Domestic Geek

Can't remember where I originally found this, but I had to share:



'Twas the night before Christmas, and oh, I was weary.
My stitching unfinished, my eyes getting bleary.
The stockings weren't finished, the chimney was bare
And I knew that morning soon would be here.

My children and husband were tucked in their beds,
But visions of backstitches ran through my head.
I'd stitched ornaments and presents and gifts by the ton,
And now, I was finally, almost, almost done.

As I poised my needle for one more stitch,
I heard something outside that made my hand twitch.
I jumped up from my stitching and flew to the door
Pressed my eye to the peephole, tiptoe off the floor.

My stitching forgotten, I peered into the night
When suddenly I got a terrible fright.
On my porch appeared Santa, holding his sack
He knocked softly, and I took a giant step back.

I unlocked the deadbolt, and let Santa in
He entered and gave a mischievous grin.
"Hope you don't mind if I come in the door?
Coming down the chimney can be quite a chore."

He said, "You're up late. Still working, I see.
Do you know how tired you're going to be?"
I know, Santa, I said with a sigh
But I'm still backstitching the stars in the sky

And the fields on that stocking look blobby you know,
I need to backstitch the drifts in the snow.
I've been stitching and stitching and stitching, no rest.
I just tried to finish stitching too much, I guess.

"I know what you mean," he said with a smile.
"This is my busiest time of the year, by a mile."
He stooped down by the tree and he opened his sack
And began to pull presents out of his pack.

"I've got some things here I think you might like.
An oak stitching frame and a brand new Ott-Light.
A bundle of floss and a great big mat cutter."
I smiled and felt my heart go a- flutter.

He put down gifts for us all, then waved his right hand
"Go to bed," he said, glancing at my floor stand.
He gave me a wink and stepped out the door.
I just stood there a moment, glued to the floor.

After he'd left, I turned back to my chair
Picked up the stockings and started to stare.
The backstitching was done! The stars lit the sky!
And on my son's stocking, angels sung on high!

I ran to thank Santa for this final gift,
And watched as his sleigh started to lift.
I heard him exclaim as he pulled out of sight,
"Merry Stitching to All, and to all a good night!"

~Author Unknown

I was trying to do some research to find out why we celebrate Thanksgiving a Thursday. I mean, I know why we now we have it on the 4th Thursday of November, but the reasoning I'm finding for why it is on a Thursday at all is lame.

Getting up for work today was a royal pain. I was soooo tired. To make matters worse, there was really nothing to do once I got there. I knew when I left Wednesday that we would have no work, but I couldn't call in or I wouldn't get paid for yesterday. I wandered the building a lot. Most everyone had gone home for the day by the time I got back from lunch. Most of our clients got their work in early so they could have a long holiday weekend, so no new work was to be had. I only managed to drag it out for six hours and then I called it quits. I spent the next 3 hours hanging in a conference room watching television and knitting until Marcus was ready to go.

The good news is that since I actually got to really have a holiday for Thanksgiving, I'm ready for a little Christmas cheer.

Hope everyone out there in American Blogland had a Happy Thanksgiving. For the first time in five years, I didn't have to work on Thanksgiving, so for that I am extremely grateful. Preparing the Thanksgiving meal is one of the highlights of my year. I love to cook, but with just Marcus and I, I rarely get to go all out.

This year's menu included:

• Free range fresh turkey procured from Sunflower Market


• Mashed potatoes and gravy made from this recipe on The Pioneer Woman


• Broccoli/Cauliflower with cheese sauce (the cayenne pepper was a nice addition)


• Shrimp Stuffing (I had to use some stuffing I got at Sunflower since Kellogg's discontinued their stuffing a while back)


• Peas (Marcus always has to have these)


• Buttermilk biscuits


• Corn muffins


• Cranberry Orange dressing


• Pumpkin pie

I had grandiose plans of getting off work this evening and getting a jump on the holiday preparations for tomorrow. *sigh* I should have known better.

I even went in early, made the shopping list of the last few things I needed to pick up on the way home to avoid having to shop anywhere on Friday or Saturday and looked like I was going to be out by 6pm. Then, after everyone in the department had left for the night except me, my supervisor called and told me I needed to work this one job before I left. One of the other operators put it on hold (he shouldn't have, the job is worked the same every danged time it comes in). Of course there was a problem and I needed the supervisor's input and she didn't answer my phone call or email right away. Oh, well.

I was going to bake a cheesecake tonight, but it will have to wait until the weekend.

Happy Binary Day! (11/11/11) According to Think Geek's tweet yesterday, it's the last one until 2100.

There's been all kinds of hoopla about the significance of this day. I bought my lotto tickets today just in case it is a lucky day. I set my alarm on my new iPhone so that I could make a wish at 11:11am and have an alarm set to make another wish tonight. We'll have to see how that all works out.

Marcus was put in touch with the engineer guy that can see if our house can be put on the piece of land we want. Hopefully we'll know something by Monday. Since the people in Hill City have been butt-munches (yes, I have called them worse), we're now looking at a place in Keystone. No details until it all works out (Marcus says he'll write a whole blog post about our ordeal), but we're keeping our fingers, eyes and toes crossed.

In sad news, my college roommate, Angie (whom I went to visit in New Mexico last month), lost her father. He was a really nice man and I know he will be missed. My heart is aching for her and her family right now. She lost her brother earlier this year, as well. I wish there was something I could do for her - I feel so helpless.

I'm so sick of Christmas already. I hate to say that, because I really do love the holiday season, but with stores already decked out in trees and wreaths before Halloween was even here was ridiculous. People have their lights up and on. Even my neighbors put out their decorations today while I was at work - a whole yard full of tacky plastic statues. The commercials are in full swing on the television. The hotel we stayed at in Hill City the last week of October had all of their decorations up. I'm seeing Christmas movies in the programming guide. ENOUGH ALREADY!

What used to make the season magical was its brevity. It started Thanksgiving morning when Santa arrived in the Macy's parade, then you had the full onslaught for a solid month. Christmas carols didn't get old because you only heard them for 4 weeks, not almost 3 months. Now, by the time Christmas morning actually arrives, you've had such an overload that you're over it before it begins. I'm not the only one who believes we shouldn't start the celebrating early - I found an article titled "Just Say No to Early Christmas" while surfing the topic.

I wonder if any studies have been done about the effects of too much Christmas on actual holiday sales. I know I'm less inclined to spend money in stores that are pushing Christmas already. I want to see Fall things - turkeys, leaves, pumpkins, scarecrows...not snowmen, Santas and angels.

First off:




Speaking of holidays, apparently my neighbors can't wait for Christmas. Yes, once again they were busy while I was at work and as I turned onto our street I see that their damned outdoor Christmas decorations are up. I can understand wanting to get the lights on the house while the weather is still warm, but the plastic angels and Santas can wait until after Thanksgiving. Seriously. I want to enjoy Fall and Thanksgiving first, you morons, thankyouverymuch. Sadly, they aren't the only ones. A couple of houses down actually have their lights on. Geez, making me sound like Scrooge here, but one. holiday at. a. time. The season would mean so much more if we'd limit our exposure to it. Same goes for elections. I think campagin season should start 6 weeks before the election. That's it.

That said, tomorrow I'm going to dig out my FALL decorations. Scarecrows, pumpkins and turkeys are all that will decorate this house until December.

So...my 44th birthday is coming up in 23 days. Wow, time flies, huh?

As I get older, I find my desire for "stuff" waning. I'm trying to purge excess junk from my life. I can get music on iTunes, eBooks on Amazon and watch almost any movie or television show I want through Netflix. As my birthday approaches, I'm trying to tactfully address the issue of not wanting more physical "stuff."

If you're a good friend reading this and is trying to figure out what to get me for my birthday, may I suggest a Joann's gift card or a donation to my Paypal account (link in sidebar)? I am starting to build my embroidery business empire. One thing sorely lacking is a space to cut and hoop fabric and to set up my sewing machines. There is an awesome table I want at Joann's, but it is a little pricey. It's the one thing I want right now more than anything (except for a new embroidery machine or digitizing software - but at $10,000 and $1500 respectively, those will have to wait - LOL).