Recycling At It's Best
I posted this about 5 years ago. I saw the commercial the other day and I thought about tBLOG and this post. The last 9 months have been the worst of my life. The biggest low point was the death of my 6 week old grandson, Brayden on December 8th, 2009. The highest high point was watching the last of my brood graduate High School this past May and what I thought was the beginning of a new chapter in my life. That chapter was titled "Newly Empty-nested" and was very short-lived. Many things are rapidly changing in my life. Good things. Things I want/need to share. More to come, but until then...
I spent today at home, in bed, sick...again. Yes, my immune system is in pitiful shape after the pneumonia. Given my extensive time in and out of hospitals and Doctor offices I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I have bronchitis. I refuse to admit it could be the dreaded "P" disease again. I'm not sure I could take that. I have an appointment to get an expert diagnosis tomorrow.
While laying around with every fiber of my being aching like a young bird's butt, I spent a fair amount of time watching TV. Daytime television leaves a lot to be desired. But the most disturbing thing I saw was a commercial that literally makes me run screaming. It's an advertisement for Lamisil, the toe fungus medication. The star of the commercial is one of the most repulsive little cartoon animations I've ever seen. His name is 'Digger'. He's a dermatophyte, whatever the hell that is!
His voice makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up and that sickening portrayal of him working his way under that yellow, infection ridden big toe makes me want to vomit. I swear to God I run away from the television when it comes on. His little pointed ears and rotund body does something to me I can't describe. My husband thinks it's hysterical, but the whole thing turns my stomach. The problem today was I couldn't run and couldn't hide. Each time it came on the image and that voice were seared into my memory. I hate, hate, hate that commercial.
And Then There Were 4...
Yes, here they are... the grandest of grandchildren. The first picture is my middle stepson's baby, Michael. Spiderman is the first of the litter, Bailey. The little girl with the big eyes is, Lexie. And the one with his mouth open (and yes he DOES take after his grand-nanny) is, Brayden--the newest to the crew.
Many people have asked about them and I couldn't be prouder!
More updates to follow...
I miss...
...writing
...this place and the people
...simpler times
...cheap gas
...smoking
...my mother
...lots of things
I started this blog nearly 5 years ago and when I take the time to go back to those first entries I'm just amazed at how devoted I was. I wrote about things that were happening in my everyday life as well as telling many a tall tale of my life. Why don't I do that anymore? I can't possibly imagine I'm any busier, I'm down to two children at home! Granted I do commute to work almost 32 miles each way, that only consumes a couple hours a day. What am I doing with the other 21 or so? I've been telling myself, and others, that I was going to start 'writing seriously' for a few years now. I haven't.
I know I'm not very disciplined but I'm not incredibly lazy either. Not sure what my problem is...
For the few friends I still have around, by year's end I will be the grandmother of FOUR!! Is that insane or what? heh Currently the grandprince will turn two a week from today and the grandprincess is just barely 6 weeks old. While I miss writing, and your company, I thank God often for what I do have.
Peace.
Technology.
Skin Deep
I am so grateful this election is about over! Like most other Americans I would guess. In fact I’m pretty sure the whole world is getting really sick of the mud-slinging and such too.
For those who don’t know I live in the Southern U.S…. the South is different on many levels. There are many things about my South that I’m very proud of, the hospitality, the beautiful landscape, the commonsense attitude of many of its residents, just to name a few. I’ve long been bothered with the typical Southern stereotype most of which is attributed to our “accent", almost as if we’re stupid because we don’t talk good (bad grammar intended)!
Other than the whole ‘Southern drawl’ thing I’ve always been relatively proud of my heritage and home. That all changed recently…
I overheard my boys and some of their friends talking about the election last week. At first I was glad that at 16 yrs. old they were actually keeping up with something other than MySpace and MTV but I was quickly sickened by the whole conversation. I hear one of the boys (yes one of mine) say, “If that nigger gets President he won’t be President long!” all the boys laugh and one of their friends chimes in with, “Hell ya, my Uncle said he knows somebody that will put a cap in his ass!” more laughter. I seriously wanted to beat all of them bloody then I just became very sad.
I can’t blame this attitude totally on their Southern roots or upbringing, but lets not pull punches, racism is still a very present thing in our region. But I can say with conviction my children have never heard anything like this come out of my mouth. In fact the “n” word has always been banned in my house. As teenagers they have black friends and I’ve heard all of them say to each other, “What’s up my nigga?” and I’ve questioned both black and white about it and they laugh about it and say it’s no problem. It’s kind of a problem to me.
I know the conversation I overheard is not limited to a group of quasi-redneck teens (and for the record I detest the label “redneck" too), I know all too well there are people in my very neighborhood that wouldn’t vote for a black man no matter what his platform. I know members of my church who feel the same way. I even have family members who, while they won’t admit that is the reason, they won’t vote for Obama, I know it’s his skin color.
I’m deeply ashamed of racist things that have happened in this country’s history. I was an infant when some of them occurred but I simply can’t imagine living in a world where one color of people sat at the front of the bus and another color sat in the rear. I don’t think I’d ever want to live in a world like that yet my home, the very place I spend every day was like that. I’ve asked my Grandmother and parents how they dealt with things like that and their answer usually is, “that’s just the way things were.”
This entire post is like a large jigsaw puzzle someone threw in the floor, heh. Yes, it’s disjointed and a little circular but there are many points I’d like to make but didn’t take the time to organize them.
Bottom line, racism is not limited to the South, I know that. But it’s really scary to think that in 2008 a black man could be in harms way simply because of his skin color. Call me naïve, but I suppose I gave some of my fellow Americans just a little too much credit.
Maddog
Maddog. That's my new pet name for him. If you spent any time with him now you'd understand why!
I realize none of you want to hear why I don't post much anymore, you have busy lives just like I do, right? But seeing Maddog in all his glory is the best reason for me personally not having too much free computer time these days, that and the fact that we've disconnected the home connection for now-long story, but lets just say it involves very hormonal 16 year old boys and naked women.
To anyone who might wonder, I am (a) doing well and (b) hoping to write again like I used to. With that said I'll leave you with a few recent happenings with the grand prince I like to call "Maddog Unplugged"
5 weeks ago while playing trucks in the living room floor with his Mom he tripped over his own two feet and fell with his left arm extended, locked into position onto the floor. He cried for a bit but not all that much. Maddog and his parents came to 'Nanny's' house that afternoon for a visit. Nanny quickly noticed Maddog wouldn't put any weight on that arm, and when she asked his parents what happened they said, "oh he fell this morning." Upon further Nanny investigation a small lump was sighted just above his left wrist, very little swelling and no bruising was present. Concerned Nanny (some call her paranoid) suggested taking him to the ER "just to be sure". Turns out the bone was 'wrinkled'/broken. Maddog was placed in a temporary cast for the weekend and got a plaster one the following Monday at the ortho guy. He tolerated the cast very well and seemed to get great pleasure beating it against anything he could. When it was removed there was 4 goldfish crackers and two french fries tucked inside... thank goodness he only wore it for 3 weeks!
He's obsessed with his belly button. His Mom was teaching him where his various body parts were starting with his eyes and nose which he picked up on very quickly but for some reason he's fascinated with his belly button... and anyone elses! Sunday afternoon at our annual church picnic everyone wanted to know why he had a band-aid on his belly button, well, it was to try to discourage him from picking at his nearly-raw belly button. I fear he will become intrigued with his nose. Ack! I picture a day soon when all his orifice's will be covered in band-aids!
He loves french fries from McDonalds, we sort of established that fact when I told you two of them were crammed in the bottom of his cast. He calls them "rye-rye's." Last weekend I had rode to the river with he and his parents sitting in the backseat exchanging Maddog gibberish the entire ride. We turned off the highway right beside the local McDonalds, he looks out the window seeing the golden arches and immediately starts chanting, "rye-rye's, rye-rye's, rye-rye's"... he turns 16 months old tomorrow! While it's obvious he's pretty sharp I fear his cholesterol levels will be off the charts by age 10.
Can you tell this Nanny is just a bit 'taken' by Maddog? I swear he is more fun than a barrel of monkeys and just about as wild! It is a pure joy to see him developing his own little personality with each passing day even if it is a little on the wild side.
Isn't It Ironic...
…that a virtual unknown, small-town, attractive woman is so well received as the potential next Vice President of our country while someone with the political background and experience had to fight tooth and nail to narrowly lose the nomination on the Democratic ticket? It’s not ironic to me. It’s society.
I rarely address political views, my own personal or otherwise in this medium but I can’t help but feel a little sorry for Hilary Clinton, and for the record I wasn’t one of her supporters. Many people, myself included, feel as though she rode Bill’s coat-tails to reach the political place she has, and maybe to a degree she did. But facts are facts, and Hilary Clinton is vastly more qualified to manage this country than Sarah Palin is, she’s just not as pretty.
I won’t bother with listing either woman’s qualifications (or lack therof) here but one tidbit sticks out in my mind, while Clinton was attending Wellesley College several of her classmates “thought she would be the first female President”—th at was 1969. Sarah Palin was voted “Miss Congeniality” and came in second in the Miss Alaska contest—pretty and a good personality, some girls have it all.
I don’t dislike Sarah Palin, that is not the point I’m trying to convey, I just feel like it’s very hard for us to teach our daughters and grand-daughters that you can be anything you want to be as long as you try hard enough. It’s clear that adage isn’t entirely true. Sadly, our society still puts more stock in ‘face’ value than they do hard work, determination and experience.
Olympic Spirit(less)
I just love watching the Olympics! My husband thinks I’m such a dork because I simply can’t get enough of sports that a). I’ve never played, and, b). some I’ve never even heard of. Granted until the Olympics I never paid too much attention to any Fencing matches and I’m pretty sure I’d never even dreamed there was a game called ‘handball’&md ash; but if it’s being broadcast to millions and there’s an American competing, count me in!
Of course a die-hard Olympic fan, such as myself has some of the same heroes the rest of the world has come to love, i.e. Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin, Misty May-Traynor/Kerri Walsh, etc. during the Beijing games. One of my favorite events of the Summer games is gymnastics and like Bella, my ass is still a little chapped over this new scoring system and the possibility the women’s gold medal winners just might have violated the age rules. But the Olympic games are never without controversy, are they?
One thing that has me a little miffed and quite possibly a bit disappointed is how few of our American athletes actually sing the National Anthem as they stand atop the podium for the whole world to see. Has anyone else noticed this? While we’ve established the fact that I’ve never been much of an athlete, I can say with certainty were I standing on the top podium with a gold medal around my neck I’d be belting out the likes of “…and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there…” with a very swollen heart. In fact I can seldom watch a medal ceremony honoring an American without singing, feeling my chest inflate with pride, and shedding a tear or two. Yet I watch these athletes that have spent the better part of their life working toward this goal stand there almost zombie like.
Sure, I’ve seen several become emotional but I don’t think I’ve seen one of them sing the glorious Star Spangled Banner from start to finish (I will also concede I can’t stay up 24/7 so maybe I missed a few). Olympic athletes are competing for personal goals but also as a representative of the U.S.A. and I think the very least they could do is mouth the words to our national anthem, I’ve noticed many other athletes from other countries sing with pride their own, so why shouldn’t we?
Any thoughts?
Home Sweet Home
Yes I made it back from the beach!! I wish I could report that it was a wonderful time, but it wasn't :( The weather just plain sucked. Rain. Rain. More rain.
I was the most ill-prepared I ever have been where vacations are concerned. Not really sure why I was so scatter-brained but I was. However, it was time away. Time alone with my husband--we both really needed some of that.
Had some pretty good seafood, especially the stuffed flounder with hollandaise sauce, oh man! I've decided I could eat just about anything smothered in hollandaise sauce! C'mon, butter and eggs? How could you go wrong?
Now I'm back home knee-deep in Vacation Bible School preparations--we begin Sunday night. Every year I swear I'll never do this again...
The grandprince couldn't be more wonderful. He spent the entire weekend with us two weeks ago. It was exhausting but soooo much fun!!
What's happening in your neck of the woods?
Beach Bound!
The Mr. and I are running off to the beach for a few days! Woo hoo. While I desperately need a vacay I have a nagging feeling about going. My Dad is sick, my 'getting-more-senile-by-t he-second' grandmother always needs something and my wonderful middle sister is off blissfully living her life in another state. *sigh* I almost feel like I'm going AWOL. But my physical and mental well-being have taken a beating as of late and I really need a break.
If anything can revitalize me, the beach can!
The Prince
Yes...
...I am alive!
Would it do any good to mention how busy things have been lately? Hmm didn't think so, but it's really true. Also my laptop has some issues, at the top of the list, it won't connect to the internet--not sure if another router has bit the dust of if the internal card is bad. Honestly I just haven't wanted to even deal with it. And that in and of itself is odd, could I be having some sort of online metamorphosis? I think it's possible.
I have had pneumonia, well I did a couple of weeks ago. I actually feel pretty darn good now.
The grandprince turned a year old on June 10th--a good blogger Nanny would have commemorated such an event with one helluva blog post. Just call me 'blogger-slacker-Nanny'. I'm simply bonkers for that kid!
I tried to read several blogs today that belong to people I genuinely love in that 'internet' sort of way, I did not reply but I plan to tomorrow while at the office.
I will have a working computer at home shortly, the man and I both start school again shortly and will have to have it.
I've missed you all. I wish I could find that mad desire to write again...
You Got To Have Friends
Last Friday me and 4 girlfriends saw the premiere of Sex and The City. I for one wasn't disappointed, but I loved the series. About 45 minutes into it I was a little worried, it was slow and (like the whole movie) predictable. But as the film moved on I got past the few roadblocks and realized the whole movie wasn't about fashion, over-priced cocktails, sex or even the one true love most all of us are looking for. The movie, like the series, was about friendship. Plain and simple.
I'm sure men bond with other men on some sort of level but I don't think it's the same for them as it is for we girls. I can't really see a guy holding his best friends hair out of her face as she barfs up the one too many margarita she had in a Waffle House restaurant at 2 am, but I guess he might. I can't really imagine a guy watch his best friend try on 3 dozen different dresses she needs to wear to a function that her ex will be attending with his new squeeze, but I suppose he might. I can't imagine a guy stalking a former lover's home at midnight to see who might be making a late night bootie call, but you never know?
I love my girlfriends every bit as much as Carrie loves Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte. Rare is the opportunity we shop for $700 shoes or attend a club opening in Manhattan, but we are always there for each other, and I sincerely hope we always will be!
The More Things Change...
...the more things change !!
I'm talking specifically about tBLOG. I've been posting here since October 2004. I have shared a great deal of myself and made some truly wonderful, faceless friends (and faceless refers to the fact I've never actually met them, face to face). I don't post very often anymore. There's really no specific reason I don't post, with the possible exception of laziness. But I do come around. Alot.
I'm sad to come here and see the multitude of 'spam' posting's. I know that the tBLOG guys have worked very hard (for little to no real revenue) to eliminate this particular scab on free websites like this, but they seem to be damn near unstoppable. While I don't like this, I haven't cancelled my account, I haven't stopped coming to read some excellent posts, no, I haven't done any of that. But I don't post that often...
I think back to when the hallowed halls of tBLOG were jam-packed of writing fury. Not all of it was of the 'excellent' writer caliber, but it certainly was entertaining! I remember a number of good "grudge matches" between some pretty forked-toungued (fingered? lol) bloggers, numerous character assainations, and a few hot and heavy romances! I remember a close-knit community that shared their lives with one another. I remember the heartaches and triumphs. I miss these.
Understand, the tBLOG family is still alive and well, and I for one am grateful! But it is different. And I just can't apply the old adage, "the more things change, the more they stay the same" to tBLOG anymore. Can you?
I love the concept of online blogging. I have no less than 15 blogs I read daily, religiously. I would love to have the dedicated following some of these bloggers have, but right now I just don't want the responsibilty. Another old adage comes to mind, "you can't have your cake and eat it too"!!
I have no plans to leave tBLOG. I would however like to have a more "spam-free" diet!
What do you think?
Can American Companies...
...not find any American workers capable of handling customer service calls? This job can't be that hard, and I know some of these huge companies can certainly afford to pay American people do this job. I am so sick and tired of talking to customer service reps. that can't understand a damn word I say and vice versa. I realize many of these (as well as other) jobs are outsourced but isn't it possible, and least of all courteous, to find countries with workers that speak audible English?
I suppose we could boycott these companies, an act that seems to get results, but I'm afraid we'd have nowhere to shop as it seems this practice is very commonplace. I realize this is opening up a huge can of political worms, and I'm not trying to do that, but I spent a very frustrating hour on the phone with a cable customer service rep and am not a happy camper right now (hence even more run-on sentences than usual, lol).
If there is a person or place, politically speaking, that might be able to address this issue; please share that info with me. ASAP!!
I Caved
At the urging of a couple of girlfriends I have created a MySpace page! I guess it's not such a big thing considering I've had an account for a long time (used soley to spy upon the pages of the teenagers in my house, this was of course before they became wise to my game and set all their pages to private). Being somewhat familiar with MySpace I spent little time with all the 'fancy-schmancy' page layouts and such, but I have spent a good deal of time browsing for possible long lost friends. I'm happy to say I've run into a few and re-lived some comical memories but while looking around I have to say that there are a few things some people do that I will NEVER do, including but not limited to...
- Pasting those glittery, adult based, graphic greetings that say things like, "Thanks for the add" or "Just dropping by to say hi!", "Hi Sexy" ; I think you're getting the picture here.
- I will not add one of those annoying as Hell music player thingy's!!
- I will never post up a layout background of some 'busy' scene and then use a very light font color making the whole thing impossible to decipher.
I suppose as time goes by I will be adding to this list but for now these are the few that really stand out in my mind.
Something else that has stood out in my mind... well I'm not really sure how to put this delicately, but here goes, there are a lot and I do mean a lot of very unattractive people out there. Not to say that I have any room to talk but there are some pictures posted that honestly leave me with my my mouth agape, shaking my head. At first I thought it was just my geographical locale that was producing these types of profiles (being from the South the probability was high) but after a little more investigating I realized it's not a localized thing. I realize that MySpace is not intended to be a site to romantically hook-up (or is it?) but why some of these folks post the pics they do is just beyond me.
Anyhoo I'm there. I'm semi-blogging there sometimes. If you have a MySpace page and would like a new friend drop me a tmail and we'll meet up there!
Is It Spring Yet?
The air was always thick with chlorine and Hawiian Tropic suntan oil. You could hear multiple radios playing anything from Three Dog Night to The Carpenters. Girls, young and old alike wore bikini's, and I never really understood why. I mean some of the 'Mothers' truly should have not been wearing a two-piece bathing suit of any kind. But they wore them just the same. There were no men here, or should I say very few men over the age of eighteen. We saw men whizzing past in golf carts but rarely ever inside the chain-length fence. There were exceptions to this rule but only a very special occasion brought the 'dads' into our little world.
This was Summer to me and many others just like me. This was Summer at the country club, a place I never associated with any kind of privilege, ever. In fact when I was older I often felt a little silly recanting my Summer's there, I didn't want to sound snooty, especially given my geographical locale. The Monday-Saturday was always the same; up at 9:00 a.m. rushing to make beds, straighten the house, defrost something for dinner and out the door usually with a packed lunch in hand (we may have summered at the CC but we had our limits) there were optimum sun 'hours' to be enjoyed and my Mother had a tan quota to meet. This extensive sun exposure led to many a day caked in zinc oxide, freckles, and I fear a yet undetected melanoma or twelve.
We did this same routine for years. This was Summer.
Can you tell I'm ready for warmer weather?
Duck, Duck, Goose.
Today I turned another year older. I told a friend over the weekend I wanted no 'Pomp and Circumstance' this year so I've held off posting (ya like I post so regularly these days, LOL) until there's barely an hour left of the day!
I had a pretty good day. Me, the daughter and grand-prince went to the 'Duck Park'. The town I live in has a charming little park by a big stream full of ducks and geese. There are picnic tables and a walking path. We brought our lunch and enjoyed the 60 degree weather. The prince loved the outdoors, and the cars and trucks driving by. I thought he might be a little more intrigued with the ducks than he was but all in all it was a good time.
I'm not feeling so great right now, praying I don't have the flu which is at almost epidemic proportions in these parts right now, the local schools were closed two days last week due to illness. I felt great all day but as the sun went down so did I. Hopefully it's just a cold.
Daily Grind
Yes, she's alive! lol
I've had a blue million ideas to post over the last week but everytime I had a minute to post tBLOG was down, as most of you already know.
Everything here in Hooterville is pretty much the same, per usual. The kids still torment me on a daily basis, the hubby is knee-deep in school work (he's back in college); not so sure I can tolerate this higher education... again! The grand-prince is just beyond grand. My Dad had a scary week, a bout of A-Fib (yes the same crap I live with round the clock) landed him in the hospital overnight, but we think it's nothing too serious. We bought another car, I hate car payments, I mean I hate car payments.
Men's basketball is a popular topic 'round these parts right now, specifically collegiate men's basketball. Memphis (#1) takes on Tennessee (#2) tomorrow night. Should be a good game.
Guess that hits the high points, so, what's new with you?
Still Here
Well, pretty much the same old, same old around here.
Spent the weekend in Gatlinburg at the annual church youth retreat I've been chaperoning for years and years, I'm about to run out of teenagers! It makes me kind of sad to think about the near future when I won't have anyone to 'chaperone'. I made the trip with the son and two step-sons, we had a great time but it was way cold, 10 degrees on Sunday morning!
The grandprince is sick :( He has a pretty nasty respiratory virus but is getting better quickly thanks to daily breathing treatments. I've been snapping pictures with the new camera like crazy but can't figure out how to get them off of the Media Center?? We're currently shopping for a new laptop so hopefully it will have a better program.
I guess this is pretty big news; I'm going back to school! The man started back and the 'higher education' bug bit me hard. I will be attempting to obtain a degree in Web Design and Layout. Starting out small focusing on an Associate's Degree after which I'll decide about going further. I started thinking about my golden years and realized that given my health issues there very possibly could come a day when me working outside the home on any level might not be possible but I could most likely work from home and lets face it the age of web development and commerce isn't going anywhere, so it just seemed like a good choice. I'm very excited but also a little nervous as most of my classes will be through the Regents Online courses. I think I have the motivation but worry a little about the organization and discipline it will take. Time will tell.
I wish I were more motivated to write. I miss the blog community but it seems like my 'real' life always throws a big wrench into the best laid plans. Oh who am I kidding, I've gotten lazy. There, I said it.
So, what's new with you?
Insanity 101
My husband's ex wife is in town with her husband, and their son. Her family lives here locally and frequently visits us, they invite us to every family function and even got us Christmas presents. This is just damn weird to me. I think it's great if ex's can remain civil to one another, but let's face it, it's just not natural to be "friends".... is it?
Tonight the ex and her immediate family dropped by for an impromptu discussion involving some property she and my husband still own. This land has never been an issue for us as it's to be given to their children when they reach age 25. Her mother has been living on the land for the last year and feels like she is entitled to a portion of it. My husband is never going to agree to give her any of it, and they know that so they've resorted to trying to convince the boys to do it. Idiots I tell ya, like those young men could convince my husband to do such a thing.
If you're sitting there shaking your head while reading this, welcome to my world! I can't imagine my ex husband and his wife sitting on my sofa laughing and giggling with me and Tim! Oh God, I just can't fathom it. My husband is just as stunned as I am. But the rest of the clan, oh I imagine they think there's nothing wrong with this picture. It's just twisted, twisted, twisted.
These little episodes don't happen very often, but every time they do I am left feeling like this. Someone tell me, am I really the crazy one here?
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to all!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!
I have been attempting to answer comments for the last 30 hours or so but it seems that everytime I try tBlog has different ideas! I will get around to it. Just wanted to quickly update Christmas happenings; we had an absolute BLAST doing 'Chinese Christmas' with my family, my youngest sister and Dad were a little apprehensive going in but I honestly think they might have enjoyed it the most! I ended up bringing home one of the gifts I'd brought (everytime I'd get a gift someone else would take it, lol). It was a quesadilla maker and we tried her out this afternoon and loved it.
After celebrating with my family for the early evening we came back home with all the children and exchanged gifts. I think all the kids were happy even though they mainly got practical gifts from us. My hubby spoiled me yet again and bought me too many things but the best was... *drumroll please* A DIGITAL CAMERA!!! Yes, we have officially joined the age of technology and I will soon be posting sickening amounts of photos of the grandprince! Speaking of the prince, he seemed to enjoy the festivities but really liked wearing the bows on his head- ok maybe we really enjoyed him wearing the bows! Heh.
The man and I were talking this afternoon remembering how when we were younger the afternoon of Christmas Day was sort of sad. We'd waited for so long for the 'big' day and then it was just over. Even still we knew that 364 days from now we'd be excited again.
I hope you had a great Christmas wherever you are. To my faithful readers and friends I wish you nothing but love and happiness in the New Year.
S.
In Fair Shape
Well, I know this shouldn't surprise me but here we are 6 days away from Christmas and I'm sick as a dog! Sneezing, coughing, fevering, chilling, etc... I've managed to stay pretty healthy this winter until now. I don't think it's the flu but it sure would qualify of 'totally feeling like crap' status.
On the upside, before I fell ill and into my bed I managed to make about 10 lbs. of pepermint bark to give as gifts. I wrapped almost all of the gifts we bought Saturday, and have them under the tree. This friends, is a major accomplishment for me. Usually I'm frantically wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve.
I think my boys are finally growing up a bit, while they're were mildly curious about the gifts there's been no begging to open 'just one' and no manic shaking of the boxes! Last year I resorted to giving each of them a new name. You see they'd drive us crazy about the gifts and comparing this one to that one, so last Christmas I renamed each of the children with one of the names of the Seven Dwarf's it worked wonderfully until I lost my master list of who was who!! This actually made things a little more fun. Sleepy would open a gift that really belonged to Sneezy, Doc would open a gift that belonged to Dopey, and so on and so on.
Another year I assigned each child a 'number' and each gift was addressed to a specific number. I didn't lose my list that year, thankfully! Also each of the gifts I give the kids come from 'Santa' which they think is silly but I like it and I think secretly they do too!
What's your Christmas progress?
