A world of silliness… January 18, 2009

Hey Ma, take my picture now!

Christmas brought the kids… and of course, Mom with her camera, taking (or trying to take) a bunch of cute kid pics. What I wound up with, oddly enough, were dozens of blurry, or semi-blurry shots of the bundle of bouncing insanity that is The Boy – including oodles of lovely faces, a la Calvin… And an equal number of shots of The Girl either attempting to maintain a properly Gothesque expression of disdain, look disdainfully at her brother’s antics, or otherwise project an image of a cross between amusement and angst.

In other words – both were being typical of their age.

Are boys all this obnoxious, or is it just my brother?

Really, I am smiling, and I am holding still! Honest!

See, what did I tell you?

No matter, I still got some terrific shots and had a marvelous time… including Yours Truly getting in on the silliness…

My world in a small glass ball...

They really are capable of being nice to each other...

Holiday Decor – it’s that time of year again… October 10, 2008

It happens every year… Immediately on the tail of all the Back-to-School sales, it starts.

What starts? The holiday madness of course!

I remember as a kid eagerly awaiting the time when the Halloween stuff would hit the shelves, usually not until the very end of September, sometimes even early October. It was an anxious time full of anticipation.

Now, that stuff seems to come out while the shelves are still full of the marked-down school supplies not yet snatched up in the annual frenzy.

Yeah, I’ve carped about this before. But this year, a trip to the local Wal-Mart (a place I visit only when there is no other choice) had me actually stopping in my tracks – thankfully, the incredibly large woman behind me, she who was pushing an already full cart, dragging along a small child or six, talking loudly on her cell phone and simultaneously rummaging through the suitcase that served as her purse, managed to avoid running into me. My bad. I should know better than to stop in that hell hole.

But I digress.

I had rounded a corner and come face to face with an end-cap display that featured charming, 3-feet tall, motion-activated, waving seasonal characters. Wanna guess?

Side-by-side, there they sat: a green-skinned, hook-nosed witch all in tattered black, toting her broom stick and waving a gnarled hand whilst emiting a chilling cackle and the almost cehrubic-looking guy in bright red velvet, sack tossed over one shoulder, black boots gleaming, gloved hand waving and rosy cheeks dimpled in an impish grin, chortling “Ho Ho Ho!”

Ah! This was too much!

A quick scan of the area proved this wasn’t an error. Nor was it a single instance of holiday mismatch. Nope. It was all over.

Green pine garland nestled next to black crepe.

Twinkly icicle lights shimmered beside orange, glowing Jack-o’-Lantern lights.

It’s all well and good to lament the over-commercialization of holidays. But this is marketing madness to an extreme, I think. If I start seeing New Year’s decorations and accessories before Thanksgiving, and Valentine’s frouf before Christmas, I may lose my sanity entirely.

And by the way – I happened to love The Nightmare Before Christmas – but this is not my idea of the ideal pumpkin carving:

I've heard of mixing metaphors, but....

The cricket on the hearth December 20, 2007

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree – you’re such a pain in the butt to me! December 6, 2007

Most of my decorating is done the weekend following Thanksgiving – but the tree, oh that little marvel of evergreen loveliness, it waits.

It waits because I don’t do a fake tree, but I still deal with the big tub of water, the pine needles and the inevitable stains on my light beige carpeting (what idiot decided light beige carpeting was a wise choice? Probably the same idiot who thinks kitchen counter tile with wide grout lines is attractive. Grrr. But I digress.)

And so, the annual trek to find The Magic Tree.

Last year had The BF bah-humbugging his way through countless tree lots, refusing several trees – ones I found perfectly acceptable – only to finally settle his grumbly, Scrooge butt on a 10′ monster tree – tall and skinny (because our living room is TALL, but narrow). So much for Scrooge. Bah humbug my fanny, okay?

It did look terrific, though I did not have anywhere near enough lights for such a huge thing. (Love those dark spots! It didn’t help that I had to restring the lights thanks to the dog knocking it over…) In fact, somebody remind me to take pictures immediately after decorating this year. Last year, I waited – and the pictures of the crooked, bedraggled and slightly askew tree prove it.

This year, we plan on getting something smaller since we’re leaving town on the 21st and not returning till late Christmas day. Why buy a huge tree. Why buy a tree at all? Because I want one, dammit!

Now, keep in mind, I have a 1 1/2 story ceiling in my living room – which means, a short tree looks silly.

Also keep in mind, I have Daisy The Christmas Tree Ball Munching Boxer From Hell, whose presence mandates I keep the lower three feet of tree fairly naked.

Which means – if I put up a 6′ tree – I’m only going to really have 3′ of decorated tree. This does not please me. It does not please me at all.

So, my genus little brain thought – well, why not simply put the smaller tree up on a sturdy table? That way, the smaller tree looks bigger and Daisy TCTBMBFH doesn’t eat the lower three feet.

I’m either an evil genius, or incredibly stupid (since I can imagine all sorts of bad things happening to a smaller tree up on a table… Yipe!)

For now, I’m rearranging furniture and  figuring on going tree shopping this weekend.

In the rain.

Photos to follow… stay tuned…

Count Your Blessings & De-stress! December 6, 2007

Prompted by the constant onslaught of “how do you keep so calm with all the holiday stress?” stuff, and updated for 2007. If anything, I’m more relaxed this year, less stressed, enjoying what I have and not worrying about what I don’t.

This year, we’ll be doing a lot of driving at Christmas. The kids are with their dad, and we’re going to visit my sister, and then the BF’s parents – driving over the holiday weekend does not thrill me, but family does!

Is it crazy? Sure. Whose holiday isn’t? But that’s OK. It really is!

~~~

R.

Along with the holidays comes the immeasurable stress. The hassles of shopping, cooking, traveling, etc. All the extra people in our homes. Or the crowded homes of relatives. And like many women, I often feel overwhelmed by it all. On a message board I like to frequent, another Mom asked the question, “How do you deal with all the holiday stress?” As I sat back and thought about it for a moment, it occurred to me that I really didn’t feel stressed. On the contrary, I feel rather relaxed this season.

Do I have less to do than usual? No. More, in fact. Is there less stress, less hassle, less anything this year? Again, no. This year is much crazier, much more stressful than years past. So, what is the reason for my calm state? And then it hit me. Here is what I said:

I take a deep breath and remind myself what all the fuss is about! Seriously – I look at the bright side of things, and try to focus on the good stuff.

When family gets overwhelming — I think how much I miss my Grandfather, and how I wish he was still around to see my kids growing up. This year, 2007, I also think about Mom – this is our first Christmas without her. Suddenly, that family that IS around seems all the more precious.

House too full? I remind myself of all the people spending the holidays alone. I visit a nursing home, and see the lonely faces that brighten up at the sight of a stranger. My full house doesn’t seem so cramped anymore.

Stress over whose house to visit? At least there is a choice. Sit back, smile, make a “take turns” schedule and rejoice that you have so much family to choose from. Think of the soldiers, or others, away from home — who don’t HAVE that choice to make, I’m sure they’d be glad to have several places to visit.

All of the other hectic, crazy, holiday insanity? For every piece of negative — I can think of some positive. I can think of some reason to appreciate what I have.

I have a beautiful home (yes, it means decorating.) I have lots of family (a crowded house, lots to buy, cook, etc.) And for all of the hassle — I am thankful.

I miss the loved ones who are no longer here, and I would gladly put yet another plate on my table, another gift under the tree for them.

I don’t love holiday travel — but last year, I would have happily driven all over the country and back to have Mom with us at Christmas. Last year, she was ill and couldn’t travel — and life being what it was I couldn’t take the kids to her. This year, it’s not even an option and guess what? I’d cram my kids, all the food, all the packages and everything into a Mini Cooper with the tree tied on top, then drive across country and back if I could have one more Christmas with Mom.

So — how do I handle the stress? I count the blessings I have! Yes, those blessings mean more stress. But there are so many others who have far less than I.