Chocolate Sushi...

Ashley went to the Chocolate sushi factory, and brought us back some chocolate sushi. It's really pretty good. And it looks pretty real! The dish is made of chocolate, the "wasabi" is green tea flavored chocolate. The "ginger" really tastes like chocolate ginger. And the "fish roe" is apricot flavored gummy. The chocolate is really very good.

I think maybe Cindyann would eat this sushi! LOL mine is tamago sushi (egg) and the crispy rice they use looks like rice too! LOL

Our New Year's Eve...

While shopping in Wal Mart tonight, Ashley found Marine Corps Fleece. So, she decided (after Phil had described a blanket Debi G. made for me) to make a blanket. Not the way her bf wanted to spend New Year's Eve, but since she's not 21 yet, and can't go to the bars, they decided to spend NYE home with us.

So, we have been cracking up about her making a blanket for NYE. SO of course we all had to tie a bit of the blanket so we could say that we spent NYE making a blanket for Ashley. ROFL.

So here is Phil, Harry, and Ashley tying up the ends of the blanket. LOL

Jabba the squirrel

We have a new addition to our backyard menagerie. Jabba du squirrel. This is one of two really LARGE squirrels that have been visiting us. And of course, Phil has decided that he needs to feed it. Since the outside cats have passed on, and the raccoons haven't been around lately, it's funny that we're getting adopted by another animal. LOL

After it grabs the nuts from the stump, it either eats them or decides on burying them in our lawn. LOL I figure that if they weren't roasted peanuts, we'd have a lot of peanut plants in our lawn. I just went to get some birdfood with corn in it, I'm guessing we'll have corn plants out there too!!

Oh, and I just found out you're not supposed to feed squirrels salted nuts...oops! LOL We bought some unsalted ones today. :D

Will post more pics when I get better ones!!

Almost a New Year

Can you believe a new year is almost upon us? I swear, they seem to come sooner and sooner. I remember when we were younger, and they seemed to take FOREVER! Now I would like there to be more time between the years. LOL Can't we go 370 days? 36 hours?? LOL

I went out with the girls yesterday, and we had a blast! Wish we could get together more often. I really do miss seeing them. I wish Deb, Kay, and Shari lived closer so we could go out and cause trouble together. Wouldn't that be a blast??

Today was a good day. Put the tree in the box. Didn't think it would fit. LOL Cleaned up some of the boxes, put away some Christmas boxes. I can't wait for next week when we can take all the decorations for Christmas down. :) But next is Valentine's. And I'm already tired of val cards. LOL We put out 7 boxes today, and we need more room. Saw a really fun one for my dad. LOL

oh! And I got to chat with Kay last night, that was fun! I miss chatting with her every day.

Happy New Year!

Dancing with the Stars Tour

Tonight, Debi and I went to see Dancing with the Stars! My cousin was going to go, but then she couldn't, so she gave the tickets to me as a gift. I know she would have loved it, but I'm glad that we got to go!!

I took my camera, they actually allowed cameras! So I took a few pictures. This was the finale of the show. It was really fun! They did a lot of the dances from the show. They did some group dances, which were awesome!

We got to see Drew and Cheryl dance their Thriller dance and their Freestyle country dance. That was way cool!! And Joey danced his Singing in the rain dance.

If you are a big fan of the show, you have GOT to see the tour!

De-Christmasizing....

Well, we're de-christmasing the store. I am SO glad I only decorated the store, not home. This is going to take forever. LOL Not even touching the tree till tomorrow.

Think I'm missing boxes too. LOL Where the heck do they go??

I think the snowflakes will stay up, cause it's still winter.

What is everyone doing tonight? I'm going to be at the Dancing with the Stars tour! YAY! I didn't think I'd get to go, but my cousin couldn't go, so I have her tickets...YAY! can't wait!

And tomorrow I get to see Debi and Joanne!! I haven't seen them since last month. Gotta do that more often.

The wind is really blowing outside. Fences were down. Saw a container almost blown off a truck on the bridge today. Got here early cause I knew something would happen. It looked like my hood was going to blow off my truck today. Gotta check into that tonight.

Batten down those hatches, bay areans!!

Happy Tuesday!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Now is downtime. We're gonna start gearing up for Valentines too, believe it or not. that and inventory...ick!

Been reading Pride and Prejudice this week. Halfway through. Love the movie, love the book. Now I'll have to read Emma and Sense and Sensibility too.

Got to chat with Deb last night...YAY! I missed chatting with the girls. And hopefully will get to see everyone else later on.

Tomorrow night is Dancing with the Stars!! YAY! Can't wait! It should be a ton of fun.

Hope you all have a great evening!

Merry Christmas!

Hope that you and yours had a very Merry Christmas today! I had the best present EVER! I got to sleep in till 10!!! WOOO HOOO!! LOL

Last night we exchanged gifts with the kids. Ashley didn't stay the night, so we decided to do that last night. It was nice to do that the evening before, and then get to sleep in!!

Phil and I exchanged gifts this morning. He got me a George Forman Grill. LOL And a blanket that is like a sleeping bag, but the top folds over and snaps closed so that you have arm holes. I had one as a kid, and I wanted one to use while I'm on the computer! He got a screwdriver set and some jeans. LOL Woooo, exciting gifts, huh?? LOL

We went to my parent's house today. Cheryl was there, and it was funny having to relive her and Eydie's argument again. I don't think I've ever heard so often from Eydie. She has to call to tell on Cheryl. Sheesh. I'm just glad they're not mad at me!! ROFL

We got home early from my parents house, and I thought I'd get to chat with the girls, maybe. But of course I fell asleep in the recliner. Still kinda sleepy here, but I'll see if anyone comes on.

Well, back to the old grind tomorrow! Hope that you all had a blessed day with your families and friends!!

It's Christmas Eve!!

and WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!

OMG, I am going to enjoy sleeping tonight. Brought all my gifts here so that I can wrap them. We've had 2 people in so far. Everything around us is closed. Can you believe it? I can't believe the jewelry store is closed today. Wouldn't you think that today would be one of their biggest days??

So, it's quiet on the street. I hope people come in today.

Got to get the rest of my shopping done for my family here today.

Went to the Hallmark store this morning and found the last Star Wars Ornament I needed. Am thinking about getting up early to see if they are going to have anything left tomorrow.

Hopefully I can see my chatty friends on Tuesday night! I SO miss them.

love you guys!!

Ok, major geekdom again...

So the other day, I spilled Coke in my keyboard. NO, I wasn't doing an experiment to see if I could screw up the keyboard. LOL And No, I wasn't trying to repeat my experience of pouring a whole cup of tea in it. I was a bonehead and it just dropped on the keyboard.

I thought, OMG I totalled another keyboard. Crap!

But it worked, just had really sticky keys.

SO, when I turned it over I noticed that I could take it apart. Couldn't hurt!

Have you ever seen the inside of a keyboard?? They must have re-engineered it for people like me. Everything is encased in plastic. The electronics is on a big plastic sheet. On top is a clear rubbery-like sheet with bumps for every key. That's how the contact is made. It's all very cool.

I remember years ago spilling a whole mug of tea in my keyboard (and a big mug it was), and then my boss at the time told me to pour water in it to clean it out. Shorted that sucker right out.

But this one hadn't, so I was wondering if they improved the technology through the years or what. Lucky thing for me that I tilted it right away, cause if the soda had gotten where those lights are (you know, the ones that tell you that your caps are on), then I would have been messed up.

So, I wiped it down, and it works fine. No sticky keys.

So, if you ever do that, just make sure you tilt it towards you to empty out the liquid really quickly. Then just let it dry out. And hope that it hasn't gotten into the elecronics stuff in the corner!

Only 2 days left!

Love being able to count it down with everyone. :)

I was going to blog yesterday when I got home, got some e-mails done, then I zonked out. I couldn't believe I was so tired. Meant to bake more, but I just wasn't into it last night.

Only 2 more days. I am going to put a sign on my bedroom door that says, "If you want to give me a great gift, please let me sleep in today". ROFL. I don't want to wake up at 6:30 in the morning this year. NOPE!

Gotta bake tonight for Phil's family. I think I'll do caramel corn.

We had a lot of people in last night. The one thing I love is that people will stop by to wish us a merry christmas. That is too cool. I love our peeps.

Well, more later, now gotta go!

It was a good day...

We had a good day today. We were busy all day, not super busy, but constant. That was nice.

Got some cleaning done when I got home, and wrapped Ashley's gift. She's coming Saturday, so wanted to get that done.

Just figured out what else to put with Ashley's bf's gift. Making him a sushi basket. He wants to learn how to make sushi. So I have the mat, the vinegar, seaweed, wasabi, and sesame seeds. Gonna get a sushi plate and the little shoyu bowl. Oh! Got to find shoyu too (Soy sauce). Gotta have that kikkoman dispenser thing that all restaurants have. LOL

My mom and dad dropped by today, and they dropped by some beard papas! I just love those things! :)

Nothing else going on here, took a break from baking and from gift getting. Just wanted to veg a bit today.

Only a couple of days left!! YAHOOOOOOoooooo!

Christmas time is here...

Only4 more days, and it's all over! I really am tired this year. Not sure why.

I did make some new cookies for our event tomorrow. Peanut brittle cookies and butterscotch cookies. I like them, but since it was my first time making them, I know I can do better. I think I'll go with the standard rice krispy cookies tomorrow. :) I want to try the malt ball recipe tomorrow too. That one looks yummy.

I got to go shopping today. Found gifts for Phil. Gotta get one more, but not sure if I can get up early enough to go. He wants a coffee maker but I'm not sure if I can swing that. We'll see.

And I didn't have to go in till later today, that was nice.

Phil took the portable heater out of the back room to warm up the kitchen today, and OMG, Velcro was not liking that! She kept running in and out of the back room. Would go to pet her, and she'd run down the hallway. When I wouldn't follow, she'd run back. She did this for about a half an hour, till I realized, she wanted me to move the heater back to the back. So, I did, and she's back there sleeping. That was really funny! Guess she wanted to sleep, but not in the cold. LOL

My sisters got into an argument today. OMG, they are so much alike, but different. They have strong personalities, but different values. My little sis is really direct and to the point. She doesn't beat around the bush. All I can think of is that line in Galaxy Quest, "This is not time for pleasantries..." that would be her. To the point and see ya! LOL

My older sister lives in her own world. Life revolves around her, and when life isn't going quite right, she gets really REALLY stressed, and snaps.

There in lies the problem. When direct an to the point, calls sis when she's stressed, stressed sis snaps. DTTP sis gets mad, and yells at Snappy sis, and then they have drama. LOL And one or the other will call sis in the middle to vent. Glad it was DTTP sis, cause we can laugh about it. Stressed sis will cry and have lots of drama.

And all this before Christmas. LOL

I thought it was supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year! I'd better listen to more of my Christmas CD's to get into the mood. LOL Well, 4 more days and it's OVER!!!!! I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing the Dancing with the Stars show!! That and seeing my two friends, Debi and Joanne!!!

Only 5 more days!

Wooo Hooo! I'm excited cause there are only 5 more days till Christmas. I've got one of 4 boxes packed to go. Just need packing peanuts. :) 2 cards done. I was going to stamp on them, but at this point, I think they look ok to go. Wanted to do more, but I hope everyone likes them anyway.

Not stressing at this point. I'm going to get what I can done, and the others will go out as they get done.

We have one more big event before Christmas. We've been doing ok so far...knock on wood. But talking to other retailers in the area, they are just as slow as we are. That isn't great, but at least we're not alone.

I'm going to go to Phil's family's Christmas this year. Mainly because his sister and I are getting along better now. Makes life a lot easier. I don't think i've been to a Christmas there in about 7 years now. So, I'll have to do some major baking in a few days.

We went to the mall tonight, and we got some more shopping done. Have to go to Wal Mart yet again tomorrow at some point. I think we've been there 4 times this week. LOL

Hope everyone is having a great week so far. I got to chat with Shari tonight...YAY! And I miss Deb and Kay. I hope we can chat at some point before Christmas! I love you guys!

Baby, it's cold outside....

Ok, I know for those of you that are not in California, this probably isn't cold. But man, I'm freezing! LOL On the bottom left is the temperature outside...BRRRRR. And you can barely see, but there is a snowflake on the bottom of the clock that flashes to let us know that it's butt cold outside! LOL Like we didn't realize that it was that cold already...DUR. LOL

This morning it was 18 degrees! Yep, 18 degrees. So, I woke up to frost on my car. So, there went going to drop some stuff off to Jackie's work. LOL Everytime I kept scraping the ice off, more would appear. I really would suck at living in snow.

Hey! Maybe we'll have a white Christmas! :D

What a day...

Well, this morning was not a good morning. I was planning on getting a ton of Christmas stuff done today, cause all I had to do was call in to check how the store was doing all day. Phil and i were going in to replace the ballasts on the fluorescent lights at one, so we were going to do some of our shopping, and I was going to work on cards while I was in there....

NOT!

Ngoc called in sick. So, I had to go in all day. I was pretty pissy cause I've had no time off this week. I was using the day to finish up stuff. But of course, I leave everything till the last minute, so of course it gets messed up on me. My fault.

I mean she's covered for me the one day I was sick this month. And I was SO frustrated. The one store I want to go to is only open the same hours we are, so today was the one day I could go there. Gonna have to figure out another way to do what I was going to do now. sigh.

And then the ballasts weren't the right ones. The ones we needed were thicker than the ones that were bought. So Phil couldn't do that today either. And that was frustrating. Not that he couldn't do it, but just that now he has to go get the correct parts. And I wasn't going to have Phil put up something that wasn't the same shape or size. Electrical stuff is really tricky, and I don't want it overloading and causing a fire. That's all we need.

I'm just really tired. And burnt out. I know every year I'm going to work long hours at Christmas. I get that. And normally I don't mind at all. But I think on top of wanting to get stuff done so that my friends know how much I care about them, and all the stuff we have to do to promote the store, then sell stuff in the store, I'm really getting to not be in the Christmas mode this year. I thought I was doing good too. Thought I'd get stuff out early, work on all kinds of stuff. I'm definitely going to have to do New Year's stuff.

Sorry for the vent. And I know that there are worst things in the world. this is really little stuff, and I need to get over the little stuff. Good thing that Phil's here, he has been a big help in getting some stuff done for me. :)

Imposter Oreo...

There is an Oreo imposter running around the outside of the house. LOL

Oreo is my tuxedo cat, and he's an inside kitty. We figure that he's so not smart, he'd get eaten or run over by a car if we let him outside. LOL I love him to death, but he's just a dork sometimes.

Anyway, tonight Phil was on the phone talking to his nephew, and he looks outside and sees Oreo. So he gets off the phone and starts chasing this cat around the yard. The cat turns around, and he realizes...That's not Oreo. ROFL! He goes inside, and Oreo is sleeping on the bed in the back bedroom. ROFL!

Can you imagine, Phil running around after this poor kitty! The kitty was probably thinking...What the heck is this guy running after me for, calling me a cookie?? LOL

I would have LOVED to have been here to see that!

10 more days till christmas....

And I just finished writing my greeting cards. I still think I want to make some cards within the next couple of days. We'll see.

Our showerhead broke today, so we went to Wal Mart tonight to get a new one. Found Taylor's CD for $7.94!! What a deal! I have listened to the first 4 songs so far, and I love it! Just his style. I'm glad cause I wasn't too thrilled with the song they picked for him at the final show.

Also, Clay has a 4 song Christmas CD out only at Wal Mart, so we got that too. :)

We're picking up at the store, so hopefully it will be a good season for her.

I still have to go to the post office. Think I'll mail my friend's box tomorrow. Feel like such a butt that I haven't been there yet. Most of the other stuff hasn't been packed yet, so I'll get more stuff out on Monday.

gotta get a lot of shopping done this weekend....fun fun fun!

Christmas is 12 days away...

OMG, here I am plugging along at life and I realize, Christmas is in less than 2 weeks! YIKES! I'm just buying stuff here and there, and OMG, it's almost here!

So, a lot of stuff is going to get mailed in two phases. I finally got my friend's birthday and Christmas gifts in a box. Gotta get up early to go to the mailbox. I have to pack everyone else's stuff tomorrow. I thought I was going to make some special cards for Christmas to go in the boxes, but since my other computer died, I'll have to do that next christmas. LOL I still may make cards though. :)

I have to get Phil to make some goodies. Hopefully he can do that this week. I got to get into cookie making mode this weekend. :)

I hope it will all get done this week!!

I love this bracelet!I made this for a gift, but I'm not sure that I'm going to give it away now. LOL I found the charms at a great bead store in Santa Cruz. They have the best supply of charms that I've seen so far.

Anyway, I love the fantasy/sci-fi theme of it. I'm a big collector of dragons, and I love that little dragon charm. And the stars and moons just had to go on it too. LOL Good thing I have an extra supply of those charms. Well, except for the celtic knot one, and the big crescent moon. LOL

I hope she will like it. It doesn't have as many danglies as Debi's bracelet did, but I think it still looks cool.