One of the drawbacks of December is the end of the Fantasy Football season. Our league’s superbowl is this weekend, but since I’m not a contender, it’s really just kind of annoying as my hubby who made it all the way to the superbowl asks me 3000 times to double check his line-up. (Not that I’m not happy for him and supportive, its just depressing to think I did such a horrible job this season I didn’t even play the playoff games the past 2 weeks!)

It’s hard to say what caused my team to suck so bad this year. Maybe it was Tom Brady getting hurt the first week, and making Randy Moss as a wide reciever pretty much useless, getting a whole 4 points for many games. Unfortunately since Moss was supposed to be a key player, he couldn’t be dropped - only traded. And even though it was the Best of Stupid football fantasy league, nobody in my league was stupid enough to trade anyone for him.

I felt a little bit better when I saw the guys over at Brag Fantasy Football post their playoff stats. A guy named Nick was actually crowned the “Worst Fantasy Football Player” having 2 wins and 11 losses. I had 7 wins and 6 losses, so nothing wonderful, but not fame worthy of the crappiest Fantasy Football owner title either. If you head over there, you can even see the lovely picture of what the worst fantasy football player looks like, as they have it posted right up on the homepage.

Oh well, it was fun, and that’s what matters - next season I’ll be trying a different strategy though, that’s for sure! Did you play fantasy football? How’d it go for you?

Posted by Chelle | 9 Comments »

I’ve decided today to officially declare that I hate my vacuum. I have one of the Bissell upright canister vacs. It’s supposed to be super powerful, easy to clean, yadda yadda yadda - don’t believe a word of it.

In reality, it doesn’t pick up anything really. So many times I vacuum the entire house only to realize an hour later some of the crumbs that made me decide I needed to vacuum in the first place were still there.

Part of the problem with this vacuum is that there are three million filters to clean out each single time you want to use it, assuming you are using it to actually pick stuff up from the floor. I am just too lazy for that.

Thinking back to the old days where vacuum salesmen used to come back to the house with their slicked back hair, shiny shoes, and suits and would dump a pot of dirt on a carpet sample, I wondered how my vacuum would hold up to the test. I didn’t want to use dirt though, so I thought I would try baby powder, because at least it smells nice if I couldn’t get it out.

Sure enough, it didn’t pick up any of it. Thank goodness for my shop vac! Cleaning an entire house with a shop vac though is a bit back-breaking, and not something I’d want to do on a regular basis. I could probably replace all the filters and belts in the vacuum I have now, but I’m sure that would cost a good $50 - money that could go towards a new, better, sucking vacuum that won’t have me swearing at it again in 3 months.

I saw this entire blog about the Miele canister vacuum, and it looks pretty sweet - cheaper than a Dyson and slightly better than the Kenmore I’ve heard good things about…but then again I see it has all those stupid filters…

I need your help everybody, I need a vacuum that sucks! Any suggestions? What kind of vacuum do you have? Do you like it?

Posted by Chelle | 16 Comments »

Putting up a Christmas tree seems like a harmless endeavor, doesn’t it?

But really, it depends on HOW you put up that Christmas tree, and whether you decide to get a “real” used-to-be-alive Christmas tree or if you’re smart and go for something less dangerous like a nice balsam fir artificial Christmas tree.

For us, we have to have the real Christmas tree. There’s nothing like that smell of Christmas tree in your house, and the swearing as you put it up and stepping on needles is no less of a Christmas tradition for us than hanging up stockings or giving presents to people.

There is an easy way and a hard way to put up a Christmas tree. To help you avoid the struggle, tears, pine needles flying and all that I’ve experienced in Christmases past, here is Chelle’s guide to how to put up a Christmas tree the easy way:

1. Drive Directly to Lowe’s: Lowe’s is a home improvement store in the US that typically I don’t endorse, but they are THE PLACE to get a Christmas tree. You walk into Lowe’s near their covered Christmas tree section, and a super nice guy will come up to you and help you pick the perfect tree. He will then trim the bottom for you and wrap it so beautifully in netting, and even load it in the car for you if you need help. It was the best Christmas tree buying experience I ever had this year. Their tree was also $15 less than anywhere else I saw them for sale.

2. Get a Good Base: It might seem that tree stands aren’t that important, but it’s the difference between setting the tree in the stand and making a few changes before saying “Ah, that looks nice!” and swearing for 6 hours as the tree fights you, falls down, and puts your life and limbs at risk. When you put the tree into the base, do NOT unwrap the netting around the tree! Leave it wrapped until the very end and you decide the tree is “straight”. Once you unwrap the tree, changing anything will be extremely difficult and/or painful. See diagram below to help you see the difference between a good and a bad Christmas tree stand.

3. Add Water: Christmas trees need a lot of water so they don’t dry out and get sharp needles. You can also put aspirin in the base with water so it doesn’t get a headache and stays fresh longer.

4. Add Lights and Decorations: This is the fun part of putting up a Christmas tree. A 7 foot tree will need between 400-500 mini-lights to really look nice. Make sure you read all warning labels on the lights - you don’t want to burn your house down from having too many lights plugged in together. Put heavier and fragile ornaments at the top of the tree where the branches are stronger. If you have kids, pets, or are naturally prone to breaking things, you may want to invest in some nice plastic shatter-proof ornaments.

5. Take a Nap: Taking a nap afterward is very important. You will likely be exhausted and cranky, and you will not be much in the Christmas spirit when you are cranky and tired. Treating yourself to a cup of hot chocolate or maybe a mixed drink is optional, but highly recommended.

I don’t mean to scare anyone away from getting a real Christmas tree, but if this sounds like a lot of work, you may want to opt for an artificial white Christmas tree to save yourself lots of time and frustration. Artificial trees are a pain in the neck too though, so perhaps changing your traditions and celebrating Hanukkah or Kwanzaa instead would also be a good viable option.

All in all though, it’s great when the Christmas tree is up and decorated. It really feels like the holidays are here!

Do you put up a live tree or artificial? (Or not celebrate Christmas at all?)

Have any Christmas tree horror experiences to share?

Posted by Chelle | 6 Comments »

Today is my birthday. I’m not one of those people who do or expect a whole lot for my birthday. Memorable birthdays of my past include my cousin blowing out all the candles on my cake at my 6th birthday party and the tears that ensued and another that was spent freezing outside while playing a French horn. I’ve had lots of others, but I don’t really remember them too well. There was probably cake and singing.

The last few birthdays have been the best - they involve my kids trying as hard as they can to be good for one whole day. My 5 year old is getting smarter though when I told him I just wanted him to listen for one whole day. He asked “Can’t I make you a card instead?”

To celebrate I made a couple of “Blogger Birthday Cakes”. I know, I’m pretty wild sometimes. A real party animal. But hey, it’s not like I get older everyday, right? (Well, okay, technically we do…but nevermind that…)

You can make your own bday cakes say whatever you want them to say by going to Redkid.net, Image Chef, or Caption.it. I could probably come up with lots more, but I don’t have all day and night to waste online

I also found out from this birthday calculator you can get more useless information than you’ve ever wanted about your birthday. Really. I now know that if I lit my age in candles on my cake this year, it could boil 3.09 ounces of water. Olivia Newton John’s Physical was the Top Billboard Hit the year I was born. Truly fascinating stuff.

Anyways, now you know when my birthday is and everything important relevant to my birthday, tell me about yours. Have any ideas for funny things to write on a birthday cake?

Posted by Chelle | 17 Comments »

Recently there have been a few examples of how stupidly people can act with guns. Gun violence is a big problem that many of us have probably become desensitized about - since it seems everyday people are senselessly shot and killed.

Here were the two headlines that really stood out to being stupid to me:

Plaxico Burress Shoots Himself in the Leg
You may or may not know who Plaxico Burress is, but he is a football player for the NY Giants. He was out at a club and shot himself in the thigh by accident with an illegal weapon. Smart. Read the news story here.

Two Shot Dead at Toys R Us on Black Friday

This video shows most of the details about this senseless shooting between people shopping on Black Friday. Glad I did all of my Christmas shopping online!

What do you think about these things happening?

Posted by Chelle | 8 Comments »