12 Days Till Christmas Countdown #9

Today I decided to check out the Christmas lottery scratchers for this year so I walked across the street to the Quik Stop and picked up the ticket seen in the photo.  As you can see, I did not win, just missing getting $100 by one spot.  But you know how these things go.  It's always about taking a chance.   I'd though of getting another ticket at the liquor store a block away from the Quik Stop, but decided against it, at least for today.  If I feel lucky enough in the next days before Christmas, then maybe.


After getting town after work today I went to Safeway to get some cookie dough to make cookies to take to out potluck at work on Friday.   I will be baking them tomorrow once I get home from work.  I'm almost always too busy to do anything like this, but I'm going to find time.  I'm also going to try to make something to take to my family's house on Christmas Eve. Since it's on Saturday this year and I'm off work, I'll have plenty of time then, since I don't want to be looking at or running through stores on Christmas Eve, because we all know what a madhouse they will be then.  I often go to the thrift store run by the town's hospital on Saturdays, but it will be closed for Christmas Eve. I will need to get to the store on Friday afternoon to avoid the madness, and before then, decide what I need to get then.  Present shopping and laundry are all done, so there will be more time for baking and Christmas Eve being on Saturday will make it easier to do.

12 Days Till Christmas Countdown #8

You Are a Bright Christmas Tree

For you, the holidays are all about fun and seasonal favorites. You are into all things Christmas, even if they're a little tacky.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

12 Days Till Christmas Countdown #7

You Are an Angel

A truly giving soul, you understand the spirit of Christmas.

What Christmas Ornament Are You?

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones

12 Days Till Christmas Countdown #6

Not a lot to say today except that it's still one week till Christmas.  I'm trying to determine what I should get at the grocery store this week, and to get to the store before Christmas Eve.  I just know Safeway will be the busiest on Christmas Eve as opposed to the other stores in town.  But since Christmas Eve is on Saturday, I likely will get to the store on Friday, if getting there earlier proves to be a problem.

But just how busy will the stores be during this week?  Just last night, as I was coming out of the parking lot of Safeway, there were many cars on the road coming from Target. And over the the last two days, the parking lots at Kmart and Target were quite full, if not completely packed.  And today there were two long lines at Dollar Tree.  So what can I expect this week?  I'm just glad I'm done getting presents, as I did  not need to get a lot of them.  But I plan to bring something for the potluck at work on Friday and possibly something for the family on Christmas Eve.  With Christmas Eve on Saturday, I will have more time to make something for that night, but will have to find time to make something for work after work one day.  I know I can do that.

And one more week of hearing Christmas music over the work intercom.  Somehow they've skipped playing Elton John's  "Step Into Christmas" one christmas song I actually like.  And they've also skipped over the Eagles' rendition of "Please Come Home For Christmas," never mind the version by Bon Jovi.  And of course numerous versions of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," etc., etc.  I'm always glad when this is over.

And before the year is up I'm planning to see "New Year's Eve."   Presumably before that date.

12 Days Till Christmas Countdown #5

Christmas ornaments today

It used to be that Christmas tree ornaments were simple stuff like green glass balls, colored lights, stars, snowmen, angels and other stuff associated with the holiday.  But now it seems that just about anything is passable for a tree trimming. Why is this?  

Cell phones, for instance.  They are part of everyone's life now, but does that really mean they should be a Christmas ornament?  

We use cell phones everyday, but do they really need to be Christmas ornaments?  Toys, such as bears, and blocks seem all right as ornaments, but cell phones, laptops, cameras, and iPods are just too crazy for adorning a Christmas tree, just because they are the "toys" of today.

Food ornaments.

This website looks at some of the weirdest food ornaments.  Food just seems to bizarre to decorate a tree with.   The pretzel, beer can and chips bag arrangement seems more like a Super Bowl celebration decoration than one for a Christmas tree.  And the author of the website says "Why leave Santa milk and cookies when you can leave him a value meal?" Yeah, and add a Diet Coke while you're at it.   Tacos and pizza slices are also available. 

And other bizarre ornaments have popped up. Today at Target I snapped a few photos of some ornaments.  Pardon the focus, but one time when I was shooting photos inside Target, I was told not taking pictures in the store.  So I had to shoot these quickly before possibly getting caught (I wasn't).  Anyhow, in the photo on the right we see ornaments (on the left side of the pic) shaped like pliers. Seriously?  Pliers.  I also happened to see wrench ornament behind the pliers one (wasn't able to get it in the picture, sorry).  Tools as Christmas decorations?  On the left of the photo is a checkered flag ornament.  Seems appropriate to put alongside the beer can, pretzel and chips bag for a NASCAR celebration.  Maybe this is how sports- and tools-obsessed person decorate their Christmas trees?

Above are more decorations from Target.  Pinks shoes and a purple snail.  I'm not sure just what to say about these.  Neither would ever go on a tree by me.  Just too weird.  At right are pink ballet slipper. Very pretty and elegant, but I'm not sure I'd ever put these on a Christmas tree either.

And one more shot from Target is a snowman ornament .  Snowmen are associated with Christmas, yes, but look carefully and you will see he has a USA hat, like those worn on the Fourth of July.  It's as if two holidays are being mixed here.  This has happened a bit often, such as gingerbread houses for Halloween, and candy
corn for holidays besides Halloween (in color schemes associated with each holiday).  Don't get em wrong, I rather think this ornament is cute, but can we please have one holiday theme at a time? And next to the snowman is a shamrock ornament--is it St. Patrick's day already?




Elvis may have sung about a "Blue Christmas,"  but is this what he meant?   Sure, Elvis was king of rock music, but in the in 1950s, did please have ornaments with his face on them?   And apparently putting Elvis's face on a Christmas ball wasn't enough because someone went so far as to put Elvis's face on M&M ornaments and a dancing cow one as well.  See pictures on this website. 







Can it get any worse?  Apparently.

"Jersey Shore" characters as Christmas ornaments?  Just totally awful.  And take a look at this link.

I think I've only barely scratched the surface here.   There must be other awful, weird ornaments around.  I think  sticking with the traditional angels, stars and lights is much better and simpler.  Do people have themed trees, for example, one with food ornaments, or one with TV characters, or one with tools or sports?  I have a feeling that this is not true.  So why do we need these bizarre ornaments that have very little if anything, to do with Christmas? Don' get me wrong, they're not all that bad, and some are kind of cute,  but most of them are just too weird for Christmas.

12 Days Till Christmas Countdown #4

 The Worst Gift Ever?

What's the worst Christmas present you've ever received? For me it has to be one I received 10 years ago--a dinky little picture frame for which I had absolutely no use. JUST AWFUL!  This  happened right after I got everyone something from the Dollar Tree, when I began working there that year.  This was on my dad's side.  Long story short:  My uncle's then 9-year  got a gift card from Borders, which was what I wanted. And I overheard one of my paternal aunts saying that she was burning her CDs of Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan, for a 9-year old kid in 2001? She and his then 6-year old boy just a lot of stuff  since they were just kids then.  Luckily my uncle on my mom's side all gave the grandkids on that side $50 dollar checks or I might never have gotten the CD the group Yes put out that year.   A better way of spending a gift card for a bookstore/music retailer rather than wasting it on crap like Brittney Spears CDs, which someone her age was likely to do in 2001. I believe my paternal uncle got this frame as a free sample from the dealership where he'd gotten his then-new car. An example of bad gift giving, per this article:

5. Anything that looks like you got it as a free sample. I’ve gotten these gifts before, and believe me I’ve been able to tell. Oddly enough, when you give someone who hardly ever wears makeup Clinique cover up it’s kind of a clue that you didn’t buy the gift for that person. Oh, hey, is that a complimentary tote you’ve got there on your arm?

I just chucked the frame eventually.  For god sakes, if you get these free samples, don't try to give them as Christmas presents!  If you don't want them, donate them to the frigging Goodwill!  And apparently I'm not the only person who says a picture frame is the worst gift you could ever receive.  

Thankfully, I've never been given a Chia Pet or an "As Seen On TV" gadget.   Although on my mom's side of the family since about 1996 has been doing a present game. All of us have to buy something, up to $20, that anyone can use.  We then place numbers at the dinner table under the plates.  After dinner we play the present game.  We draw numbers and when each person's number comes up, that person picks one of the presents up for grabs.  They can steal a gift from another person.  Each item can be stolen up to three times.   This is a sort of a "white elephant" kind of game.   Among the items that have been bought over the years for the present game there have been bottles of Heinekin and Jagermeister, DVDs,  funny toys, and some "As Seen on TV" gadgets (I bought the George Foreman grill  for the game one year) but so far no Chia Pets, as far as I can recall.   Who knows if someone in the family will ever get one for the game, though? In the end everyone winds up with something, which may or may not be useful to them, but at least it's not something deliberately or directly given to them.  I didn't particularly like the one I ended up with 10 years ago, but it was nothing compared to what happened the following day (my mom's family celebrates on Christmas Eve).  

I now have to get a Secret Santa gift for work. I'm considering a gift card since those are a good idea 

when you don't really know what that person likes.  And I cannot wait to see what I get from this next Friday.  I'm also eager to see what silly gifts the family has for the game.  Maybe a Sponge Bob DVD,  a board game, a barking stuffed dog, who knows? Anything goes, but no one ever, to my knowledge, ever bothered with a boring old picture frame, which come to think of it, is often less than 20 dollars.  And another thing they've managed to avoid is the ever-dreaded fruit cake.  From this link:

4. Fruit cake. Yes, people still give these. And yes, the cliché is still very, very true. No one wants a fruit cake, even if it is homemade, because chances are, it’s not very good. As for a peanut butter cup cheesecake….that’s a dessert I can get behind.

I have never gotten one of these things, and I hope that fact never changes!  I cannot even imagine how upset and angry I will be over seeing something as dreadful and awful as this thing known as fruit cake. Many have asked over the years, "Does anyone really like fruit cake?"  Yeah, really do they?  Does anyone ever eat the stuff? On second thought, I don't want to know the answer to that one.  Give me a gingerbread cookie over fruit cake any Christmas season!  Candy canes, Christmas Funfetti cake, sugar cookies, anything but fruit cake!

What the worst gift could you ever possibly receive? 

12 Days Till Christmas Countdown #3

With all apologies to this blogger,  I'm still using the fiber-optic Christmas I got in 2001.  It still works even after 10 years and is easy to store in the shed when then the Christmas season is over.   I would love to get a  real one one day, but I see no reason to get rid of this one until and unless it stops working.  In some ways, I miss going to the Christmas tree lot and picking out a tree, but I'm also glad to not have to find a way to get rid of the tree after the holiday.  I'm guessing I could leave it in my green waste bucket on my garbage pickup day?

Above is a video I just now shot of my rotating fiber-optic tree, while I had the 12 o'clock news on.  You can hear the commercials on the TV.   I did this as I was waiting for a job interview later  this afternoon.

Actually, I keep forgetting I got a small tree for Christmas in 2000, the first year I lived in my mobile home.  I got the small, planter-sized tree at a grocery store that year, and saved the small strand of lights and the ornaments that came on the tree.  I've been hanging the ornaments on the fiber-optic, though they're not quite noticeable.  Look carefully in the video to see them.  I also have some green baubles I got at a Goodwill around June of 2004 on the tree as well. 

Decorating a tree is one thing I miss about having a real tree.  But I like my fiber-optic tree and intend to keep it for as long as it shall keep on working.