Tuesday, December 25, 2007
It's a Good Thng I Love My SIL
Because he cost us $44,400. This Christmas morning I did what so many other celebrants did. I went online to check my lottery numbers. Or as we refer to it in the Sarcas-house, "our retirement plan".
The lottery, for those of you who do not play is a state run system that allows you to throw your money away with a clear conscious because proceeds in Pa. go to help senior citizens. Or so they say. I have yet to meet a senior who has benefited, but I am sure they do. Sarcasdad and I, who spent four days in Vegas and only gambled two rolls of quarters the whole time, are for some reason happy to plunk down some hard earned dollars every week, for a chance to become filthy, stinkin' rich. Generally we win a couple of bucks a week, which is actually a negative return on our investment. But a win is a win, and it is just enough to keep us hooked.
I play a combination of birthdays. Our three girls,our grandson, and our SIL. The numbers are 5,10,17,21,30.This morning when I checked the numbers from yesterday, they were 7,10,17,21,30. Four out of five ! Whoo - hoo! That made us one of 93 ticket holders who each won $100. Awesome!
Had we had all five numbers we would have won $45,000. Had SIL been born on the 7th instead of the 5th, this would indeed be a very merry Christmas.
Sarcasmo Jr has been informed that in addition to any criteria she may have for "the one" we insist she include a numerologicaly beneficial birthdate.
Just so you know, we wouldn't trade SIL for any jackpot.
*update- after reading this, SIL said the day he was born was the only time he was ever early. He was due on the 8th Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
The lottery, for those of you who do not play is a state run system that allows you to throw your money away with a clear conscious because proceeds in Pa. go to help senior citizens. Or so they say. I have yet to meet a senior who has benefited, but I am sure they do. Sarcasdad and I, who spent four days in Vegas and only gambled two rolls of quarters the whole time, are for some reason happy to plunk down some hard earned dollars every week, for a chance to become filthy, stinkin' rich. Generally we win a couple of bucks a week, which is actually a negative return on our investment. But a win is a win, and it is just enough to keep us hooked.
I play a combination of birthdays. Our three girls,our grandson, and our SIL. The numbers are 5,10,17,21,30.This morning when I checked the numbers from yesterday, they were 7,10,17,21,30. Four out of five ! Whoo - hoo! That made us one of 93 ticket holders who each won $100. Awesome!
Had we had all five numbers we would have won $45,000. Had SIL been born on the 7th instead of the 5th, this would indeed be a very merry Christmas.
Sarcasmo Jr has been informed that in addition to any criteria she may have for "the one" we insist she include a numerologicaly beneficial birthdate.
Just so you know, we wouldn't trade SIL for any jackpot.
*update- after reading this, SIL said the day he was born was the only time he was ever early. He was due on the 8th Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Stocking Stuffers
I wanted to share a couple of holidays tidbits with you.
I got a lovely surprise in the mail. My friend Lucy, you remember Lucy, from Backwards Borough, read my post about personalized do-dads. She went on a mission and found a white ceramic star with a Santa face on it, and the word STAR in red painted on the front. I'm sure that it is a noun and not a name, but hey. We uniquely named people have to take it where we find it. And wasn't that sweet of Lucy?
The majority of the family went out to dinner to celebrate my MIL's 80th birthday. The evening ended with the evacuation of the restaurant, some ambulances and the fire department, due to a carbon monoxide leak. We all emerged unscathed, but without desert. Some dinners were taken to the hospital, so no complaints from us. The story made the local news where they made it sound much more dramatic than it really was. That shouldn't come as a surprise since these same news people turn the chance of a snowflake into imminent blizzard.
What seemed impossible last week was obviously possible. The gifts are wrapped, the cookies are baked and the tree is decorated. There is something magical about the Christmas tree. I am always slightly surprised by how pretty it is, every time I look at it.
The most Christmasy I have felt so far was when I went to the salon for a haircut. The conversations were all about Christmas. Well ,Christmas and the little Spears girl being pregnant. When I left everyone in the place wished me a Merry Christmas. Their day was merry and bright!
Oh, and I wish you all the happiest of holidays.
Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
I got a lovely surprise in the mail. My friend Lucy, you remember Lucy, from Backwards Borough, read my post about personalized do-dads. She went on a mission and found a white ceramic star with a Santa face on it, and the word STAR in red painted on the front. I'm sure that it is a noun and not a name, but hey. We uniquely named people have to take it where we find it. And wasn't that sweet of Lucy?
The majority of the family went out to dinner to celebrate my MIL's 80th birthday. The evening ended with the evacuation of the restaurant, some ambulances and the fire department, due to a carbon monoxide leak. We all emerged unscathed, but without desert. Some dinners were taken to the hospital, so no complaints from us. The story made the local news where they made it sound much more dramatic than it really was. That shouldn't come as a surprise since these same news people turn the chance of a snowflake into imminent blizzard.
What seemed impossible last week was obviously possible. The gifts are wrapped, the cookies are baked and the tree is decorated. There is something magical about the Christmas tree. I am always slightly surprised by how pretty it is, every time I look at it.
The most Christmasy I have felt so far was when I went to the salon for a haircut. The conversations were all about Christmas. Well ,Christmas and the little Spears girl being pregnant. When I left everyone in the place wished me a Merry Christmas. Their day was merry and bright!
Oh, and I wish you all the happiest of holidays.
Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Just Do It
My boss's style of management is, shall we say, unique? His idea of building team work is to irritate each of us until we band together as a group , united by our common goal of making a voodoo doll in his image.
The other day he had just finished giving me a million and one things to do on top of the million and one other things I do anyway. Sensing my obvious frustration he cut me off before I could protest, by saying "If you don't have time, then make the time."
Why didn't I think of that? Buoyed the enormity of this revelation, I rushed to share it with a co-worker.
"...and then he said ' make the time'. Totally brilliant right? My co-worker agreed. We marvelled at the simplicity of the whole idea. Just make the time. We were so intrigued by the concept that we extrapolated it over to our personal life. If we would just "make the time" we wouldn't be behind on the Christmas shopping, dinner would always be a well balanced meal and the closets would be organized.
Of course we have no idea how to make the time. That's okay though. Because today the boss gave us even better advice. He said:
"If something needs to be done, then just do it and get out of the way"
Kind of a cross between Nike and Thoms Paine.
Anybody know where you can get voodoo doll pins? Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
The other day he had just finished giving me a million and one things to do on top of the million and one other things I do anyway. Sensing my obvious frustration he cut me off before I could protest, by saying "If you don't have time, then make the time."
Why didn't I think of that? Buoyed the enormity of this revelation, I rushed to share it with a co-worker.
"...and then he said ' make the time'. Totally brilliant right? My co-worker agreed. We marvelled at the simplicity of the whole idea. Just make the time. We were so intrigued by the concept that we extrapolated it over to our personal life. If we would just "make the time" we wouldn't be behind on the Christmas shopping, dinner would always be a well balanced meal and the closets would be organized.
Of course we have no idea how to make the time. That's okay though. Because today the boss gave us even better advice. He said:
"If something needs to be done, then just do it and get out of the way"
Kind of a cross between Nike and Thoms Paine.
Anybody know where you can get voodoo doll pins? Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Merry Christmouse
Just checking in to see how all you Christmas elves are making out. I read on Lindsay's blog that she is sitting pretty for the big day. Well, I guess there's one in every crowd. (Good for you Lindsay) Everyone else I talk to seems to be , just like me, behind the Xmas eight ball.
There as a time when I had all my Christmas cards signed, stamped and in the mail by our anniversary December 2nd. I often heard from friends that mine was the first card they received every year. It was tradition. That lasted until I went to work full time. But another tradtion continued on. You may be aware that I collect mice. Ceramic and stuffed ones. Not live ones. Although I have had pet mice. And hamsters. And Sarcas-sis had a guinea pig. But for now, just the fluffy stuffed kind and the pretty painted kind.
Every year my Christmas card had a mouse on it, somewhere. Some years it was the focus of the design, and others it was just a little mouse in a big picture. But it was there.It is a tradition.
Until this year. This is a mouse free retail season. I , assisted at various times, in various locations, by Sarcas-dad, Saras-sis and Sarasmo Jr. have scoured the card racks of gift stores, supermarkets, department stores, party stores, department stores, and anywhere else that may possibly have had a box of cards. Not one mouse. Nada. Not even a little one in the corner.
I am well aware that mice don't exactly personify the Christmas season, like say a reindeer.But today I saw an LED frog in a Santa hat intended for use on the front lawn as a Christmas decoration. I'm pretty sure a mouse is more Christmasy than that. It is, right?
It;s not just the Christmas cards. There are no mouse themed ornaments on the shelves either. When I say "no" please be advised that I do not consider Mickey an actual mouse. I have quite a collection already. But I look forward to adding to it every year. Chances for that are looking pretty slim.
Sarcas-sis offered to design and print me a card. It retrospect. perhaps I should have gone that route. But I held out hope, however slim, that I would come across that box of mouse adorned greetings. Even today as Sarcas-dad stood in a really long line at Kmart where there were only two cashiers open at 3 in the afternoon, two weeks before Christmas, I went through every card display in the place. Not one mouse.
I give.
In compromise, Sarcas-dad and I purchased a rubber stamp of a mouse to apply along with our signature. Sadly, it's the best we can do this year.
In case, I don't get back before the holidays.
I wish you a Merry Christmouse. Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
There as a time when I had all my Christmas cards signed, stamped and in the mail by our anniversary December 2nd. I often heard from friends that mine was the first card they received every year. It was tradition. That lasted until I went to work full time. But another tradtion continued on. You may be aware that I collect mice. Ceramic and stuffed ones. Not live ones. Although I have had pet mice. And hamsters. And Sarcas-sis had a guinea pig. But for now, just the fluffy stuffed kind and the pretty painted kind.
Every year my Christmas card had a mouse on it, somewhere. Some years it was the focus of the design, and others it was just a little mouse in a big picture. But it was there.It is a tradition.
Until this year. This is a mouse free retail season. I , assisted at various times, in various locations, by Sarcas-dad, Saras-sis and Sarasmo Jr. have scoured the card racks of gift stores, supermarkets, department stores, party stores, department stores, and anywhere else that may possibly have had a box of cards. Not one mouse. Nada. Not even a little one in the corner.
I am well aware that mice don't exactly personify the Christmas season, like say a reindeer.But today I saw an LED frog in a Santa hat intended for use on the front lawn as a Christmas decoration. I'm pretty sure a mouse is more Christmasy than that. It is, right?
It;s not just the Christmas cards. There are no mouse themed ornaments on the shelves either. When I say "no" please be advised that I do not consider Mickey an actual mouse. I have quite a collection already. But I look forward to adding to it every year. Chances for that are looking pretty slim.
Sarcas-sis offered to design and print me a card. It retrospect. perhaps I should have gone that route. But I held out hope, however slim, that I would come across that box of mouse adorned greetings. Even today as Sarcas-dad stood in a really long line at Kmart where there were only two cashiers open at 3 in the afternoon, two weeks before Christmas, I went through every card display in the place. Not one mouse.
I give.
In compromise, Sarcas-dad and I purchased a rubber stamp of a mouse to apply along with our signature. Sadly, it's the best we can do this year.
In case, I don't get back before the holidays.
I wish you a Merry Christmouse. Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
Saturday, December 08, 2007
My Pretty
Permanent Link |
I'm back . Back from 89 sunny degrees and sunsets on the beach to below freezing temperatures and forecasts of snow showers. I know I didn't mention I was going. Paranoid as it may sound, asking Sarcas-sis to pick up the mail and the papers(and as it happened, shoveling the walk) so the house didn't look un-lived in, and them simultaneously posting on the internet that it would be empty seemed a bit irresponsible.
Isn't it pretty?
Of course I woke up this morning to the realization that there are 17 shopping days til Xmas., and I have yet to deck a hall or address a card. In between I promise to catch up on all your blogs. And put a post or two on mine. Oh, and answer the meme that Kenju tagged me with.
But isn't it pretty?
Posted by StarPermanent Link |
