Today's rambling: Holiday spirit before the holidays!
Written on December 13, 2001 at 8:21 p.m.
while feeling a bit

Mom's presents from L.L. Bean arrived today! I got a confirmation email just yesterday, and they said that the package would be here in 2-3 days. Well, when I got home tonight I ran ahead and checked the front door, but there was nothing. Just a few minutes ago, Mom shouted to me from downstairs that I'd gotten a package! GAH! I was hoping fervently that it would end up being something from Janette (not just because it would mean Mom didn't know about L.L. Bean, but because I want to get a present! ;) ), but it was the L.L. Bean stuff.

I was quite disappointed. Granted, she doesn't know what I got her (though I think the one item is DEFINITELY too small and will have to be exchanged), but now she knows that it's from L.L. Bean, at least, which ruins the best part of the surprise!

Anyway, she came up a few minutes later to get the hammer from my room, and she laughed and hugged me, then said she had to go outside before she started crying. I was like, "You're going to cry over L.L. Bean?" But she replied that it was because I knew what she loved, or something like that. Aww. :) Well, it may not be Christmas yet, but she needed a bit of cheering!

I had a dream last night that I was going to marry Geoff. *laughs* The best part? It was going to be inside a Wal-Mart!

Mom and I were walking into the store (which looked nothing like a Wal-Mart, but in my dream it WAS), and she said something about not being able to believe that I was getting married 'cause she thought I never would (I was still 20 in the dream...Geoff and I had never even dated, he just made some remark about getting married and then it was happening)! "Don't worry, we'll be divorced in a year," I replied jokingly. Another funny part was that at some point in the dream, I asked Mom "Are you SURE he actually wants to marry me? I thought he'd just been making some kind of joking comment!"

Geoff was dressed in a tuxedo jacket and jeans. Heh! At some point after that, my consciousness broke in and I realized that this was a dream (well, I didn't really KNOW it was a dream, I just somehow knew I could alter things)...so I was like, "Why would I be in Wal-Mart? We're picking out rings!"

Yeah, it was just really weird. Rather vivid, but weird nonetheless! I told Geoff today that I'd had a dream I was married in a Wal-Mart (I couldn't help sharing THAT much), but I wisely refrained from telling him that he had been the groom. Can you imagine how quickly he'd get freaked out? ;)

Work was rather fun today...I got to work in the decorator's section because Karen had an emergency and therefore couldn't come in to work. The gourmet case was in desperate need of being filled up, so John took me away from packaging bread and stuff. Wheeeeee!!!

After my ten-minute break with Geoff (bwa ha), I set to work cleaning and refilling the brownie case. Then this old guy came up and asked if I had any round birthday cakes, which I didn't. However, I told him, there were some already-base-iced cakes in the freezer that I could decorate for him, if he so wished. He said yes, told me what to write on it, and said he'd come back in an hour.

I haven't learned how to do roses yet, so my birthday cake-decorating skills extend only to making balloons and streamer-type things (the latter of which require NO talent except to be able to squeeze icing out of the bag). My balloons aren't very good, though...they look like sperm. *giggles* Anyway, this cake I made ended up looking horrible, but the guy (when he came back) said it looked good, so I was content!

After that, I started making more round cakes to put out on the shelf...they pretty much all looked horrible. I began practicing roses, and between myself and Mare, we made a pretty decent-looking cake! The roses weren't professional-looking or anything, but for a person who's never really made icing roses before, it wasn't so bad!

But here's where my masterpiece begins. A few days ago, Karen showed me this cake she'd made that had poinsettias (sp?) on it. It was SOO pretty, and so today I thought I might like to try my hand at it.

Now don't get me wrong, they weren't anything spectacular, but they really LOOKED like poinsettias! I think I made about 3 cakes with them on it, hehe! Maybe if I think about it, I'll bring in my digital camera tomorrow and snap a few pictures of them. Assuming they're still in the case, that is....

I went out after work and bought Christmas cards for some of the people at work. The sheer number of coworkers I'd like to give cards to was daunting, so in the end I had to group some together by department...so the office people are getting a card, the deli folks are getting one, and the food service folks are. A few special people get their own individual cards. ;) I feel half embarrassed to give Geoff his card, but I've figured out a way I can do it without feeling awkward or anything. Yeah, go me. ;)

Um...at any rate, I guess that's all. I just got disconnected a minute ago (hehe..wonder if someone was trying to call), and dinner is now sitting here in front of me...oh yeah, and the phone line is starting to get crackly...so anyway, I might go! Or I might not. I don't wanna leave Jam, since I didn't think I'd get to see her tonight anyway! :(