THE LIST

OK...seriously...I have plans. Big plans and little plans all for the coming year and I know it would really make things easier if I would just write them down. Somewhere. Preferably somewhere I can find it. So here goes. I've got to break it down into two categories or else I'll give myself a panic attack. The Big Stuff: 1. Get myself set up as a professional yoga teacher. Sounds simple, but turns out to be a little bit more complex then just getting a certificate. This is why it's in the Big Stuff category. This is going to require insurance, web site, business cards, yoga props and organization. Wait...I gotta take a breath. I don't know why, but this freaks me out the most. It's scarier then losing my job next year. This is also why I've put it at the top of the list.

2. Put together a new resume and start sending it out. This is probably the easiest task, but the most daunting because, even though I have year, I don't really want another job. If there was any way to take early retirement right now and just teach yoga, that is what I'd do. But I don't want to live with my mother-in-law forever. I need to either win the lottery or continue bringing home "the big bucks" if we want to move to our soul home.

The Small Stuff: 1. Get super healthy. I mean way healthy.

2. Finish those darn socks and knit more gifts for next year.

3. Learn to speak Spanish fluently.I already know the typical tourist phrases. It might be nice to be able to have whole conversations.

4. Learn how to take awesome pictures with my Nikon D60. Yeah, who was I kidding. There's no way Chris and I were ever going to "share" that camera. I claim it. Suck it.

5. Watch less TV. I say this just as new seasons of Big Love, Flight of Concords, Battle Star Galactica, and Lost start up. That's OK. We have DVR and I will take full advantage of it.

6. Sell some crap on ebay. I have some serious crap to sell. It's even possible that one of those items could fund my way to a yoga retreat I want to go to in May.

7. Move my iTunes files over to the external hard drive and get the rest of the stuff from the old mac moved over so I can get rid of the old mac. This is just stupid on my part. I've had the external hard drive for months and it's never even been out of the box.

8. Update my address book. I haven't been successful in my attempts to get my address book moved to Gert. It just won't go for some crazy reason. Now, I'm thinking that's OK because I'm sure there are addresses that need to be changed, added or removed all together.

9. Stick to a budget! Part of the plan for this is to only buy used things next year with the exception of toiletries, shoes, and underwear. I'm preparing for this by buying some pants on sale at VS today. Chris has also included things that are marked down to ridiculous prices like the three dollar Gap t-shirt I bought the other day. (It's my favorite and I recently spent an entire hour coloring out pomegranate juice spots on it with my Tide pen.)

10. I don't really have a ten, but OK. How about...walk everyday? I walk everyday at work, but have a tendency to skip out on the weekends. I don't have an excuse now that we have Mom's treadmill (they've had a couple of spills on it and didn't want it any more).

So there. That's the list. The things in the Big stuff category has to be done in 2009. No question. The other things I'd like to do, but if it doesn't happen, well...it doesn't happen. Of course, most of the little things will happen just because they're a distraction to doing the big stuff. (Kind of like writing this entry while I should be studying for my yoga final.)

POTATO

Christmas time means social responsibilities. We've visited with framily (friends who are so close, they are basically family) on Christmas Eve and family on Christmas day. The day after Christmas we got to have dinner with more framily who are visiting from Florida. We stopped by to see Steph (they're also framily) and give her little ones their Christmas presents yesterday. Then we finished the evening with Chromecoming 2008 (we had a blast!). And today? What am I doing today? Absolutely nothing. Seriously. It's the last day of my Christmas vacation and I'm taking full advantage of it. I haven't even brushed my teeth yet and it's 1:30 in the afternoon. I'm in my pajamas (really my pajamas consist of a Police T-shirt and thermal long john bottoms) and my knee-high stocking slippers glued to the couch.

I haven't been entirely unproductive. I've almost finished the laundry (one load left in the dryer as I type). I've managed to miss the first twenty minutes of every movie I've watched today. I've eaten two (fake) corn-dogs, three gingerbread cookies, a fig newton, a bowl of cereal and three cups of coffee. And I think Chris is getting ready to make me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I've written this entry and I may just get out my knitting a finish turning that heal of the sock I'm making. Who knows? Sixteen Candles just started on Encore and I may just sit here and watch it.

CHRISTMAS

Awe... Christmas. Really not much to say about it this year. Chris and I got up and had cinnamon rolls which is our little Christmas morning tradition. Then we loaded the car with goodies and drove up to my parents for the day. One of my parents always calls us when we're about half an hour a way and asks "Where are you? What time do you think you'll get here?". In a way, this makes me feel like I'm late or something, like the whole family is there waiting for me and Chris to show up. But, in fact, we are usually the first to arrive. We've also brought back our traditional Christmas dinner of fried oysters with potatoes and hush puppies. The oysters were exceptionally good this year and we all ate until we were miserable. MISERABLE! For once my mom didn't prepare any cakes or pies and I think we were all relieved and perfectly OK with this. All in all it was a very pleasant and relaxed day. But, all that food made driving home extremely difficult. I kept having to punch Chris in the arm to make sure he stayed awake. Then once we made it home, we basically didn't move from the couch. And you know what, for once I didn't feel guilty about this behavior.

Hope all had a wonderful day!

CRAFTY

This was one of those bizarro weekends that seemed to last forever. Friday night we met Zelda and friends at the Loony Bin for drinks and laughs. Chris and I are feeling the Christmas money crunch so we decided to be economical at the comedy club by each of us ordering just one drink. One really big drink. I don't think I've consumed 32 oz. of alcohol since the last time I was in Vegas. That's right, I said 32 oz. Of something they referred to as The Lobotomy. Chris didn't fair much better. His drink was called The Laughing Gas and in true "Chris gets a girly drink" fashion, it was pink. Despite Saturday morning's hangover, this was one of those weekends where I feel like I accomplished quite a lot. We finished up our Christmas shopping (we say every year that we will not do this again at the last minute). We got all of the Christmas wrapped including the gift boxes for the people at work. We saw a movie (Yes Man) and I lost my phone. Then I found my phone...where I'd left it at the theater. I cleaned the kitchen (mopped and everything) and finished the laundry.

And I still had time to make my vintage button wreath. I've seen several of these button wreaths on Flickr and every time I've thought "Hey! I can make that!". Lucky for me my mom is a hoarder and has buckets of old buttons. She just brought me a baggy full for this project, so I know there are still buttons left somewhere in that house if I ever feel the need to make another one. And I just might do that for next year.

CLIP SHOW

Chris is ready for the new year and has all his goals lined up to accomplish. And despite the fact that I gave him a really long list of things for the new blog, he keeps asking me about my goals for the new year. Hold on! This year isn't up yet. I feel it's important to reflect back on the events and good things that have happened in 2008. First off, Chris and I celebrated our ten year anniversary. TEN YEARS! It's not really something I consider an accomplishment as much as it's just something really great that we celebrated. We've been through a lot of crap, but we've been through it together (I know...gag).

Which brings me to the next good thing of 2008, yoga teacher training. You're probably wondering what Chris has to do with this. Without Chris, I would not be in the yoga teacher training program. He pushed me into it kicking and screaming. Actually, I wouldn't do much of anything if I didn't have Chris pushing me along into doing the things I really always wanted to do (hello...new tattoo). Teacher training has taught me so much about myself and completely changed how I see me. From this I've learned what does and doesn't work for my health and wellness.

My exercise program has changed and my diet is drastically different. Because of this, I've lost about 15 pounds this year. Go me! My diet became officially vegetarian during our trip to Portland. It was just so easy there. Awe...Portland. Yes, 2008 is also the year that Chris and I found our true home. We realized that we could actually live the life we've always imagined living in Portland. So there you have it Chris...an actual goal for the new year: Find way to move to Portland (Stat!).

This year has also been a year for babies. Not ours (Hail the Goddess of Birth Control!), but babies for our friends and family. First there was Todd and Yuko's little boy, Lio. Next Mel and her new husband had their little boy, Lucas. Then came Tiff and Tom's, little Allison (finally... a girl!). Our friends Jen and Ken had a little boy, William. And finally, my best friend had little Luke. Whew! That's a lot of diapers! But I find something significant in all these births. It's an omen for the coming years, telling us that we will have a new beginning of our own (just not in the form of a clone).

There have been a few crappy times in 2008, but reflecting back...I really only see the good things. So, for the most part, 2008 was a good year for me. And I'm not quite ready to move on to the next year. That's OK. I still have some time and Chris can wait a little longer for my goals list.

PIN CUSHION

I had my first experience with acupuncture yesterday and the verdict is good. It was a completely surreal experience, but I think it worked. For the past few months I've had this issue with my right shoulder and neck area. I felt like Quasimodo, like my right shoulder was pressed up to my ear (even though it wasn't). So I went with acupuncture. Needles had to be better then the chiropractor I went to that one time (he left me in a dark room for an hour with ice packs all over me--torture; I confessed every thing). Dr. Li and his wife, who acts as the receptionist/nurse, are the cliched Chinese couple. They both are abrupt, but nice. He asked me my age. I told him 32 and then he asked about my children. When I replied that I didn't have any kids and none on the way, he looked at me and said "You're 32, you better have babies soon. You're almost 35. Shouldn't have babies after 35.". We all know that when you turn 35 your ovaries shrivel up and die. After that he made me lay on my side and then he stuck pins in me. It didn't hurt, not really, except for the one at the top of my head (which I can still feel today). Then he placed a heat lamp on me and left me for about twenty minutes. And I slept. Like really slept. With pins stuck in me. Weird.

Then Dr. Li took the pins out (this stung a tiny bit) and stuck magnets to my neck and shoulder (always with the magnets). I am to wear the magnets every other day or when ever I feel the tension and pain in my shoulder. I know...sounds like voodoo. But it's working! My neck is thinner. I guess it had been swollen all this time, but even Chris noticed the difference. It's just odd. Plus, I no longer feel the need to climb a bell tower and ring the bells.

THE TEACHER TRAINING SAGA CONTINUES

I keep waiting for this yoga teacher training stuff to get easier, but when the weekend isn't physically demanding, it's usually mentally demanding. This weekend was maybe one hour of yoga and like 20 hours of lecture and discussion of ethics, catharsis, and the business of yoga. We also covered meditation and different styles of meditation. Lots of sitting on the floor. One thing that came out of this weekend that Chris is pleased about is now I have to redesign the blog and maybe a new website. I finally have to start making some decisions about things. Poop! So things may or may not be changing around here. Don't look for it any time soon. I may just decide to start a whole new blog for the yoga business side of things. There are things I'd like to include on that site that I don't really need here. Besides, I need Elephant Soap for me. I need a place where I can freely type the word "Fuck" without worry. That word may be a little inappropriate for a professional blog.

There were times during the weekend where I could feel the panic bubble rising into my throat with all the little details I didn't even consider when starting this project. Things like business card, websites, resumes, and contact information. Then...Then there's the whole accounting side of things, the keeping track of money earned and spent and receipts incase you get audited. My brain's ticking just thinking about it. I know that none of this stuff has to be done right this minute. But, holy cow! When this stuff was dumped into my brain in the course of a three hour lecture, it felt like there was a little drill sergeant in the back of my head yelling "NOW! NOW! NOW MADDERA!". And he was a mean and angry little drill sergeant.

I think I just need a nap and some time to digest all of this. I also need to see someone about the right side of my body. It started in the shoulder with just really tight muscles. Then it spread up my head and to my face with nice little eyebrow twitch. Now it's spread down to my hip. I think I'm going to try acupuncture. Now that will make a great 365 day picture!

FISH OR CUT BAIT

So...it's official. I will loose my job here in December of 2009. This isn't a big surprise. I knew it was coming; I just kind of wished I had a teeny bit more time. And really...who ever gets a year's notice? Still, it made me kind of sad to hear my boss confirm what Robin is referring to as our "dead date". This forces me to move on, but at the same time I know I will never have a job this great again. Chris has been asking me for the last two weeks what my goals are for next year. What do I want to do? How do I want to re-design the blog? What major purchases do I want to make? Every time he asks, I answer with an "I don't know". I don't know. I am in the land of indecision. So...I'm thinking of making that work in my favor.

I'm taking on a vow of poverty of sorts. For the next year I will not purchase anything new with the exception of food, toiletries, shoes, socks, and underwear. I will make do with the clothing I have or buy from the thrift stores. I know I've been harping about a new snazzy coat, but really I can make do with what I have. No, the old coat is not sporty or sleek and it doesn't match the scooter, but it's a good coat and it's warm. Yes, I really want a fancy rack for V, but it's not high priority right now.

Maybe if I spend more time getting my crap organized and less time obsessing about things I want (but don't need), I'll be able to answer some of those questions Chris keeps asking me. And don't even get me started on the TV. We've already had the "let's kill the cable" conversation. If only we could choose our channels. Ours would be a small list like the green channel, BBC, HGTV, Discovery, SciFi, and that's about it.

WHY WE ARE HILARIOUS

This is us ordering breakfast from the local egg place. Me: "I'll have the spinach, mushroom and cheese omelet without the bacon. Does your gravy have meat in it?"

Waiter: "Yes"

Me: "Hmmm...then I'll have the grits with the homemade white bread."

Waiter (turns to Chris): "And for you sir?"

Chris: "I'll have the meat lover's omelet with a side of bacon."

OUR FIRST THANKSGIVING

Chris and I were both awake pretty early today and not because we had to be up, just because...we were up. We got dressed and went out for breakfast. Then we headed over to Coffee Slingers for a really good cup of coffee. As we were leaving the coffee place, Chris and I were almost giddy. This is the first holiday we've ever had to ourselves. Ever. No choosing between families. No stress of getting across the state with a dish that needs to be kept warm. No chaos or miss communications. Just us (with the exception of Mrs. Swan, who will be heading off to the casino very soon). In about an hour, I'm going to start cooking our Thanksgiving dinner. On the menu is a lovely turkey breast (this year's recipe) for Chris, a Tofurky with orange glaze for me, baked squash casserole, baked sweet potatoes, grilled asparagus, rolls, and (of course) canned cranberry sauce. For dessert we have pecan or pumpkin pie. We also purchased a red and white wine from an Oregon winery.

Things I am thankful for: My husband My family My dog My friends My scooter The roof over our heads. Even though it's not the roof I want right now, it's still better then a cardboard box. My job The opportunities that have presented themselves to me this year. My health

Hope every one has a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

THE VEGETARIAN AND HER FAMILY

My niece-in-law celebrates her 30th birthday over the Thanksgiving holiday. So we all got together this weekend to celebrate since we're all scattering for the holidays. While we were in Tulsa, we took advantage of their Whole Foods store to stock up on groceries for our Thanksgiving dinner for two. I got a tofurky and Chris got a really nice turkey breast from the butcher. We also got some things that we don't have easy access to at our local grocery stores like tempeh and fancy cheeses and other things we didn't really need. But who cares? We are going to have the best Thanksgiving dinner this year! Yes...the best Thanksgiving dinner, even though it involves a fake turkey. My mother is having a hard time accepting my vegetarianism. I was going on and on about the tempeh I purchased and the future tacos they would become when my my mom turned to my niece and said "can you believe they eat like that?". Can you believe it? There were other little jibes through out the visit, but it got even better when we met for Melissa's birthday lunch today. Melissa's original choice for today's lunch was closed on Sunday's, so it got moved to the local BBQ joint. I casually pondered what I was going to eat when my mom said "well, they have chicken and sides". Yum... sides. While I was looking over the menu, Mom said to Melissa that this was a great place to take a vegetarian. She made it seem like I was the "complaining, stick-in-the-mud, how could they make me eat at a BBQ place" vegetarian.

Melissa didn't know I had gone vegg. I told her that I didn't care where we were eating. It's not my birthday and it's not about the food. But the incident left a sour taste in my mouth. It made me feel guilty and wrong. It was like I was asking my family to go meatless on my account. But that's not what I want and I'm not asking for a seven course vegetarian spread, just a little bit of consideration and a tiny bit of thinking outside the box. Everyone has been pretty accepting of my food choices except my mom. She sees it as a big inconvienance and that our only eating out options are places like iHop or the Cracker Barrel or something with eggs (and once again...chicken is not a vegetable!). Being a vegetarian is not that big of deal. I do live with a carnivore and we seem to be making it work.

My mom hasn't always been this way. When my sister went vegetarian for a while, my mom was very supportive. She praised JaNell and how well the diet was working for her. Why am I any different? She sees me as odd and eating foods that no one in their right minds would eat. I've become a hassle and require more "work". It's like I've decided to take on a new radical religion and shave my head.

I'm saving that one for next year.

LOOK WHAT WE GOT FOR THANKSGIVING!

When Stephanie had Cati (I used to have an entry about that day; must have been eaten by blog moths), it was total chaos. No one was prepared because she came a whole month early. There was a franticness about Cati's birth, not on Steph's part. She was cool as a cucumber. But the rest of us turned into whirling dervishes. But they say each pregnancy and baby is different. William Lucas McGee entered our lives this morning without all the Lucy and Ethel moments that accompanied his older sister's birth. He's perfect. I guess I'm getting sappy in my old age, but his sweet little face made my Grinchy heart swell three sizes. Don't misunderstand. I'm not rushing home to throw the birth-control pills down the toilet. I'm just saying that I appreciate the miracle. And when that miracle happens to a friend you love like family, well...then it's all the more sweet and spectacular.

Welcome come to our crazy little world Luke.

William Lucas McGee 7 lbs, 11 oz

TALKING TO FILL IN THE GAPS

Huh? What's that you say? I have a bog? Oh....I have a blog. I have this internet thingy that I'm supposed to write things for and stuff? Well, I got nothing. We've just been busy, but not busy with anything fun. Busy with work; busy with yoga stuff; busy with house stuff. Actually, it's rather boring around here. We're going to my parents house this weekend, but we have no plans for Thanksgiving. How did that happen?!? We almost don't know what to do with ourselves. We decided that we would cook a small Thanksgiving dinner for two. We'll get a small turkey breast for Chris and a tofurkey loaf for me. Though my mother informed me that I had to have real turkey on Thanksgiving. She obviously missed the point of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

Speaking of cooking, I have been power Chef Cindy the last couple of days. Monday night I made baked squash casserole. It's the same recipe The Black-eyed Pea used use. My mom has had the recipe for years, but the last time she made it, she left out the sugar and the casserole tasted blech. Chris was not so sure about baked squash casserole, but he liked it so much that he's added it to our Thanksgiving menu. Tuesday I made a new polenta recipe, which turned out to be another hit. What I love about this dish, is how easy it is. I prepared it all the night before and cooked it in the crock pot the next day. It makes a lot, but that just means I don't have to worry about lunches for the rest of the week. Tonight...grilled asparagus omelets. Thursday is pizza night and Friday?...I don't know about Friday. Cereal?

Good God! Is it only Wednesday?

THE THINGS I DREAM

Last night was not a good night for sleeping. Chris got called out to baby sit at some crazy hour. I'm not sure when, but I remember hearing the phone ring and the door shut. Then I woke up again when he came home a few hours later. I woke up again when I heard Mrs. Swan getting ready for work sometime around 4:00 AM. Then the phone woke me at 5:30 and I was mad because I thought I had set the alarm for 5:00 AM so I could get up and do yoga ( I know, but this the only time I can guarantee that I won't have some other thing to do like cook dinner, clean some room in the house etc.). In between all of that I dreamed. In the first dream, I accidentally rode my scooter onto the highway. Then it started raining and I was freaking out because I was on the highway, it was raining, and I couldn't find an exit. I woke up and had to pee (weird). The second dream was just awful. I had left some clothes in the dryer for maybe half a day. In that time Mrs. Swan had taken my clothes out and just threw them outside. When I asked her where my clothes were she just shrugged and said that she threw them away. This is the part in my dream where I flipped and started yelling at her and telling her that's she's disgusting and inconsiderate. This is when I woke up and realized I had overslept and would not be doing my yoga practice this morning.

Things are just piling up. I know that's where the last dream came from any way. The first one...who knows. I'm sad because I think today is the last scooter day for a while. I desperately need to clean the clutter out from around me, not to mention the rest of the filth. This morning I discovered an area in the kitchen where mice have been hanging out. I lump mice into a "you are dirty" category and right now I'm feeling like I'm living in a trash dump.

Maybe it's time to take that salt bath. At least the bathroom would get cleaned.

ALL LIMBS INTACT

Well... IKEA trip went well. Way better then I could have expected. My plan worked perfectly (bwahaha). There's just something about IKEA that makes everything better. It really is the happiest place on earth and a bit overwhelming for first timers. I was not surprised when Chris's family said that they would not be following us to Pappadeux's. Score! We bought so much crap this weekend. Most of the things I purchased needs to be (carefully) packed away and put into storage. I bought these way cute tumblers but had to talk Mom and Katrina into also buying a set so we could swap them out. Now I have a set of six way cute elephant glasses (I can't find them online). They're for the new home.

The only problem with IKEA weekends is that I get nothing done at home. The house is grossing me out. It needs to be cleaned. Homework! I still have done nothing on the yoga homework front. Tonight I will tackle one homework project and maybe dust the living room. I think the dusting part is being a little ambitious, but hey. Who knows right? Maybe I'll get home and Mrs. Swan will have done it. Ha! Hahahahaha!

BECAUSE I'M STUPID

We've been telling Mrs. Swan how great IKEA is and that we would take her one day to bask in the glory that is IKEA. Well, that day has arrived and I'm starting to get a little panicky because it's not just going to be the three of us. My mom and Katrina are coming and then I found out last night that Chris's brother and his family are tagging along too. Mom and Mrs.Swan together I can handle. Katrina is no problem. Love her. I need her there for support and back-up. She's my inner bitch who actually says the things I'm thinking out loud. Brian and Amiee, I'm not so sure about. I haven't even seen them since I found my ornament trash. I haven't said anything to Mom about it either (she is going to be soooo pissed!). I don't want this to be the time for confrontation. Well... actually I never want confrontation, that's why I make a pretty darn good door mat.

So here's my game plan. First, they are going in a separate car (whoosh). Once at IKEA, I loose them amongst the kitchen displays. If I am required to interact with them I will say things like "I am so proud of this country for electing Obama" and "Isn't it just great that Obama won the election?!?". Amiee reads Ann Coulter (I know, vomit right?!). I'm hoping that by the time we leave IKEA, she will be so fed up with me that they won't tag along with us to REI and Pappadeux's. I think this is a solid plan. And if that doesn't work, I'll shove them into a Hopen/Komplement with Katrina. It will be like the Thunder Dome with Katrina being the soul survivor.

J-I-T-T-E-R-S

Chris and I got to our polling place at 7:30 this morning. We waited in line for two and half hours to vote. I know I'm taking it for granted that they were there to voting as democrats, but all around me I was hearing (good) comments about Obama and people calling friends telling them they better get up there and vote. I haven't felt this positive since I voted for Clinton. Afterward we stopped by Starbucks for our free cup of coffee. When I got to work, I opened a box of stuff that I had ordered and there was a small bag of candy inside. Score! I had two Starbursts, a caramel, and wedge of chocolate. I have been running around like I'm on crack all day. Usually Chris drives, but I drove us home today. I made ravioli lasagna and I was so jittery, I added an extra layer. I can't sit still! I am on freak-out mode. Meanwhile, Chris is sleeping. We obviously handle stress differently.

You would think I would be the one sleeping since I got up at 5:00 to do my yoga practice, but no. I feel like I'm going to leap out of my skin. I know I'm going to crash and when I do, I'm going to crash hard. Oh please let me wake up to happy!!!

ENERGY BODIES, AURAS, AND CHAKRAS...OH MY!

I feel like it's time to bring back scholar Cindy, that part of me that was oober organized and studied nightly and had assignments turned in early. That Cindy hasn't had to be around in a very long time and I'm having a difficult time pulling her out from under the pile of garbage that's built up since she went on hiatus. Yes, I had yet another yoga teacher training this weekend that included a long list of homework and due dates and more homework. One of my assignments is to teach someone how to visualize auras. See, the focus of this weekend was energy bodies, auras and chakras. All the things about yoga that I think are hooky. Apparently we are surrounded by our own personal electronic fields that consist of several layers. There's the physical layer which is our bodies. We can see, smell, and touch this layer. After this is the vital layer, the emotional layer (this is the one that's colored), and the universal layer. When some one says they can see your aura, it's the emotional layer they are "seeing". This layer varies and changes in color and size. I cannot see auras, or if I can, every one's auras look alike to me. So I'm really not sure how I'm going to teach someone else how to see auras when I can't see them myself (or even believe they exist).

I will admit that I learned something about the chakras this weekend that is pretty cool and will make a great party trick. We have seven chakras (crown, forehead, throat, heart, solar plexus and root) and they spin clockwise. They spin counter clockwise every now and then as a self cleaning mechanism. If you hold a pendulum over any of these chakras, the pendulum will spin. I'm not kidding. We all got to hold the pendulum and we all got to have the pendulum passed over us and it was freaky. You don't need any thing fancy. You can even use a washer tied to the end of a string. You'll need to add a handle (maybe another washer) so you can't manipulate the string. I'm thinking of stopping by the wicca store and buying an actual pendulum, but I also want to make one just to see.

So... crazy weird weekend. Lots of homework which includes a 20 minute salt bath. Most people would be thrilled with the idea of soaking in a tub for 20 minutes. I am not normal. I think baths are disgusting and the idea of "soaking" makes me cringe. I'll have to bleach the tub, shower, bleach the tub again and then do my soak. And even then, 20 minutes is a lifetime! It's too much work to clean my aura. Can't I just leave it dirty?

WHAT'S LEFT OF CHRISTMAS

When we moved in with Mrs. Swan, we left a few things in the storage shed at the old place. Things like Halloween costumes and Christmas decorations. This was supposed to be OK with Chris's brother and his sister-in-law's brother who moved in with his girlfriend/wife and baby. After all, we did give them our washer and dryer. We went over there this evening to get Chris's Ghostbuster costume for work and discovered this. The box containing all of our Christmas ornaments looked like it was full of trash.

I burst into tears. Then I took the box out to the car. I cried all the way back to our house. I cried as we sorted through debris trying to salvage anything and then I just sat staring at the wreckage while even more tears rolled down my face. Apparently the new tenants had a dog that had gotten into the shed, knocked over a bunch of stuff and went crazy with what ever it could get it's teeth on. Who knows when this happened. They don't have the dog any more. It probably choked on a shard of glass from my Babar ornament.

You know, it probably wasn't a big deal to them. They probably thought "Oh... they're just ornaments. They can go get some more from the Wals-Mart." That's where all Christmas ornaments come from right? Yup. I don't even know how to finish this entry. There's so much I want to say about Chris's family (poor Chris...he was adopted). But I think mostly, I'm just done. I'm done with doing things for their kids. I'm done with going to their home for family events. Most of all, I'm done with pretending to be nice to people I don't even like.

I'm sad.

THOSE WILD GHOULS

This weekend I went to the Ghouls Gone Wild Parade with my pal Zelda, Gertie, some other cool people. It was great! I'm so sorry I missed it last year and next year I'm going to ride my scooter in the parade (dressed as Amelia Earheart). Once again, went a little crazy with the camera, but it was my first time shooting at night. I took a lot of crap. After the parade we headed back to Zelda's for booze, smores and pumpkin carving. But after my first glass of wine and a smore, the migraine from Hell ascended on me and I had to leave. I was so bummed when I finally made it home. I didn't even carve my pumpkin! Oh well. Here are some parade pictures instead.