Oh boy - someone please save me. My 20 yr old daughter is trying to be an adult. Of course, she doesn't see she is going about it completely wrong. Today she has the day off. She said last week that she needs to get to her college to get herself registered. So obviously, she's at the college today. NOPE! She's having fun hanging out with a friend. She still does not remember to do her chores around the house, but she's beginning to curse around me. I'm not sure why she thinks this is ok. I'm not even sure why I'm putting up with this mess. It's probably my own fears of us having the same messed up relationship that my mother and I have now. We only have animosity and no real bond. I'm afraid I'll damage my relationship with her somehow. My daughter has no idea how life really works, she's so used to having me bail her out of things. How do you stop being a parent to a child and start being a parent to an almost adult that won't listen? HHHmmmm, maybe I need to call Dr. Phil. Where's the Oprah Show when I need some advice? Maybe the thing I need to do it lay out the rules, and expect her to follow them. After all, as with any adult, if you don't follow the rules you always have the option to get your own place and make your own rules. She just doesn't get it. It's weird for me because she reminds me of my sister, N. She's just three years younger than me and she still doesn't get it (life) either. I really don't think life is that difficult to understand. You have rules you have to follow from other people and entities no matter where or who you are. You cannot expect to be the rule maker unless you really hold a position of power. You follow the rules to get to where you want to be. Obviously, along the way you'll find some rules are easier to break or bend than others. Hey, maybe I need to find a Life Rule book for her. Or better still, write my own and sign a different name to it. Then she'll be sure to read it.

Christmas - Update on Shopping

I’m nearly done now. I’ve completed my shopping for my MIL, her sisters and their grandchildren. Just have to shop for a few relatives that I never see. That’s actually the more difficult to do. What do you get for someone you are related to but never see? You really have no idea what holds this person’s interest, and even worse, you don’t care to know except for when you are looking for gift ideas. It’s not to sound like I dislike any of these people. They are actually great people…..fun….loving…..devoted family. But we all have our own lives and we don’t spend much time together.

My daughter’s were probably the easiest ones to buy for. They are 21 and 20 so electronics or clothes. We went for the electronics. Two flat screen tv/dvd combos with new Roku players. We did get them a few of those dvd packs that come with 3 or 4 movies in one pack. My oldest loves the Batman movies and we found all four movies in one packet for like $13 at Walmart. My youngest daughter is more like me……got her Sixteen Candles (yes, that old movie) and her eye candy Vin Diesel in the original Fast & The Furious. LOL

My husband is a man that is nearly perfect (for me). So he is getting a Kindle Fire, which actually just shipped out today and should be delivered tomorrow. He unfortunately knows about his gift already and is anxiously awaiting the time to get his hands on it. He is really excited. Makes the $200 (nearly) worth it.

Now my mother in law is someone I feel I know really well. (UGH) But she is still really difficult to buy for because she has snooty tastes in everything. For instances, she loves wine. Drinks it all the time, but really doesn’t know much about it as far as I can tell. So a few years back we bought her a wine refrigerator and wines. She never uses it. We bought her Lenox African American figurines that we wanted. Very expensive. Only to find out that in her will, she will be giving these items to her nieces and not her grandchildren. Oh and how she loves Chinese and Japanese food…..bought her a wok and really gorgeous plate services to share with herself and her ‘boyfriend’. Never used any of it. LOL

So why do I spend so much time going through this every year? I love the challenge of it. Every year at least one person comes to us and lets us know how much they loved their gift. That makes me happy.