Two words that go hand in hand. Kind of?  Now that I’m on Christmas Break, I’ve been trying the whip the place back into shape.  Although I didn’t completely let things go over the last semester, it was short of my normal standards.

Before putting up the tree I make sure to vacuum the area so as not to stir up extra dust.  That was ingrained in my head from growing up in a tidy household.  I finally splurged on some more Swiffer Dusters too.

Here’s a small glimpse of some of our christmas decor.  Although VC is now a teenager, we still put the Sesame Street ornaments on the tree- and the key chains from the Rudolph movie that we converted to Christmas ornaments because he liked the movie so much.  A friend gave it to us when he was about 2 years old since with his then blonde hair that flipped up in front he looked like Hermie the dentist.   While the tree is not very beautiful in the classic sense,  we fill it with fun memories.

Immersed in with these family memories are several beautifully handmade ornaments as well as a few ornaments that were carefully laid beside a dumpster. I kid not. We’re all about reusing and recycling and perhaps the occasional dumpster diving

I’d be lying though if I said I can’t wait until the decs are stored back away so we will have more open space.  I’m a big fan of open space

Are  you a traditional holiday decorator with classic decorations or more of a this n’ that dumpster diving decorator?

I am sharing my holiday home decor and cleaning tips for the chance to win prizes from The SITS Girls and Great Cleaners

The infamous Black Friday  ”Walmart Pepper-sprayer” is now contemplating SUING Walmart.  A commenter raises a good point: were her kids “allegedly” being trampled before or AFTER she unleased the pepper spray??

This is exactly why this country is getting so wack (to quote VC) – definition 2 in the urban dictionary.

As I mentioned in my profile – I was maced once – accidentally and man, it was NOT pleasant.

This B needs a dose of her own mace.  Hopefully a sane judge will throw out any potential lawsuit…

Workin’ on my Christmas Cards. Already received 3 from people who were not on the list – YIKES!!  but I refuse to get more printed

Uh-HUH, that would be me. I still can’t believe I’m already 14 credits in and getting closer to the end.

Hopefully I’ve gotten most of the rote memorization courses out of the way. It was a killer taking Med Terminology I and II and Anatomy & Physiology together.

My mind does not memorize things quite as well as it did oh, 20, years ago, so it’s been particularly grueling.

I’ve picked up some scrubs. White bottoms, which I’ve probably already b*tched about. I despise white pants. Even in the 80′s when white pants were cool, with a comb in the back pocket, I steered clear, but that is the requirement. No cute scrubs with teddy bears or chili peppers *sigh*

VC says I look very “gangsta-like” with my baggy scrubs and white clogs.

P.S. I still am not receiving email confirmations when you comment on my posts so it may take me a few days to get back with all of you xxoo

It’s been a while since I’ve done a review, so bear with me as I gush about the new addition to my cookery.  Last year we somehow got hooked on paninis. Not wanting to invest in another grill, when we had a tiny wafflemaker that could turn into a sandwich maker, we’ve been making due with tiny paninis that look like this:

Cooked one a time I might add…

So I when I was offered an opportunity to review a product from the wonderful Wayfair.com, I immediately thought Paaannniiiiis!!

Instead of bread that was squished like a pancake, we are now enjoying bread that stays fluffy, but with a delightful crispiness.   And with the Delonghi Retro Panini Grill, I am able to cook 2 at a time, which allows me more time to spend with my loved ones having pleasant conversation around the dinner table And you know we only have pleasant conversastions.

They may not look cookbook perfect, but they tasted that way. I made up a couple sauce concoctions, that’s what you see oozing….

VC is already asking when we’ll be making them again, which is a good sign, because he always gives me the honest truth, teenager that he is..

What are your thoughts on paninis?

disclosure: I received this product to review. No other compensation was provided.

I’ve written before about my Alec Baldwin crush which is really quite ridiculous.  Love him on 30 Rock although I haven’t watched it at all this semester.  His awesome youtube skits with Jim from the office and his Capital One commercials and SNL appearances are a hoot too.  He has a dry wit that makes me happy.  What can I say.  I used to call it a “man crush” when referring to him but then someone informed me that I would need to be a guy for it to be considered a man crush.  Whatever.

Don’t agree with much else he says outside of his acting.  Calling your child a “thoughless pig” is never a good idea, but whatever. I ignore it because it is Alec!

Now he goes and gets himself kicked off American Airlines.  I know one must take aviation seriously but I still would have liked to have been there to see it all go down and hold his hand and calm him down  Kidding.

Who is your celebrity crush that makes absolutely no sense and that you should not admit to?

Thanks for all of the good wishes for my finals week.  Yesterday my first final was one of those where I probably would have gotten the same grade whether or not I studied, which is sad.  Tomorrow is Anatomy & Physiology, which reminds me what I should be doing instead of updating the blog….

P.S. Judging from the comments thus far I would say there are not many Alec Baldwin fans present.  And now I read on the reputable news journal TMZ that he was an “epic jerk” according to eyewitnesses  :-(

P.P.S. Is anyone having problems with wordpress not sending comments to their email or is it just me, the Alec Baldwin Loser???

bellieeeeeeeeve me, I should not be blogging with finals next week.

But there is this local commercial that completely freaks me out.  It is on the radio and features employees of a local healthcare organization telling things they do for the community so the organization looks like the next best thing to Mother Theresa.  I will not name them as I may be applying to work there someday soon – seriously.

So there are a few voices. And they say, “I am a ____ (their position) and I dole out food to hungry kids” etc.  About the third voice in is this squeaky voice that sounds like a 6 year old. I kid not – and she says “I am a doctor” – WHOA!!  A DOCTOR!!

Not that I’m one to make judgments but I like my doctors to sound like I picture a doctor would sound, namely with a voice in the normal voice range, not like that of a kindergartner.

Now I’m sure she is probably an incredibly competent doctor who I will not be visiting.

Ever judged like this and been proven wrong?

See you on the flip side (of finals)

Ahhhh…just rolling out of bed at 8:20 am.  Once again, I’ve decided to take a pass on all of the Black Friday festivities.  I must be getting old because the thought of the chaos freaks me out.

Plus, it’s not like we really need anything, even though VC pointed out last night that the black bars on top and bottom of the movies we watch on our “antique” TV’s seem to be getting bigger the more outdated our TV’s get.  Also, words are cut off if they are on the far margins – “Free” shows up as “ree.”  But the TV we normally use fits so nicely in the teak TV cabinet and a new TV would mean a new cabinet.  And the wide array of choices is mindboggling.  Still not making any progress with my decision-making abilities…

In what was probably a sign, I had a dream this morning that I walked by a drug store and they were giving out free vouchers.  I waited in line for mine – and it was for $8.00.  I figured I could get whatever I wanted but it ended up the voucher was only good on straw hats with wool flowers – which sold for $49.95 or some hideous flowers made of yarn.  I have a feeling that is what my real BF shopping would have ended up like.
Did you brave Black Friday?

P.S. If anyone can tell me if my feed is set up correctly it would be helpful.  Seems it may still be going through my old blog somehow?  Also, any way to move over the Google Friend Connect or do I need to start from scratch?  It used to be working but not any more… thanks

P.P.S.  Ha ha. I read this back and realized I didn’t mention the thought of going Black Friday shopping – for OTHERS!!!  Well, we don’t exchange many gifts so it is not worth the BF effort – and it’s not like I’ll be giving out LCD TV’s…

Well, VC has been pining for a new mattress for some time now.  He wants a number bed like we have and yet, I gotta tell you, I am hesitant, mainly because he’ll be off to college in 2 years and his old mattress still has some life in it, though it’s reached the dreaded 8 year mark according to the tag.

It has “life” because for many of those years it was rarely used as it sat in our guest room.  It is no secret that people don’t like to come and visit us – kidding  maybe

I would spring for the mattress if his bed was a larger size, but it is a full size and therefore won’t fit on the new larger guest bed once he leaves- plus it is too small for our bed.  I am in quite the quandary.  Fortunately as he is a teen, we don’t need to worry about any fancy kids duvet covers.  He is a simple guy.  Although with all his crazy acrobatics he is someone who needs a nice mattress to relieve his aching joints.  I tell him he is like a 65 year old with his knee and wrist braces.

So, let me hear it, do I shell out $700+ bucks for the full size mattress (no box spring is needed)?

You know where all my studying time is going??  To returning emails.

I just sat here and spent 20 minutes on an email that should have taken 2 minutes tops to compose.  Unlike with the hastily posted updates to this blog, when I send a reply email I’m always second guessing, especially when it involves people like the exact same one I had the run-in with at the grocery store parking lot where I rambled on like an idiot.

How to answer the question, make everyone happy, not offend….A simple “No” becomes an excruciatingly long, drawn out process (in my mind).

This constant ruminating is a huge time suck.  Considering I have 4 tests next Monday-Tuesday and then finals the next week, I need to get my non-inflated with fix-a-flat buttocks in gear.

Thank you for all the good wishes. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

All emails received over the holidays will not receive a thoroughly thought out hand-crafted response