More Christmas Cheer

The other gift I got from my cousin (my immediate family doesn't do gifts, which makes me sad...my brother and I exchange, but my dad gets all mad when we break his rule) was a watch. Now, it wasn't one of those Raymond Weil watches, but it's this cute girly watch I can't wait to wear with one of my pink tops. I also got a pearl bracelet with a pink charm on it. Guess it's a good thing I now like pink! Used to not like it, but with breast cancer awareness having pink as its color I've grown to love it and wear it every now and then. Granted, I'm not going to paint my room pink or anything, but I do wear it now more than I ever have. So thanks, cousin! :)

Wii vs. XBox

The other night at a Christmas party, I got to play on a Wii. It's official, I want one! They're so much more fun than ones like the Xbox 360. You actually get to stand up and move around when you play. Granted, I only played tennis and bowling, but I still had a blast! Even more, I was in wonder. How does it know I'm putting spin on my bowling ball???? I have a mean hook, and it knew it. That is totally amazing to me. So, I think maybe in about 3 months or so, I will keep my eye out for one. I know they will be impossible to get for a time. I hear even then, they're hard to come by. But I guess that'll give me time to save. Because...I WANT ONE! Heh.

Merry Christmas to All (and to Me Too, Heh)

OMG, I got the best Christmas present. My cousin gave me 4 facials at her favorite aesthetician. She's told her of my skin problems, and she told her to send me to her. I'm so excited! It's a small place, so it's not like I'm going to sit in one of those spa hot tubs and wash my stress away. But it is very relaxing, and I'm hoping that between them and the Tazorac I'm using (it works...I still break out at that time of the month, but not as bad as I have in the past), I'll have clear skin once and for all.

Glitter and Glam

Perhaps when my dad feels up to it, we can go to do something fun, or at least something we've never done before, like go to Las Vegas. I think it's something everyone should see once in their lives. If they don't like it, they don't have to go back, right? So, to take my mind off of his situation, I'm sitting here looking up a LasVegas hotel or two seeing where we might stay. I have this idea that we'll stay somewhere near all the action. I mean, why else go? I'm not much of a gambler myself, but every now and then it's fun. My mom always said she'd take me once I was 21, because apparently I used to roll doubles when we played Monopoly more than average, heh. That never happened. So if we do ever go, you can bet you'll find me playing at least one game of craps to fulfill a fun thing Mom wanted to do with me.

Is It 2008 Yet?

Seriously. I'm still all stressed out. At least I'm able to work from home this week. I think if I had to go in to work, I'd be depressed on top of everything else. Why am I so stressed, still? Well, Dad's still in the hospital after having his prostate removed, and they found cancer in it. They're fairly certain that it hasn't spread anywhere, but since Mom died from breast cancer...well, I just hate cancer. Actually, hate isn't a strong enough word for it. How about loathe, hate, detest, and despise cancer? Yeah, that works. And the poor man is having an unexplained fever, even though he's on a dual antibiotic. We had kind of hoped that removing the prostate would remove the source of infection he's had since 1986, but it doesn't look that way. He's all weepy and depressed. I've just never seen him like this, and he's had surgery before. It's so hard to see a parent in distress. And having it be almost Christmas isn't helping matters at all. I have to say that the last 5 years have absolutely sucked for my family. So I'm really, really hoping that 2008 is better. I've said that for 4 years now, and it hasn't happened. Maybe this time, it will. Gotta have hope, you know??

Stressed? You Betcha

I think with the stress of moving, losing my friend (and manager) to a reorg, having to "follow the job" with the reorg, the holidays (which are never easy since Mom passed on Thanksgiving back in 2003), and my dad having surgery tomorrow, my stress level is at maximum. My tummy is telling me this, because my appetite is completely whacked. I'm having gall bladder pain, and lots and lots of indigestion. Guess the lecithin I started taking for all of that isn't working anymore. And I'm not (repeat NOT) going to do a colon cleanse, even though they're all the rage. I tend to react awfully to anything like that. So I'm hoping that once things have settled down a little, that my tummy will be all settled down too. Here's hoping 2008 is better than 2007...

Cars

A friend of mine and I were talking about cars, selling them, getting new ones, etc. And she said she actually donated hers to a local charity. It was pretty old, but still. That's something I've honestly never thought of doing, car donations. I've always sold my car, or had the dealer apply any money they'd give me toward my new car purchase. Maybe when it's time to retire Karma, I'll look into something like Car Angel, which is a non-profit that uses donations like cars to make videos for the less fortunate younger folks, kids and teens mainly. They've given away over 2.4 million videos...which is kinda cool. The money they raise goes toward making the videos, mainly religious. You can see them at http://youtube.com/user/boatangel.

The Real Estate Crunch

You know, on NPR, I heard there was a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio where almost every house was empty due to foreclosure, or being very close to foreclosure. That is totally scary. And I see all of these new home sites going up around where I live, advertising homes from $800,000 to $2 million. What?!?!?! Who can afford all of these? It's insane. People get an adjustable rate mortgage so they can get the house they want. But with record lows in interest rates, you can bet they aren't going to go down, but up. I've also heard that real estate flipping (buying a house and quickly reselling it) isn't as profitable as it once was, because no one wants to buy a house right now...not even ones that have been foreclosed on. I know I don't, not until stuff has settled a little. And, I just moved in here, so it won't be for another year or two that I even begin to look. So I'll just sit tight and watch how this all pans out. I just hope the interest rates aren't much higher than they are now, that's for sure.

My New Home

I just moved into my new place about two weeks ago. And slowly but surely, it's coming together. Now, it's not quite as nice as where I used to live, but few places are. All I care about is that I now have two bedrooms (well, more like 1 1/2...wouldn't consider my office big enough for a bedroom). Their choice in bathroom vanities was very basic, and I'd say hasn't been updated in about 15 years. Although I do like my new tub...it's oval, and big enough to actually lounge in and take a soothing hot bath. Think I could also put candles around it and not have to worry about sloshing water all over them. How novel! Anyway, it's going to be slow-going getting everything in its place. It always does. Then once Dad has recovered from his surgery tomorrow, he can come over and help me hang pictures...I'm so bad at that! Perhaps then, it'll feel more like home, and less like a disaster area. :)

Amusement

Just the other day, I saw a commercial for Dollywood down in Pigeon Forge, Tennesee. I have absolutely no desire to go there, whatsoever. Now maybe, I wouldn't mind renting one of those Pigeon Forge cabins and enjoying the beauty of the Smoky Mountains. But really, I can't see myself ever setting foot in Dollywood. Why? Maybe it's because I'm not exactly a fan of country music. Perhaps it has nothing to do with it, and I'm just basing my lack of interest on a falsehood. But, I think I'd rather visit Disneyworld, since the last time I was there I was...8 years old! I hear they have some new-fangled stuff since I've been there...