Hubby kept insisting that he was going to get me something for Christmas. I kept telling him not to, but I looked for something for him just in case he didn’t listen. But as it turned out, neither one of us bought anything for each other.

He said he was going to get me something later, but hopefully he’ll forget about it. The problem is, I really need to get him something. Not just want to, but need to. I’m not talking something optional like New York Yankees tickets here. He desperately needs a new pair of work boots, and he won’t buy them himself. So when I get the money I’m going to get him some, and then he will feel like he has to buy me something.

Why do things have to be so complicated? Why won’t he just realize how badly he needs new boots and buy them himself? I just don’t get him sometimes.

Hubby and I went to his great-aunt’s house a couple of days before Christmas, and her neighbor came over to play cards with us. She brought her digital camera, and was showing me a bunch of pictures of her dog’s birthday party. Yes, that’s right, she had a birthday party for her dog.

I guess some people do that. Maybe a lot of people do that. But to me it just seems weird. I’m a dog lover and all, but of all the dogs I’ve had throughout the years, I don’t think I’ve every thrown a birthday party for one. I’m not sure I’ve even known any of their birthdays.

I suppose it all goes back to how I was raised. When I was young, we always had dogs, but we didn’t keep them in the house. My parents would let my sister’s dog come in sometimes when it was cold out, but most of the time they were outdoors. I finally talked them into letting me get an indoor dog when I was a teenager, and I’m still not sure how that happened. But in most cases, pets just weren’t considered an integral part of the family.

Maybe I’m going about things all wrong. Maybe I should be having parties for our dogs, and letting them invite their friends over for sleepovers. Maybe I should be getting term life insurance quotes on them. Okay, maybe that’s a little extreme, but to me so is a birthday party. To each his own, I guess. If you have the money and want to have a birthday party for your dog, why not?

Have you ever had one of those days where it seems like everything goes wrong? You know it could be far worse, but that’s little consolation? That’s kind of what my Christmas was like.

Actually it started on Christmas Eve. I was expecting a gift that I had ordered for Pumpkin, but the mail ran and it didn’t arrive. So I called Amazon to see what was going on. They said it had been sent by UPS, so I waited around for UPS to run. The time came and went, and still nothing. I didn’t bother calling back, because I knew it would do no good and I had bigger fish to fry. But I was quite disappointed, seeing how I had ordered two days before the deadline for Christmas delivery with free shipping.

Oh well. Time came for Pumpkin to go to bed, and I stayed up because I had to fill her stocking, wrap one last gift, and get the stuff from Santa under the tree. I was feeling rotten, but it was Christmas Eve, and as a parent you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. I ended up vomiting three times before I went to bed, but everything was in place for Christmas morning.

Christmas morning came, and Pumpkin was all excited. I got my digital camera and started snapping pictures as she opened presents, but only managed to get a few before my camera’s memory was full. I have no idea where my memory card is and didn’t feel like looking for it, so I just didn’t bother taking any more. But she was a very happy camper.

She got two DVDs for Christmas, and she wanted to watch one of them. But when we turned on the DVD player, nothing happened. I thought I would let her watch it on my computer, but it decided that it didn’t want to play DVDs (or do much of anything else for that matter) either. So now we’re without a way to watch anything but VHS tapes.

I lay back down when all the excitement was over, but Hubby’s parents wanted us to come eat dinner with them. So I dragged myself out of bed, showered and went. I wasn’t able to eat much, but we sat over there and played cards for a while. I was glad when it was over.

That was my Christmas in a nutshell. I felt bad all week, and I’m still not feeling particularly froggy. I’ve had better Christmases, but I’ve also had much worse.

If you’re a work at home mom, or have been trying to become one, chances are you’ve heard of Alice Seba. She is one of my favorite people in Internet marketing, partly because she’s so smart, and partly because she’s always giving stuff away!

I just caught wind of a couple of promotions she has going on that you might be interested in. First off, she’s giving away an issue of Essential Biz Notes, a publication for her Sweetie Saturday Report Club members. Click here to download the free Essential Biz Notes.

And if you’re interested in getting an informative report from Alice each month, now is the time to give the Report Club a try! She’s offering a $2 one-month trial now through December 31st. Just join here, pay by PayPal, and use coupon code 28CC4.

It rarely fails. Almost every Christmas, someone at my house is sick. A couple of years ago, Pumpkin and I both ate some of that Peter Pan peanut butter that got pulled from the shelves and were sick on Christmas. Last year Hubby wasn’t feeling well, but that wasn’t unusual at the time because of his gall bladder problems. This year, I don’t think any of us are going to be 100%.

Pumpkin had to miss school on Friday. We both went to the doctor, because my sinuses were acting up and hers were as well. She had also vomited Thursday night and Friday morning, but I attributed that to the sinus drainage. If only.

As it turned out, she had a horrible stomach bug that didn’t let up until yesterday. She still doesn’t have her usual voracious appetite, but at least she’s able to get up and play and not hurting constantly. She also has a sinus infection, but the doc said not to give her the antibiotics he prescribed until the stomach bug had run its course. So I’m starting her on those tonight. At least she’ll hopefully be feeling decent enough to enjoy her Christmas, and I’m very glad of that.

He also gave me antibiotics for a sinus infection, but my stomach was feeling a little funny and I decided to wait before I started taking them in case I was getting the bug too. It passed, and I finally started feeling confident enough to take them on Sunday. Then today I started having stomach problems and just generally feeling icky. Oh joy.

I’m hoping it’s just the antibiotics causing the stomach problems. Because I really don’t want to stop taking them. They’re the good stuff (Levaquin, about the only one that works for my sinuses), and I’d hate to turn those nasty little bacteria immune to them and end up in the shape I was in before my surgery. I’m going to keep taking them for now and hope for the best.

Hubby also has a sinus infection that didn’t get killed off by the antibiotics he got for them a few weeks ago, but I can’t get his stubborn butt to go get some more. He has also been complaining with pain in his lower abdomen. That could be a bad thing (like a hernia).

So none of us are feeling especially great right now. I’ve managed to get almost all of the Christmas gifts wrapped already, but I still need to do some shopping. I also have lots of work that I need to get done. But between feeling bad myself and taking care of everyone else, it’s slow going. I just hope Christmas day goes well. I’m stressed to the max, but if Pumpkin has a good Christmas, I’ll be happy.

I was browsing eBay a lot there for a while, looking for deals on things I wanted to get Pumpkin for Christmas. I got her the main thing I was hoping for- a LeapFrog Didj. But I also found myself looking for something that I want (need, actually) for myself: A new computer.

I’d love to be able to go out and pay cash for a brand spanking new Sony Vaio laptop, but that’s not an option. So I’ve been searching for less expensive options. I found a tower that has all the power and features I should need for $299. As much as I would like a laptop, I may have to go with another desktop due to price concerns. I don’t think this one is going to hold out much longer.

There’s no way I can get any kind of computer right now. Maybe when we get our taxes back. I had planned to use that money to pay down the loan on my truck, but Hubby has already staked his claim on enough money to buy a hunting rifle. Maybe I’ll just use some of it for myself too.

At my house, we drink a lot of Pepsi. We switched to caffeine free a few months ago though, because of my and Hubby’s health problems. And it’s good for Pumpkin too. But for three people, we go through a ridiculous amount of it. At least I’m racking up some Pepsi Points.

When I first started saving Pepsi Points, they were offering MP3 players and all sorts of other cool stuff. I had my eye on a nice retro t-shirt. But I read the reviews for it, and they said it ran very small, so I wouldn’t have been able to wear it. So I decided to get a lunch cooler. But by the time I had saved up enough points, they were sold out.

I ended up getting a CD. Now the pickings are even slimmer, but there are still some pretty nice things. The main things that interest me are the CD cases and flash drives, but I may end up getting another CD unless I’ve just got an overabundance of points when I enter all of the ones that are on my computer desk.

The promotion ends December 31st, so if you’ve been saving your points, be sure to redeem them by then. They might not have as much to choose from as they once did, but you might as well get something for free while the getting’s good.

My book giveaway winner is apparently much more industrious than I. I just received an email with her shipping address, only 10 minutes after notifying her! Congrats Deb!

I hope everyone has enjoyed these giveaways. I’m planning on having more, but it will probably be after Christmas and the New Year, when things are less crazy for everyone (myself included). So be sure to subscribe to my feed via RSS or email, or bookmark my blog, so you don’t miss out!

What a week. By some miracle I managed to select the PhotoFiddle gift certificate winner the morning after the giveaway ended, but haven’t gotten around to announcing it until now. Partly because I was waiting for a response to make sure I didn’t have to select an alternate, and partly because it slipped my mind. But the winner has been confirmed and the prize delivered. So without further ado, congratulations Maria!

I didn’t do quite as well with the book giveaway. Pumpkin’s Christmas play was yesterday, and that little change in schedule threw everything into chaos for me (as any change in schedule tends to do). But I finally got to it this morning. The winner has been chosen and notified via email, but I’m awaiting confirmation on that one too. Stay tuned!

Well, I’ve been on my new dose of ADD medicine for a week and a half now, and I can definitely tell a difference. It hasn’t solved all my problems, but it is helping. I rarely nap during the day now, and I can concentrate better. Trouble is, I still often find myself concentrating on the wrong things.

Basically I need to make myself get on task as soon as I sit down at the computer. But I have a hard time doing that. I need to check my email to see if I have new assignments or communications about current ones, so I usually do that first. But then I get emails about other stuff, and before you know it I’m looking at those killer Christmas deals at Amazon or looking for stuff on eBay. Not good.

I still haven’t gotten around to making a daily schedule. I have really got to do that. If I had it down on paper, I think I would have a better chance of sticking with it. Of course sometimes it would have to be altered to accommodate errands and such, but I do think it would help a lot.

At least I have some energy to work with now. It’s not like I’m hooked up to a jumper cable or anything, but more like what you’d expect from a natural supplement like Lipovox. And that in itself is worth its weight in gold. Now if I can just properly direct that energy, I should be good to go.