MerrinDonahue.com

See, the thing is, I’m famous for my memory. They call me Rain Man. I can remember the tiniest details of every conversation I’ve ever had. I can remember every word I’ve ever read. Yet, I always forget how hard it is to work retail at Christmas. The job itself isn’t hard, but at the end of the day I’m exhausted! Don’t get me wrong: I love the people (they’re always nicer), I love that the days fly by, and I love the sales, but by the time I get home, I’m really tired. Poor Kev even forgot that I don’t have anymore weekend days off until the middle of January (even though I told him last week :tongue). At least we have James Taylor to look forward to next week! On another note, I hope that each and every one of you had a fabulous Thanksgiving. Kev and I sure did, and we realized once again how lucky we are to have such a wonderful family! Now go get your shopping done! There are only 25 days until Christmas!

Too many things to list here, that’s for sure. I’ll start out with the obvious: I’m thankful for my husband. He is truly the most wonderful man in the world, and I can’t begin to say how lucky I am to have him. I don’t know any other man who sacrifices as much as he does just to make me happy. Next, I’m thankful for my family. We’re quirky, crazy, and we put the fun in dysfunctional, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m thankful for my dogs. There’s no ill or injustice in the world that can’t be cured by the love of a good dog, and mine are the best. I’m thankful for my friends, who’ve stuck by me through the best and the worst. I’m thankful for my job; I know not only how fortunate I am to have one when so many don’t, I’m also lucky that I have a job I look forward to getting to every day. Mostly, though, I’m thankful that I have a roof over my head, food to eat, family and friends who love me (even when I’m insane, which is most of the time). These things alone make me wealthier than 80% of the world’s population. So thanks, everybody. I know I don’t take the time to tell you often enough, but I truly appreciate everything each of you do (even if it’s just taking the time to read my blog!) to make my life a little richer. Happy Thanksgiving!

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I can’t believe that I don’t have to cook. I can’t believe my husband has to work. I promise I’ll be sure to save some champagne for you, honey. So we’re having all the old favorites: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and best of all, pumpkin pie. And I have to fix none of it. I am truly thankful for that! However, for those of you who are not so lucky, click this link (or the picture below) for help with your turkey troubles.

Oh yeah, baby. Somebody finally got it right.:beer: It’s not just for breakfast.

I have lost the ability to use my fingers. I am now typing with my nose. Why isn’t our heater on?!?! In the words of Beavis, “This sucks! Change it!”

Click the link, dammit.
Beavis: “The future sucks. Change it!”
Butthead:”I’m pretty cool, Beavis, but I cannot change the future.”

I know many of you are waiting with baited breath for the outcome of the Champagne Bandit story. You will all be happy to know that he has been caught; unfortunately, he failed to rid the world of mediocre champagne:sad. That reminds me: I have to go to the liquor store! For me, the liquor store is like a toy store for grown-ups. They have the coolest stuff there now! It didn’t used to be this cool, or maybe I just didn’t appreciate it. I will also be making the trek to Central Market tomorrow for brie and smoked salmon, which should be loads of fun since it will be loaded with last-minute holiday dinner shoppers. Crap.

The lady that looked at our house (which, I repeat, is not on the market) really liked it! She’s narrowed her options down to our house and one other, but I think what sold her on ours are the walk-in-closets in every bedroom. Hooray! Maybe this whole house-selling thing will be easy! Now all we have to do is find a place to live in North Dallas. Crap.

Well, well, well. So they’ve wised up to Paulie’s shenanigans. Tony doesn’t want to see Dr. Melfi anymore. Janice is fed up with Bobby (not to mention going to hell for the Ouija board stunt). And they ate the ziti!!!! Can New York and New Jersey really get along? Just ask the appraiser. I am looking forward to seeing more of Meadow next week, and I really can’t wait to see what will happen with Carmela and Furio. As Kevin pointed out, Tony Sirico made it through contract negotiations, so we can probably conclude that he won’t get whacked, but it will be interesting to see. Meanwhile, Junior was declared mentally competent, even though it’s clear to see he’s really not. The lesson in all of this: Just be yourself. Unless you’re Janice. Then be somebody else. Pain and truth, my friend.

Quando sono solo
sogno all’orizzonte
e mancan le parole
si lo so che non c’?luce
in una stanza quando manca il sole
se non ci sei tu con me, con me
Su le finestre
mostra a tutti il mio cuore
che hai accesso
chiudi dentro me
la luce
che hai incontrato per strada.

Unless it’s yours. And unless you’re showing it. This is the first time we’ve been through this particular trial, and I have to say, I don’t care for it. Complete strangers will be descending into our humble abode any moment now, to poke through closets, open cabinets, and dissect our little corner of the planet. I’m not at all comfortable with the possibility of someone I’ve never met gazing into my closet or my medicine cabinet, all the while thinking to themselves “Hmmmmm, so she’s taking Verapamil….”, or “Wow! A fertility monitor!”. It feels like an enormous invasion of privacy, and while I know logically that this is all part of the home-selling experience, I’m just praying for it to be over.

There ?s nothing ill can dwell in such a temple:
If the ill spirit have so fair a house,
Good things will strive to dwell with ?t.
The Tempest. Act i. Sc. 2.

:star:star New Skin Alert!! :star:star

I just uploaded the beta version of Merrin’s new “HOMAGE TO MONET” skin. To check it out, click here.

To see the skin “in action”, follow this link and then choose “STICK WITH THIS SKIN”. You’ll be sent back to this page (wow! round trip at no additional fee!) and you’ll be using the HOMAGE TO MONET skin. FUN!

Just to prove that Big Kev is hacking into Merrin’s blog to post this important message, regular visitors will note that I am not ending this post with a Merrin’s trademark: a related graphic and link.

Guess you just have to wait for her to get home from work!! Now, go try out the new skin!

:star:star New Skin Alert!! :star:star

I so don’t want to go to work tonight. I have stuff to do at home. I need to sleep. I want to watch TV. I want to read my book. Obviously, I want to whine a little. Other than that, it’s a great day! Kev will be busy doing some last-minute cleaning so that we can show the house without shame tomorrow. Meanwhile, I will be at work with absolutely nothing to do, and no real reason to be there. I think I’m bored.

Of the Christmas shopping season. Thankfully, Kev and I got a lot of it knocked out today. In the middle of all the fun, we get a phone call from Keith (the Brother-In-Law, hence to be referred to as the BIL). The BIL is a realtor, and he says he has someone who wants to look at our house. Here’s the thing: Our house isn’t on the market. Not that we’re not planning to put it on the market, it’s just not there yet. So then Kev and I start to think that maybe we should jazz the place up; you know, increase the face-value. The next thing you know, the Christmas-cussing fest known as decorating has begun. Our neighbors all have their exterior lights up already, and while we’re not doing that (yet), the tree is going up as we speak. I know better than to be in the living room when Kev is tangling with the lights, so I thought I’d retreat to my office and write about it. Besides, in here he can’t see or hear me laughing at him. In true Donahue tradition, we have Christmas Vacation in the DVD player, and we once again marvel at the similarities between us and the Griswold family.
Uh oh, Kevin found me. Gotta go trim the tree!

Head on over to Kevin’s page for details about extra Jimmy Buffett concert tickets (Tampa show). Help a sista out.
Thanks!!!!

So I’ve had an incredible week, and it’s only Thursday. Admittedly, Monday and Tuesday weren’t that eventful, but Wednesday and Thursday rocked! Yesterday, I worked the James Patterson event at the University Drive B&N. He was extremely nice (he took extra time to chat with the booksellers, AND he brought us free stuff!). On top of all that, I ran into the mother of my oldest friend. A tap on the shoulder, and “Are you Merrin McCallum?”, and I absolutely froze. The only response I could come up with is “Not anymore”, which I guess goes to show that after almost three years, I’m finally used to my married name.
Today, the fun continued with an evening out with Patricia Cornwell, who hosted a discussion at the Bass Hall. If you haven’t heard (i.e. you’ve been living under a rock), she’s convinced she’s solved the mystery of Jack the Ripper. Check out her book….I, too, was a skeptic, but I’m coming around. She makes a damn fine argument.
Now, it’s time to catch up on Tivo. Thank God I get to sleep in tomorrow!

Of how quickly society will sell out. Let’s not take the time to actually SOLVE the problem; instead, let’s find the quick fix, and start slinging Krispy Kremes while fighting crime. The last line of the article is right: Police do deserve more respect than that.

P.S. Kev, just for fun, click here.