Loathe:
* She has some blue spots in her soft black eyes, standard for her age, or so I’m told. She’s my eldest female cichlid. I noted that she was acting oddly last week and when I did my tank change on Sunday, she had a dark spot on her side so I moved her into the hospital tank. I’m told by Fish Whisperer that it’s an extremely aggressive, highly contagious fungus. I’m medicating her, but it’s progressed to a horrible looking injury. I may lose her and, if the other fish contract it, well… (sigh)
Love:
* The people I work with were very kind in their generosity to me this Christmas. I am touched and humbled… I had no expectations of that. In addition to his “gift” generosity, one of my bosses also baked me a loaf of pumpkin bread. It is spectacularly delicious!
* My company made that “extra day off” rumor come true. It was nice to be able to run errands and take care of stuff today, like getting fish tank supplies and then doing a 70% water change in the big tank to boost the other fishies immune systems.
* Golden Spoon was the yogurt place involved in my debit card fiasco a couple weeks ago. To try and help me out, when I called her that afternoon she refunded the $2 charge on my debit card. When I gave her the new card number, she refused to charge it, said it was no big deal. Today I stopped and gave them extra money. I know the amount involved wasn’t that much money, but their kindness meant a lot to me that day.
* We went to Disneyland last night. I was chilly and wet, I had a pulled muscle in my upper thigh, Tony’s shoes were slipping, and yet we had the absolute best time. There were barely any people there. We saw the fireworks from behind the castle (I had a case of severe swivel head trying to see them all), we rode four of our favorite rides, sang along with the Christmas songs they were playing and just laughed and laughed with each other. Going was so worth it.
* I had steak gumbo in a bread bowl for the first time last night at Disneyland. First time for any kind of gumbo, truth be told. It was so good. Tony had clam chowder. It was a perfect warmer from the inside-out for the chilly, breath-seeing weather we were walking around in.
Look at the steam coming off of that!
Tony’s clam chowder…
* My new cookie dough scooper. It plops the perfect amount out every time and I don’t have to get my fingers or hands in the dough. I bought it at Target for $3. Best $3 self-gift ever. Even funnier, after I’d picked mine up I overheard a couple wandering the kitchen accessories aisle looking for one. I walked over, handed them mine, walked back over to the seasonal aisle and picked up another one. Totally cool moment.
One Last Thing:
One of the vendors at work arranged to have a canister of pistachios sent to me. It shipped straight from the pistachio company, with the FedEx label bearing the name of the guy who shipped it and the company information.
I amused myself with thoughts of what that guy’s official title might be… Shipper of Pistachios? Germack Culinary Nut Sender? Or, how about simply “The Nut Sender”… the latter is generic enough that I’m thinking the guy wouldn’t have very many nutty co-workers, and how handy would that be?
Here’s hoping you have a Merry Christmas, filled with all the fun nuts you can handle!
Jammie J's Quest 
happy holidays 😀
mmm, bread bowls!
love you! merry christmas, beautiful! have tony give you a hug for me. 😀 hehe.
xoxoxox
Have you had that gumbo there? It’s sooooo good!
Merry Christmas, Tony was a little surprised by the Christmas goose you gave him. hehe I told him that part was from me, since I was hugging him anyway. 😛
Merry Christmas to you and Tony!
Those bread bowls look yummy! Glad you guys had a good time.
Those bowls were very delicious. I didn’t make it through my bowl, just the soup. Still working on the bowl. 🙂
I am totally drooling over the gumbo and clam chowder in bread bowls AND at Disney Land. Sigh. I wish I was you. 😉
Also – COOKIE DOUGH SCOOPER?!? There are such things? I need one of those ASAP! Ahhh, why don’t we have Targets in Canada?
Merry Christmas, J!! xoxox
Disneyland on a whim is pretty cool… the bread bowls were a nice addition. I didn’t even know they had gumbo over there.
Cookie dough scooper = perfection. Loving it! Especially for the sticky dough cookies!
Merry Christmas to you and Tony … and may blessings abound!
Thanks so much! 🙂 The same to you and Leo.
Happy about the good things. Sorry about the fungus.
Internet is turned off in the dorm for the weekend, so I’m in my COLD office just so I can read you blog because you are worth it!
Love you and Merry Christmas to you and Tony!
I’m glad you think I am worth a trip to a cold office in the cold. Now THAT is dedication to my blog! 🙂
merry christmas to you!
and glad to see you were on time this week, so i don’t have to worry 🙂
Yes, we like to keep worrying to a minimum if at all possible! 🙂
Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day and here’s to a GREAT New Year…
love Amanda
Thanks, thanks and THANKS! 🙂
Merry Belated Christmas!
Appreciate it! 🙂
Glad you had a nice week (except for the fish) – hope it continues
Thanks… me, too. Fish Whisperer thinks she’s gonna be OK. I’m crossing my fingers… these fish exhaust me.