Smelling Like Christmas

I love the smells of Christmas!

Especially a real Frazier Fir. We have an artificial tree - the real ones aggravate my allergies.

So, I stick to Yankee Candle scents like "Balsam and Cedar" and "Cranberry Chutney". I plugged in the Balsam and Cedar on Tuesday; a couple of days later hubby said "What's that smell?" and I say What smell? He says "It smells like...(sniff, sniff) .... Christmas!"

LOL!! That's been our running joke this weekend!

Old Williamsburg also makes a "Winter Spruce" that smells like a fresh tree.

I also like those scented packets you find in Michael's or AC Moore or a home store. "Pear Spice" is a great scent ...... last year I bought 4 and spread them throughout the house. Mmmm a wonderful fragrance!

And then there's the ultimate Homemade Apple Pie! Oh my! Fresh baked cookies and brownies all around. No wonder we gain so much weight -- the smells alone will pack on the pounds!

Cloves, orange peels, cinnamon and a bit of water simmering in a pot on the stove.

It turned cold yesterday! They even threatened a taste of snow in our area. We didn't get any, but about 60 miles above us did. It's still cold! Cold enough to think about snowing that's for sure. That fresh cold, snow smell is a great scent too!

I've got all my presents wrapped! I've done so good this year (I think).....my Mom is the only one on my list left to buy for. "Santa" has the list covered....I hope!

Why is it that we go overboard at Christmas? I'm trying to stick to a budget and I've done pretty good....

Except for Miss T. Geesh, what a tough age; however she is very good of pointing out things she'd love to have. I file them in the back of my mind and sometimes right under her nose, I'll get it!

She keeps asking "where do you hide things?" and I say that it's sometimes right out in the open. It's true!

Hello! Is this thing on?????? Can you hear me now?

Well, I'd like to say that was ME and that's what I've been up to. But.......

NOPE!

I'm still the dance Mom.....Tom's still sober! YAY! 19 months and counting. He gets his license on Oct 20th....say some prayers that he will stay on the straight and narrow. It will be great having a 2nd driver in the family again, to take some pressure of of me.

Miss T, well, she had her first "date" with a boy this summer. Nice kid.....he moved. (Whew!) She has started 8th grade with a bang....Algebra and, get this...an online World History Class!! It's kicking her butt, but.........she can handle it!

The dance studio was invited to dance in the Disney parade in Orlando next June! WOW that's a biggie. So we've been working on some fund raising ideas. The kids get a costume and ruby red shoes and will perform to "Ease On Down The Road". Shelly, mark your calendar for June 23-26, 2011.

My boss finally sold the office......and I moved into his pool house as an office just today. What a mess. Boxes everywhere. But I gotta hand it to him and his brother, they set up the desks, hooked up the computers and put the supplies in a closet! Now I just gotta rearrange everything and figure out where I put it all over again.

I'm still on short time....only getting about 10 hours a week from him. That's ok for now, I still get the "attached claim" payment from the employment commission every week. That won't last much longer. I really should start looking for a better job. Now that Tom's getting his wheels back, maybe I can.

So what have I done with all my time off? Nothing.....sleep, drive to dance, help with homework and watch Criminal Minds. Don't you just LOVE that Agent Morgan!! Woooo now that's some eye candy if I've ever seen any.

May-be

May-be I'm getting the old me back.

I've changed up my medicines and I'm eating less.

I do feel better. My friend and I have had a hard time making it to the gym lately, I was sick one week, then she the next. Soon.

In the meantime, I'm getting more energy - starting to "spring" into action, although a bit late for "Spring". The sun is shining and the temperatures are great right now. Miss T and I enjoyed a dip in the pool last weekend with my nephew; 2 birthday parties this weekend - perfect days for them. Now she wants to go to the movies - not a bad idea since it's about to rain.

But I need to stay home lol.....sigh....Momma Taxi!!

Hubby and I enjoyed an afternoon boat ride on Friday. We followed a school of porpoises up the waterway hoping for the "million dollar shot"..... didn't happen, but it was fun just watching them leisurely swim upstream. One came right by the boat, but I didn't see him in time to take a pic.

I showed hubby how to get to the Island from the Waterway on the north side of the dock. Hmmmm things were ok until we grounded on a sandbar. They're bad over on the sound side of the island and you need to keep a sharp eye out. Luckily, 3 jet ski's came by and towed us off.

Spring 2010

I'm springing....joined a gym. We'll see.
How many years have I been saying I was going to do that?

My old body just ain't what it used to be!
I honestly am disgusted with what I've become.

Mayonnaise Jar

The Mayonnaise Jar

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,
When 24 hours in a day is not enough;
remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class
and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar
and start to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again
if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand
and poured it into the jar.. Of course, the sand filled up everything else
He asked once more if the jar was full... The students responded
With an unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table
and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively
filling the empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided,
'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things - God, family,
children, health, friends, and favorite passions
Things that if everything else was lost
and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --
The small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued,
'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,
You will never have room for the things that are
important to you.

So....

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time
to clean the house and fix the dripping tap.

'Take care of the golf balls first --
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand
and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.

'I'm glad you asked'.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Please share this with other "Golf Balls"

I just did.......

Welcome 2010

Already 2010? Weren't we just worried about Y2K? How funny.

I hope you all have a wonderful, prosperous, healthy year!

I almost ran Joseph over

This has been an interesting year and Christmas for me.

First, Tom's spiral out of control; then his sobriety! Yippee!

A friend now spiraling out of control on drugs and pushing everyone away - she even left home, a husband and 15 yr old son. My heart breaks for them. She won't answer my messages.

An unorganized dance schedule; job cuts and both court dates done.

With Tom on probation, we did not get to make our annual Florida trip this year to see his Dad, Brother and MY TRIP to Nokomis for the now annual reunion of some of my favorite JLand peeps. That I'm so sad about.....so sad.

We'll try to make a Spring trip.

The week of Christmas I had begged for my 4 yr old nephew to come sleep over and hang out with us. His Mom and Dad work; my Mom wanted a day off from babysitting ---- so why not? Only his parents never answered me....until the Tuesday that I wanted him.

I got a call from my brother saying they didn't want Nephew staying overnight due to "Tom's drink/drug issues - you never know if he might have made someone mad that would come to get revenge....." and how his wife just wasn't comfy with that. PLUS some of the "kidding around" we do, well, that's just not the way they are trying to raise their children.

I reminded brother dear that Tom was 11 mos sober and did he forget that his sister slept with a gun beside her and that if ANYONE should be afraid it would be any intruder! But that as a mother I could understand his wife's concerns to a point; however, ALL OF A SUDDEN????? HELL NO!

Whatever.....whatever makes her comfy. I didn't need to fight this....not just yet. It was just a couple of days until Christmas and I knew we needed to be peaceful. Besides, I would make my point, yes I would. Somehow I would get in my digs about how I would "miss him this summer while I was in my pool".......or "don't ask me to babysit".....in a gentle manner of course.

I called Mom. Filled her in. Shocked she was; she told the stepDad; he had a talk with the brother about "hurting your sister's feelings". He said he didn't mean for that to happen and he figured he had not said the right words the right way.

Ya think?

Guess who ONLY wanted Aunt Sharon all Christmas Eve and Day? Yep!! I couldn't do anything without him....he even wanted to come into the kitchen to eat Eve dinner with me rather than the others at my Nanny's dining room table. Aunt Sharon, come on, it's time for presents!.

Guess who said "I wanted to have a sleep over with you but why didn't I?".....my answer was "I know, but it's Christmas week and everything is just sooooo busy right now". Didn't satisfy him.

I said to my SIL "It's a shame he doesn't love me". (DIG)

Anywho, my Mom went upstairs to show brother a mirror Christmas Day after lunch and they had a talk! She explained to him how Tom had really changed and how much she enjoyed being around him etc.....also that Sharon protects Nephew and loves him as if he were her own. And by the way, she takes up more time with him than you or your wife EVER have with Miss T. She also asked brother if it meant that she wasn't going to be allowed to bring him to our pool this summer? He said "Is that what Sharon said?" and she said NO, it's MY question because of what you said about your kid not going to her house. In the meantime SIL came upstairs and got into the conversation.

Later brother tried to get me to go out to the garage, but I declined. Then I got a text from him, saying he wanted me to go out there so he could appologize.....for what I asked......for being an ass. Said his kid was welcome anytime at my house.

Interesting.

My Nanny, 87, God Bless Her....fried chicken, made rice, gravy, field peas, homemade choc cake, lemon & coconut pies for our Eve dinner. Awesome! Her home is truly a Christmas House, all decorated, 7 trees of various kinds and sizes, Santa's everywhere, several Nativity scenes.

I didn't decorate full out this year......wasn't in to it.

Christmas Eve I texted a dance mom "Merry Christmas" and she said no.....they were at the ER; her kid's father had a massive heart attack and died - he was only 41. SHOCKED. The kid is only 14 (she's at my house now) and I'm so afraid that she's going to turn into a rebellious kid. Hanging around with the wrong kind and all.....at least the Mom could turn to the Dad and stepMom for assistance keeping her straight. So very sad.

Christmas Day was windy here. We looked out my Mom's window and wondered where Joseph went? He had left the manger scene outside, poor Mary and Jesus all alone. Before long I realized it had gotten dark....time to go home. I began to back out of the driveway, then decided to go around the circle instead.

Was a good decision......we noticed Joseph was near the driveway, face down, lost, cold, lonely.

I left my laptop behind so I turned around to go back to Mom's....stopped by the road to let Miss T get out and help Joseph back to the Manger.

Otherwise, the story would have a different ending after all these years.