Goodbye, beloved blog! See you in 2005! I'm moving to VA.

Take care all! Talk to you soon!

We decided to brave the masses at Walmart and see what kind of stuff we can find on clearance leftover from Christmas. We are hoping to find some holiday storage tubs to use in the move. Last year we bought several gifts for birthdays, wrapping paper, storage tubs, and some mixing bowls...and they were all VERY cheap.

Then after we return, it's business as usual at the Crafty house. Back to packing. We're more than half way done though. YAY!!!

Who needs kids to get you up early on Christmas morning, when I've got Mr. Crafty. We were awake at 6:00 am, people. I NEVER get out of bed that early! He must be pretty special.

I just knew I was getting a stocking full of coal this year, but I must have been better than I thought.

I got a leather jacket, leather gloves, a cd, Pocket Tetris (I heart Tetris!), When Harry Met Sally on dvd, and some perfume. Mr. Crafty did REALLY well this year. :)

But the bad news is, I forgot to get stuff to make our usual Christmas breakfast. Looks like it's cereal or a muffin for us today! But that's OK, at least we're together on Christmas and that's all I really wanted this year anyway.

Twas the Night before Christmas and all through the house...

You would not imagine the mess at my house right now. My living room now consists of just a single path from one room to the next. The entire room is just a pile of liquor store boxes from ceiling to floor. And when we were done collecting said boxes, we bought a bottle of Jose' to making packing go a little easier. Everything's better with a margarita. :)

Still more presents to be opened in the morning, but I got to open two today. A beautiful new leather jacket and a cd I've been wanting since August. (Kevin Fowler)
Looks like it's gonna be a red-dirt Christmas for the Crafty family.
Kevin Fowler, Pat Green, and Charlie Robison on the stereo. And mountains and mountains of boxes.

Here's wishing everyone a peaceful and happy holiday!

Forgot to mention in my previous post. Know what the temperature is here?
25. Thank goodness there's no snow in the forcast. That would suck.

Please wait until Mrs and Mr. Crafty and kitty have safely arrived in Virginia. Then you can snow for days, for all I care.

Anyone sick of me blogging about how much moving sucks? I know I am! :)

Woah. My husband is reading my blog for the first time. Originally, I'd just meant for it to be a private online journal type thing, but I decided I didn't want to keep it from my best friend. Hope I didn't write anything too bad! :) Let's hope I didn't blog right after a big fight!

It's so good to actually get to see his face again!

OK, enough mushy stuff. Have a great night folks, I know I am! :P

Oh my gosh! This is hilarious. My dsl homepage had a blurb about Ashlee Simpson's latest video "La La" and I just forced myself to watch it in its entirety. Let me tell you, that was one video I could have died without ever having seen! I think that girl has some major issues. I also think she is not half as talented as her goofy sister, but she sure does want you to think she's hot stuff.
Haven't seen that new video yet? Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you! It's terrible! La La!

Hmmm...I wonder what I'm getting for Christmas.
Think I went overboard? I do! That's the hazard of starting early. You have more time to find good presents. And if it's on sale, then it comes home with me! Shame, shame! But at least with this many presents, he's bound to like something! (Not that he's really all that picky or hard to buy for or anything.)
Anyway, only 37 hours till I see my husband again! Woohoo!

Random thought: Ordering pizza online (in my opinion) is lazy. But I do it and often. Why? Because I don't want to get off of my butt and go get the cordless phone. (See, lazy.) Also, I like being able to type in my order and not have to speak to the mouth-breather that works at my local pizza joint. And I LOVE the convenience factor. Here I am, already in my leopard-print flannel pjs, and I'm hungry. Solution? Well, you're already online, just type in your order. Why is any of this blog worthy? I'm not sure it is, actually. But if convenience is a factor for me ordering my dinner online, doesn't it kind of cancel it out when EVERY STINKING time I order pizza, the delivery person has to call my home and ask for directions?! EVERY TIME!

In other news, you probably couldn't tell by my earlier, hunger-induced rantings, but I had a very wonderful day today. I got up early and drove to my friend's house and we went and had a massage.

Quite a while before my friend and I scheduled our appointments, I stumbled upon this blog describing a massage. I got worried. Check it out, you'll see what I mean. tequila mockingbird

By the way, my massage was WONDERFUL! Not at all weird, like I feared. And nothing even remotely like mockingbird's experience. Thank goodness!

NOTE: This previously stated that my friend and I had an "assage". No, we did not. Don't want to know if there is really such thing as an "assage". Let the record show that we had a wonderful MASSAGE. :) Too funny!
Thanks J, for pointing that out!

Hmm...might be a useful phrase though. "Wow! Would you look at the assage on that hot waiter?!" Sorry. Couldn't resist. Hey, M. Does the waiter with the lickable face have cute assage going on? Just wondering. :)

Must get off my butt. Must get off my butt. That's what I've been saying for the past few days hours.

I will say it for what seems to be the millionth time this week.
I have to start packing!

Ooh! I am already learning a few of the things on my list. Much more fun than packing, I assure you!

Let's see if I can put some of my newfound knowledge to the test.

Here's a link to the biggest timewaster in my life. (But in a good way.)
Check out Blog Explosion!

If that works, I will be so proud of myself! :)

Oh, my poor neglected husband. He just called me from Virginia and we really weren't talking all that much. I guess I was not really paying attention. Too busy surfing Blog Explosion, while trying to uphold my end of the conversation. Oops! Must remember to actually TALK if I am going to attempt to do two things at once. Otherwise, I will get busted. Sorry, honey!

All the cool kids know how to do it. Will someone tell me how to insert a link in my blog text? You know, where the text is a different color or underlined or something and you click on it and are taken to another page? I am still learning things every day about blogging, and this is one thing I've seen on other people's blogs and I would really love to know how too. Oh, there are so many things I would like to do but don't know how.

Let me make a list and see how many of these I can learn in a month. (Forgive me if I don't know the correct terminology for things. I'm still learning, I told ya!)

1. Learn how to do links to other pages in my text.
2. Update the "Books on my Nightstand" selections.
3. Add a seperate page for my recipes. And maybe one for my photos too.
4. Learn how to change the "About Me" section to make it easier to read and less jumbled up.
5. Archive my posts by month, rather than week. (or whatever it is now.)
6. Learn how to add titles for my posts. (maybe)
7. Learn how to use strikeout-type text. (I may already have the code, but don't know for sure how to get it to work properly. I'll work on this one.)
8. Add a wishlist feature.
9. Add more people to my blogroll.

I think that's it. How many of these can you help me with? :)
How does one go about learning this stuff? Should I buy a book? Annoy other fellow bloggers with questions like this? (Yeah, that would make me REAL popular!)
Help!

Note to self: Do not read ghost stories online.

If you do, don't hang clean clothes from the doorjamb to get the wrinkles out. You will forget you did this and see the clothes out of the corner of your eye and think the boogeyman does truly exist. You will scream like a little girl and maybe even pee your pants a little. Take the clothes down, you big sissy!

I am so goofy sometimes! (No comments from anyone about this! Thanks!)

Our side of the duplex smells like cooked cabbage/stinky fish/feet/dog pee. I don't know what kind of food my noisy neighbors cook, but every time the heat kicks on in my half, it stinks to high heaven! I will not miss my neighbors. Too bad we're moving to an apartment. More neighbors. Oh joy. Let's hope they're nice and quiet and don't eat stinky food.

Good morning! Well, it's Sunday. A whole Sunday, stretched out in front of me with with nothing to do...except pack. How's that for a yucky day? Guess I might as well bite the bullet and get started. I also have to make some more rhinestone picture frames for my cousins for Christmas. I'd much rather do crafty lil projects all day than pack, but I guess I have to start sometime. I'll probably post later and report whether any actual packing got done today. :) Happy Sunday!

Woohoo! I just finished my last class this semester! FINALLY got that stinkin' research paper done and bs'd my way through a 10 minute oral report. I HATE public speaking! I always say "um" and "uh" about every 30 seconds, which is almost as bad as the woman in our class who says everything is "very,very,very" (fill in the blank). Whatever it is, it is never just "very". This is a very, very, very annoying habit, but I'm sure it's just a nervous tic, just like me saying UH a million times. Oh well. At least it's over. I think I should end up with a low A or a (very,very,very) high B in there, so I'm not too worried.

Gotta mail my Christmas presents tomorrow. Gotta babysit tomorrow. And gotta get my cruise control put on my car tomorrow...finally! We bought an '05 Malibu on October 11th and at that time, we were told the part for the cruise would be arrive in 7 to 10 days. Well, 11 or 12 days later, we get a call. Sorry, your part's not in yet. Should be here in 7 to 10 days. Repeat this about 6 times and you'll finally get pretty ticked off and demand that they refund your money. 65 days later, they finally call and say the part is here. Funny how quickly things happen when they might have to part with about $300.

How weird! I just got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. I usually don't answer because 9 times out of 10, it's a telemarketer and I HATE telemarketers. (Well, OK, I don't hate them personally, but I do hate them calling my house and interrupting my life.) But this time, I noticed that the call was coming from my area code. Hmmm...I don't recognize this person's name, but I'll go ahead and answer it. It was a person trying to share scriptures from the Bible with me over the phone! Like a telephone solicitor, but they were trying to sell me Jesus! What is this world coming to? Lady, no offense, but I'm in the middle of hammering out a research paper that should have been done a long time ago. I don't have time to listen to you. Yes, I believe in Jesus Christ, no, you cannot send me a scripture tract. Sorry to be rude, but I really just don't have time for this right now! Can you believe that?!!?!

Gotta get back to work!

No time to blog today. I've got a research paper due tomorrow that is still VERY rough around the edges. Like only in rough draft stage. Procrastination is my middle name.

Looking forward to Friday though. Going to babysit one last time for one of my best friends and her sweet kiddos. Then we're going on a church-sponsored scavenger hunt at the mall. The prize is a $400 gift card to the mall. You bet your sweet bippy we're gonna be busting our butts to win that gift card! Hmm..if I help win the prize, I wonder if she'll share!

I'll be sure to let you know. Probably won't get to blog again until the weekend. Have a good one ya'll! :)

Well, it's official. We are not going home for Christmas. Instead, we are moving. AT CHRISTMAS!!! Bah humbug! Can't believe I have to mail everyone's presents. If I had known that, I wouldn't have taken the time to painstakingly shop for just the perfect gift for what felt like a million people (Ok, really only about 25 or so.), wrap each gift with shiny red paper, a fancy bow, and a nametag, and go to storage, where I had to rummage around to get to the back of the storage unit to find our Christmas stockings, which we won't even be filling up and exchanging this year!

Yes I know that was one extremely long, confusing sentence, but that's what happens when I am typing fast. Sorry. Please, no comments on my grammatical and punctuation errors. Thanks.

Ho hum. Now I have two finals tomorrow, a research paper and presentation due Thursday (which I haven't even started!!!), and I have to pack my entire house by myself and move over Christmas. Bring on 2005, cause 2004 isn't going out very well.

Can't wait til December 23rd when I finally get to see Mr. Crafty for the first time since Thanksgiving!!!

Anyone want to help me move? Anyone? Please?

:( Guess no one loves me. I haven't had a comment in ages.

Hello?!?! Is this thing working? At least say hello when you drop in, pretty please!

I'm currently living all by myself (seperated from my hubby a.k.a. Mr. Crafty) because hubby is already living in Virginia. I stayed behind to finish this semester at school and am very much looking forward to living in the same state as my honey!

So come on people, show me some love. It's just me and the cat here and the cat's pissed off cause I just got her spayed and declawed.

Go ahead...click that pink comment link there and say hello! I promise to be absolutely overjoyed and ecstatic. :)

I know a little girl who doesn't like to wear dresses. Her mom buys her the most beautiful dresses you have ever seen, and each one is met with "I don't like it. I don't want to wear it." Ask her why, and she'll say, "It itches." Her mom buys these dresses for her, because they are beautiful and because her daughter looks beautiful in them. And also, partly, I think, because society usually says girls must wear dresses to be "dressed up."

My first instinct was to tell her mom that I think her daughter has learned to say that if it itches, she won't have to wear it. Basically, I implied that her mom should make her wear the dress. (Only because, I was with her when she bought it and I know how much thought and effort she put into trying to find a non-itchy dress for her daughter to wear on Christmas.) But then I got to thinking. Know what? Those dresses itch me too. And don't even get me started on underwire bras. Or stiletto heels. Or thong underwear. Or control top pantyhose. Or waxing. Or any of dozens of other things that women do to themselves in the name of beauty.

So, I've rethought my opinion on whether or not she should wear those dresses. I say wear pants. And hang on to that precious time when little girls could just be little girls and not have to endure the things us grownups do because we think it's the right thing to do. To her mom, I say good luck. Because before you know it, she'll be all grown up and wearing that uncomfortable outfit, just because it looks good. And also, good for you for not forcing her to wear those dresses. Letting her be a kid a while longer (and be comfortable!) is definitely something parents should do more often.

And to the dressmakers (especially of beautiful little girls' dresses) I say, "Make your dresses more comfortable!" It's only a matter of time before little girls grow up to be women and those women should learn to demand comfort and style in their clothing, as well as in all other aspects of their lives.

And a note to myself. Wear your comfy pajamas today. Who cares that they look bad. At least you'll be comfortable. And isn't that what we all deserve? A little comfort.

OK, I'll get off my soapbox now.

To my neighbors in my duplex: These walls are thin and I just started studying for my final. Can you please have your yelling, screaming, arguing match at a later date? Like never? Yes, he ate the last of the pickles in the fridge, even though he knows he shouldn't eat between mealtimes because the Dr. said so. (How do I know this? Like I said, thin walls. Very. Thin. Walls.) Can ya just shut up about it already?!?!?!?! Thanks so much!

It is now 6:55 pm and I have a final in 2 days and a research paper due in 3.

Have I started studying for the final? No.

Have I even so much as outlined my research paper? No.

What have I done all day? Nothing, except go to the mall (where I did not buy anything, only looked. No, I do not have a fever.), take a nap, and go to campus and sell my books back.
Truly a wasted day, if I've ever had one. And what am I doing about it? Nothing. As usual, I've been online for several hours, reading blogs.
Geez, I have GOT to get off of this computer and study. BLECH!!!

OK, so I finally watched Moulin Rouge last night. I didn't like it nearly as much as I like Chicago.

Speaking of Chicago, let me tell you a dream I had about one of the songs in that movie. It is hilarious!

First off, let me give you a little background info about me. Trust me, it's relevant to the following message.

I have never watched a full episode of either "Survivor" or "American Idol".
I love to sing, but don't think I do it very well. Trust me, these things pertain to my dream. :)

So anyway, in my dream, I am one of the last remaining contestants in a Survivor-like show. It's down to me and this other skanky, show-off-y type girl, whom I immediately hate cause she obviously thinks she's better than me. (Even in my dreams, I am wary of the pretty, popular girl. Hehe)

So, our directions are, to sing a song of our choosing. Every one of the booted-off contestants has told me "oh, you're so sweet." "You're so innocent." "I'm sure you're going to win." etc. (No, I don't actually believe this of myself, but in real life, I do get a lot of comments like this. It's true...don't laugh!) So, to prove them wrong, I decide I'm going to sing a song that will show them that I'm not as sweet, wholesome and innocent as they've made me out to be.

But first, the other girl gets up and sings her song. It's like Celine Dion...complete with the chest thumping, warbling finish and everything. (OK, that's not fair. Really, I like Celine, I do. But that one gesture has GOT to go!) The skanky girl gets a crazy amount of applause in this funky dream and I'm sure I'm doomed.

My turn. I get up there and decide to sing (on the spur of the moment) a song from the movie "Chicago". Yeah, Queen Latifah would have been proud! I decide to sing "When You're Good To Mama" (Mama's Good to You)...complete with low-cut dress and shaking my bosom in the judges' faces. Yeah. Can you believe it!?!? (Those people who actually know me in real life are dying laughing right now.) So, I finish the song to complete and utter silence. The audience and judges are blown away by my vocal performance, as well as the seemingly abrupt change in personality.

Needless to say, I win and am crowned the next American Idol. WEIRD!!! Let me be the first to comment on how utterly and totally weird this dream is. I can't even manage to sing in public, much less sing a bawdy song, ripe with double entendres like this one. But whatever. You are now reading the blog of America's next American Idol.

You know you wish you were me! :)

For the record, NO I do not have a hidden desire to become the next American Idol and no, I do not sing in public. Not even karaoke! Thus, the weirdness of this dream.

I'm doing some much needed house cleaning today. I can't believe the amount of junk one messy person (me) can use and not put back in a matter of only a week or two. I'm trying to break myself of 20+ years of being a slob, and let me tell you...it's not easy. I do really well for a while, but little by little, things start going back to the way they used to be...MESSY! So, while doing mountains of laundry and sorting through an endless pile of junk on my kitchen table, I decided to look through my cassette tapes and see what I could come up with to listen to. Guess what I found? My Michael Jackson Thriller tape. I listened to it today. Several times. In all it's very 80's glory. Made my day.

Here's the lyrics to Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'.
Yeah, he really says "You're a vegetable." Gotta love it. All these years, I had no idea what they were saying! :)

Chorus
I said you wanna be startin' somethin'
You got to be startin' somethin'
I said you wanna be startin' somethin'
You got to be startin' somethin'
It's too high to get over (yeah, yeah)
Too low to get under (yeah, yeah)
You're stuck in the middle (yeah, yeah)
And the pain is thunder (yeah, yeah)
It's too high to get over (yeah, yeah)
Too low to get under (yeah, yeah)
You're stuck in the middle (yeah, yeah)
And the pain is thunder (yeah, yeah)

1st verse
I took my baby to the doctor
With a fever, but nothing he found
By the time this hit the street
They said she had a breakdown
Someone's always tryin' to start my baby cryin'
Talkin', squealin', lyin'
Sayin' you just wanna be startin' somethin'

Chorus

2nd verse
You love to pretend that you're good
When you're always up to no good
You really can't make him hate her
So your tongue became a razor
Someone's always tryin' to keep my baby cryin'
Treacherous, cunnin', declinin'
You got my baby cryin'

Chorus
I said you wanna be startin' somethin'
You got to be startin' somethin'
I said you wanna be startin' somethin'
You got to be startin' somethin'
It's too high to get over (yeah, yeah)
Too low to get under (yeah, yeah)
You're stuck in the middle (yeah, yeah)
And the pain is thunder (yeah, yeah)
It's too high to get over (yeah, yeah)
Too low to get under (yeah, yeah)
You're stuck in the middle (yeah, yeah)
And the pain is thunder (yeah, yeah)
You're a vegetable, you're a vegetable
Still they hate you, you're a vegetable
You're just a buffet, you're a vegetable
They eat off of you, you're a vegetable

3rd verse
Billie jean is always talkin'
When nobody else is talkin'
Tellin' lies and rubbin' shoulders
So they called her mouth a motor
Someone's always tryin' to start my baby cryin'
Talkin', squealin', spyin'
Sayin' you just wanna be startin' somethin'

Chorus
I said you wanna be startin' somethin'
You got to be startin' somethin'
I said you wanna be startin' somethin'
You got to be startin' somethin'
It's too high to get over (yeah, yeah)
Too low to get under (yeah, yeah)
You're stuck in the middle (yeah, yeah)
And the pain is thunder (yeah, yeah)
It's too high to get over (yeah, yeah)
Too low to get under (yeah, yeah)
You're stuck in the middle (yeah, yeah)
And the pain is thunder (yeah, yeah)
You're a vegetable, you're a vegetable
Still they hate you, you're a vegetable
You're just a buffet, you're a vegetable
They eat off of you, you're a vegetable

Ad-lib
If you can't feed your baby (yeah, yeah)
Then don't have a baby (yeah, yeah)
And don't think maybe (yeah, yeah)
If you can't feed your baby (yeah, yeah)
You'll be always tryin'
To stop that child from cryin'
Hustlin', stealin', lyin'
Now baby's slowly dyin'

Chorus
I said you wanna be startin' somethin'
You got to be startin' somethin'
I said you wanna be startin' somethin'
You got to be startin' somethin'
It's too high to get over (yeah, yeah)
Too low to get under (yeah, yeah)
You're stuck in the middle (yeah, yeah)
And the pain is thunder (yeah, yeah)
It's too high to get over (yeah, yeah)
Too low to get under (yeah, yeah)
You're stuck in the middle (yeah, yeah)
And the pain is thunder (yeah, yeah)

Ad-lib
Lift your head up high
And scream out to the world
I know I am someone
And let the truth unfurl
No one can hurt you now
Because you know what's true
Yes, I believe in me
So you believe in you
Help me sing it, ma ma se,
Ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa
Ma ma se, ma ma sa,
Ma ma coo sa
(repeat/fade-out)

Frames, cards, and hand-stamped gift bags 

Got a crafty lil project in the works tonight. I'll post a pic when it's done.

I can't believe there is only one week left of school. It will certainly be bittersweet. I have met some amazing people in my classes this semester and I will be truly saddened to say goodbye to them. I didn't expect to become so attached in such a relatively short amount of time, but I have. That's who the craft project is for tonight. The girls in my classes. Kristin, Brooke, Keisha, Autumn, Mandy, and Areyell. What a fun bunch of girls! Hope they like what I'm making and don't think it's cheesy.

In other news, I'm babysitting for Jenni again tomorrow. And my payment will be...a pair of (almost) knee-high black (faux) leather boots. And they are SO comfortable! We found them at Ross in Tulsa when we were finishing up her Christmas shopping last weekend. We couldn't decide who was going to buy them. I didn't need to spend the $$$, so I let her have them. But, she decided she didn't like them, so now they're mine! Works out well for us both! Yay!

Talked to my sis tonight. I miss her a lot. I also got to talk to my niece, Ryan. She is getting so big! She told me all about her newly re-done Disney Princess bedroom. She also sang me some Christmas songs. "Go Tell it on the Mountain", "Jingle Bells", and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". Wish I had been able to go to her Christmas program she had at school today. I hate missing out on that! Recently she asked me, "Can you come have lunch with me today? We're having tuna." How do you explain to a four-year-old that you can't come see her? It breaks my heart. I think it's bad now when I'm only 3 1/2 hours away. Can't imagine how hard it will be to move 18 hours away! The only upside to that is that while we won't be able to come as often, we will be able to stay for longer when we do get to visit. :(

Have I mentioned yet how much I hate moving? HATE IT!!!!

So, no Christmas tree at our house...we're moving that week. UGH! So, the Christmas presents I bought are stacked in a pile in my living room floor, waiting to be shoved in a box, where they will then be placed in the trunk of my car until we can deliver them. Probably, when we travel to our relatives' houses, we will be driving a U-haul. How terribly sucky to be moving at Christmas. But, I'm not gonna let that ruin my festive spirit. At least it hasn't so far! So, in the spirit of Christmas, here's a Christmas Quiz I took.

Holiday Q & A

* When is the best time to open presents? Anytime's a good time for presents!
* Have you been naughty or nice this year? Mostly nice.
* Real tree or imitation tree? Imitation.
* Favorite Christmas cartoon character? The Grinch...despite the fact that he's mean.
* Did you ever write Santa a letter? Maybe when I was little.
* Buy any Christmas presents online? Very few.
* Save the ribbon and paper or rip right through it? Rip away.
* Sharing Christmas with family this year? Don't know yet. May have to mail Christmas presents due to the move. Gotta deadline to keep!
* Ever ride in a one horse open sleigh? No, not yet.
* Ever roast a chestnut on an open fire? Nope.
* Favorite Christmas pie? Pumpkin. All year long.
* Favorite Christmas movie? How The Grinch Stole Christmas, of course!
* Favorite Christmas song? Too many to list, but here's a few. Blue Christmas, Carol of the Bells, Santa Baby, Baby It's Cold Outside. I LOVE Christmas music!!!
* People on your Christmas list; more or less than ten? More.
* Will you have a white Christmas this year? It's possible.
* Do you believe in Santa Claus? In a way, yes.
* Who would you like to kiss under the mistletoe? Mr. Crafty. He's very smoochable.
* Who gives the best gifts? My grandparents. And my friends.
* Do you send Christmas cards? Sometimes, but not this year.
* What color best represents Christmas? Silver.
* Do you own any Christmas music? Absolutely!
* How many Christmas parties will you attend this year? Not sure.
* Does the postal worker get a gift this year? Nope, sorry.
* Giving a present to a pet? Yes. And a stocking too!
* Your shopping; All done, half-way done, just started, not yet started? All done.

I had 2 classes today. I despise being in class ALL DAY LONG! But I LOVE my classmates. Well, most of them. Only one more class with them...ever. Wah! :(

But on our lunch break, 2 of the girls and I went to eat at my favorite BBQ place. I had fried pickles. Anyone else tried these? Sounds disgusting, I know, but they are SO good! Anyway, I wonder how many calories are in those bad boys? I had 15 or so of them w/ranch dressing. 'Cause I'm an Okie, you know, and how do Okies make artery-clogging, disgustingly fattening foods even worse for you? Dip them in ranch dressing, of course!
So, fried pickles and lemonade for lunch. Life is good.

Then after that, I went to the mall and bought my hubby these. (Sorry, you'll have to copy and paste into your browser. Don't know how to do a link on blogger. Can anyone help me out?)

http://www.ae.com/AE_ProductPage.process?RestartFlow=t&CatalogFlag2=Underwear&Merchant_Id=1&Gender=Mens&Section_Id=707&Product_Id=8577680&CatalogFlag=FloorSet&Section_Title=KnitBoxers&ColorString=0220_3325_478

He will be so mad if he ever finds out I posted that on here, but hey...this is my blog and I'll say what I want to! :)

Also, one of my classmates bought me a little cat picture frame as a going-away present. It says "The more people I meet, the more I love my cat". How true!

Merry freakin' Christmas. I just got a speeding ticket. Who knew the speed limit was 30 mph in Okay, Oklahoma. I was going 50. (I thought the speed limit was 55. I thought I was doing ok...or is that OKAY?) And to make things worse, I forgot to put the insurance verification back in my car after I got my tag this month. 2 tickets right at Christmas. That cop sure was a jerk. Yes, I was speeding, but I told him I had no idea the speed limit was only 30 cause I never drive that road. He could have at least said I was only going 10 or 15 over so it wouldn't go on my insurance. That's ok. He was "just doing his job", right? Yeah, whatever. It's called karma, buddy and what goes around comes around. You'll see.

(No, that's not a threat against the cop, just saying he'll get his eventually.)

I just got back from Weight Watchers and I guess the chocolate-covered pretzels and the alcohol last night didn't make me gain...at least not yet anyway. I lost a pound last week! Woohoo! I haven't really been talking a lot about my weight loss, because I haven't been as dedicated as I should be. Because of that, my weight goes up and down, but so far I have lost 12.4 lbs w/WW (since July). Add to that, the 5lbs I lost before starting WW and I am a grand total of 17.4 lbs lighter. While the scale isn't showing as much weight loss as I'd like, I only have myself to blame. And I can't be too hard on myself. At least I'm not gaining right now, like I have during the holidays in years past. Yay me, for beginning my New Year's Resolutions early. Hopefully I can do better this week and find some of that willpower I've been missing. Wish me luck! And keep the homemade goodies away from me or I'll break your arm! :)

Aaahhh. I cannot wait until we have a house of our own! One that we own. Not rent. Here's why: (Warning! It's a long story and it falls under the category of TMI...Too much information!!! Read further, if you dare!)

[Bear with me, as the effects of my bath-time drink of choice may have left me incapable of using correct grammar, punctuation, etc. Ha!ha!]

OK, so as we established from the cat-in-the-tub story a few weeks ago, I like to take long baths with a book and a drink.

And, as noted in an earlier post, I had a headache. A raging, throbbing, pounding headache that would have brought a man to his knees, begging for relief. Typical headache for me, though, so I did what I always do.

I combined a few of my favorite home remedies in hope of a little pain relief. I drew a bubble bath, got one of my favorite, fluffy "Calgon, take me away", chick-lit novels, poured a drink, shut the door (to ward off any would-be bathing beauty kitty cats) and settled in to bubbles up to my chin for some good reading time.

Well, as luck would have it, I was actually very engrossed in my novel and managed to drink all of my wonderful pain-relief concoction. So, I did what any die-hard bathtub reader would do. I grabbed my bath robe and padded to the kitchen to make myself another drink. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I actually got out of the tub and made a drink. Then I got back in the tub and settled down for Reading Round #2. Can you believe it? Yes, this only affirms the fact that I think reading paperback novels in the tub is the best sort of relaxation on the planet.

ANYWAY! I was thoroughly involved in my novel when I heard this strange sound. I strained my ears to figure out what this noise was that I was suddenly hearing. Know what it was? My neighbor in the other half of the duplex, peeing into the toilet. Needless to say, that quickly ruined the relaxing mood of my bath and I hurriedly got out of the bath and into my p.j.s. EWWWWW!!! GROSS!!!!!

This lead to me wanting to take another bath to scrub my body and mind of the idea of the seventy-something year-old neighbors in the bathroom. But, since I was already squeaky clean, I decided against that and thought "I'm blogging that." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have a problem. :)

Hope your night was more peaceful than mine!

A very relaxed and no-longer headache troubled Amy

I think. My head. Is going. To explode.

My head hurts so bad I can't even think straight.

Cervical spondylosis is a pain in the neck...literally.

Hot bath, TENS unit (not while IN the hot bath), and rum and diet coke, here I come.

One of those or a combination of all of them just might do the trick.

Tonight I am preparing for tomorrow morning's Weight Watchers weigh-in by eating a lot of chocolate covered pretzels. I am sure I won't see a weight gain tomorrow! (Insert sarcastic eye-roll here)

In other news, M. if you read this, I love you. No, really, I do. (But not in a weird way.)I can talk to you about everything and nothing and it is somehow the perfect conversation. It never fails to put me in a good mood to talk to you. Thanks for being my friend.

To all my other friends, yes, I love you too. Don't go getting all upset cause M. got mentioned and you didn't. I promise, some day you too will be embarrassed by me on this blog. Just not tonight. Don't want to freak out too many friends in one night. Ha!Ha!

I am sending out resumes and letters to about ten different medical offices in Winchester VA. I am hoping to find a job so I can get to work ASAP after the big move. I hate applying for jobs! I'm also considering doing transcription from home. Don't know if I'll do that and work or just work, or what but I have a brand new transcription machine that I bought for a pretty decent price on Ebay.

Now if we could just find a decent place to live.

For "you know who" . (who will appreciate this.) :) Amy

You Are Rum

You're the life of the party, and a total flirt You are also pretty picky about what you drink Only the finest labels and best mixed cocktails will do Except if you're dieting - then it's Diet Coke and Bicardi all the way

What alcoholic drink are you?

Note to self: Do not drink cappucino at midnight!

My poor little Pumpkin! I took her to the vet and had her spayed and declawed on Tuesday. It's now Saturday morning and she's still limping around. I feel so guilty for having to have her declawed, but since we're renting, I really have no other choice.

Looks like we'll be renting for a while after we move, too. We didn't get the trailer. We offered them several thousand dollars under their asking price, but they're determined to get full price for it. No thanks. We don't want it that bad! Keep your overpriced, ridiculously decorated trailer. Sell it to some other suckers who are willing to pay full price. Looks like Mr. Crafty will have to start looking for a rent house. (Or apartment.)

Mwuhahahahaha! I have all my Christmas shopping done! All of it! Every. Last. Present. Bought and wrapped. I know. You hate me. In my own defense, Christmas at the Crafty household is also moving time. Don't want to have to be packing and moving AND worrying about Christmas. Oh yes. Completely done before December first. You wish you were me, don't you?

Actually, probably not. It sucks to move. Especially at Christmas. With a cat that gets car sick. On a two-day drive to Virginia. Blech!

All that, and we still don't know where we are going to live. We just put a contract on a house today. Actually, I should say a mobile home. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we offered an obscene amount of money for a trailer. (Not that there's anything wrong with living in a trailer, but you would not BELIEVE the amount of money it was going for!!!)

We are officially scraping the bottom of the barrel with this offer. If we don't get this house, we are going to rent. That will really tick me off, but maybe that way we can eventually afford to build a house just the way we want it.

And in other news, I went to Weight Watchers today. I only gained 4 tenths of a pound! On THANKSGIVING! Woohoo! I have not counted points in over a month and have only gained 1.4 lbs. Man, I can deal with that! I started fresh today and have set a goal of losing 2.5 lbs by the end of the year. Not very ambitious, but I figured it would be a miracle if I was still able to lose with the move (we ALWAYS seem to order pizza or eat tons of fast food while we're packing), finals week, and Christmas right around the corner, I'd better not set my sights too high. Know what I mean?

Sigh. I'm all alone in the house tonight. Mr. Crafty's in Virginia, working away. My cat Pumpkin is at the vet getting spayed and declawed. Hope she doesn't hate me when she gets home tomorrow!

Song to Mr. Crafty:
"I'm tired of being alone. So hurry up and get here." John Mayer.
I know, you hate him.But that song so fits right now. Love and miss you. Wish it was 2005 and we were settled in wherever we're going to live. Know what I want the year 2005 to bring us? Some freakin' stability!!! Let's stay in one place for more than 6 months this year, OK?! :)