Happy Birthday Hubby!!

Today is E's birthday! He is the ripe old age of 28! My yummy toy boy *drool*.

We presented his cards and pressies in bed this morning then we both drove C to daycare and then to IHOP for brekkies. International Passport Breakfast with Crepes went down a treat! We then bummed around some stores looking at stuff for the new house and potential Christmas gifties for the kids and alike. We checked out our patch of dirt to see if they started a day earlier than planned and no change. Oh well.

We've gone on a month-to-month with our apartment now as our lease was due to expire next month. It's going to cost us an extra $110 a month, but we don't have any choice.

Watched another seven episodes of Corrie today (to go with the 36 episodes of Corrie and Eastenders we have watched over the weekend!) We've caught up on both by a month so are now only 3 months behind! *phew*

Anyway, going to get ready now as we're going to Saltgrass for dinner! Woo hoo!

Feel fat

Been eating way too much what with the holidays and lack of anything other than turkey in the apartment.

Cannot wait to get my Fitness Gazelle for Christmas: I may even lose some flabby bits and shed a few pounds/tone up some. My stamina is at an all time low and I feel so lethargic.

Hubby's birthday is tomorrow. I baked him a German Chocolate Cake with pecan and coconut frosting. It smelt good anyways. He has the day off, so let's see if we can't find something to fill our day with hehehe.

Gonna go watch some TV now as hubs has gone to bed. I cannot sleep just yet, so will view til I feel drowsy. Night all.

Turkey Day Events

I bought some pretty white and blue cookware from Garden Ridge on Tuesday. A 2 quart casserole dish and a huge roasting dish. Both were only $5.99 each. I want to go back and get some more as they go with our plates and stuff which are also blue and white. You can see them in the Thanksgiving Spread below here!

Well today went pretty much as I expected it would. Lots of running around in the kitchen and kids whining that they don't like this and that. I lost it when K started crying that she missed Momma and didn't like the stuffing or cranberry sauce. I asked that for ONE day could she NOT cry at the dinner table and just eat what she DID like. Silence throughout the rest of the meal. I guess I should be grateful that the green beans, potatoes, turkey and pumpkin pie were enjoyed by all concerned.


Ignore the pathetic amount of green beans. That's actually a pound of them, but they look lost in that pot!


Look at the "daggers" I am getting from K.

We went over to the outlaws later that afternoon and I had to endure the football. The Cowboys lost as predicted by E, so....OH WELL

My mum is 70 today. I just got off the phone with her and it's snowing in the UK. We have been having mid 70's weather and she has got snow! LOL

Planning on a pretty lazy kinda day today. I think I will go get me some breakfast. Buh bye.

2 down, 3 to go!

Okay, the cranberry sauce is done. Some frozen for Christmas Dinner and some ready for tomorrow for Turkey Day.

I have not one, but TWO pumpkin pies baking as I type. The recipe said it made ONE 9inch pie, but I have two of them. Luckily I had two pie shells and just yanked the other one out of the freezer. I guess we can freeze one. I like pumpkin pie no matter what time of year it is!

All that is left for tomorrow now (for me anyways) is to do the stuffing, broken potatoes and green beans with almonds.

Man the apartment smells good right now.

More drama with his mother. *sigh* TWO things:

1. The kids are NOT welcome on Thanksgiving Day at her house. Now don't get me wrong, she didn't say that exactly, but it's been made obvious she doesn't want them there. Quote: "What I am trying to say is if you would rather drop them at home on your way over so that you can relax for the afternoon we would understand" End Quote. Now the way we have BOTH interpreted her email is this: God, are you bringing those damn kids here AGAIN? Jeeze, this is the holidays and we don't want them here on a holiday spoiling our day!

Well guess what "Mom", it's all or nothing! You either have the kids there with us, or you don't get to see us either. We have them until early evening and we assumed you would WANT to see your grandbabies on Thanksgiving.

2. E, C and I are going out for E's birthday on Monday night. Apparently, his parents are too busy with their friends (no surprise there then) and the church to celebrate the birth of their only child. I cannot say as I am surprised at this as they pulled the same sh*t last year. *sigh*

I guess the last seven months of us not talking has been forgotten and she has slipped back into old ways. I guess you CAN'T teach an old dog new tricks. *shrugs*

If I don't get back on here again tonight, Happy Thanksgiving all!!

Spoiling my mood

Yesterday started out really well. I took C to see Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. It was a great watch, even though it was 2hrs and 23mins long. Stunning effects, good story (even though they chopped out a crapload of it) and it was enjoyed by us both. It was a PG-13, but I said she could watch it as she HAD read the book. There were kids much younger that her watching it too!

Then we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch and to buy my mom a present for her 70th birthday this coming Friday. I have been trying to get her a purse I saw a couple of months ago, but each time I go there, it isn't there and it didn't look like they were going to re-stock. *sigh* So, I managed to find her a really nice chenille cardigan with fall leaves in varying hues appliqued down the sides. It also had an organza ribbon trim on the cuffs and patch pockets. It had been reduced from $50 down to $33. They wrapped it and put a bow and tag on it and we shot off to the Post Office to ship it. $11 lighter, we came back home. By this time, my head was starting to pound. I decide to take a nap and try to sleep it off as opposed to pumping more painkillers into my system.

I slept for two hours until E came home. Then suddenly the fun REALLY began.

How dare I spend MORE on MY mom's birthday than I did on his? The fact that I bought something for EACH person with THEM specifically in mind knowing they would appreciate and actually USE the present didn't enter into his thought process. All he could think about was HOW MUCH I SPENT. I used MY credit card to buy his mom's present and MY bank account to pay for the $15 worth of cards I had to get for the busy birthday month of November. But I dared to use the JOINT bank account to buy my mom something and ship it to the UK. GOD FORBID he should contribute. He failed to recognize that he put NOTHING towards his OWN mother's gift and card. I then got yelled at for not using my money to take C to the movies with or to lunch. It's ok for HIM to take his buddies at work out for $25, but he begrudges his own wife and step child a $12 lunch once in a while. I threw my joint bank card at him together with $10 and told him to shove them both up his fat, hairy arse! They are still sitting here this morning, only they have been moved to my PC desk.

It really pisses me off. The only money I am ALLOWED to spend (and even then get criticized for it - how DARE I have my own money), is my tips and cash customers stuff. I don't ask him to pay for any of my "maintenance stuff" (hair, nails, tanning etc) I pay for it all. My check that I get from work goes into the house fund and I see NOTHING of it. Why the f*** shouldn't I get my mom something nice for her birthday. I mean, Jeeeeez, I can't be there with her for her 70th, so the least I can do is ship something to her. It's not HER fault I am not there on her special day after all.

He apologized for being an ass, and as usual, I quoted "Yeah, you're only sorry until next time you're an ass!" He didn't like that, but it's true.

I tried to bury myself in a little cookery to take my mind off things. I made the Cranberry Sauce for Turkey Day. Man it smelt out of this world!! It yielded enough for the five of us (3 kids, E and me) for the day itself and enough to go into the freezer for Christmas Dinner too. Woo hoo. Who needs scented candles when you've got cranberry sauce chilling in the kitchen?!

I was guilt tripped into cutting short our soap session last night and going to bed early (he was asleep before I got out of the shower). I wasn't tired and it just brought bad feelings back to the surface again. I hope today will be a better day. Although judging by the pissy mood C is in today, I doubt it. KIDS! *sigh*

Turkey Day approacheth

Went to get our Thanksgiving groceries last night at the local Tom Thumb. They were doing the same deal as last year: spend $50 on groceries and get an 8-12lb turkey for free. Works for me! Although they are as a rule of thumb more expensive than many places we choose to shop at, they have a different range of products and as they say "Variety is the spice of life".

So, we trundle round the store picking up the ingredients for my Thanksgiving menu and we spot this fizzy wine which is all fruity and sounded yummy. It was only cheap stuff and as neither of us are huge drinkers, we thought this would be nice for Turkey day. Anyway, we get to the check out and we start unloading the cart onto the belt. The checkout nerd asks for some ID for the wine. I get my shiny new driver's license out and flash it to him. I figure that at 36 years old, I am more than old enough to be able to purchase said wine. Not satisfied with checking MY ID, he then wants to know if E is old enough to buy alcohol. I retorted back that "It doesn't matter how old HE is, you have already seen my ID and that should be sufficient!" The snotty little twit then comes back at me (whilst snatching the wine off the belt and hugging it close to his chicken chest) "The person who put it on the belt has to be over 21 also". By this time, I was starting to see red. "Ok, if you REALLY want to be THAT anal about it. It was ME who put it on the belt. Do you STILL need to see his damn ID?" Man I was about ready to start popping those zits all over his face with my fist! Poor E just wanted to die of embarrassment! I am not the sort of person to be walked over (by ANYONE) and this KID really got my back up.

We took the groceries home and I vowed I would NOT be shopping at that branch anymore. We then went off to eat at Boston Market. I had honey glazed ham with mashed potatoes, brown gravy, corn and cornbread washed down with lemonade. Man, I have not had that in almost a YEAR!

We watched a couple of things off Tivo yesterday, but nothing to really blog about. I DID find some old episodes of Soldier Soldier on my special website I visit. I got the whole first season to watch which should be fun. I used to LOVE that show! After trying to find you a nice link to look at, I have seen that they plan on making a US version of the show. Hmmm. Not sure if I will like that too much or not.

Turkey Day menu is as follows:

Turkey *duh*
Gravy (imported granules mixed with turkey juices)
Paula Deen's Cranberry Sauce
Jamie Oliver's Broken Potatoes
Green Beans with Almonds
Apple & Sausage Stuffing
Paula Deen's Pumpkin Pie (of course)
Key Lime Pie (bought from work)

I am in charge of the recipe stuff and E is in charge of the turkey and gravy. I think he got off lightly, don't you? LOL

Anyhoo, I have some stuff to be getting on with like making breakfast, getting C up and sorting out today's agenda. I will catch up with you later I guess. Bye for now.

Drama Llama

So tired of this BS every other weekend. K wants to go home (again). I told her that her mom will come get her later. "What's taking so long? I miss Momma. I wanna go home". Then J takes her back into the bedroom and announces to C "Cwying again. Here comes da cwy baby". (He has issues with his pronounciation of R's and L's). I feel unloved, unwanted and a total lack of tact and respect around here. Who can blame them after all? I am ONLY their step mom. Their dad is not here, so why SHOULD they want to be here stuck with ME? I'm tired of making the effort to be "Miss Popular". It doesn't get me anywhere but angry and upset.

All in all, it's hardly condusive to a pleasant weekend. I wish E would hurry up and come home. Grocery shopping by myself would be a treat compared to this. *sigh*

Strange week

This week has been a strange one.

Firstly, the most noticeable thing has been the sudden change in weather here. We have finally gone from having the AC on, to having the heating on. It's still not what I would call coat weather yet, but certainly colder than it has been. We've had high 50's to high 60's as our highs and anywhere from 32F to 45F as our lows. I don't know if I will ever get used to Texas weather!

I did a pedicure on Tuesday and had to control myself to where I didn't throw up. Now I know K will be gagging as she reads this, so it may not do you any good to read this next paragraph hun!

**Reader Discretion Advisory START**

Mr S as I will discreetly name him is in his late 70's/early 80's and is not in the best of shape. He has been a cash manicure client of mine since day one at the club. He is also a diabetic and has a LOT of medication to take. Well, last month, he asked if I could give him a pedicure. Reluctantly I agreed as feet and I do not go well together (unless they are MY feet of course). Anyhoo, he comes in for his appointment rattling on about how he is a diabetic and I mustn't cut him as he cannot afford to get an infection and possible gangrene. (Nothing like a bit of pressure whilst you work eh?) So I get to work, set up my area and then he takes off his shoes and socks. OMFG I nearly threw up there and then! His toenails extended over the ends of his toes as long as my fingernails do (and trust me, I have long fingernails!) They were yellow, ridged, split, peeling, you name it, they were it! I soaked him in the sanitizing, deodorizing soak and set to work on trimming them with the clippers. The nails started breaking apart and were soft like cheese. The smell emanating from his feet wasn't pleasant either. *blurgh* His nails were separating from the nail bed and they were just falling apart (literally). His toes were covered in dry skin and corns and he had peeling skin on his heels and callouses to die for. I did the best I could do for him under the circumstances and refused his requests to CUT his callouses and trim his nails back further than I had already done. Diabetics suffer badly with their feet and are susceptible to gangrene and serious infections due to their lack of circulation and poor healing in the lower regions. After that ordeal, I didn't want any lunch for a good two hours afterwards. It had literally made me feel physically sick. The worst part: he's booked in for next month for another one. *sigh*

**Reader Discretion Advisory END**

Work was fairly busy (for me anyways) and I got enough cash tips and clients to pay for my hair cut and color this weekend. I always feel so much better once I have my hair done. I got two shades of blonde highlights put through it and lots of them. It's made a huge difference!

Yesterday we had lunch at my mother in laws as it was her birthday. We took the kids with us and they drove everyone loopy! By 1500hrs, E was ready to head off home. K started her usual BS over wanting to go home and not being hungry. I decided I am not going to play her mind games over food anymore. I told her then she would be hungry later and we would eat without her. Once I started serving up dinner, she asked what we were having and could she "Watch J & C eat". I told her no, if she wasn't eating dinner, that she would stay in the bedroom and leave us to eat in peace. We had the rest of the mozzarella stuffed meatballs I made a couple of weeks ago with a twice baked potato and mixed veggies. It was good. K wouldn't have eaten what I made anyway as she doesn't like anything made with ground beef. PERIOD. Oh well. She will have to learn to like it or just eat veggies, cause I am NOT making anything special. I am so tired of her food tantrums. Combine that with their horrible table manners and it makes for a very stressful mealtime. *sigh*

I have a list of things to get done today and cannot do any of them with three kids in tow. E is at work until at least noon, so it really hinders things. TSS is "working" today (whatever that means) and isn't getting them until 1700hrs. I feel like an unpaid baby sitter right now. They are here to see him and he is at work and she has f***** off out somewhere and I am stuck here and cannot do f*** all. If I find out she didn't work today, there is going to be bloodshed.

Thanksgiving is almost upon us. I plan to make cranberry sauce from scratch, some kind of dressing/stuffing I haven't decided upon yet, pumpkin pie, smished roast potatoes with thyme and some kind of veggie deal. E is in charge of the turkey. I have also ordered a key lime pie from the club as an extra treat. (E loves lime stuff!) I will be very upset if the kids kick off about not liking stuff and throwing tantrums on TG. I really don't need that, on that day most of all.

I need to figure out my recipes and write my list for grocery shopping. Bye y'all.

Bit the bullet

Well I finally bit that bullet and made the peace with my MIL. There were tears and apologies flowing and we cleared the air somewhat. We all went out to eat at Chili's afterwards and breathed a sigh of relief coming home.

If it hadn't have been for the constant fighting between E and I, I simply wouldn't have bothered. It's gotten to the point where I just wanted to call it quits to get away from the stress of it all. *sigh*

Oh well, it's done now I guess.

I managed to get some scrapbooking done yesterday. Just two pages, but I needed to get something crafty done! I was in one of those moods.

Watched Meet the Fockers last night (again) and laughed hard (which I really needed to). I couldn't sleep even with it finishing at midnight. I lay there for a good hour afterwards trying to get to sleep and it just wasn't happening.

E got up at 0545 for work and I got up, or should I say OUT of bed at 0645 when he and C left. Ran a couple of errands, did my book-keeping and am now blogging! ;-)

Mixed emotions

Well today has been rather sad, interesting, boring, and any other emotion you care to add to the mix!

Remember the old guy I did the pedicure for a few weeks ok? Nice guy, used to walk with a frame with colored tennis balls in the ends as stoppers. Would always pop his head round the door to say hi or "Go Frogs!" and ask me how I was doing. He was due to have back surgery to help with his walking. They told him to come off his blood thinners as it would be dangerous to operate on him otherwise. I saw him on Wednesday in the afternoon. He died in his sleep that night. Mr Pierson, rest in peace. *sniff* One of D's clients died last night too. Rest in peace Mr Shannon. That has to be the worst part about where I work: most of the clients are elderly.

Club was so quiet today. Everyone had cancelled their haircuts and re-scheduled because of Veterans' Day. I did see "Hogan" and two of his siblings today though, so that was kinda nice.

CSI and ER were good this week (watched them on Tivo tonight). CSI is a two parter. Oo-er Mrs!

Anyhoo, I am pooped. Nite nite readers, nite nite! ;-)

Here kitty kitty!

There's a litter of kittens at the golf club. They live by the trash dumpster and are so cute. Here's a couple of photos I managed to take of one I have called Hogan (after Ben Hogan the golfer)


Isn't he cute?


He's about 10-12wks old I think.

Does Mother Nature realise it's November?

It's currently 86F here right now. Yes, EIGHTY SIX! Has anyone told Mother Nature it's November here? Crazy!

Yesterday, we only ended up watching three episodes of Star Wars. Even then, it was around 7hrs worth! We will do the rest of them next weekend!

We also watched 8 episodes of Coronation Street and 2 of Eastenders! We have still got a way to go before we get all caught up! *sigh*

Today I got C's Christmas present put away on Lay Away at Walmart. We have until Dec 14 to go pay for it and get it. I am so excited about it, I want to burst! We're getting her a 13" TV/DVD combination for her bedroom. When we finally move into the new house, we will put in cable for her too!

I have ordered E's birthday present today also. Hopefully that will be here by the end of the week and I have something lined up for his Christmas pressie also. This is the most organized I have been with gifts for ages LOL

I had a sunbed today and I am not sure that I like the cream I have been using. It gives a horrid "tanbed stench" after a couple of hours or so. I am so glad I didn't have to pay for it, or I would be pissed! I guess seeing as it is free, I should just use it up until I have some spare cash to buy some more. Unfortunately, that's not an option for now as my cash is all mapped out right up to the end of December! *sigh* Oh well.

I HAD planned to do some scrapbooking today, but the time has slipped away from me and I have to start dinner soon. Mozzarella stuffed meatballs tonight guys! Woo hoo!

Kid Free Fun

C went to her sleepover last night and we headed off to Chili's for dinner out alone. I had the garlic shrimp alredo which was very nice. E had the steak fajitas. Oh and we had an awesome blossom to start things off!

I modeled some new lingerie for him when we got home and it didn't stay on for long. Enough said.

We were both awake at about 0430 and decided we couldn't sleep anymore and would get up. Well we both drifted back to sleep and awoke again at 0730. By 0800, we were at IHOP ordering breakfast!

We then mooched over to Garden Ridge to check out the Christmas Decorations on sale. I got two cute pottery mini loaf tins with gingerbread men painted on the side. They were 89¢ each. I then bought a cute tree made out of "gingerbread" with a ginger couple standing in front of it. That was $3.59 and is currently standing on my mantelpiece above the fireplace! I then bought a glass counter top saver with blueberries and blue stuff on it. I'm trying to plan ahead for my new house's kitchen! LOL

Best Buy was next. We mooched round looking at all the goodies in there; fell in love with a cellphone we'd both like to have and ended up buying Star Wars 3 on DVD.

Fry's was next. Just as well we did as E's present I wa going to get him was more in there than I thought it was, so it looks like Ebay has won that battle (again).

Then we went off to get the munchkin at her sleepover. She had a great time and actually didn't make too much of a pest of herself (unlike at her own one in August).

Got some groceries at Walmart and am baking as I type. I decided to try Em's Mac n Cheese. It smells pretty good.

Tomorrow, I plan to make Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle. It takes a while to set properly in the fridge (9hrs) so we will have that on Monday after these yummy (mozzarella stuffed) Spaghetti & Meatballs. I don't know what's with all the baking, but I have really been in the mood to cook some new stuff up. It's probably all the programs we watch at work on the Food Network! ;-)

We're doing a Star Wars marathon tomorrow. We are planning on watching all six episodes! Woo hoo!! Popcorn at the ready!

Okay, I am going to put some veggies on to cook. Catch ya later alligator! :-)

It feels like it's Friday

God I HATE it when that happens. ALL day long I have been thinking it was Friday and it's not, it's bloody Thursday!

Felt somewhat better today - thanks for your best wishes K, much appreciated. Still have a bit of a runny nose and a bit achy, but apart from that, not nearly so bad. The reason I get the flu shot each year is because when I do get the flu, it knocks me for six, for like 3-4 weeks. I can't do a damn thing and being self employed, I can't afford to be sick for that amount of time. I figure 1-2 days of feeling like poop is better than 3-4 weeks. And, this is the first time I've ever had a reaction to the shot.

Just one client today - Mr W who was "sick" yesterday. Well apparently he wasn't sick, his WIFE had been sick the night before and kept him awake for the best part of it and he felt like poop! He's sweet and owns his own company. I hinted I may be going knocking on his door if things don't drastically improve for me at the club. I don't know if he realized that I was actually being serious or not...

Got tons of cross-stitch done today. I'm almost finished with it. I may have to go get me a book so my brain doesn't stagnate. The last book I read was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I need something to get my teeth into. That reminds me, where's E?! *WEG*

Oh yeah, I forgot to say, I got my Texas license through yesterday. It's cute! The picture is even half decent for a change! At last I can write checks without having to point out which is my date of birth and which is the expiry etc etc.

E's making meatloaf for dinner tonight as I cooked cheese tortillini last night. Tomorrow night we are kid free as C has a sleep over to go to. Woo hoo, ALONE adult time with no work the next day and a pick up of noon!! Anyway, dinner is almost done, so I am out of here. Laters!

Shot wound

I have felt soooo rough today. I'm not sure what is hitting me worse - Aunt Flo coming to visit or the flu shot I had yesterday. I had a headache from hell threatening to turn migraine on me if I didn't feed it loads of drugs, the shivers all day despite it being 78F outside, tummy cramps, runny nose , feeling tired , achy joints and especially achy shot site and generally feeling like something brown and sticky (no, not a stick you halfwit! SHIT) *sigh*

One client today. Mr W phoned in sick - he also had his flu shot AND a pneumonia shot on top of that for added measure. He'll be in tomorrow, but will I? Yeah. Me not one to let anyone down even if I do feel like shit on a stick. Hopefully after a half decent's night sleep, I will feel a little better. Nanite.

Stuff n Nonsense

Yesterday was ok I guess. Three clients instead of the one I had scheduled. Two of those were new ones, so that was good. Maybe they will become regulars?

Dinner at Crackerbarrel last night. I had chicken and dumplings. Not bad, but not as good as I'd thought it would be. I brought some soup home from work. It was our South West Chicken. E will take it to work with him today for his lunch.

Feel blah today. Aunt Flo is due to drop in at any moment. I just want to doze on the counch all day in the warm.

Had my flu shot yesterday and my arm is all achy today. *sigh* Can I stay home please?

Watched House last night which was good. Nothing more to say here right now, so will leave you guys alone. Bye.

Saw 2-v-Trick or Treat

Saw 2 was awsome. It was as gruesome as we thought it would be and then some!! There were only 4 of us in the theater at the time we went.

Hmmm, what was more gory? Watching the guy trying to cut out his own eye, or the chick being thrown into a pit of dirty, filled syringes? Tough call. There was lots more but I am being told off for spoiling it for those who may wish to go see it! Hehehe

Trick or Treating wasn't a patch on last year. This complex are boring. They have their porches decorated for Halloween and then either refuse to answer their doors, or don't have any candy! We only had one trick or treater call here and that was our downstairs neighbor who I'd told to go up there! LOL Oh well. Next year we're thwoing a party in our new house!