ho-hum

Not really...we finally got snow!! Our friend just turned ...gulp...47 yesterday. She has had quite a year, and not in a particularly good way. Keeping in mind her age, imagine your oldest daughter deciding she can't take care of her 3 year old daughter! Sadly, this friend is the SECOND of my friends to have this happen. I also know an ex-co-worker who is in her 50's who is now caring for her 15 and 10 year old grandchildren!!

Wait...I'm way off track from my original starting point here...

Friends decided T. needed a night out, so we all met up at a local bar and celebrated for a few hours. I was excited to go out, and as usual as the time grew nearer to actually leaving the house, I wanted to stay in. They had been predicting a massive snow storm for the area to start anywhere between 4pm and midnight. Everyone was meeting up at 5, Hubby was working til 6, and I had been begging for the snow to start since 2! Without the snow storm, we had no good reason to miss a friend's birthday party, so we went. And of course I had fun. I always do...it's just the act of leaving the house and GOING somewhere. Around 9 or so, half of the group moved on to the next bar; while the other half went home. Hubby and I hadn't eaten all day so we got a table and had dinner before we went home. It was a nice night. We actually got to see people we haven't seen in forever. And in a totally uncharacteristic move, I left Hubby's side and mingled!

But I think that's it for socializing until New Year's Eve. That means I can concentrate on MY party. I put the finishing touches on decorating the house yesterday.

I am so excited about these clever paper lanterns. I got a dozen of them on etsy (here) and they are so cool up close...dragonflies and koi...I just love them.

Today I'm making my eggnog...which is actually a recipe I got about 14 years ago from one of Hubby's co-workers. But I have consistently made it EVERY YEAR. One year I cut the batch in half because it makes so much, but then I was sad to not have any left over for Christmas day...so now it's all or nothing (so...ALL).

I'm also going to try my hand at homemade green tea ice cream. I don't have an ice cream maker, so it will probably be a little more checking and stirring, but the recipe seems fairly simple.

I'll be wrapping gifts today, trying to find some fun Japanese music on Pandora (which is proving to be quite difficult), a little bit of 'maintenance' cleaning, and shoveling my car out for work tomorrow. I'm hoping there will be some time for a glass of scotch, a fire, and gazing at the snow, too.

Some of my chores for the day will have to wait until Wednesday since I can't really get out of my drive or down the road right now.

I am still excited to be leaving my bagel shop job. Last night I had a friend ask, 'so, I'll ask...what now? what do you want to be when you grow up?' To which I replied, 'That's the thing...I don't think I want to BE anything. I have never found one thing that holds my interest long enough to make it a lifelong thing.' Now, in the past, this has been sort of hard for me to accept, but I have such an odd feeling of joy from quitting my job I hate, while having nothing lined up to take it's place, that I think I've finally come to terms with this aspect of my personality. Something will come up. I mean, I can't NOT work...bills tend to keep coming whether or not money is coming in. But in the meantime, I have made sure there is enough to give me some time to find something. Hubby was offered a full-time position the day after I quit my job. And, being the type of person I am, if things get desperate, I don't have any problem taking what I can get until things heat up in the job market.

I'm actually happy again.

And I think this will help with my creative side. I am hoping to get some new stuff going, but I also have had some stuff in a shop in Maine...none of which as sold apparently...that I will likely have them send back after the new year. It's all stuff that I think is really cute, and I thought it might do better in a retail setting where people could see and touch (it's stuff I had sold at my first craft fair), but no luck there. oh, well...

Is everyone else ready for their Holiday parties? I told someone last night that our Christmas party is just like a night at the 'kid's table'! One of my favorite parts of being grown up...still getting to act like a kid. I am looking forward to all the laughs and silliness on Christmas Eve. Then, a movie and Chinese dinner on Christmas Day.

How about New Year's Eve? The past few years we've had plans then bailed and stayed in. This year, we have the same plan as last year, but I don't think Hubby's going to let me get away with 'it's too crowded in there, let's go home'. But I need that sometimes. Like I said, I always end up having fun...I just need to be pushed into it sometimes.

Friday afternoon...what to do?

I finally got to see snow today. This morning, during my 5am commute to work (I'm not sure 'commute' is the proper term since it's actually just a quick 10 minute drive down some long and winding roads), I saw snow. It was so pretty. Just some random flurries. Nothing sticking to the ground, no slippery roads...just pretty snow fluttering around me as I drove to work.
However, there is a storm on it's way, apparently. Hubby says it's supposed to start around 9 tomorrow evening, but I just heard on the radio that it won't start until midnight tomorrow. Regardless of when it actually will start, I had planned on getting an early start Sunday (not that I don't always get up at 6, but I had a schedule I needed to keep this time, so close to Christmas). I was going to go in early and get all my eggs and cream and milk for my eggnog so that I could make that Sunday afternoon (since it needs at least 3 days for the alcohol to ...um, 'mellow out'). And Hubby was going to get into town to do his shopping this weekend, too.
Now the plan is for us both to go in tonight. I have all kinds of food to buy, but I am trying to do it in stages so that everything is fresh for dinner. This really wouldn't be an issue if not for trying to get stuff done around work and snow storms! I have notes everywhere that I keep checking and re-checking just to make sure that I don't forget something important. I am also going to have to do a lot of prep Wednesday, since I do have to work the day of our dinner. The good news is that my co-worker is going to come in and work 10 to close so I can go home by noon at the very latest.
So, now, I'm just killing time before having to go shopping.
We were also planning on going out for a friend's birthday celebration (sounds like it's basically going to be a cape cod pub crawl), but if the weather turns out as bad as they say, I'd much rather sit by the fire with a glass of wine or scotch. I guess we'll see what happens.
On an unrelated note...I found another tail in my yard. I am sure it is a different one, as it is much bigger. But it's still by the side porch and appears to have come from a squirrel. Do they lose their tails? I mean, why are there animal tails strewn about my driveway?? Weird.
I think now, I will go search the internet for a hairstyle. I am saving money by not getting it cut, so it is at a very ugly stage where it just looks like a hair helmet. At least it's hat season!!

Tuesday night...no energy

Our holiday plans are piling up, and chores are bunching into each other. How can it be just over a week until Christmas? I have, as many of you know, quit my 'full-time' job. (I use the quotes only because it WAS my full-time job, then I cut my hours for sanity, then got another part-time job and had to cut my hours even more. It is simply the closer to full-time of my two part-time jobs.) Christmas week was going to be one of those 'short' weeks, with an extra day off. Instead, I am working every day that week except for Wednesday. So it's a very full week. On top of work, I am also hosting our family holiday party on Christmas Eve, so I am doing all sorts of things in my time away from my job. Including lots of trips to the grocery store, work parties, dinner with Dad and the sisters tomorrow, cleaning (mostly making sure the pet smells and fur are minimal!), shopping for those last minutes for Hubby, and wrapping gifts (which I just remembered!). Plus I am now working tomorrow for a few hours, so there goes that day off. I wanted to make Dad this Polish poppy seed cake he used to always make. That was going to be my afternoon task tomorrow, but I am actually doing it now, since my baking time slot is no longer available tomorrow. Now, this wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't for the fact that, once the dough is made and filled and rolled, it has to sit to rise for 90 minutes...then bake for 30 more minutes. It's now after 9pm and it's not in the oven yet. This is very late for me. Especially after working an 11 hour day today. No lunch break because of an afternoon meeting today. (It was a crazy day at work today. Not only did we have a meeting, but we also broke in the new laser so there were surgeries all day and every doctor was there, plus two extras! Crazy, I tell you.)
Anyway, my energy levels are low, and I have been determined to not drink this week, so I really just want to crawl into bed and curl up with the pets. I had one tiny glass of scotch the other night because it was very cold and rainy, and I thought the weather warranted it.

Sunday was the holiday party for my animal job. It was a brunch at a restaurant that I have always wanted to visit but it is far too expensive for the likes of us. So we went. It was shaping up to be a pretty nice day by the time we went, and there was a Christmas stroll going on in our town, so we thought we'd check it out after brunch. The SECOND we stepped out of the restaurant, it started to pour rain. So, instead we decided to go with our original plan and decorate the house. We didn't get a tree this year even though we are having the family over. We are having a Japanese themed dinner, so I thought a smaller bonsai type arrangement would be cute. Last year, I tied some pine branches together to make a tree-like form, and it was precious. I haven't had a chance to get a shot of it in the daylight because I have been at work the past 2 days, but here's a shot just after the lights went on it. It's a teapot that Hubby's friend made him years ago...filled with rocks for weight. Then I took some boxwood, pine, and Harold Lauder's Walking stick clippings and threw them together to form a clever arrangement. It is nice to put my few months of floral arranging to good use in my own home!

I've also been getting package after package since I've only been able to do my internet shopping, as I haven't had time to get my butt into town. Tomorrow morning I'm making myself go before I have to be at work. Anyway, one package I wasn't expecting was at my doorstep when I got home from work one day last week...Someone had left their tail by my porch!!! Kinda gross, kinda creepy, kinda cool.

And lastly, I wanted to share a photo of my darling Moxie reading the paper with her Daddy. I have far too many pictures of my dog!! (Not really, how could I??!)

Ah, life...it's just crazy

I did it. Sort of. I called my boss yesterday morning to give my notice that I would no longer be working for him after December 31. I would love to leave, like 3 months ago, but I thought how symbolic it would be to start my new year fresh. A weight has definitely been lifted...it's true. Work was still frustrating today, and I decided not to tell many of my regulars that I had decided to quit simply because I want to wait until the last possible moment to deal with all of the questions and comments about my decision. So, I called my boss so that I wouldn't have to drag on the conversation longer than it needed to be. But, he wasn't at work. I really wanted to give him as much time as possible to find my replacement, so I didn't want to wait until his return to work on Friday. He didn't answer his cell, so I left him a message and said he could call me. He still has not made any attempt to contact me. I know that he got my message, though, because one of the other girls said he called her...because one of his other employees at his other shop also gave his notice this week. I was surprised, that I was surprised, that he had not called me. And , yes, that is what I meant. It is one of the reasons I need to leave. He's not a bad person, but you can tell he is tired of his business (I know he has been trying to sell it) and it is hard to work for a person who cares so little about his business that he can't find 5 minutes in his day to call the girl who has been running his store for 2 years to confirm that he got her message. I mean, come on! Because of me, he has not had to step foot in my shop for about a year and a half! Customers are shocked when I tell them I haven't seen him in over a year. But, whatever...it's his business. I am relieved to have finally taken the GIANT step to leave, and I'm even more relived that it seems like I will not even have to train my replacement, as he will probably just give the 'Wednesday girl' extra hours. Now I kind of want to leave sooner, knowing he doesn't actually have to 'replace' me. But enough of that.

Yesterday, after the call, I did my 'at home job' of cleaning. I scrubbed the bathroom (yes, on my hands and knees to scrub the floor), cleaned the kitchen (dishes, trash, that sort of thing), did a load of 'gross' laundry (bathmat, shower curtain, dog blankets), paid my bills (online banking has made life so much easier!), packaged up my latest Etsy sale. Then I took the rest of the day for me...a delicious hot bath, steaming hot pot of coffee with Christmas movies, online surfing, hanging with the pets, and more Christmas planning. Then Hubby got home and we went grocery shopping...we had 2 bags of frozen broccoli, a bag of rice, a box of Gorgonzola cheese crackers, and a jar of pizza sauce. Dinner the night before was a concoction of the chicken we had left, a can of tomatoes, linguine, broccoli, and cheese all baked up in the oven. But now we won't need to shop for another 3 weeks. Days off never seem to really be days 'off'...why doesn't stuff take care of itself!? It's amazing to me, on the days when everything actually gets done!

After all of our money worries with me quitting, it looks like I will be working the Vet. job all Christmas week as the other kennel girl is going away for an extended holiday weekend. Can't pass up money now, plus I actually like that job.

Here's a link to see the kimono I bought (family, don't look if you want to be surprised!). I love that it was ('likely') made in the 20's. I will definitely post Christmas pictures. Since I don't have to travel, I can't forget my camera!

I'm not sure why I don't have any shots from last years '50's Christmas'? (Donna, if you have some maybe could you email me?) But here's a couple from our 'Victorian Christmas' from the year before.

This was the outfit I made for hubby. I actually took a jacket and shortened the front to make it into 'tails'! I was pretty proud of how it turned out. I was going to crop my head out of the shot, but MAN, my hair is awesome!! (I did this very early in the morning, I think)
We girls had practiced a little bit of Christmas music on our recorders, but I think we should've done our performance BEFORE drinking my eggnog...I couldn't stop laughing! My dress is actually a wedding dress I bought at a thrift shop (right after getting engaged) for $30!! I have worn that dress so many times and in so many different ways...best $30 I ever spent.

Well, kind of a strange end to this post, but I felt like it needed some pictures!

crazy day ahead...i'm kind of nervous

I've decided to quit my coffee shop job today. This is going to cause some serious problems. The main issue, of course, being of finances. We aren't swimming in riches even with me working this job, but finding a job to pay me what I'm making now is going to be impossible. So, I've already resigned myself to having to work more than 2 jobs fairly soon. But, I'm okay with that for now because, for my own health and sanity, I must leave this job. I have saved up quite a bit of my tips over the year (I wish I'd been able to save them all...maybe I could've taken a month off!), so I can make up any lost income for a few weeks, but I will have to find something soon. And, January is not really a great time to be looking for work on Cape Cod. Plus, I don't have any real skills, so I'll have to find something in retail, food service (which I'm hoping to stay away from for awhile), or 'no experience required' type jobs.

The other issue concerns my personal married life. I like making decisions jointly, but for all my hate for my job, Hubby is more concerned with paying the mortgage. And I get that, but what I'm having trouble understanding is why he thinks I don't. So, I've just decided, this one time, I was going to do what I think is best with total disregard to how he feels about it. I know I may have to work extra hard to make up for this lost income, but I'm sure I can make it work without losing our house. He is always supportive of everything I do and doesn't blink an eye when I spend $50 at the craft store (being an artist himself, I think this is something he just understands), he thought it a great idea for me to take a random class when I thought about going into physical therapy even though nothing ever came from that, and there's never really a question about anything I ever do. He just accepts things. And I'm sure he will (well, he'll have to) accept the fact that I'm quitting.

I'm still nervous, though...

(we're getting a mix of snow and rain right now...I hear rain on the roof, but see snow softly falling outside...kooky.)

In other news, I am going to try to really clean up my etsy stuff. Bigger journals, maybe. I was thinking of turning some of my paper into hair clips or other small jewelry items. I have been thinking about it for some time, and had it also suggested by a friend which reinforced it's being a good idea. It's been on the back-burner forever though, because I've been trying to focus my energies on journals and bowls...for some consistency. I decided to take out my bags and tees...so I've mainly been selling those lately! They are all gone now. What I haven't sold has expired and so now belongs to me...yeah, new tee shirts! New year, new projects?
And then there's the holiday festivities and whatnot. We got our Hanukkah package from Hubby's parents. I always get clothing and a check. I think every sweater I own is from my mother-in-law!

Luckily, she doesn't have terrible taste. I also got a cute black top with ruffles. Casual with a bit of flare. Moxie always gets treats or a toy. Hanzo always gets some sort of treat as they aren't really sure about him since he rarely comes out to see any of our visitors. We had a friend house/pet sit for us for a few days and he said he finally saw Hanzo the day he left...4 days later!! And Hubby got his usual sweater and check. I really love my in-laws...they are super sweet people and I'd never trade them for another.

I've also had packages trickling in from etsy. We do a Yankee swap, so that everyone only spends $20 and the swapping game is usually more fun than the actual gifts you get, but oh, my the laughs...! This year the gifts are 'Asian themed' since I am throwing a Japanese inspired party. At last year's '50s party I had a 5x7" playing card with a topless girl wearing an ammunition belt and holding some sort of gun...it was from the late '50's so it counted. This year, I have an equally disturbing gift to throw in the mix, but since family sometimes reads this, I can't say what it is. I also got a package from a Asian grocery I shop online. A couple weeks ago I went shopping specifically for soup spoons, and couldn't find them. So I ordered them online for 50cents each! I am in love with them. The best part of this years theme is that I collect Japanese rice bowls and chopsticks so anything I get this year will just add to my collection!

I even scoured that marvelous indie marketplace for a vintage Kimono. I found a really pretty one for just $25 INCLUDING shipping! One of my swap gifts fell through, though, so I'm not getting too excited about anything until it's actually in my hands.

Wow...what's up with Miss Wordy today?....

Random thoughts for the day

Hubby brought me home a bunch of Irises last night. It was the flower I carried at our Las Vegas wedding because that is what the woman handed me when I asked for a 'single flower'. She must've thought I meant 'one kind of flower', but they were pretty, and I liked them, so I took them. Now they are one of my favorites. I love how they are just pointy torpedos, then as they open they are like little purple Fleur-De-lis.

I think the non-winter weather is really starting to take it's toll on my emotional well-being. I have noticed that I am feeling sort of ...lost. I get to host dinner this year, and have tons of planning to do, but I just can't get in the mood with all the rainy days followed by 'sunny and 65'. I need a little snow, I think.

I am also trying to leave my coffee shop job, but am both anxious to be done with it and nervous as hell to just leave my 'major job' when I have nothing else lined up. And I am sure this is contributing to my mood these days.

On a happier note, little Moxie turned 6 years old yesterday. I will never forget her 1st birthday when I baked her a white cake with white frosting. I set out a tiny little piece for her, got my camera ready (non-digital, of course), and gave her the okay to eat the cake. After all the silliness. I kept taking pictures to use the roll of film, only to discover that the film was not advancing. I didn't get one single picture of the event. Sad. This year, she had to sit at home all day by herself as mommy and daddy worked all day.

I scored some super awesome Japanese paper lanterns on etsy last week. They are going to be so cool hanging around the house. Now I need to find a kimono. I am leaning towards a short kimono and maybe funkin' it up with some modern touches...not sure yet. There is probably no other day I will be able to wear a full on kimono, so I may just take advantage. Anybody have any ideas?

I attended a tree trimming party at my 1950's friend's house last week. I managed, some how, between two 10-hour days to make cookies to bring. They were just chocolate chip, but I added butterscotch chips and peanuts. I don't have a ton of 'vintage' clothes but I am happy to play dress up whenever I can. Plus, it makes all of our silly shenanigans all the more silly when we are all dressed up like proper ladies. I forgot my camera, of course, since I was rushing after work, so...no pictures, but trust me, we were cute. If you'd like, here's a link to her post (hope she won't mind). Be forewarned...she's a bit long-winded (you know I love you 50sgal!).

So that's it. Today, Hubby decided to stay in bed practically all day so, in the attempt to be quiet, I have done nothing but sit here and surf the internet while listening to xmas songs on pandora (free internet radio). Not sure what else will get done, since I've already been into town to do my banking this morning (work drops and atm, of course, since it's Sunday). I was waiting for him for grocery shopping (love his discount at work!) but now I don't want to deal with everyone else being up and out, too. I do love having the roads and stores to myself so early in the morning.

What I did last week...

I've realized it's been a week since my last post. Christmas is coming, even if the weather doesn't agree (65 degrees and sunny on December 3??? Really??) We are hosting our family Christmas Eve party this year. Hubby grew up in a Jewish family and is not particularly psyched about holiday parties, even though he doesn't celebrate any Jewish holidays either and we are actually both professed Atheist...aaaanyway...

For many years we (with my sisters, Aunt & Uncle, and whatever other family happens to be living in the area at the time) have been alternating hosts and themes. We have all gone through our years of good and bad financial times (I think we're all in the 'bad' times now) so we have been doing a Yankee swap with a maximum budget of $20 each person. A few of us like the joy of wrapping, opening, and watching others open gifts, so we spread our $20 into as many gifts as we can, so our swap sometimes goes on for quite awhile. It's fun to see who goes for which gifts...sometimes, it's fun just to see what others BUY!

This year, it's our turn. We missed this tradition two years ago when we were living on Nantucket and unable to get off the island. It was nice, but I also had to work at the shelter, so it was a good thing we hadn't planned on getting away anyway. This year, I may be working Christmas day again, but only for a few hours in the morning...someone is gotta make sure those puppies and kitties are taken care of!

Back to the eve party...our theme is Japanese. We are doing make your own sushi. I'm going to try making miso soup. And then there are a slew of other things I want to have for 'finger foods'. The sakitinis...my homemade eggnog...desserts...gifts...so much stuff to take care of and research. So that is what I've been up to.

I have also been trying to keep up with my etsy shop. I have had another sale, but again, it was one of my older bags I had up. I would love to sell some bowls, but I do realize it's not something people 'need' so I am fine just being happen when someone does decide that it is a beautiful piece of functional art that they just can't live without.

OH, and here's a photo of the centerpiece I made for out table for Thanksgiving dinner. I picked up some fallen bayberry 'clumps' during our walk in the morning. I have some old floral foam (not really sure why) that I stuck the tiny branches into. Then I just set the whole thing in one of my handmade 'free-form' paper bowls that I've decided to keep for myself (selfish). I thought it was really cute.

Yes, there were just two of us, and yes, we did finish the green beans eventually. I almost forgot the best part...leftovers. Ours went into, not the 'day after' sandwich...we had a 'day after pizza'!! Gravy, stuffing, turkey, and fried onions! So good. Hubby had his with a side of cranberry sauce.