Holiday Season...

is upon us...I think I may have counted around 7 different holiday commercials on yesterday during Sunday football. (I'm sure this will quadruple after Tuesday and all the political mudslinging has ended)

Still not quite the holiday season in these parts; today will be the first day in about two weeks that the temperature drops below 90. I have to admit the whole heat thing is really starting to wear on both myself and the fiance. Last week the air conditioner "broke" and the fiance was ready to pack up and flee to the autumn weather of Massachusetts; however, after the handyman came and charged us $126 to flip the circuit breaker, Arizona was back to being tolerable.

As most of you know, fiance and I live in a small, one-bedroom condo in central Phoenix. This would be nice for a family of one, but it is ready to burst at the seams with two dogs, a cat and two humans. To make matters worse, our neighbors decided to buy a dog they simply cannot take care of, and it howls through the majority of the evening. It's not especially loud, but heartbreaking to hear. Our neighbor upstairs has decided to put in a beautiful tile floor, and unfortunately for us the carpet that used to be there must have muted the sound of his fender stratocaster for the past two years.

I'm not trying to be ungrateful for what I have - it is a roof over our heads and it is an investment (not a very good one right now, but what is?) I just find it ironic that out of the 1/3 of our complex that has foreclosed, we seem to be surrounded by loud, and somewhat disgusting people. The folks next to us literally have dirt come out of their house when they open the door. It is like living next to Pigpen from the Peanuts. There is always some black goo on the floor outside their door AND they leave their garbage in the hall. For the love of Pete - have some respect for your neighbors.

Little off the topic of holiday season, but hey. So fiance and I have decided to pack up the pooches and the Wii and head to California for the Thanksgiving holiday to stay with my mother. My sister and her beau will be traveling from the Biggest Little City to join in the festivities...Should be fun, just wish it wasn't four weeks away. You go from a little kid wishing away November and December to get to Christmas for the obvious reasons. I go from November to December wishing the days away so I can finally take some time away from work. Funny how your priorities change.