Nutz. Why do all the work parties have to be at 3:00? I mean, dude....I only work until ...1.20 (although today Tim managed to drag me in at 8:25)....still, even if I made up that time that only brings me to 2:00. I would still have an hour to kill before the party. Besides, what does the party have to offer? Some appateasers? A few lame drinks? Yeah...screw that. I don't need it. I can have my own goodie by making some cheese ball crackers (munch munch -- gooood).

Last night after I made my post, we actually ended up just going to bed. Yep, nothing was played but slept was had. I guess we are set for another night of fun later this week. We don't have any plans for this weekend....so maybe then. We were tired and it seemed like a good idea. I love treating myself to early bedtimes. Besides, I was overfull from the dinner I didn't need to eat of minced fish sandwiches (shurefine battered fish) and veggies.

Well wait, we are going to have an afterwork beer at the Come Back Inn with Oliver at 5:00 tonight. Then we have to go home and catch the season finale of Battlestar Gallatica (how can that be the season finale though....it only came on in October...that is barely three months! are they going to make us wait another 8 effin' months before we get new stuff?!...cCome on already.

That means there is nothing on TV for me to watch. I did watch the Lost Room miniseries on Scifi this week and quite intrigued with the idea, but very disappointed in the ending. I went to the scifi forum to see what others thought (since I know none of my friends give two shakes about any of my scifi interests until a couple seasons later when it's old and boring), and they agreed too. Too many unanswered questions. Many seemed to think scifi was baiting us to see if we would be interested in that as series because Stargate SG1 is on it's last season. I dunno, it might be true. That is how Battlestar got its start...as a miniseries. But the difference is, Battlestar as a miniseries was a complete story. Sure there were questions, but they were future questions not questions of the nature of "What the fuck just happened?" I have been getting my overfill of unanswered story lines lately.

I am thinking about what kinds of things I am going to bake. I gotta admit I am not too much in the Christmas spirit this year. I don't know why...I was last year. But I am still young, I need to keep up doing the things: cards, parties, cookies, gifts -- because I need to ingrain [I just had to look up how to spell that....engrain vs ingrain. I spent too much time discovering that engrain, in indeed the wrong spelling for my meaning -- Ingrain: To fix deeply or indelibly, as in the mind.]

As I was saying, I need to ingrain the minds of folk that we do that sort of thing. So that one year when we don't, everyone will wonder "What's going on? What big thing happened to Laura and Tim that we didn't get _____?" Instead of just assuming we are like every other American, who justifies lack of Christmas spirit as: political action (consumerism, marketing, santa, TV blah blah blah), being broke, too busy, or religious reasons.) I mostly hate the reason of "busy." Unless, there is a sickness where you are at the person's bedside the whole time...what am I saying? Nothing. I've lost interest in this rant.

Tomorrow we have kennel days. I don't know why we even bother to go. I mean the place is full of "volunteers" who just want to look at the dogs and take them out for one piddly lap around the field, SLOWLY. At tops that is a five minute walk. These dogs have been in kennels ALL WEEK and they only get a five minute walk? They don't fucking care that you give them pets...these are dogs. They want the damn walk. It just pisses me off. We make sure to take the dogs at least two times around, generally three for a good 15 min walk. Our dogs are tired by the time they go back to the kennel, and you can see the difference in the dogs at the end ... the dogs still barking their heads off are the ones who got the special 5 minute deal. Poor dogs. Last time, I just took them out and started walking them again. I don't care what those volunteers thought who saw me or recognized a dog they walked. They should know better. I mean, do they treat their own dogs like this? I guess. These are the same kinds of folks who spent 15 minutes driving around in a parking lot looking for a spot as close to the store as possible.

No, seriously, I think our biggest contribution to this dog thing is being a courier -- bring mail, dogs or supplies down or back. Oh well. I'll do it as long as Tim wants too. I enjoy the time spent with Tim. Maybe I should think about driving there...hm. I don't think I did any driving last week. I have been working on doing it at least once a week. You know, keep practicing and staying "manually" limber.

I was going to expound upon my...ennui. It's just struck me (not as weird as getting off a tread machine last night...I didn't have my land legs for almost a half an hour!), that this week I don't have anything that needs to be done. Nothing pressing that is. I had been spending so much time on those beaded trees, followed by the party preparations...that now I don't have anything. I just kind of wander from room to room wondering what to do, especially during the day. The house was clean.....yeah. I mean I could find busy work...anyone could. But, it was the freedom to do as I wanted that make me feel a little guilty like I should be working on something, and two at a loss as to what I *did* want to work on. What did just Laura want to do? Hm?

Well, the things I have to do are wrap presents, bake cookies .... I am thinking: saltine toffee, sugar cookies, russian tea cakes -- um that is all I have so far. I have TONS of baking chocolate I would love to use, and nuts...and ...yeah. I should look through some cookbooks and find good stuff. I need to finish the christmas cards -- I just got to the "S" section of my address book, whew! Uhh I guess the floor could use vacuumed.

Pluto is still an asshole -- licking his wound at night so it's bloody in the morning. At this rate it will take years for that thing to heal. Plus, imagine how embarassed we are at having to take Pluto to the dog sitter with instructions on his skort. I swear, if that thing is off when I get home he is wearing the elzabethan collar and spending the night on his dog bed in the living room ... panting. At least the wound won't be bothered, although he might have a stress related heart attack by the morning.

Uh oh, I should do some work now....