Christmas Has Finally Arrived

What happens when I get iced in for almost four days straight? Just short of pulling my hair out and eating everything in sight, I got busy. Christmas finally got put on display in the house! Arranged in vignettes, finally, to my liking*. Granted we've had the tree up since early November, with just the lights. But Hubby was nagging at me to get the ornaments up. I was too busy just enjoying the lights.

The Christmas spirit finally kicked in after the first Sunday of Advent. Combine that with a sheet of two inch thick ice on the driveway and I've got nothing but time to get the decorations out. They've been sitting in boxes too long. It also helped that we watched the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sim. It was at my oldest daughter's request that we watch the movie. That just melted my heart.

Welcome to my Christmas home tour:

This will greet you when you walk in the front door.

At some point I had an obsession with snow globes & Santa Claus. I've stopped this obsession, but I still bring out what I have.

See what I mean? Santa Claus & snow globes everywhere.

We each have a ribbon to place our wish list items on.

The tree this year is not what I usually do. It's much simpler. And I love it just as much as in years past**.

Hubby and I bought this angel before we got married. It's nice to see her out again. 

My kitchen table is set with my mismatched Christmas dishes. But it looks good. I don't buy anything pricey before Christmas that's a keeper. Unless I like it A LOT. I would rather try and hold off until after and save a little dough. 

I added some paper placemats. I'll wait until after Christmas before I buy some fabric ones to keep forever. Until then, these will do just fine.

Where do I throw the throw that really doesn't keep anybody warm and is itchy? On the table then pile stuff on it that doesn't go anywhere else.

What's the easiest thing in the world to decorate with at Christmas? Ornaments!

We are missing our nativity scene this year. It's about 16 years old and last year there were just too many pieces either broken or missing***. After Christmas I'm going to see if I can hunt down pieces of a certain nativity scene that I just adore. But have you priced this thing out? Wowza!

Jesus may not be displayed in a nativity in our home. But He is in our hearts and we try to live the life that He has given us. He is the reason that we celebrate this very time of year. With joy.
 
 We look forward to Christmas. We look forward to being together and celebrating the birth of our Lord & Savior. I love the feelings of hope and love that fill the air when Christmas is fast approaching****. The excitement that the kids feel is contagious.

For the kid in all of us that we never outgrow, there is this:

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!. 

*You can only throw so many blocks of chipped off ice while yelling, "ICEBERG" into the pool before it gets boring.

**Except last years tree. I'm glad companies are making lights that are more earth friendly, but last year they were BLUE. My tree looked like a big light up Smurf at night. We don't do pre-lit trees. They are more of a hassle to us than they are worth!

**At this point I'm even missing parts of the Little People nativity that the kids have. At our ages though, it almost seems sacrilegious. It was really cute when the kids were younger. If you press down on the angel it plays Silent Night.  

****During the times when frustration and disappointment aren't busy filling our heads.  And I still haven't finished shopping.

Dear PTA Nag

Aaahhhh. The acronym "PTA" doesn't necessarily hold warm fuzzies for some*. I said some. I am one of those some.

Why do I participate, you ask? I have a few reasons.  I like to get to know the teachers in my kids lives. I like to help where I can. If a teacher needs a chaperone for a field trip, I'm your girl. You need those books covered**? I'm your girl. I am a whiz with the scissors and the laminating machine in the workroom. The copying machine and I are best buds at this point. My last reason for participating is I have time on my hands. Give me something to do! It just so happens that my position this year is in the teacher workroom. I pop in to see what needs to be done at my choosing.

Then, there's my PTA cohorts. A few of them I have enjoyed getting to know. Then there's the others. The ones who need to point out to you endlessly what title they hold within the organization because that's all they have to hold over you***.

Recently I was walking up to pick up my youngest after school. I was talking to a fellow PTA'er and we were having a very pleasant conversation****. Then I felt the presence of the Nag behind be. It doesn't help that you can hear her voice from a mile away. It grates on my nerves. She wouldn't know how to whisper if her life depended on it. Trust me sister PTA'er, not everyone is interested in your conversations.

"I just wanted to remind you to check the workroom. There's a TON of stuff that needs to be taken care of. Have you been there this week?*****" Um. No. I haven't been there yet. I took care of a bunch of errands on Monday and on Tuesday I had to go to the bank and do some grocery shopping. On each day I have to have at least one hour before the kids come home to do whatever I want. So if that ends up being not a dadgum thing, that's my priority.

Have I mentioned that I have managed to get through 44 years of life? I have also managed to bring into this world two wonderful kids with Hubby of almost 16 years? I don't need a micromanager. In the big scheme of life, this volunteer position will come after my home life is taken care of.  Not to mention I do have an older child that is in band and I like helping at her school as well.

In that moment when she's asking if I'm keeping up with my duties, I let her make me feel belittled. Who does that in front of somebody else? I am a grown a** woman. I know what needs to get done and by golly if it doesn't then the teacher will have to just take care of it. I'm sorry. There are weeks where I have spent 20 hours a week in that workroom. If it takes me until Wednesday to get to that room then so be it. This is a VOLUNTEER position. I have volunteered PLENTY since school started.

What Little Nag doesn't realize is that the office manager let the entire teaching staff know that there is a dedicated person for the workroom this year. I have been overwhelmed at times and have asked for help. That doesn't show up. There will be weeks where it will be my first priority. But not every week. 

And you know what? If it's not getting done to her liking, then she can jump in there any old time and make a copy or two.

You know, I would have preferred for her to just say "Hi". But she didn't and it is what it is******. The next time that happens, be warned Little Nag. Be warned. Depending on the day, I will go bat crap crazy on you and I will do it with a smile. You might not even know I'm doing it to you.


*PTA=Parent Teacher Association

**Do you know how many hundreds of books I've covered? Why can't they just ask the parents to at Meet the Teacher night?

***It's sort of funny actually. The ones that do this are shorter than I am. Listen, it's ok for you to be short and it's ok for me to be tall. Get.Over.It.

****Fellow PTA'er happened to be tall as well.

*****This was Tuesday afternoon.

******Ran into her once at the grocery. We were on the same aisle. I hope you liked the wine you chose. I sure liked mine and Hubby liked his Dos Equis. She looked down as I was coming towards her. I went ahead and said "Hi ****". It's ok. I don't want to be friends with you, but I will be civil. Til I have a reason not to be.

Glorious Rain

We have a saying in Texas, "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes. It will change". When we went to our daughter's volleyball game on Saturday morning it was getting a little breezy. But it was around 78 degrees. When we came out of the game the temperature had dropped about 25 degrees. Now, I realize it might be back up in the 90's next week. But I'm gonna cherish this cooler weather while I can.

There was rain in our forecast, so Hubby and I were thrilled*. Bring it on! With the temperature drop, we thought of all the things that we have needed to do since the last winter**. Night has come upon us and all the dishes are put away. We're still waiting on the rain.

There's a baseball game on the tv, that I'm not quite interested in, but Hubby is***.

Then the rain starts. Finally. It was glorious! At least two hours of a good soaking. I grabbed my favorite blanket and headed outside. The covered patio provides protection from the rain, but I enjoy the sounds.

My life is not complete if I can't enjoy a little music whenever I'm alone. So I turn to my favorite (and fitting) playlist****.

Rain, please don't be such a stranger!

*The ground is dryer than the Sahara at this point, and we'll take all the rain we can get.

**Buy hot cocoa. Clean out the fireplace(still!).

***Tampa Bay Rays knocked out our Rangers. So we were rooting for Boston.

****My life IS complete, don't get me wrong. But I enjoy music as much as I can. And when the moment calls for some John Coltrane and Miles Davis, I'm gonna have it!

Aye. Aye. Aye.

I recently got schooled by my 7th grader. Sort of. Maybe not. Here's how it went:

My daughters follow me on Pinterest*. Pinterest is my oh-so-wonderful-steaming-pile-of-creativity-have-more-pins-than-time-hobby. I adore Pinterest. A while ago I pinned this picture:

The caption under my pin said, "I wish I had the guts to take this picture with Craig".

I am choosing to believe that this is a husband and wife. As close as two people can get without having sex. To me, this is a beautiful picture. It's a piece of art. A certain sense of "rawness" to the picture. It's a great picture minus all the perfect poses and makeup. No matchy-matchy clothes in sight. No perfect background. Just vulnerable.

Should the man be wearing pants? Absolutely. If I ever had this picture taken, the bottom of the picture would cut off before my bottom. Way up higher than this picture.

My hesitation in ever taking this picture would be that I'm not sure I'm skinnier than Hubby**. That my picture wouldn't look quite as good as the one above.

Anyway. So my daughter thinks this is almost pornographic. Aye aye aye. Parenting is a fine line. Especially when you have your moral compass looking right back at you in the eyes!

*What was I thinking? I better clean up some of my profanity laden Chucklebucket board.
**Or wider, I guess?

Goodbye, Sweet Summer

I hate to see this summer come to an end. It is one of those summers that will go down as one of the best so far*. We finished off the second half of the summer with plenty of activities. There was a good balance of down time with a good amount activity. And now I'm staring at the face of the first day of school! How could that be?

We graced the gates of Hawaiian Falls several more times before putting that season pass to bed. Who can ever get enough of the lazy river?

One fine day found us on a road trip to Marshall Pottery, in Marshall, TX. I ended up missing my exit for Marshall and we saw a sign for the Glass Bathroom in Sulphur Springs, TX. Have you seen it? We happened to see it featured on a show on HGTV. So sure enough we found our way to the Glass Bathroom.

This thing is fascinating! Of course, we all had to do our business so we thought, "Why not?". Sure enough, you can see out of it, but no one can see in. And it's air conditioned!

There are two of these on the square in downtown Sulphur Springs. If you are ever passing through the town and have to go, I highly recommend this place to stop. It's cleaner than most places you'll ever stop.

I'm taking this pic from inside the bathroom. They really can't see me!

The view out of the top of the bathroom.

The square is really cute. It's almost a town that time forgot with shops on the square. After we had ventured into a few, it was time to set our map toward our original destination. It was a great day. We ended up eating dinner in a Mexican restaurant in Big Sandy. The building that is now the restaurant used to house the grocery store that my great-grandfather owned. A trip to East Texas always means a trip to the cemetery where my father and other relatives are buried**. I grieve for what he misses, for what my life has become today. But relieved that he is in a better place.

This summer also found me reading. Yes, you read that right. READING BOOKS! I finished two books***. The first book I finished was A Grown Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson. I enjoyed this book. There were a few occasions where it uses language that makes me cringe. Basically the story is about how secrets never stay secret. Isn't that the truth?

The next book on the docket was The Devil in the Junior League by Linda Jackson Lee. Oh my gosh, I loved this book! It's a look at one entitled young woman who finds herself robbed of her riches right under her nose by her no good husband. She learned how to pick herself up and take care of business.

I'm on my third book, but not finished yet. And I'm one of those that can only handle one book at a time.

Volleyball camp was attended by both girls this summer. It was a week filled with working on skills and seeing some old friends and making new ones. 

Another road trip found us going to Mrs. Baird's in Fort Worth. It was two moms and five kids between us. Once you walk inside, you realize what heaven must smell like! It was fun to see how this place runs like a well oiled machine. At the end of the tour we got to sample a FRESH-OUT-OF-THE-OVEN hamburger bun with butter. BUTTER, I tell you! Want to reserve your tour? Go here: http://www.mrsbairds.com/bakery/tour.php.

After the tour at Mrs. Baird's we weren't quite ready to go home. Wouldn't you know that right up the highway is Miller Brewing? What a coincidence! Two moms. Five kids. We're going to ask if the brewery gives tours as well. You never know unless you ask.

You should have seen the security when we walked in the door. You would have thought you were walking into Fort Knox. It's just beer, people! The adults disappointment was audible when we were told that they didn't give tours. The nice security guard offered to let us fill out a comment card asking for them. Apparently, A LOT of people have stopped by and asked this very question.

When all else fails, you head up the highway and run into another beer place. This one being the Coors distribution plant. They didn't give tours either, but they had a marketplace! And they were willing to take our money for some cute t-shirts. I'm not crazy about the beer, but the Blue Moon t-shirts were cute****. Who couldn't use an oversized shirt to sleep in anyway?

 It was a revolving door as far as kids coming and going.

We even checked out a local indoor trampoline park. The girls LOVED it! I would have loved to try it out, but I remained composed. And tried, unsuccessfully, to nap while the girls jumped. Fun. Fun. Fun. 

We ushered in a 12th birthday for my oldest. How time flies! The teen years are coming at us like a Mac truck.

Meet the teacher came for my youngest. I think this was the first year that my husband was raving (in a good way) about the first impression of J's 3rd grade teacher.  Oh Hallelujah!

There was one last soiree for our Sunday School class*****. It was held at the director's house. Their house is just beautiful! Lots of people. Lots of food! Lots of humidity. The kids were happy in the pool.

To Summer 2013, you were wonderful to me. Here's to many fond memories. You were the summer that taught my kids how to stay up late and sleep just as late. As the bathing suits dry out and chlorine has been washed out, we start to head into days filled with band practice and homework. Alarm clocks and lunch boxes******. WOOHOO!


*In my mind, anyway.
**A small cemetery, poetically on a hill with lots of trees and loved ones buried there for over a 100 years.
***That's more books than I've read in all the years I've been out of high school.
****I'm not a beer person. Wine coolers seem to be a little more delightful on the tongue.
*****Yes, I still say Sunday School. Don't think that's going to change anytime soon.
******There have been times when the hallelujah chorus has been springing up in my head. I have heard the angels singing.

For the Love of Everything Social

I've grown weary. I'm tired of sorting through all the junk on facebook.

I realize that it's out there for each one of us to post whatever we feel like. And haven't we all learned that there are some things we just shouldn't post?

Can I just mention a few?

I'm tired of seeing what people post on pinterest attached to their facebook account. Most likely I follow you on pinterest, so I don't need to see it on facebook as well.

I really could care less what photos you like on instagram. I'm not on instagram. Don't care to be. And I especially don't care to see which pictures you like. After some of the pictures I've seen you like, I wish I could stick a fork in my eye.

Please stop with the recipes. I get plenty from pinterest and the cookbooks in my home. And like I said, if I follow you on pinterest I will have already seen them. I don't want to see them on facebook as well. It's really exhausting when people "share" the same recipes over and over with no intention of ever making it. The intention is to get somebody else to make it for you. Not gonna happen.

To the animal rescue people: good gosh, please stop. I love animals. I really do. I even have one of my own. But not everyone loves them like you. I'm glad that's your passion in life. I don't think it should be your whole life.

There seems to be those that confuse facebook with twitter. I don't need a play by play of any sort of activity. Whether it be an athletic event or some other activity. Quit with the play by play.

I've tried blocking apps, but it just doesn't seem to work.  Mark Zuckerberg, if you're out there, could you help a girl out? Help me make my facebook experience a little more enjoyable and a little less eye rolling. I know. I know. It's MZ's road or the highway. He's not exactly into making the facebook thing user friendly. 

UGH.

Life Lesson #8765

I have learned that when someone says they want your advice, they're usually lying. They don't want any advice. They want to explain their side, then defend it when you give another opinion. It's pointless.

The next time someone comes to you saying they would like your advice, RUN.

Party! Party!

I am one of the first people to agree that parties are great! Truly they are. Several weeks ago the recent high school graduate next door decided to have a party. Friday night. Saturday night. I figured she's about to graduate and so let her have her fun. It's one weekend. And it seems the parenting over there is sort of loose and I figured the parents were home. Um. No, they weren't*. They partied until almost 3:00am.

I let it go. Then the next weekend came around. More parties. Yippee! My patience had long since gone and I wanted sleep. At this point in my life I have realized that teens are idiots and my tolerance level for them is low. Thanks to my local police department for wrapping it up for me.

A few days later I ran into the step-father of said high school graduate. I asked if they were out of town the last two weekends. They sure were! So I let them know of the recent activity going on. They had no idea**. He apologized and we went about our day.

Later on there was a knock on the door. It was the teen actually apologizing. Then she totally wiped out her apology when she asked, "What about it bothered you? The noise level**? The amount of people or the late hours?"

What does it matter which it was? It all bothered me. Hubby and I pay good money on the  mortgage to have to put up with your idiocy. I already have to deal with your step brother peeping over my fence****.

 I'm fine with people in this hood wanting to be left alone. But include me in that bunch and we'll all get along just fine. We'll just wave high when we occasionally pass each other on the street and forget this ever happened. 


*I didn't know this til later.
**Now you do. Doesn't every parent know that when they leave the teens at home, nothing good is going to happen?
***Not only loud music, but idiot kids screaming and yelling in the backyard. Has society really stooped to this level? I'm watching my kids like a hawk and I'm expecting my friends to help me.
****Asking him relentlessly to stop doesn't help. Yes, there's a higher fence in my future and it won't get here soon enough.

What We've Done This Summer. So Far.

We're practically at the half-way mark of the summer. Here's a run down of things we've done so far:

Trip to NYC.

Child One went to church camp.

We took a tour of Lucky Layla Farms and saw them milk the cows. Even walked away with some tasty butter. I didn't have the nerve to buy the raw milk. I know it's supposed to be good for me, but maybe in time.

Summer reading programs rock! I'll provide our book lists in another post.

Hawaiian Falls.

We went with some friends to the Federal Bureau of Engraving. This was a very neat trip! We learned how money was printed*. This trip is free and if you go during Spring Break or the last week in June and July they have demonstrations for the kids. I couldn't take any pictures. The security there is like I imagine it would be at the Pentagon or White House. Just pretty much leave everything in your car. Unfortunately.

On the way home from the FBoE we visited the Fort Worth Water Gardens. That was pretty neat. This was the first time that my girls and their friends had seen it. This day was so much fun because we hadn't seen our friends in a while and it was just neat! 

Swimming galore!

That's it so far. It's been nice! 

*This trip was so neat we're going back in July. I have to take Hubby because I know this is right up his alley!

Ugh

That feeling you get when the person you're with is texting non-stop. But when you're not together and you text that person it takes what feels like forever to get a response. Kinda makes you not want to spend time with that person anymore.