A song for your soul on the last day of the year.

More hot chocolate and chick movies

I think the men folks in our family are about to book a hotel and leave us.

My daughter and I have spent the last couple of days....enjoying cups of hot chocolate with whip cream in between chick flicks.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.....Saying Goodbye to Sarah Marshall....White Christmas....The Blind Side

Tonight I took her to the airport to send her back to Ohio.....a couple hours later I returned with her.

Her connecting flight from St. Louis to Ohio had been canceled because of the East Coast snowstorm a couple days ago and all other alternative routes were totally full....the official at the airport told her she would probably get home in a day or two.

Yikes....fortunately she has an understanding supervisor at work.

So....I'm about to head downstairs to make a cup of hot chocolate and pull out my last chick video in my collection.....Sleepless in Seattle.....one of our all time favorites.

I'm just "on hold" waiting for hub to return home with more whipped cream.
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A dangerous combo.....

All the kids are home and the temp dipped down into the 30's.

My husband's comfort food gene was activated.

Before I could blink an eye....he had left over smoked turkey and potatoes simmering in a homemade broth.....and was making biscuits from scratch.

Viola....turkey and fresh hot biscuits.

I would hate to think what would happen if we lived up north....and we had snow plus cold weather plus the kids.....we would probably live in a starch-induced coma for months!

Nothing like a cat in a sweater.......LOL>>>

And for a 100 more dashing felines in knits.....press here.....x

Hard to Believe

Hard to believe my wild stray nervous kitty that hissed at the slightest provocation....is now the gentle comfortable lazy princess which curls herself up in my silk comforter and snoozes for hours....and demands to be combed each morning....and wants fresh water at least twice a day.

Hail silky preened queen of the house!
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Ahhh ...the solstice

It is a gorgeous day here in the South....and 70 degrees.

Spring feels like it must be just around the corner.

I know winter will come back...cause it's not through with us...but today...when the days start getting longer...it's easy to believe the earth's rebirth is near.

There have been some winter solstice's when you really have to work hard to believe in hope and spring....but not this one.

Wouldn't it be nice if it was just that easy this year?

Oh well I'll wait another 140 years....

Well..... I tried to watch the lunar eclipse.

It was cloudy here in the South....so I found a live webcam with a perfect picture of the moon.

At 1am...not much was happening....I set my phone for 330am ...at least I thought I did....but the night slipped by and so did the lunar eclipse.

It's aint pretty but it's my hallway.......

Well we've started.

We are remodeling the second floor of the house.

I took everything from my parent's house and stored it in the garage....at least 200 boxes.

I then got stuck....how do we change out the bedroom carpets? install hardwood in some rooms? de-clutter and de-toy bedrooms that once held children and now hold young adults?

Spun my wheels for a while....then decided the only way to accomplish this was to work on one room at a time.....starting with my daughter's room and working around till we get to the master bedroom....then and only then hit the garage with all those boxes.

It took me a week to clean out her room and the carpet arrived over the weekend.

It's beautiful....but that leaves her closet her bathroom...the boys rooms....etc etc.

Looks like we are going to have to live a very cluttered life....with new mattresses waiting for new floors and Goodwill having a bonanza from old clothes and toys.

This spring after the literary festival and silent auction...I will tackle Ebay and figure out how to become a seller....for some reason I've been dreading the process....and then between Craig's list, Ebay and Goodwill....I hope to have a clean uncluttered life in about a year?

Then we have to make a decision about the kitchen. Oy.

Oh my "Fannie May" get big with all this candy

Childhood chocolate......mmmmmmmmmmm.

Thank G-d I grew up in Chicago and my local confectionier was Fannie May Candies. A candy company started in 1920 in the Windy City.

From my earliest memories there were Fannie May Easter Bunnies in my basket, Santas and Reindeer covered in foil for Christmas and of course mint meltaways.....a staple in our house whenever there was something to celebrate.

A good grade? A little mint meltaway....my mom completes her taxes for the year....a box of mint meltaways.....going to a dinner or birthday party....well one box as a gift and one box to stay home....that's only fair.

Every time I went back to Chicago I would get a little candy. I grew of fond of Trinadads...a dark chocolate center with a little coconut. I liked the sloppy cherry cordials and of course, the milk chocolate covered toffee. Oh yes. Very very good.

And then....Fannie May disappeared....bought out by a corporation that went belly up....stores closed and the chocolate disappared. But it lingered in so many memories a candy company bought Fannie May and reopened the operation sticking true to the original formula (no substitutions with cheap ingredients) and the stores reopened and all us kids no matter what age smiled.

This time around....Fannie May is hip....and headed for the internet. When I discovered I could ship Fanny May out.....I did....CyberMonday after Thanksgiving became my Cyber Chocolate day and I happily sent boxes out to friends and family.....with a smile on my face....chocolate fits all sizes and tastes.

I even ordered myself a two pound box of chocolate with all my favorites.

My family is complaining they haven't seen the box yet....that's because I've hidden it in my daughter's old bedroom and each day....I go in there once ( or twice) and treat myself to a little chocolate....because I'm sure I'm on Santa's nice list and because I'm sure I deserve it...LOL>>

Santa as Ben Hur

Santa as Ben Hur.....very wrong.
And what happened to the reindeer?
Gladiator meets Rudolph in the Colosseum?
Is that the Naughty and Nice book in Santa's hand?
What's Santa going to do....... a thumbs up or down for the little ones?
Bad Santa
Very Bad Santa

A card for everything

I was hunting for a wedding card when I stumbled across the "troubled love/relationship/friendship" section.

I had mixed feelings when I saw these "greetings."

Part of me thought....it was a cop out. If you were in love with someone and were "troubled" you should talk to them. If you had a relationship with someone and you were ending it...you should talk to them.

But that is before our lives went digital....and now you can simply email or tweet "The End" to someone without ever having to talk to them or see their face or face their sorrow/dismay/hurt.

I suppose, on the other hand, sending a card could be seen as a door opener to conversation.

The sent card signifies there's a problem, a concern, trouble and the recipient will likely have a response.

"Go to Hell" ... "Let's have lunch" ..."I'm not sure what's going on"...a thousand other phrases are possible.

Maybe cards for troubled relationships bother me because I'm female....and women seem, in general, more willing to talk ....more desirous to clear the air. Isn't that what the famous "Men are from Mars Women are from Venus" book was about? Women would be happy to sit on a rock and talk and talk and talk.....while men would rather find a cave in a big rock and retreat to read a book or watch TV.

Hmmmm perhaps a for a man buying a card is really progress.....because a man is attempting.... through Hallmark.....to start the ball rolling even though it's a ball he would sometimes prefer not to catch or throw.

Well...nothing to worry about.....I was there for a wedding card....which meant most likely the couple was doing okay and were happy to get together.....I guess they can find their own "troubled-let's talk" card when the time comes.
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Not Your Typical Holiday Meat and Greet Nativity Scene

An acquaintance of mine runs a restaurant in Mississippi and posted this pic to his Facebook account.

Talk about an interesting meat and greet......interesting meat and an interesting greeting for your traditional Christmas holiday guests....and all displayed on a nice fluffy bed of sauerkraut.

All I can say is TUMS come in a variety of holiday colors to compliment any meal.

Best dang song of the season.....

Flying soon......???

Inappropriate spandex

The government of Singapore declared the new swimsuits worn by its team during a competitive meet inappropriate. The suits used elements of the Singapore flag in the design.

What can I say? Looks fine to me.

Too good to to miss...Happy Chanuka

A viral love letter

So the story is a guy in band is separated from the woman he loves....and made this video without telling his former lover...hoping that it was good enough to get lots of hits and buzz...and she would discover it "organically" or just on her own.

Hope it reaches her........