All is calm, all is bright

I did it...got the trees decorated, meal together, gifts ordered, purchased, wrapped and under the tree. It has been quite a different season for us this year, but it still ended up a wonderful holiday. We played board games lastnight til midnight and our living room was full of evidence of Santa this morning! Nathan's friends Andrew and Dorian ended up spending the night, and it makes me happy to think that it just wouldn't seem normal if our home wasn't host to a few scragglers each year.


My favorite gifts to give this year went to Nathan and Mark. With the help of my friend Stefan (who spent this Christmas in Paris with beautiful Amanda) we got Nate a Fender Strata guitar and a killer amp. I've had a few moments of "what the heck was I thinking" today as the musi...er...loud noise...emits from the basement, but all in all, I was thrilled to make him happy with the gift. As for Mark; he was recently told by a friend he needed to upgrade his watch. He has one that seems somewhat "Army issue" and cost about fifteen bucks. He is now sporting a nice black face with gold accent gig I found at a mall jewlery store. It gorgeous!


Lyn has hardly done anything but load music on her new laptop and Emily had to have a nap after all that unwrapping. Lola has had the most fun today though. Santa brought her a ball that talks to her every time it moves. She absolutely exhausts herself with the stupid thing, then after a quick rest goes right back at it...she's insatiable.


As for me, Mark got me a print of one of my favorite paintings:


This makes it okay that he also got me a coffee pot.

We do miss our family and friends that seem even further away today. How we wish we could be with you to share in the memories and enjoy making new ones.

And as tradition dictates, I vow to start Christmas shopping earlier next year, and strive to make next year even less stressful. Fewer Christmas trees, less decorations, and who cares if dinner is perfect both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! For today, have more pie and cookies before we commit to all those New Year resolutions.

Santa Claus is coming to town! And here I am on the 13th of December with the trees up, but no decorations yet. The kids have list, but no shopping started. I haven't even

bought Christmas Cards! Let's just say I haven't been living up to traditions very well this year. I haven't even dug out the CD collection of various winter wonderland tunes and played them constantly since the table was cleared at Thanksgiving. This just may be the year that the memory I create is of Mom trying to pull off a spectacular holiday in two days. The problem is I KNOW I need to kick into gear and DO something. Maybe I can hit the mall this week and see if Santa has a moment for a kid at heart to sit on his lap. Hmmm, what could I ask for? I wonder if he'd lend me one of those elves for a few weeks? Maybe he could lay a finger aside of his nose and my house would magically be spotless and the stockings would all get hung by the chimney with care.

What ever Santa brings, my hope is that I can still find a glimpse of childlike wonder on the kids faces this year. THAT is MY favorite thing of all about this season...that look you see when you know someone is feeling it inside. Could be from the perfect gift they wanted, watching Charlie Brown Christmas or getting to be the one who puts the star on top of the tree...simple memories that create ongoing traditions.

Please Don't

I tend to be a fairly laid-back kinda gal and not let too much get under my skin. There are however, a few things that just irritate me to death. Pet Peeves if you will, things that just make me go...uggg.



One shoe on the side of the road: I don't understand this phenomenon. To see one shoe or two in a lifetime along side the highway, maybe; but I've had to have seen hundreds at this point. How on this earth have that many individuals lost a shoe while driving down an interstate and why have I never met anyone who has said, "you're never going to believe what happened to my shoe on the way here"? I simply don't believe there are that many hillbillies out there riding with one foot out the window, and what about the ones you see during winter? Are there that many angry people out there that get mad and throw a shoe? Wouldn't you think there would be easier access to something other than a shoe if that were the case? The majority of the shoes I've seen, I believe to be men's shoes...but how many men with one shoe do you ever really see?
I once saw a baby shoe...you know it wasn't just hanging out the window and happen to come off.
I'm at the point now that I try to determine if it is a left shoe or a right shoe. Left shoes make even less sense. Why, oh why are they there?
So this bothers me, and if anyone out there can give me some good explanation for the thousands of littered shoes across the country I would sure appreciate hearing from you.

BlueTooth: I have personally responded to five people who didn't even know they were speaking to me! Yes, having someone constantly plugged into your ear could be convenient, and hands free shopping while you are conducting serious business I guess could be a good thing. Seems most of the people I've seen use this most are in line at Wal-Mart and not dressed like serious business people to begin with. When they can invent a device that shuts people up...that's when I will be impressed.

Emergency Protocol: "Your seat bottom may be used as a flotation device" is my least favorite thing to hear on an airplane. Not because it scares me, but listen, I'm flying over Arizona...there are no large bodies of water to float in, why do I need this information? And couldn't airlines somehow build a plane that IS a flotation device so that once I recover from the shock of crashing I don't have to be cognisant enough to detach my seat bottom to float around until help arrives? Has one life been saved in say Ohio, when a plane crashed and the one person who actually listened to the safety features of a 747, got his seat bottom to work properly?

Holiday Haters: People who declare "I hate the holidays", or "I hate Christmas" are low on my list. How can anyone hate a day set aside for celebration!? This time of year is the most wonderful of all. We get to eat great food, shop til we drop, and get together with friends and family...I don't see what is in there to hate. If it's because your life doens't look like a Norman Rockwell painting, welcome to reality! But just watch the giddy kids at the mall, and the cars with a tree tied on top, the beautiful lights and store window displays. If nothing else, enjoy that! You can enjoy the smell of a pie baking in the oven, the blanket of snow on the ground, the Vince Guaraldi Trio and embrace the nostalgia of the season. This is a good thing!

Face Tattoos: Do you remember the first comforter you ever bought for your bedroom? Mine was mint green with soft pink roses. I loved that comforter, but it isn't what I want on my bed now. Now I couldn't live without a white down comforter with about five pillows. Maybe in my 50's I'll go with a quilt. Point is this...taste change. The things we think are so cool at 20 are different from what we find appealing at 25, 30, 40, etc. One day a little baby is going to look up at his Grandfather who has GOON tattooed across his neck. Can you imagine dear old Mom at high school graduation, beaming with pride while the fairy flying out of her ear onto her face contorts with her tears of pride? Or maybe Dad has tears tattooed on already. This bothers me beyond belief...an entire society that are now forever branded losers!

Animal Haters: There is no need to be cruel and abusive. If you don't like pets, don't have one. (it should go without saying but the same rule applies to children!)