Drama Kid is being a bit of a brat lately and it's totally killing my holiday spirit buzz. I've been a cookie baking fool this week and have two more batches left today. I thought some Christmas music would help restore my inner peace and harmony but even at the highest volume, I couldn't hear iTunes on our PC all the way upstairs let alone over the mixer.

Not having any speakers for my iPod, I came up with a totally ghetto solution and dragged out the boombox my uncle gave me when I was 14.


The picture does not do this justice. This thing is big and heavy! But, even after 21 years it still rocks the bells (Holy shit! Now I feel old).

My Husband Got Shit For His Birthday

For the past several years, we seem to have been under a "when it rains, it pours" cloud that only seems to dump on us in November and December. The day before Drama Kid's first birthday the nanny we had at the time quit with no notice. A few days after that the owner of our apartment put it on the market giving us one month to move out or buy. Then Drama Dad totaled his truck. In the years since, Drama Dad has been laid off of two jobs, cars have needed major repairs and I lost my job. Happy Holidays!

This year, we thought we'd escaped the downpour and spoke too soon. Last Saturday we were deciding where to go for hubs' birthday dinner when the shit hit the fan. Literally. One of the downstairs toilets has been stopping up fairly often the past few weeks. I was on the computer and Drama Kid used the loo next door. I could tell by the sound that it was in danger of overflowing. I'm now an expert at overflow stoppage and was able to avoid any spills.

Drama Dad hauled out the plunger again and went to work. And then he said "we're going to need a plumber," and I could swear I heard our credit card commit suicide and plumbers all over the city mark up their "weekend emergency service" prices.

I went into the bathroom and saw this:

You can thank me later for not getting a closer shot. Know what's worse than a bathtub full of shit? Two bathtubs full of shit! Where is Mike Rowe when you need him?


And those baskets on the floor? The ones full of toiletries that used to fit in the master bathroom cabinets at our last apartment but not our house? Yep, they were in the tub. Hubs went to get the phonebook and I tried to stifle my gag reflex and breathe through my mouth.

Roto Rooter arrived, opened up the clean out drains and sent down a snake ($125). The snake made it far enough to relieve the pressure and allow the tubs to drain, but there was still a blockage. We agreed to the extra charge to have a camera sent in (condo colonoscopy) and fully expected them to remove broken toy parts or evidence of some of Drama Kid's mischief. But the diagnosis was worse: tree roots had broken through the pipe. The new estimate? $650. Happy Birthday honey!

After I regained consciousness I was all prepared to start returning the few Christmas presents I've bought and find a way to hock some jewelry when our neighbor came over and asked if we were having plumbing problems.

We got him up to speed on what Roto Rooter had said and done so far then went door to door to ask if anyone else was having problems too but everyone was out. We asked the Rooter man to hold off on anymore work until we called the HOA since the blockage was more than 50 feet from our house. Birthday dinner and Christmas are saved!

To make a long, shitty story short, the HOA is responsible for the repairs and they will reimburse us the $325 we spent. It took much scrubbing before I would even think about taking a shower. My hands smelled like bleach until yesterday which is totally preferable to the alternative!

What about you? Do crises seem to happen to you all at once? Have you ever had a bathtub full of poo?

My Son's Favorite Christmas Song Yo

Run-D.M.C. - New Music - More Music Videos

Online Privacy

It sometimes seems like a contradiction in terms that, as bloggers, we want to maintain some semblance of privacy. Many of us use our names, have our pictures and our families' on our blogs and a give a general idea of where we live.

We talk about the details of our lives, often very intimate details. Some bloggers put it all out there, which is their choice. I've tried to keep some identifying personal details off the blog mostly for the sake of my son. But, what to do when an interesting opportunity comes along that crosses over the boundaries you've set up?
The Drama family was recently interviewed for a newspaper article about the economy and its impact on a couple's decision to have or have more children. It was published in print and online yesterday. Having worked for a newspaper I knew our last names would be in the article but since the paper is not in San Diego I wasn't too concerned.

But, this morning a producer for a local TV station called out of the blue asking if we'd like to be part of a similar story with a more localized focus. I agreed and asked how they found me since I hadn't provided any contact information, let alone my home phone number.

She found me through ZabaSearch. I've heard of the site before but I guess I was in a state of "ignorance is bliss" because since no one has ever contacted me using it before now that must mean no one is looking for me, right? [ETA: My ZabaSearch results gave my name, address (fortunately not our current), home phone and year of birth. The site had our last address under my name and hubby's, and our last three addresses under hubby's name.]

There is so much information online that is easily available to the public it would scare me shitless if I thought it about all the time. It seems no on is immune to having their lives exposed with a few simple mouse clicks. If you haven't taken the time to ZabaSearch or Google yourself or your family members do it now. You may be surprised at what comes up.

Many of the sites that compile personal information have a legal right to do so which is frustrating to say the least. We as citizens also have the right to ask that the information be hidden which is what I'm doing with ZabaSearch. It seems that the age of technology means anyone can be found at any time. But I'm not going to let it be so easy anymore.

Wordless Wednesday: He Was Brave, But Not THAT Brave

For more Wordless Wednesday visit What's That Smell, MomDot and 5 Minutes For Mom.

Free Christmas Music!

I was so bummed I missed the free songs Oprah had on her site last week but this makes it all better. Go to Amazon every day through December 25th to download free Christmas music! There will be one free song every day (it started Dec. 1st).

There are artists and songs I've never heard of but am totally digging. I didn't know the Barenaked Ladies had a Christmas CD let alone they did a duet with Michael Buble!

Remember Jars of Clay? Yeah I didn't either until I came across this song. Free stuff rocks! Happy downloading! (Thanks Penny Pinching Diva!)

Help Spread The True Meaning of Christmas

I have read that perhaps this current economic crisis will be a much needed wake up call of sorts. We, as consumers (and I raise my hand here because I totally like my stuff) should take this opportunity to re-examine and re-evaluate our shopping and spending habits.

We should make more of an effort to buy American, buy local and buy sustainable. We should become a better example to our kids of what "people over possessions" really means, particularly over the holidays.

Helping the military and their families is a cause that's really important to me. I'll never forget the generosity of the small business my husband was working for when he was activated after 9/11. They gave him a small salary while he was gone which was so helpful to me since I was managing the household alone.

Not every military family can say the same. Despite the housing allowance and commissary, many families still really struggle to make ends meet, and it can leave parents feeling frustrated and depressed.

Here are a few organizations I've come across who have cheap, easy or free ways to send some holiday love to our men and women in uniform. because morale is so important.

*I found Wish Upon a Hero through an affiliate program I belong to.

Anyone can post a wish for something they want or need. I've used it to ask for help with the postcards and DVD player for my soldier and have gotten a nice response. I've also granted wishes by sending cards and postcards. There are many people looking for "small" but meaningful wishes that won't cost you much, if anything (free to join the site).

*Xerox has set up a site where you choose a postcard and they will mail it to a military member FREE (thanks Thrifty Mommy!).




*I saw eMail Our Military on Mommy Pie's site and had to look into it.

They have so many projects to contribute to (more than listed here):

• Postcards
• Care Packages
• Soup for the Troops
• Voice mail messages
• Artwork from kids (great for a Scouts, class or church project)

I did see they require a $2 processing fee but couldn't tell if it's needed for all the activities.

*The Red Cross is also sending cards to soldiers (postmark deadline 12/10).

*At the Starbucks near me and the Albertson's, shoppers can buy bags of coffee and leave them to be sent to the troops.

*And there is always the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program.

If you know of any other groups supporting the military for the holidays (or any other good causes) please leave it in the comments.

And, with the money pinch so many of us are feeling, will you be taking a more grassroots approach to the holidays?
(*None of theses companies know I've written about them)