Family Christmas

I didn't forget, Mom! It just took me a while to decide what to say.

We had a wonderful time at the somewhat different and late Christmas gathering at my parents house on Saturday. The company was great, the food was perfect and the gifts from Mom and Dad were more than they should have been. I have already lit my Pumpkin Pie candle. It won't last long at my house.

I got to visit with Mom and Dad, with my grandfather and my uncle and with my neice. She is growing so fast and she is so full of energy! Sandi, you have your hands full! Me and Mom had a nice trip to Grenada to Walls especially to get a candle for Chris. He is so hard to buy for that when Mom heard him say he liked the scent of a candle she had, she was on it. We were out the door, in the car and heading for the dam. I hate the dam. Sorry, but I don't like driving over large bodies of water. That would cover bridges and boats, people.

We got to talk and we spent more than we should and stayed longer than we should have, but guess what. It didn't matter. Here we are and everything is fine. Chris didn't miss his game and I actually cooked dinner. We didn't eat out! I was impressed with us.

Thanks mom, for the great Christmas, yet again. I love you and Dad and it was nice to visit with you.

The Usual

I am finally at home in my comfy clothes after working all day. We had Huddle House for dinner and it was perfect. Now I can smell coffee making and I am giving my dog his nightly treats.

This dog is on such a tight schedule he squeaks. I get out of the bed in the morning and head for the shower. If he is not already awake, he wakes up when I get up and follows me into the bathroom. He has done this since he was able to walk. Then after the shower he follows me when I go put on my robe . He stands there wagging his tail until I start to go out the bedroom door. If I don't come immediately, he comes back to me, gets my attention and raises his head and front paws and quickly turns his head toward the door in a "come-on" sort of way. He knows its time for his morning treats.

I give him one, he goes and lays it down in front of the bathroom door and comes back for another. I give him another and he goes in the bedroom and lays it right inside the door. He comes back for another and takes it into Marli's room and lays it right inside the door. Then he comes back for his fourth (he always gets four and he knows this). He takes the fourth in front of the bathroom door and lays down to eat it. He comes back to me and I say the same thing every morning. "Go eat your food now". He starts at the bathroom door and goes to every place aforementioned. Then, if Chris isn't awake, he decides he needs to go out. He stands in front of the front door and lowers his head and stares at me. I am in the kitchen making my lunch and our breakfast and I can see him staring. He just stares at you intently until you start to go to the door. Then he acts like a circus poodle doing really fast 360's on the carpet til you open the door (the wooden one) He claws at the other door til you open it. Then he Superman dives off the porch and pees on the trash can, then the tire. EVERY MORNING. Same order.

He starts running back to the house when he is done and I am watching for him so I open the door and he never slows down the whole trip. He runs clear to the kitchen grabs his ball and starts growl/barking at me twisting his head (while holding the ball) wanting me to play. I sometimes throw it (if I can get it out of his mouth) and sometimes I don't. When I don't, he throws it for himself. Right over his head. Yep, he slings it over his head , waits for it to fall somewhere and surprise attacks it. He falls down on his two front paws with his little backside in the air and chews like crazy. It's always the same thing.

The coffee is ready!

Back to Walmart

We had to go to Wal-Mart here in town again tonite for yet another pack of batteries. For the "Hair Gems" machine. That place looked like it had been pillaged by the 50%-off-vikings or something else barbaric. It was a mess!

I like to look at the bath supplies (you know the ones, they only have the good bath sets at Christmas). I found the body spray bottles with no tops, some of them had no sprayers. I picked up a body wash bottle to sniff the "Gingerbread" scent and got a slimy hand because some idiot used the same hand to close the bottle that they had apparently sqeezed body wash into (probably thinking it was lotion). The only toys and electronic goodies left were obviously repackaged using scotch tape and no forethought.

You could only imagine the neanderthal-like behavior on Christmas Eve in that place! (I was in Tupelo for the pillaging, thank you very much.)

I was in our home town Wal-Mart for about an hour on Christmas Eve, though, we had to get some stocking stuffers. There was some kid in there who was obviously mentally handicapped. He was probably 12 or so. He kept following me. We went to the DVD's and there he was ogling over my shoulder while making strange giggling and/or cooing noises. I passed it off as a too crowded aisle. But then , he would take a few steps, spin like a fairy in a jewelry box and come back and "sneak-up" on me. Then we went to toys. And there he was again. Giggling and spinning. He waltzed up to me and stood there grinning, teeth shining. I looked back , but I wasn't kind. Somebody's mama needs to put them in the cart. Where was mama? Probably hiding. After I looked at him, he tilted his head and walked past me, looked back again and went around the corner. Still cooing.

Maybe I was cruel, but I wanted to get done and get the heck out of there. It was filling up fast. Every man for himself.

Nonetheless, it is over. b-r-e-a-t-h-e. I can now that we have the batteries.

We and our Wii and Other Updates

I could never give back enough to everyone who gave to us this year. I have to try though. My neighbor gave us so much from decorations (she made a wreath for my front door) to big fluffy towels. I am a scrooge, I won't lie about that. I just hate christmas because it is about who can top who. I had gotten to the point where I would just rather sit in my house and read until the whole thing was over. BUT I do have a daughter who wouldn't appreciate that.

She got to spend some time with Mimi and Papaw before Christmas on a trip to Austin , TX to see Uncle John and Aunt Stacy. They visited the Alamo, the Trail of Lights and Alvin and the Chipmunks, the movie. Uncle John, big kid that he is, had Guitar Hero 3, a big screen TV and two big fluffy dogs. Aunt Stacy gave her an Angelina Jolie hairdo. My child was in heaven. On the way home she visited with Aunt Sandi, Uncle Mark and Adeline. She and Adeline were thick as thieves the whole time. I think Adeline is accustomed to sleeping alone and rooted Marli out of the bed a time or two. It's all part of the experience. Makes for a memorable trip. Darn that Big Pooh.

She knows that we are Santa so we didn't do the usual Christmas morning surprise this year. We opened everything Christmas eve night. She got a Wii from Papaw Jerry so we went to his house first on Christmas Eve, then we came back home to open gifts here. Had to do it in that order, because WE got the games to go with the Wii. That thing is addictive, ya'll.

She got her Wii and several games. One of which she has already grown tired of so we traded it in on another one today. She got almost everything on her list. The laptop will have to wait. I found out that when your kid becomes a tween the clothes become much much more expensive and the same amount we spent on clothes last year would double and then some. Also found out that she wears a size 6 1/2 shoe. I wear a 5 1/2 so I get some serious hand-downs.

I did get a little gift money and you know me, headed for the bookstore. BTW, Aunt Sandi, Marli got the money from those already read books put on a gift card. She hasn't made up her mind yet on which book to get. I found a Phillip Pullman box set (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass). Oh, and thanks for the t-shirt! I wore it shopping today.

Also, today I got my books from paperbackswap.com in the mail. Book Three on The Lost Years of Merlin and the Life Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. I am reading The Alchemist now as well. I have about 7 different books going at once. It's bad to do it that way, but I can't help it. I have to start one when I first get it, whether I am still in the middle of another one or not. Maybe I should have bought a bookshelf instead...

I HAVE TO GO BACK TO WORK TOMORROW! I won't know where I am when I get there. I have the best boss in the world . He let us have from December 21st to December 27 as a vacation. And I got a wonderful Christmas bonus to boot. A fat check and a one hour massage coupon. He's a big hearted guy.

We have one more stop to make for Christmas. Going to Mimi's and Papaw's on Saturday. I am excited about that, for sure! After that's over, it will be fireworks for New Years Eve and then no more time off til Good Friday. Better enjoy it! That's a long unvacation.

The lowdown:

Not only is he a graduate of the EMT course, he is the HONOR graduate (top of the class, baby) AND he scored the highest on the final exam. Not just for that class, but EVER. Highest score EVER scored on the final exam.

There is nothing else to say.

It's Done.

YIPEEEEEEE! ;) (Ya'll know...)

Nervous and late and it's only Thursday?!?

I am kind of nervous this morning. Marli has gone to Huntsville today via schoolbus equipped with her new Captain Underpants book and spending money. I am happy for her and I know she will have a blast, but school buses don't have seatbelts, ya'll! Only the gifted class is going so it will be a smaller group than the entire 6th grade. They will visit the IMAX theater and see all the sites. I'm sure there will be many stories to tell this evening when I pick her up.

This week is craaaawliiiiing. I was late this morning. On purpose. I just couldn't go! I tried to get up, but it didn't work. Anyways, I'm here now. Better get going.

Parade , etc.

We enjoyed visiting with my mom and dad this weekend. They came up to see Marli march in her first Christmas parade. She is doing very well on the flute. She has vowed that after the band's Christmas festivities are over she will never play Jingle Bells again (and it would be fine with me, too!) I'd better not complain too much. She could be a drummer. Or a MSU fan with a @#$% cowbell. Don't let me get started.

I would post the parade pictures if I had any. There were some taken, but they are on my father-in-law's camera in Georgia awaiting email. I took one one photo with my phone, but it doesn't do well with motion. So I'm like "She's the red smear on the right". We had fun though. Mom gave candy to the big sad eyed little boy beside us, we were right across the street from K.C's Espresso so it smelled GREAT where we were standing. It was warm out for a Christmas parade.

Thanks to my sweet neighbor, we are now the owners of a Jazzy Santa. He is wearing shades and playing Santa Claus is Coming to Town on the sax, and he bobs and weaves like Ray Charles. Best thing, HE HAS AN OFF SWITCH. That way the batteries don't have to mysteriously disappear....

About two years ago the same neighbor gave us a motion sensor Santa wall hanging. You could wave at it and Santa's eyes would slam open (yes, a slamming sound) and he shouts "HO HO HOOOOOOO, MEEEERRY CHRISTMAS!! NEVER NEVER accept something like this as a gift. You will regret it the most when you walk past it at 3:00 in the morning and have to mop up pee with your eyes closed. Also, I'm thinking it was re-gifted. Just a hunch.

Merry Chrithmath to Kith & Kin....Drumroll........

I just had to do it. I HAD to. It got in my head and I couldn't stop til I got it right. Hope ya'll enjoy! Have a moose-full of eggnog for me!!!

Okay, here's the story: It has become a tradition in our family to watch the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on Christmas, or whenever we get together for Christmas. My entire family can quote the entire movie to you backwards and forwards. For a small fee you can call 555-1234 to book us for your party and/or event!!

So I spent a good part of last night finding the right music and the right background to fit the occasion. When I think of Christmas, what you hear playing is what immediately comes into my head...followed by Clark W. Griswold's voice singing "O come let us adoooore hiiiiim...."

Happy Christmas to my Mother and Daddy, Sandi, Mark and Adeline and John and Stacey! Love you!