My weekend

Well, our smoke alarms work after all.....unless there is a fire. Saturday about 6:00 a.m. we were woken up by the sound of all 3 smoke alarms- jumped out of bed, didn't smell anything, fumbled around to turn on the lights, but no power. Apparently the alarms went off when the power went out. Just plain bizarre that they don't work when there's actually a fire (as you recall I had a small kitchen fire right before Christmas, and they didn't go off), but go off when the power goes out. So anyway, we fumbled around to find a candle or flashlight so Mike could get a chair to stand on to reach up and disconnect each one. (At 6:00 a.m. it was still pitch dark.) After all that we went back to bed and got up a few hours later to see that we still didn't have power. We were going to make the best of it. Mike got the Coleman stove and coffee maker out of the attic and made coffee on the back porch. Then, for Christmas his father had given him a power inverter, so he hooked that up to the truck and ran an extension cord in the house and plugged in the TV and satellite. So, he sat and watched TV while having his morning coffee. :o) I had already planned to do some cleaning that day, so I cleaned up the kitchen a bit and then cleaned the bathroom by flashlight. Then about 1:00 or soo, we decided to get ready to venture out and go find some lunch. After taking a tour of St. Charles to find a place to eat that was open (besides fast food), we ended up at TGI Friday's. As we ate, we "mapped" out our options of "survival" for the rest of the weekend. We were expecting to be without power for a couple of days. We talked about taking laundry over to the in-laws so he'd have clean work clothes on Monday (yes, I was a little behind on laundry), getting some food that we could cook on the grill, staying Saturday night at Mike & Paula's, and so on. After we finished lunch, we headed home and.....we had power! We were shocked that it was restored that fast. We felt very fortunate to have only been without power for 1/2 the day, unlike Karen, my sister and the thousands and thousands of people that are still without.



So, on to the evening....Mike's work had their Christmas party. It was a casual gathering at the owner's home. Very nice, they had a caterer come in and cook and also hired a bartender to tend their bar, everyone enjoyed playing pool, darts, air hockey and the new Nintendo Wii system. (That new system is great....I think Bill's Bar needs one. I didn't play, but it looked like a blast!) They also hired an artist to come in and do characiture drawings for everyone. So, Mike and I had ours done. (The weird part is that we were just talking over and Mike & Paula's Friday night that we wished we knew some one that does that....now we do. The artist is a friend of someone that works with Mike...so we have connections now.) Anyway, here's our picture- looks nothing like me (at least I don't think), but the guys at his work were saying that he looked like Yanni (or however you spell it) in the drawing.
Later in the evening, one of the guys decided to get a group to play a dice game (the one that goes 4 to the left, 5 right and 6 middle...) and we all played with $3 a piece. I won the first round! Then the second round, no one won and every one had to re-ante which was doubling the pot, then the third round... no one one again, so we all re anted and the tripled the pot. Guess who finally won...Mike. He won $63! I thought it was rather exciting. Anyway, we had a great time at the party and enjoyed talking to everyone.

Decorations, Sex, Men & Movies

FINALLY!..... I have finally taken down the Christmas tree & decorations tonight! (Except for the outside lights- that's the hubby's department and the table cloth on the kitchen table- because it's buried right now.) I think that's the longest I've ever had my Christmas stuff up. These last two weeks I've just had no energy. Last week I was just worn out from work and this week a cold & work kept me worn out. So, tonight I finally did it. Now my house looks boring and plain. I really like Christmas time, it's the only time of the year when my house looks festive and warm. Well, only 317 days until I get to start dragging the stuff out again! :o)

In my recent issue of Redbook, it has some statistics on sex:

Of 2,500 women surveyed-

35% said that they only have sex once or twice a week. (So no matter what my honey

tells you, we are average, he's not deprived!)

5% said at least once a day (see honey how LOW that percentage is!)

25% said three to six times a week (we're still in the largest percentage!)

19% said two or three times a month

10% said once a month or less

6% said that they don't have a sex partner right now

Also in this same issue, there was a section on "What men really want but won't tell you". This is coming straight from the men they surveyed/interviewed. I thought a few of them were worth sharing (and funny).

"You waking us up in the middle of the night....completely naked."

Apparently, my hubby is not the only male out there with that wish. (lol!)

"To be told how manly we are when we fix something in the house."

"You NOT saying how fat you think you are when you get dressed in the morning."

"A free pass to skip some boring family get-together"

"More nagging- That may sound like a pile of what your neighbor's poodle left on your lawn, but honestly, there is such a thing as good nagging. If it weren't for you staying on top of how we eat, drink, and dress, most dudes would subsist in pizza and beer and live in sweatpants. We may bitch and moan about your pestering, but at the end of the day, we know that you're just looking out for us, and though we'll never admit it, that makes us feel pretty great."

Any guys agree with any of that? They had some other interesting ones too, but I didn't feel like typing them all.

I just read about a new movie that will be coming out February 14th- Music & Lyrics. Looks like it will be pretty good. I'm always big on romantic comedies. So, if anyone wants to make a date with me and go see it sometime after it comes out, let me know. Maybe this would be a good "Girls night"- dinner & a movie!

Dreams....

From time to time, I have some bizarre dreams and it drives me absolutely nuts wondering why in the world I dreamt what I did. So, for Christmas, my hubby bought me a book that I had on my wish list- The Encyclopedia of Dreams ~ Symbols & Interpretations. The book tells you all about the science of dreams- different theories, studies, etc, nightmares, working with dreams and so forth. It also then gives you the interpretations and meanings of different symbols that many dream about. I haven't gotten through all of the reading part, but so far it's fairly interesting. I've also looked at many of the different symbols. However, ever since I got the book, I can't remember much of my dreams or any "symbols" that may stand out in my dreams to be able to read about the possible interpretation! (Didn't get this book to stop dreaming! LOL!) Anyway...here are a few examples of different symbols in dreams-

Dreaming about a:

Drawer- Containment, confinement, or repression. Putting something away or keeping it in abeyance. Unwillingness to acknowledge something, wanting to forget something. Drawers often are similar in meaning to prisons or confining rooms. Other meanings: 1) A safe place. 2) Organization if neat. 3) Lack of organization if messy.

Newspaper- Public disclosure or exposure. Information, truths and secrets reveled to the world.

Storm- As a destructive force of nature, and thus linked to the earth, storms are a shadow symbol of the emotions and instincts. They may point to a repression of emotions which builds to a point where they become released in the fury of a thunderstorm, tornado, hurricane and so on. Storms are accompanied by downpours of water (the unconscious, the reservoir of emotions, instincts and intuitions). One seeks shelter from a storm by going within (reconnecting to one's emotional/instinctual nature), such as to a house, cave, building or the underground. storms also may mirror horrendous or violent events that have happened in life; they symbolize feelings of being out of control or overwhelmed as a result.

And of course here’s a common one- Dreaming about falling:

Falling- Feeling out of control, or being emotionally overwhelmed. Falling is a common nightmare motif that occurs during times of great upheaval and stress in life. Falling also is common during the last trimester of pregnancy, and anticipates the birthing process.Falling into water indicates a need to immerse one’s self in a healing in the unconscious. Falling through space or air, or falling to the ground, indicates a need to be grounded, to come back to earth. Other meaning: Lack of support.

Anyway, there's just a few...if you ever need to know the meaning of something you dreamt about, just let me know and I'll gladly look it up!

So, for those of you that didn't see me on Saturday....yes, I did get my hair cut. Since I said I would post a pic here it is. I didn't do anything drastic, just got it cut a bit shorter with more layers to style differently. (Picture was taken this evening, one side was getting flat and I don't photograph well.) Anyway....

As I mentioned in my previous post, Saturday was our annual Garage Christmas. It was a a lot of fun. I will have to say that I think that night was the 1st time that I have ever passed out in Bill's Garage. (after all these years!) The "Power Nap" was great....couldn't fall asleep when I got home. :o) I also danced on the pole for the 1st time and that was probably the 1st time I have ever had anyone to talk to on the drive home too! Thanks Nichole for the company and great conversation. (Hey, there were a lot of "firsts" for me!) Anyway...I would like to thank Violet for the really great present!! The art supplies are awesome and very thoughtful. Just what I need to get me going again. Can't wait to get started on another picture!

Last week at work was very, very busy for me. Not just because I had been on vacation for a week, but because of some other things that started going on last week as well. I was completely worn out by the end of the week. As some people or, I should say, a certain person (not to mention his name....) seems to think that because you work in a financial institution you don't have a tough job. Well, it's not labor intense, but very stressful and challenging a lot of the time. Over the next week or two, I'll begin bringing some work home again, which will take away from my free time in the evenings. That sucks. Anyway, I was not glad to be back at work last week, but I will have to say that the only thing that I did look forward to when I went back was my chocolate coffee (fill 1/2 Styrofoam cup with hot water, mix in a whole packet of Swiss-miss sugar-free hot chocolate, fill the rest with regular coffee, then add an ice cube...yum). It's my "pick-me-up" in the mornings at work. Just doesn't taste the same at home; must be the cheap coffee at work that makes it taste good...LOL! So, enough of my non-sense..... (for now...LOL!)

This & That....

First, thank you to everyone for your compliments and comments about my picture (drawing). It really gives me a vote of confidence. Anyway, if you have a picture that you want me to practice on, then just email it to me. Black & white works best, but if you send it in color I can change it. (Warning- I'm not very good at people, but I'll try.)

Second, with the new year, I have a desire to change something about me. So, I am starting with my hair. I have an appointment Saturday afternoon. If I don't chicken out, most of you will see it Saturday night. And for those that won't, I'll post a pic on Sunday. :o) (Wish me luck!)

Third, the holiday season is almost over. We are having our annual "Garage Christmas" on Saturday. Every year we also get together to decorate the Garage Christmas tree to prepare for our Christmas celebration. This year's tree-trimming party was a blast! (You all are a hoot! Thanks for the fun time!) Here's a few pics.

First, Dave has the honor of placing the star on the tree. (The tree is just soooo tall, he needs a ladder. LOL!)

We all took turns putting ornaments on the tree....

Then somehow we went from tree trimming to whip-cream.....

Then on to pole dancing......

Then from pole dancing to swinging...

Then, finally to sledding (@ 2:30 in the morning).....

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to all! I had a blast celebrating the New Year with a great group of friends!!

Besides lack of sleep (because of the never ending poker game that I couldn't get myself out of and finally gave up at 5:00 something in the morning and took 2nd place), I had a great time guys! Thanks for getting 2007 off to a good start!! Love you all!

So, here's something funny (or at least I thought it was) -my first conversation with my daughter for 2007....Amanda calls about 12:30 p.m. today from her Memaw's and says- "Hi Mom, Can Lindsay come over today so we can mate our gerbils?" Oh, sure...bring them on over...what kind of question is that? Absolutely not!!!

I enjoyed my time off work last week, not looking forward to going back tomorrow. I was glad to be able to take some time for myself and do things that I don't get to do on a regular basis (other than housework, laundry, etc.) I did complete 16 pages in my scrapbook last week and finished with 2002 and started on 2003. (For me that is very good!) I watched 2 movies, slept in until about 8:00 or 9:00 most days, took a nap one day, took Amanda shopping, etc. No schedules, just did whatever.....it was nice.

Anyway, hope 2007 brings happiness, joy, success, good-times, etc, etc, to everyone! Happy New Year!