The Holidays

The Holidays. Such an interesting time of year. I see decorations all over the place and it actually does cause me to be of good cheer. I like wreaths and bows and pine cones and Christmas trees and stockings and I really do believe in Santa Clause.

I know what you're thinking... she likes "pine cones"??? But yes, I do. I have a basket that I keep them in and every year I collect a new batch of just 'perfect' pine cones from when I'm out walking Honey or just walking. Gotta admit that I don't walk Honey much anymore. Now that we have 3 dogs it's such a big ordeal but I digress... Last time I collected a basket full of perfect pine cones I only had the one.

Anyway, so Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had a really great day starting with Houston's HEB Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was a spectacular show this year with lots of new and exciting things. First time I've seen the Nemo float, but Chris said it was actually Marlin because Nemo had a gimp fin. Who remembers Marlin's name tho? They had a rather large group of miniature horses being walked or drawing little carriages for full size humans but they were just adorable. Of course, as usually they had some old favorites - the big sun of Sunny 99.1, the giant turkey whose tail feathers turn on a spindle, and my personal favorite - Pancho Clause and his low-rider brigade making their cars hop through the parade. I loved it. I did, however, forget to bring my camera. So I have no pictures. Chris has some and I'll get them from him soon enough. Chris's brother Rob has actually been to the Thanksgiving Day Parade every year of his entire life.

After the parade we went to Chris's parents house for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. On the way there we saw a terrible accident involving a black pick up truck and a white car and a dog that was riding in the back of the pick up truck. It jumped out and the white car smashed into the black pick up truck but not before running over the dog then several people plowed through the dog before it became a huge back up of traffic. It was really sad to see a guy having to give his insurance information to someone right beside his pulverized "best friend" sloppy in the street in front of him.

And now to talk about the dinner.
I know. Poor taste but whatever this is my blog. I'll start with the pies because I made them and they were the most beautiful, most delicious, most wonderful pies ever - one pumpkin and one apple. I do have pics of those:




























Don't they just look so beautiful? They tasted even better! I promise.

The meal was delicious! Roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green peas, carrots, bread sauce, and gravy! With liberal helpings of red wine. Oh my gosh I was so stuffed. I had to then, of course, take my annual Thanksgiving Day snooze because I sat down and became trapped under my belly.

Oh and I wrote a book - well it's not finished but it was more than 50,000 words and that's what really counts for right now. I mean that in November I also helped to elect a new president, voted and got others to vote, turned in my 2 weeks notice, went thru a layoff, started a new job, and managed Thanksgiving.

So, now that NaNoWriMo is behind us and Thanksgiving in the past it seems the question posed most often to me is, "What do you want for Christmas?"

Is this a trick question? I know it is. There are wrong answers, there are non-answers, there are safe answers, and there are lies. The truth is that it depends on the giver I suppose. From Chelsea I will love and adore anything she gets for me - it could be a painted macaroni necklace or a card that says I love you and it's the perfect thing. But do I "want" a painted macaroni necklace? Not really. From my parents - nothing. My mom, I have to say, is one of the most generous and giving and wonderful people ever born. Having said that, she also gives gifts that not many people have much use for usually from items available in the catalogs of stuff she sells from her store.

We're drawing names in our family - we're just too many now so Christmas is for the kids and we just exchange one gift now - for whoever draws my name I just want bath products from Bath & Body Works. Chris is a good gift giver so I know I'll like whatever he picks. From him I just like to feel like he was thinking about ME and what I like in a gift and its usually perfect. But if I were to answer the question honestly it would ruin the surprise. In his family they tell each other what they want and then the all get just what they asked for. So it's not really as "thoughtful" or something if they don't have to figure it out.

Then there are things I want - but not really for Christmas. You know? I mean sure, I need a new set of tires but it's hardly wrappable or Christmassy. I'd like to get a new windshield and tinted windows. I'd like a kick ass hair moisturizer and some make up from Bare Essentials - but these are things I want to pick out and purchase on my own. I want a treadmill and something to keep necklaces organized but I would have to like it aesthetically and it would have to be perfect or I'm happy to wait for the perfect one while keeping my necklaces in a jumbled heap on top of the dresser. I want a new belt for the vacuum and I want a maid to come help me clean house at least once a month, and I want a new fence and a garden and a plan about where we'll move after the lease here is up and a facial care system from Arbonne. But that's not what people want to hear when they ask "What do you want for Christmas?"

What I really truly want for Christmas more than anything else in the whole wide world, is to have some good ideas about what to get for others and enough resources to get them those things. I want to see the light in their eyes when they open a gift from me and they think it's the perfect thing. I want to be the giver. I want to spend time with people I love and share good food and thank the people who have done so much for me this year. Peace on earth. Good will towards others.

Oh and I want to hang out with Carmen!

LOVE

Cuddle a Panda today

Chels & I are at a coffee shop and I ran across this article that has us cracking up laughing:

LINK

A 20-year old student visiting the zoo jumped into a panda bear's cage to hug him and was attacked. Apparently this panda bear is so cute that this is actually the third time this has happened - if you read thru to the end of the article it tells that this same panda, Yang Yang, was in the news previously when someone got into his cage to hug him in 2006.

Chelsea and I both confessed to each other that this panda bear really IS just too cute. We want to hug him too. But he needs to be drugged first, and de-clawed and already full. Then we want to hug him and cuddle him and call him Yang Yang.

Chiny-Mini

Several months ago Chelsea started a game of punch buggy, also known in other circles as 'slug bug, no punch backs' and other names. In this game, if you are driving along and you see a Volkswagon Beetle you have to be the first one to call out the color of the car and punch the person next to you.

There are other subtle rules that you learn as you continue playing punch bug. For instance if it is a yellow car you can hit the person twice. If it is a convertible bug you can hit the person twice. If it is a classic beetle and not the new style you can punch the person twice. If it is a combination of these you also get additional hits. For example, a convertible yellow VW bug is 3 punches and a classic convertible is 3 punches and the highest point value car is the Yellow convertible classic VW bug.

Well shortly after this Colin, tired of not being the first to see the VWs, invented "hot car." In this game you get to hit the person next to you if you see a "hot" car. This game grew tiring very quickly because, as with beauty, "hot" is in the eye of the beholder and soon, Colin would call "hot car" for just about anything that had recently been washed. My idea of a hot car might not be the same as Colin's or Chris's or Chelsea's.

The game then evolved into Chiny-Mini. I'm not sure how this one began but if you see a Mini Cooper you get to give the person next to you a little rub on the front of their chin and say Chiny-Mini. This game is sort of more fun for me and I have no idea why. I guess because there are no additional rules or point systems you have to keep in mind. Though the one caveat is that if you call chiny-mini on a car from a distance and as it approaches it's not really a mini at all then the person gets to rub your chin back. Chris often likes to include some type of maniacal laugh with his rubs on my chin but that just seems like over-kill to me.

The thing is that neither of these games are any fun if you are alone. There I am listening to my book on my iPod on the way to work in the morning and I pass VW after VW after VW and I'm followed by mini after mini after mini. If I'm alone, they are everywhere! If I'm with Chris he usually has the upper hand because normally, if we're together, he's the driver and has the advantage of the mirrors and he normally gets me in both punch buggy and chiny-mini 3 to 1.

So this week I upped the ante. I took pictures with my iPhone of every mini I could catch while driving - this isn't all of them because sometimes I'm on the phone or just not quick enough on the draw but I've snapped photos of about six of them. Then I got him at home when I showed him the pictures on my phone. Ha! sucka!

Anyway, this led me to a brilliant idea for a game to play. I want to host a photo scavenger hunt. I'm going to make a list of pictures people have to take in a certain time frame and the first person to post the photos will win. There's not a prize other than bragging rights but I think it would be fun. So for instance the list might include snapping photos of yourself with a UPS driver, on the alter of a church, with a man in a bow-tie, etc. Like in a scavenger hunt where you have to collect items and be the first one back, this would be like collecting a set of photos to post. Everyone could play, even the out of town people I know. I'm putting together the list for the photo-scavenger hunt now if you want to play.

LOVE

It's Official

My novel is slowly plugging along. Too slowly. But I'm getting into the main problem now so hopefully it will pick back up again this week. Fortunately I have a holiday tomorrow and I plan to write practically the whole day save for noon when I'll be at the chiropractor. Today a challenge was issued from the ML of Corpus Christi and we accepted. So hopefully that will spur my word count to greater heights. I've also been doing a lot of research on weather manipulation for my book. Fascinating subject should you happen to be bored or a conspiracy theorist - like my main character.
Most importantly for this post, I just wanted to say that it's official about my new job. I turned in my 2 weeks notice today and in a short period of time will be headed back to the university from whence I came and where I belong. No disrespect at all to the island which has been great but with the instability brought on by Ike, I had to go and this job fell into place due to perfect timing. I'm SO excited about it though and I can't wait to get started.
The family dinner for my dad's birthday went well yesterday and he liked his gift of a bottle of Crowne Royal with two glasses. Several members of my family want me to do Thanksgiving this year but we're going to Chris's parents again this year because it's a Colin year. We are, however, having a Christmas party on December 19th with friends so that should be fun. It will have to remain unplanned for the most part until after NaNoWriMo.
It's raining tonight so you know I'm in a great mood!
LOVE

Yes We ARE!

I'm in post-election bliss like you can't imagine! Yesterday the world changed. I'm so happy and so proud.

My 18 year old daughter voted yesterday for the first time in her life. She voted for a man who promises a greater tomorrow. She voted so that when she gets out of high school she'll immediately have access to health care and won't have to take the first job with insurance that comes along so she's covered. She voted so that she can afford college for herself. She voted for a greener tomorrow so that when she has to buy a car it might be more energy efficient. She voted because she's young and just starting out in life and wants her political party to hear her voice too and not just the voices of special interest groups. She voted because she is an American and, like all Americans, gets to participate in the democratic process and is responsible for the government. She voted to change the reputation of America so that when she goes to visit Carmen in Paris next year she won't have to pretend she's Canadian. She voted for the same man I voted for: President-Elect Barack Obama.

Last night Chris and I went to an election party at Chris & Lisa's place. When Obama took the stage to speak for the first time as the President-Elect I cried. I hope that this election helps America to Wake Up like Kucinich said in his speech during the primaries. We all have to take an active roll in this country. It's OUR country and we're taking it back! It does not belong to the government, a ruler, a dictator, the Congress, or any special interest group. We have allowed our country to be sold into debt to pay for wars we have no business fighting. These are not our causes. We have enough causes right here at home to worry about. I feel proud of my country for electing Obama as our president and hope that he leads our country out of the quagmire it has become. I have hope for tomorrow, for my country, for our future, for my children and I haven't been able to stop grinning all day.

Last night after the polls closed and Obama had spoken we heard a great noise in the street and an impromptu parade was headed down the road complete with drums, people waving Obama signs, t-shirts, or just shouting and happy. People everywhere actually took to the streets like Scottish hooligans after winning a soccer cup because of one man who can change the world.

In other Election Day news - Chris's sister Penny had her baby November 4th - Neil Hampton gave his debut performance weighing in at 9lbs 5ozs. Mommy and family are doing fine.

Here are some crazy pictures from the Halloween party we went to at the Avant Garden in Houston. Chris and I were love children of the 60's. Chelsea was a fallen angel. My sister is the witch; sister in law Sophie is the vampire who just fed, and Kevin is the dude with horns.

I just got my new computer! It is beautiful! I LOVE it! I can't tell you how much I love it. I will write my whole novel this month on my new mac.

NaNoWriMo is going well - except for yesterday because of the election and today because of yesterday.

Still no word on the new job but I did call today to find out if there were any snags. Apparently no but it seems to take a while for the security clearance process to come from HR.