The T0-DON'T List

A friend of mine posted her To-Do List for her blog entry this morning. You can read it here. I commented to her that I think it might be easier and shorter (for me) to just do a To-Don't list. This would mean I could check off everything I need to do (but won't) and actually accomplish something.

Okay, so that really doesn't make much sense, but the point that I was trying to make is - my list of to-do stuff is SO long right now there is no way I could possible get all of it done.

Example: Remember the confession about the Christmas tree? Well, the hubby wrangled the poor old thing out the door, but my nutcracker collection is still sitting on the mantel. I suspect they are planning a coop or whatever else nutcrackers do when they are left by themselves for too long. I'm sure the fine layer of dust they are gathering on their headpieces and torsos isn't helping their dispositions any. But....will I be able to get them back in their boxes and put away today?

Nope. So...I could (in theory)...put them on my to-do list and not get it done...or....I could put it on my To-Don't list and at the end of the day - mark it off the list. Now it makes sense....right?

Today's To-Don't List:

Don't put the nutcrackers away (there's really only a little over 10 months before Christmas and they'll be back out anyway).

Don't wash the towels (really...isn't it kind of fun seeing how many small hand towels one can use to get dry?)

Don't stop by the grocery store to get something for dinner (you know you would rather eat out anyway)

Don't get anything else done today either (check, check...and....CHECK)

All I Really Want To Do Is Take a Nap on the Couch

It's almost 12:30 and I have a lot of things I NEED to do today, but all I actually want to do is take a nap on the couch.

This might have something to do with the fact that the skies are gray and it looks like it is quite cold outside, but I bet if I check the thermometer - it will actually be in the high 50s or even 60s...

...Yep...my trusty iPhone app says it is actually 55 - which is a bit cool, but no complaints here.

Anyway, the biggest thing on the list today is....(ready for this?) TAKE DOWN THE CHRISTMAS TREE!

Yes, it is still up (why it is up is a long story best kept for another time, but trust me there is actually a good reason this has happened).

It is....make that...was...a live tree, so as you can imagine it is shriveled and dry. A rather sad looking thing that is way past its prime. I did finally get the lights and decorations off, but it still sits in front of the window and if any one comes to the house I'm sure they will wonder..."what the h***?"

I also have stocking hung by the chimney with care (uh...make that...dust gathering) and a row of nutcrackers spread across the mantle that seem to be waiting for Groundhog day.

All of which acquire my attention. They need to be stuffed back into their boxes and totes and stores beneath the staircase to await next Christmas. The problem is....I'm just not that motivated. I want to sit on the couch (or try that nap) and think about things for a little while or maybe read a book or....anything that doesn't require a lot of movement or work.

In the end, I will probably succumb to getting some lunch, grocery shopping and dragging the tree through the living room and out the door. My nap and lost moments in though will just have to wait.

I'm back!

So...here we are in 2012 and I still have no clue what direction I want to go with this blog. I think about sharing some of the more intimate details of my life with you and I can't decide if I want to go there. Or...if you would even want to hear about it if I did.

I think about devoting this blog to all about eBay, but it doesn't feel like that kind of blog. I think about doing the "subject a day" idea and then have to remind myself that I have failed miserably on that in the past. I forget what day we are talking about what and then if I do remember, I want to write about something else instead.

Meanwhile, days go by and I put off writing because I can't think of anything to say. Which...if you knew me...you would laugh because I rarely don't have anything to say. Except here....where I'm struggling. Really, really struggling.

Whatever the case...I'm going to try to devote some time here in the next couple of weeks and hopefully decide where this is going...or if it's not going....which sometimes I think about that too.

Anyway, I'm back and if you're reading this I'm glad you're still here.

Time For a Break

I've decided to put this blog on hiatus until Janaury. There are just too many things going on right now and I think I need to focus only on certain things until it slows down a bit.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and prosperous 2012!

See you next year!

It's Monday! All...Day....Long....

This weekend was fairly uneventful as far as weekends go, but here it is Monday and I am SO not ready to get with it and get to work. I have three eBay packages to ship, calls to make, work to do at the new job, and a lot of other stuff that needs to be done.

Am I doing any of this though?

No.

Instead, I have been sitting here reading emails and finally decided to update this blog because I really don't want start hunting for a box - which is actually what I need to be doing right now. Said box - will hold a print that I sold to someone in Florida. They have already instructed me on how to package it (which I hate when people do that) and my enthusiasm for getting it in the mail to them in a quick and prompt manner is SO not there. Besides...they took about four days to pay me. You would think I could take as long to ship it to them....but we all know that eBay doesn't work that way.

In case you can't tell - I have have the Monday Blahs or the Bah Humbugs. Maybe both. In either case - I guess I better finish this and get moving. Now...if I can just figure out how to run an IV line from the coffee pot to my arm....I'll be all set.....

Christmas In the Air....Music Everywhere....but Here...

I'm going to try to put up some holiday decorations today. I have to confess, however, that my heart is not really in it.

I don't remember when the last time was that I have actually enjoyed this time of year. It's always too rushed. My beginning of the year expectations have all crashed and burned, money always seems to be too tight, and then there is the "dealing with the In-laws."

I'm not sure how the in-law thing is going to work this year though. We normally have a get-together this weekend, but my sister-in-law (who does the planning) remarked that she didn't think we were having one this year. Since she plans the event....I'm not sure what's up with that? I suspect that my other sister-in-law has informed the group that she is not participating because of me.

You may recall back in May that she and I had words at her mother's birthday party. If you don't recall...well, we did and she apparently said some rather unpleasant things about me to my husband...so that may have something to do with the cancellation of the festivities.

Anyway, I'm not 100% in the "Grinch-mode," but I'm not loving those J-I-N-G-L-E Bells either. Instead, there is sort of a "let's get this thing over with" feeling that has me eyeing January 2nd with anticipation. I want that clean slate. I want that opportunity to start things again. And this time....I want to do it all differently. We'll see....

Chicken World: Food Review in Dallas, Georgia

Review Rating: Two Fish

I've been wanting to try my hand at a restaurant review and the opening of CHICKEN WORLD in Dallas, Georgia gives me a chance.

Having heard nothing but good things about this restaurant on P.com - I was excited to try this place which boasts of incredibly large, meaty Chicken Fingers and the best marinated grilled chicken salad...because... "It's a Chicken World, Baby!"

Well, first the good news. If the size of your chicken fingers matter, then Chicken World is going to make you very happy. Chicken World's fingers are HUGE and just the right amount of crispiness to make for a perfect chicken finger. Sauce for the the fingers are the typical flavors (honey mustard, house, ranch...) and come out in little cups. However; there isn't quite enough sauce in that little cup to make it through eating two chicken fingers because they only fill the little cups about 1/4 full. By the time I was on my second chicken finger, the sauce was depleted from my cup and I was having to steal from my husband's.

To make this a fair "fight" between Chicken World and Zaxby's (which is right up the street) I ordered 2 Fingers and 4 Wings and 2 Other Things - which is comparable to Zaxby's Wings and Things. Meanwhile, the Hubby got the Chicken Finger Plate, which had 5 (I think?) fingers, slaw and french fries. Oh...my "2 Other Things" consisted of french fries and two cheese sticks, plus I got a piece of Texas Toast and some celery.

As far as the taste of the food, it is fairly comparable to Zaxby's. Some of Chicken World's fans on Facebook think this place tastes better, but I would say they are pretty much equal - just bigger chicken fingers. Way...way bigger....

Price. Well...OUCH! Our meals and drinks were over $17.00. I was a bit in shock over this because I had looked at their Facebook page and remembered a comment about Chicken World's food being cheaper. Which...it was.....on Black Friday when they gave a 25-percent discount. (Score one for Zaxby's)

Atmosphere. It's a new place so everything had that "new" feel to it. The dining area, however, needed some attention. The tables could have used wiping off and the dispensers ran out of ketchup while we were there. At some point during our meal someone turned up the music (which was Christmas Carols) to the point that it sounded like there was a live performance in the next room instead of the reality, which was an iPod on full volume in one of those speaker stands sitting near the restroom.

The big disappointment was in the service. The owner was running the register and was either in a bad mood or had his mind on other things. He was polite, but curt and expected you to understand how the food was going to come out without explaining it to you. You're called up by number, but he didn't bother to tell you what your number was or how to know what your number was. It seemed to be an inconvenience to him to tell me when I had to ask.

There is a bit of a wait for orders to come out, which was understandable since the Dallas Christmas Parade had let out and the place was getting quite busy. But...my order was messed up when it finally did come out. No sauces (blue cheese and honey mustard) for the meal and then once I sat down, I discovered I was missing the two fingers that came with the meal. Since I had already made one trip back up to the counter to get the sauces, I expected an apology when I returned a second time. Instead, I was sort of ignored when I first got up to the counter and then when he acknowledged the order was messed up, I was left in a state of flux. Do I sit down and the chicken fingers will be brought to me or do I stand there at the counter and wait for them to appear? It would have been nice to have been told what was going to happen instead of letting the customer try to figure it out.

Finally, and this really had nothing to do with the business itself, but it would be really nice if parents would tell their children to face THEM instead of the people sitting behind them. The boy behind me spent a good part of his "waiting for the food to arrive" time turned in our direction and was blowing into his drink. Not only did I have to hear this, but the bubbles were actually hitting me on the arm at one point and since this is cold and flu season - I felt a strong need to run to the restroom and slather myself with soap and hot water up to my neck. THEN - once he did turn around - the boy couldn't keep still, which gave the booth that we both shared as it was attached in the middle, the feeling that it was moving throughout my entire meal.

I may try Chicken World again at some point, but I'm not going to be one of the one's crowing about how wonderful this place is. All in all, I prefer the cheaper prices at Zaxby's and the good solid booths in their restaurant that provide separation for diners that prefer not to have other people's beverages spewed or spilled on them.