I Got A Hippopotamus For Christmas!

How many people remember the Christmas song "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas"?
John's family thought I was nuts. Until they met me, they had never heard of this song! And it's an OLD song, older than me, so that's not the excuse!
Anyways, it's one of my favorite Christmas songs, I love tormenting everybody and singing it around Christmas. Heck, last year I even had it as a ring tone on my cell phone! LOL!
Judy said she was tired of me always asking for a hippopotamus for Christmas, so this year she got me one of my very own! Isn't he cute?! Now he needs a name. What exactly can I name my hippo? :-)
Merry Christmas

One Of My Favorite Gifts

Ok, before someone starts fussing at me for opening a gift before Christmas, I need to explain.
This was not technically a "Christmas" present, nor was it even a gift for ME.
For our wedding anniversary this year, I didn't know what to get John. I "gave" him a trip to Niagara Falls, but I didn't have anything for him to open. So, I asked my sister to do me a favor. She painted a picture of our house, and I gave it to John for our anniversary. I think it is AWESOME! She did such a fabulous job! I wish I could paint only half as well as her!
So, I gave him the gift, and it stayed in the trunk of my car all of these months! Right after Thanksgiving, I decided to use some of my money from selling purses, and have the painting framed. They told me there was no way in the world it would be done by Christmas. Friday night, we were out shopping, and I thought about the painting. I said "it sure would be nice to have our painting in time for Christmas." When we got home, there was a message on the machine from AC Moore, saying my picture was framed, and ready to be picked up!
Here is the final product.
I LOVE IT!!!!



Thank you sooo much Lee Ann! You are just AWESOME girl!

I temporarily hung it at the bottom of the stair case. I think that's where I want it, but it needs to go up higher.

So, what's everybody doing today, Christmas Eve?

Last minute shopping? Wrapping? Cooking? Baking?

I spent the morning wrapping some last minute gifts (see....I TOLD you I would do that!), filling John & Jingles' stockings, and putting everything under the tree. I turned my back for 2 minutes, and Jingles got into his stocking already! He's got toys all over my floor! Now I am anxious to open everything! Can I open something NOW?! P__L_E_A_S_E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

This evening, John and I are going over to Beaufort South Carolina to spend Christmas Eve dinner at my brother's house. It will be nice. Mark has a house full of grandchildren now! 4 all together! Becca turned 8 in September, Collin will be 7 in January, Jonathan will be 2 in January, and Rey was just born in September, he's 3 months old. It's been a long time since I've been around small kids who are anxious for Santa's arrival, so this should be fun!

I hope everybody has a safe, Merry Christmas. And I hope that ALL of your Christmas dreams come true!

Love Penny & John
and Jingle Bells

A Public Service

My Friend Carol sent this to me via e-mail, and it made a whole lot of sense, so I wanted to pass it along. Think of it as my little public announcement. And "cheers"

To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine.. and those who don't.

As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria. In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. coli) - bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.

However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.

Remember: Water = Poop Wine = Health

Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of $hit.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I'm doing this as a public service.

Christmas Carols!

John and I are big Jeff Dunham fans. And though Achmed is not one of my favorite charachters, this had me laughing my butt off! Which is not pretty, because I still have this stinking cold, so laughing makes me cough, blah, blah, blah, you get the picture.
Merry Christmas!

Think About THIS!

REMEMBER THIS AT CHRISTMAS TIME

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers until after they give birth in the spring.

Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a GIRL!

We should've known... ONLY women would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.

The Fireplace Is Finally Done!

We won't mention how long since John and his parents moved into the house, and how long it took him to finish the fireplace (wink, wink) but it is finally done! And if you ask me, it's beautiful. John still has reservations about it. He thinks it doesn't look right. Email him, and tell him he's crazy. I LOVE the ceramic tiles, they match the furniture almost exactly. Gives the living room the "warmth" that it needed. Now he needs to raise that picture up, because it's way too low. That might take another 7 years. Ha Ha Ha! Just kidding babe!

10 Days Until Christmas!

As the holiday rush begins, I sit here with a miserable cold! Barking my stupid head off, nose running, eyes all glazed over. Such an unattractive site!
I had plans to go shopping today. I know, I know....the malls are a zoo. They were last weekend, and they will probably be worse today. Isn't that's what Christmas is all about (wink). I go out, and fuss that the traffic is the pits, there's no where to park, the crowds are ridiculous, the lines stretch throughout the stores, yadda, yadda, yadda. I don't particularly NEED anything. But, after being at the hospital all week, I just want to get out. I NEED to spend some money! LOL! Maybe I'll have to revert to on-line shopping. That's fun, because you can do it in your jammies, but it's not as fun as fighting with the crowds. I know....I'm a little simple. Maybe it's the Nyquil talking?!
Well.....as all of you guys up north battle the snow and cold to do your shopping, I'll sit here in the comfort of my home, nursing my cold. Hopefully it will be gone by Christmas. I hate being sick over the holidays. Anybody got any chicken soup on the stove?
Later...

Christmas Questions

I found this on another blog, and thought they were cute.
Copy and paste into an email, and let me know YOUR answers.

-Colored lights or white lights on your house or not at all?
No lights on the house. John wouldn't hang any. Bah Humbug! Just kidding babe!
But white lights belong on the house, and colored lights on the tree.

-Hot chocolate or Egg Nog?
Hard question. I like both, but I think hot cocooa would rank higher for me. Especially with Ready Whip on top! And maybe some chocolate sprinkles! MMMMM

-What's your favorite holiday dish?
Grandma Bushilla's meatballs (who nobody knows the recipe for!) Grandma's last Christmas here on earth, mom and I ate so many of her meatballs, we made ourselves sick!

-Does Santa wrap the presents or just sit them under the tree?
No kids here for Santa to visit. But when I was a kid, the gifts from Santa were unwrapped.

-Do you hang mistletoe?
nope, but we have some growing in the trees. Need some?

-When do you put up your decorations?
any time after Thanksgiving

-What's your favorite holiday tradition?
the only "tradition" I used to have was attending church service Christmas Eve night, then drive home the long way, looking at all the pretty lights. Then come home and have egg nog and Christmas cookies. As kids, we always spent Christmas Eve at grandma's, and on the way home, daddy took the long way, looking at all of the lights.

-What's on the top of your tree?
The main tree downstairs has a big bow

-Do you have a nativity displayed through the holidays?
Usually I put one up, but didn't this year. We do have a light-up Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in the front yard.

-Candy Canes, traditional or flavored?
traditional, but I seldom eat them

-What's your favorite holiday goodie to make and share?
any kind of Christmas cookies, or a pumpkin roll

-What's your favorite Christmas song?
"I Want A Hippopautamus For Christmas"

-When did you learn the truth about the "magic" of Christmas?
when my sister was little. I was probably 8 or 9

-Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
most years John & I would open our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve. That was our little holiday of our own

-Is there a special ornament or Christmas decoration that you wouldn't feel like Christmas without?
none that I can think of

-Do you take neighbor gifts/treats to anyone, everyone, a select few?
nope, only family get gifts. Everyone else gets cards

-Is your big meal on Christmas Eve, Christmas morning or Christmas afternoon? Christmas Dinner in the evening?
Don't really know yet. As a kid, mom did picnic food for Christmas Day. She said she didn't want to fight with us to sit down for a formal meal.
Last year, John & I went out for Christmas Eve dinner at a nice seafood restaurant. Then, Christmas Day we went to John's sister's house for dinner around 1pm.

-Snow? Love it? Dread it? Tolerate it?
Only crave it on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. other than that, can't stand the stuff. Sorry John!

-Do you remember a favorite gift?
my Canon EOS Digital Rebel that John got me our first Christmas as husband and wife. Even though he gave it to me in SEPTEMBER!!!!

-What's the most important thing that you must do each Christmas season?
Shop, send out Christmas cards, and make some cookies

-Do you bake Christmas cookies?
Yes, when I have the time - I love baking!

-Do you leave cookies and milk for Santa?
We don't have any little ones, so no cookies for Sanata at our house

-Share a favorite Christmas memory:
I remember all of the Christmas Eve parties at grandma's house. I loved the smell of all the food cooking! I also remember falling asleep unside down in my bed, so I could look at the lights on the eaves of the house.

Just Something To Think About......

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-Aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.

After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms.......

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them...CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:

"With hurricanes, tornadoes, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God OUT of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Would Anybody Up North......

Care for some of our warm weather?!Good Grief Charlie Brown!It's in the upper 70's, sun shinning, and down right HOT!How do you get into the holiday spirit when it's so stinking warm out?! I am ready for some cold weather, a roaring fire, a hot cup of cocoa, big fuzzy slippers, and some serious cuddle time! I am tired of driving around town with the A/C cranked up, and burning up in all of the stores!My Christmas cards are now in the mail. My shopping is done (I think), and I am ready to enjoy the holiday. How is your progress?Care to share a picture of the view outside of your window? Right now, John is washing the 4 wheelers outside of my window. Kinda boring, so I won't bother you with a picture. LOL!

Only 18 Days Till Christmas!

Actually 17, as I write this, it's almost tomorrow.
Not much new to report from this end of the world.
Today I got a hair cut. Wish I had a "before" picture, and share an "after" picture. I need an after picture just so I can figure out how to style it like he did! I am not good at styling my hair. No matter how it gets cut, it always turns out looking the same! I am trying to grow my hair out a bit, so I had my stylist cut it "long". In other words, I paid a bunch of money to get a trim, and shape it up a bit.
John liked it, said it looked "poofy". Let's see how poofy it looks when I get my hands on the brush and blow dryer! LOL!
We are sitting here watching Mr Bean's Holiday. The only thing I can say about it is, SAVE YOUR MONEY! Don't waste your time or money on this one!
Last weekend we watched I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry. Now THAT was a great movie! I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time! But, if you feel like you must see Mr Bean, let me know, you can have my copy! BLECK!
Well........I've bored everybody long enough, let me let you get back to life.