still standing.

no worries, kids. while living here was like living in some palm tree lined ashtray, nothing in our neck o de woods burned, smoldered or was singed.

and that is a very good thing.

so far, things are looking better for the firefighters. temps are dropping and the 70mph+ winds we've had are dying down. according to the news, the fires down here and up in Sylmar are 40% contained, the Santa Barbara one is considered out.

and the Husband, down in San Diego for the weekend with one half of the Cutest Kids in Hesperia, had a little challenge coming home; one of the freeways he takes from Hesperia was closed because of the fires, which left the 91 freeway. that one goes through another fire area, but while it was slow go, he got through fine.

p.s. - he's posting about his Midway adventures, but he's still working on it, kids. i'll let you know when he gets it completed.

not that there was any fire danger for us, but with all the heavy smoke & ash, it was scary. and many others weren't so lucky. and while there's no good time to lose everything, right now during this economy, it truly sucks.

switching gears...

tis the season - to get Christmas cards and gifts made. the supervisors at work are getting...wait for it...wrapped candy bars.

woo hoo!

i saw these at an open house at one of my local scrapbook stores; a big Hershey bar, wrapped in Christmas scrapbook paper and tied on one side with Christmas ribbon & mini tree ornaments.
i'm doing the same thing, except instead of ribbon, i'm using red netting.

cuter. cheaper, too.

and, being a lo-lo head, i always feel weird giving homemade gifts. i'm not sure why.
maybe it's because, years ago, i gave my then boyfriend's mom a poem i wrote, with a drawing.

i can't draw. i can barely write. it was still in the spare room on the floor, weeks after i gave it to her.

now i'm sure it's in a landfill.

in either case, it makes me feel like i'm giving someone a macaroni picture frame, spray painted gold and covered in glitter.

only when it comes from a kid, it means something. from a 46 year old, it ain't so cute.

i think i need therapy.