christmas 2010 and a retrospect of 2010

christmas 2010 has came and went...it oh the fun we had!  the best present i received this year was an awesome time to visit and be with my family...i hope you all had a wonderful holiday...

2010 treated the bluedot's well...we have made memories, grieved, survived, laughed, cried, played, vacationed, loved, learned lessons, prayed, worshipped and are thankful for the gift this year has been to us...2010 marked my baby boy turning 16 and getting a driver's license...my baby girl turned 7 and has mastered baton twirling.  2010 also marked the 18th anniversary of my and bluedotdad's wedding.

it has been a blast and i am looking forward to 2011 and all that it entails!

happy birthday to bluedotnana!

today is a very special day...it is my mom's birthday...i spent the day with her and my sister...we had lunch, got pedi's and went shopping...it was a great day and i had so much fun with my mom and sister...

happy birthday mom... i love you and am thankful for you!

festivus--the airing of grievances

december 23rd is just around the corner...and that means it is time for the celebration of festivus for the rest of us!  now everyone gather your family around, partake in your festivus meal, gather round the festivus pole and settle in...it is time for the airing of grievances!

**cruella we will start with you!  you have disappointed us greatly in 2010!  you are shallow and a MEAN girl!  you bully and manipulate people and it is sickening!  you live in an alternate universe where you think everyone loves you, when in fact, you are despised.  karma will eventually get you and when it does i hope that i have a front row seat for the show!

**alabama politicians (well politicians in general) -- you have embarrassed our state by your unethical behavior!  when our great country was founded our leaders were to serve a term and go back to their jobs...you have followed along with a great majority of politicians and decided that this is a sweet deal and refuse to go back into a real job. ...instead you think you know more about the common people and thus can make decisions for our lives!  you too are in line for karma, well some of you have been caught and are living with that karma...others watch out, karma is coming for you!

**facebook, i have several grievances for you! first, why must you continually change?  i get used to one setting and then have to learn another one...AND your suggestions for my friends, seriously, just because 1 friend of mine is friends with 200 people, i don't know them, why put them in my feed...i am happy to look for those who i want to friend, i don't need your suggestions!

**reality stars, i don't care about you, i don't care what you think, i don't care what you are doing...so just go back to your real world and shut up already!

**stupid people...you bring most if not all of your problems on yourself...if you quit making stupid decisions your life will improve!  if you continue to make stupid decisions, keep it to yourself, i do not want or need to hear of your latest mishap!  pay your bills, act like an adult, don't drink so much and go home with strangers...your life will improve, but regardless keep you mouth shut about your stupidity it just makes you that much more of a loser!

**ignorance of proper grammar...if you are going through something it is THROUGH not THRU and if you are going to buy something is YOU'RE or YOU ARE not YOUR, don't even get me started on their, there, they are...people really you look ignorant and i am tired of ignorant people!

**doctor offices...if i make an appointment for 1:00, i expect to walk in a few minutes before 1:00 and be called back to see the doctor at 1:00, NOT 3:30!  don't let your office staff overbook you, stay on task and get your patients in and out...my time is valuable...your offices are not a wonderful place to hangout...i don't want to catch lord knows what from the other sick people in the waiting room waiting to see you!

**morons who use their cellphones ALL the time...i don't want to hear of your family drama while i am in the grocery store...i don't want to hear of your medical crisis while i am in a public bathroom...you bluetooth headset users freak me out walking through the supermarket talking with what appears to be NO ONE!

**walmart/target/major grocery stores, if you have 20 lanes open, have more than 2 open at peak times...i seriously don't want to waste my time in a line 15 people deep because you don't want to open another lane!

**patrons of starbucks...know what you want to order before you get into line and know the proper lingo/etiquette for placing your order!

**to a certain visitor to our house...do not use my razor...it is mine! it is personal and i do not want to share it with anyone...i should not have to hide my razor when you visit!

**spammers...please STOP sending me emails...i don't want to try your products, i don't want you reminding me of sales, etc.  if i am looking for a product, i will go searching for it! i do not need your help in any fashion!

these aren't all of my grievances, but that is enough to get off of my chest to make me feel so much better!!!

feel free to link up and air your grievances, trust me you will feel so much better!

thursday's top ten

thursday's top ten reasons why i love christmas...

10. getting presents...who doesn't love getting presents?!?!

  9. shopping...i love to shop and this is a wonderful excuse to fuel my retail therapy!

  8. spending time with my family...now this time has to be monitored or someone (namely me) could go crazy from all the togetherness!

  7. baking, cooking and making all kinds of goodies...i love that time with my kids making all those delish things that we only get once a year..

  6. giving gifts...i love seeing people open the presents i have spent time shopping for...cause i search out that perfect gift and seeing them open it is priceless in my book!

  5. time off from work...i enjoy those 2 weeks where we can be lazy and just hang out....
  4. breakfast with my girlfriends from high school...boy i love those girls...it is so funny that when we see each other we just pick right up where we were, like it hasn't been months or a year since we have seen each other...these girls are my sisters, love, love, love, love them!

  3. riding around looking at christmas lights...our family has a tradition that we started when bluedotteen was little...we all put on our pj's, pile in the car, stop by starbucks and head off to drive the neighborhood looking at christmas lights...what a fun night!

  2. seeing and experiencing christmas through my children's eyes....from the magic elf visits and mischievousness, the shopping, christmas baking, decorating, seeing christmas lights...it is all so innocent and magical.  i cherish these memories each year of my babies!

  1. celebrating the birth of jesus christ...what an awesome gift he was to save us from our sins.

a mom's breaking heart

i just heard on the news that another teenager was killed in a car accident this week...this marks the 7th teenager killed in car crashes within a month around the metro area where we live...i hurt for those parents who are burying their children....i hurt for their siblings, aunts, uncles, friends, teachers...such a very sad situation...

it scares me having my son driving...i pray for his safety every time he leaves home...none of us are guaranteed another minute...treasure your time each day...tell those you love how much you love them, hug them, don't let anything go unsaid...

please pray for the families of those 7 teenagers as they cope with this loss...

blessings,

the forgetful meme

Welcome to The Queen's Meme

Sometimes silly. Sometimes serious.

#64 is aptly called The Forgetful Meme

I would try to describe the premise in my usual royal manner but I've forgotten how.

1. What is the last thing you forgot to do? i forgot...seriously, i don't know!

2. What is the one thing you are always afraid you will forget to do? lock the doors...my husband says i am ocd about checking the doors to make sure they are locked.  this goes for house doors and car doors...drives him crazy!

3. Can you remember when you were 3 years old? If so, tell us a cute story. If not, make one up. i do remember being 3...i was at my granny and paw paw's house...i snuck into their bathroom and played in my granny's makeup...painted my face up so pretty...granny found me and i didn't get into any trouble...she just laughed and took my picture....i think my mom has that picture, i need to get it and scan it, i was so cute!

4. Fill in the blank. I would like to forget the time my husband tried to close his xterra back hatch on my head on purpose accident but I will always remember it when i am within in 2 feet of the back of his car.  it wasn't on purpose, he was just not paying attention and then boom the corner of the hatch hit my head with the force of him trying to slam it shut...i saw stars and cried and cried!

5. Fill in the blank. I will never forget the first time I saw my husband.  i was 15 and i was at a beauty pageant at our high school..he was sitting in a window on the edge of the auditorium...the most handsome guy i had ever laid my eyes upon...i still get butterflies when i think about seeing him that first time! swoon!

6. Who, in your opinion, is the world's forgotten hero? teachers!  teachers are with children teaching them, encouraging them, supporting them...and all to often the teacher gets blamed for countless things...these people give of their time, their hearts, their all and most times are not even appreciated.  

7. Find a word that rhymes with forget and use it to write a funny sentence.  i was playing my clarinet when i met a funny pet with a wet tourniquet who was in much debt, but i forget where where we met...

there you have my answers...now you answer them and link up...happy tuesday,

 

meet me on monday!

i am participating in the meet me on monday over at never growing old...head on over and take a look and then if you want to answer these questions and link up too!


questions: 

1.  how do you order your steak? well done...no pink at all for me!

2.  are you superstitious about anything? yes, everything!  throw in a little ocd and that is me...i spill salt, so i have to throw it over my shoulder, but i never remember which one, so i have to throw it over both.  knocking on wood, you name the superstition and i probably practice it. however, 13 is my lucky number!

3.  who is your best friend (not including your spouse)? that is a hard question...but i think my best friend would be my sister...she is the one person who i can confide in 100% about anything and not feel judged...we did not get along when we were growing up but she is the best and i treasure her!

4.  when is the last time your wore a dress? to my 20 year class reunion...i like wearing dresses, but pants seem to be so much more comfortable!

5.  do you have any trips scheduled? no :-( now i need to get busy planning a trip to the beach for this summer, ahhh to be laying on the beach sipping an adult beverage, listening to the waves...

happy monday...this marks the last work week of 2010 for me.  i am hoping for a quiet catch up week with lots of treats and little work!  hope you all have a fabulous week too!

wednesday hodgepodge

happy wednesday!  guess what that means, it is wednesday hodgepodge over at from this side of the pond.   ok here are my answers to this weeks questions!

1. have you ever been on a real sleigh ride? how about the warm weather version - a carriage ride? i am an alabama girl, so no to the sleigh ride...but have been on a carriage ride.

2. what's your policy on 'chain mail'...you know, the emails you receive that are often some sort of poem/blessing/good wish that ask you to send it on to 10 or 12 friends? do you delete without opening, read and trash, read and trash and then worry you won't be blessed/lucky/protected? do you delete the sender from your contacts or just go ahead and send the love onward? being as busy as i am now, half the time i don't even read them.  i just delete them...so far i haven't fallen victim to the mishaps that i have been warned against.


3. who is your favorite character in any of the christmas movies and why? this question is hard for me to decide...i have 2 favorite christmas movie characters:

• buddy the elf  -- the innocence of being child like
• clark griswald -- all he wants is to have a perfect christmas

4. share a favorite quote. another hard one, but i will limit it to 2 for christmas...

• elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup. --buddy the elf
• can i refill your eggnog for you? get you something to eat? drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead? -- clark griswald, christmas vacation to cousin eddie

5. what's your favorite holiday scent? i love the smell of christmas, cinnamon, sugar cookies, pine...the whole bunch of it!

6. does the christmas season stress you out? in what way? yes it stresses me out!  decorating, shopping, elf shenanigans, party planning, party going...what it boils down to is being too busy.  this year, my house has not been decorated yet, and i am slowly shopping, but my main goal is to make this as stress free as possible.  i'll have to wait until it is all over to let you know if it worked or not..so far i am still stressed!

7. what's the best thing about your life right now? my family...i am just trying to enjoy every minute with my children.  bluedotprincess is still so excited with christmas and i want to relish it, because i know it won't be long until she doesn't believe...and bluedotteen is a junior in hs and i know that things will change once he graduates and goes to college...so right now i am all about enjoying the moment!

8. insert your own random thought here. i'll give you some random facts about christmas:

• in 1836, alabama became the 1st state in the usa to declare christmas a legal holiday
• holly berries are poisionous
• every person will get elbowed or pushed 3 times while christmas shopping
• christmas trees remove dust and pollen from the air
• the tradition of tracking santa with norad happened by accident
• rudolph was actually created by montgomery ward in the late 1930's for a holiday promotion
• clearing up a common misconception, in greek, x means christ. that is where the word "x-mas" comes from. not because someone took the "christ" out of christmas.

thanks to joyce over at from this side of the pond for the questions...now why don't you answer these questions and link up too!

spilt coffee & tears

last friday a volunteer mom in our office brought me a latte...it was heavenly!  i wasn't able to finish it before i got cool, because we were short staffed and it was a very busy day!  that afternoon when bluedotprincess came into my office she was so excited to see i had some coffee left over...no dna test needed to prove she is bluedotdad's child, she has his coffee addiction! 

so she sat down with the remaining latte and some paper and pencil.  she worked and worked and worked.  she made a beautiful christmas, hanukkah,  and kwanza book.  she had drawn pictures and written in it...she was so proud of her masterpiece.  she decided it needed just a little bit more work to be perfect, when her sleeve touched the latte and it dumped over and spilt on her work.  the tears started flowing and she was so upset.  no amount of hugs or suggestions could make it better.  she wanted it perfect and it was ruined in her eyes.

as i sat comforting her, i started thinking about how i do the same thing in my life.  i let a little 'spilt coffee' ruin things.  in life i want things perfect too, and in this most imperfect world, that is a ridiculous wish...we have trials and tribulations and God loves us unconditionally, coffee stained and all.  i kept her book to remind me in those moments when i want things perfect that God loves me even with spilt coffee.

breakfast with santa

oh to be 7 again...

bah humbug!

what is wrong with me...i usually have my house decorated inside the day after thanksgiving and by the following weekend we have the outside of our house decorated as well...not this year.  no decorations have made it out of the attic!  i am just dreading the decorating and even more the putting it all back up after christmas!  yesterday i was even guilted into playing christmas music in my office by a teacher...

don't even get me started on shopping...i have 1 or 2 things purchased but that is it.  i am trying to buy most things online, because the thought of being amongst the crazy christmas shoppers is just more than i can bare!

i think part of the problem is that we are just so busy.  we are over scheduled and have no time to decorate. it is a daunting task now...as our schedule appears now, it really looks like it might be the 17th before any christmas decorations are out...on top of all of this my poor little bluedotprincess is so excited about christmas and is continually asking me when we are going to decorate.  bad mommy guilt is torturing me!

am i all alone blogworld...are we the only people in the world to not have decorated yet?

what a day tuesday

today has been a day and it is only 1/2 over!  the day started with pouring, monsoon rain and wind.  bluedotprincess was not satisfied with any outfit choices i gave her...we settled on a cute little long shirt, that i thought she was pairing up with leggin's.....but she put on leggings which are like thick stockings.  she kept telling me it was long enough until she turned around and her behind was hanging out for everyone to see...much crying and whining and gnashing of teeth until a skirt was added to the outfit.  well we finally got out of the house in pouring rain.

next stop was to the gas station as i was completely on empty.  well the rain, if you call it that when you are  being pelted from every imaginable position.  i swear the concrete was raining up at me.  after pumping just enough gas to get me to work and back, i was drenched.  back home we went for me to change.  now i had already had enough problems finding the first outfit, this was truly not how i had envisioned my morning.

after finally leaving the house for the second time...we get to the main intersection we must encounter that usually will have 3 light cycle changes before i can manage to get through it....guess what the lights were OUT!  people if the lights are not working you are to treat it is a 4-way stop.  undoubtedly the people who travel the roads in alabama do not know this as no one stopped.  i finally got through that intersection and then took an alternative route the rest of the way to school because the bigger intersection had no lights as well...

we made it to school and i dropped bluedotprincess off...now on to my school and the parking lot.  well we must be having some parent event, because there are no parking spaces.  i really should have a designated parking space, i mean in a perfect world i would, right?  well after finally finding a space, forever away.  the bottom falls out again, rain, wind, rain sideways, rain every direction hitting me.  finally make it into the building and begin drying out...

today 3 of our homerooms were given cookie cakes for winning a spirit door decoration contest.  guess who got to go out in the beautiful weather to get the cakes?  me...well made to the store and got the cakes and back into the car without much fanfare...then i arrive back at school.  drop the cakes by the front door and go to park my car.  my umbrella decided it didn't want to be used and got stuck inside the car and then on my steering wheel...soaking me from the water that was left on it...then there was some sharp edge on the umbrella that proceeded to attack me.  i was bleeding and running in the rain with my contrary umbrella that refused to open.

now, i am drying out and have my hand bandaged.  it is my right hand which makes anything almost impossible to accomplish!

here's hoping that you all have had a much better day than me!

on another note, today is my daddy's birthday.  i couldn't be more proud to have him as my daddy...

the iron bowl

today if you live in alabama or are from alabama, it is a very important day...the iron bowl.  the bluedots are alabama fans...roll tide!

we have our alabama gear on and are preparing the feast for the alabama game. 

roll tide roll!

thanksgiving

happy thanksgiving!  i am thankful for so many things, so many that i could not possibly list them all!  this year i am a most thankful for my family.  we may collectively have a few nuts, but that is what makes life so interesting.

For each new morning with its light, 
For rest and shelter of the night, 

For health and food, 

For love and friends, 

For everything Thy goodness sends. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) 

thanksgiving hodgepodge

Happy Wednesday blog world!  Today is Wednesday Hodgepodge, Thanksgiving edition over at from this side of the pond.

1. If you had known what they knew then, would you have boarded the Mayflower? hard question...I think yes, I would have boarded the Mayflower.

2. How far have you traveled on a boat and how do you feel about boats in general?  Our family went on a Disney Cruise a few years ago to the Bahama's.  It was great and I would readily do a cruise again.  Now if you mean getting on a boat like the Mayflower, with those amenities, probably not anytime soon!

3. What traditions have you kept, acquired thru marriage, and/or tossed? If you're single what are some of your family's favorite Thanksgiving traditions?  Other than getting together as a family to celebrate Thanksgiving we have no other Thanksgiving traditions.  I appreciate Thanksgiving more each year.  I am truly thankful for the opportunity to break bread and fellowship with my family.

4. What time is dinner and how many will be round your table? And what is the one side dish you cannot do without on Thanksgiving day?  We usually eat right around lunch time noonish.  Thanksgiving is not thanksgiving without the dressing!  Yummo!

5. Have you ever used a fire extinguisher? Do tell....no thank goodness.  Although when bluedotdad and I were newly married, we had this little indoor electric grill.  I decided to cook a pork steak for him for supper...the grease caught on fire and almost burned our apartment kitchen...thank goodness he was there and took care of extinguishing it for me!

6. Tell about a situation that caused you dreadful trepidation and feet dragging, only to realize later it was a true blessing.  A few weeks ago bluedotdad had a dinner party with some of his colleagues.  I hate school/work parties...let me explain.  bluedotdad and I have been married for 18 years and over that time I have been to every Christmas party, dinner party, etc...They are usually so boring and I listen to the same but different conversations and long to leave.  Well, back to a few weeks ago, we had to go to this dinner party, that I was dreading.  We get there and the hostess was so nice and showed me around her house and garden and served the best champagne.  It was the most fun dinner party, I laughed and just enjoyed the moment.  Can't wait to get together with them again!

7. Baked, sweet, mashed, hash browned or french fried...which one's your favorite? My grandmother's candied sweet potatoes are my absolute favorite!

8. Insert your own random thought here.  In reading my twitterstream, I have noticed that if you read the tweets in order it appears that my twitter friends are having a conversation.  Some make sense, some do not and some are hilarious!

There is my hodgepodge....now it is your turn to answer this weeks questions and link up with Joyce at this side of the pond.