Gearing Up For Christmas
Yes, you're reading that correctly next to the current date. We are gearing up for Christmas... 2008.
We've received an estimated closing month of April for our house and I couldn't be more exciterated! I'm pretty sure 2008 will be spent adjusting the house to our liking, what with the walls to paint and rooms to furnish and backyard to landscape. But one thing's for sure, Kwan Family Christmas 2008 will be at the new house.
The reason I wanted the party at our house is because I've always wanted to go all out with decorations. Living on my own now, I'll be able to do just that (the same with Halloween hopefully). But if we don't throw a party, then there's no point in hanging decor. So I called dibs on the Christmas party.
Needing massive amounts of decoration, I realized that now is the best time to get stuff. Thus, we need to gear up. But I'm not seeing that great of After-Christmas deals. And I don't have a good idea of what I need. Sure, a wreath would be nice and some green garland or whatever; that stuff you hang across walls. I think we have enough icicle lights for the exterior. But what else?
Anyway, I had a pretty good Christmas. However, it didn't feel as Christmassy as I would have liked. I don't know why. It just seemed to breeze on by faster than ever.
But soon it will be New Year's Eve and I've got plans with the family this year; something about a Scrubs Marathon/Crepe Cookout/Rock Band all-nighter. And then later that week, Snowboarding Attempt Redux. Will I successfully shred the slopes this time? Or will it turn into another walkabout? We'll see. And with pictures too!
Funzo!
Ricky
Sunday, December 16, 2007
RickyRoutes Me-Gifting Tips
This time of the year, we are all busy buying gifts for everyone. To make matters more hectic, our family does a Secret Santa. I know it's as hard as ever to find gifts for everyone on your list, but I feel especially sorry for the poor sap who drew my name from that hat.
So, in the spirit of giving, I've decided to help that person along. Here are some gift ideas that you may consider (whoever you may be):
- Oil Painting Set -
Next year, we will be finally moving out into the world and into our own house. But with such a blank canvas, we'll need some stuff to adorn the walls. Watching some home decorating shows and seeing some "art" on display in museums and such have made me realize that any idiot can make a painting. There are things considered "art" that are just blocks of color or two black dots. And so I guess, art is what you make of it. Long story short, I've decided to paint my own art pieces to hang around the house. I've already got the canvases and the Beginner's Guide. I just need the paint and brushes and palette. Michael's craft store sells these for cheap.
- Laptop Bag -
I've got a small 12" iBook that I tote around with me to work and the top-drop bag that I use is falling apart. I could use a new small portable bag, preferably one that loads from the top like a purse.
- Frame One of My Posters -
Last year, Ellvin Kelvin did something nice for Prisoner Tribbiani. He framed his beloved and valuable Avenue Q poster. Other things that I'll be hanging up in the new house are movie posters. I've been collecting a bunch of beautiful cinema display prints for around 6 years and definitely have my favorites. My top picks include: Brad Bird-signed Iron Giant, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Ratatouille, Little Mermaid, James and the Giant Peach, Finding Nemo, rare Incredibles, among others. So have Timotei steal one and surprise me. Michael's sells 27x41" frames for $40, but with a Sunday 40% coupon, the price is more than affordable.
- More Stuff For the New House -
When we move in, we'll definitely need some new stuff like kitchen necessities, alcohol for our bar, stylish trash bins, etc. Raid the Target Home aisles and help us out. And maybe buy something else for our eventual House Warming party.
- Books... or More Accurately... Book -
I've got a treasure chest of books that I need to plow through. From classic children's books to Dean Koontz. I have little time to read and far less patience. But there is one book that I've been awaiting for the longest time. It's called 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill. I had read his mass market debut Heart-Shaped Box and thought it was a pretty good thriller, so I am curious to see what other stories he has in store.
- Electric Shaver -
This one isn't quite that affordable, but I've been wanting one of those fancy electric shaver doohickies. I'm tired of the Mach3's and Schick Quattros of the world.
- Ties -
At work, ties are frowned upon. The President of my department sees them as nooses. Well he's retiring at the end of this year and I feel like appearing more professional. Who the hell am I trying to impress? Nobody. I just like the way they look on me (and sometimes I need to cover up that iron burn stain down the front of my white shirt). I like solid ties, no real crazy designs. Something really simple and neat, like big stripes, and dark bold colors.
- LOST: Season 3 -
UPDATE - This item has been received
One of my favorite shows of all time has one of the best seasons of all time. I'm waiting for this DVD set to dip into the $20 range, but would love to have it sooner.
- Wii Stuff -
I've got plenty of games to play and you'd probably be hard pressed to find a game that I want that I do not already own. But I have been interested in the Wii Zapper, which is extremely affordable yet hard-to-find. Also I have been running low on Wii Points for those downloadable retro games (not to mention flash drive space on my Wii).
I hope this list helps at least one person out there. If it has, I've done my job. And I've been meaning to put this picture up from my Newsie costume, but with the lack of blog entries, I finally have the chance. Enjoy!
Jolly and fat!
Ricky
This time of the year, we are all busy buying gifts for everyone. To make matters more hectic, our family does a Secret Santa. I know it's as hard as ever to find gifts for everyone on your list, but I feel especially sorry for the poor sap who drew my name from that hat.
So, in the spirit of giving, I've decided to help that person along. Here are some gift ideas that you may consider (whoever you may be):
- Oil Painting Set -
Next year, we will be finally moving out into the world and into our own house. But with such a blank canvas, we'll need some stuff to adorn the walls. Watching some home decorating shows and seeing some "art" on display in museums and such have made me realize that any idiot can make a painting. There are things considered "art" that are just blocks of color or two black dots. And so I guess, art is what you make of it. Long story short, I've decided to paint my own art pieces to hang around the house. I've already got the canvases and the Beginner's Guide. I just need the paint and brushes and palette. Michael's craft store sells these for cheap.
- Laptop Bag -
I've got a small 12" iBook that I tote around with me to work and the top-drop bag that I use is falling apart. I could use a new small portable bag, preferably one that loads from the top like a purse.
- Frame One of My Posters -
Last year, Ellvin Kelvin did something nice for Prisoner Tribbiani. He framed his beloved and valuable Avenue Q poster. Other things that I'll be hanging up in the new house are movie posters. I've been collecting a bunch of beautiful cinema display prints for around 6 years and definitely have my favorites. My top picks include: Brad Bird-signed Iron Giant, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Ratatouille, Little Mermaid, James and the Giant Peach, Finding Nemo, rare Incredibles, among others. So have Timotei steal one and surprise me. Michael's sells 27x41" frames for $40, but with a Sunday 40% coupon, the price is more than affordable.
- More Stuff For the New House -
When we move in, we'll definitely need some new stuff like kitchen necessities, alcohol for our bar, stylish trash bins, etc. Raid the Target Home aisles and help us out. And maybe buy something else for our eventual House Warming party.
- Books... or More Accurately... Book -
I've got a treasure chest of books that I need to plow through. From classic children's books to Dean Koontz. I have little time to read and far less patience. But there is one book that I've been awaiting for the longest time. It's called 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill. I had read his mass market debut Heart-Shaped Box and thought it was a pretty good thriller, so I am curious to see what other stories he has in store.
- Electric Shaver -
This one isn't quite that affordable, but I've been wanting one of those fancy electric shaver doohickies. I'm tired of the Mach3's and Schick Quattros of the world.
- Ties -
At work, ties are frowned upon. The President of my department sees them as nooses. Well he's retiring at the end of this year and I feel like appearing more professional. Who the hell am I trying to impress? Nobody. I just like the way they look on me (and sometimes I need to cover up that iron burn stain down the front of my white shirt). I like solid ties, no real crazy designs. Something really simple and neat, like big stripes, and dark bold colors.
- LOST: Season 3 -
UPDATE - This item has been received
One of my favorite shows of all time has one of the best seasons of all time. I'm waiting for this DVD set to dip into the $20 range, but would love to have it sooner.
- Wii Stuff -
I've got plenty of games to play and you'd probably be hard pressed to find a game that I want that I do not already own. But I have been interested in the Wii Zapper, which is extremely affordable yet hard-to-find. Also I have been running low on Wii Points for those downloadable retro games (not to mention flash drive space on my Wii).
I hope this list helps at least one person out there. If it has, I've done my job. And I've been meaning to put this picture up from my Newsie costume, but with the lack of blog entries, I finally have the chance. Enjoy!
Jolly and fat!
Ricky
Monday, December 03, 2007
Pimple For My Thoughts
It's been a while. Only two entries in the month of November. If you hate my blog, that's something to be thankful for.
But you know, it's been a really busytressful time for me both at work and at home.
First of all, I had been working nonstop for a good week getting a Christmas gift together. I finally finished it last night and hopefully it turns out very nice. For all the hell it put me through, I do think it will be worth it. But then there's the whole gift buying thing in general. It's so hectic, but thank garb for Amazon.com.
Secondly, this whole house buying thing was really getting to me. We completed the loan application process and are awaiting word. But in the meantime, we picked out our house upgrades and I gotta say it's gonna look suh-weet! Nice $11,000 flooring, but there was a time we thought we made a big mistake. However, after 5 days of stressing over it, I made a call and got it fixed. If you really care, we originally picked laminate flooring in the family room, but it destroyed the flow in the entry, so we changed it to all tile.
Thirdly, was the dentist. I had postponed my appointment in October and had to face the music last week. But I had a plan going in. Just as the hygienist was about to start, I broke the exciting news that I'm buying a house! She blabbed the ENTIRE cleaning about how houses, leaving not a dull moment to reflect on my teeth. It wasn't all roses though; she basically went on a tirade about how I shouldn't buy a house now; that what I'm paying is too expensive. I didn't even tell her how big the house is.
She's not the only one. Everyone and their mom is a market watcher who feels obligated to warn us not to buy a house for 2 years. Sure, whatever. The market is still coming down, yes. However, I'm not going to wait forever to live on my own. Plus, the way we have chosen the house (by way of Feng Shui), everything falls in place perfectly and this is the house for us.
Four, my project at work is killing me. It was supposed to be a fairly easy project and has escalated into a giant hammelmeyer. And soon I'll be on another project. Usually the end of the year is a chillax time, but not this time.
So all this stress leads me to my number five: ACNE! It's terrible. As if the season's change didn't bring enough pimply breakouts, the stress is causing them to duplicate at an alarming rate. I pop one, three more pop up. I had to have had (or currently have) 14 in all. That's gross, I know. But since I've been away from the blogosphere for so long, I figure you deserved the juicy details. Was it worth the vomiting in your mouth? It sure is for me.
Bile-icious,
Ricky
It's been a while. Only two entries in the month of November. If you hate my blog, that's something to be thankful for.
But you know, it's been a really busytressful time for me both at work and at home.
First of all, I had been working nonstop for a good week getting a Christmas gift together. I finally finished it last night and hopefully it turns out very nice. For all the hell it put me through, I do think it will be worth it. But then there's the whole gift buying thing in general. It's so hectic, but thank garb for Amazon.com.
Secondly, this whole house buying thing was really getting to me. We completed the loan application process and are awaiting word. But in the meantime, we picked out our house upgrades and I gotta say it's gonna look suh-weet! Nice $11,000 flooring, but there was a time we thought we made a big mistake. However, after 5 days of stressing over it, I made a call and got it fixed. If you really care, we originally picked laminate flooring in the family room, but it destroyed the flow in the entry, so we changed it to all tile.
Thirdly, was the dentist. I had postponed my appointment in October and had to face the music last week. But I had a plan going in. Just as the hygienist was about to start, I broke the exciting news that I'm buying a house! She blabbed the ENTIRE cleaning about how houses, leaving not a dull moment to reflect on my teeth. It wasn't all roses though; she basically went on a tirade about how I shouldn't buy a house now; that what I'm paying is too expensive. I didn't even tell her how big the house is.
She's not the only one. Everyone and their mom is a market watcher who feels obligated to warn us not to buy a house for 2 years. Sure, whatever. The market is still coming down, yes. However, I'm not going to wait forever to live on my own. Plus, the way we have chosen the house (by way of Feng Shui), everything falls in place perfectly and this is the house for us.
Four, my project at work is killing me. It was supposed to be a fairly easy project and has escalated into a giant hammelmeyer. And soon I'll be on another project. Usually the end of the year is a chillax time, but not this time.
So all this stress leads me to my number five: ACNE! It's terrible. As if the season's change didn't bring enough pimply breakouts, the stress is causing them to duplicate at an alarming rate. I pop one, three more pop up. I had to have had (or currently have) 14 in all. That's gross, I know. But since I've been away from the blogosphere for so long, I figure you deserved the juicy details. Was it worth the vomiting in your mouth? It sure is for me.
Bile-icious,
Ricky
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
