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Post by barb43 on Dec 16, 2023 3:08:56 GMT
It occurs to me that I haven't seen any Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes (or any of the other Holiday themed Little Debbie cakes) in any of our local stores this year. Y'know, I haven't seen any either. Wonder what's up with that? I'm not a big Christmas person, but I usually get into a pretty good mood watching the holiday happen around me, and I enjoy what little bits I do participate in ... so this year has struck me as strange. There's not as much pizazz, not as many decorations and other hoopla. There's "supposedly" a truckload of gift-buying going on everywhere you look, but the joy, the upbeatness of people out doing whatever they're doing, the "Oomph!" that bursts out of everything everywhere from October 1st till December 26th, when the after-Christmas sales hit the stores -- I'm not seeing it, not feeling it. I'm still enjoying what I'm doing, I'm just saying there's a whole layer of 'something' missing, and that layer contains real things like no Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes, and no jelly donuts, and no Brie cheese, and fewer selections of winter clothing on the shelves (where are the sweatshirts & sweaters?), and not nearly as many company Christmas parties and small town get-togethers to carol and go on hay rides as in past years. There's just so much missing. Can't 'quite' put my finger on it. I know how much the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in my life, day in and day out. But could this malaise and dreariness really be due to the fact such a high percentage of people no longer hold a biblical world view? So what is it they're celebrating? And, of course, I don't know how shortages of Christmas Tree Cakes, sweaters, and hay rides factor into that.
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Post by barb43 on Dec 16, 2023 4:41:29 GMT
I ran over to Sam's Club after work this evening. I don't shop there often, and even when I do, it's unusual that I buy anything more than 1 or 2 items on special. Still, it's fun to wander around inside, maybe grab an all beef hotdog. This evening, I found great deals on a 19-oz round of Brie, a 6-box pkg of turkey Stove-Top stuffing, and (an incredibly low-priced) big bag of wavy potato chips. <-- Those items were all impulse buys. I really just went in there for a big jar of black peppercorns and a double pack of large jars of creamy peanut butter. Yes, I was a happy shopper! We had a new tenant moving into the 2-bedroom apartment complex this evening and the electric company wanted an outrageous amount of deposit from her to turn on the electricity. I turned it on for her in the company name - we can do that for a week or two, at the most. What was so humorous was the old gal who was working on setting up the account turned into a barracuda just as she was supposed to flip the switch and remotely turn on the power. She accused me of lying to her that I had the authority to set up the account. She demanded I pay a deposit and I said we've had numerous electrical accounts and have never had to pay a deposit. She got even uglier. I told her never mind, I'd take it up with my boss & see what she wanted to do. I went in the kitchen & cooked up some dinner then got back on the phone & got somebody else on the line who knew how to work with a property management company and we got the account set right up with no problems. Plus we had a good time talking about satellites and solar storms for a few minutes. It's really been a nice evening around here. Sleep well, and I'll see y'all tomorrow.
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Post by M. Hawbaker on Dec 16, 2023 10:38:48 GMT
Good morning! It is a chilly 34 degrees here this morning with a wind chill of 26. Our forecast for this weekend is calling for the possibility of storms with up to 4 inches of rain between late this evening and early Monday morning. Last night, I was dreaming about searching for the Christmas tree cakes. I couldn't even find any in my dreams. There's just so much missing. Can't 'quite' put my finger on it. I know how much the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in my life, day in and day out. But could this malaise and dreariness really be due to the fact such a high percentage of people no longer hold a biblical world view? So what is it they're celebrating? And, of course, I don't know how shortages of Christmas Tree Cakes, sweaters, and hay rides factor into that. I've noticed too that the Christmas season feels different this year. I just can't seem to get into the Christmas spirit this year like I usually do. I've basically had a case of the Holiday blues all month.
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Post by M. Hawbaker on Dec 16, 2023 13:39:47 GMT
Now that the Sun is up, I can see that the car has a heavy coat of frost on it this morning.
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Post by M. Hawbaker on Dec 16, 2023 16:01:20 GMT
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Post by barb43 on Dec 16, 2023 18:02:24 GMT
Happy Saturday! It's a bright, sunny 53 at present. Not expected to get much warmer this afternoon. Those little girls look like they're having fun with their decorating project. One thing I'm enjoying this season is the Amazon commercial with the 2 beautiful llamas. That's a cute song that plays, too. I couldn't figure out what the singer said after "donde", so I was singing, "Mamacita, donde la, la, la". I asked our receptionist yesterday, because she's a native speaker, what was being said? She cracked up laughing & sang the first part to me & "donde esta Santa Claus" made sense ("where is Santa Claus?")! She said I gave it a good try, adding the "la, la, la's". Lol She grew up in Puerto Rico in her young childhood years. She sang along with that song every Christmas season. ¿Mamacita, donde esta Santa Claus? ¿Donde esta Santa Claus And the toys that he will leave? ¿Mamacita (ooh), oh, where is Santa Claus? (Ohh) I look for him because (ooh) it's a Christmas Eve (ooh)
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Post by barb43 on Dec 16, 2023 18:09:00 GMT
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Post by M. Hawbaker on Dec 16, 2023 18:27:03 GMT
One thing I'm enjoying this season is the Amazon commercial with the 2 beautiful llamas. That's a cute song that plays, too. I couldn't figure out what the singer said after "donde", so I was singing, "Mamacita, donde la, la, la". I asked our receptionist yesterday, because she's a native speaker, what was being said? She cracked up laughing & sang the first part to me & "donde esta Santa Claus" made sense ("where is Santa Claus?")! She said I gave it a good try, adding the "la, la, la's". Lol She grew up in Puerto Rico in her young childhood years. She sang along with that song every Christmas season.
I like that commercial too, but I hadn't picked up on the fact that it was for Amazon.
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Post by barb43 on Dec 16, 2023 20:05:18 GMT
I like that commercial too, but I hadn't picked up on the fact that it was for Amazon. Same here - I had to specifically watch for it to come on so I could see what was being advertised.
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Post by M. Hawbaker on Dec 16, 2023 22:08:27 GMT
I got some Chinese takeout for supper this evening.
Now I'm just relaxing at home and trying to find something worth watching on TV.
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Post by M. Hawbaker on Dec 16, 2023 22:23:02 GMT
I really don't like this time of year when it is so dark by 5PM.
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Post by barb43 on Dec 16, 2023 23:51:21 GMT
Miami of Ohio vs Appalachian State - the game is being played at Univ of Central Florida stadium in a pouring down rain that has been unrelenting. App State is winning by 4 points with about 2-1/2 minutes left in the game. I think there have now been 12 fumbles in this rainstorm. Soon as this game ends, I'm going to whip up a batch of Hamburger Helper Potato Stroganoff for dinner.
Well, App State just won, 13 to 9 against Miami of Ohio.
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Post by barb43 on Dec 17, 2023 0:25:35 GMT
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Post by barb43 on Dec 17, 2023 2:42:39 GMT
Okay, now I'm watching the California Golden Bears vs the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Independence Bowl. The Red Raiders re-ally need to get it together and play solid football, not the mad middle-schooler games where guys are pushing each other around for no good reason. I'm cheering for the Red Raiders, and I hope they'll smooth out their runs and passes and put some points on the scoreboard before halftime.
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Post by M. Hawbaker on Dec 17, 2023 9:03:57 GMT
Good morning! It is 40 degrees here this morning with 2 to 4 inches of rain in the forecast for today through tomorrow morning. Hope you all have a great day!
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