Christmas Prep....hahahahahaha

I knew that we should have pulled out the Christmas decorations last weekend.  I knew it...but we didn't - because those boxes would have cluttered up the already cluttered and over-stuffed garage and I was hoping that I could get Habitat for Humanity to come pick up the bathroom vanity, freezer, and dresser that currently calls the garage home.

Unfortunately, after I made this very important decision, Habitat for Humanity informed us that they couldn't get here until next Tuesday.... *sigh*

Man-Child came home one night this past week and helped The Husband pull the decorations down - which are now blocking all of the items Habitat for Humanity is supposed to pick up on Tuesday...but who knows if they will even make it now.

Why, you ask?

Because we are currently expecting between 10 to 13 inches of snow between tonight and Monday.  In the South.  Where we NEVER get anything more than a couple of inches.  If anything, we get more ice than snow.  So if this forecast bears out, I'm expecting complete and utter chaos.

Since I am woefully behind on my Christmas shopping, instead of using my day off Friday to decorate, I went shopping for gifts and baking supplies - for our annual treat week day at work on Monday (hahahahaha!  But, in the event the snow event fizzles, I still need to be prepared! *I* planned this, I HAVE to be ready).  And then wrapped - at least in this area I'm ahead of the game - kinda.  Instead of decorating today, I went out and did some more shopping - do you know what would make shopping easier (other than hitting the lottery)?  If my family would actually give me some ideas, that's what. And will probably do some more futile online shopping once I finish this post. 

Prior to sitting down to write this post, I tried to persuade The Husband (who is down with the dreaded Man-Cold; the symptoms of which are already getting on my nerves - God help us if we do get snowed in) to help me get the tree into the house and set up.  But before that can be done, the heavy chair needs to be moved.  He suggested waiting until Man-Child is here.  *Humph!*  We don't know WHEN we will see him again.  Definitely not next weekend, as he is in a wedding.  Perhaps, my time would have been better spent outside decorating...but to be honest?  A day with temperatures hovering in the low 40's does not entice me to spend time outside, wrangling garland around the porch rails - only to discover mid-wrangling that the pre-lit lights don't work or that I have put them on backwards, so that the plug is on the opposite end of the porch from the outlet (one or the other happens EVERY year, I swear).  I'm seriously beginning to believe that our only Christmas decorations this year will be our stockings.

So, as I type this, the house is bare of any Christmas cheer - instead it sits adding to the clutter in the garage - other than the gifts adorned with pretty ribbon.  And baking supplies at the ready for when I'm snowed in and can't do anything else...until we lose power.  Which is entirely possible.

I figured out what to get The Husband for Christmas...before I kill him.

I literally just Googled this...

Best Wireless Headphones for TV Before I Kill My Husband

Because, honestly?  I'm about ready to kill my husband.  We go through the same scenario every night...I log on to the computer (in the dining room) to see what y'all are up to and The Husband turns on the tv (in the living room)...did I mention that this house is an open concept home, which means the kitchen, dining and living room are all one big room?  The turning on the tv means that The Husband has the volume at full blast.  Which only gets louder when there is shooting, shouting or music of any kind.  And every time that happens I kind of hate him for it (kinda, I recognize that I still love him but that I also want to kill him - welcome to marriage!).

Muttering under my breath does no good - because, obviously he can't hear it.  Asking him to turn it down only works for so long before all the noise subsides to regular conversation that he can't hear has him turning it up again.  I have told him repeatedly that he needs to have his hearing checked.  So far, he is resisting this option (I think because he's afraid hearing aids may be in his future and isn't ready to admit that he is at that point in his life); much like he resists going to the eye doctor - even though I remind him constantly that glaucoma runs in his family.

So before I dive into an exhaustive Google search for the best headphones to keep me from killing him - is this a problem in your home?  Have you solved it?  If so, help a girl out, please!  If not, please start a Go Fund Me for bail money..

Sometimes Future-Gigi is pleasantly surprised by Past-Gigi...

Yesterday, I pulled open the drawer that holds the table linens prepared to spend far too much time ironing napkins.  Instead I was surprised to see that the napkins had already been ironed!  Apparently, after the last meal that I deemed worthy enough of cloth napkins (probably Easter, if I'm honest), I gave Future-Me a gift and ironed the napkins after washing them.

This made me very happy.

Except - for some reason, I ironed them in thirds - shaped like a rectangle.  This was only a minor blip though.  See, normally I iron them in fourths - shaped like a square and then proceed to do this very seemingly, complicated thing (it's really not) that my friend's son calls "napkin oragami."

But still - ironed napkins at the ready!  I did proceed with the napkin oragami and was done in more than half the time it usually takes me.  With this lovely surprise in the back of my head, today I presented Future-Me with another gift.  After washing those napkins, I ironed them - this time in fourths.

Future-Me won't be as surprised as I was yesterday since it will be about a month from now when those napkins get pulled out - but most likely it will remind Future-Me to treat Further-In-The-Future-Me to a nice surprise.

But you know what would REALLY be magical?  If I opened that drawer and found the table cloth was already ironed.  I know that won't be happening...especially since I skipped using it at all this year. Oh well, maybe by then the Future-Me will have figured out the easiest way to iron that stupid tablecloth.

Unspoken contracts...

All relationships have them...especially old married couples.  You know the ones I mean, he might loathe emptying the dishwasher, so it becomes her job.  She may need to be the first one in the bathroom every morning, so he uses the guest bath.  And on and on.

And then, occasionally, one might find that the other is overstepping his bounds in the unspoken contract...this is the dilemma that has recently presented itself in this house...enough so that the unspoken contract needed to become spoken.

The former owners of this house, created a "mini mudroom" in the hall from the garage to the house.  They did a board and batten kind of thing which I love and added five hooks from which you can hang purses, hats, bags, etc.

Note there are FIVE hooks.

Recently, I've noticed that The Husband has taken to using one or both of the hooks that I consider mine.  As our household has dwindled to the two of us, I had commandeered two hooks for my purse, reusable bags and jacket/sweater and left the other three for him.  And then, all of a sudden, random jackets, etc. began showing up on MY hooks.  I would move them back to HIS hooks, thinking surely that would be the clue that he needed.

This did not happen.

So finally, this weekend, I told The Husband that those were my hooks.  Twice.

And today, he had the nerve to lament that I dared to commandeer TWO hooks!  I looked him dead in the eye and said, "There are FIVE hooks; I have two and you have THREE."  And, lo and behold, today he left my hooks alone...

That unadorned hook? It's MINE!

As much as I like this little mini mudroom situation, it gets crowded, especially now in the in-between season where it's cold one day, warm the next, and then it rains.  In the summer, I try to keep all the hooks, except for the one on the end, clear. And to be honest, that in itself is a never ending task.

Old school blogging and missing the community we used to have

I've been hearing rumblings in the blogging world.  It started with this call to arms, which then led to the creation of this community.  Just Google the term "old school blogging" and you will end up with a myriad of results dating from 2015 to 2018 (and that's just the first page of results).  This tells me that there are plenty of bloggers/readers who are missing the community that old school blogging facilitated.

And then a few days ago, The Bloggess, wrote a post entitled Calling All Bloggers, which was inspired by this post (and when I dove deeper I found this post)...all of which highlighted what many of us have been saying...where did the community go?

I can't say for sure whether or not I am an "old school" blogger - but I've been doing this fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants blog since about July 2009 (over NINE years?! Really?!  Somehow this amazes me),  I think that means I qualify. Here is what I remember about "old school" blogging...

Each blog had a community...people kept coming back for more because they loved the interaction.  I've written a million several posts about comments.  They were vital to blogs - back in the day...that's what kept us writing posts...because we wanted to connect.

I miss Texan Mama who wrote Who Put Me in Charge of These People? (which has since morphed into Gretchen Willis Photography (she is amazing with a camera!),  FourSons (which has completely disappeared from the interwebs...no amount of Googling can find her - sure I know where she resides on FaceBook, but I want to respect her privacy), Jerry from Gently Said was lost in the whole Blogger/Yahoo issue, which two years later is STILL NOT resolved (sending very disapproving looks to both companies along with a lecture to "play nice!"), From The Inside...Out - last I heard she moved to California and was loving it; Hyperbole and a half has also disappeared, as has Laundry Hurts My Feelings and Pearl...and many, many, many more.

If you look to your right, you will notice that I still have these listed on my "blog roll" (which is what we called it back in the day - these were the blogs that we loved and wanted to share) because I keep hoping one day they will pop back up.

We had a lot of fun back then.  We would share "awards" and tag other bloggers.  When someone new would pop up in the comments, the protocol was to go visit them and say hi - and possibly follow.  We would create tags, like the What's In Your Bag and tag other bloggers to play along.

I think part of the problem now is - people just aren't commenting as much as they used to - for whatever reason.  Maybe they are shy.  Maybe they are thinking, they don't know me and probably don't want to hear what I have to say.  Or, well, who knows why?

But here's the thing.  The person writing the blog is putting their thoughts out there; reaching for a connection.  Starting the conversation.  So it only makes sense that they would be delighted to get a response, right?  I mean, if the blogger wasn't looking for a connection they would either set their blog to private or not blog at all and just journal.

I know I haven't been the best at commenting lately but that changes now - I am going to attempt to comment on every post I read - even if the blog in question isn't one that I consistently follow - because, honestly?  I think that might be the way to find ourselves back to that community feeling we we used to have.

The cake that didn't want to be made...twice!

Yesterday was The Husband's birthday and we had planned to have our friends two doors down over for dinner and dessert.  The idea was to celebrate The Husband's birthday and Man-Child's birthday (which was a MONTH ago!).

The reason we hadn't celebrated MC's birthday yet was because getting him here to actually do so has been impossible with his schedule of late.

At any rate, I planned to make a praline cake - yes, not a traditional birthday cake, but a cake that Man-Child loves.  The Husband, who typically doesn't eat many of the sweet treats I make, scoffed at that cake.  I offered to make something else but he said no.

Then, as I pulled out my recipe binder, I remembered I had his mother's recipe for his all time favorite dessert; the one he always requested for his birthday when he was younger - and just like that I was making two desserts.

With relatively no issues, I whipped up the base for the "pudding pie" for The Husband and set about to making the praline cake while it cooled before finishing it up.

Truly, I can't even call this recipe "baking" as you use a boxed cake mix but it is - usually - incredibly easy.  I am sharing it here both because I think some of you might like it and because it will help to explain what happened in both instances.

Praline Cake

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (as always, I prefer dark brown sugar)
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
1 pkg SuperMoist Butter Pecan cake mix

Heat oven to 350.  Mix pecans, brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in small bowl, with a spoon.  Spread on bottom of un-greased rectangular pan.  Prepare cake mix as directed on package.  Pour batter carefully over the pecan mixture.  Bake as directed on package (35-40 minutes).  When done, run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen; immediately turn pan upside down onto heatproof serving tray or wire rack.  Leave pan over cake for about 5 minutes; remove pan.  Serve warm or cool.

When the praline cake was finished baking, I pulled it from the oven, ran the knife around the edges, and prepared to turn the cake upside down...

 ...and promptly lost my grip and the entire cake exploded onto the stove top.  Ruined.  The entire cake was a total loss and the incredible, sticky mess was, luckily, contained to the stove top.  Thank goodness I was home alone as I may have let a few unladylike words fly.

I threw the ruined cake in the trash, cleaned up the sticky, gooey mess and headed to the grocery for supplies - this cake was going to be made come hell or high water.

Upon returning home, I started the whole process again.  While the cake was in the oven, I finished off the pudding pie.  And, in the event that anyone wants that recipe, I'll share it here.  Also, not really baking.

Pudding Pie

1/2 lb butter (2 sticks of butter)
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans is my preferred nut for this recipe)
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup Cool Whip
2 4 oz packages instant chocolate pudding
3 cups of milk
1 chocolate bar

Mix flour, butter and nuts with a fork or pastry blender.  Spread in 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  Set aside to cool completely.

Beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and Cool Whip.  Spread over the cooled crust.  Mix up instant chocolate pudding and milk.  Spread this mixture over the cream cheese layer.  Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the last layer.  Grate the chocolate bar over the top.  Refrigerate for four hours or overnight.

As I was finishing up the pudding pie (which The Husband was delighted to see), The Husband was hovering around the kitchen waiting for me to finish so we could go to lunch.  And, as he told me repeatedly, he was starving.

As I pulled the cake from the oven, I thought it seemed a little jiggly but the toothpick I had used to check for done-ness came out clean.  The Husband flipped the cake for me, as I had told him about the first cake.  In my rush to wrap up this process, I neglected to leave the pan over the cake for the required five minutes.  Turns out, this step is pretty crucial to the recipe.  It doesn't ruin the cake, but it helps to firm up the topping (which was in the bottom of the pan).

We left for lunch, only to come home to discover that a lot of the praline "juice" had run off the sides of cake - once again leaving a sticky mess on the stove top. *sigh*  And, even worse...the center of the cake had collapsed!  Despite the toothpick being clean, the cake clearly could have done with another ten minutes in the oven.  Luckily, it was only that one, small part - the rest of the cake was fine.

You know what is next to impossible to photograph?  The collapsed part of the cake.  The topping serves as a fine camouflage...

This angle kinda shows the collapse...but also shows what happens when you neglect to leave the pan on for the required five minutes.

At this point, there wasn't time to make it again, so I called it "good enough."  I also neglected to take a picture of the pudding pie...I am clearly failing as a "food" blogger. ;-)

Despite, the collapse, this cake was a clearly a hit.  Man-Child took the rest home and will, hopefully, share with his roommate...but I have a feeling he may hide it.

The pudding pie was also well received, I did notice that The Husband didn't offer to send any of it home with MC though...

A weekend of purging...

Next week, we are having a business dress clothing drive at work to benefit those who are in need of nice business clothing in order to interview for jobs, etc.  As I have been meaning to clean out my closet of some of those now, unnecessary clothes this was the prod I needed.

Yesterday, I waded into the closet and was able to fill four bags of clothing and shoes that I do not need anymore.  I did save a few favorites because you never know when I might need some "grown up" clothes.  But now, the majority of my closet is fairly casual.

A little over two years ago, when we moved in, I knew that I would need to go through the dresser that landed in my dressing room when we discovered that all of our furniture wouldn't fit in our bedroom and move some of The Husband's clothes to his closet.  But then life got in the way, as it always does, and this project was put off.  Mainly, because the system I had in place was working...kind of.

Today, I dove in to that dresser.  There were two drawers of The Husband's old socks and two drawers of old tee-shirts.  He has not wandered into that room to look for any of these clothes in well over two years.

Because I am a kind wife who wanted him to know what I was about to do (since he's accused me of taking his clothing and giving it away before without telling him; which I have never done!), I walked into the living room and informed The Husband (aka The Hoarder) that I was sending all the socks and tee-shirts to Goodwill.  He agreed - and then it dawned on him that I wasn't talking about sending MY socks and tee-shirts; because why would I announce that to him?

Then he said, "Do you want me to come look through them first?"  I told him no, because then he would want to keep everything - despite not missing those clothes for over two years.  Surprisingly, he didn't argue.  So I packed everything up, along with a few items of my clothing that weren't business, and some of my costume jewelry that I never wear, into six bags, put them in my car and carted them away - before he could change his mind and take a peek!

When I came home, I was then able to rearrange all the drawers in a way that actually made sense and was able to find a home for my socks and tights that had been living in tucked away bins.

Now, the dressing room, is far from where it needs to be - as I have stuff that was under the extra vanity in the guest bath living in there (we FINALLY had it removed AND had the Amityville Horror paint job fixed!  Now we are waiting for our friend to find the time to help with building the shelves - baby steps), but it's getting closer.  And I know it will get worse before it gets better - because Christmas is coming...and guess where all the gifts get hidden prior to being wrapped?

Speaking of which, I guess I better get started on some serious Christmas shopping because, holy cow, HOW is it already November 4th?!

A post about water fountains...yes, really.

Life in Corporate America - umm, I mean Casual American Business - has changed in many significant and insignificant ways.

First to fall was the dress code...this has it's good points and bad.  I'm looking at you, young man with the graphic t-shirt that was clearly visible under your button down...although you do get a gold star for trying.

Then came the efforts to make the company more appealing to the younger workers that we are trying to attract.  Wear your favorite team jersey to work day!  Purple shirt for Alzheimer's awareness day!  And, most recently, an email blast was sent out encouraging us to wear a costume to work for Halloween...kinda makes me wonder if we are working at a business or attending elementary school.

Truly, I don't mind - I can see what they are trying to do.  Merge the two different cultures into one and make the workplace fun...which may be a culture that some of the younger potential employees would consider a good fit.

Then, in a move I did not see coming, we got new water fountains.  I was puzzled when I noticed they were installing a new one in place of a perfectly fine, albeit 20 year old, water fountain.  I remember thinking that maybe they should be replacing the one in the main hall as the water from that one doesn't come up high enough to be hygienic.  In other words, you would actually have to put your mouth ON the fountain in order to get water.

And, as most of us (readers of a certain age) were taught; that is something we should NOT do - ever.  The more I think about it, I have to wonder do any of these children that work here even KNOW what a water fountain is?  Have they been wandering the halls ogling these ancient things hanging on the wall and wondering what they are for?

Well, if so, no more are they wondering as we now have these beauties...

Now, if THIS doesn't attract the younger set, I don't know what will!

I kid.  This is actually kind of cool.  That screen on the upper right tells you how many bottles you have saved every time you refill a bottle or insulated cup.  And?  I can now actually fill my cup to the tippy-top since I don't have to hold it at an angle while trying to fill it from the spout.

Difficult conversations...

About a month (?!really?!) ago we were at my mother in law's for her birthday.  Where The Husband had to reiterate what his brother and sister had already told her - she has mold.

We took the bull by the horns and found a company that can remediate the issue but now Mom keeps saying that the house is too much for her to handle...which I totally understand although if she were willing to spend the money to have people in to keep up with things, it wouldn't be an issue - but I also understand that issue - because $$$.  But at the same time, I worry that moving her - whether to Connecticut, Florida or North Carolina (where all the siblings live) - will change her quality of life.

Currently, she is a very active 87 year old.  Regularly, she bowls with gusto, she has a "lunch club", there is the monthly trips to the casino, etc.  While we were there she mentioned, that if she were to move, she would give up driving.  Mom has never been a big driver, as she didn't learn until she was in her forties.  To move her now, would put the nail in that coffin...that coupled with losing the close group of friends she has makes me worry.

I would LOVE to have Mom come here and we have the room for her...but I don't think she would thrive...here, Connecticut or Florida.  I've checked, there isn't any place where she currently lives that would satisfy all of our requirements for her or us.

Ultimately, she will make a decision and we will have to live with it...and I'm not happy with that.

An Awkward Wardrobe Post - I Need Your Opinion

Before we get to the "wardrobe" portion of this post, I wanted to share this picture I snapped at my mother-in-law's house while we were there a week or so ago.

I opened the back door and stepped out, expecting that they would bolt...they didn't.  Instead they looked at me with a "What? WE belong here; you don't." kind of expression.  And proceeded to stay there until I went back in.  The deer in the Poconos have ZERO fear.

And here's a requisite shot of a beautiful sunrise on the beach from our trip to attend a wedding in Hilton Head that immediately followed the trip to Pennsylvania.

That was a great, but long, week with too much time spent in the car!  Now that we've got all that out of the way...

As I've alluded to in other posts, our company has adopted a "casual" dress code.  This has meant that I've been slowly adding a few things to my closet while simultaneously removing things from the closet destined for Goodwill.  This is because I have a new policy regarding my closet - I refuse to buy any more hangers - so if something comes in and there are no available hangers, something must leave to make room.  Besides, I really don't need all the "corporate" clothes anymore.  So slowly, they are going away.

And I am training myself to stop heading to that section of the stores.  Part of the problem is that I am very particular about my clothes and I generally avoid any patterns or florals - of course, I make exceptions for polka dots and stripes.  As a result, a lot of my casual shirts are solids - and are mostly darker colors.

Back a few weeks ago, when Hurricane Florence was flirting with our area, I wandered into a store and bought this shirt.  I can only surmise that the dreary weather made me even consider it - but I do love the square-ish neckline.

The shirt that started it all

And this is where the "awkward" part of this conversation makes an appearance.  Trying to capture a shot by myself.  It's hard to keep it in focus, show the neckline and not have a weird look on my face.

The Husband has RAVED about this shirt.  Every single time I have worn it, he has commented on how much he likes it on me.

A pink(!), striped button down that I bought has also brought compliments.  I forgot to mention that I generally avoid pink - why I don't know.  But it has never been a color found in my closet.  Ever.

These two events got me to thinking...maybe I need to add a little more color and pattern into my wardrobe.

With that in mind, I headed to the store this afternoon - a store which a friend's college-age freshman has declared a store for "old ladies."  But, to be fair, this store was my best source for my "corporate" wardrobe.  But when I take off my "corporate" blinders, I don't seem to find much that I care for - lots and lots of wild patterns and florals.  But I thought, if I was really careful and thoughtful, I might find something.

I added another pink shirt with a scoop neck.  I'm not quite sure what I've had against pink for all these years.

I have to admit, it was still difficult for me to select this shirt over a black one.  But I think I'll like it.

And here's the one where I need your opinion.  I will admit, I accosted a random lady outside the fitting room to ask if she thought this shirt screamed "little old lady" - she said she didn't think so and thought the colors would work well with my dark hair.  Could I rely on the opinion of a complete stranger?  Maybe; maybe not.

I bought the shirt and carefully folded the receipt into my wallet in case I decided to return it.  My plan was to ask The Husband for his honest opinion. He did say that asking a husband for an honest opinion strikes fear into his heart - because what if he hated and I loved it?  I told him, I definitely wanted his honest opinion because this was so far out of my comfort zone.  I tried it on and showed him.  He liked it and said it reminded him of the floral.  So here's where you come in - should I keep it or return it?

Again - what IS that expression?  And what is my hair doing?

Completely honest opinions please.  I am just not so sure this is for me.  But maybe I just need to get used to it?  No comments on the awkward faces or crazy hair, please...  ;-)