Todays pics...

...didn't really turn out as cute as they were in real life! The cat was asleep on the back of the couch (where he TOTALLY isn't supposed to be!) I took him off & put him in his bed and covered him w/his blanket. Being the contrary creature he is, he decided he was no longer tired and got out of his bed. Unfortunately, the blanket didn't leave him. Static had it stuck to his hiney. It was hallarious to watch. The pics, not so much.

After that 5th pic, I did take pity on the poor thing & removed the blanket from his hiney. Did he appreciate it?? NO! Silly kitty!

After the tree is gone....

...it's time for snow!! We found this adorable snowman at a Hallmark store after Christmas. Isn't he so cute!! Now, the snowflake lights are LED lights. Kinda burns a hole in your retina if you look at them too long. I really don't like the way the string of snowflakes looks on the banister but I'm not sure what else to do w/it. I'd like to get some sort of garland & then drape it so the flakes don't stick out so much. But, it's lights & lights make me happy!!!

Well, I didn't manage a 2nd post.

I put a TON of stuff on eBay this afternoon. After that & dinner & catching up at the Shack, I didn't have time or anything intersting here. Sorry. No decent pic either. I'm feeling a little bit like a failure. It was such an easy resolution, why couldn't I keep it up??

I'll re-evaluate & decide if I will keep on plugging away or give up & let it go.

Ooops, How Did I Miss Yesterday???

Wow! I spent all day thinking I had posted and I guess I didn't. Wow, that resolution didn't last long. Well, I guess I'll make up for it w/2 posts today.

Yesterday was laundry day. I got my fancy new LG Front Loader washer. It's pretty but, I'm afraid that might be all it is. I'm not sure I'm thrilled with it. I think I'll have to buy the HE soap to see if that make it all better.

Pros: LARGE capacity, detergent/softener/bleach dispenser that can be CLEANED (one of the problems w/my old washer was that it was FILTHY!!) and clearly, the cat likes it!

Cons: LONG wash times (48 minutes for an average load. Don't ask how long for a "sanitized" load!!) and even when I added MORE time for "stain cycle" the wussy stains on shirts didn't come out. I had to pre-treat, run it again & then the did come out, same as my old washer. The rest of the problems are user error or at least user ignorance: how much soap? how much softener, how big a load can fit into the dryer??

I was not able to purchase a new dryer ('cause the old one still works FINE) so now I'm worried that the giant loads I can wash in the washer are going to KILL my dryer. Although, I'm sure the dryer is just going to die of embarrassment as it looks so OLD compared to the washer. Poor dryer. It's 20yo (the washer was only 8) and still running like a champ. A champ that has had the snot beat out of it a couple too many times!

Anyway, I'm going to go today & buy the HE soap. Then, I will be confident that I'm putting enough soap in it. I'll learn to live w/the long cycles 'cause one day I'll be able to get the fancy pants dryer & it'll all balance out. The stained clothes are a rarity so I can deal w/that. I am REALLY HAPPY to have the washer & to be able to wash clothes when I want. I never realized how important that was until it was gone.

As soon as I posted this, I saw this cartoon. Thought it was appropriate. Although my kids, who had a snow day yesterday, pretty much kept themselves busy while I did all the laundry. I sure hope you can click on it & make it bigger!!

What a mess!!

Hmmm, is this table a metaphor for my life?? This is my scrap/stamp table. Sad, huh?? Needless to say, I have not worked on anything for a few days. So much for my resolve to clean up after my projects. On the plus side, all the Christmas stuff is down & put away. Well, almost all. I realized that my lighted garland is still up (and lit & pretty!) I'll take it & the C'mas cards down later (today, this week, this month??) Scott put all the snowflake lights up (I'll take pics later) and I got almost all the snowmen out. But, for now, I have to do laundry!! My new washer FINALLY got here. I'm on load #2.

January 4th, post Christmas blues

All day yesterday was spent taking down the Christmas tree. Everything except 2.5 hours spent w/my older brother (Wayne) while he took apart my computer (literally!) to get a tiny media card out of it (I was the one who stuck it in, not one of the kids!)

Anyway, back to Christmas. I hate taking down the decoartions. Really, really HATE it!! The house is plain w/o them. I have trees in all the bedrooms, candles, garland & wall art in the bathrooms, things on the doors & bubbly, glittery nightlights in the kitchen & bathrooms. It is all so GONE when it's gone!!

So, today: the upstairs tree comes down and I clean out Nick's toy drawer. That boy wants to save EVERY Happy Meal toy that ever makes it into this house! I told him to do it but we'll have to wait & see what he actually REMOVES from the room. Then I'll go thru it again. After that, we'll make a run to Goodwill!

Back to my computer. My brother took the whole thing apart & still could not get to the card reader to remove the media card. So, after he left, I was messing around with it & got the card out!! Yea me! Unfortunately, all the messing w/the card reader messed it up so it still doesn't work. Oh well, back to the USB cable!

Eventually, I'll take pics of my ATCs!