Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Traditionally I decorate my house for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving.

I believe this is because that is when my Mom decorated our house when I was growing up.

The weekend after Thanksgiving starts deer season and so my Dad and brothers would all leave for the week to go hunt.

This left my Mom and her daughters home to pull out all of the decorations and get it done in peace without all of the boys around.

My sister Debbie was always the most excited and we used to joke that if we sat still we would find ourselves covered in Tinsel or wrapped in garland......she decorated anything that didn't move.

Debbie was always an easy target for teasing and still is......sorry Debbie!

I am sincerely lacking the holiday spirit this year.

But my house is not.

Its all decorated and I would like to share it with all of you.

A christmas tree made from books.......what did you expect?

Our traditional tree decorated with Victorian Style ornaments.

The Mom Cave is already for the holidays

 Foyer red christmas balls and red books a pop of color.

The Santa room

My Favorite Aunt ....Aunt Stella helped me make this Santa. She was an incredible artist and I miss her.

My newly started Santa collection.

Edgar.....the elf.....you know because of the hat.

The snow man tree

Well thats all I have for today.....I hope you enjoyed my decorations.

Have a wonderful Tuesday.

Top Holiday Movies with Jennifer and Stacey

Welcome friends today Stacey and I would like to share with you our picks for top Holiday movies.

Since Stacey is my guest I will let her go first.......

Nightmare Before Christmas

First of all, Tim Burton pretty much gets my Awesomest of All Award in general and then he made this movie.Then you add in Jack Skellington and characters like Oogie Boogie. Wow. Super Wow. And it has really awesome songs which my girls and i can sing for you right now without skipping a beat. And of course there's the fact that anyone's entire family can enjoy this beautifully dark richly movie that adults can enjoy as much as kids and on .... Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, Easter, although they didn't open that door yet, but.... wow, what fun!

A Christmas Story

A total classic that you can learn important and serious life lessons from, such as:

whatever you do, don't ...

... shoot your eye out!

... or lick a pole!

... or drop the f bomb! or tell your parents where you heard the f bomb!

... or set your turkey out.

... And, of course, when you win an award, don't be so sure you'll get electric sex and be prepared with the knowledge that whatever you get, your wife my be pretty pissed off about it.

Elf, 

the real life documentary in which Will Farrell reenacts the life of Buddy, the Human adopted by Elves.

I most certainly am not a cottonheadedninnymuggins, are you? Because it's Santa! He's here! I KNOW HIM!!!

In this movie, I also learned where you can find the world's best cup of coffee,

the negative consequences for pissing off an Angry Elf,

how to make friends in the mailroom while enjoying 'syrup' in your coffee,

and why all the cute furry critters in the woods don't necessarily need a hug after all.

Die Hard

I am currently in need of a date for my work party (you can email me your applications and I will choose a winner 'at random'). I haven't been to an office party since I was in my 20's because after that I was a teacher and teachers don't do fun wild crazy office parties. Well, not where I worked. Anyway, I'm really hoping everyone will be drinking and get crazy and do stuff they wouldn't normally and be wild and silly and possibly commit fireable offenses so they are all embarrassed the next day. Since there's no one I want to shamelessly flirt with or anything like that, I just want to observe everyone else. Just some regular old debauchery, maybe a crazy hook up or two, not anything quite as gnarly as the Die Hard terrorists, but still, it's a fun movie. Yippeekayyay, m...f...!!!!! :)

So Stacey pretty much stole two of my picks.....The Nightmare Before Christmas and A Christmas Story. Both of these movies are a holiday must in my house. In fact I torture my family by watching A Christmas Story all day on Christmas day....its played on a loop on one of the cable stations. 

Here are my picks.......

The Year Without A Santa Clause - The Heat Miser and his brother the Snow Miser..... come on need I say more? 

The little girl singing "I'll have a blue Christmas" makes me cry every time. I love this classic animated Christmas movie. It is by far my favorite of all animated Christmas movies from my childhood. I was so excited when it came out on DVD but to me watching these classics on TV is the way to do it. I know I can pop in the DVD any time but there is something special about the anticipation of seeing it in the tv lineup. 

The Polar Express - All though I find the CGI a little on the creepy side, this is a heart warming movie that really makes you want to believe in Santa. It has become part of my holiday tradition to watch this movie while decorating my tree. Watch it just for the musical soundtrack it really is beautiful.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - I love this movie because it is absolutely hysetrically funny. All Clark wants is a classic Christmas with his family but he gets way more then that! Chevy Chase could not be funnier in this movie with every slapstick trick pulled out it never gets old watching him fall, get hit by a board, get electrocuted, get attacked by woodland creatures.......so funny!

Muppets Christmas Carol - I am a huge Muppets fan and that may be why this is on my list but I really believe that even if you don't like the muppets you will enjoy thins movie. Michael Caine is awesome as Ebenezer Scrooge. There is singing and dancing and Muppet greatness. This also happens to be one of Amber's favorites from when she was little and so maybe that is also why it is so very dear to my holiday heart.

The Gremlins - My sister Anne took me into town to see this movie when it came out in 1984. Which probably made this movie even more epic......I am pretty sure my parents did not know she was taking me into Philly. I love everything about this movie. Gizmo is so damn cute! Who didn't wish that they would get a Mogwai for christmas? One of my favorite parts is when the gremlins are caroling outside of mean Mrs. Deagle's house. I know this is probably more of a horror movie then a christmas movie but it all goes down during christmas so that makes it holiday enough for me. This has become one of Christopher's favorites so that makes it extra special.

I would like to note that We purposely left out classics like....It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol and Miracle on 34th Street because you will most likely find them on every top holiday movie list. We wanted to share some that you may have overlooked.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Charlotte and the Not so Creepy Christmas

Every year at Christmas Charlotte would watch as people got into the Holiday spirit.

Decorations adorned every home on her street.

Her own house was filled with cheer and holiday decorations galore.

Even Perry was in the spirit dressing up with a big red hat and long white beard.

But Charlotte did not feel joy.

No matter how many times she heard the song tell her that....."Tis the season to be Jolly"

She did not feel Jolly.

One day she noticed Edgar was wearing a strange hat.

She asked him what the hat meant.

He said "its an elf's hat"

"But you are a gargoyle not an elf" Charlotte said

"Well during the month of December this hat makes me an elf" Edgar said.

"Are elves Jolly?" she asked

"Of course they are" Edgar replied "they work for Santa"

Charlotte had no idea who Santa was.

She decided it would be a good idea to read some of the Christmas books that were in the Library Room.

After the family retired for the night she climbed into a very comfy chair and surrounded herself with

holiday books.

Selecting one with a pretty little girl on the front with the title The Little Match Girl she began to read.

In the dawn of morning there lay the poor little one, with pale cheeks and smiling mouth, leaning against the wall. She had been frozen on the last evening of the year; and the New-year's sun rose and shone upon a little child. The child still sat, holding the matches in her hand, one bundle of which was burnt.

WHAT!

The tears poured from Charlotte's eyes.

What the hell kind of shit is this?

Charlotte thought as she reached for a tissue.

The tears which she could not stop began dripping from her face.

This is not Jolly!

This is not Joyful!

The little girl froze to death!

Throwing the books from the chair Charlotte stormed off to think.

Feeling just awful about the poor little match girl Charlotte sat alone in the dark thinking about her own loneliness.

I must do something she thought.

I want to feel the joy of the season.

She noticed a box sitting on the floor.

On the box was a picture of some sleeping children and creepy fat dude was peeking over the chair at them.

The grin on his face made him look like he was considering having the children for dinner.....

and not as guests!

At first Charlotte thought this was a left over Halloween decoration that was not put away.

But then she read the words on the box and saw that it was about Christmas!

Could it be that Christmas was not only full of cheer but also full of creepy?

Knowing there was only one whom she trusted to tell her the truth she sought out Perry.

She found him by the tree in the family room.

He was trying to decide whether or not this was a tree that he could urinate on.

It was very confusing.

He liked to pee on the trees outside so......

Charlotte asked Perry about the man in the red suit with the evil smile and the sleeping children.

Perry explained that the guy is Santa Clause.

He is the person who brought Perry to this family.

He is Jolly and fat and full of good cheer.

So the creepy guy on the box is Santa?

Charlotte was so surprised.

Perry told her all about Santa and that he is the person she should talk to about her desire to be jolly and joyful and everything but creepy.

He explained that on Christmas Eve after putting the presents under the tree Santa always sits for a bit and goes over his nice list.

"This would be a good time to speak to him" Perry said

But you should really try and find a nice holiday dress so you can maybe look less evil.

Charlotte spent the whole next day searching for something to wear.

When she started to lose hope she thought she could sneak up behind Edgar and steal his hat.

But he caught her and he was not very happy!!

"Go search the attic" he shouted at her.

Taking his advice she climbed into the attic.

And finally.....

She found a lovely dress that was just her size packed into a box with baby clothes and toys.

On Christmas eve she put on her dress and climbed onto the window sill to wait for Santa's arrival.

It seemed like an eternity before she saw the glow and Rudolph's red nose.

She waited patiently as Santa placed the presents under the tree.

She watched as he removed his large red coat and sat down to read his long list.

"Come out little one" Santa said.

Charlotte was filled with fear.

He had known she was watching and waiting.

This guy is really very creepy she thought.

Charlotte went over to the chair and lifted her arms up for Santa to lift her onto his lap.

"What is you want little doll?" he asked

"To be loved" Charlotte said

And was surprised by her words.

All this time she thought she just didn't want to be creepy but really she just wanted to be loved.

She told Santa about the little match girl and how the story made her feel lonely.

Smiling down at her Santa said.....

"Go to sleep tonight little doll. Tomorrow is Christmas. Maybe your wish will come true."

Charlotte sat on the window sill and watched as Santa pulled on his coat.

"Sleep now little doll" he whispered.

So Charlotte laid down on the sill and closed her eyes.

She thought of being loved.

Of being held by little arms.

Charlotte drifted off to sleep with the sound of Santa's sleigh flying through the sky above her house.

To be continued.............

I don't care anymore

In my youth I used to care an awful lot about what people thought of me.

I worried that people wouldn't see me as being

smart

or funny

or pretty

or nice

I always tried to project an "I don't care" attitude but inside I was just like everyone else

hoping for 

acceptance

inclusion

respect

It took me a long time to realize that I can never be what everyone wants me to be.

I will never meet the expectations of everyone.

And you know what?

That's ok

I have to live my life for me.

I am a good person.....or at least I try to be

If I want people to respect me then I have to earn it.

And if I do everything I can and still don't get it from them well.......

that is their problem not mine.

I no longer worry if people think I am pretty.....I actually would like to punch my younger self in the face for even entertaining such bullshit but ahhhh youth and its vanity!

If you don't like me well.....eh thats ok.

I am an acquired taste.

I'm not for everyone and as long as I or you are not doing anything cruel to each other then.....whatever!

The only people right now whose opinion of me matters is my children

I occasionally stress out over whether or not I am screwing them up with my insanity.

I often worry about how they see me...... not only as a mom but as a wife to their dad and a person to the rest of the world.

On my desk at work I keep things that my children made or wrote.

If I am having a particularly bad day I will sit and look at those things and remind myself of what is really important.

Them!

Nothing else matters.

No one else matters.

They are my pride, my joy and my greatest accomplishment. 

I will share this with you.

Christopher wrote it for me when he was in first grade.

I keep it on my desk at work.

It always makes me smile.

Although in an earlier conversation today with Amber she said that her super power would be the ability to stop time.....so she can get all of her classwork done......yes these are the strange and randomly awesome conversations she and I have.

For me.....

I would like the ability to travel back in time 

and tell my younger self that in the end others opinions will not matter. 

Just be yourself.

For yourself.

And you will be happy!

Then I would punch my younger self in the face for being a vain asshole.

The Party Pony is giving books away

My friend Jenny  yes I am extremely jealous that she is called Jenny

Anyway Jenny is giving away some books.

You should go over to her blog and try to win them.

Plus you should include reading her blog as part of your daily healthy diet.

She might just be as weird as I am.

Thank you!

Shit I have to go back to work and I hate Shane from the walking dead

Well I have to go back to work today.

My nice week long break is over.

I can not tell you how hard it was to get up this morning and put on something other then jeans.

Another reason it was so hard is because The Walking Dead really was intense and I had a hard time going to sleep after watching it.

*******SPOILER ALERT*********

So Dale kind of sort of forced poor Glenn to tell the gang that Hershel and his people are keeping walkers in the barn.

I guess Glenn won't be getting laid anytime soon because Maggie is pissed!

Shane is a freaking lunatic and starts going crazy about the close proximity of the barn to their camp.

Rick says he wants to speak to Hershel before they just go all Call of Duty on the barn zombies

Hershel pretty much says get the fuck of my property if you have a problem with my zombie collection.

Rick tells him Lori is pregnant so they need to stay for the baby's safety.

He then refers to Glenn as the Asian boy and tells Maggie he can't stay and she needs to get over it.

She tells him he is a hypocrite jackass who is worried about killing zombies because they are people but will send real people out to the dangerous world outside of their farm.

I love Daryl more and more each episode and I hate Shane more and more each episode.

Daryl is like a ray of hope. Believing that Sophia will be found safe and sound.

Even her own mother is starting to believe that this is not true but she ends up agreeing with Daryl probably because she want to have sex with him........or maybe its just me.

Andrea continues to make me wish for her swift and painful death.

Although since she had sex with Shane she isn't all "oh I want to be dead" she is still annoying.

Her and Shane should just go away together.

Rick tells Shane that Lori is pregnant and of course Shane thinks its his.

Lori tells him to get over it because either way they will never be together.

Shane is a giant douche bag!

Dale steals all of the guns.....not sure why

He takes them into the woods but creepy Shane followed him.

They have words and oh how I wish Dale had the balls to just shoot him but he doesn't.

Shane is a ticking time bomb of emotion.

Maggie isn't mad so I guess Glenn will be getting laid again.....good for him.

Hershel comes and asks for Rick's help with something.

What could it me?

Zombie wrangling!

Really dude just kill the damn things

But no Hershel has a soft spot for stray zombies or he needs a housewife and mechanic to finish his collection.

Shane the lunatic starts to rally the camp.

He starts handing out guns even to little Carl until Lori gets in the way

God would I wouldn't give for Lori to punch him in the face.

Rick and Hershel are spotted by the T Dog with their new pet zombies

Guess what happens.........Shane gets mad

Oh my God how out of character for him

He starts telling Hershel that these are not people and to prove his point he starts shooting the female zombie.

Finally he shoots it in the head and then goes bat shit crazy breaking the locks on the barn.

I was praying that he would just get ripped apart but no he just starts shooting.

Annoying Andrea joins him.....

then everyone does cause there pretty much is not choice at that point.

In the end Hershel and his people are crying and devastated.

These were their people.

neighbors

family members

friends

and there they are strewn about in the dirt
 in front of the open barn doors.

Guns are lowered

but wait is that another one?

I think I hear that moaning zombie sound.

Yes there is one coming out and who should it be?

Sophia!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Yes

Carol is screaming her poor daughters name while everyone else just stares.

Carl is very upset and Lori tells him to look away

No one moves as she gets closer and closer.

Finally Rick walks up to her and puts a bullet into her brain.

The end

until February 12th......I can not wait!

I do still read......

I feel like it has been FOREVER since I have talked about reading.

Today feel like a good day to change that.

I have actually read a ton lately here are a few

The Night Circus

by Erin Morgenstern

Book Description from Amazon

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. 

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

I read this book for my bookclub. It was good. I hated the end with a burning passion. I think the characters could have been developed way better. I also think it would have made an awesome series.

 I would recommend this book if you are reading simply for the joy of reading....as I often do.

 If you are reading it for a book club where you are going to tear it apart and analyze it then its not that great.

Dark Corners

By Liz Schulte

Book Description from Barnes and Noble

Ella Reynolds knew from the first moment she walked into the old house someone or something was watching her. Waiting. Her husband's violent murder sent her spiraling into a world of grief and isolation, but Ella isn't alone. Who or what is responsible for her husband's death is still with her. Darkness has engulfed the past year of Ella's life. Everyday reality slips a little more between her fingers as she struggles to break free from her memories. She must look deeper into her past as well as the present to discover truth of her husband's homicide. A string of uncanny events takes place and practical explanations run thin as Ella follows the terrifying road to closure. As the past and present come to a head, Ella must decipher who or what the murderer is before it takes her as well.

Liz is my blog and Facebook friend. Her blog is http://www.lizschulte.com/. If you do not already follow you should. She is very funny and her posts are always very cool.

I greatly enjoyed this book. I found it to be very suspenseful and creepy which are two of my favorite things! The writing is very good. I found myself very often not being able to put the book down. I also really enjoyed the paranormal edge the book had which set it apart from just an ordinary thriller/crime/murder type suspense book. 

I recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers.

The House on the Corner

By Andrew Leon

Book Description from Barnes and Noble

Three siblings have their plans for the summer ruined as they move across country as soon as school is out. The new house has been mostly vacant for the previous two decades, when the previous owners mysteriously vanished. The kids in the neighborhood believe the house is haunted, and even the adults can't deny that strange things happen around the creepy, old house on the corner. The Howards think these are no more than stories springing from overactive imaginations. That is until they discover a cache of ancient weapons. And what does the crazy old man across the street with his dire warnings have to do with it? Tom, Sam, and Ruth are convinced that things are anything but normal.

All children dream the improbable; some dream the impossible. What happens when three children stumble into the impossible? Will it bring them together, or will it tear them apart?

Andrew happens to be one of my first blog friends. He often wishes he could be my bbf instead of Stacey. And although there is no replacing Stacey he is still one of my favorite blogs. Anyway Andrew's blog is http://strangepegs.blogspot.com/. He always has very interesting thought provoking posts so if you do not already follow him you should check it out. So The House Around the Corner is young adult fiction. It is a great story. Very imaginative. The dialogue between the kids is very realistic. I was worried about reading Andrew's book because I knew I would eventually have to review it and I did not want to hurt him if I did not like it. But in the end I found the story to be very......magical. It brought me back to my youth. It was funny and had an element of adventure which is how I envision my childhood. I was bothered somewhat at one part in the story with how the adults behaved which I thought was a bit odd from their behavior earlier in the book but other then that I enjoyed it. My son also read this book which I thought would be a good idea being that it is geared for his age. He also liked it. He thought the siblings were really funny and he liked the back and forth conversations they had. He also liked the references to Star Wars....well because he loves Star Wars. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who like young adult fiction.

Juliet

By Anne Fortier

Book Description from Good Reads

When Julie Jacobs inherits a key to a safety-deposit box in Siena, Italy, she is told that it will lead her to an old family treasure. Soon she is launched on a winding and perilous journey into the history of her ancestor Giulietta, whose legendary love for a young man named Romeo rocked the foundations of medieval Siena. As Julie crosses paths with the descendants of the families immortalized in Shakespeare’s unforgettable blood feud, she begins to realize that the notorious curse—“A plague on both your houses!”—is still at work, and that she is the next target. It seems that the only one who can save Julie from her fate is Romeo—but where is he?

I enjoyed this book but the back and forth between time started to get on my nerves. 
This did not happen when I read Samantha Sotto's book Before Ever After. 
I don't know why it bothered me so much but if it weren't for the fact that I loved that the book was set it Siena, Italy.... which is beautiful I probably would have put the book down. I really really really did not like the character of Janice who is Julie's twin sister. I found her to be annoying and obnoxious and I cringed every time she was on the page. I just wanted her to go away. The story is well written and other then Janice the characters are likable. The romance aspect of the book is sweet but I think if you like the Dan Brown type books you could probably get past the romance and enjoy the historical mystery aspect. 

I recommend this book to anyone who likes either romance or 
historical fiction/historical mystery.

Well that is all I have for today folks.

Have a great weekend and as always if there are any books out there that you really loved I always enjoy a good book recommendation!

How long is too long?

This is not a writing post.

Although that is also a good question.

This is a post about my hair.

My very sweet....ahem.....sister Judy offered to pay for me to get a haircut.

She often tells me that I need one and that it is far too long.

I kind of like my hair and its curly so I will not cut it short.

My reason for this is it always ends up looking like a helmet.

Truth be told I really do not care what my sister thinks or anyone else for that matter......

But it made me wonder.....how long is too long?

And am I too old (39) for long hair?

Exhibit A: Front view

Exhibit B: Side view

I don't think it looks bad.....maybe a little long but hair cuts are expensive!

I really think its all about whether you look good with long hair.

Is your hair nice and thick?

I think as you age and your hair gets thinner its probably a good idea to cut it.

Mine is not to that point yet.

I don't think I would keep my hair long if it was gray.

Although I don't think I will ever let my hair go gray......

So that's a non issue.

Is it fair to put an age on style?

I don't think women my age should wear mini skirts.

Maybe its because I have a daughter who will be turning 20 very soon and I certainly don't want to dress like her......well that's not completely true but certain clothes I think should be for the young.

So maybe this should apply to hair length as well?

I am not sure.

I really do not like to be told how I can and cannot wear my hair.

Sometimes this stubbornness blinds me to the truth.

Maybe I do need a haircut.

Maybe Judy is right.

Maybe I am too old for hair this long.

Or maybe she is just a giant pain in the ass big sister.

What do you think my fine friends.......how long is too long and how old is too old?

Ringtones

Maybe its the immature side of me but I just love ringtones.

I download them all the time picking out special ones for certain people in my contact list.

I just assumed everyone also thinks this is cool but....

 I was texting my brother Peter yesterday it went something like this

Obviously Peter does not see the awesomeness of a personalized ring tone.

Who wouldn't want the Boondock Saints prayer as the tone that plays when you call?

Here are some of my other ringtone choices

My brother Michael - Fat guy in a little coat

Amber - Family Guy Stewie saying Mom Mom Mommy

My sister Judy - Supernatural actors saying pick up the phone.....cause thats what she always says.

When I get a text it plays Pam from Trueblood saying Blah Blah Vampire Emergency Blah

When my husband calls it plays the Star Wars Darth Vadar theme

General calls play the music from Harry Potter

I wanted to include all of the ringtones but yet again blogger epically fails by not allowing you to include sound clips to blog posts.

How about you.....do you use special ringtones for people or are you more in agreement with my little brother?