Mishmash Musings

I hardly ever blog about my family, and that’s by design. I’m not the kind of person who wants to put up every little detail of my life on my blog for the whole world to see, so I mostly just talk about current events, entertainment, etc. But I’m just so proud of my son that I’m making an exception today.

We spent the whole weekend Christmas shopping. The mall was absolutely insane, with every store packed to the rafters with people looking for last-minute deals. My son, who’s almost 5, was a trooper the entire time. He didn’t complain about how long everything was taking, nor did he whine to go home early.

What’s more, he was extremely well-behaved when we went into the toy store. While other kids were crying and screaming and demanding toys, my son just found one small item that he liked, then came up to me and said, “Mommy, do you have enough money to buy this today?”

He had been such a good boy all day and his request was so polite that I simply couldn’t refuse! I think my mom taught him to be this nice. I know it certainly wasn’t me or my husband!

Is it just me, or has there been a dearth of good celebrity gossip in the past few weeks? I subscribe to several entertainment-focused blogs and websites, so I do read Hollywood news every day. Lately it seems that all the stories are about fashion, Oscar nominations, and the usual dating/breakup rumors — pretty boring!

Where have all the juicy stories gone? Can’t we have another Amy Winehouse concert meltdown, or Lindsay Lohan drug rehab stint? How about Paris Hilton getting into another fender bender, or Tom Cruise saying something wacky on a talk show?

Come on, people! I need some good gossip here!

I don’t have many favorite actresses, and there are very few that I’d actually go out of my way to see. But Keira Knightley is one of them — or at least, she used to be. I admit that I had a slight girl-crush on her back during her Bend It Like Beckham and Love Actually days. Those were great films to begin with, and her performances just improved the overall experience for me.

But in recent years, Knightley is not looking very healthy at all. She’s basically just skin and bones at this point, which is very alarming. Her clothes hang off her, she has no curves…. I usually don’t talk about actresses/models and anorexia, never got into the whole Calista Flockhart, Lara Flynn Boyle, MK/Ashley Olsen bashing or anything like that. But with Knightley, it’s just soooo noticeable and makes her look awful.

I know a lot of people are talking about this right now, and I don’t mean to pile on here, but the change is really drastic.

My husband will be leaving for a Christmas party in about an hour, so I’m going to have some free time to myself tonight (after my son goes to bed at 8:30, that is). Since I’ve already finished all the writing projects I had to do for today, I think I’m going to work on purging some of my old computer files.

I have an ancient 80GB external hard drive that has all kinds of junk on it. I mean, we’re talking about copies of my college term papers and stuff like that! At the time, I thought I’d want to hang on to those, but now it just seems like a waste of space. Honestly, when am I ever going to even read my old papers again?

There are also lots of low-quality random videos that I downloaded from the web (and never watched), so I want to get rid of those too. I can then use the hard drive to archive my freelance writing files, which are slowly but surely overcrowding my computer.

Yep, just another boring Saturday night for me!

I am happy to report that I’m 99% ready for Christmas, with 10 days to spare! I have mailed out all my Christmas cards, done the bulk of my gift shopping, wrapped the presents, and purchased the ingredients for my contribution to the family dinner.

The only thing I have left to do is buy my husband’s main gift. I’ve already gotten him some smaller presents and stocking stuffers, but I’m waiting to see how much money I have left for his main gift. If I have enough, I’m going to buy him that 80GB video iPod that he’s had his eye on. If not, I’m going to get him an Xbox game or two. Either way, those purchases won’t take very long, as there’s a Best Buy 10 minutes away.

I am so relieved that everything is done! Now I don’t have to worry or stress out about the holidays, and I can actually enjoy the rest of the ride. I’ll have time to watch all the Christmas specials on TV with my son, go look at Christmas lights around the neighborhood, etc. I haven’t been done this early in years!!!

Back when I was growing up, my parents always bought Fannie May chocolates to give to family and friends during the holidays or other special occasions. I just loved going into the store to help pick out the perfect box of chocolates for my aunt or grandmother, and of course I couldn’t leave without begging for a Mint Meltaway for myself!

Now that I’m an adult, I still turn to Fanny May chocolates for gift-giving occasions. There aren’t anymore stores in my area, but I can order online from FannieMay.com. There is a wide range of chocolates, cheesecake, and other treats to choose from, as well as numerous gift towers, decorative tins, and seasonal/holiday products. Ordering is a breeze, and the shipping charges are very reasonable.

I especially like the “Create An Assortment” option that allows you to mix ‘n’ match your favorite items in a 1lb. box. I have an incredibly hard time choosing which chocolates to include, but I guess that’s not a bad problem to have!

Anyway, I think ordering Fannie May chocolates is an affordable and convenient way to take care of the remaining people on your holiday gift list. Everyone loves chocolate, so you can’t go wrong!

I just read that experts at the Art Institute discovered one of their Gauguin pieces to be a fake. It is a ceramic sculpture called The Faun, and was purchased from a Sotheby’s auction back in 1997. The piece had been on display at the museum since then, but was pulled down in October when questions about the sculpture’s authenticity first began to arise.

Apparently, this copy of The Faun was produced by a man named Shaun Greenhalgh, whose entire family has been under investigation by Scotland Yard. Greenhalgh confessed to the forgery, and was reportedly sentenced to 4+ years in jail. His parents, both in their eighties, received suspended sentences.

I have actually seen the piece in question (I try to go to the Art Institute at least once a year), so this story is kind of interesting to me. Plus, I’ve been a Gauguin fan ever since I read Maugham’s The Moon and Sixpence back in high school.

It’s kind of crazy that a high caliber museum like the Art Institute would get snookered like this, but I guess the copies were just that good. I also read that Greenhalgh had produced numerous other copies of artwork that, if sold, would have netted his family something like $20 million. Wow.

This story is yet another reason that I don’t “get” paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for art…!

I decided to brave the weather, traffic, and crowds in order to get some Christmas shopping done today. I arrived at the mall about 15 minutes before it opened, which seemed to be a good time. I didn’t have any trouble finding a parking spot (far away from the doors), and there wasn’t a mad rush inside every single store like during the evenings and weekends.

I found some great bargains, so I ended up making several purchases. I bought a LEGO set for my son, a pair of pajamas for my husband, some truck accessories for my brother, and a coffee maker for my mom. I also bought a bunch of stocking stuffers for my son (crayons, Matchbox cars, etc.), so it ended up being a pretty productive day.

I only have a few more gifts left to buy. They’re the big ones, and since my husband gets paid on the 14th, I should be able to buy them this weekend. I can’t wait to get this over with!