Christmas in Review-(more pics to follow...)

The title also just happens to be the title of My Lil' Girl's Christmas program at school this year that kicked off our Christmas season's festivities. Every year the K-8 program has a new theme and this year's had a little modern twist with dancing and rapping kiddos. But every year the children in Kindergarten are Angels and they are the highlight of the performance. I was told that it is an honor to be an Angel and that the Christmas program is very important. I did not realize how much so until I spoke with one of the parents who has an older kid as well. They ate $1200 to reschedule their Disney trip so that their child would not miss being an Angel, they were going to arrive an hour early so they could get in line to get an okay seat since the front rows were auctioned off at the Parish Festival for thousands of dollars, and in order to have one good parking spot for when they leave with the kids they were going to park one vehicle in the parking lot during the day because it will be impossible to find one for the second performance which we were in also. WOW! Especially the eating of $1200, but then again, who schedules a trip on December 18th anyways?? This is not their first go around with a kid in this school.

Anyways, Nana and Papa got in line an hour early and I showed at my designated time of 20 minutes till 8pm so that I could dress the cutest Angel ever! BTW we had a dance Christmas program / party at 6:15pm - 7:00pm. No rushing; not at all. Detect any sarcasm? :-\

Anyways here she is with her teacher...and further below is one of her dance performances taken by not very good video.

December 20th. The work Christmas Par-Tay. I work with crazy people. Yes, they are certifiable I think. A lot of people dread the work Christmas party but I actually really enjoyed this one. Maybe the best one I have been to, yet. This firm that I have worked at for 6.5 months is, in my opinion, the best in town. From quality of work, to the value of friends, family, and co-workers. They believe work hard, but have a good time, too. Here is the "eldest" partner, and managing partner at their best. Who said accountants have no personality?

On the 21st I had the annual Christmas get together with two friends that I have had since Kindergarten. It was great! It is always. We should get together more often instead of just for Christmas and the kids' birthday parties. After all, we do live in the same general area. The kids had a great time "hunting" outside and playing with their new toys while the adults had a good time just being adults.

On the 24th we had Christmas with my Dad's side of the family. It was a quiet and calm gathering. A lot has happened with this side of the family this year and I think everyone was just happy and thankful to be with each other.

CHRISTMAS DAY!!! Wow, what a whirl wind. First off we obviously had Christmas at home first thing. Santa brought lots of gifts again and My Lil' Girl could not have been more excited. This year she had such extreme expressions of amazement. Oh to be a kid again!

Lunch time was spent with her Grandma and Grandpa R, and cousins. The day was wrapped up with a dinner at Granny's house where she received a beautiful afghan that Granny made. Since Granny is 86, this is a really COOL thing. At least in my opinion and hers. She loves it.

Heehee...Really?

Kids...I love bursting their bubbles when they are saying something they think is funny, but then realize what it really means. Kinda like this...

This a.m. while getting ready for school, My Lil Girl is happily singing a little diddy she picked up in Christmas vacation daycare. It goes like this:

Mickey Mouse

Peed on a House.

What color is it?

Mommy: "Serioulsy? Mickey Mouse went tee tee on a house?"

My Lil' Girl: With a look of confusion, "No he didn't."

Mommy: "Isn't 'peed' and 'teetee' the same thing?"

My Lil' Girl: With hesitation, "Umm, no. Yes. But it is about the color."

She continued to think about what I said, with a sad expression quit singing it, and relunctantly moved on to something else.

On another similar note...coworker's kid says, "How you spell 'I cup'?"

Mother, "I-C-U-P."

Little girl giggles.

Sooooooooo Ready For The Holidays!!!

Today at work I have broken the following:

1. My dual monitors that I cannot work without. Current Secondary was once Primary and will not go back to Primary. Instead, it shuts down. It will compromise by being extended but only with cruddy resolution.

2. My chair. Since my back has been hurting me recently I have upped the back of my chair to provide more support. Today it decided to fall down on the job. I lift, it slides back.

3. My time keeping software uninstalls itself. How? I have no clue.

Doesn't all of this just translate loud and clear in to

"IT IS TIME TO START CHRISTMAS VACATION!!!! GO HOME!!!!"

This Bad Economy Thing SUCKS!!!

I feel compelled to write this because of what someone said to me the other day and how it makes me feel about an event that happened at 9a.m. this morning that changed someone's life.

The person said that they like the struggling economy and hopes it continues. Why? Because they are benefiting from it. Their property taxes will probably go down, their insurance is going down, and they can buy investments, vehicles, tvs, etc. cheaper. They are not just saving money, but making money as well. Well Yippie for you.

What should be thought about is not how it benefits you, but how the bad economy is hurting everyone in society. I guess I find the thought selfish, insensitive, and ridiculous! I do not think this way at all even though my industry is stable. Actually, we are in need of more people like me; especially in my geographical area. Salaries are going up to draw in people from elsewhere. But I still do not feel that way. I do not like hearing about people losing their jobs, not having money, and not being able to support their family. I especially do not like it when it is my DAD that got laid off today because the company is not able to make budget because all their customers are making cut backs, too.

It sucks. No other way to put it. After years of hard work, dedication, and professional success, it is all gone. The even sadder thing is that he knew it was coming and there was no severence package because he was contract. He sat in the same office with the same extension for as long as I can remember-different companies. He just happen to be the oldest, and probably most experienced person in his department which equates to the highest paid. He had survived 3 previous recent layoffs so it definately was not work inabilities.

Maybe he can go to the steps of the Capitol and ask for a bailout (a whole other gripe of mine). But in the meantime, he will draw unemployment until he finds a new job (which he is actively doing already) and watch his retirement funds take hits. I cannot wait till the previously mentioned person bi+ches about their taxes supporting people collecting unemployment.

What are the odds???

Apparently I am "that person." You know the one that is the .000000001% chance of it happening to you. But, unfortunately, it never is something that I am wanting to happen. For example being late for work due to side effect of drug.

Last night my back was hurting very badly to the point I almost could not walk. So I took some drugs. Skelaxin to be exact. This morning BWR woke me up at 8:30a.m. I was... how do you put it?... "OUT OF IT!" I did not know what day of the week it was. So when I finally made it to work I looked up Skelaxin on the Internet. Here is what the Dr had to say at http://www.skelaxin.com/:

There are benefits to taking SKELAXIN®, such as:
1. Prompt relief—it begins working in your body within 1 hour of taking it
2. Improved range of motion and no interference with posture and balance
3. Minimal sedation with only a small chance of feeling groggy, woozy, or extremely sleepy
4. No adverse cardiovascular effects
5. No withdrawal symptoms or risk of dependence, since it is not habit forming

Here is what I would have wrote:
1. Prompt relief--out like a light in about 15 minutes of swallowing
2. No interference with posture and balance--because one will not require those fundamental needs to support one's body because one will assume the dead position
3. Minimal sedation with only a small chance of feeling groggy, woozy, or extremely sleepy. If the small chance does occur, then a comatose state will exist.
4. No adverse cardiovascular effect--the heart and lungs will be the only normal functioning organs
5. Not habit forming because once someone wakes you up, you argue with them about what day of the week it is, and then you lose that argument-you will not want to take it again.

Christmas Awe

This year I have been a bit delayed in putting up Christmas decorations and My Lil' Girl has not been too happy about this. So to pacify her we went and saw other people's lights. This was going good until...Saturday. There was no more waiting. What little patience a little girl has at the ripe old age of 5, was gone.

So I got up on the ladder (not the roof this year though) and hung lights. I would have made it to the Christmas tree inside if some people would not have offered to trim my trees for a very reasonable rate. And they looked like they needed the money, so I said sure. (Probably live in Country Club).

But the best part of the weekend was Sunday when we went to a friend's Christmas play at church. It was really good. Little Hictoria has some hip hop dancing talent. But what was best was seeing the look of awe and amazement on My Lil' Girl's face as Santa Clause (St. Nick) so softly narrated the story. Each time he came out to take his seat with the light shining down on him, her eyes grew bigger, her mouth dropped, and then a smile grew slowly. It was so sweet and innocent. Then she looked up at and with pure joy and happiness. I will never forget that face; beautiful!

B-Ball...

I am going to the Spurs game tonight...woohoo!!! Gotta love nice, people that share their season tix!

I am going to stalk Eva if I see her. heehee

I cannot tell a lie...

I forgot to mention that on Thursday I took My Lil' Girl to go see Santa. It was the last attempt to see if she wished for anything else other than the cupcake maker and the you are not getting a DS.

On the way over to see Santa I asked her, so what are you going to tell him when he asks you if you have been good? (BTW, she has on her shirt that says "Santa, I can explain...") Anyways, she looks at me sadly, starts crying, and says, "MOMMY I DON'T WANT TO LIE TO SANTA!"

So of course Mommy takes FULL ADVANTAGE of this to teach a quick behavior lesson while praying that the visit goes well. It did, but I was a little nervous. After all she did have that shirt on and of course the first thing Santa does is reads it out loud and asks her, "Now what is it you have to explain Little Girl?"

Happy Birthday Icey

Today is Icey's 35th B-day!!!! Wooohoo!! Happy, Happy Birthday!

And in celebration of her birthday I am eating, right now, a piece of YUUUUUUUUUM-E Tres Leche Cake. I love the stuff! So thank you for turning 35 today. :)

A little about Icey: She is a former co-worker who is HILARIOUS, smart, quick witted, a great Mother, driven, a true friend, and has one of the most positive outlooks on life no matter what is thrown her way. I love chatting with her; I always feel uplifted afterwards.

So here is to a fantastic 35th with many fabulous more to come!!! And if anyone (besides her) is reading this, go wish her a happy birthday here.

16 sleeps left

Oh my! I never thought I would say this. I really never did. After all I feel that girls are much easier to shop for than boys. But... I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO GET MY LIL' GIRL FOR CHRISTMAS.

Of course I have asked her. Several times even to see if I can get more answers or different ideas. So far at the top of her list is this cupcake baking and decorating gig. Done. Nana got it. A whopping $20.

Last night she told me, "I want Mommy for Christmas, the cupcake thing, and curtains for her room."

Awww how sweet, but kid you are not helping me any!!! BTW the curtains just need to be hung again. Yes, again. Some little child was jumping on her bed when she knows better, lost her balance, and pulled the whole entire rod down. Left two very LARGE holes in the wall because previous grouchy lady who owned the house anchored them instead of finding the studs.

Other "toys" that have been randomly said a DS and her own laptop. Well she has a Leapster which is essentially the same thing, more for her age level, and a heck of a lot cheaper than a DS or a Wii. Now the laptop...well she is just upset that Mean Old Mommy will not let her play with her precious work laptop. So she says she wants her own so she can go on the Internet and email. Really??? email... And let us think about this. If I am keeping you from my "work" laptop, maybe, just maybe Mommy would like to have her own laptop first. :)

Therefore, so far, I have purchased odds and ends (a board game, a barbie head for her to do hair on-and I only got these because they were $5 cheap at HEB), and stocking stuffers, but there is no BIG present from the S-Man, yet.

I do not know what to get. Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

o' twismas lights, o' twismas lights. how lovely are your twinkle...

I heart Christmas Lights! I always have. I guess its because as a little girl it was one of our family traditions to scoot around town and look at all the lights that had been put up. I do it with My Lil' Girl, too.

Saturday evening we went to the big town of Cuero with a friend and her little girl who is 3. The town decorates their entire park with a gazillion lights that have been donated by businesses, organizations, and local families. It was amazing and quite impressive for a town of 6-7 thousand people. The girls, LOVED it! And us Mommies loved seeing their little faces "light up" with wide eyes and big smiles, and hearing their "interpretations" of what the lights depicted. We giggled a lot!

Photos and comments from the night:

The Entrance

Look Mom. Its a Pickle--> AKA a Chili Pepper

A Fan AKA a Ferris Wheel

Horses and Ice Skating - FUN!


The next ones were the adults' favorites. They were across a lake.
"Sassy" (The Dragon)

Happy Friday - This just cracks me up (not for small eyes)

Thank you for purchasing 'Bubba & Cooter's Book of Sure-fire Pick-up Lines' brought to you by Bubba & Cooter, straight outta Ashmore . Enjoy!

1) Did you fart? cuz you blew me away.

2) Are yer parents retarded? cuz ya sure are special.

3) My Love fer you is like diarrhea I can't hold it in.

4) Do you have a library card? cuz I'd like to check you out

5) Is there a mirror in yer pants? cuz I can see myself in em.

6) If you was a tree & I was a Squirrel, I'd store my nuts in yer hole.

7) You might not be the best lookin girl here, but beauty's only a light switch away.

8) Man - 'Fat Penguin!' Woman - 'WHAT?' Man - 'I just wanted to say something that would break the ice.'

9) I know I'm not no Fred Flintstone, but I bet I can make yer bed-rock.

10) I can't find my puppy, can you help me find him? I think he went inta this cheap motel room...

11) Yer eyes are as blue as window cleaner.

12) If yer gunna regret this in the morn in, we kin sleep til afternoon.

AND.. the best for last!

13) Yer face reminds me of a wrench, every time I think of it, my nuts tighten up.

Maybe I can be lucky enough one day to have one of the above lovely phrases be said to me by one of these hunky men...YUCK!

Not only aches and sniffles...

So after feeling like crap since Sunday I went to the doctor to get some meds. But instead of concentrating on the illness, the Dr. wanted to concentrate on my through the roof blood pressure. 132/101. YIKES! NOT GOOD AT ALL!!

I bought a new blood pressure cuff thingy so that I can monitor my blood pressure over the next 7 days and report back to him. Let's hope that it goes down after I get well. But since heredity has a play in this, it probably wont. :( Both my mom and her mom have high blood pressure so I guess I am destined to have it as well.

In addition to getting my bp under control, I need to get my weight under control as well. Especially since I will be in a wedding in Sept. 09. Don't want the bride and groom to have icky pictures to look at forever. :) So as a result, I am going OCD on a health kick and if I do not stick to it, I need everyone to kick my butt to get me back in to gear. Got it?

Seeing Stars - A Celestial Event

So last night as I peeled my body out of my car to go in to Walgreen's to get some seriously needed cold/flu medicine, I looked up at the sky and noticed the moon shining bright with two stars hanging out with it. I stopped for a few seconds to take it in because it was truly a very pretty site. I even noted how one star was much brighter than the other.

Well today I learn that what I was seeing was actually a very rare view of Venus and Jupiter! Apparently, Venus and Jupiter are at their closest to the moon and the brightest star I was seeing was Venus, the least brightest was Jupiter. Here is an excerpt from an article I just read:

"The three celestial objects come together from time to time, but often they are too close to the sun or unite at a time when they are less visible.

The next time the three will be as close and visible as this week will be Nov 18, 2052, according to Jack Horkheimer, director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium."

How cool is that?!? I saw it! I wish I would have taken a picture. Supposedly (from another article) the three of them will be viewable tonight, but not as brightly or in such close proximity of each other. So to those of you reading this, if you are outside tonight, take time to stop what you are doing and take a look.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!

So I got The Call yesterday. The Call from one of my most closest and most dearest friends. All I had to say was "Are you engaged?"

"Yes." That simple little word that changed her life a few hours before that she describes in her blog here.

I have had this feeling that it was coming, just did not know when. But when I heard her Grey's Anatomy ring tone I just thought to myself, "This is it!"

So congratulations cjh!!! I am so ecstatic, excited, happy, and already becoming impatient for The Day. It is going to be perfect!

Oh, and just think...if you would not have let him have it back in the beginning because he was thinking like a little boy, then he would not have been able to do such a cool proposal and snag such a wonderful gal. Make sure he tells you thank-you. ;)