Oh the things these green eyes have seen…

Yesterday, I saw the strangest thing… so far this year. But I have one day left to top it.

And I say strange considering I had an encounter with the Butterfly Hair lady this summer. Remember Her?

I shall never forget you, my insect- in- the- hair- wearing- friend.

And then over the summer there was the elderly man at the pier with the shiny silver lame’ Capri's,  a tube top and sweet little kitten heels. 

No picture of my daring yet fashion forward friend, sorry. But picture it in your head…now try to get it out!!!!

 

This weird sighting happened yesterday, in Super Walmart.  (I know, shocker)

I saw a grown man…..and he was……he was…

 

he was……HE WAS….

 

smelling cat litter.

Really.

He was opening different containers and COMPARING CAT LITTER SMELLS!!!

Who does this?

It is not shampoo…it is not perfume. 

He saw me… seeing him. I could not look away.

I could not contain the shock on my face.

I then stayed farrr away from him, for fear he could smell that I had 3 cats at home.

When I got home, I scooped the cat boxes.

I held my breath the entire time.

I refuse to smell the poop or the litter.

I have a feeling all those weird smelling issues…well, they start at home. right?

Goodbye 2009 and Welcome 2010.

2010, I don’t know what you have planned for us..but please, be merciful. Please.

What is the weirdest thing you have seen this year?

May 2010 bring only good into your life.

and not weirdness.

This takes the Cake{s}…and language barriers.

So, the girl who has her birthday 2 days after Jesus sometimes feels neglected. But really, she gets more cakes than MOST people.

Take a look at her 3 cakes, and then another:

***

Early December party with friends.

 

Did you know teenagers like Chuck Norris? Vote for him for President. Ok?

***

December 26th birthday dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

and no, they did not ask me how to spell her name. Lindsy? what? 

***

On her Actual birthday 12-27…I asked the lady at the bakery to write: Happy Birthday Lindsay.  

The bakery lady was from Germany…she was trying to clarify how to spell Lindsay.

she said: NI?

I said no, Lindsay.

Then she said to me: NA?

I said: Her name is LINDSAY.

**blank stare**

I said: Please give me a piece of paper.

I wrote Lindsay for her and then I saw the lightbulb go on over her bakery cap.

***

I had visions of this “cake wreck” in my head. (the name Suzanne is purely coincidental.) 

I had a flashback: years ago, as the Vice President for the PTA,  I ordered a large sheet cake for our Teacher Appreciation luncheon. The cake was picked up by a nice volunteer, and when I unveiled it at the luncheon I was surprised to see this:

You are Appruciated.

Irony..it never gets stale.

The Bee’s Knees

Beeeee Monday…

So, Coach and I were not to exchange gifts for Christmas. But he is a bad boy…he broke the rules. Quite the rebel…. with a cause.

Some of you tried to guess on the B gift…

another boxer? nah.

A crackblackberry? nah.

Not even a Buick, Botox or a bikini wax. ouch to the last two.

For Christmas, he gave me this sweet Bee necklace:

I was surprised. Pleasantly surprised. I was mad too, but I got over it quickly. Jewelry does that to girls.  I had jokingly mentioned in the blog a while ago about a Tiffany Bee necklace. Well what did he do, but look for that one. Luckily for our bank account, it was no longer available and he found this little cutie patootie instead. I LOVES it.

I shall name her Beatrice B.  She is my bestie.

And that is not the only Bee I got for Christmas.

Lo made this sweet Bee bracelet for me.

I love it as well. Nothing like throwing on a pearl bracelet to class up my jeans and flip flops!! (my daily wardrobe) Her talents never cease to amaze me!

And Linds made this custom tissue box for me.

Yeah, she is awesome.

See the inspirational saying on the top?

“Got an issue? Get a tissue!” She hears that a lot around here.

Remember last year when she made me my own personalized Shank? I am one lucky Mom. 

Don’t hate. Appreciate!

I have been Blessed with a wonderful family. Gosh…just pinch me!!  Ouch, not so hard…I am as fragile as a butterfly!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas as well and hopefully you did not end up with a houseful of bees…unless that is what you wanted?!?

To see how others used the letter B today, visit: A-Z Mondays

14 Birthday Wishes!!

Today my our Linds turns 14!!!!!

It seems just yesterday we brought her home from the garage.

(I like to tell her she was born in the car.)

You bring so much joy and humor to our family.

I hope you dance forever...my sweet little pickle eater!!!

PS. And to quote Uncle Kracker: You make me Buzz like a BEE.

Gluttony at its best.

Christmas eve at Casa De Busy Bee. 

The Italian feast on Christmas Eve..YUMMY….Antipasto…ravioli w alfredo, lasagna. Desserts out the ying yang. That can be uncomfortable.

With all this food I have ingested…I need a good old fashioned detox.

Christmas day seems to be very quiet around here…and I like it.

We slept in…till around 7:15. And only got up because some pooches were ready to pee on the foliage see what Santa brought them. Well, earlier Cocoa decided at 4:30 am, she would go check out her stocking. Naughty girl!! 

It was very hot and humid when we woke up Christmas morning…such a bummer about that nonsense.

 

Pre-present Coffee with the dogs. 

 

 

 

It is so nice when you ask for something and you get it….Like a full color set of sharpies for Lo!!! 

or a snuggie for Linds.

To be honest…I am thinking of investing in one of those snuggie’s for me. (the kids size) it is pretty darn comfy…and the pockets are just the right size for my tv guide and remote vitamins and water bottle.

 There was to be no gifts exchanged for the adults…but Coach broke this rule. I was so mad at him. I yelled, I fussed, I hit him too…but really, I think he enjoyed all of this!! I will show a picture of my gift on Monday (it is B day) yes…I am all a-buzz about it.

If everyone had a Christmas half as nice as mine…well this would be a world full of happy people!!!

Bring on 2010!!!!

These are a few of my favorite things…

My friend Jenn suggested we post about our favorite things this Christmas…and since I am out of time and imagination, here goes.

ps. These pictures are all from Thanksgiving…I have nothing from last Christmas on this pc.

*Getting family in ONE place at ONE time. Being so spread out…we often spend Thanksgiving with  mostly my side of the family and Christmas with Coach’s side.  And during these holidays…one side is always asking about the other…they all love each other. Family; it’s a true wonder. And I love that I am in the middle of all this hub a hub.

*Decorating. Pulling out those dreaded boxes of ornaments…in minutes, they are not so much dreaded as a walk down memory lane! (hence my Lennox unicorn from 1981, the one that survived Mama Kong)

*Making the house smell like a pine tree. I am adamant about a fake tree (some tree hugger huh?) I am so fearful of our house burning down…so bring on the fakie and the Yankee candle scents.

*Our big Italian dinner. Be it Christmas eve or day. (depends on if my BIL has his kids Christmas eve or day) This tradition came from my Mom…handed down (in divorce)  to my dad. It is all I know. And thankfully, Coach and his family have embraced it. Lasagna…antipasto, ravioli….ummm it is the best.   Bring on the carbs!

*Relaxing. Since we did away with all the gift giving…just something small for the kids..the stress has just lifted from me. I LOVE this feeling.  So freeing.

*Charity. We are pretty charitable all year round….but it seems this time of year we get more ‘needs’ in front of us. We give as much as we possibly can. And then some.

*Having a house full of laughing/happy people. This is what I envisioned years ago…and whenever it is present, it makes me giddy inside.

Just giddy I say!

What are your favorite things this time of year?

Gosh…I hope you have some too.

C….

It is C week.

I should be writing about my fantastic trip to Costa Rica a few years ago…it was cool!

But today I am thinking of  things I am able to Check off my list.

Christmas cards. They are done.  Yippee!

Does everyone keep their list on an excel spreadsheet?

 

I am a little crazy with my Controlling lists…my good friends know that if they don’t send me a Christmas Card for 2 years in a row…they are off my list. That is naughty. Are you a naughty friend? 

My desk is a little cluttered with Christmas Cards…some Christmas confetti and some other Crap! Must Clean it soon.

Our Christmas Cocktail party was a complete success.

My Chocolate fountain was a complete Crock of p00h. I messed up the Chocolate somehow…but I did not CRY!

Coach was a big help…he suggested I not cook so much and instead order some platters of food. It took me 8 minutes to ponder this and then I placed the Call.

Our night of “denial” was full of good food and great friends..and some cocktails!

Sushi anyone? Cuban sandwiches? Crackers and Crab dip? Crazy Combinations.

How about some Crab and lobster Claws?

 

I made a fantastic salad with Champagne dressing…will share later. maybe.

My night would not have been complete without my silly, happy and laughing friend Dawn. She is so cute!!!

My girls were awesome little helpers too. I Could not have done it without them!!  

Happy Monday!

TGIF; My Tattoos And Trees

This is post #401. You would think I had something meaningful to say. You would think.

This week, I am not ready for Friday. I would like one more day and a few hours added to each of the past days would have been pleasant as well.  If I had my way….

I treated myself to an eyebrow wax yesterday. When I say ‘eyebrow,’ I mean, it looked like I had ONLY one.

I kid. I kid. 

Also, a pedicure was not only needed it was becoming medically necessary.  My toes were making me sick. While relaxing in the pedi chair, I noticed the young chickie next to me had a cute tattoo on her ankle. I started to feel pangs of jealousy, then I looked down at my legs and remembered I had tattoos as well. I got them when I was in my late 20’s…I call them tats, but some folks call them Spider Veins.

Whatever.

Don’t hate me because my legs are more colorful than yours. (I stole that line from my mom.)

 Party on Saturday!!  Incriminating photos will or will not be posted. Depends on my mood. And how I photograph this weekend. I am hating my hair. I know I am lucky to have it, but why must it misbehave some months days? If it keeps up…I will take my shears to it, I swear I will!

Ok, I know that most people have been holding their breath waiting to see pictures of our Christmas trees. Breathe people. Breathe.

 Tree#1 The living room.    I call this my ‘super model’ tree. It is tall and thin. And certainly hungry. You know those models live on cigarettes, cocaine and vitamin water. I was exaggerating about the vitamin water. I thought it was really skinny…until I saw Shelley's Tall skinny tree! She had to out-skinny me!!! This one is all silver, gold and white. Tres’ Klassy.

Tree #2 The family room.

If the first one was a hungry over-nicotined  supermodel, then this is the love hungry orphan from Russia. It holds all the homemade and quirky funny ornaments. It may be my favorite, but don’t tell the others. It could be on the covers of Christmas magazines. Ok, maybe the inside back cover.

Tree #3 This one resides in our gathering room. Don’t you love the stockings on my stone fireplace?

 

Kidding.

We have not hung up our stockings yet.  And what would I do with a gathering room anyway? gather stuff, people or more dust?

Happy Weekend everyone. Does anyone else have a party to give or attend this weekend? 

Do you feel up to crashing a soirée at the white house? Call me.

So dish…what is on the calendar this weekend???

Blonde Moment #13-14

I left yesterday morning with a long list full of stuff to accomplish. I even left the house on time.

Dropped Linds off at school and headed for destination #1: My dentist.

I got on the interstate and proceeded to drive right on by the exit.  How did I do that? I have not a clue. I don’t think I have ever done this before. I was 7 minutes late. I loathe being late. And for this, I had to have x-rays. I know they did this part just to make me suffer. I asked  mid x-ray, “hey, do they make those cardboard thingies in a bigger size? I don’t feel that my mouth is bleeding yet.”  

I then headed to my many other stops. All is good.I got many items checked off my list.

I get home, had a little bit of sushi for lunch. (I want the name of the guy who put crab in my California rolls!) 

I changed my ‘running errand clothes’ to gym shorts and a tank and lost the cute sandals to my flips. I then headed out to pick up Lo from the bus stop. We came home, I had some cleaning to do. (thank you cat that threw up on my couch!)

As I was bustling around the house and getting ready for us to run to our next destination, I caught a glimpse of my feet.

Left foot.

 

Right foot.

See anything wrong with this?

I am not stressed about Christmas.

I am not stressed about our party on Saturday. Really.

I don’t know what to blame this on.

Losing My Car {or mind?}

Do you ever forget where you parked your car in a crowded parking lot? Ok, sometimes it may not even be that crowded.

I have joked before about getting a huge plastic bouquet of red carnations for my antenna. Sure sign that I have packed my bags and am moving into old lady town.

I seem to lose my car a bit more these days, but really, losing it is not the worst part. The worst part is, my brain immediately goes here:

“Oh great, I wonder how quickly the GMC dealer can get a hold of one of those hybrid Denali's in white?”

Is that bad?

Oh Deer!

It is D Monday!!!

I walked out this morning and saw this:

You would think it was a dliema, but I knew what happened. We had some guys here all weekend working on repairing stucco around the house…they clearly did not care for my deer. dorks.

Those deer reminded me of these deer:

Vixen is my favorite! But Dancer, well he reminded me of my Dancing Daughter:

Did I ever tell you of her dangerously weird dexterity? I was going to photograph some of her bending parts, but decided it might make you drop your doughnut.

My other daughter? Quite the Dichotomy. She is an athlete. She is a girly girl.

She is very diverse.

I only wish my Dad could see my Daughters…He would have loved them to death.

He met LoLo one time. I had to sneak her into the hospital…I am so glad I did. This is the only picture I have of them together.

My Dad did love to dance…and he played softball his entire life until he got sick. How genetically delightful is that? Not the getting sick part, the dancing and softball part?

And you know my other D Word: Dogs. This morning as I was picking up my dropped deer..the dogs were running like maniacs on the dirty driveway.

I can never think of the letter D and NOT think of my Dear friend Dawn. We have been friends for…for… forever I think. Ok, maybe not forever, but at least 10 years????

Dawn has a birthDay coming up next weekend, yeah for her. I can’t wait until she catches up with me in age. any year now….

She is a delight, a doll, aDorable and everyone should have a Dawn in their life!!!!

Happy Monday everyone.

To see how others used D this week, visit Jen’s blog at A-Z mondays

TGIF; You knew it would come to this…

If you have read my blog for a little while, you will be familiar with my unnatural love for Bartholomew.  He is the best topiary dog that I have ever had.

 

As I was walking past him the other day, he gave me a ‘psstt’….he does this sometimes. I approached him and he whispered into my ear: Please….Dress me up for Santa. PLEASE!?!  Well, how could I say no???

Yes, he is fully lit at night. I had to move him closer to an outlet and where he will be more visible to the ‘big man.’

On the other hand, Cocoa did not feel the need for dressing up this year…even with the promise of a banana.

The annoyance of antlers squeezing a lil’ boxer brain is just not worth a ‘nana.

“What the hey is that crazy woman putting on me now?”

I asked Ozzie if he would dress up..I swear he gave me the finger paw and then under his breath he muttered: bite me.

Ok, maybe just said, no thank you.

and….

do you think our animals are spoiled?

I am sure as I was taking this photo the other 2 cats were either filling up a litter box or throwing up on my favorite non washable rug.

I hope everyone has a great weekend ahead. We are having an early birthday party for Linds…her birthday is December 27th, so we do it a little early for her to have her day to *shine.* No one wants to compete with Jesus. 

She will be 14!!!!!

I am still mad about that Dr. making me have her early…I think I could have clenched held out until her official due date of 1/5!!!

I put up a few lights outside besides dressing up Bart…it took a few hours, but looks like I threw them at trees blindly!!!! Next year, I will do just that: Grab the lights, close my eyes, then just THROW them.

Did you decorate the outside of your house this year? How about your pets?