It's that time of year again...
New Year's Eve. A time to reflect. To join with friends to celebrate another year past and a new year to come. To watch football, and drink (responsibly) and remember that a baby born tonight gives you a year's worth of tax help :-)
2006 has been in many ways a year of grace for us. Quiet and unremarkable, which is good after 2005's roller coaster. There were many moments of peace and thankfulness: our one year anniversary of our move back to CA, my Dad's cancer-free anniversary, milestones and accomplishments at work. Quiet evenings at home, evenings spent at parties and games. Moments spent with new friends and old. Just moments unremarkable except that we were able to enjoy them. All in all a good year.
There are many things I could say that I want for next year: better health, to become a homeownwer, to get a raise at work, for DH to have an easier group of students. But really, if 2007 is anything like 2006, I'll be more than happy with its quiet, steady passage.
A blessed and Happy New Year to each of you, may 2007 bring health, happiness, and dreams come true.
Posted by: vw bug at December 21, 2006 02:58 PM (ZbLU8)
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Merry Christmas to you and your family.
OH and one little thing to add. I am tagging you for a fun thing if you would like to do it. It is a Christmas MEME.
http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2006/12/christmas_meme.html
It was my first time to be tagged so you are also the first person I am tagging too. heh heh
Thank you for your friendship, it is an honor to know you!
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 24, 2006 01:58 AM (tj1zH)
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.. Merry Christmas, ma'am.... and thank you for the wonderful card....
Posted by: Eric at December 24, 2006 04:59 AM (NlzwQ)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Have you stopped by to check out the newest member of the Bad Example Bunch? It's Bitterroot, also known as =HC=, husband of my blog sis Mrs_Who.
And he's got a great story to tell about their Golden Retriever.....
"...Mothers can tell what every different nuance in a baby's cry means. I've never understood that. But I can understand my dog.
I can tell the difference between a cat in the parkbark, a strange dogs are in my yard! bark, and even a neighbor girl and her boyfriend are talking/making-out in her driveway bark. There's also the strangers walking past the yard bark, and of course the usual bored reply to the other barking dog down the street bark.
But at about 2:30 this morning, she was barking something different. It definitely wasn't a bored or cat bark - it was more insistent. She almost sounded scared. As I listened, her barking intensified - whatever it was was really unnerving her - she was already up to DefCon 2. I got up and went to the family room at the other end of the house and peered out the windows. I saw nothing. By this time, Dog is going positively ape-shit out there. Something or someone is in the yard, and it's definitely a stranger bark! I moved as quickly as I dared through the darkened house to secure my gun and flashlight. (I know, I know) They should have been in my hands before I went to investigate.) Damn! Mrs. Who or the kids - okay, maybe even *I* left the MagLite somewhere other than where it was supposed to be. Too late, I can't turn-on lights to search for it. There's no time, and I'll only handicap my own night-adjusted eyes - blinding myself and possibly even making a silhouette of myself!...."
Read the rest, and find out WHY she went to DefCon 2
1
Wow - I linked here from my email and watched your "Sesame Streets" video - too funny. "You talkin' to ME? You must be talkin' to me, 'cause I'm the only one here..."
I was surprised to see just below that the name of a not-so-widely-read book that I had read some time ago which I found... intriguing.
I was even more surprised to discover that the post beneath that book title was a link to my site and my story!
Thanks!!
As for the book:
"4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and Take No Risks"
I can identify... 8-|
Posted by: Bitterroot at December 21, 2006 04:46 AM (GValb)
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Oops - I goofed my link to the book in question... for anyone interested.
(Note: It's a good way to brush-up on your prime numbers!)
Posted by: Bitterroot at December 21, 2006 04:50 AM (GValb)
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I just reAD THAT BOOK THIS YEAR, AND LOVED IT...
Funny thing, I used to run and hide from the stuff as a kid. Still tastes just as nasty, but now I prefer not hacking up a lung, thank you very much.
Oh and BTW, as I know I got this POS cold from a friend who recently flew on Air France, why can't French germs be cheese-eating surrender monkeys, too?
Ugh. If you want me you know where to find me. I'll be the one groaning in between sniffles....
Update
I finally had a chance to speak to the next-door neighbor today. Turns out that the plumber didn't carefully tighten down one of the several connections in the gas line.
However, he did come out in the middle of the night to do it. And then the gas company inspector checked several times after he re lit all the pilots.
Posted by: Amanda at December 15, 2006 10:57 AM (ay+rD)
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Hope you feel better soon! Jammie-working should help... and chicken soup!
Posted by: Marie at December 15, 2006 10:58 AM (Ujp1o)
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Yay for being able to work at home in jammies. *grin*
Now I hope you feel better fast because home and in jammies isn't so great when you have a cold.
Posted by: Teresa at December 15, 2006 11:31 AM (gsbs5)
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I have that cold too. It smacked me upside the head. And I'm miserable. You know it's going to be a fun day when it starts with dumping OJ in the car! Downhill from there, I'm afraid.
Here's hoping you feel better soon, my friend.
Posted by: wRitErsbLock at December 15, 2006 12:22 PM (MwQOF)
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YAY! You deserve a treat... have some Christmas cookies. *grin* I have not begun yet. I think tonight I will have to make a concerted effort to get things going.
Posted by: Teresa at December 14, 2006 01:10 PM (gsbs5)
Passing Gas
Or, How the Very Expensive Plumber f*cked up....
So our next-door neighbor, a lovely woman who I will refer to as "JoAnn" has been having some trouble with her hot water heater. Including a hell of a flood last week. Good thing we have clear drainage. She decided to replace it sooner rather than later, and sooner turned out to be yesterday. As she told me last night, she chose the most expensive plumber to do the replacement simply because he had a reputation for NOT screwing things up.
In any case, JoAnn works strange hours. Like she leaves the house between 10 and 11 in the morning, and usually returns after 9 at night. So in this case, she left them the spare garage door opener to get access to the garage, where the water heater lives, with the understanding that they would bill her and close the door after the new machine was up and running.
One thing about the garage. JoAnn's garage and ours are under our respective houses and are connected by a walkway and a staircase that leads to each of our back doors. So you can enter either of our garages from the other. This, in fact, is why we knew in advance about the repair. She wanted to let us know that strangers would have access to our garage. No big deal, unless of course they like to steal empty cardboard boxes or Army uniforms. Or laundry detergent.
So I leave the house at 6:30 am, husband in tow, and drop DH at work before I go on to my own office. I had meetings and things all day yesterday, culminating with a staff meeting/ party. So I don't get home until 6:30 PM. All I wanted to do was address Christmas cards and veg in front of the TV. And go to bed early.
Did I mention I left here at 5:30? Fucking LA trafffic.
Anyway. By the time I arrived home it had been at least 3-4 hours since anyone had been in either garage. I pull into the driveway and roll down my window for the garage opener (which has a weak ass signal) and as the door opens, I smell something.
By the time I pull in and turn the car off, I know what it is: Gas. Immediately I go into panic mode. I run out on to the driveway and dial the house, meanwhile yelling at DH to pick up the phone. He picks up the phone and I ask him to open the back door and tell me what he smells. He concurs that it is gas and rings off to call JoAnn's cell.
In the meantime I have recovered sufficiently to realize that if I could drive into the garage that there's not enough gas to flash over, so I go over to JoAnn's garage and hit the button to open the door and turn off the light in my garage and then back the car out and park it on the street.
DH then went down to the HOA reps' house and asked about the shut offs, and she brought out the gas wrench, and we turned off JoAnn's gas at the main. Within 10 minutes, all of the gas had cleared.
I'll find out from her this afternoon why this happened, whether it was a blown pilot light or a loose connection or what.
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wow.
And, about the flood, I've never been to JaAnn's house, so I refuse to take the blame. Even though I have a history with floods.
Posted by: wRitErsbLock at December 13, 2006 01:04 PM (MwQOF)
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Holy Smokes - she has my luck. I'm so glad you found the gas leak and got it stopped before it all exploded! Even the best plumbers can have weird stuff happen when they do this kind of work. I hope it's an easy fix.
Posted by: Teresa at December 13, 2006 01:22 PM (gsbs5)
Throwing myself headlong at Christmas...
I changed out the CDs in the car today. Now we have the following as accompaniment to LA traffic:
1. Wintersong - Sarah McLachlan
2. Merry Christmas - Johnny Mathis with Percy Faith and His Orchestra
3. Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics (South Park)
4. Beyond the Season - Garth Brooks
5. Love Actually soundtrack
6. Barenaked for the Holidays - Barenaked Ladies
And from that last album, here's what may be my favorite 'new' Christmas song:
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Feel like coming to finish mine? I just don't feel that I'm creative! It sucks!
The tree is up as well as some garland. That's about it. Ugh!
Posted by: Sissy at December 08, 2006 07:59 PM (AFfne)
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looking good!
i started addressing the xmas cards tonight and made hubby and step-child sign them. almost ready to mail!
Posted by: wRitErsbLock at December 08, 2006 08:03 PM (0Pi1o)
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It IS looking a lot like Christmas! I love the decorations
Posted by: b at December 08, 2006 08:50 PM (X6tm3)
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Okay, that worked. I'm off to eat lunch and then hit the Barnes & Noble to get the gift cards for nieces and nephews... then Christmas cards. I WILL get them done this weekend. *grin* Thanks for the inspiration.
Posted by: Teresa at December 09, 2006 08:56 AM (o4pJS)
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
About 8:00 tonight I finally got my "Christmas" on. We cleaned up the house and brought out the decorations. The wreaths are up, the door hangers are out, and the countdown clock and advent calendar are out. I need to put up the rest of the outdoor lights (upstairs ones) and the indoor garlands and the stockings, and we need to get a tree, but things are looking a wee bit more seasonal already.
1
My woman and I fired up our house the day after Thanksgiving. We live in a completely different environment until the New Year.
Juju Lady takes this decorating thing serious, and Christmas musicÂ…cannot be played until she sees Santa Claus in the MacyÂ’s Day Parade, after that, weÂ’re in all out holiday mode. I love it.
Posted by: Yabu at December 07, 2006 07:47 AM (b1/rU)
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That makes one of us. Okay, perhaps everyone but me.
Posted by: Thomas Warlock at December 07, 2006 09:28 AM (NvS/T)
merry f**cking christmas...
I don't know what the f*ck is wrong with me. I STG it's already December 5 and I have no decorations up, no cards sent, and no gorram christmas tree.
ME. The queen of Christmas. The one who has the Christmas blog theme up and running by Thanksgiving. The one who counts down the days until her Hubby will let her sing Christmas songs. The one who drags other people into the spirit.
Yeah, not feeling it so much this year. I've seen White Christmas twice and Ralphie 3 times. I watched half of Miracle on 34th St last night (the original) before I fell asleep, but that's it. I haven't seen Love, Actually yet this year, or any of the others. I haven't switched the CDs in the car over to the christmas ones or anything.
I guess everyone has an off year, huh? Maybe next week.
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I've never been a holiday person, and it doesn't make things any easier to have a boss who insists on playing Christmas music in the store from the day after Thanksgiving to the day after Christmas. It's a porn shop, yet she imagines it will increase the morale and 'buying mood' of the customers. I had several customers last year complain about the music; one even asked if I'd change it to ANYTHING else, as he said it didn't seem appropriate to the venue. Anyway, I'm surrounded by 'holiday cheer' and other pretenses, yet I'm the only person who will admit this time of year is little more than a drain on the wallet and will be happier once it's all over; the only thing I can imagine worse than Christmas is the death of a family member.
Posted by: Thomas Warlock at December 05, 2006 08:50 PM (MSCTZ)
2
C'mon, you need to drag me into Christmas!!! I'm the one who lags and hates to decorate (have to take it all down again... LOL)
I've got my little fiber optic tree up - my husband even put some colored lights on the bush out front this year! This weekend will be the big "shopping spree" (gift cards for the nieces and nephews)
I need a push here cause I still should get some other stuff out and do my cards - I'm relying on you. *grin*
Posted by: Teresa at December 06, 2006 06:18 AM (5UR9t)
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Join the club. I'm usually the same way. Not feeling it much this year. Don't know what the deal is.
Posted by: Sissy at December 06, 2006 10:51 AM (afJvI)
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"gorram?"
good lord, you just shot way up in geek points. Quality geek points, mind you, but still...
Posted by: rsm at December 06, 2006 05:02 PM (IyNwh)
Posted by: Thomas Warlock at December 07, 2006 09:31 AM (NvS/T)
7
I second the geek points.
I'm not christmassy either. The whole family (including the 4 month old!) have been sick for a month. We're lucky we managed to eat and have clean clothes.
I'm so tired of being sick... All my free time is invested in sleep.
Posted by: silvermine at December 07, 2006 02:12 PM (hn7Rm)
The Bitch Grinch is back!
Did you miss me? Of course not, there was too much going on.
Kudos to Rachel for jumping in and covering for me with such a great post!
I just spent 3 days locked in Los Angeles area hotel (literally) at a planning retreat for our university. Interesting to say the least, and definitely worth the trip in terms of understanding the individuals and issues in my workplace..... but still, I am VERY glad to be home in my own bed with DH and our princess puppy.
The hotel's king sized bed was comfy, but somehow I missed my two living hot water bottles an awful lot.
Thanks!!
As for the book:
"4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and Take No Risks"
I can identify... 8-|
