Snippets

This has been a crazy Christmas season for us. We've been incredibly busy, my Christmas shopping isn't completely done (thank goodness some of it can wait until after Christmas, as I won't be seeing some people until then (naelany, have you sent Dustin's Christmas list yet?), but there's still presents to wrap for either tonight or tomorrow, and so on. Alex and I have (I think) decided not to do stockings this year because we're just too busy to shop, and it's Christmas Eve. I am not going anywhere near the malls today. I am also not doing this again--next year, I will have my driver's license, and I will have all of my shopping/crafting done by the week before Christmas! Stop laughing! Stop it, I say!

At least we're not hosting this year. The house is nowhere near clean enough for company. We're doing Christmas Eve (today) at Mum-in-Law's house, and then we're having Christmas Day with my family. My mother has promised me sticky buns, which are traditional for both Thanksgiving and Christmas in my family. I haven't had any yet this year. I am so looking forward to those little nuggets of caramelly goodness. And coffee. I'm still on my first cup this morning, but there will be more. Never mind that it claims to be decaf! (We are out of caffeinated coffee--woe!)

Knitpicks really needs to stop sending me their catalogs and e-mails, and I need to stop reading Yarn Harlot. I have been inspired lately, both in knitting and in writing, and so I've been doing those things instead of preparing for Christmas like a good girl. On the upside, I've gotten quite a bit of knitting done and experimented with some different things, and some stories are developing quite nicely in note form. But I need to do some real writing, practice driving (not really feasible right now with all of the ice we've had lately), get myself all squared away for school, etcetera etcetera. But writing and knitting are so much more fun! I also went momentarily insane and wondered what would happen if I decided to knit Christmas presents for all of my family and friends. The sensible part of my brain whispered, "You would have to start planning now." Maybe some of my friends will get knitted presents next year. My brother has expressed an interest in a Slytherin House Scarf. Maybe I'll get him one for his birthday. In August. Hee hee.

In other news, I found my camera. Unfortunately, the battery has died. I need to find the charger in my disorganized house. As soon as the charger is found and the camera is resurrected, pictures will follow. I have a Flickr account and everything. I also go in to get my hair done again on January 20, so I'll try to get that long-promised picture of my red-renewed hair then.

Maybe I'll do some spinning today. Or maybe I'll finally perfect the pattern for That Which Should Not Be Knitted so that I can post pictures of it after Christmas. Decisions, decisions...I really should be wrapping presents...I wonder where I put my llama cookie cutter? You're laughing again.

May all of you have a happy holiday, no matter what you're celebrating this season! I am so glad to have all of you in my life! *snugs to all*

For Lo, Costco Provides All Of Our Needs.

I'm thinking about building a tiny shrine to Costco and burning a candle there every day. But I probably won't, because I'm way too lazy.

In any case, to explain: Alex and I are up in Washington for the rest of this week and (probably) part of the next. Alex is doing work/going to do work/stuff like that, and I am relaxing. Both of us are going to the annual Assylum Christmas Party this weekend.

So, today, we were possessed with the need to go to Costco. I think we were just going to look around. I'm not sure why we needed to go to Costco here, since we have one at home, but that doesn't matter. We just wanted to. So we wandered into Costco, and what was the first thing that met our eyes?


XBox 360.


What was scary was that, at Costco, the package was a far better deal than the one we were looking at over at Best Buy. Of course we picked one up. It came with everything, including a game that Alex wanted. So, Merry Christmas, Alex.

We also saw a jewelry set that made me go "ooh," at which point Alex was irritated. He said something about, "You find the perfect Christmas present for you in a state where I cannot go and get it without you knowing!" I reminded him that we'll be here for the next few days, so he'll get his chance if he really wants to go and get it. Hee hee.

Costco continued to provide for us as we walked through the book section. They had all of these inexpensive sets with a hardcover libretto, two CDs of a full opera, and extra notes. Each little set held one opera. Alex's dad loves opera, and he is incredibly difficult to shop for. Also, one of the sets was Madame Butterfly by Puccini, which is Alex's dad's absolute favorite opera. We got him one of each opera, and that's his Christmas present taken care of. HUZZAH!

We also bought some port for the pot roast and a ham. Yay!

Costco is definitely my favorite store for general stuff. We get almost all of Alex's clothes there. We got our fine china there. We get all of our meat there. It is a mighty store.

We did much Christmas shopping on our way up here, as well. We stopped by Williams Sonoma, which is my favorite store for the holidays. It always smells good, it's always warm, and it emphasizes food. Food is, after all, what the holidays are all about, right? Plus, they had free samples of their mulled cider. Mmmmm. I have got to get the mulling spices out and make some of my own when we get home. We got a good deal of Christmas shopping done there and at Kitchen Caboodle across the street. Most of our friends and family like to cook, eat, or both.

It has been a good and productive trip thus far.

Last night, I was hilarious, but I can't remember anything I said. This is really too bad, because there were several conversations that I made a mental note to remember for blogging purposes, but I expect that those mental notes made friends with the mental shredder. Ah, well.

More updates as time and events permit. Life is wonderful!