How Do You Say NO?

M had his heart set on a new T.V.....the 42" HDTV kind!  At some point during the year, I commented "wouldn't it be nice if we could get the kids to agree to getting a new T.V. instead of a bunch of individual gifts?"

IT WAS ONLY A COMMENT and me wishing and hoping OUT LOUD.

(Why is it that M never listens or complies to much of anything I say or do except for me wishing and hoping out loud?  Oh, yeah....he listens when it's something he wants or agrees with.)

When we were discussing Christmas a month or so ago and I had asked the kids for their lists, M told me he thought that we were going to just get a new T.V. for Christmas?!  So, I ended up being the bad guy when I put the kabash on his plans.  The kids wouldn't really stand for just gettting a family T.V. for Christmas and I wasn't going to make them.

M had a good Christmas this year....i.e. he got a good bonus and we got money from his parents, etc. so he was able to PROVIDE for the family Christmas.

Now, remember I have no say in things REALLY.  It's why I've given up being the one that actually shops for Christmas and b'days.  (Yes, I could budget and save so I could do a better job but I'm the one who has her paycheck spent on necessities and frivolities a week after payday.)

My way of manipulating how much gets spent is by warning the kids ahead of time about being conservative in their desires.

The kids were pretty good except for the afore mentioned baby doll that was $$$ and Z's desire to have an Xbox (a very tricky situation because it you get one and GIVE IT TO HIM he thinks it's his ONLY and refuses to SHARE without a FIGHT------even if it was the ONLY thing he wanted we didn't think it was a good idea to just give it to him.)

I'm not a total GRINCH.....  I do ENJOY seeing the kids get their hearts' desires.

(I even ended up with some cash from M to help with my bills, but I've still got people hunting me down and have had to make some pretty awful payment arrangements that will weigh me in 2011 and make me feel like I've made deals with some lone sharks.)

M had all but given up on his T.V.  He got the Xbox as the family gift.  C got her money to shop for herself as requested because once she hit 13 we were no longer able to be trusted to buy anything for her in way of gifts.  A is in Lego Heaven.  S is a new mom of an overpriced baby doll and crib.  Z and (M and C to play , too) got a couple of awful video games--you know, the really awful ones RATED M FOR MATURE.

Sunday morning arrived and M jumped at the chance to play some of the games on our ridiculously outdated T.V.  He got to experience first hand just how poorly suited the T.V. was to really experiencing the games as if he didn't believe the kids' review.  Tiny picture and "OMG, that print is too small to read.  How am I supposed to know which button allows me shoot 50 plus rounds into that Nazi zombie bastard?"

Off to the store he went with all the kids who needed to spend the g-ma, g-pa, and aunt money they's received.  He is a saint because I refuse to do this CHORE.  There is no talking the kids into waiting because they never believe that there won't anything good to buy with everything picked over after the Christmas rush except for marked down Christmas paper, decorations, and the toys nobody wanted in the first place.

What should he bring home?

Yes....a 42" HD T.V.

This is the story I got.  He talked the kids into using some of their money to buy the Keurig coffee maker he has been lusting after.  He made a deal with them.  If they would buy him the coffee maker, then he would buy the T.V.

I'm not lying!  What kind of strange logic is this?!  Is this what really happened or is the story they're feeding me?  They are united so I will probably never really know....

I'm not saying that I'm not enjoying the new T.V.  (I can't wait to watch the Twilight movies on it.  I really enjoyed watching Despicable Me last night.)

I'm just feeling very irresponsible right now.  I know we're sending the wrong message.

M is very proud that he didn't use any credit cards for Christmas this year.  There is THAT, I suppose.

A Gift I Didn't Want

C has gifted me her cold for Christmas.  I should have expected it.  I think I've been sick every Christmas for as long as I can remember.  Sometimes it hits before so that I'm recovering by Christmas, but this just slows me down as I'm trying to get all my last minute things done.

I'm off for the next couple of days, at least.

I spent the morning shopping for fudge ingredients, stocking stuffers, and other supplies.

I'm making my sister fudge for a gift.  I even bought candy boxes and packaging supplies so the presentation is gift worthy.  The butterscotch fudge is rich!  I used a very simple recipe that only requires butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, condensed milk, butter extract, and rum extract.  I also made rocky road fudge by request.  C was like, "Are you making that for us?"  Nope.

I also had to get small ziploc bags to hold individual servings of coffee mixes.  My dad and sister told me the ones that were their favorites last year:  French Silk Mocha, Spiced Mocha Coffee, and Chocolate Coffee.  I made 12 of each to be split evenly between the two of them.  The girls helped as we made them in an assembly line.  I was thankful for their help as it would have been very difficult for me to keep track of ingredients on my own.

Throw in some lottery scratch tickets and a homeade quilted "baked" potato microwaveable pouch for each of them and I think I'll have perfected white trash gift giving.

I still don't have anything for my mom.  Ugh.....  I really should have gotten inspired and made something spectacular, but I really wasn't into it and now I'm really regretting my malaise.  She's into cookbooks, reads them like novels, so there's always that idea.

It's funny how much one spends on stucking stuffer stuff for four kids when all is said and done.  Between the candy and the little gifts one gets.....

I've gotten nothing for M.  Double ugh!  Looks like it will be ITunes and a restaurant gift card.  He wants a new coffeemaker--probably one of those Keurig things.  The trouble with him is that he can buy himself whatever he wants.  Maybe my permission or lack of bitching about him buying himself one could be my gift?!

From the Files of "You've Got to Be Kidding Me"

Did I blink or are there still nine days until Christmas?!

I thought so.

Then, why, ask me, why....

.....does my grocery store have Easter candy out?

No, I'm not lying.

My King Soopers and, I would assume, all the King Soopers have Cadbury Eggs and Russel Stovers Creme Eggs front and center for sale by the checkouts.

I don't know if to complain or not since Cadbury Eggs are my favorite, but seriously?!

I thought it was bad when stores started putting Christmas stuff out before Halloween.

Dear Santa,

Please ask the Easter Bunny's permission to put a Cadbury Egg in my Christmas stocking, will ya?

I haven't been very good this year, but chocolate soothes all wrongs.

HUgZ,

Shannon

A Book in the Making

I am itching to write a story.  The idea came to me tonight.

I've never aspired to be a writer.  I've never thought I had what it took:

A story, continued access to my creative self, the fortitude, .....

I'd like to try.

I have identified 2011 as the year I ditch the fear.

Sewing with Kids

12 Days until Christmas.......or 12 for me to get into a good mood.  I really think I can do it!  Add another week onto that and I'll be raring to go for 2011.  No doubters now!

I'm pretty sure I've ruined any chance of turning C into a domestic goddess and certainly not a quilter .  We had our issues with each other when I tried a couple of times.  I put the blame squarely on my shoulders.  I didn't give up trying to get her to want to sew even if I couldn't teach her and so I enrolled her in a couple of summer camp classes at JoAnns a couple of years ago.  She went, but she never asked to go anymore or learn anything else so I dropped it.

S is a different story.  She seems interested.  I've tempered my perfectionist ways and let her be.  I'm trying to teach her the basics as much as possible and then allowing her to grow.

We sewed a bit together yesterday.  She started a quilt months ago, but stopped working on it.  She invariably wants to start sewing at 8:30 at night.  It wouldn't be so bad, but we don't keep her sewing machine out.  I need to fix that and find room so she can just hop on and sew when the mood suits.

She burned her finger on the iron yesterday and that put a damper on her wanting to keep sewing.  I should have supervised her better or not let her iron at all, but she really wanted to.

Resistance is Futile

Resistance is futile.  I could never be classified as a Trekkie.  I have a huge respect for fans and the shows, but this is probably the only line I can quote and I probably didn't even get it right.  I've always been fascinated by the Borg.  I sometimes think about being part of a collective and maybe being a Queen Bee.  hmmmm.....  After my last post I had this dream where I was a part of a collective quilting group of pod people--it got really scary!

Onward!

I dumped awarded the Christmas shopping to M this year.  My involvement has become less and less over the years.  M is always the one with the money.  We use to shop together, but I don't even bother with that anymore.  It was tough a couple of years ago when he first started shopping, but I would sometimes give him too much input.  (It's really bad for me now as my past has finally really caught up with me.  Merry Christmas to me!)  The kids have written their lists and he has them in hand for some unfettered shopping and of buying things that I would never buy because of impracticality and the expense.....but, hey, it's not my money.

Like the baby doll that S wants that is $69.95.  WTF?!  The thing is just a doll and doesn't even poop or cry....  He was having trouble finding things on S's list so I went online with her last night and helped her look things up and send him the exact links.  When I got to the baby doll, I couldn't believe it?!  I was like, "Wow.....that's a lot of money" and S was like, dejectedly, "really?".  I hated to disappoint, but really??????  I planned on talking to M about it and suggesting we find something different, but when I approached him he said he had already bought it.   ooooookay, then

And before anyone says anything about what I should do, etc.....been there, done that.  Pretty much all there is left to do is leave or live with it.  After almost 20 years, I've made my marriage bed so I guess I'll have to live with it.

After the baby doll talk, we lit on a discussion of a gift suitable for his cousin and hubbie.  The family is the only one we exchange gifts with from M's family--everyone gives us stuff but we get a pass because of the four kids and our financial situation.  The daughter wants gift cards.  I've always made a quilt or something homeade, but not this year.  M and I discussed it last night and didn't resolve anything.  I refuse to get sucked in.....  My suggestion was for him to send them Harry and David or something.

Not that I wasn't tempted, mind you--I want to make this for someone.  (don't ask me why that someone isn't me?!)  Wouldn't it be cute to make this for someone and give it to them a month at a time?....because God knows I would never be able to get a full set done in time to gift all together.

Quilts in Montana


Bah Humbug....everyone  It's no way to live.

The Cranky Quilter

As I sit here, at work--don't tell, pondering my existence....or at least the future of my quilting and this blog for the 100th time, I'm also reading a blog from start to finish.  I don't remember how exactly I came across this blog--probably hopped from someone's sidebar--but I'm so happy that I did and thank you to whomever helped me find it.  I've been entertained immensely.
The Cranky Quilter and the first post.

It's a well known fact that I'm cranky.  I'm cranky most of the time and often worse.

How is it that some people can be loved for their crankiness and some, like me, just seen as whiny or a chronic complainer who can't be happy about anything?

Does it have to do with the frequency, the degree, or the manner in which one is cranky that causes one to be liked, tolerated, or disliked?

Last Saturday I went to the first meeting of the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild.  I almost didn't go.  I figured this would probably be my last chance to be a part of a quilting group.  I'm very lonely you see.....  I made up a ton of excuses not to go.  The meetings are in Monument for goodness sake.  The family wouldn't like me doing something on my own.  I'm not a modern quilter--I like patterns, my ruler, and for my points to match.

I went.  I told myself to keep my mouth shut.  hahahahaha...  I told myself to go with the flow.  I told myself to enjoy the ride.  I told myself to not worry about what was going on at home.

I was there for all of a couple of minutes before my mom was calling my about my suicidal brother who had an anxiety attack, was experiencing alcohol withdrawal, and was in the hospital.  "Don't worry, though."  M was texting me at 7 to ask when I was coming home?  He hadn't fed the kids and thought that I would be home in time for us all to go to dinner at the disneyland of dining, The Golden Corral.  (I know I told him when and where the meeting was....  Oh, and it's perfectly fine for him to schedule family outings and be pissy when something goes wrong.)  I didn't keep my mouth shut at the meeting.  I also didn't keep my mouth shut on the way home with my carpool gals.

What is it about women getting together?!  Is it just me or is it a recipe for disaster?!  We were all pleasantly polite, but there was an undercurrent to the meeting.  The leader got of to a great start by insulting have the people attending with some ageist comment....I kid you not!

Oh, and do you want to know why there isn't a Denver Modern Quilt Guild--I guess there is or is going to be but before anything got off the ground there was already a falling out.

********I had nothing to do with it***********  I didn't even hear about it until on the way home?

Modern quilting is supposed to be the new wave because of the no-rules mantra, hyper-creativity, and inclusive membership but I can tell you that there was a distinct bias towards old, fuddyduddy quilters and traditional rules who belong to guilds like ACC which is probably akin to the way traditional quilters and guilds look at modern quilters and the movement.

Why can't there be a meeting of the minds even in the quilting world?  Oh, yeah...., women are involved.

The modern movement is just as bad as the traditional one.  Everyone looks down their noses at everyone else.  Fights break out over whether or not to wash fabirc before its used.  Steam or no steam when ironing PRESSING?

Gawd!

I left the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild.  I don't think I have the stomach for it.  I thought it better to quit while I was ahead or before I ended up with scissors in my back.  I'll just stay lonely....