Christmas Morning

I hope on this morning you are with the folks you love and care about. I hope this day carries the magic and wonderment for you that it did when you were a child. I hope you remember the reason for the season.
Merry Christmas friends!

Christmas Vacation

Today was my first official vacation day. I'm off until January 5th. Lemme tell ya, I haven't had a vacation day since I started this new job back in May. I don't mean to sound like a whiner, but
dagnabit, I deserve some down time. I wonder how many days it will take before thoughts of my job will filter completely out.
So in celebration of my first day of vacation I woke up, ate some yogurt and promptly puked.
Then I took a nap. Woke up and ate some crackers and felt like I could make it out into the world. I hurried to the post office to mail a card and photobook to my grandma in Arizona. Of course there was a line out the door if you wanted to see an actual postal employee for assistance...lucky for me, I didn't! I went straight to the automatic postage machine to weigh my big envelope, pay for a stamp and chuck it in the bin. Ha ha, if only it had gone so smoothly. Nope, instead I went straight to the machine and stood behind a woman with a big "Arbonne" box full of packages that she was methodically getting postage for. I assume she also drove the car in the front row that had the big "Arbonne" sticker in the window. Sooo, ten minutes later she was done and the woman directly in front of me had a whole paper grocery bag full of large manilla envelopes. I sighed dramatically and waved around my lone envelope hoping the spirit of the season would inspire her to say, "Oh, you only have one envelope, please go ahead of me." But to no avail, I waited another ten minutes behind this clueless, self-absorbed postal patron. Little did she know I could puke in her grocery bag at any moment. After todays experience I am not a fan of Arbonne or going to the post office the week of Christmas.
After the postal situation, I went to the mother of all clusters...Wal-Mart. I only went to get a gift card for my brother and his wife because they grocery shop there and times are tough. So it was a noble cause. In fact I did a little grocery shopping while I was there..you know, kill two birds with one stone. Surprisingly, I zipped in and out and even had a friendly check out lady.
I made it back to my car just in time to drink the juice box I brought with me in case my blood sugar plunged since I horked up my breakfast.
At home I wrapped some presents and listened to holiday music...before I took another nap.
That's what vacation is for, plenty of naps.

Thursday night thoughts

I have big plans for this evening. First of all my husband is swinging by Rally's (Checker's to some of you) to pick up a greasy cheeseburger and seasoned fries for me on his way home. I intend to balance that out with a Diet Coke. Right. Then, at 8pm the John Mellencamp BIO will air. After that at 9pm the "Homeward Bound" 90 minute John Mellencamp documentary will air. I will be glued to the television all evening which is not typical of me. As you know though, I am a giant fan of the notoriously grouchy/mouthy rocker. I find depth and reflection in his lyrics...most of them. One song I could do without is "I need a lover." I think the intro is too long and I am sort of a feminist so the lyrics are a bit offensive. Just my opinion though..and you know what "they" say about opinions. This blog is named after his lyrics..Your Life is Now. It's a reflective song. I'm all about reflections tonight I guess...maybe I'll say it one more time.
Reflect. There, I said it.

* Just a side note: I finished watching the Mellencamp special. He sang an acoustic version of "I need a Lover" and changed the offensive lyrics...it was really enjoyable! *

This time of year, the holidays are a good time to reflect though. To consider what's important in our lives, what are our priorities? Especially in these hard times. With the new year just around the bend what will we do to make it a better year? See?...Time to reflect.

She's up to something...

"For whom the bell tolls...." I will tell you that there are some changes coming. Remember back in the early fall I said I could feel change coming but I just didn't know what it was yet. Well, now I know. You will know soon too. Doesn't that sound ominous? It's not really. Not ominous.
It's not one change, it's going to be a series of happenings. It makes me nervous and excited all at once. But I can't tell you yet because I don't have anyway of knowing who reads this blog and if the information got into the wrong hands before the appropriate time, well, that wouldn't be good.

So for now let's talk about the Turkey Day. On Thanksgiving Day my Boo and I went to his parents house for dinner. His lovely mom always cooks for an army even though only four people are eating. She got a new wedding band because her's had to be cut off her finger...she
outgrew it. I can't rememer how long they've been married but it's something like 40 years, she's due for a new band. She was so excited to show it off. The dinner was amazing as usual.

On Friday I did not go out shopping with the deal hunters. This is the first year I haven't gone since I don't know when. I just wasn't feeling it. There wasn't anything I needed.

Saturday Boo and I went and purchased a treadmill which is being delivered and set up on Friday. We're trying to be healthier. Or prevent bad health I guess. I figure a treadmill is less expensive than a heart attack in ten years. Right?
Meanwhile, I put my turkey in the oven for roasting. I tried something new this year, I brined it the night before. So I drained off the brine, rinsed the bird then stuck it in the oven. Several hours later my family showed up for dinner. We always have a good time and this year was no different. Boo and I have a Wii game system and everyone really enjoyed it. I hate video games, always have. But the Wii is different. It's great for all ages (they even have them in nursing homes!) and you have to be physically active to play it. For hours my family boxed, bowled and golfed in my living room. We sat down to a fantastic dinner, I cooked peas, corn and rolls in addition to the bird (which was so juicy and moist thanks to brining!) Mom made stuffing and mashed potatoes; my sister-in-law made green bean casserole, mac and cheese and cranerry cheesecake bars. I also contributed a homemade apple pie. Delish!
So glad we ordered the treadmill.
I'll keep you up to date on the big happenings, when the bell tolls, you'll be the first to know!