Here's a game

[deb25]

I heard the same thing; that he was just an evil man whose results exceeded even his own highest hopes. I thought the same thing: he really is insignificant and not worthy of attention beyond blowing his head off.

Now, Mr. Cat: YOU have to fix the thread and get it back on track. (See what you get for being intuitive?)

 

[mr. cat]

This is Response #4 to Deb 25's question: ". . . .what was the best part about Christmas morning that you remember from childhood?"

For me, it was simply the act of being awakened Christmas morning by my parents and told Santa Claus had been there — because that meant presents under the tree! When my brother and I were little, on Christmas eve my parents would wait until we'd been in bed for a few hours; and then they'd put up the tree, decorate the tree, put out the presents, et cetera. The mysterious overnight transformation from the ordinary to the special was stunning! As my brother and I got a bit older, we'd help with the Christmas decorating and so forth prior to Christmas eve; and we'd all open our presents upon returning from the midnight Christmas church service.

=^..^=

 

[deb25]

#5

For me it was waking up at probably about 6 a.m., after having barely slept at all, and going downstairs with my brother and sister. The tree had dozens of gifts under it, that had appeared, well, magically, overnight. My grandfather was always asleep on the sofa, and he woke up when we came in the room. You could tell that the adults had had their own celebration the night before after we had gone to bed, as there were some gifts opened lying around. It was just such a magical moment. I also remember feeling sorry for my best friend, who had to wait until her parents had awoken to be able to go downstairs. Then they went through a whole routine of home movies and breakfast before they were allowed to open gifts one at a time. I always preferred the 3 of us just diving in.

New question:

Household chores: which do you hate the most, and how do you motivate yourself to get it done? Also, share any good cleaning tips you may have.

 

[mr. cat]

Laundry! I hate doing laundry, probably because I've lived in apartments for so many years and thus have to go to a communal laundry-room (which is never in a state of what I would consider cleanliness). The last time I lived in a house of my own, we had an old-fashioned washing machine with a wringer; and then we'd hang the clothes to dry. It was primitive by today's standards, but it beat going to the "coin laundry" (which was always a mess).

=^..^=

P.S.: A sign in the window of "real" laundry back in the 1950s read, "Don't tear your clothes with machines. Let us do it carefully, by hand."

 

[hissy]

Would have to be dusting. Especially when the farmers plow their fields and all the dust comes in and settles on my furniture, an endless chore in the summertime

 

[melissa]

My most hated job is washing dishes

I HATE it. The last job I had was working in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant and it involved lots of dishes being washed, and then I'd come home and have to do my own dishes! It gave me a severe aversion to dishwashing duties. The only thing that motivates me to get it done is either A) I run out of clean dishes

or B)company is coming over and I want the house to be clean.

Lets see..cleaning tips..Well, I'm a germ freak, so I always have a plastic spray bottle of 1 part bleach (the lemon smelling kind) mixed with 10 parts water handy to spray my counters, sinks, table etc. I also swear by the product 'Spray n Wash' for laundry. With two kids aged 6 and 4 and a messy hubby, it takes out stains beautifully. Oh, and if any of you have a child like mine who loves to smash eggs on the floor, sprinkle table salt onto the raw egg before trying to clean it up, it keeps it together and gets rid of the sliminess

 

[sunlion]

My absolute least favorite chore is cleaning toilets. I don't know what it is, but the toilets here in TX seem to get a black mold on them, and I am allergic to mold. Not only does the whole thing gross me out, but I don't feel well after doing it! We've tried using Ty-D-Bol tablets and stuff like that, but the cats sometimes drink from the commode and they get sick. (Of course, it doesn't occur to them that the water is poisoned, they keep going back for more. Wouldn't you think it would taste funny?)

That's cool about the salt and the egg.

My best cleaning tip is . . . Don't make a mess! No seriously, if you pick up as you go and don't let things pile up, there's never so much mess that it's overwhelming. I wrapped and unwrapped Christmas presents with a trash bag next to me, so there was no big pile of scraps or torn paper to deal with later. Makes a big difference to me, and it will go to the dumpster when we leave for my aunt's house later.

 

[amaretto]

Emptying the diswasher is the worst.

Tip: do it in teams. It has become my one-on-one time with Glenn's 7-year-old daughter. Not only does she expect to have to do it, but she likes it and I get my best stories and giggles at that time.

O.K. it is after Christmas now so . . .

What is the best gift you received and the best one you gave?

 

[hissy]

I'd have to say that the best gift we received this year was a check from my parents. Totally unexpected and very much needed it took a lot of pressure off. Best gift given, was actually 5 handmade items I made for special friends, because it came from my heart and I hoped that when they opened thier gifts, they were giggling like mad.

 

[adymarie]

Best gift was a scanner, printer, copier from my parents - now we just have to make it work! The best gift I gave was a gag gift to my dad. We went to a second hand store & picked out the ugliest tie (vibrant green with silver paisley pattern. It was probably from the 70's and was about 5 inches wide. He got a great laugh out of it & said he would wear it to work (we also got him a nice present too!)

 

[melissa]

Well, best gift given was the joke book I made for my dad. I spent a whole week scanning the internet for joke sites and cartoons. As soon as he opened it he was so absorbed he forgot he had other gifts to open

The best gift I got was a very special handmade gift from a dear friend I met through TCS...you know who you are :rainbow: It was so very thoughtful and beautiful. Another 'gift' that was very nice was that my husband didn't have to work as late on Christmas Eve as he orginally thought he had to...It was so nice to have him home with us to celebrate

 

[deb25]

#4

Best gift given wasn't exactly a Christmas gift, but was one totally unexpected by the recipient: a baseball hat of all things. Best gift received was a litter box bench from Drs. Foster Smith (from my sister).

 

[airprincess]

the best gift I ever gave, was a wedding present for my dad. I paid for my dads honeymoon. I told him whatever they wanted to do I would pay for. They chose Vegas, so I sent them there for a week, got them tickets to see Sigfreid & Roy, sent them on a day cruise and some other stuff. It was the best gift I ever gave not because of the monetary value, but the fact that my dad was so blown away by it, and it felt good to really give back to my dad. He has supported me, and helped me accomplish my dreams with his encouragement.

The best gift I ever got, that's a tough one. It was probably last year when my moms best friend gave me a bunch of woodworking projects that her and my mom had made. I don't have much of my moms stuff, so it really meant a lot to me.


What was the best gift you got this year for Christmas?

 

[deb25]

Ok, AP, not to sound retarded, but I thought we were talking about this year in the last question.

 

[debby]

The best gift I received this year was from three of my best friends, they all went in together on a Boyd's Bears train set for me ( I collect Boyds Bears)...it has the little bear in the engineers cap on the engine, and the next one that hooks to it has two little bears on a railcar filled with peppermint sticks, and the third one is the caboose, with a little bear hanging off the back of it. They all hook together and I was so surprised and happy. I have some wonderful friends!

 

[airprincess]

I thought we were just talking about best gifts in general, and when I tried to go back and read the exact wording, the page kept coming up unavailable

 

[deb25]

Post a new question.

 

[airprincess]

When was the last time you took a vacation & what did you do?

 

[sfell]

The summer I was 20 I went with my parents and sister to Colorado. We went to Colorado Springs, Uray, Durango and some other really neat places in the mountains. It was so beautiful. I would love to go again and take hubby along. Just thinking about it makes me feel so tranquil.

 

[hissy]

The one I truly enjoyed was when I flew out about 4 years ago by myself back east to visit with girlfriends. We went to Washington D.C. Virginia, West Virginia, and just played tourist for about a week. Had a wonderful time catching up with these gals and seeing the sites