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why does he always have to spoil it?
December 20, 2010
Had a four-day weekend, since I have all these darned vacay days to burn before the end of the year. Let's see if I can break it down:
Thursday:
Spouse has been after me to go up to Racine and check out the GTC campus. He had to drop off his final in Mechanical Skills II, so I took a ride with him Thursday morning. He gave me a bit of a tour, bought me a mocha in the Commons, introduced me to his instructor, and kind of halfway talked me into taking a class or two in the spring. I'd like to take the English and Comp classes he took, especially if I could get the same instrucots; they seemed pretty great. No reason, other than a little self-fulfillment--I just love taking English. Well, we'll see how I feel come spring.
Stopped at Cousins and picked up sandwiches for lunch, then we came home and I tried a baking experiment that wasn't a complete success--I tried to make chocolate crinkles out of brownie mix. They're okay, but they came out too thin and flat.
My chiro was telling me about our local library's e-book program, so I logged into their site. Figured out everything I needed to do. Tried to do it. Tried again. Tried again. Tried--well, you get the picture. Anyway--it took me TWO HOURS to figure it all out and download a book. One book. I hope this was just an initial issue, and things get easier over time.
Also went online and took the easy way out in buying a few Christmas gifts. I had to get something for my brothers--Spouse got one in the Christmas drawing, and I got the other. Since oldest brother is the outdoorsy type, I went to Bass Pro Shop and ordered a $50-gift card and had it sent directly to him. And since middle brother got a Kindle for his birthday in September, and since E is getting one for Christmas, I bought them each a $50 Amazon gift card. Free next day delivery, so I got E's and presumable middle brother got his on Friday. Since my family never sees fit to let anyone know they've received a delivery, I can't say for sure.
Spoke to Arizona Auntie on the phone, and she said she was quite enjoying the jazzy Christmas CD we'd sent, but she was again bemoaning the fact that she was going to be done out of her fruitcake this year. Spouse and I took pity, and dropped a few anvil-grade hints for her to listen for the doorbell. (Funnily enough--she got it a just couple of hours later, and boy, was she thrilled!)
Friday:
Got up and had coffee, farted around on the computer, then got cleaned up and went for my haircut, brow wax, and manicure. Well, two out of three ain't bad, I guess. Got my waxing and haircut (and OMG, my hair is so friggin'white with all the color cut off!), then went down to the other end of the shopping center to the nail salon...which...wasn't there anymore?!
Fuuuuuuuddddgggge!
So now I have to find a new manicurist; as mine has evidentally gone out of business. Still walking around as of today with my nails and cuticles in a state. Hopefully I can get them done tomorrow on the way home from work.
Since I coudn't get my nails done, I popped into the Piggly Wiggly and picked up W&T's gift--I got them a gift card to Olive Garden, so they could enjoy an evening out. Since I've been trying to watch the pennies this holiday, I figured it was cheaper to spend two bits on a dinner card than try and find something nice for each of them, and this way they get somethign they can enjoy. They both like the OG and we just had one open nearby.
Spouse was napping in the afternoon, and I was deep in my book, when we got a sharp rap on the front door to startle us. UPS! Not entirely a surprise, since I was expecting E's gift card. What was a surprise? He also delivered a large box from ProPlants.
Now, I don't really know exactly what this poor gardenia plant did to piss off my aunt, and lead to her condemning it to Death by Niece, but that's what it amounts to, any time somebody gives me a plant. My house basically a frigid, lightless cave, and anything requiring light and warmth to survive is a deadster from the gitgo. It is a lovely plant, though. Pity.
After Spouse got up and left for school (Psych final), I got busy and did a bunch of laundry, baked five dozen more M&M cookies, and did some mending. And with that batch, I think I can declare myself "baked out" for this Christmas. I was going to make sables, but I gave it up. I'm through.
Saturday:
We got going pretty early; we wanted to get the Christmas shopping finished, and that was going to require a trip to a Milwaukee mall (Mayfair). And we gave ourselves a bit of a Christmas treat, as well: We started with a detour out to Brookfield and breakfast at The Original Pancake House. Damn, that was top-notch. I had a Dutch Baby, some world-class bacon, fresh-squeezed OJ, and several cups of their splendid coffee. Spouse did his favorite--buckwheat cakes & sausage, which he seemed to enjoy.
With that fortification under our belts, we headed over to Mayfair to hit Willams-Sonoma for P's molcajete, and the See's Candies kiosk for assorted other gifts--taking the chocolate way out for some, you see. Spouse had worked himself up over this, expecting an experience akin to descending into Hell. I wasn't really worried, since I knew that See's was A: at the Macy's end of the mall and B: right outside Williams Sonoma. But he gets phobic when it comes to crowds, so he was freaking ever so slightly.
Well, we found decent parking by Macy's, popped into the nearest mall entrance, hooked a right, and walked about 100 feet--there we were, and his relief was palpable. There was a significant crowd at Williams-Sonoma, but we got helped right away, they had the molcajete P wanted, and all we really had to do was wait in line to pay. Even that was pleasant; people were friendly and nice, they were passing out toffee bark, and of course, there is nothing wrong with having a little time to look around in a W-S store! Once we were done there, we popped out the door to the See's kiosk, picked out some nice, pre-wrapped boxes of chocolate for the kids and their folks, and were back out to the car in less than 30 minutes.
And since that was so easy, I got Spouse to shoot across town to Trader Joe's, so I could get gifts for my co-workers. TJs is always the best place for that. I found boxes of peanut brittle for $2.99, and cute little tins filled with old-fashioned stick candy for only a buck!
Plus, naturally, coffee for myself. And the weird liquorice for the kid's stepdad, some chicken and sweet potato treats for the dog, and a few staples for the pantry. And it was just as easy there as it was at Mayfair! I swear--breakfast and shopping all over the Milwaukee area, on the Saturday before Cristmas, and we were still on the road home by noon!
Which...led Spouse to feel cocky and adventurous--so we went 30 miles in the OTHER direction from home, and ran out to the McHenry Meijer for grocery shopping. Hmm. And we were STILL home by THREE! Dang, we good.
Sunday:
I didn't have long to kvell over having the shopping done, before Spouse recalculated the finances and decided he had Christmas money left over.
So guess who got an unexpected (and not entirely welcome) extra Christmas gift?
He went to Best Buy Sunday morning, and bought me a new computer.
Personally, I didn't feel the need. My little Dell netbook is only about 22 months old, works fine, and I like it a lot. And even though this new one is a big step up from my current unit: 14-inch, Hi-def widescreen display, 64-bit, 3GB memory, 320GB hard drive, running Windows 7--I didn't want it. Even for the "what a steal" price of $349.99--I Did Not Want It.
And if you can't resist the urge to spend another three and a half bills on me,
here's the thing--
I desperately need a new pair of fucking eyeglasses, okay?
And, based on my experiences so far, I can say that I hate the brand, the size, the shape, the 64-bit crap, the operating system, and the whole damned mess. But it isn't like I can tell HIM that. He think's he's Santa Claus, but even though he has "perfect pitch" when it comes to anyone else's gift, he always has a "tin ear" when it comes to mine.
Maybe he was just getting on my nerves after four days of more or less constant contact, but I had to keep stifling the urge to kick him by Sunday. After the incredibly ham-fisted computer debacle, he proceeded to further piss me off.
He bought the wrong grow-light bulb at Stein's, for one thing. He decided that we needed a special bulb for keeping the gardenia alive, so he blew $3.99 on a grow-light bulb at the garden center. Well, it's the kind that has a reflector built in on the base end--which means it needs to go in a socket where the bulb hangs down, not one where it sticks up. Guess which kind of lamp we have, hmmm? If you put it in the wrong kind of socket, the reflective material blocks the light from shining downward, and all you are doing is wasting electricity and killing a plant.
And for another thing--or maybe it's just part two of the computer thing--He started cooking dinner, asked me how long to bake a chicken, and got a response based on an unstuffed bird at 375. So he stuffed it, and cooked it at 350. And then? He just...wandered off. Got all involved with setting up that damned laptop, and never got back to the cooking. And after he took a break, he did the same damned thing, leaving me to do the dishes & clean up the mess.
Takes a lot to make me to look forward to going to work. He managed to pull it off.
Reading: Hobby--Some more Christmassy stories, all by Leona Dalrymple: "Uncle Noah's Christmas Inspiration" (1914), "Jimsy, The Christmas Kid" (1915), and "When the Yule Log Burns" (1916). Apparently this author wrote a Christmas story annually.
General--"Maryann In Autumn" (2010), by Armistead Maupin. The book I managed to download from the library--finally. This is basically "Tales of the City No. 8", and after so many years with these characters, it's like coming home. I don't really care what happens in these books; I just love spending time with these old bay-area friends.
Surfing: .
Listening: Trans-Siberian Orchestra, The Black Crows, Fleet Foxes, Lucinda Williams.
At Random:
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