who falls asleep THAT quickly??

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It's 9pm in the Leach home. The baby is (on average) still yappin away in her crib, playing with Minnie and Blue, Blankie and Bunny. Gregg is working feverishly at his pre-bed routine of brushing his teeth, getting his clothes and work things ready for 4am and taking the dog outside for his last whiz. What am I doing you ask? Easy. I'm capping off the night with an episode of Roseanne to lull me to sleep with its dreamy harmonica theme and her angelic cackle. Seriously, I watch Roseanne nearly every night.

I arrange my three pillows (none of them worth a damn) in the most beneficial way for Roseanne-viewing. I set my phone to vibrate, throw on some chapstick, slather on some lotion and hit that sack. Gregg follows suit shortly, grumbling about how the dog is an asshole and was too preoccupied with the rabbit in the yard to pee and how he better not wake him up at 3am. I giggle as I throw the queen of spades in a rousing game of Crazy Eights on my phone. Take THAT computer competitor. 

Roseanne and her family do their job - making me laugh and forget my troubles. I rotate four seasons on DVD so I don't get too bored but yes, there are episodes that even the most die-hard of fans has to pass on. Like the Broadway style fantasy episode. Ugh, just a horrible idea.

Gregg hits the pillow with one eye on the TV. After a little of our goofball-slapstick comedy he says "G'nite!" He turns toward me and shuts his eyes. I glance at the clock. Within two minutes I hear him breathing heavier. His nose-breath is basically punching me in the face. I flip my pillow up higher to block it. He is asleep already!! How on earth can anyone fall asleep so quickly??? I bring this up to him on a regular basis. YES, of course I realize how physically exhausting his job is and further recognize the fact that I couldn't do that work for five minutes. But ohhhhh how nice it would be to rest my mind and fall asleep in just a couple of minutes. The minute I hit my pillow it's like my mind drinks a pot of black coffee and gets on the treadmill...

...Ugh, I forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer. And what the hell are we going to have with it anyway? Sweet potatoes I guess. If they aren't covered in sawdust from the broken track on that stupid drawer above. Gotta get that frigging drawer fixed! Can I do it myself? I don't know how to replace a track. Forget it. I'll just move the potatoes. Did I write down my dentist appointment? Is that next week or THIS week? I love my new toothbrush. And those floss pick things. My teeth are in great shape, the dentist is gonna have to admit it. Shit, I didn't get so-and-so's birthday gift yet maybe I can find something at Target I think I have wrapping paper but I should get some anyway so I don't run out. And a bow. I have to call Cox. I have to call Allstate. I have to call MetLife. I need to mail so-and-so's card tomorrow. Did I take my plants in? It's pouring out. My plants are dead. Great. Well they never stood a chance anyway. I should make eggs for the baby in the morning she hasn't had them in a while. Nah, she doesn't even eat them anymore she just throws them to the dog. She can have a waffle and yogurt. We need waffles, I have to write that on the list. Should I go to the market in the morning or wait until the weekend? Oh my God Hannibal is on tonight! She needs to take at least a 45 minute nap tomorrow so I can watch it. 

And on and on and on and on and on ... 

So, kudos to you, Gregg Leach, and all who are like you. Sleep on with your powerful nostril breath and your quick REM achievement, you lucky bastards.

He's gone over to the darkside ...

I know it's hard to tell but... that's Brody enjoying an episode of Roseanne. 

Be still my heart.

check-marks and cross-outs

Gettin it done. 

Some days I just prance out of bed with the intent and desire to get my ass presentable and get out the door. Today was one of those days. I had a bunch of errands to run so I figured why not get them done before noon and spend the afternoon on fun? First task? Opening a new checking account. 

I rolled into the bank lot at 9:02, I bet you thought I got out the door at 7 or something - ha! I should back up here and explain what "getting presentable" consists of. It doesn't matter if I am going to a dinner party or the gas station- I am straightening my hair and putting on my everyday makeup. Be it the bakery, the convenience store for a Powerball ticket, the gas pump or my own curb to get the mail - I am not wearing pajama pants and I am not naked-faced. It's just who I am. So anyhow - After my daily prep I headed to the bank. I sat in one of the chairs and felt so weird because just being inside the bank is strange on its own. I really only pop in about twice a year. A friendly and somewhat boisterous man called me into his cubicle. He dutifully set up a new account for me all the while cracking little jokes and giving me tips and advice on Christmas shopping and Overdraft protection. He did his job well and I crossed that errand off the list. Next up, Borders. 

I enjoy Garden City shopping center. I loathe malls and these jam-packed plazas are my favorite alternative. I roamed around the bookstore for what felt like an hour but was under 20 minutes. After finding a random gift for my father (I won't say what just in case he decides to ever read my blog) I headed to the checkout line which was easily 15 people deep. Sandwiched between two moms with strollers full of line-hating kids I pretended to read every title of every book stacked along side the waiting ropes. The cashier gave me the go ahead to take those six steps forward and proceeded to throw out one-liners to shows and movies that I have never seen. Gotta give her credit for being friendly though. She was a doll. I braved the biting cold wind on the walk back to my car and headed to the next stop ... the pet store.

Even Brody loves Christmas. He gets that from me & Gregg. Each year Brody receives several presents from Santa. Mostly squeak toys and plushies and the occasional bag of treats. He opens them himself - with the slightest bit of help from his mom and dad. His face even lights up like a little kid. It's pretty adorable. So I stopped and bought his annual gifts. When I got home he met me at the door as usual and stuck his head in the bag trying desperately to find the cookies that he no doubt smelled when my car turned onto our street. 

My last stop before heading home was simply to Food Mart to purchase the beloved Powerball ticket. I just enjoy when the owners say "Good Luuuuck"  as I walk out the door. Hey ya never know, I'll take all the well wishes I can get! 

After a couple of phone conversations I noticed that the mailman had just left some boxes at my front door so I ventured out to grab the mail and said boxes. More gifts! I will admit that I am ridiculously efficient when it comes to shopping and wrapping. Cardboard boxes arrive at the house and within two hours they are transformed into delightfully wrapped red and green presents (after they are logged into my "system", crossed off, check-marked and what have you). I'm pretty organized alright. I never wrap for longer than an hour since I keep up with it daily. It works for me. 

I had some banking to do online and some paperwork to go through before I sat down to have a nice bowl of turkey chili. Mmmm. Always something to look forward to and I savor it until it's gone. Thankfully I freeze some - so I can look forward to that now! 

I felt like I had accomplished quite a bit by 2 pm so I decided to make some coffee, I use Maxwell House Master Blend, and watch my daily episodes of Roseanne. Coffee/Roseanne time is one of my favorite times of the day. It's less than an hour but it's just such a simple and enjoyable way to relax. I will never give up watching that show. I'm sure I won't always watch it Monday through Friday - but I know I will pop in a DVD every now and then at the very least. 

The day continued with me doing a little unsuccessful designing - I deleted my hour-long attempt and will start from scratch with new ideas tomorrow. I made some grilled chicken for our weekly "Chicken, Brown Rice and Broccoli" dinners - I use a ton of hot sauce, Gregg uses duck sauce. We never get sick of it. I conquered today's journal entry and even read a few pages of Real Simple magazine - my favorite. After dinner we watched the finale of Boardwalk Empire - a few days after it aired. What a great show! I wonder how much of the story line is based on true events. We are both hooked. Great plot, great cast. 

And that was my day... I watched a scene from Titanic and a few groups on The Sing-Off, had some hot chocolate with peppermint and here I am! Hope you enjoyed a recap of my December 15 and I hope yours was wonderful and productive as well! Cheers!  

30 day photo challenge: Day 18

The cast of my favorite TV show...

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I don't think this will be a surprise to many people. 

Good ole ROSEANNE. It still makes me laugh everyday and is

almost always in my DVR (which is completely ridiculous since I have the DVDs).

the little, insane things ...

Growing up, I remember being SO excited when we would move the furniture around in my bedroom or give it a face-lift with new paint and bedding. I couldn't WAIT to get tucked in that night because I felt like I was in a new and fabulous place! Little, tiny changes made a world of difference. As a 32 year old, the same still rings true, to a certain extent.

I love decorating my home.. buying new pillows and accessories, using different colors to transform my rooms into new spaces. It keeps things fresh. I do go overboard sometimes and spend hours trying to figure out the ideal spot for a new vase or picture. My poor husband just shakes his head and smiles. Part of my charm I guess. So yesterday, it was no shock when I asked him to please help me move the treadmill, yet again, to the other side of our bedroom. (This treadmill has been moved about eleven times in a 2 year span of time, due to my insanity and indecision). He routinely arose from his recliner and swapped bureau for treadmill within 4 minutes. Done. I, then spent a decent 20 minutes arranging my jewelry tree, frames and jewelry boxes atop the bureau until they were JUST PERFECT for hallway viewing. (Apparently, I think that while our guests are on their way into the bathroom they will peek into my bedroom and notice that my bureau arrangement is simply unacceptable and they will then laugh and point and make jokes behind my back about it). With the new setup looking fabulous I went about my day. I got a little surprised this morning when I crawled out of bed and, for seconds, forgot about the earth-shattering change. The best thing about it is that while I am 'treading' I can once again watch TV, a movie, or as luck would have it, my Roseanne DVDs. An hour that used to feel like 2 hours will now feel like 20 minutes. Simple Changes.