Christmas was a full house

Christmas Eve was a fun time around here. There is nothing like having 7 ... 20ish year old kids (sorry young adults) around on Christmas eve. They broke the rock band game out and played for hours. It was awesome. Rock band is one of my favorites. Which is why I suggested to Ashley to replace the DJ at the wedding with ... the rock band game. This is standard play around here in the summer. All day long its ... Rock band. (next to Mario .. probably the best video game ever invented)





Everyone was even playing nice, and switching out the instruments. They need to figure out a way to double up the consoles so they can have 8 people playing at a time. After rock band, they all crashed and watched a big hit for the evening ... Brad's present from Deb .. The hangover movie.
I love having everyone home (plus 2 !!) for the holidays.

Happy Birthday Little Brother ...

Well today is my little brother's birthday. I was thinking earlier .. how old is Mike .. and after doing the math ...




OMG he's 46 ???

Checked my math ... and yes indeed it is right. So, Happy birthday Mike ... hope you have a great birthday.

It's official ...

Ashley is now a college graduate.

Mark, Kayla & I went down to Springfield yesterday for Ashley's graduation. We got there early and had a chance to see how they fixed up their apartment, then it was off to the ceremony.
We had our fingers crossed since there was a little issue with getting signed off for graduation ... but everything went off perfectly. After the ceremony we went to the downtown area for a late lunch at one of their favorite restaurants. College towns always have cute little restaurants ...
We went back to their apartment for some pictures, and hang out for a little bit and it was time for the long ride home. We actually hit snow (yeah) about a half hour after leaving. It made for a little bit longer ride ... but that's ok.
So now that college is all done ... I guess it's time for a "real job" ??

If you ask anyone ...

Who "my precious baby" is ... they will tell you Minky.

That's all I call him, and have since we got him 4 ish years ago. Well, yesterday I took my pbm (precious baby minky) to the groomer. That's pretty standard fare around here, since he's an adorable, chubby long-haired Persian who really needs to go to the beauty salon regularly.
I had running around to do as well, getting ready for Christmas, and all the kids and friends coming home soon. Normally, it's just Mark and I with Danny every other week. Soon our little 2 person home will be filled with 9. So there's lots to do around here.

So I come back to get my pbm, and Carol who I affectionaly call Mrs. Minky (she sorta looks just like him lol) is crying, and just hysterical. She says Minky needs to go to the vet right now. She was trimming him, and accidently cut him with the clippers. I'm a little worried because, like I said she was soooo upset. I go in the back where he is .. and hes doing ok. He definitely needs to go to the vet, since hes got a pretty big gash on his side .. but he's ok.
I am trying to calm Carol down, since I really do understand that sometimes things just happen, it's the way it goes. She is the most wonderful lady you could ever meet. She is so incredibly patient and kind ... and to top it off ... one of the best groomers around. So I grab Minky and Kallie (she was there for the day spa as well) and head off to the vets.

The only vet open at this time, is the one by Kayla. Not too far, about 25 minutes. Get there, they take a look at my pbm, and say .. yeah looks like he needs stitches, and it would be about 2-3 hours since they need to put him out. Kayla is still in class, so go over to the pizza place to have dinner. After dinner, I call up Kayla and figure I would hang out with her since I can't go home (too far), can't go shopping (too late)

She was busy setting up her art final for sculpture class. So I'm watching her and to be honest ... it's like a giant pile of trash. There is metal, wire, plaster, boxes, rusted stuff, cement things ... and I swear, just regular trash thrown in as well. I was thinking to myself .. good thing shes on scholarship here, otherwise I would be paying for this lol.
The project is .. something about chaos, and how life just overloads you. (I'm not seeing it .. but I'm not the art major here)
So she fixes the lights, and hooks up the electrical and is ready for a test drive.

Omg, I was shocked. The bright lights are shining right on you, and then all the sounds start ... sirens, dogs barking, people talking, babies crying, every unnerving sound you can think of ... is there. On top of all this is the contraption she built, which just looks, like it could collapse on you at any second. (not a good thing) Mission accomplished. Chaos and panic .. check. I was very impressed. I am not at all the artsy type .. but I got it.

I take her back to her dorm, and go pick up my pbm. He's doing ok, he has one of those cone things on his head, but other than that .. he'll be fine. Doctor says he needs to wear that for 2 weeks (I'm not seeing it, as he cant eat or drink with it on) Since he's a persian, he has a flat face which doesnt even come out of the cone thing. So unless I dump food in the top where his head is .. there is no way he can eat. Took that off as soon as I left, and brought Minky over to see Kayla on the way home. She just petted him for a little bit and it was time to head back home. As I left it was obvious somethings never change.
It's midnight
freezing cold
and Kayla is chasing a little stray cat around the parking lot.

Danny's birthday dinner ...

We went out last night to celebrate Danny's birthday. He wanted to go somewhere different, so we picked up Kayla and went to the loop. I thought this would be perfect since we could go to Jilly's cupcake bar and get birthday cupcakes and then head down to Blueberry Hill for dinner. We found Jilly's after a little bit of mistaken directions, and they were closed. So no birthday cupcakes for you ... and off to dinner we went.
We get to the restaurant .. no problem.. except the usual one.

dun dun duh ... parallel parking

Can't do it, not even close. But we all lived through the nail biting stress that is me ... trying to parallel park. Dinner was good and then took Kayla back to the dorm and headed back home. On the way home, we stopped for birthday ice cream since the cupcake thing didn't happen.

Ashley and Brad are still at school ... so it was just Danny and Kayla for birthday festivities. Mark and Danny went out and got Pulp Fiction to watch tonight. They seem to think it's the best movie ever ... me not so much. I would have to go with Willy Wonka (original) and The sound of music.

Happy Birthday Danny -

Happy birthday Danny- I can't believe you are 17 today.

Sunny - St. Louis

Every morning it's the same thing.
I open the curtains, and the cats all run over to find the perfect tanning spot for the day. Today ... Chewy and Mimi won the early morning placement. Later as the day goes on ... the whole back of the house looks like pool side at the beach. It's just one "dead" looking cat after another. You have to be careful walking around in there ... because they are everywhere.

I'm grounded today ...

Well, at least that's what is implied from the fed-ex email I got early this morning. Since I'm waiting on a few Christmas presents ... I really can't take the chance of going anywhere. So instead, I'm getting some things done around the house.


I went to scrapbooking last night, and made this little wall hanging. I just think it's adorable.
Danny isn't over this week because he is sick. Now we don't know if caught what Brad had .. or just your normal everyday sickness.
This has really been a tough couple of months around here with people getting sick. Everyone but Kayla and I have gotten some sort of illness. Even a couple of the cats are sick. Unbelievable.


Well ... off to get stuff done.

Last night ...

Was Mark's work Christmas party. Normally, it is held at a local bar/restaurant but this year, they held it at the casino. Dinner was very nice, and then we went down to the floor to gamble a bit.
I haven't been to the casino in years. But when I did go, I only played 1 machine in the slot area ... Wheel of Fortune. Now the reason this is "my game" is one time I was up north with Deb and my dad and we saw someone win like $25,000 on this game. From then on .. it was the only game I played. I walked around for 10 minutes before realizing they had gotten rid of my game.
So I walked over to the high roller room, this is the room with the higher amount slots. I always play $20 on 2 different machines ... one pull.
See what happens.

But when I was looking for which machine to use ... I found "my machine". K, it wasn't mine, because my machine was a dollar slot. This is a $5 machine. So ... what to do, what to do.
Can't play this machine, this would be $15 a pull. omg ... I would be out of money in like 5 minutes. So this is what I came up with. I would take half the money I brought to gamble, and play this machine. That way, I still left with half, and I still got to play "my machine".
So ... put a hundred bucks in. Now it's $15 a pull, so this is going to be over pretty quick. Sit down, light a cigarette (you can still smoke in the casino's here) and start playing. On the second pull I realize ... damn I won't make it 5 minutes at $15 a pull. But whatever ... I understand the deal. On the third pull, I hear ... wheel .. of ... fortune. Which means- I got a spin on the big wheel. So I hit the button and ... omg I won $1000.
Now bigger question then before, I just won alot of money ... but it's not my money it's the casino's. Stay and play ... this is a huge money machine ... I could win like 10,000 maybe even 25,000 like the guy up north.

But those thoughts only lasted a second and my same old rules came into play ... which are
If you win ... alot ... you cash out and leave. I've even left before my car made it out of valet before.

So I cashed out and went off to find Mark. He was playing video poker (don't get it at all) So after watching him play for awhile, I was telling him the difference in our "gambling styles". I want to win huge or lose, not just play forever and stay even. ( which is by the way why I won't go to Vegas with his work for 2 weeks ... I would die) He finally hits for 4 of a kind (guess that's a big deal in video poker), but he won like ... $20. I'm like .. this is the problem .. here you get a great hand and since your playing such a cheap machine .. you don't win anything. So he changed machines and hit for 4 of a kind again ... this time he won $250.
Now this new theory of ... play big or don't play .. worked good tonight, but I'm sure will come back to haunt us later since ... he does have to go to Vegas for 2 weeks at a time. Maybe that way of playing will carry over in Vegas .... ahhh I doubt it. LOL

Too good to pass up ...

I got the Godiva catalog in the mail today, and thought I died and went to Heaven. I think they did the cover shot ... just for me.

I love - love - love Godiva chocolate. Yes, I know it's a little pricey, but I don't get it all the time .. just once in a while.
I did order this cake tonight, it doesn't come with the melted chocolate but that's ok. I can melt my own. Maybe I'll even share some with Mark and the kids. On second thought, this might be like my Christmas card issue - Who is Godiva omg chocolate cake worthy. Hmmm, I'll have to get back to you on that one. lol

Does it get any cuter than this ...

Found this on the internet yesterday. The cutest thing I've ever seen.

Surprised Kitty @ Yahoo! Video

Snow update - no snow lol (it is cold enough, but so far ... nothing)

Fall is hanging on ...

Well for now it is.
This is the grandpa tree in the front yard. I'll explain about the name later, but if you look in the top right part of the tree ... there is a little cluster of bright red leaves. All the rest of the leaves fell off right around Halloween. It's been from the 30's to the 80's ... and there still there. The next couple of days will tell though ... as I heard today that shhhh > We're getting 3 inches of snow tomorrow. What ... snow .. are you serious. Today I had the doors and windows open since it was in the high 60's. I do love snow so ... forget the 3 inches ... how about 3 feet.



Now back to the grandpa tree. I call it that, because my dad has a tree like this in his front yard .. and I just love that tree. So .. when we moved in here and were doing the landscaping ... I told Mark, we have to have a blah blah whatever the name of the tree really is or as I call it ... the grandpa tree.
Actually dad is quite popular around the house, as we also have a grandpa light. This is the light in the kitchen that burned out ... maybe 6 months after we moved in. Tried and tried .. we couldn't figure out how to change the light bulb. (I even went to the store to have them show me how to change it) So after having it burned out for a couple of years we kind of got used to it not working.
My dad was coming down one time and I started thinking ... hmmmm I'm going to ask him to take a look at it and see if he can figure it out, since he's really good with fixing things. I did go out and buy a new globe with the last resort of busting the glass to change the bulb. And that's exactly what he had to do. I guess the house settled and made it impossible to remove the glass without breaking it. He took down the light, broke the glass, changed the bulb and put it back up. But forever and always it's called the grandpa light. The one light in the entire house that is used -only- when we need it, and is shut off as soon as were done. (to conserve the light bulb, knowing how much work it is to change)
Thanks dad .. it's still working great.