Officially Poor

Oi, we're broke. We'll be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches everyday for the next two years.

I'm getting my son-nut's teeth straightened, which costs as much as what we paid for our first new car. Of course, an orthodontist will tell you it's not what they do, it's what they know.

One thing I know is $5500 is a lot for a bunch of wire and 24 trips to and from his office.

I suppose it is worth it knowing my son-nut won't grow up to look like a snaggle-toothed carnivore.

One Bathroom

My hub-nut and two bro-in-laws put in a new, shiny marble floor into my bathroom. The old and ugly linoleum/vinyl floor is history, thank god. Bro-in-law #1 threw in the marble tiles, gratis - they were leftovers from another project. Bro-in-law #2 directed the installation and made all the tricky cuts.

However, when you want to remodel your one and only bathroom, you have to get creative. There is only one toilet. The door to the bathroom was removed, so privacy was a bit of an issue. Everyone had to rush and use the toilet before it was placed in the back as a nice piece of temporary yard art. When nature called, we blessed the nearby restaurants - I just couldn't bring myself to knock on my neighbor's door. Finally, around 8 pm the porcelain throne was reinstalled, and peace returned to our home.

The next day, grouting and sealing the marble took another several hours, so bathroom privileges were again put on hold. By late that evening, my son-nut was dancing around the house, trying to get one of us to drive him to a restaurant. Backyard, you say? My son-nut is a real Monk when it comes to bathroom etiquette, and we couldn't convince him to water the tree in the backyard. At the point where his bladder was about to explode, he grabbed a small disposable cup, and stomped off to his bedroom. Moments later, he reappeared to grab another cup, then another, then another. Four cups later, we all breathed a sigh of relief, that is, until he dumped his four yellow offerings into the kitchen sink, which I then had to sterilize.

By morning, the floor was set, albeit very cold. Reminder: wear slippers into the bathroom.

Fish Night

We had our big holiday celebration on Christmas eve. We serve fish, which is an italian tradition, and technically shouldn't serve meat, but my mom brought a ham. My hub-nut bbq'd some really nice ahi tuna and salmon, and I baked some tilapia wrapped in parchment and cooked a bit of scallops. My hub-nut's mom brought some pesce stocco, which is a cod soup - the cod is reconstituted - sounds weird but it's good, and some fried cod.

My sis in law brought some very lovely arancini, which are yummy rice balls filled with meat or cheese - fried (so fattening, but who cares when it tastes so good.) She also brought a truck load of home baked goodies.

My sister brought a home made apple pie - it was sucked up with nary a left over.

We ate and ate, so there are barely any left overs, and my waist line has expanded somewhat, and will continue to do so as we finish up all the baked sweets.

My favorite part of the evening was our white elephant gift exchange where gifts like a ceramic smoking monkey, a thrift store carved wooden head and Superman underpants were part of the cache of weird gifts.

On Christmas, we headed over to my bro-in-laws for some home made pizza. Unfortunately, half the guests had bad colds. Fortunately, you feed a cold.

Hope your holidays were wonderful and well-fed.

Groucho Marx - You Bet Your Life - in Torrance

Mayor of Torrance, Albert Isen, bantering with Groucho Marx on "You Bet Your Life".

This wasn't the only Torrance resident to appear on the show. Here's another episode where a Torrance denizen appears. (The video was too long to post).

A Very Kitschy Christmas

Last year's Christmas Gewgaws, here, and here, and here...

...all come together in this little video I've thrown together for you to enjoy. The gewgaws, ornaments and various stuffage represent years of collecting - some of the glass balls and glass ball strands are 50-70 years old. The manger items could have been purchased 50 years ago at Woolworths for 15 cents a piece. However, there are new items - the Buzz Lightyear and Star Wars ornaments are relatively new - as well as 'loving hands at home' handmade stuff too.

I apologize for the poor quality - I'm as blind as a bat, and can't tell when something is out of focus. I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be doing over the next few crazy weeks, so this will have to hold you for the time being. Merry Christmas!

Sucked into the tribe again

AAaarrgh.

I was involved with an online game about a year ago. It took over my life. In the end, I was invaded and lost the village I cared for lovingly for months.

The game? Tribal Wars. My son-nut has convinced me to join once again, which I did, contrary to any sense I may have.

My hub-nut is a major player on World 23. He's been playing for quite some time and has amassed a significant collection of villages. I suspect it's his management skills that have allowed him to prosper, where I had failed miserably. However, he started a new village on my world, and is giving me advice, so maybe I'll last longer than last time. The family who plays together...

Bah Humbug

I must confess I prefer Halloween to Christmas.

The best part about Halloween is it's a cheap holiday - typically, there is only snack foods and candy involved.

Christmas is quite another story. Every year I swear I'm not going to drop a cartload of cash, and every year I fail miserably.

So far, I've purchased these for my niece - I've always wanted a set, and so I'm foisting my regret on her. I've also purchased this for my son - the story behind this is he is taking Turkish as a language this year. It will only serve a practical purpose if he decides to work for the FBI.

My favorite gift buying is for our white elephant exchange - I pride myself on finding the most tacky and useless items for less than $5. I plan on ordering some items from the Archie McPhee catalog. Our family likes to fight over items during this exchange.