It's The Little Things, Y'all

I got a mini heater from our office supply catalogue and it is making my life. I no longer have to wear my coat while I'm sitting at my desk working.

If anyone ever looked at our online bank account, they would notice that for two weeks a month the most frequent, repeat purchases are at the Covington Starbucks and the Dairy Queen of Yorktown, TX. There is only one 'restaurant' within a 20 mile radius of Neal's rig, so it's DQ for dinner most nights. And while I tried to give up my Starbucks habit, it didn't quite pan out. So every morning when I log in to our bank account to check the balance and transactions, there are always those two charges right there in the pending transaction section. Becuase neither one of us carries cash. EVER.

I just payed our first property tax bill last night. And I was excited about it for two reasons: 1. Because it means we own a home; and 2. Because we can pay the bill. Growing up I lived in a rental house. My parents owned a home for about 1.5 years before they got divorced, and from then on out it was all rentals. And of course money was always a big problem and my mom never let us forget it. We didn't come from a place where the parents hid the problems and didn't tell the kids about them, we were always totally aware of the financial issues. And because kids are sometimes victims of their upbringing, part of me thought that I would have those same kinds of experiences all throughout my life. And I definitely went through some rough times when I was in my early 20's and I was about the worst money manager that you could ever imagine. But I've learned from all my mistakes and so just that Neal and I both have jobs and we work hard and have health insurance and we own a house and have vehicles and can pay our bills....it makes me happy and I feel very fortunate. It's the little things, y'all.

Anyway, country is coming to town next weekend. The in-laws and Neal's sister and her kid will be at our house from Friday through Sunday. My work Christmas party is Friday afternoon from noon to three, so I will more than likely be a little tipsy when I get home Friday afternoon. This makes for great entertainment, I promise. Marilyn texted Neal last week and asked him what kind of perfume I wear, so he told her Dolce and Gabbanna - Light Blue. He then went on for about 5 minutes into all sorts of scenarios about how she will pronounce 'Dolce and Gabbanna' when she asks for it at the department store. This was comedy gold. I soooo wish I had recorded it.

I have a nice, modest garland wreath with a red bow on our door, and that's it for our outdoor Christmas decorations. A lady in our neighborhood put up the biggest, tackiest, colored lights on the outside of her house. I'm thinking of cutting letters out of magazines and pasting them on the paper (like ransom notes in movies) that say something like "Yo' Shit Is Tacky" and leaving it in her mailbox. But I think she'll probably figure out it's from me considering the face I make every time I drive by her house.

I have to do all of my Christmas shopping this weekend which means I will be fighting the overdressed, yat-ed up bitches in Target and everywhere else I have to go. And our pest control guy put a crimp in my plans because he's coming to spray the house sometime between 10 and 12 Saturday morning, so now I have to be home at that time. Maybe I'll go to Target at like 7am while all the yats are sleeping off their skinny-girl cosmo and white zinfandel hangovers.