned the snot out of the chicken.  It tasted like when you get a hamburger at a company picnic that has been completely charred beyond recognition.  It even made the rice taste bad.  Hubby told one of our favorite workers as we were leaving, who apologized profusely.  Not everything is perfect.  Even Chipotle.

I can only imagine how much weight I've gained the past week or so.  Still, there are baked goods on my counter that I will surely indulge in after lunch, after dinner, and before bed.  Shame on me!  Remember that diet I was supposed to be on?  Ha!  (I did get to make Red Velvet Cupcakes and they were delish!)

Please share with me one totally random thing about your day or your extended weekend.

The Vomit Christmas

I'm afraid this Christmas will forever life in infamy as The Vomit Christmas. 

All was well on Christmas Eve.  That was our true Christmas since that's the day we celebrated with the kids this year.  It was a perfect, relaxing day and we didn't feel rushed at all.  Hubby spoiled the kids with a PS3 (even though I felt they were getting quite enough).  He insisted that he was spending his extra money how he wanted since he worked so hard through Christmas.  He had me on a technicality.  I must admit that I was pretty excited about my new bath towels, dish towels, and cloths.  I hadn't asked for them so it was totally unexpected.  Does that make me sound old and boring or what???

December 25.  I woke up early and started making muffins for the family.  Baby Girl was crying from her bed so I went in to check on her.  She said she hurt her head.  I figured she bumped it somehow on her bed so I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and tucked her in.  She felt warm to me but I assumed it was due to her many blankets and warm, new Dora pajamas.

As soon as the muffins were done, Baby Girl woke again crying.  I scooped her up and realized she was indeed fevered.  She said her head hurt again.  Lovely.  Her temp was 100.5 axillary so I gave her some Tylenol.  Twenty minutes later, she was up hopping around as happy as could be.

Since it was Christmas, I really wanted her to go to church.  I dressed the girls up so pretty (failing to get one photo) and carted the family off to church.  I kept Baby Girl with me instead of sending her to class.  She was fine the entire time.  Only when Hubby left to pull up the car did she begin to cry.  She always wants her Daddy.  I strapped her in her car seat and off we went with my mother-in-law.

I did some research online and found out that IHOP, Denny's, and Waffle House are open on Christmas Day.  Fortunately, we have all three of those restaurants right next to one another about fifteen minutes from our house.  With Christmas on a Sunday and the fact that we only had my MIL, we decided eating out was the best option.  She doesn't cook and I knew I surely wouldn't feel up to it.  Baby Girl fell asleep in the car, which I thought was a good thing.

First stop, IHOP.  Packed.  Not one parking spot.  We decided to move on.

Next, Denny's.  It looked more promising since the parking lot wasn't full.  We unloaded the van and treked into the restaurant.  The front lobby was packed so I stood right inside the door.  Hubby went to check how long the wait was.  Immediately, Baby Girl began vomiting.  I bolted out the door, turned the corner, and allowed her to finish outside.  She's not a skilled vomiter yet so it got all over me, all over her, and all over Brobee.  (The green striped alien may never be the same.)  I figured someone in my family would have come out to check on me...but no.  I found a package of Kleenex in my purse and did my best cleaning us up.  Then I went in the restaurant to clean up the floor.  Still no help from The Fam. 

I hollered to Son #2 to get the keys from Dad and I started toward the car.  He was nowhere to be seen so I tried the door.  Thankfully, it was open.  I piled in and continued cleaning up the vomit mess.  A couple minutes later, Hubby arrived at the car stating that the wait time was thirty minutes.  Um, nope.  They all got in the car and he asked for the keys.  "I don't have the keys."  #2 insisted he gave them to me.  "How in the world could have you given them to me?  I was holding a sick baby, cleaning up puke off the floor!"  Keys were nowhere to be found and he couldn't offer any more details than to say he gave me the keys.  After what seemed an eternity, I found the keys on my lap, under Baby Girl.  He apparently tossed them on my lap as I was maneuvering into the car.  We were less than thrilled.

Hubby drove next door to Waffle House.  I insisted that they all go in and eat while I stayed in the car holding the sick baby.  They refused.  Too tired to argue, I agreed that I would come in and hold the vomit-covered baby if there was a comfortable seat.  Hubby went into the restaurant to find it completely packed.  "We're just going home," he said.  "But I don't have anything to eat at home!  It's not like we can order a pizza!"  My MIL insisted and said peanut butter would be fine.  What a trooper.

By the time we arrived home, Baby Girl was conked out and it had been one hour since we had left church.  Tears were creeping into my eyes.  Not to mention, Son #2 was in A Mood and was about to get his face bashed in by grouchy me.  My mom came to the rescue, providing leftover salad, noodles, and hard boiled eggs from the day before.  Then, Hubby remembered the Honeybaked Ham in the refrigerator!  Ah, manna from heaven!  He had received it as a tip from a favorite customer!  I totally forgot about it because we were saving it for New Year's Day.  Isn't it amazing how things end up working out???

After one more vomit episode in her bed, I got Baby Girl down for a nap, changed my clothes, and settled down for a relaxing dinner.  We opened presents while Baby Girl continued to sleep.  Afterward, MIL watched Son #1 play PS3 for over an hour, laughing and laughing at the game.  It turned out to be a pretty OK day but it's not a day I would care to ever repeat.

How was your Christmas?  Hopefully there was no vomit involved.

All Things Christmas

I decided to snap a few pictures of what Christmas looks like around here so far. 

This is my undecorated tree and the presents that are wrapped so far.  I totally adore my polka-dotted paper!  I'm trying to figure out a place where I can send my kids so I can finish wrapping their presents.  One of Baby Girl's big gifts has been in my closet, covered up by clothes and pillows.  It's a wonder she hasn't discovered it yet.

If you turn around 180 degrees from the tree, this is what you see.  I received a beautiful selection of Christmas cards this year.  It makes the 70 cards I sent out worth the time.  In the background, you can see my present wrapping station and a couple gifts ready to be wrapped.  On the floor is my sister-in-law's KitchenAid mixer.  My brother had it delivered to my house. That sucker is heavy and should be lots of fun to wrap!

Remember that Tiny Prints promotion?  Well, this is the spectacular card I received from them!  Printed on high quality cardstock, it was the ultimate Christmas card!  I received phone calls and text messages from across the country declaring that my card was more awesome than words.  I had to agree.  See that black area in the middle?  I left it like that purposely so that I could handwrite personal messages with a fancy white pen!  And here's the back:

Yeah, I told you it was good!  This was the first time I had ever used a picture of myself on our cards.  Yeah, that picture is over a year old but...well, you know!  The picture on the left of all of us was just taken in August.  So I'm not like those 90-year-old people in the obituaries who have photos from when they were 29.

Finally, this is what is going to be the death of me.  Do you know what Buckeyes are?  I've found that many people who aren't from this part of the country call them peanut butter balls.  I store them in the refrigerator because they taste so delicious when the chocolate has hardened!  I hope I find time today to make Red Velvet Cupcakes. 

Today is our "Christmas Eve."  Since we're going to church on Christmas morning, we are going to wake up tomorrow and pretend it's Christmas Day.  Tomorrow evening will be spent with my parents and brother.  We will spend Christmas afternoon with my mother-in-law...we are all she has in life.  She was widowed twice and only had one child.  All her siblings have passed away.  I always feel sorry for her around holidays.  On Monday, Hubby is off!  We will have Christmas with my mom's side of the family, which will be our biggest event.  I love having a big family and I try to picture what life will be like in 20 years.  My four kids will hopefully all come home with their spouses and children.  I think I'm going to have to build a bigger house if I want them all to fit for holidays!

So, this is it.  It's nearly here.  Are you ready?  If so, here's my fabulous recipe for Buckeyes!

Buckeyes

1 lb. creamy peanut butter (2 1/4 C)

1/2 lb. butter (2 sticks)

1 1/2 t vanilla

1 1/2 lb. powdered sugar (5 2/3 C)

Blend peanut butter, vanilla, and butter together on low speed of mixer.  Add powdered sugar.  Mix by hand and knead.  Roll into balls 1" in diameter.  Put on waxed paper and refrigerate one hour. 

Chocolate dip:

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

6 oz. milk chocolate

paraffin*

Melt chocolates and paraffin in double boiler.  Insert a toothpick in the center of each peanut butter ball and dip in melted chocolate, leaving a small circle of peanut butter showing.  Place back on waxed paper to set.  When hardened, rub out the hole created by the toothpick.  These keep for quite a while in the refrigerator.  I've never had them around long enough to go bad!

*Parrifin is a wax used in candle making.  It's totally safe for cooking.  You can find it in the baking aisle at your grocery store.  It thins out the chocolate and makes it the perfect consistency for dipping.  I shave off little bits at a time with a knife until the chocolate pours easily from a spoon. 

Baking With Mom

Yesterday was my perfect pre-Christmas day.  I was able to spend the day with my mom and we baked up a storm!

Every Christmas, we get together and make nutroll.  It's a recipe handed down from my great-grandmother and is my grandpa's very favorite thing.  It didn't look like we were going to find the time this year.  My mom gives any spare time taking care of her ailing mother.  Last year, we had Gram come over while we made nutroll.  That would not be a possibility at all this year since time with her is typically spent preventing her from running out the door.  My mom knows this will be her last Christmas with her mother around so she's trying to spend as much time with her as possible, making as many memories as possible.

Somehow, my mom found time to take a day off and spend it with me.  It was due partly to the fact that her car was in the shop getting some dings repaired and that she was recovering from having a skin irritation removed the day before.  We made nutroll, chocolate crinkles, chocolate fudge, and buckeyes.  After we were done, I had to run home and finish up some iced sugar cookies that people had ordered from me.  Note To Self:  Do not agree to make iced sugar cookies for people right before Christmas.  You are too busy.  Plus, you are not charging nearly enough!  The cost of butter alone eats up half the profits!  Raise your prices or get a backbone!  (Sorry, I had been meaning to have that chat with myself for a while now.)

After all that, my house is a wreck.  I still have cookies to decorate and peanut butter balls to dip in chocolate.  The kids are home on Christmas break and the presents aren't all wrapped yet.  I'm going to have to find somewhere for the kids to go when it becomes present wrapping time.  For now, I think it's time to turn back on some Pandora Christmas music and get this house back into shape.  You know me, I won't be able to enjoy Christmas at all if my house isn't clean.  Anyone want a cookie?

Here's my Christmas Gift to you- my nutroll recipe.  This is a family heirloom so you should consider yourselves lucky!  (Warning:  this recipe isn't for novice bakers.)

Nutroll

Bread Dough:
1/2 lb. butter (cold)
5 egg yolks (save whites)
3/4 C milk (warm)
2 T sugar
4 C flour
1 envelope yeast
pinch of salt
1 t vanilla

With your hand, work cold butter and egg yolks together. (It will look a bit like scrambled eggs when it's ready.) Add yeast to warm milk and sugar. Let stand until yeast swells in milk, about 5 minutes. Add flour and salt to to egg and butter, then add milk and yeast mixture. Add vanilla. Knead like bread dough. Cover and let stand 20 minutes.

Put on pastry board, work out a little, cut into 4 pieces, and let stand 20 minutes.

Roll each piece and fold over several times. Let stand 20 minutes more.

Roll thinly and fill each piece with nut filling.

Nut Filling:
5 egg whites
4 C powdered sugar
1 lb. walnuts (ground)
1 t vanilla

Beat egg whites until stiff.  Add nuts, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Spread 1/4 of the filling on dough and roll like a jelly roll.  Pinch ends to make sure filling doesn't seep out.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Repeat with other three.

My Notes:
*  We buy bread bags from our grocery store's bakery to store the nutroll in.
*  Nutroll freezes well.
*  If making more than one batch, be sure to wash the bowl and all the tools well that are used to make the filling.  The egg whites will not become stiff if there is reside from the last batch still in the bowl.
*  Specialty shops sell nutroll pans.  They are about the size of a cookie sheet but are curved to help shape the rolls.  We found several at an Amish shop and have used them for years.  You can bake them on a cookie sheet but they will flatten out a bit.

Another Monday

Another Monday- the last Monday before Christmas!  Just thinking that blows my mind!  The weekend was so busy but I'm so thankful I survived it still healthy!

Saturday, Son #1 was part of Tuba Christmas with several hundred other tubas and other low brass instruments.  He had a blast this year since he actually knows how to play the tuba!  Last year, he was the second youngest and had little clue what he was doing.  He sat near the edge of the stage with his Tuba Christmas stocking cap on, looking so small and handsome.  Our youth pastor (my first cousin) took him.  I love this tradition between them! 

Unfortunately, I missed the performance and had to rely on video and text messages.  I was at a luncheon where my Secret Angel from the past year was revealed.  It's a program my grandmother started many years ago.  She is the one who is currently afflicted with Alzheimer's.  My mom brought her this year and the current leader honored her.  We realize this may be her last Christmas so we're trying to make a lot of memories.  All the ladies at the luncheon posed for a personal picture with her.  It was so precious and many of them began tearing up.  Gram did great and smiled nicely in the photos.  A few times, we had to call her name to get her attention.  But everyone was so very patient with her.  As the Bishop's wife, she is loved and admired by all. 

After that, I went to the last choir practice before our Christmas concert.  (The concert was last night and went so well!  I was very proud to be a part.)  After choir practice, I sped to my dad's side of the family's Christmas.  We rented a community room at my cousin's apartment building since there are so many of us now.  It was actually quite nice.  I gorged on some awesome food and took home more baked goods than I came with.   (That's the way to do it!)

I'm having computer issues again.  Son #1 stumbled upon his first pornographic advertisement.  It made me want to throw up.  We were playing a game with Baby Girl and we were both laughing hysterically.  The game mentioned an object that we didn't recognize so I told #1 to Google it.  He apparently spelled Google wrong and the ad filled the screen.  I shouted at him to get away and I guess I startled him.  He quickly closed out the ad and, thankfully, more ads did not pop up.  I felt bad that he had to see something like that and it really seemed to affect him.  I immediately texted my brother (my personal IT guy) and he called me back within seconds.  Remotely, he set up stricter parental controls within a few minutes.  Those settings are so high that I cannot even check my email.  When I try to read blogs, I have to enter in the password to override the blocks about three times per page.  It's getting quite annoying but he hasn't had time to adjust it  yet.  Therefore, I'm very behind on my blog reading, which I don't like.  I feel a great need to stay caught up...it's funny.

My clean house didn't survive the busy weekend but all of my Christmas shopping is done!  Now it's time to start rapping as I wrap.  (No one seems to appreciate that joke...maybe it's because I try to beat box while telling it.  And let me tell you, I am WAY too white to beat box.)  So, I have a lot to get done.  I just wanted to post a quick update, despite how boring it may be.  If I don't find time to get back on this week, have a wonderful Christmas!  Enjoy your family if you have one; enjoy your time off if you're lucky enough to have it.  Relax, and let the peace of the season be with you.  Hopefully you know the true meaning of Christmas.  I'm thankfully blessed!