Before I get into what’s been going on and Mary’s latest insult (Tom’s Mary), I’ll just say that I got a couple of letters from my Mary, asking me to type up addresses which I did. The girl sure knows a lot of people in lots of places! She’s much more of a people person than I am. Anyway, I typed a sheet to send to her while she’s still at Estrella and a sheet waiting to go to her in Florida but didn’t save it on the computer.

She said her cousin David in North Carolina was subpoenaed for January 6th, so I guess she may be leaving shortly afterward. She still didn’t tell me what this means and what will be happening in Florida. I don’t know if that’s because she herself doesn’t know or if she doesn’t want me to know, though I can’t imagine why she’d hold out on me.

We’ll be getting the bike within a few days and so will begin my approximate 8-10 weeks of sweat and hunger. Especially hunger! Tom may grab himself a new computer chair if he happens to spot one he likes along the way, but if not, I may order one or two more vinyls for now, since I’ll probably get all the Ashton dolls at once with January’s stock. I might get Playboy Dalene and black Esme, and possibly Eve as a redhead if there’s a problem with Dalene.

It looks like they’re going to be mean and cheat Tom out of his bonus this year, according to him. He says they’re stiffing lots of people. He may have a cold, too. Just when he was boasting about how everyone else at work was sick but him, he now has a sore throat. At least there’s no way I can catch colds! Not living at home smoke-free and getting enough sleep. Or usually getting enough sleep, anyway. A strange dream jolted me right out of a dead sleep the other day. A loud thunderous crash woke me up, but when I stumbled out to ask Tom about it, he said he heard no such thing. I was glad he was here to tell me so or else I’d forever wonder if the crash was real or just a dream.

Just when I was about to write off the new electric razor as a waste of money, I changed my mind once I got to trimming my pussy hair with it. You can submerge the thing under water, so I could easily do it while relaxing in the tub without getting the clean close shave a regular razor would give me which would cause irritation and give me that little girl bald look. Instead, it just trims it without giving me razor burn or cutting me.

Tom’s been working on the trucks and he hopes to have the green one running real soon. I told him I still can’t help but be furious with Palm Harbor and that maybe we should call them out here after all. Why should we pay to fix doors we already paid for? We already paid to have them done right and the same goes for the shower, although that might not be their fault since it happened quite a while afterward. That’s probably just part of our curse. Also, if we call them out, we’d know exactly who it was that fucked up if they made matters worse and I could handle them like I should’ve handled Dan.

Tom said I should look at the big picture and remember that we got this house for $20,000 less than we would’ve if we’d gotten it directly through Palm Harbor.

Yeah, I know. That’s why we’re being compensated like this. Compensated and cursed!

We ended up with a total of 15 Christmas cards. Half from coworkers, half from family.

Mary had to go and insult me yet again by using a picture of me to make picture ornaments with. She did the same for Tom and everyone else as he pointed out, but why can’t I ever get a, “You’re right, she was wrong to do this?” We’re married, for God’s sake! He shouldn’t be defending, finding excuses, or looking for other reasons why someone or something may have pissed me off. Mary knows damn well I don’t like my picture taken like most people don’t and I don’t see how she could not know that this would bother me. She was obviously pissed off over my message to her giving her my piece of mind, which would also explain why I never got a receipt for it (that and the rat pics with the tails that gross her out) and this was her way of getting even. And while she was at it, she put others on the spot as well to try to look less obvious. That’s why when Tom pointed out that she did it for everyone, I was not impressed. That’s still no excuse and doing it for all of us is no cover for her main intention. Like most people, she underestimated my mentality. You can clearly see in the picture that I not only look like shit but my head is turned as if trying to avoid the camera and I was not happy about having my picture taken. Why must this bitch embarrass and put people on the spot like she does? It is so incredibly rude not to ask people first. Kids are one thing, but most adults don’t like to be reminded of how they look. That’s why I intend to take a before and after diet picture. Not just to see the difference in the end, but so that I can be disgusted by how I look now to help motivate me. But shit like that should be up to me, not Mary.

They say it’s best to get even and not mad, and believe me, I am not going to give this rude bitch the reaction she so obviously wants! Instead, I quickly thanked her for all the gifts and went on to describe how big the rats are getting, including vivid details of those tails she just loves so much, and believe me, I intend to shower her with rat pictures with good tail shots. Meanwhile, my half a dozen or so visits a year just got cut right in half.

So other than her shit, I was surprised we got no shirts or food. Tom was wrong too, when he said we got a fryer. We got a grill from Mary and Dave that’s supposed to be healthier because the grill’s slanted, allowing the grease to drip away. It’s pretty high-tech and sophisticated looking. It has a clear purple cover and has charts for how long to cook things like pork chops, T-bones and more.

We got a cat calendar from, believe it or not, Ray and Nora. I have no use for it, though, since I already made ours. One for my office and one between the den and kitchen. Next year I’ll know better not to make them up till I find out if anyone’s going to get us one.

There was a ceramic item Mom made, but I don’t know what you’d call it. It’s not a cup, a bowl or a vase, but it is closer to a cup in size. It’s pretty too, with yellow tulips, a bunny and a chick. I have it on top of one of the kitchen cabinets.

Another thing from Mom was this little block of wood with a tag on it saying to walk around it twice so you could say you exercised by “walking around the block twice.”

Dave and Rudy got me a puzzle. I was wondering about this brand too, and whether or not I’d like it. I saw it at the dollar store.

We got another one of those scented candles from Steven and Carol. The kind that’ll cover this place in soot if I light it, so it’ll be an outdoor candle if we ever really do get porches.

Lastly, Jackie and Jim got us a book all about things you can make with wire. Thanks, but no thanks, although it does contain some rather clever ideas.