Happy New Year

This year I have resolved to do something for me. Just me. Something totally revolving around moi... not something for the family or for friends or everyone else.

It's not a shopping trip or a makeover or anything fleeting. Not a "mother's day out" kind of event. This will be a project that I want to do, that benefits no one else. Something that is just to make me happy. I have no idea if it will be a success or a big, fat, FLOP. But I've decided that I want to give it a try. Perhaps it will mean I become a better everything else? Wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend--if I take on a little bit for me?

To start your New Year off on a fun note:

The sartorialist would gag on a Manolo Blahnik stiletto in the face of this: people of walmart

Hopefully 2010 will not deliver any nightmares from the bakery to your table.

And finally, the words that should die a merciful death in 2009 and not reappear in 2010... please: chillaxin (chilling and relaxing), sexting (texting about sex), unfriend (not a verb).

I'm on Top of It!

Even if "it" is starting to resemble a ball.
A big one.
One that is careening downhill.
Faster and faster and faster....

Today I am finishing up the charity gifts. Why are there always five missing... and those five belong to people who did not sign their names on the sheet and therefore cannot be called with a reminder that the gifts were due four days ago?

Tomorrow Miss Abby is having tubes put into her ears and her adenoids removed. She has made me "promise to visit everyday while she is in the nursing place" Don't worry, we should only be there for a few hours. Her great-grandmother is having some tube work of her own done at the same out patient facility at the same time! We've been joking that the 91 year old and the 5 year old could share a bed and we could get a discount. Which would be nice since they've already asked me for a check upfront to cover the out-of-pocket/deductible costs.

I am almost completely done with the shopping. Only Mr. "What the heck do you get the man who goes ahead and buys what he wants before you have the chance to get it for him" remains on my list. I have a few more things to wrap and then the gift stuff is done.

Christmas Cards you ask? I'm joining Fairlie's crusade to turn the Christmas card into a January thing.... I'm not nearly so stretched in January.

There is fudge to made, cookies to whip up and munchies to be mixed. But I'm on top of it. I may be one small slip up away from becoming road kill on the holiday highway, but I'm on top of it.

Fa la la la la, la la la la!

Out-of-Season Fruit

Friday was "one of those days". At work, we hosted a meal for the family of a dear woman who lost a long battle with a progressive disease earlier in the week. She and her husband had been married for 56 years. Her devotion to her loved ones and theirs to her was a beautiful thing to witness over the past few years. Her husband humbly took care of her with great care, patience and devotion. He and I both cried a bit when I gave him a hug.

The schedule for one of our busiest days was a bit off due to this and I finished up about 30 minutes late with the "have-to" tasks. Saturday was the Christmas Bunch for Rob's co-workers... for which I volunteered to bring a fruit dish. In my dash to the grocery store on "everyone shopping today because Saturday is supposed to be really nasty" Friday evening, I forgot one essential thing.

No. Not my purse. Or my wallet. Or my debit card. Or my coat.

I diligently checked the quality of the fruit. Examining grapes to be sure there were no mush ones in the bottom of the bag. Poring over the blueberries to be sure they were all unspoiled. Gently squeezing the cantaloupe to test for ripeness.

The price of the fruit piled into my basket never tabulated. In fact, the checkout was loud and I didn't hear the total and never glanced at the cash register display. If I had, I might have realized before I got to the parking lot that I had just spent $27.88 on fruit. Ouch!

To make matters worse, the heavy $7.50 cantaloupe rolled out of its bag and bounced around the trunk... partially crushing the $6.99 container of blueberries. Fortunately the $8.99 grapes were unscathed.

Making a List....

Checking it twice!

The kids are working out their Santa lists. Good thing since "Santa" is making the shopping run tomorrow! J.T. listed out a bunch of expensive things: X-Box, Nintendo DS, Games for Nintendo DS, Batman lego.... and had to be reminded that Santa has to be paid for the toys he delivers. the Batman lego seems doable. Except for the fact that they don't make Batman lego anymore and judging by the prices listed on Ebay, made very few at all! $200 for a 200 pieces of lego in a box? Not so much.

Abby keeps adding to her list. Nintendo DS, Dora game for Nintendo DS, lipgloss and nail polish, Splashy the Whale, and hundreds of "I want that!" moments in Wal-mart and during cartoons. Oh how I wish I had developed the idea of Dora or lego.

The tree is up and has been (thank you very much) since the day after Thanksgiving. It is leaning a little. Maybe alot. But the ornaments are staying on! I think I forgot a crucial piece when packing it up last year. Something to do with fitting the pole into the base? (Shut up Aunty Evil). It's a lovely pre-lit piece of fake greeny that takes all of 2 minutes to assemble. I LOVE it. Bets the heck out of the one we had with 60 branches that had to be matched into color coded slots.

I've even already purchased a few presents. Rob guessed his before I even got the bag out of the car. It's a bathrobe to replace his tatty one. "What else would you buy me from the mall?" he says.

The Christmas tunes are on high rotation. Abby has altered the lyrics to "Rudolph" by changing the "guide my sleigh" bit to "guard my sleigh". Which really does make sense. There have to be millions and millions of dollars worth of toys piled into that thing. An enterprising elf could make a fortune on the black market with some of those electronics.

One of my work projects has been a Giving Tree. The tree is loaded with cards. Each card lists the name of someone, their clothing size, shoe size and a wish list item. Most of the names are for school age children. It is heartbreaking to read hand-written notes from teachers: "Really needs new shoes" or "desperately needs underwear and socks". We live a life of plenty when so many don't. It is wonderful to see people taking the cards and coming back with armloads of gifts. Most people have gotten every single item listed on the cards, even though they were asked to just choose something.

So... after feeling behind to start the season, I'm beginning to find my feet and gain a little traction on the road to the holidays. I hope you are all good enough to find a little something from Santa under your tree this year. A couple of you (ahem, you Aunty... and your favorite Abby) need to get cracking though!