Some Websites to Share

Here are some free websites I have found useful this year:

Flylady.net : can at times be annoying, but she has great advice on getting your house in order, 15 minutes at a time. Surprisingly useful.

Cozi.com, the flylady version: outlook for home per hubs; easy to use and sync

Group on.com- some great deals with this and some new adventures

Retailmenot.com: this is an online promo code consolidator; the first few times I trolled this site, nothing. Then, pay dirt! I hate paying for shipping. Some websites, like Borders let's you use multiple coupons.

habit forge.com : create a free account and set up habits you'd like to do daily. It will send you daily email reminders for 21 days, the minimum to cement a habit. The deeper motivations gives you the chance to remind yourself why you are doing it. Mess up? It starts again.

Next: my top ten blogs

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Wear Make-Up To The Mall

Really, this should teach me. One of the things I was planning for a goal for 2011 is to look more polished- meaning a little eyeliner, powder, hair...my new motto being "pretty is as pretty does"- meaning pretty does things beyond brushing teeth and wearing eyeliner.
No, I didn't run into an Ex at the mall (I wish! Uhh, no offense, Hubs.) Let me explain. You know how I love to watch endless reruns of Law&Order. How I've seen Sam Waterstone filming while living in NYC. (He looked younger in person). I watched one episode and this actor looked somehow familiar. So I googled him.
Eddie Trucco:

Turns out he went to the same very small elementary as me and my brother. He went to the same community college I was briefly exiled at. I don't think he looked like that back then.
But I had this weird feeling I'd see him. I mean after all this is his hometown.
Anyway, this was back in March or something, before I got into Criminal Minds and got temporarily distracted. (Don't worry, L&O, I always come back to you, no one else is as smart or contemporaneous or neatly moving as you, even if all your lawyers hate doctors.)
I forgot all about eddie Trucco.

Then today, bored with football and not wanting to clean up the house, Papoose and I went to the mall. In addition to the $30 cashmere sweater from Macys (could it really be cashmere?) I found Eddie Trucco.

He and his very pretty, very nice wife were at Nordstrom.
We talked about our school. He remembered Bro.
We talked about rain boots, Uggs and the rain in LA.
He was really nice.

YEah make up at the mall next time.
What if I run into Don Henley?

Max-Pilot

Remember Max, the Grinch's poor dog who hauls all the toys?

Note RoRo has one antler as well.

I couldn't get Cindy Lou Who out of the picture, though.

I wonder who the Grinch is?

Is it Just Me, Or-

Was last week not totally stressful?
I may be relieved when Papoose officially stops believing in Santa, because, man, the elves are getting tired.
Work has been stressful. Note to self: no more jobs that require interactions with CPS. I mean not that it's technically difficult or anything- lots of letters and phone calls and irritating people.
 I  actually have had to lay down the law and assert my bossiness with certain staff. You all know how hard it is for me to be bossy. Well, at least doing it with the right balance of 'I am the boss and really, it's my ultimate decision and responsibility as well as liability, so, yeah, it's my way, but hey, I still respect your opinion and we have to  work together, so I'll be as nice as possible, ok, though I know you are going to be pissed and passive aggressive after this'.
Commuting in the rain sucks and wastes even more time, as well as time spent at gas stations in the rain.
 Is it weird I won't fill up at pump #13?
I need a new zip up rain coat, cause the buttons take too much time, but flapping in the wind doesn't quite work, especially while not pumping gas at #13.
Hubs, can we get a gas pump at home? With an attendant who pumps gas and checks tires?
Why doesn't Obama create those jobs?
Although my shopping was primarily done, there was wrapping. (Done. Finally. May have made a little tougher because I made reusable fabric bags this year to use now and in the future.) I had a discussion with Santa - and relayed to Papoose- about being as green as possible, which means less wrapping.
The class Christmas party. Sugared up eight year olds shrieking in small space. Driving like lunatic in rain to be there. Thanks Hubs for helping.
Teacher/staff gifts.
Gifts for mailman, barn, instructors of all sorts, dog walker...
Finished most Christmas cards, need to order some more. order more and had to reorder because they ran out of envelopes.
Doctor appointments, pharmacy time, blood draws, flu shots-
Hubs two day trip to Toronto for 1 hour presentation.
Taffy deciding that he needs to be gone for days in rainstorm. Have adopted Hubs philosophy that emotional attachment to semi-feral cat only leads to tragedy on part of human. He's a big kitty.
Hubs workers only Christmas party -
 Papoose and I waiting at Macaroni Grill for 1 hour for dinner and first Yelp review ever. It was not a good one for Macaroni Grill.
Losing and finding car keys at Barnes& Noble.
A Douglas Fir that is brown tipped and loses needles when looked at. Maybe if I leave Douglas fir and Jack fur on floor will have nice new carpet?
Plastic looks better and better every year.
Then the usual suspects: laundry, groceries, cooking, cleaning.
Looking forward to this week:
Tuesday is first day of winter with lunar eclipse- first in 400+ years.
Happy Solstice! Now the days will get longer!
But Santa, could you still hurry?!

The Nutcracker

Every year, we see SF Ballet's Nutcracker. It really became cemented the year Hubs got Box seats. Box seats are like flying first class- once you experience it, it's miserable to go back. Anyway, as we are not huge patrons of The Arts, it seems like a justifiable splurge, although this year, if there is a subscription for a bunch of Tchaikovsky ballets, I may bite. I mean who doesn't love his music? It's so pretty.
The Nutcracker- I've seen a few different versions and the SF Ballet is my favorite. Visually appealing. Gorgeous choreography, great dancing, even if one of the Sugar Plum Fairies fell in the back of the corps this year. Slight changes every year keep it interesting. But-
This is a really extremely Freudian story.
I'll just stop now.
It's probably Roger Waters fault.

The Wall Concert Review

We saw Roger Waters perform"The Wall" last Wednesday, at the HP Pavillion.
Hubs was particularly excited as he's loved the album since being a teen.
I've always thought Pink Floyd was good- David Gilmore being a particularly elegant rock guitarist, even. And Roger Waters solo albums are great concept albums, especially "Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking", but that maybe because I also like Douglas Albums. I like Dark Side of the Moon, I just try not to listen to it the way I refuse to see sad movies- too depressing.

 At the Pavillion, you can actually have a decent, if overpriced, sit down meal before the show. In a restaurant where you can have a conversation in normal tones.

Our seats were fantastic, even better than the Eagles.

The visual show was amazing- they actually built a huge wall on the stage, had all sorts of great video on HUGE screens, even a flying pig.

Yes, really.  The pig was gigantic, with glowing red eyes and it flew all the way around the arena. You couldn't even see the strings, and I was looking.

The music was performed impeccably, including a back up singer for Roger Water's parts (well, Don Henley has a back up drummer, and RW is older).

     Too bad I really hate the album.


During the intermission, there was a huge line to the bathroom- the men's.
A woman walking into the women's with me said,"How weird is that? All these guys?"
I replied,"It's cause Roger Waters is sexist."
From another stall, another woman with an emphatic,"Very!"

I smirked at the old dudes with prostate issues on my way back to my seat. Yeah, I'm mean.

I felt too grown up during the second half of the show. I mean the angst, the railing against "The Man", making money (yup Roger, that's why your $40+ concert tshirts are made by free people in China, right? Or is it cause they have a Great Wall?) - doesn't it get old after awhile?

Plus, I was sick of the misogynist rants against Mother and Venus Fly Trap wives. Of course, Roger would know- he's had 4.

Hubs said he just doesn't pay that much attention to the lyrics. Given his state of hearing, especially when I'm talking, I'm inclined to believe him.

At the end of the show, Roger Waters apologized for being such a jerk 30 years ago, when he wrote the album. And while he didn't apologize to his mom, that redeemed The Wall.

Thank you, Roger.
 People do grow up and out of being jerks. Out of their walls.

And yeah, I did have a good time.