Category: friends and family

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Transform Tube Socks into Snowmen

photo of DIY sock craft

Found this cute crafting project to transform tube socks into snowmen. I got some old socks from my dad and have a jar of odd buttons – I always cut off the buttons before throwing out a shirt or jacket.

It looks pretty easy – I think I have enough things on hand to make a couple of these sock snowmen this weekend – while we are snowed in!

Yes, the weather forecast is for snow, starting this afternoon and going through the rest of the week, including Thanksgiving. I guess last year’s mild winter has put us on the hook for a colder and wetter winter this year.

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Not Particularly Wishing the Ex a Happy Birthday

I wonder how many years have to go by before I stop thinking about my first love – now my ex – and special days like his birthday and senior prom and those special dates that are a big part of my history and life? I don’t really want to think of him on his birthday anymore. We broke up 3 years ago. But here it is November 20 and I know that it is his birthday. I wonder who is he celebrated his birthday with? What are they doing tonight? What gift did she buy for him? And I know I shouldn’t care and it sounds like I am jealous – but I’m not jealous. Just curious.

Not particularly wanting to be wishing the ex a Happy Birthday. I am certainly not going to call him and say that. But I am curious and don’t really like it that I am curious. I should not care enough to even think of him at all. But I can’t help it. I guess it is hard to give up all those dreams and plans and that we made and realize that they won’t be happening with him. And probably not even with someone else. I’ve moved on to a different path and my dreams have changed, too. I just wish I didn’t think about him on the days that were special to us. Does that make any sense?

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Happy Holidays vs Merry Christmas

There are a lot of posts on Facebook this week from angry people who say that its wrong to tell people “Happy Holidays” or to have a “Holiday Tree.” They insist that we should say “Merry Christmas” and that we all have a “Christmas Tree.”

I have mixed feeling about that. I think it is OK to say either one and that people should be happy or glad that I took the time and made the effort to wish something good for them. The intent of the wish is the same. It is about spending the last week or so of the year visiting family and friends, exchanging gifts and celebrating whatever traditions are important to you and the ones you love. It is not about identifying your religion or forcing your religious beliefs on other people.

So, that’s my thoughts on the holiday and/or Christmas greetings. I will probably say Merry Christmas to your face and post that on Facebook, too. And this year I think I will just skip sending cards. I don’t really have the time or energy to put into them.

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Fun at Renn Fest with Wendy

Yesterday my girlfriend, Wendy, invited me to go to the annual Tennessee Renn Fest with her and her two kids. At first, I was reluctant to go. I’m not used to being around little kids and I was not sure I would enjoy the Renn Fest with the distraction of kids running around. I told Wendy that and she was very understanding, and she suggested we take separate cars to the Renn Fest so that if I was not having a good time I could just leave. That sounded like a good plan, so that’s what we did.

Parking was not a big issue although the Festival was PACKED. I was really surprised at how many people went to this event in costume and seem to take the whole Rennaisance era very seriously. There are paid actors who roam about in costume, but a lot of the attendees were also in costume and sometimes you could not tell if they were actors or tourists!

Wendy’s kids are very well behaved and absolutely adorable kids! I think watching them have fun at the Renn Fest actually enhanced my personal experience there. I had a wonderful time, we watched every show and bought a few souveniers and the only reason we left was that the festival was over and packing up for the night!

Thank you, Wendy, for inviting me!

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Learning About Flowers

One of my girlfriends took a temporary job last month as a delivery driver for a flower shop on Valentine’s Day. The job was just supposed to be for two days, and she just wanted to make some fast cash.

As it turns out, the owner of the shop got mad at his regular delivery driver and fired him after Valentine’s Day. So called up my girlfriend and asked her if she wanted to take the job full time, in his place. She said that the delivery part was fun and she could use the money, so she took the job. I think that is cool how things worked out for her.

Part of her job is not just delivering the flowers but also helping around the shop in the mornings when they get their daily deliveries of fresh flowers. she has to help unpack the boxes and haul buckets of fresh water into the flower cooler case. And she helps prepare the flowers by cleaning off dead leaves and thorns from the stems.

Now she is all excited to be learning about flowers and how to arrange them. I wonder if she has an undiscovered talent for floral design? I talk with her every night and she tells me everything she has learned about flowers that day. It sounds like a very cool job.

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Great TV Commercials This Month

All the advertisers have really stepped up the TV commercials so they can get as much of our Christmas shopping money as possible. I have really noticed an increase in car commercials – every brand, but especially the luxury cars like Lexus.

Here is what I don’t understand. How many people really think that buying a car for their loved one is a good Christmas gift? How many people really can do that anyway? Wouldn’t that be a once in a lifetime kind of thing for anyone but the most wealthy, privileged family?

I can tell you that even though my parents were financially successful, buying a car as a gift was never ever something anyone in my family would ever consider. It’s just not done. My parents will spend a lot of money on great Christmas gifts, but a car is a practical item that is handled separately from gifts. It really does not matter how many nice car commercials they show in December, I will not be buying a new car for anyone as a Christmas gift. It will never happen.

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Bad Economy is Bad News

I was watching the television with my co-workers in the lunchroom today, and we were bewildered with the news on how the stock market lost by three-digits again and how the real estate market may have bottomed out. In my neighborhood, there are at least 6 houses that have been for sale for over a year and no one has been able to to buy any of them.

My co-workers and I discussed pretty openly how we’re tightening our belts and how so badly affected we are by the downturn in the economy. Most of us spent freely when the real estate market was up because we felt rich. We are guilty of carrying high balances on our credit cards.

One of my co-workers hesitantly told us how she’s been bogged down by credit card debt and doesn’t know how to solve her problems. She’s not alone, a lot of people are currently in financial distress. This economy really has to turn around. I hoping that after the elections everyone will have a better sense of what direction our country is going and have some sense of security and optimism restored.

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Getting My Halloween Costume Together

Halloween’s always been a big tradition with my friends. Every year, we have a potluck party and a contest on who will come to the party in the most outrageous and creative costume.

Last year, our male friend who dressed up as a pregnant nun won the contest. This year, I’m gonna try to win the contest by dressing against my personality. My friends know me as being very conservative and so this year, I’m gonna surprise them by getting a zombie costume. I’ve been looking online and there are some great makeup tricks to use to look like a zombie.

All the stores have Halloween costumes, makeup and props in their seasonal sections. I am going to shop around this weekend and see if I can put my zombie costume together so I’ll be ready in plenty of time for the party.

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FTD Florist Messed Up My Order

My mom’s birthday is today and since I can’t go to Florida to celebrate with her, I wanted to send her some flowers. I figured all her friends would see the flowers and be a little impressed and help make my mom feel special on her birthday – it’s a big one – one of the dreaded birthdays that ends with a zero.

So, I ordered an arrangement of flowers for her from the FTD web site. I found a discount coupon code on one of the coupon sites that said I could save 20% off anything on the site. When I went to the FTD site, there was a special message about free shipping this week, too. Actually its not shipping so much as a service charge and delivery fee.

So I picked out the arrangement of orange lilies that are her favorite flower and tried to use the coupon code to save the 20%. Well, when I used the code it made the free delivery offer disappear. I couldn’t find any way to get it back. So I canceled that order and tried to place a new order to save the service charge and it wouldn’t show that screen again. I think there was something put into my computer’s cookies that flagged the site to make the free shipping deal be excluded. That pissed me off, but they don’t give you any options to get help late at night.

So, I caved and ordered the lilies and charged it on my card with instructions to deliver the flowers today – her birthday. Well, the day went on and on and I never heard from my mom about having received the flowers. I figured she would call me as soon as they arrived. Finally, around 5:00 I called her to say Happy Birthday and she told me that a flower delivery had just arrived, minutes before I called. I forgot that it was an hour later in Florida because of the time zone change. I should have called earlier, because it turns out that the flowers they delivered were not lilies – they were red roses.

I am SO PISSED OFF. If the damn florist did not have lilies, they should have called and told me or given the order to a different florist. Of course, the fine print says that the florist has the right to substitute flowers, but the least they could have done was called and told me they didn’t have lilies. I NEVER wold have sent her roses – she HATES roses. She says roses remind her of death. Every funeral she has ever been to has had a casket spray of red roses sitting on top of the casket. That’s the LAST message you want to send a loved one on their birthday!!!!

I will NEVER use FTD again. I will call a florist in Florida myself and ask them on the phone what flowers they have and make sure they get my damn order right!