Tag you're it...NOT

I, like many other’s in this little blogging circle, was going to ignore Bridget’s attempt to make me write about Christmas.  Then Kenric tagged me too.  Then my own wife tagged me!  Thank God it stopped there.  After being tagged three times (which is just too much touching by the way) I realized I couldn’t ignore it anymore.  So of to blog land I went, to read what everybody else wrote.  To my sheer horror, several people sarcastically mocked this Christmas gift blogging game taking away any real validity in my doing the same (I would be just another copycat).  So, does that mean that I have to actually do this?  NO.  Because, unlike many others who read the same blogs, I’m not going to Chicago with you.  So I don’t have to put on a pretty face and play along. 

Of course, I am not a complete Scrooge.  I would love to tell you what I got for Christmas (don’t worry, it won’t take long because I didn’t get that many things (but they were great things)).

The one present I asked for, and got…a new electric razor.  I got one of those ones that you put on the base and it charges and CLEANS itself.  Love it!
I also got a $25 iTunes gift card.  I’ve never been into buy music online, but it’s been fun.  I’ve already spent half of it.  (weirdest song purchased, Tubthumping, by Chumbawamba)
Of course there were the stocking stuffers…Rolaids, a toothbrush, WD-40 (in a pen), a gnome ornament, Propel drink powder, and an awesome ice scrapper (its like a scrapper attached to a mitten.  I never wear gloves to work, so if I have to scrap the windows my hands get cold.  Not anymore!)
Christmas was very nice in the Hardenbergh home.  Cat’s parents came and stayed with us.  It was the first time in our 8 Christmases of marriage that we actually spent Christmas (Dec 24, 25) with her parents.  It was relaxing and we had a really nice time.  Of course Christmas is really a 12 day event not ending until January 6.  So we continue this weekend when my family comes for a visit.  My mom and dad and my brother and his wife will be coming on Saturday and staying until Monday.  We haven’t seen them in a long time, so it will be really nice to have them here.  David and Kellie (my brother and his wife) have never been to our house so that will be nice.  They did come to visit a few years ago, but we were still in the apartment then, and that was when Cat had her gallbladder problems.  Pray there are no trips to the ER this time around.  Since the fam will be here, we will once again have Christmas morning, just held on the 31^st instead of the 25^th.  It’s kinda fun to get to do it twice!
Oh, I forgot the big present.  Ok, its not really a present, but it’s being delivered this weekend.  A NEW CAR.  Ok, a newsed car.  My Grandmother, at the young age of 86, has finally had to give up driving (she has macular degeneration, and sever other eye issues causing her to not be able to see well enough to drive).  Since she can’t drive anymore, she had to get rid of her car.  So…she sold it to us (at a very reasonable price).  Now, in our 7 plus years of marriage, we have managed to get along with one car for most of it (we had 2 vehicles for all of 4 months, yes just 4 months out of 7 years).  With me going back to school, and Cat having meetings and stuff in the evenings, it is becoming more and more difficult to work out the vehicle situations.  So another car in the family will be greatly appreciated!!!

Ok, this was supposed to be a short post and it’s not….so I’ll end it now.  Please notice that I did buck the system a bit, because I didn’t write about the things I didn’t want, nor will I “tag” any more people.  The cycle has to end somewhere.

 

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.

Why I'm such a Humbug

I don’t like Christmas!

Most people who know me realize this. I’m always getting asked if I had some childhood trauma at this time of year that I don’t want to remember. But that’s not it. Christmas was always filled with family, joy and happiness. I just don’t like it! Catherine came up with a pretty good theory.

Christmas makes people happy
Rob doesn’t like being happy
Therefore, Rob doesn’t like Christmas

That’s the closest reason that I have ever heard for my Yule Tide Scrooginess. But that still isn’t it. Its not that I don’t like to be happy, or that I don’t want others to be happy. Happiness is something that is not natural during the holidays, for anybody. You have to fight crowds, deal with pushy people at the store. The traffic is terrible, and in the UP the snow has just recently come down, so people aren’t used to driving in that yet. You end up spending lots of money on things you can only hope the recipients will like and/or appreciate. If you are lucky enough to have guest for the holidays, you have to spend countless hours cleaning the house. There are the cookies to bake, and if you didn’t know it Cat and I don’t really cook well together. We both have our ideas of how things should be done, and they’re not the same ideas (this reasoning goes for house cleaning too). You just know you’re going to gain 10 pounds, even if you don’t eat a thing. Of course there is the incessant music. I don’t have a problem with Christmas songs, but when you think about it, there are only like 10 or 20 of them sung a million different ways. It grates on you after a while. I am also not one to like surprises. So wrapped gifts under the tree get to me. Just open the damn things already (or don’t put them out until Christmas Eve).

So the way I figure it, I’m living the holidays the way everybody would if they didn’t feel they had to put on a brave face. 99% of us have a Scrooge being repressed out of fear that people will think badly of us. I don’t care what people think so…….

BAH HUMBUG

By the way, I don’t really hate Christmas.
I love it, I just despise the commercialism and the stress that comes with it.
Plus I love to bitch about things!

Merry Christmas

The walls are coming down

Ryan’s blog is back.  Thank God, because I was missing my regular dose of sarcastic humor and whit!

Speaking of Ryan, he has offered to help with the next big project at the Hardenbergh house.  On Saturday we are tearing down the shower.  The tiles are buckling and practically falling off the wall.  I’m sure that the walls behind the tile are rotting or at least mildew encrusted.  So…the tiles are coming down.  We are going to replace the drywall and put in a shower surround.  It will involve demolition and construction.  It will mean getting dirty, working with power tools and all around being manly men.  Cat is scared though.  She has no confidence in me.  She thinks I have no idea what I’m doing and that once we start we will be without a shower for a month and a half.  I have confidence in myself though and I know that God is on my side (really he is).  The shower will be up and running by Monday morning (or we’ll really start to stink!)!  Honestly though, it won’t be that hard.  It might take a day or two, but everything I’ve read and all the people I’ve talked to say it really isn’t hard to do.

Is anybody else sad the Ogre completely erased his blog?

What’s up?  I wanted my fix of sarcasm and list making and I can’t get it!  Apparently Ryan has very little self control, because his blog is completely gone.  Not just not updated, but actually gone.  I’m sure it will be back, but what am I supposed to do in the mean time?!

Gimmie a P, Gimmie an E, Gimmie an I, Gimmie an F

Saturday morning, 6:30, the alarm goes off and I have to go and shovel the sidewalk.  The first official shoveling has come and gone.  I have been trying to get up earlier each day because I can’t roll out of bed at 7:55 and get ready to leave at 8:15 (which I can definitely do) if I have to shovel 6 inches of snow first (granted, there was just under an in this morning).  This is why I really don’t like winter!  Why do I live here again?  Oh yeah, I love it (I know, I’m going schizo on you).

Any who…After shoveling, I had a hot cup of coffee and got ready to head off to the PEIF, you know that place with the gym equipment.  Oh that’s right, you don’t remember it, because you haven’t been there.  At the beginning of the semester Dan, Andy and I decided to work out EVERY Saturday morning (except the one weekend a month I have to work).  That went well for 3 weeks, then Andy fell of the face of the earth (he had a rough semester, so I’ll give him a slight break, though I think he could have spared an hour).  Our group of 3 grew to 7, 8, 9, even without Andy.  Then all of a sudden, BLAM it’s just me and Kaitlyn.  Don’t get me wrong now.  Kaitlyn and I have a blast playing racquet ball, and I love telling her how much I hate her when we do ab workouts.  But what happened to the camaraderie, the group encouragement, the commitment to your friends?  I leave the comfort of my warm bed and my loving wife to subject myself to hard physical punishment (that I enjoy, but that’s not the point).  The point is this was supposed to be a time not only to better ourselves physically, but also to strengthen our fraternal bonds.  We were supposed to have fun, hang out and in general have a good time.  For most of you, that went by the wayside.  I can think of a few explainations.

1. You are lazy.  You can’t bring yourself to get up at a reasonable hour (8:30) on a Saturday to do something that benefits not only yourself, but your friends as well.
2. You don’t like me.  I offend you, or I’m too old or not cool enough or something.  I understand, but you could at least be honest (by the way, this better not be the reason!)
3. You are lazy.
4. You don’t value your health enough to stay physically fit
5. You are lazy.
6. You can’t spare the time because you have to study.  (come on, its an hour and a half that you would spend sleeping instead anyway)
7. You are lazy.

I sense a theme here.  I really do think that it comes down to not having the gumption to get out of bed.  But I find that to be a rather poor excuse, because I’m the guy who slept through Christmas morning gift opening one year because I didn’t want to get out of bed.  If I can set the alarm, crawl out of bed, brush my teeth, throw on some gym clothes and head out the door, you can too.  So next week (the last of the semester) I better see you there!

 

Now after belittling the majority of my readers, I have to give props to two people.  First to Cat, who got up this morning and came to workout with us.  She has had this chest cold all semester and the doctor told her not to go, but she’s feeling better and came to punish herself with me (that’s love)  Second to Kaitlyn.  She got me playing racquet ball again and I love it.  We have tons of fun.  She also makes me push myself into doing things I normally wouldn’t do.  Those crazy ab workouts suck, but I know I need them.  She has also been there faithfully every week, and I stopped counting how many times it was just the two of us.  She doesn’t get paid for it, but she makes a pretty good personal trainer for me.

That’s all for now.  Dodge Ball tonight!!!!!!!!  Watch out, my “Inner Bridget” might show up!