The Blog With No Name

My husband is celebrating the last day of 2005 by putting down the floor in the kitchen!! (Extra Added Bonus – I get to clean behind/under the stove and fridge) Photos to follow, maybe tomorrow (after we’ve had hopping John at my mom and aunt’s condo).

I lost my original iPod earbuds (to which I had attached the Griffin in-ear overlays, or whatever they’re called). So I had to get some more earphones (yes, had to). I got the Apple iPod in-ear phones. I do not like them, Sam I am. They really do block external sounds – my husband was standing behind me, talking and assuming that I heard him, for two or three minutes before I noticed him. I told him from now on, if I have these things in, he gets to tap me on the shoulder and scare the crap out of me instead. What fun. Plus also, my breathing is weirdly and distractingly loud. I can’t wait (not) to use these on the treadmill Tuesday morning.

Behold, the Princess room in all its IKEA’ed glory:

I am told that I need to obtain a second castle-y thing to hang on the right side of the bulletin board. Lucky for her, I too am going to IKEA next week (a “staff retreat,” heh heh heh…).

Behold the kiddies’ Christmas presents:

I will put up a photo showing the futon etc later today.

The “SECRET CWUB” is underneath. Or maybe it’s a pirate ship. Not yet clear to me.

And of course, THE THRONE:

Guess who does, and doesn’t, get to sit in that?

My neighbor, the one who is storing Charles’ beer in her basement refrigerator until Saturday night, one of the ones who mocked me for buying beer for Charles? At her suggestion, their son bought beer for his dad at yet another local brewpub today.

PURE GENIUS, I tell you.

So, I was trying to figure out what the kids should get for Charles for Christmas (the son’s suggestion, a howitzer, didn’t seem, well, quite right. Not really in the spirit of the season and all, y’know). And suddenly, it came to me, in a blinding flash of PURE GENIUS:

Beer.

The one and only item for which I have recently heard my husband express a clear and unambiguous desire. Double chocolate imperial stout, to be more precise. Made at a local brewpub, available for “carryout” in homebrew sized jugs.

Alas for me, the double chocolate imperial stout was still aging down in the basement, but they had oatmeal stout, so I got some of that. (Did I mention, I loathe beer?) My neighbor is keeping it cold in her basement fridge (I wonder whether her husband would dress up like Santa to deliver it….)

Now keep in mind that as I shared this flash of PURE GENIUS with some of my co-workers I was roundly and comprehensively mocked. Beer as a gift from one’s children? Do you think that is setting a good example? Just imagine the therapy bills, yadda yadda, blah blah blah.

So a few hours later, there I am, driving back from the post office, when I get a call on my cell phone from one of these mocking co-workers. I thought, when I saw her name on the phone screen, that maybe she’d forgotten something for the bulletin, or needed a phone number, or whatever. But no. She was calling to tell me what her kids were getting their dad for Christmas:

Beer.

.. at this Crazy Irish Woman’s LiveJournal entries.

I just figured out why Sunday is called a day of rest. You get to do the rest of the stuff you didn’t get to earlier in the week. Like, for example, all the laundry that’s piled up in the basement, put there by the family that moved into the attic without telling me. I can’t think of any other explanation for the amount of laundry I find myself doing these days.

The kids’ school program (NOT a Christmas program) was last night, and OMG for once it wasn’t total PC crap. It was fairly cute as a matter of fact. I think that brevity had something to do with this. Each grade level (they are mixed) sang just 2-3 songs; OF COURSE the kindergarteners were the cutest. One poor little boy was dancing so excitedly during the last piece that he fell right on his butt. Oh the cuteness. The Boy was there singing away, little mouth shaped like an “O” the whole time, and The Girl was very animated as well. I wish they’d both sing as enthusiastically at CHURCH, but oh well.

Pictures later. Almost time to start getting ready to venture off to school on our first day of “wintry mix.” Charles helpfully has snow-blown most of our alley. Got to go stir the pot of oatmeal bubbling away on the stove for him…

The treadmill claims that I walked just over two miles, and by gosh I’m going to trust the treadmill. This gym has a frightening quantity of weight machines – I wandered among them today, looking for interesting ones. I can see my morning 45 minutes stretching out to a longer period of time, as I find more and more interesting toys – “oh look, a triceps curl! Bi-directional upper back pull! Inner thigh! Outer thigh!” Eeeeeeeeek.