It has been a very long time since my last post and for that I am sorry. I will not bore you (or depress you) with the reasons why but let me just say that 2009 is a year I am looking forward to forgetting! I feel as though the past year has been like a soap opera because you see, it had so many of the same elements: trouble with the law, attorneys, death, near death and on it goes. I have often stepped outside of myself to try to get a different perspective and honestly if it were not all true and happening to me, I would have enjoyed watching it.

It is without enthusiasm that I look towards Christmas but forge ahead I must! The outside is looking very festive but the inside is lacking (and by "lacking" I mean I have not put out one blessed Christmas decoration, much less the tree!) The plan is to have all of that finished by week's end. I must also add that I have not even begun my Christmas shopping. Not thing one!! Since I have done such a horrible job of preparing for a holiday that I have known very well was coming my penance will be that any and everything that I will need to buy in order to be ready will have to be bought...AT THE MALL!! I hate the mall any other time of the year and so it would go without saying that I hate the mall at Christmas. I will have to go this week and hope to knock it all out in a day or two. Christmas list (check), money in bank account to pay for gifts off of list (check), one entire day set aside to shop and only shop (check) and finally, Valium in order to make it through said day without physically harming another human being (ummm, I'll get back to you on that one.)

I will write more often and try to make you smile now that the worst (Good God I can only hope) is being me. Come on 2010!!!!!

The Car (Again!), Sports and Grocery Shopping...

Still have the check engine light on and now today I was unpleasantly surprised to have a "brake" light blink on and have a terrible beep sound to go with it. Thankfully it quickly went off but still I am very concerned. I will have Jim look into it but I live in fear of being stranded on the side of the road with no one to help me except for a homicidal maniac (those of you who know me are used to these reoccurring thoughts of my murder) I will keep you posted but again the price to have my German car repaired is much more than the paycheck I received today, which will, of course, all go toward the purchase of milk!

When I find my winning lottery ticket the first thing I will do is hire someone to do all of my grocery shopping for me as it is my least favorite thing to do in the whole world. I would rather scrub toilets and floors on my hands and knees than go to the grocery store. The kids and I sometimes do something we call "Supermarket Sweep" (like the old game show) where we split up with part of the list and see how fast we can get in and out. Fun but expensive because if you will recall the object of that game show was to spend the most money in the least amount of time and my object is to, of course, spend as little money as possible.

You will notice I have added a link to a new blog. It is written by a friend of mine and while I support all of her endeavors I cannot support her love of the Baltimore Ravens as I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. She is an awesome writer and if sports is your thing you will learn alot. We have a very important game coming up this Sunday and it will be very interesting as the battle lines have been drawn. Even if you are not a sports fan I would suggest you tune into the game. These teams have quite a history and no matter who wins I think we will all be in for a great game. Go Steelers!!

Cars, Kids and a New Year

Disaster, mes amies, disaster! My "check engine" light came on in my car about a month ago and ignoring it does not seem to make it go away. It has come on briefly in the past and then, just as quick and mysterious as it appeared, it went off. This seemed to occur after I had gotten halfway up the road so I never gave it much thought. I am sad to report that this time this has not happened. I will have to get it in the shop but since I seem to have misplaced my winning lottery ticket and I drive German car, this will have to wait. In the meanwhile I have been trying a few things. My favorite is to drive really fast and hope to "outrun" said light. Thus far, that hasn't worked. I have also toyed with the idea of putting a piece of black duct tape over the light so I can pretend it's not lit. So until I have it fixed I will just keep my cell phone charged and forge ahead. Ironic side note is that "check engine light" is not mentioned in my drivers manual..Go figure!

The kids are looking forward to the end of the semester and the start of new classes and new teachers. I am looking forward to the day when they go out on their own and I am no longer saddled with a grocery bill the size of the National Debt or having to go on daily "milk runs." I am honest when I tell you that we go through at least 1 gallon of milk a day, sometimes 1 1/2 gallons. "Got Milk?" is not just a slogan for the American Dairy Assoc, it is a question that gets asked daily around here.

I am excited about the upcoming year and what it has in store for me. I have many notes for the book and will be putting them in some kind of order very shortly and then I shall begin my process. I am thinking that I will be in need of some new pajamas (I have already found some that I must have) as I will be writing while wearing them and think I will do a much better job if I have nice, new things on. I will also be making an appointment to get my hair done in the next few weeks as I feel, that too, is a necessity.

We will be having a Bull Roast for our high school alumni and I am looking forward to seeing many friends that I have not seen in many years (that too will require a new outfit) I will let you know how it goes but I'm sure a great time will be had by all.

I hope you are making your way through the January blah as it seems we are already being assaulted by Valentine's Day bacchanalia!

Welcome to January...

Christmas is over and I hope it was a joyous time for you and yours. I imagine that by now you have returned everything you needed to and have already spent gift cards and any cash you were lucky enough to get. I, for one, am glad it's over but the downside is that now we all have to get through January. The bleakest of months, that's what January is. Could it be that it starts with such fan fare that there's no where to go but down? I'm not sure, I just know it is a blah month. It doesn't seem to snow around here like it did when I was young and perhaps that has something to do with it. As I write this it is raining. The thing is, if it's going to be wet in the winter I would prefer snow.

We lost me father on Christmas Eve and while he will be missed, he is finally at peace. For those of you that knew him, you know this and I hope you share in my outlook.

I have decided to start my book in the next couple weeks. While I have copious notes I have yet to sit at the computer and start putting them together.

Happy New Year to everyone and I hope 2009 is the best one yet!

Christmas And All That Jazz..

Well, here we are smack dab in the middle of what some call the "most wonderful time of the year" and some call "hell." However you feel about it, it's here and there's nothing we can do other than plow ahead and try to cross off a seemingly endless "to do" lists. For most, at the top of that list is decorating your house. I'm sure some people enjoy the act but I for one just like the finished product. If I could go to sleep and wake up to have my home transformed into a winter wonderland I would. Instead I find myself dragging out box after box of decorations that seem to have reproduced since I last saw them. Since I am in such a hurry to take everything down after Christmas I am guilty of throwing everything frilly nilly in any kind of box that I am able to find and in no particular order. "Ornaments with the table runners?" "Sure!!" " 6 miles of Christmas lights with the Lenox Rudolph wrapped ever so gently in a Kleenex?" "Why not." And so it goes. Suffice it to say I am greeted every late November with some broken items and some that I don't discover until Easter because there happened to be room in "that box." Somehow it gets done and I am happy for it and I enjoy sitting back and looking at how I few lights here and there, a tree and a few Santas just make things seem cozy.

The other part of Christmas is baking. I know I have touched on this subject before but I feel it needs to be mentioned again. I have baked no fewer than 15 dozen cookies over the past 2 wks and I am ashamed to say that you would be hard pressed to find one in this house. I know some people start baking in November and go on about how they have so much to do and where will they find the time and they have only made 10 loaves of some kind of fruit bread and 80 doz cookies but they haven't even begun to make the candy....WHAT??!! Do the other people in their house not eat? Do they not eat? I no sooner get 1 doz out of the oven and onto the cooling racks that I turn around only to find that 8 are gone and someone is pouring a glass of milk to wash them down. Long story short, I will be baking 2 days before Christmas and what doesn't make it, doesn't make it. So please, if you happen to be coming to my house for the holiday (and if so, please call first) bring me some baked goods because I know as sure as I'm sitting here that I will be lucky to have 2 chocolate chip cookies and a half a bag of Oreos left.

Christmas Cards, Lotion and Decorations

So, I've decided this year not to send out Christmas cards. It was not a decision I made lightly seeing as I have sent out Christmas cards for the past 15 years or so. First, I can tell by the amount that I am receiving that I am not alone in this decision. Postage rates continue to rise and quite frankly I just don't have the energy to do it. Since I was unable to get any good shots of the kids in the past few months I would be required to beg and barter in order for all of the kids to be on the same place at the same time, dressed in something decent and looking like they want to do this (which is, of course, not true!) Then I would have to dig up addresses of everyone I have ever met in my entire life so that I can send them said picture. I love getting pictures of other families and save them year after year in a basket but this year, I am sorry to say, anyone who wants to see what my kids looks like is going to have to stop by and do so in person.

It is with great joy that I tell you my outside Christmas decorations are up! My wonderful husband (on the coldest day of the year I might add) put everything up on Sunday and if I do say so myself, it looks awesome. We have quite a few things in the yard but the most perplexing is the cow with a Santa hat on. I understand the penguins and seal since when we think of them we think of cold climates but the cow remains a mystery. I love him none the less and he is out there as I type this, spreading Christmas joy. What's even more of a mystery to me is the dolphin with the Santa hat but we don't have one of those. Honestly, how would the hat even stay on in the water?? The cow's hat won't go anywhere since they don't do much but dolphins are quite active and I don't think it's very realistic.

Winter is here and so is my dry skin. Good grief, I was besides myself with itching. Jim was nice enough to get some Eucerine "calming" cream. Now, I was skeptical at first since I didn't really feel as though my skin was "excited" and in need of "calming" not to mention I have bought literally $1000's of dollars worth of cream that promised "silky softness" and many other adjectives that never quite materialized but I must say, it seems to be doing the trick.

I have recently joined Facebook and have been able to catch up with so many classmates and friends from high school. We are getting ready for our 20th reunion and the funny thing is that everyone, for the most part, looks the same. I wonder if they think that about me? I always recognize people but for some reason seem to think that I look nothing like I did back then and so no one would know who I am. Luckily that has not been the case and I must say it's been loads of fun catching up.

Thanksgiving-The Sequel, Christmas and My Hair..

Well, the First Annual Thanksgiving-The Sequel went very well. Lots of fun, lots of food and lots of laughter. I made the stuffing the night before and everything else the next day although somehow Jim got credit for the turkey since he sliced it. Are you kidding me??? Everyone was like "Jim the turkey's great!" WHAT!!?? Anyway I set the record straight as to who did what (I did everything and he stopped to get sodas on the way home from hunting.) Of course we played Singstar and I don't want to brag but I have been contacted by a few major record labels. I haven't signed anything so I'm not at liberty to give any names but you get the picture. Phrases like "The next Mariah Carey," "Is there anyway we can break our contract with Celine?" were thrown around. I may have to turn them down because while I am a gifted singer I think I need to focus on my writing and there is only so much of me to go around. Speaking of that I seemed to have gained some weight so there is more of me to go around then previously but I am hoping this is just a temporary state of being.

Christmas is coming at us like a rocket. With the economy being what it is this Christmas will not be like Christmas' in the recent past. Gone are the days of "Laptops for all my friends!" now it's more like "I know you like this kind of gum so..Merry Christmas!" It is important that we remember what this time of year is all about and no, it's not about how much money you can spend, rather having friends and family around you and being grateful for another year together. Or, being grateful the year is over and this person or that need no longer be a part of your life. Either way, it's not about the gifts. Try to remember that when you are feeling stressed over not being able to buy your 2nd cousin once removed that cashmere sweater she has been hinting at for the past 3 months.

OK, another month and another haircut. I think I finally got it this time and I think that in a few weeks I will like it even more. Hair is always at it's best a few weeks after the initial cut. It's shorter and not to brag but I have been mistaken for Mariska Hargitay. NO, that last bit wasn't true but I am happy with it. I have realized that although I love long hair it is not for me. Shorter is better, that's my new motto.