Friends in All the Right Places

Gift-wise, this has been an interesting Christmas.

I mean that in a good way, of course.

The first gift Hubby and I received came all of the way from Alaska. And, it arrived in the middle of a blizzard, which was awesome. It, by the way, was a box of home-made goodies from Mike's cousin, June, and her family. The box contained yummy cookies--oatmeal, pecan sandies and chocolate chip (made with pretzel stix)--trail mix (a variety of nuts and dried fruits) and some homemade soaps.

There's nothing like homemade goodness. The oatmeal cookies served as Hubby's fuel on Sunday as he shoveled a path down the driveway through the 23 inches of snow we had. And Joey LOVED the trail mix. We all liked it, but he loved it!

Another very nice surprise gift was this intriguing and way cool object d'art.

It is made out of super-compressed graphite. That's the stuff they make pencils with. So, not only is it cool to look at, every surface of the object writes like a pencil. Neat, eh? I LOVE stuff like this.

The leaf is about 6 inches long and fits perfectly in my hand, for when I need to write something of course.

This bath scrubby of mine was selected and paid for by my granddaughter, Brianna (age 9).

Our oldest grandson, Gaige (age 6), shopped and paid for Hubby's gift...

... a small, ceramic dog. It's about 5 inches long and 3 inches tall, at its tallest point. Gaige apparently knows that Pop loves dogs.

Meg is wearing one of the gifts I got from Hubby. The big blue and white thing hanging from her collar is my new Pet's Eye View Camera, also known as a doggie cam. We can't wait to go to the WV place so we can see what she sees on the way to and from Buddy's house. Hubby also got me a digital picture frame, which I have wanted for years. Oh yeah, and a teleconverter lens for my camera, among other things.

My parents really surprised me with 3 bags of Seattle's Best Hazelnut Coffee, which Mom had shipped direct from Washington state with the help of a wonderful friend. I got some shopping money, too. And a short story book. I'm addicted to short story books, in case you didn't already know.

A dear friend sent Hubby and I a gift, which was accompanied by this card...

...that for some reason made her think of me. LOL!

As awesome as the card is, the gift is even cooler...

... real Belgian chocolate. YUUUMMMMMMM.

Oddly enough, we received it on the same day we received this...

This is the chocolate Mrs. Mac posted about that inspired me to try, and quickly become addicted to, Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels.

According to the Lindt Web site, this stuff "will surprise your taste buds with an unexpected alliance of nicely bitter, silky dark chocolate refined with tiniest crystals of "Fleur du Sel" - the flower, or the crown of the sea salt."

It was personally hand-delivered by Mrs. Mac, who came all the way from Switzerland just to see us, and her family, and her friends, and her former co-workers, etc.

It is quite delectable. You have to like dark chocolate, though, which I do. Hubby and I may be fighting over this one.

Speaking of chocolate... I couldn't resist taking a picture of the Rheb's candy, which Hubby and I gave several folks for Christmas. We bought ourselves a box, too, of course.

This image shows chocoholic Meg who is simultaneously wondering "Why, oh why, is Mama taking pictures of all of her chocolate?" and "Is she going to give me some? Is she? I like chocolate!"

This is a snowman ornament I've had for years. I can't remember if it was given to me by one of my girlfriends, or if I bought it myself.

I have the same issue with this ornament. Though I am pretty sure this was a gift from a girlfriend in a previous year.

I couldn't resist sharing this doggie picture. K and Belle were jealous that I was taking Meg's picture. So they joined in.

Wanna know why K looks so short?

It's because she sits on the steps with her butt on one step and her front feet on the step below that. We think it is easier for her to sit that way because of her very long forelegs.

I hope you enjoyed this little gift recap. I hope you have friends in fun places, too.

Blizzard Aftermath

So, wanna know what my world looked like the day after the blizzard dropped about 23 inches (58 cm) of snow on us?

People tend to get cabin fever and do weird stuff when trapped by snow. I decorated the Christmas tree (finally!) and, while doing so, took some pictures of FibroDuck with some of our more unique ornaments.

I also took lots of pictures. Lots and lots, I should say. A blanket of snow just makes things look so much more interesting.

I took the above shot around 6:30 AM from the front window of our house. On the far left, covered in snow, is my car. In front of that, toward the center of the frame, is Shannon's car.

This is the view from our front door.

And here's what it looked like from inside our garage moments after Hubby started to shovel.

That's my car in the foreground. It's still snow-covered. So is our front sidewalk. I might have to clean my car off soon so I can get all my last-minute Christmas stuff done.

Here's my happy Hubby in the newly shoveled driveway.

The view of our street from the bottom of the driveway.

One of MANY dog pics I have to share. Belle and K have been chasing each other and having a blast in the snow.

Meg has fun in the snow, too, despite the grumpy look she has in this picture. (I'll post more snow-dog pictures eventually.)

I actually took this photo at about 11:00 PM on Saturday night, not too long after the snow had stopped. Because it was nighttime, the camera shutter stayed open for about 4 seconds. I am not sure why the sky is so pink, but I think the overall effect is pretty cool.

And now, I need to get to work.

Happy Monday everyone!

Taste-Free Christmas Videos

These videos aren't all taste-free (aka "tacky"). The ones that are not taste-free, however, are pretty annoying. In a cute sort of way.

Oh, and remember they are videos. They do have sound. So if you're trying to be at all inconspicuous, you may want to come back later to watch.












If you are starting to believe I am obsessed with animals, you are not alone...

Ten Taste-Free Gifts

Looking for something to buy that no-so-special someone this holiday season?

I figured I would help you with ten totally taste-free gift ideas. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Here's a very special COFFEE MUG.

2. Is there a man in your life who is very proud of his big, manly truck? If so, here's a fake magnetic BUMPER STICKER for him.

3. Here's a neat gift for someone AT YOUR OFFICE who is frustrated by visitors dropping in, unannounced.

4. This one is sure to be a hit at the office. The recipient will no longer have to struggle over TOUGH DECISIONS.

5. Speaking of executive decisions, this one is sure to be a HIT AT MEETINGS.

6. For your perpetually single friends, here's one for the LADIES. And we can't forget one for the MEN.

7. This has got to be the perfect gift for someone that just moved into a new house/apartment/parent's basement that can't afford FURNITURE. If you really wanna splurge, you should get them A COUPLE OF THESE, too.

8. Looking to LIVEN UP the holiday family photo?

9. Know anyone that already has every Christmas decoration imaginable on display? You really can ENHANCE THEIR COLLECTION.

10. This one is really for those of you that just like to pull stuff over on people and/or see HOW OBSERVANT folks really are.

You can't say I didn't try to help solve your gift-giving dilemmas.

- - - - -

FibroDuck made THE NEWS!

Remember FibroDuck?

Wanna SEE ALL MY FIBRODUCK images?

Then click on that link. The one that says "see all my FibroDuck images"!

How Much is That Chick in the Window?

Here's something new, which I think is quite taste-less.

I Just HAD to Share

Every now and then I come across stuff on the Internet that I just feel compelled to share with people. It could be something that touched my heart, or that I found disgusting, or humorous, or unbelievable. It could be anything that I read and thought to myself, "This is so good/interesting/funny/amusing/unbelievable/sad that I have to share it."

Like this secret I saw when I read this week's PostSecret blog:

Dear Frank,

Sunday I was with my boyfriend (we are both young Christians). I grabbed his laptop to go to the postsecret website. As I typed in the postsecret address the computer filled in the url with a pornography website.

I used my boyfriend's laptop again to look up postsecret and the computer filled in the url with recently visited sites about pre and post nuptial agreements.

In my attempts to read other people's secrets, I discovered his.

New secrets are posted every Sunday, which I why I didn't just link to this particular secret.

Hopefully the person who submitted this secret has sense enough to RUN, not walk, away from this man.


Here's something completely unrelated to the secret I shared with you above...

Now that we have three dogs, Hubby and I decided it might be a good idea to do some actual dog training.

Hubby has already started working on K so that she comes when he blows the whistle. She's getting it, but is easily distracted and, therefore, much harder to train than Meg and Belle.

It's not that Meg and Belle aren't trained. They know the basic stuff like "sit" and "down" and "come." But they're both bad about jumping on people to greet them. Belle is a barker. Neither of them know how to "stay" when told.

Since K is a more-challenging dog, I decided to look for a good, comprehensive dog training manual. I even went to the bookstore the other day, but didn't find one I liked. Then, last night, I stumbled across this ASPCA Web page, which has lots of articles on dog behavior. It is not just about training dogs either. There's a whole list of topics on understanding various dog behaviors, too. There's also information on rehoming a dog to help people decide if getting rid of there dog is really necessary and, if so, the proper way to go about rehoming.

There is a lot of good information there. If you have a dog, please visit the aforementioned informational page to see if there's anything that can help you.

Now, you know I had to share at least one video, right?

Following is the most inappropriate zoo commercial EVER...



Yes, it's a real commercial. And there are more like it for your viewing displeasure at ilovelocalcommercials.com.

Let's not forget my mission to find totally taste-free Christmas stuff...



I think that's enough sharing for today.

World's Best Santa

Those crazy Swiss have done it again...

How does one determine who is the world's best Santa? Well, they go to the Santa Claus World Championships, of course.

I don't consider this taste-free. It sounds like fun to me. I mean, there's a Zipfybob Race for gosh sake. I'd be all over the Santa Creative event. And there's even SANTA KARAOKE! Karaoke!

If you would like to register to participate in next year's event with me, visit the the official Web site for more information.

By the way, how do you like this year's December Blog header (that image at the top of the page)?

Not-So-Great Christmas Gifts

ToadMama's Taste-Free Christmas continues with really crappy, tacky, ugly Christmas gifts. Not all are Christmas-themed, but all are, well, just plain weird.

Like this NUTCRACKER, which is, um, closely related to this CORKSCREW.

Here's a gift that KEEPS ON GIVING. And it's a gift pack, so you can share the love with four of your friends or loved ones. I'm not sure why SANTA isn't part of that gift pack, but you'll have to buy him separately. If you are into those kinds of Santas, that is. And if you really dig the reindeer, pictured at left, you can buy yourself A WHOLE HERD.

Here's something that really taste-free... a Talking Naughty Farting Santa. If you know someone who will like that, they would probably like a BULLSH*T BUTTON, too.

Looking to add some culture to your celebration this year? Try Pancho the Singing Chihuahua.

Are you thinking about remodeling your bathroom in 2010? If so, there's a great SOAP DISPENSER you might be interested in.

Ladies, here's a gift for the man in you life who is WAY too buff. His own BEER BELLY.

All-New Taste-Free Christmas 2009

Last year, I thought it would be fun to collect Christmas-related stuff that's ugly, gaudy, tacky, etc., to feature on my Blog. Because what's more fun than seeing the crazy stuff people think of to decorate with, give as gifts, sell, eat, etc.

I figured this video, which is one of my favorites from last year, would be a great way to kick things off.



I like this little game (sort of), too, which I think is actually more fun than tacky. For about 27 seconds.

If you come across any taste-free stuff worth sharing, do let me know. You can send me an e-mail at toadmama_space_@_gmail.com. (Yes, you will need to type that address in. If I actually posted my e-mails address, I'd get lots of spam.)

If you'd like to buy some taste-free stuff of your own with which to decorate your home this holiday season, look no further than good ole Walmart.com.

That's where you can find stuff like this 7' Pre-Lit Paradise Red Tinsel Artificial Christmas Tree, Red Lights. It was on clearance for just $88, but it's all sold out. Sorry.

And nothing says "Christmas" like some holographic palm trees and pink flamingos. Even if I lived in the desert, where it NEVER snowed or felt even remotely Wintry, I still don't think I would EVER think light-up palm trees are appropriate Christmas decor.

When it comes to taste-free, nothing beats some of the lovely inflatables you see nowadays. Like the 8' Tall Inflatable Penguins Mailing Letters to Santa. Or the Animated Air-blown Mickey and Minnie Candy Cottage. (As the one product reviewer noted, the size on this one is not listed. If it were, said reviewer "wouldn't of paid 99.00" if they'd known it was only five feet tall.) They also have an Air-blown Inflatable Skiing Santa. Ew.

If I'm being honest, which I always strive to do here on ToadMama's Web Abode, I have to admit when the inflatables first came out, I thought they were cool. Especially the snowmen...

... but only when used properly. You know, like one snowman, or even one snowman family like this one, in the middle of a yard.

Not like this. Many large inflatables crammed into one small space.

Seriously, how could someone think this looks nice?

Waking Up is Hard to Do

This, my friends, is your conventional alarm clock. Sort of. More on that later.

Most days, I don't need an alarm clock. Unless I want to wake up before approximately 7:15 a.m.

It's not that I'm one of those old people that says, "I don't need an alarm clock. I wake up at 6:23 every single day."

I do need to be woken up, I just don't need an alarm clock to do it.

Confused?

Yes, I did just say I don't need a clock, but I do need to be woken. I don't need a clock to wake me because I have a natural alarm Belle.

THIS is my natural alarm Belle...

And it's the cutest little alarm Belle ever.

Belle's small for a Brittany. Not just in girth, either. She's vertically challenged.

My bed is about 6 inches shorter than this birdbath. When Belle stands beside the bed, like she's standing beside the birdbath, all you can see are her feet, forelegs and cute little face. When she's ready to get up (rarely later than 7:15), she comes and stands beside the bed. If I move or make a sound, she gets all excited and starts beating on the bed with her forelegs (picture a dog playing bongos) and wiggling her whole body. I can only actually see her cute little face moving, but I know her whole body is moving because it's a typical Brittany wiggle.

I could be upset, especially on weekends when it would be nice to sleep in. But she's so darn cute I can't ignore her. Once I pet her, she gets even more excited. She even smiles. And I am such a sucker for a cute little Brittany smile.

As for the alarm clock not being conventional... as I was looking for alarm clock images to adorn this post, I discovered this clock, which actually holds and plays MP3s. Cool, eh? I was all excited until I visited the store that supposedly sells it (ThinkGeek.com) only to learn that they no longer sell it. I'm guessing it was way popular. I'll have to search for another merchant.

I was disappointed, yes. But while there, I couldn't resist looking around. They sell fun stuff like this coaster.

Got a geeky kid to shop for? Try this cool Jr. Astronaut Helmet.

How about a new t-shirt for your geeky Hubby? Um, you may need to be a little geeky yourself to get that one. If you do have a geeky Hubby, you should buy one of these. Just to make him feel good, know what I'm sayin?

Got a geek who likes chilled shots but hates that they get watered down? These little doohickeys are quite ingenious. I think they'd be a fun gift, too.

How about a spouse that is fascinated by gadgets and LED lights? This is the ultimate kitchen gadget.

OK, I think you get the picture.

I'm off to get more coffee...

Recuperation Day

Christmas is over. Thank goodness. Meg agrees with that sentiment. I think she's tired of playing dress-up to entertain me. Though she's been a really good sport about it.

It's been a busy holiday time. But good. I took lots of pictures over the course of the last few days. I posted some of them (only 170!) on my Flickr page.

Today is recuperation day. I'm either plain tired or getting the flu. I've been pretty achy these past few days. And there's some sinus stuff going on. I'm hoping it's just a cold though.

"Tired" can't be ruled out completely, however. We've been on the go for DAYS. First, there was all the Christmas preparation. Then, on Christmas Eve, all of the kids and grand kids gathered at our house for dinner.

On Christmas day, after opening our gifts, Mike and I headed for my parents' house. We spent some time there visiting, then headed to my mother in laws. Conveniently, my parents live quite close to my mother in law. That is one thing at least that makes holiday visiting slightly easier.

After visiting with my mother in law for a while, Mike headed home and I headed to my Aunt Kathy's house to visit with my mother's side of the family.

Are you wondering why Mike went home? 'Cause he could. He's tired of traipsing all over creation visiting people on Christmas. I am, too, honestly. But I wanted to see my family.

We've both agreed that next year, we're staying home on Christmas. It's time for the younger generation to do the running. We're passing the torch, so to speak.

I got home around 6:00, I guess. And I was bushed. The day after Christmas, I rose early to take advantage of some of the post-Christmas sales. I bought some last-minute gifts, too. After I got home, Hubby wrapped the gifts. Then we headed to his Mom's house to celebrate Christmas with that side of the family.

The holidays are all about family, right? It really is nice to visit with everyone. It's something we should do more often throughout the year. But everyone is pretty busy. Not to mention the geographic spread. Although Mike's family are all relatively close, scattered on the east side of Baltimore. It's my brother that's furthest away; he lives in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Anyway... after we left there, we headed back to our place. Our good friends Kathy and Barry Spice (below image, rear center and rear right) were meeting us at 6:00 to go out for a nice Mexican dinner. They brought Max (below image, front center), their Yellow Lab, to keep Meg company.

That brings us to Saturday. Yesterday. We pretty much chilled all day. Then we went to my parents' house for dinner with my brother Tom and his family (wife Sharen and son Josh).

That's my Mom, aka Mawsie, and brother, Tom, pictured above. Below is my favorite shot of Mawsie with my nephew, Josh, and son, Eric.

I didn't get any great shots of my sister in law, Sharen, so I'll spare her the embarrassment of posting a not-so-flattering pic just for the sake of posting an image here.

I did end up with a couple good shots of Mawsie and Eric, one of which is posted below.

And because I never, ever seem to end up with any decent shots of Mike and I, I'm posting one here, which was taken by Shannon at Mike's Mom's house, that actually turned out good.

So, that's how we spent our holiday. That's why today is recuperetion day.

I hope your holidays were just as happy!

Christmas 2008

From my family to yours...

Merry Christmas!

The shopping is done (mostly). And so is the wrapping (sort of). The cookies are baked (thanks to Mike). And Christmas is finally here.

This is the first Christmas Eve in many years where all of the kids were at our house. It was a bit hectic, but quite nice, if I do say so myself.

Pictured from left to right, there's me; our youngest child, Eric (19); our oldest child, Shannon (30); our oldest grandchild, Brianna (8); our son-in-law, TJ (27); our youngest grandson, Joey (17 1/2 months); our middle child, Amy (27), and mother of our grandchildren; Mike (aka "Hubby"); and, front-and-center, our middle grandchild, Gaige (5).

It really was a very pleasant evening. I got some nice gifts tonight, and I'm sure I'll get more gifts tomorrow. But the biggest and best gift for me is having all of these wonderful people in my life. I love them all dearly and can't imagine life without them.

I'd Rather You Didn't

I like to think I have a good sense of humor. Of course, there are things I find funny that others find, well, stupid. And there are things other people find funny that I find dumb, gross, or just plain over the top.

In the GROSS category is the lovely ornament pictured at left. The ad bills it as a "great gag for the office gift exchange" and "perfect for the pet lover who has everything." I disagree on both counts. Can you tell what it is? It's YULE DOO.

I am a pet lover. And I love gag gifts. But not even I would laugh at that one. (The same folks do offer an interesting item that I do think would be a great office Christmas gift, though.)

Some Technology is Just Bad

I don't need to explain the tackiness here. Just watch the videos. Make sure your sound is turned up to get the full effect.



I love You Tube...



Who thinks this crap up? Sigh...

Tacky/Funny Ads

Christmas tackiness is not limited to decorations and strange TV commercials. There are unusual retail ads, too.

Though, I must admit, I don't find this particular ad (tiny glimpse of ad shown at left) tacky. Or offensive.

I find it funny. But that's just me.

Hooray to all the retailers -- brick-and-mortar and Web retailers alike -- that have a sense of humor.

I mean, retailers like Hallmark are way too sappy. It sort of pisses me off when I see ads that make me wanna cry. I mean, who needs that sort of downer? I know it's gonna be sad, but I don't know how sad. So once I start watching, I can't stop.

What is funny, however, is this Hallmark-related video some warped folks put together.



I don't know WHO would do something like this to those cute little Hallmark animated figures. I mean, what kind of people do stuff like that WITH STUFFED ANIMALS??? Sick people, that's what kind. Not that I know anyone like that...

Anyway... back to the funny retail ad. The one I mentioned at the top of this post before distracting you with animal obscenity.

Are you wondering yet why I find this funny?

You have to see the whole ad. I posted a larger view for your convenience below.

It's not just the illustration that kills me, though I find it classic. It's the ad copy, too. So be sure to read the text in the image. If it is too small for you, click on the image and you'll be taken to a larger version.

And if you need so of that "innovation" for someone you know, visit the retailer's Web site. I didn't have a lot of spare time to dig, so if they have more ads like this one, do share!

Striking Out

I should have known. Any other Christmas season, I see tacky stuff everywhere. This year, since I vowed to document the weirdness, there's just not much weirdness to document.

Well, Christmas weirdness anyway. Maybe I'm too early?

My Mom did send a link to this video. It is weird. Tacky even. Just not shockingly so. You know, not quite over the top. So I'll have to keep looking.

In the meantime, here's a lovely little Christmas commercial for you. Or two.






Um. Bad. I know. I'll try to do better.

What Sort of Folks Live Here?

Hubby submitted this lovely image.

I'm not sure what message the folks responsible for this are trying to convey, but it doesn't look real festive to me. In fact, Hubby and I think it looks a bit KKKish. What do you think?

It's Christmas, Hon

Image courtesy of Rob (NOT from Baltimore, by the way)

There's a tradition in Baltimore I've never experienced in person. That will change this year. I absolutely must see this for myself. Maybe I'll even drag some grandkids along.

There's a small set of Flickr images I found, thanks to Shannon, which will give you a brief glimpse.

You can also see the Miracle on 34th Street Flickr pool.



Or you could experience it via this little slideshow I found:
Excess on 34th Street

Either way you look at it, Baltimore's 34th Street is the ultimate in tackiness. But it is intentional and all in good fun.

If I do get to visit, as I hope, I'll take some pics of my own to share here.

Until then, remember... only 24 DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS!