Sunday Updates/Monday Updates - whatever!

[BC-NanceLee]

So, PJ likes the Christmas tree. He is sleeping under it, on the decorative throw I wrap around the base. Poor puppy, what will he do when we put presents under there? I think he thinks it is his den in the forest, a throwback to his wolf ancestors. (He is awfully tiny for wolf ancestry; maybe there was a breed of elf wolves? Wolfins. Yea.)

Anyway. We got the tree Saturday when it was FREEZING like it is today. Max, of course too cool for hats or gloves, was walking around in the sub-zero winds with his jacket hanging open, a T shirt underneath, raw red face, shivering till his teeth rattled. "Zip it!" I command. "It doesn't zip", he replies. Since when? And is there any reason you didn't mention this? Oh well - in the end he was not too cool to accept my offer of my jacket, since I had dressed in layers like any sensible Minnesotan. We were at first quite discriminating (that one is too short/too tall/too crooked/too fat) but eventually we were so cold that the next passable tree we saw seemed just fine. We set to chopping, hauling and tying it on the truck. Upon getting it home however, we saw that it was a bit - um, warped. Oh well, in the corner with the lights on, it is back to passable!!

The rest of the weekend was spent trying to warm up. Pretty much, that and watching football. Keeping with that theme, we rented Brian's Song last night for Vini who had never seen it - told him it had been known to make grown men cry. He emitted a few big sighs and squeezed my shoulders, but he managed to hold back the tears. I of course did not, though I had seen it enough times to know the speeches by heart "I LOVE Brian Piccolo..." sniff.

[sheryl]

We went to our annual Caroling party last night. Some of my friends from work got together and started to carol around the neighborhood. This wonderful tradition started 20 years ago. We have been doing it ever since. We have different hosts/neighborhoods, but we still are gung ho. We have about 20-30 people (we have had about 50 one year). We had such a great time. The girls had such a great time... And this time we had several neighbors join us!

[SuzCa]

Friday. Left work a few minutes early. Went to Home Depot to look for a tree. I've done this for years. Well I used to go to a store named Fedco for years, but it was torn down and I became addicted to the Target store they put in it's place.

So I'm there by myself, rushing around, trying to find a tree. I like 7-8 ft trees. I am used to paying about $40 or so. Those suckers went up this year. After picking up half a dozen trees that aren't 'it', I start eyeing the trees that dutiful boyfriends and dh's are holding up for their women to appraise. It became a sociological expedition. I felt like a bit of an oddball for being by myself. The Choosing of the Christmans Tree Ceremony is actually a complicated ritual between loved ones and lovers.

"How do you like this one honey?", he says, holding up a gorgeous tree. "Ummmm" says the spoiled looking girlfriend, nursing a double-short-cap-non-fat-latte, and she goes on a several minute critique. I doubt she would actaully touch the sticky, prickly "nature object" if you bought her a new pair of '7' jeans. He's whipped, I think, quite uncharitably. I walk away. An older couple eyes a tree. He holds it up for her appraisal, and then does a dog and pony routine on the tree's meritable assets. Sales guy at heart. Her wins her over. She agrees and frets over the fact there are not enough tree haulers. He nobly assures her he will be fine. Under her navigation, they struggle off with their prize. Together for life, I think. A mommy is there with her two kids. Boy about 5, girl about 8. They look and appraise the trees as a group. After I drop a tree I'd been eyeing the girl comes over and orders mom to take another look. "Nope, not quite it, but pretty good says" the mommy. Ther are no more unstrapped trees to look at in my height requirement. I go find a box cutter at the front. I come back, eye the shape and size of a still tied up tree. I cut all the strings and a wonderful tree pops loose. Eureka. I have found my tree on the first try. I hand the box cutter to the mommy and head to the stump cutting area.

I wait in line behind a daddy and his son. They have a Charlie Brown tree. It's really homely looking. He turns it around, inspects it again, "It's a bit bare here isn't it?" he asks me. "Yes, it's really has some weak spots" I say. I feel strangly bad for not gushing over their choice. If nobody picks the ugly trees, they will just sit there on the lot, passed over, again and again....sniff. Oh Lord, what a sap I am. But daddy is not dissuaded. He drags the wretched looking but still claimed tree to a place of honor in his home. (at least I think that's what is going to happen). The mommy pulls up with a good looking tree that the 8 year old picked out. Someday, my daughter will have an eye for picking out trees, I think. A young woman with a beautiful little infant sleeping in it's carriage lifts up a perfect tree, the exact height as her. I want to yell, "take that tree, it goes with your perfect baby". Suddenly I want a baby. I also want to be 28. I squash those feelings. I drag my tree to the front and a guy takes it off my hands. I stuff the tree into my station wagon and drive home, emotionally drained.

Saturday, dh goes off to a car show with a friend I decorate the tree. I order my Christmas cards. On Sunday we go to the annual Company Sponsored Children's Christmas Party. Only instead of having it on the company gounds as usual, they have selelcted a local amusment park, Knotts Berry Farm. Bad idea. The place is a dump and it's a zoo. The Chicken dinner with about 500 of my work aquaintances was sort of fun though.

Monday 9-12 training session. 2-3:30 pm training session on somthing else. There goes my Monday morning when I get my thoughts and projects in order. I hate big long meetings/sessions in the beginning of the day or the end of the day. Same for the beginning or end of the week. Ok, I just hate long meetings that I didn't organize.

So now Monday is almost over and I don't know where the weekend even went.

[BC-NanceLee]

The A young woman with a beautiful little infant sleeping in it's carriage lifts up a perfect tree, the exact height as her. I want to yell, "take that tree, it goes with your perfect baby". Suddenly I want a baby. I also want to be 28.

Priceless.

[smiley]

I haven't done a thing for Christmas yet...BUT...3 out of 5 of my classes are done...only two finals left, Friday and Monday...then I'll take a day and do NOTHING. Watch a movie, become one with the couch like a vegetable!!!!! Then I'll start Christmas!!! THe light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter!!! ((beam))

[AllisonSW]

Suz and NL, I'm thinking there is a book waiting to be written by the two of you on finding the right tree! I'm cracking up.

When Dh's mom died she left us her tree...a huge 12 ft white tree (I don't get the whole white tree thing...but it's what we got) and umpteen silver (yes, sterling silver) ornaments. Seems dh was the only one of the five boys who helped her every year with the tree, so when she died, it was one of the only things specified in her will...he would get the tree and ornaments. I can say that while it wouldn't be what I would go out and choose, it is spectacular...white tree, white lights and silver ornaments. The girls love, love, love looking at those ornaments each year. They sort of tell a story...places she went, people she loved. But I do miss the annual hunt for the perfect tree!

Other than dh's health scare last night, our weekend was fairly uneventful. Well, here's something I can tell. They say confession is good for the soul, so as ashamed as I am to confess this, if my soul reaps some benefit it will be worth the shame. When I was in high school, while all the other kids were starting to think about what they were going to do with their lives (i.e., go to college and get a real job, get married and have babies, etc.), my best friend, Kelly, and I were aspiring to be Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. We were quite certain that our experience as majorettes and cheerleaders at our single A, middle TN high school would give us a leg up on all other DCC wannabes. I can't stress enough to you how absolutely serious about this we were. No one else seemed to take us seriously, but by golly we had plan! Get out of TN and head to TX! Well, Friday night I was flipping through the TV channels and stumbled onto a show on CMT..."Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. Making the Team". Gosh, it was as though I was back in high school! I got all caught up in it and the next thing I knew, it was 12:30 a.m. and I had been watching four freaking hours of this show!!!!! I forced myself to turn it off and go to bed. I have no idea who "made the team". Fortunately, I think that watching the show may have helped me with any unresolved wannabe issues.

[JoaniK]

It's been an extremely stressful week around here. My part time job is now 5 days a week...at least for the next couple of weeks....customers getting meaner by the minute because we can't coax smiles out of their 2 week old babies for their Christmas pics. Or get their 15 month old children to loosen the death grip they have on mommy w/out crying so we can get good pics.

My sister almost died....due to waaaay too many pills. My other two sisters are pissed at my BIL R and myself...so they are ignoring the fact that our sister Marie is losing her battle w/the drugs!!! They actually said they don't care!!! Well...I DO care. I also realize that these drugs are way beyond Marie's control now. They are controlling her.

Went w/my BIL to finally let my parents know just how bad the situation is. They knew she had a problem...but the extent was not known.

Jacob has a program w/his LOGOS (elementary youth group) at church tomorrow night. And the Sunday school pageant is coming up.

Not much money for Christmas...but that's okay. Not much time to get the house ready is not. Esp. since we are hosting the Christmas party for the people from my portrait studio.

DH and I barely getting to see each other awake.

My head is spinning....

[Sarah66]

What a busy weekend we had--my ds turned 8, unimaginable to me. Never thought the process of bringing him into the world, the IF, bedrest, and all, might slip into the past, so much history left behind me, an indistinct trail now. We took him and the friend of his choice to view the Star Wars exhibit at the nearby Big Town science museum. It was a big day, and fun to see original prop items and hear more of the story of the making of the movies, as well as the way science met science fiction in the production of the movies. But oh my, keeping track of 2 second grade, Star Wars loving boys was a challenge; they were so wound up!

Then on Sunday, we had lots of Advent programs at church, and since I am in the choir, it was a busy day. I love this season probably most of all for the wonderful music. I am a choral music junkie, and the passing of Thanksgiving signals to my family the unremitting parade of Christmas music CDs that will last through the 12 days of Christmas!

We also did the birthday lunch with my ds choosing to go eat pizza a local place that has an actual carousel that runs periodically for the enjoyment of pizza-stuffed kids. A new Lego set kept the birthday guy busy nearly all afternoon. With his birthday done, we are now in full-blown Christmas preparation season!

[DebyD]

Last Thursday and Friday night I was at work until 10:30pm and after 12:00am respectively getting the books closed "on a dime" for the first inaugural meeting of a hunting club my boss has created and built. Several weeks ago one of the partner's (who has pretty much funded the thing) employees let the cat out of the bag that they would be taking over the accounting as of the first of the year.

So, I've been kind of depressed, kind of anxious, kind of pissed off. But I didn't let anyone know that I knew. I'm pretty much here by myself all the time b/c the hunting club is 2 hours away. Think over 10,000 acres of conservation involved. HUGE. Big $ investors.

So, I worked my buns off last week for their presentations to look nice and be accurate. I had been playing w/ several accounting issues, never getting an answer from my boss who is a salesperson, not a business person.

Well evidentally the partner with the dough was so impressed that nw instead of just taking everything from me...he wants me to come over with it. YEAH!!!!!!

Feather in my cap sort of thing. My past is doing acct for high net worth individuals, CEO's that sort of thing. This guy is supposed to be by far the wealthiest individual in Memphis. So, keep your fingers crossed that everything turns out for me.

This past weekend, I was WIPED OUT. I'm still recovering.....

And on Sunday, someone left me a present on my car. I usually park in the handicapped parking spaces b/c of my MS and the person across from ........ went over their concrete marker, into the handicap sign and clipped my car. All they would have noticed was my hood slightly bent. When we took off the bug bra, it was crunched, scraped, with paint allcracked up. Why do some people have to be so insensitive? The only thing keeping me from being so incredibly pissed is that I keep thinking that it is still my time for a major car wreck (especially w/ my sleep issues) and someone up there keeps fulfilling the requirements by causing boo boo's to my car that don't really hurt me physically.

DebyD

[BC-NanceLee]

Deby, congratulations on the presentation success! Way to go, woman.

Allison, which one are you?

http://www.dallascowboys.com/cheerleaders/squad.cfm