cool gifts i got

i bitched yesterday about the stuff i got from my inlaws.  actually, i got really cool gifts this year.  hubby got me a onion wizard that really does chop onions.  i suppose someone like anthony bourdain would call me a pussy for using a gadget like that instead of chopping onions by hand, but i really do hate chopping onions.  hubby also got me beautiful beeswax candles.  a moon, an angel, and a big pillar.  i'll never burn the moon or angel but i love beeswax candles and i'm touched that he thought enough to get them for me.  mom got me a gorgeous table runner with shamrocks appliqued on it.  that and a tartan library wrap from an irish catalog i gave her.  i didn't even hint - she just got them.  she also got us a big wok pan since ours has been peeling teflon for ages (i stopped using it months ago.  i wonder if half my health problems aren't from ingesting teflon).  mom's the yoda of gift giving.

i did quite a bit of cleaning around the house, and already i can feel the fung shui working in the house.  i feel lighter or something.  i cleaned out the boy's toys that he doesn't play with (they'll go up in the attic later) and cleaned out the step basket that i don't think i touched in over a year (i found wrapped nickels from the lady who has been gone for 18 months).  the whole upstairs needs a royal swiffer job and general cleaning, which we'll do on saturday.  sunday we can get the dining room ready for new years.  i put the new table runner on the coffee table and took a doily off the end table (it was part of a set - it's twin was on the coffee table.)  i also decorated a little tree i got at wallyworld for my little snoopy ornaments - it now sits on the breakfast bar (where a fish tank was going to go) and looks really cute.  it's red, so i can decorate it for valentines day.  i should have bought a silver or white one - i could use it for all holidays - red is limiting.  oh well.  

i have been totally grooving on music by the scissor sisters and venus hum.  i know venus hum from a song they did with blue man group.  kick ass video for soul sloshing.  i miss videos.  do they still show them on tv?  mtv and vh-1 don't show anything remotely musical anymore.  i used to watch alternative on vh-1 classic but i haven't seen it in ages.  i also got a free song on itunes from the mary onettes.  they are the coolest band in the world.  

i guess that's it. it's late and i'm tired. i still haven't caught up on the sleep i lost yesterday. hopefully we got all the meeses, and the traps won't wake me up again. i have cotton balls soaked with ammonia all over the first floor corners. supposedly mice hate the smell of ammonia and stay away. tried to find oil of peppermint but the health store was out. i hope it works.