Feeling Festive? Here's Cinnamint Toothpaste in Your Eye

I guess hubby was feeling festive and in the Christmas spirit or something because he bought cinnamint flavor toothpaste this time. I don't particularly care for cinnamon in my toothpaste, but oh well. I say nothing because as everybody who has been married for any length of time knows, you have to pick your battles. A wise woman will let those little things go for a larger and more significant victory later. I'm banking all of these so-called little 'losses' towards something bigger: I want the kitchen and dining area painted red. Not fire-engine red, of course, but a red that goes with the cypress green walls of the living room since it is all one big open space now with only a half wall separating them. Right now, the kitchen and dining room are a cucumber green because, as my four readers might remember, we tried yellow, but it looked like a Green Bay Packer fan decorated our house. I tried really hard to explain the relationship of green and red on the color wheel, and how it wold really look good, etc., but no dice. So then I showed him the color wheel and told him he had to pick something within a certain range and yellow is what he came up with. Of course it was a very, very pale yellow - in the can. Once it was on the walls, however, it changed. With the lights off it looked like school-bus yellow. With the lights on, it became Corvette yellow. 

There it is - nasty! It might not look so bad from this photograph, but believe me: it was bad. Just ask all the people who came over specifically to see it. Below you can see the cucumber green it is now. Not horrible, and it goes with the darker green, but I would like something warmer. Of course, now it will be harder to paint because the cabinets and everything are up now, which is why I am picking my battles. But I digress...

As I said, I don't really like the flavor of the cinnamint toothpaste, or the brand that it is, really, but I'm making it work. Or I was until the flip cap on the tube shot some of it into my eye -yikes! Every time I flip open the cap it spits, not sure why, but no matter how I do it - still happens. This time it happened to get me in the eye. Now, I'm sure it doesn't make any difference at all what flavor the stuff is, because it is toothpaste after all and designed for the mouth, not the eyes, so it really hurts, but because I already do not like it, now it is truly evil. In fact, in that moment, all the evil in the world was contained right in that 8 oz tube. So, once the screaming and jumping was over, me and my angry red eye let hubby know, very firmly, that we would not be buying any more of that particular variety of toothpaste. Ever.

Christmas is almost here, and my kids are getting antsy. They keep trying to get me to let them open one gift early, but I keep saying no. Really, though, if they are just patient, they won't have to worry about it because the kitten will do it for them. (we are now 95% sure it is a male, so the boys have named him Percy...Percy Jackson, LOL. I still refer to him as Little One, though) For the most part he has left the tree alone, although we didn't decorate it with any of the breakable ornaments -  just in case. He gives it a swat once in a while when he walks under it and it touches him, but other than that, it's just there. Or at least that was the case until the presents got under there. Now he is obsessed. He stalks the presents, and leaps at them with his paws up over his head then runs away and does it again, over and over. Sometimes he will lie on the couch and stare them down until he can no longer stand it and is compelled to pounce. Silly kitty :)

We are naturally hoping for some snow for Christmas. Weatherbug says there is a 30% chance of snow for Wednesday, Christmas Eve and then the chances go up to 80% for the beginning of the following week. So my kids are excited to get to mess around in the snow during the break. The last couple of years it hasn't snowed until the day before they start back to school. Which is okay with them if it delays going back, which it has before. My dogs like the snow, in varying degrees. My Bassett only likes it if it doesn't get too deep because her hoohaa is so close to the ground. My cattledog/lab fancies herself a dainty princess I suppose because she tries to shake it off of her feet as she walks and can't wait to get back inside. She's a hothouse violet, that one. Now Toby, the German Shepherd, he loves the snow. But then he is a long-haired variety and the cold doesn't bother him. When it's snowing I can't hardly get him to come in. He romps and rolls and flips it up in the air with his nose - he's a big goof. I am a bit worried about my outside kitties, but I have set out some old blankets for them, and hubby bought a bale of straw for them, so they will probably be okay.

Speaking of the outside kitties, my neighbor (formerly referred to as crazy cat-lady) and I had a little bonding moment this past week. I discovered the big orange male cat behind her house in the alley when I was on my way to work, so I stopped and got out because I didn't like the way he was just lying there - the sun wasn't out and it was too cold to be where he was. He wasn't moving and although I didn't touch him, I was sure he was dead. I felt so bad about it that I called her at the school and told her about it. Turned out that it wasn't technically hers, but one of the strays that she has fed over the years. I confessed to her that I have been feeding the kittens and several others and that hubby rescued one who we keep in the house, and she was so happy I thought she was going to cry. It made me feel bad for calling her crazy-cat lady, especially since now I am one too. She's a bit odd sometimes (who isn't?), but she has a good heart and in those few moments I began to realize that we weren't all that different and I was ashamed. I have always loved animals, and there are times when I would rather spend my time with them than people. I sense she feels much the same way. 


So this Christmas, God has illuminated a flaw within me and allowed me to examine and deal with it. Then he blessed me with a deeper understanding of my neighbor and myself. With God, it is always about relationships: our relationship with Him, our relationships with others. In this season of celebrating the birth of Jesus, it is important to remember how much He loves us and that we are to love one another the same way. Merry Christmas!

A Food Epiphany and that River in Egypt

I must be living under a rock (some people might think this town fits that description) but I just today discovered Yummly! OMGosh! It's been around since 2010 - where have I been? It's like Pinterest but just for food. I'm in food heaven, happily "yumming" recipes and adding and organizing them into my collections. When I discovered it, I was thinking "it's about time someone created something like this" and then I was like "wait a minute...", did a quick hop over to the About section, and found out I had been missing the boat for a while. I believe I faintly heard a choir singing one sustained high note...

I have been steadily expanding my family's food horizons, and can claim some small success in that I was able to finally get both my husband and boys to try Spinach Artichoke dip this Thanksgiving - they loved it! Even my dad liked it. My youngest, though still proves to be the ultimate culinary challenge and is unwilling to have his food horizons broadened. He is the pickiest eater I have ever known, myself included. Then I had a flash of insight: this is what my mother dealt with, only on steroids. I confess - I was a terribly picky eater, but my picky-ness was mostly centered on mom's cooking. There were a lot of the usual things I wouldn't eat (green beans, lima beans, fish, cottage cheese, etc.), which made dining out a trial, but mainly my quirk was less about the food itself and more about who had cooked it, as in was it safe. I know, weird, but the only reason I can come up with was my extreme fear of throwing up. A horrible norovirus, the flu, or some combination of the two went through our house when I was about about 5 years old and it was a traumatic experience for me. Let me put it this way: the last thing I had eaten the night before was half of a Snickers candy bar (that was when they were the size of the king size kind we have now) and I didn't eat another Snickers until I was in my 30's. Then on the heels of that experience I contracted Pneumonia, so I missed a few weeks of kindergarten. From then on, anytime a family member got sick on something or somewhere, (or it was the last thing they ate before getting sick) I crossed it off my list and put it on the "Do Not Eat" list. The list got quite long, if I recall correctly...

Tomorrow is my birthday and I will be *gasp* the big 5 0. I don't feel 50 (most days), I don't really look 50 (except for those extra 20 lbs that came along with Sully) and I'm finding it hard to believe I'm 50 (denial: not just a river in Egypt), even though I've had a whole year to get used to the idea. Hubby asked me if I wanted something special or if I wanted to go to our favorite Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi place. Since it is so close to Christmas, I've opted for a family dinner at a favorite semi-local (and sorta famous) chicken restaurant and a trip to Bath and Body. And maybe a new pair of silver hoop earrings... I know 50 is supposed to be a big deal and there should be a party and all, but really, I'm good with keeping it low-key. Maybe no one will notice and I won't have to explain. Fat chance of that, I know.

Accomplishing the Impossible...

...or we could just call it "managing to get a photo of one of the feral kittens in my carport" but it doesn't sound as good, now does it? I was out with Toby (my German Shepherd) letting him go around and do his thing, and happened to spot this little beauty just sitting there on top of the lawnmower. The kittens are certainly growing and getting very pretty, too. I want to pet them something awful but I rather like my hands intact and unbloodied. Actually, they would probably just run away out of range unless they felt cornered, which I would never do. They allow me to feed and water them and talk silly baby-talk to them, and they will even get within touching distance while I clean out the leaves and such from the water bowl, but I don't want to make them feel unsafe, so I don't attempt to touch.

My Little One, on the other hand, loves the attention and is quite affectionate. Still having trouble determining what gender, of course, so still calling it a lot of silly-talk names like "sweetpea" and "scamp", etc. L.O. doesn't seem to mind not having a name just yet. What with the Thanksgiving holiday, there hasn't been time to go to the vet, plus I wanted to wait until L.O. is old enough for shots and all, so about another week or so, I'm thinking.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, it went well. Of course two days of cleaning and cooking wore me out, so I did next to nothing the following three days. My husband and I do most of the cooking - he does the turkey and the potatoes, and I do everything else - so it is a lot of work even for just 5 or 6 people. And while I prep and cook the food, I think of Mom. I really miss her - all the time - but particularly around the holiday period from Thanksgiving through New Year's. I get why some people hate this time of year, I really do, but because of the type of personality I am, instead of avoiding the memories and hating the holidays, I think of all the wonderful times and find the joy. I have a knack for sorting through the sad stuff and thinking of only the happier things. Drives my man nuts! But it was a lovely, quiet time with Dad and my cousin Larry, with good food and fun stories from past holidays. I haven't heard a peep from the other cousins, though, which is a good thing, but also a little juvenile, too. I'll explain:

The week before Thanksgiving, both of my problem-cousins posted a couple of those stupid political rants: one said "keep the immigrants, deport the Republicans" and another one was a quote of some politician or other saying that Republicans weren't inherently evil, but because of their greed they became evil, or something to that effect. Anyway, I had had enough, so I climbed on my soapbox and ranted a bit about how tired I was of being pigeon-holed and then vilified for my political association, etc. I might have mentioned how people I considered friends and family were no better than angry villagers, running wildly in a pack with their torches and pitchforks, looking for anyone to attack...Anyway, it has been oddly quiet ever since. No ridiculous political shares and no wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving either. Oh well, chalk it up as the price of peace, I guess. I'm not complaining, anyway :) I will consider it yet another accomplishment. So on that happy note, I leave you with a picture of L.O. sleeping with a Beanie-Baby parrot in my arms.