It smells like a freshly opened pack of Smarties

Over the last several years I have become very much into scented hand lotion. My favorite brand is Hempz. I love my hand lotions to have delicious smells: my work bottle is Pomegranate, my upstairs bottle is Exotic Green Tea & Asian Pear, and the kitchen bottle is the Triple Moisturizer, which I think smells like Smarties.

This is a topic of blog because I was waiting for my tea to heat up at work and had just washed my hands, so I took some of the Nivea lotion in the kitchen there. So. Gross. It smelled like ... *lotion.* No cool smell, no vaguely incompatible wording as the flavor, and no smooth consistency. And let me tell you, when you put on a lotion you don't like the smell of, that smell LASTS. It took at least three hand washes throughout the morning, and my own lotion applied after that, to get the basic lotion smell off my hands. Nothing makes you appreciate a good smell more than having to tolerate a not-good smell.

I also really like the L'Occitane "lavande" flavor, too. Those are my two brands that I like the best for hand lotion. There. That's all.

But we already WANT one!

I just saw a television ad for the PlayStation 5 console and it made me angry. I'm angry because here they are, trying to drum up business for their new console. A console that even the most dedicated of PlayStation fans can't get their hands on, and they're trying to get MORE people interested in buying one. Not like you have very many gamers who are like, "Oh, okay, yeah sure, I think maybe I'll get one of those." But honestly, do you need to find so many more people to be psychotic about finding the console?

I check my Target app and my Best Buy app several times a day at random times throughout the day, and both apps have yet to even tease me with a console being available at all. I'm so used to seeing "Out of Stock" and "Sold Out" on each of those apps that I may just not even notice when either of those statuses changes.

My initial hope was to have the console in time for Christmas. Now I'm not even sure if I'll have it in time for Brian's birthday in February. But I keep checking. Me and all the other yahoos that Sony just convinced to buy a PlayStation 5 with their very annoying ad.

Ready to rock and roll, I think!

So it's time to say "Happy New Year," right? Here it is, the first day of a new year, and a year of renewed optimism for the future ahead of us right now. Indeed, there is a vaccination coming our way some time relatively soon, and the light at the end of our tunnel is just out of reach. But we're getting there.

As for me, I'm formulating my list of EXPECTATIONs, and will be ready to share those with you in the next couple/few days. Right now though, I'm enjoying a visit from my cousin who lives in Virginia. We had a delightful day today, have an activity tomorrow, as well as something planned for Sunday and Monday. Sydney also is having a good time with Jessica and her daughter, which makes me happy because Sydney doesn't really know my family at all. And today she met my cousin and she sees how fun family can be to hang out with. Or at least see how much fun *I* can have hanging out with *my* family.

Today we visited the Phoenix Zoo, and objectively, it was a fantastic day to visit the zoo. It was cooler in the morning when we got there, and the animals were awake, moving around and being more charming and photogenic than they have in a very long time, if ever. I told Shyloh that she was our good luck charm for seeing moving and engaging animals at the zoo. I mean, really, the coyotes and mountain lions and wolves were active! So cool!

As for my household plans for this weekend, I bought a sage bundle at a spiritual shop nearby to smudge my house for the new year, and Sydney and I are eager to get it done. I watched a couple videos on how to do it, and in them, I saw that most of the instructors had abalone shells to hold and tamp out the sage. Amazingly, I actually have an abalone shell in my house, so I should be able to conduct the ritual quite by the book. I'll let you know how that goes.

I also want to take my tree down and get it outside, and maybe do some more home organizing. It's time for Mom's room to become a way station for things to be donated or tossed, so my house soon will be cleansed both spiritually and materialistically.

Yes, I said it, "Comforting eye food."

One of my new favorite movies is Guy Ritchie's "The Gentlemen." It's smart, clever, funny, and has just the right amount of violence and blood. I knew the first time I saw it that I would become a favorite, and it has not disappointed. What makes me say this now? Showtime has had the movie on regular rotation for the last month or two, and it's been an ideal repeat viewing. And I'm watching the ending of it right now. I can catch it at any point and sit for the rest of it.

I have a tendency to watch movies over and over, and this is just the latest in the list of movies that have joined that illustrious tier. No matter what, I'm in. Other movies on the list? Just a few to entertain you: "Predators," "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword," "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and "Apollo 13." There are others, of course, but "Predators" and "Legend of the Sword" happen to be on my DVR right now.

Movies are like comfort food to me. Comforting eye food.

"Is he, though?" Perfection.

An update on the leg waxing because I'm sure you all are super interested. It's working. I'm going every four weeks, and the today's visit revealed less hair to wax. This is a positive development, for sure, and I'm cautiously optimistic that I won't need it anymore after the year of waxes I've already paid for.

I've also done more wrapping tonight, and organized some more stuff. Three of my packages arrived today, so I'm feeling hopeful that everything else might arrive soon-ish. Also, I'll share with you that one of my favorite movies to watch while wrapping is "Thor: Ragnarok." I watched it today, and I love it as much as I ever have. Taika Waititi is brilliant, and Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Ruffalo are fantastic. Valkyrie is amazing. And I love that Karl Urban has a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's an excellent background music to my Christmas preparations.

Hot tea and late mail

I didn't even roll the dice with a coffee today, so stuck with my more reliable drink, a hot tea. One for breakfast and one for afternoon tea, and they were both made perfectly perfect because they were made by me for me. The ideal hot beverage.

I just read an article about the United States Postal Service being gridlocked and overwhelmed for the holiday, and that is giving me anxiety. I have a few packages on their way to me with "In Transit" statuses, and I'm super nervous about them getting here on time. My email inbox is a cauldron full of shipping confirmations that can't tell me anything right now. Ugh.

Once is unfortunate. Twice? Comical.

OMG, it was a day of unfortunate coffee incidents.

When Christmas shopping at the mall, I always reward myself with a mocha at Nordstrom. They have a different kind of chocolate that I like the taste of. First, the order, "Decaf, large, nonfat mocha with whip." My standard mocha recitation. The girl asked me if I wanted an americano or regular. I replied that I wanted decaf. She said that they don't make decaf, so it'll be an americano. I'm bugged at this point, because I had the exact coffee drink that I ordered just six days ago, at that exact location. The barista explained that she could make it but it would be a special brewing, so it'll take five minutes. Fine.

Five minutes later, I have my mocha. Sydney and I go straight to the car so she can enjoy her pretzel and me my mocha without masks. Her pretzel is fine; my mocha HAS NO CHOCOLATE in it. I'm incensed. Did they do it wrong on purpose because I ordered my coffee properly? We'll never know.

Disappointed by my mocha from Nordstrom, I decide to replace it with a peppermint mocha from Starbucks. When the small-market coffee shop gives you lemons, the mass-market coffee machine will give you lemonade, right? I knew that the peppermint mocha would be fine because they are corporately mandated to make it exactly the same way every time. We stopped at my friendly neighborhood Starbucks, waited in line, made my purchase, and because it was piping hot, I waited a couple minutes before sipping. Hey, guess what. Not only NO CHOCOLATE, but NO PEPPERMINT. I'm stunned into laughing. I stirred the "peppermint mocha" to be sure it wasn't just separated, and alas, what I have in my hand is a latte. An expensive latte that is devoid of flavor in every way.

Two mochas ordered and paid for, and I was deceived by lattes. Not. Cool.

I was busy, if homebound, on this Sunday

Things I did today:

I wrapped Christmas presents, and got them under the tree. I still have several incoming from various locales, but what I've got, I've got ready for the big day.

I ate some cookie dough that my husband put almond extract in. I did not enjoy this. I hate, hate the flavor of almond extract, but especially in baked goods, and most especially in anything I did not expect it to be in. Two things about this: I did not know we *did not* have any vanilla extract in the house and I expect that if I go looking for it, I will find it; and I did not know that we *did* have almond extract and I may toss that out immediately when I'm alone in my kitchen.

I did not leave my house at all. Brian went and got lunch, and made dinner at home. I didn't even go outside today. I was a comfy homebody.

I helped with a history final project. I hadn't planned on it, but I was needed, and we got it done. She's a good kid; she just needs some direction and focus. Brian and I were helpful.

I froze. I have been cold all day, and have had a hard time warming up. I hope I'm not catching something, because this is a bad time for that, but I did double dose my Vitamin C, and will be doing that for the next several days. I'm going to bed early tonight, too.

I watched "Expendables 3." Because only watching the first two this weekend was not an option.

"The Expendables" is super explode-y

Actually, really watched "The Expendables" and "The Expendables 2" tonight. Brian would not let me start "The Expendables 3," because it was too much man-murder-testosterone-blood-puns-guns for one night. I was disappointed, but I did record "3" so I can watch it tomorrow.

Also tomorrow, I shall begin wrapping presents. I did some more shopping today, and have more orders coming, but I have enough already to get started, for sure. And since my Patriots aren't playing tomorrow, I really don't have anything to make me be anywhere other than the room where the Christmas happens. (The room where it happens, the room where it happens...)

I did find one of the presents that I had bought at one place for cheaper at Target though, so that's an issue. I bought it, of course. The gift is still on order, and will probably be shipped in the next couple days, but once it gets here, it will be returned immediately. I mean, $15 is $15, right?

Sleeping in is a good thing!

I'm looking forward to not waking up to an alarm tomorrow morning. There's something so decadent about sleeping in a nice, warm bed when it's cool in the house, and not having to brave the coolness until you want to... or have to pee. And it's even better when I'm not staying up too late the night before. So tonight is the normal 11 p.m. bedtime, and no alarm tomorrow. All good things.

Also, my dogs got groomed today so my bedmates smell good.

So I'm having a wonderment about my handwriting dystonia issue. I'm thinking that, since the botox didn't work properly, and the whole problem is the arm muscle that's always tensed, that maybe some form of forced relaxation may help make it better. I have a couple thoughts on that. First, perhaps one of those handgun massagers. They seem super violent, but also like they are efficient and purposeful.

My second thought is acupuncture. I did actually google acupuncture and dystonia, and it was a positive search, in that the acupuncture worked for some dystonia, just not specifically the one that I have. So I'll be the guinea pig for that one. I've asked around and no one in my circle here knows an acupuncture technician, so again, I'll be the guinea pig, I guess. I'm at the mercy of Yelp and Google reviews, I suppose.

I'm thinking I'll start with the massage gun though, and then move on to the acupuncture as my second self-diagnosed solution. I have figured out how to fix it. Let's see if either one of them work.

Making my list, which seems to be ongoing

I spent a lot of time on Christmas today. My afternoon was pretty well consumed with organizing what I've already got, ordering what I need, and realizing where the big gaping holes in my list are. My first act was to dig through all the bags and shopping that I'd already done, and organize it into piles for my people. Happily, I discovered that I was better along than I thought.

Still, there is work to be done.

No, I didn't get my cards addressed.

Cooper got his first allergy shot yesterday, and the results in his behavior and comfort have been pretty remarkable. He'd been licking his feet, scratching his ears, and itching his butt on the floor. After he got his shot, he hasn't done a single one of those things. Last night, we had our first full-night sleep without being awakened by his licking and scratching. And I've got to tell you, I feel like Cooper is feeling so much better. He just seems so relaxed and chill, and comfortable. I'm horrified with how long he's been irritated by the allergies before I made the decision to get him his shot.

This will not happen again. Allergy shots for everyone!

ITEM!: Only 15 days until Christmas.

ITEM!: First and foremost, I need to tell you that I got more envelopes at Walgreens this morning. The associate at the front was very helpful, exasperated that I didn't get all my envelopes the first time, and was quick to hand over the extra ones I needed. So, that fixed that. I have no motivation to address them tonight though, so that task will wait another day or two.

ITEM!: I'm watching an HBO documentary, "The Mystery of D.B. Cooper." HBO does an amazing job with their documentary films, and this particular subject is intriguing to me. It's been sitting on my DVR for a few days, and for whatever reason, tonight is the night. I'm interested because they just said that there are several key suspects. I feel like this is going to get super cool and interesting.

ITEM!: When Brian and I were at the mall yesterday, we visited a pastry, cookie, sweets shop. We stocked up on cookies, for certain. I'm always a sucker for a snickerdoodle, and when I saw one there, it was my first request. Brian chose a molasses one, and then we bought a package of day-old cookies, which included chocolate chip, s'mores, almond glaze and frosted sugar. We haven't dug into those yet, but I have definitely tasted my snickerdoodle. And it is so, so delicious! I'm eating it in parts, so I still have about 30 percent of it left, and while I'd like to say that I'm savoring it, every time I eat a piece, I end up eating another piece.

This is not my card, but I do like it quite a lot

I'm in a bit of a snit right now.

I ordered my Christmas cards from Walgreens; two orders of 20. Which, if my math is correct, is 40 cards. With those 40 cards, one would expect there to be 40 envelopes.

Well, not today, Satan. Today, I have 22 envelopes for my 40 cards. I was all ready to address my envelopes and fill them with cards, but now I can't do it yet. I'm adding Walgreens to my list of stops tomorrow, and hoping that I don't get anyone trying to tell me that I actually did get 40 envelopes.

I have the time, of course, because I don't have my Christmas stamps yet. (Mom orders those for me.) But I do want them addressed as soon as I can get it done, because any task that's finished now is no longer on my still-to-do list, which in itself is quite overwhelming.

This kind of hiccup is annoying.

Damn, those iPhones can take a picture

This one of the famous Cabazon Dinosaurs, and as you can see, he's dressed for the holidays. Usually, on most days, he's painted a more "dinosaur-y" green, and without the Santa suit. We were surprised to see him in a Santa suit when we drove up, but were even more surprised to see that the suit is painted on him. That seems like a big use of random resources, but I guess if they were going to paint him a very un-dinosaur-like green anyway, they might as well throw on the Santa suit for a couple weeks first.

Anyway, when we drove past him on our way out to California, it was dark, and Sydney said, "Mom, I think the dinosaur is in a Santa suit!" We decided that no matter what, we'd be stopping on our way back. And quite obviously, we did just that. And it was totally worth it in every way.

This really is a great picture with the bright blue sky behind him.

Excited for a not-dismal season after all

When Tom Brady left the Patriots at the end of last season, I had little to no hope for a decent season this year. When the Patriots signed Cam Newton I had perhaps more faith than I should have that we'd have a better than decent season this year. Alas, my team is not performing well.

During that weird, quiet offseason, before Cam was signed, Brian and I had a conversation in which he said that the Pats would go 4-12 for the season, but I said that we'd at least go .500 for the year. I am excited to announce that we are quite far into the season, with only four more games to play, and the Patriots are 6-6. We may not end the season with an 8-8 record or better, but at least it won't be as dismal a record as 4-12. Already, the Pats and I have won something: Brian's having to admit that he didn't give them enough credit to do some damage this season, and that *I* was right.

Brian's other question for me based on my team's performance this year, when I'm going to be ready to cancel our NFL Sunday Ticket. I'm not sure, but I'll hang on and spend the expense for another couple years. If they're in the toilet for a couple in a row, it may be a line item that gets deleted from the budget. I'll only get to watch the nationally televised games then. Who knows how that will go...