Mornings - YUCK!!!!

As I try to convince myself to get outta bed I just wanted to complain that mornings have not been my friends lately. 

Quick Catch Up

So, I have figured out who to blame for my lack of blogging over the last month. It is my Sister's fault I have not been blogging. (Let me see if I can rationalize this one). Each week I set aside a certain amount of time to be spent on Blogging. That time has been taken up by reading her very LONG posts about NEW YORK!! So, by the time I am done reading, my blogging time is up! Ha. Just kidding. I absolutely LOVE her posts. I enjoy reading them so much.

I have been a little a busy lately. I FINALLY got over my sickness for now. A trip to the doctor and 2 shots and a Z pack had me feeling better in about 2 days. Sorry to say that is not true for the rest of my family. While Mamaw was here, she became ill. Several trips to the doctor and she couldn't seem to get better. My mom also made several trips to the doctor for the same thing before getting well. But finally, I think everyone is on the mend.

Lisa, you asked in your last comment, if I enjoyed my time with Mamaw. The answer is YES!! I didn't see her a lot (because everyone was sick) but what I did get to see of her I really enjoyed. Brennen came over several nights out of each week and got to spend some time with her as well.

Mamaw couldn't get well enough to make the trip home by herself. So, one weekend we took her home. I drove Mamaw and Lucky in her car back to Dublin. Lindsey, Shawn, their kids, and Brennen followed in our car. Once I got her home, I helped her get all set up with the things she would need to take care of herself and helped her get everything settled back in after being gone so long. After we left on Sunday, she went to the doctor on Monday and I am glad to report that she is on the mend as well.

While we were there, we got to see my Sister and Jaxen. It had been so long since Lindsey had seen Carla that neither one of their little boys had ever met or neither of them had met the other's boy. So, we ALL loaded up and went to spend the Saturday afternoon with Carla and Jaxen.

We met up at her house which was under construction (well, painting and floor work - or something). We took a few minutes and headed over to the church to see Nik. (This was our last time to see them before they moved across the country so we had to fit EVERYONE in). Nik was pretty busy doing UPWARD but he did take a few minutes to visit with us and meet Shawn and Aiden for the first time (maybe even the girls? I dunno). Anyway, after some hugging we were bound for lunch.

We went to a pizza buffet. How can you go wrong with that, right? Especially when we had coupons - thanks to Carla. We got to visit over lunch. It was a good time. After getting full, we headed to the park.

Carla led us to this awesome park. We got to play together and just spend some time with each other. We did not get to visit a lot at the park. With 5 children aging from 14 to 1 1/2 years, it is a little hard to visit, but we did play. Here are some pictures:

After the park, we went to the "Neighbors" house to say hi and goodbye and to grab a quick snack for the little ones.

We had a great time visiting. We returned to stay in Dublin that night with Mamaw. We all loaded up into one car and headed home. On the way home, we made a short side trip to Strawn. Lindsey was able to take us by Aunt Barbie and Maymee's house and then showed us where Uncle Adam lived. Low and behold, he still lived there. We stopped in to say hello and were all greeted very warmly by his family. It was good for him and Lindsey to catch up a little bit.

Then home. It was a quick, emotion filled weekend getaway. And let me just say, all of the kids did great traveling. But they were all VERY READY to be home about the last 2 hours of our trip. We arrived safely and all slept hard that night I am sure.

Under the Weather

Well, I am sure EVERYONE can relate when I say..."I am sick". It seems like EVERYONE is sick right now. Luckily, I have been fighting mine off for a little while, but last Sunday it got me. It got me pretty good, because I was sick all of last week. This weekend I did nothing but lay in bed and answer my stinking ON CALL phone. By late Saturday, I was feeling better. By Sunday, I felt pretty good, but woke with no voice. Well, I guess that is an exaggeration. I have a voice (but as my boss is calling me Minnie Mouse) I have to agree that it is very small and very SQUEAKY!!!! So, this post will be short. We are all having dinner at my mom's because......MY MAMAW is in town. YAY!!!! So, more later.

For Today

I just have time for a little blog today. Just wanted to get some things outta my brain and onto here where my family and friends can rejoice, smile, and pray with me. 

1. I had the most awesome dream 2 nights ago. Usually all I dream about is work. But on this morning I woke up feeling so at peace and so happy. Sometime Btwn 3am and 6am my Dad met me for lunch. We never did eat but we sat at the table and just visited and visited. I can't remember what we talked about or what was said; but it was so wonderful.  I usually don't dream about him and unless it is a horrible dream I don't remember my dreams.  But that morning I could tell you what he was wearing, how he looked, and about our surroundings. I woke with a smile on my face and peace in my heart. 

2. I saw the nicest gesture yesterday at Wal-mart. I was sitting in my car finishing up my list, not really paying attention to anything. But then a young man (maybe 20) was walking out if wal-mart and he stopped in the parking isle and talked to an elderly man in a van. I only heard a few words of the conversation. Then the young man got in his truck. The older man rushed off. In a minute the boy turned his truck on and put it in reverse and then didn't go anywhere. A few minutes later the man in the van appeared behind the truck. The boy backed out and the man pulled into the space. As I watched this strange exchange, I notice that the parking spot was the 1st one in the row (behind the handicapped spots). The second thing I notice is that the van has a handicap tag on the rear view mirror. Then I look around. All handicap spots in all of the rows are taken. This young man saw this man struggling to find a spot to park where he could get in the building safely. And gave that man his spot! 

I love to see people being sweet to one another! 

3. Please continue to pray for all 3 families involved in the middle school shooting. My friends daughter, Kendal was shot. She went through another surgery yesterday. She is doing well. They r trying to determine nerve damage now. 

Nathaniel, the boy that was shot I do not personally know him but was talking with some people last night who say that he has undergone several surgeries and that they even removed part of his skull to allow for brain swelling. He is not responsive to anything at this time. They did however, take him off of the ventilator for 30 minutes yesterday and he did breathe on his own for that time. That is good progress. 

The 3rd family is the family of Mason. I can not even imagine what a hard time they are going through. But I am very sure that not one of these famines need our prayer more than the other.  

And lastly, please just keep in mind, everyone that was involved. That they will all find peace.

Now, to see what this day has in store for me. 

Catching Up

Believe it or not, I have 2 other blog posts started. I did not complete either one but saved them to the side to finish and post. Any guesses as to what they were about? If you guessed Christmas and New Year's you are absolutely right. One of them even included pictures. Too bad they weren't finished. I don't have a lot of time today. I was going to try to finish them but I think it would be easier for today at least just to do a new one.

I have been SUPER busy at work. I am working about 12 hour days and some graveyards on the weekends. Thank goodness that I finally got a girl hired. She has started training and will continue to train through the weekend. Hopefully, this will be my last weekend of working graveyards. My other staff have been really helpful through this. They are patient with me when I get a little too cranky by Tuesday. They have also helped with the extra shifts so that I only work 1 or 2 instead of 4. I know that on salary you should adjust your work load accordingly to only work approx 40 hours a week. I have the liberty to do this, but the reality of that is pretty crazy. I am saying though, that I am really going to try once this girl gets trained to not work as much. To take that time. It may not happen because I am always on call 24/7 but......it's a thought right? They say it can be done - I am out to prove them wrong - but hopefully they are right.

In the midst of this, I have learned that you can get a lot accomplished wearing headphones in my office. I am in an office with 8 to 10 other supervisors and my supervisor's office is adjoined on to the same office. You can only imagine how loud it gets in there. It is crazy. But this week, I brought my headphones and away I went working. It just dawned on my that you have never seen my office. I guess I will have to take some pictures and really do a post about where I spend a lot of my time.

I was super happy when I got off of work at like 9pm last night. I got home and Amber and I played Rock Band, Country version. (You might have seen my post on Facebook). I had a great time. We played the entire game - like to the point where you get to the end and instead of another level coming up, it inducted us into the Country Rock Band Hall of Fame. Yeah, it was like 1am when we were done. My fingers were REALLY cramped by then. But I am very glad to admit that I only made below a 94% once. Every single song (except THAT ONE) I scored above 94. Although I PREFER GUITAR HERO to Rock Band, this is an accomplishment. And for those of you who know anything about the game - no I was not on the beginner level!!!! I played the entire game on Medium.

I am going on about this - I am not sure why. Maybe because it is 3:40pm on a Friday afternoon. I was supposed to be off at 12pm but got stuck in an afternoon meeting. So, the meeting is finished and my desk is clear. Guess what that means -

I think I might go home. Or at least get out of here.

The Big Tree

I have told you about putting up my mom's tree and how it went seamingly smooth. I also mentioned in a post titled "Merry Winter" that decorating Christmas Trees was one of my favorite things to do in the winter season. Well, I can say that this fact did not really ring true for me this year. I don't know why but I do know that putting up my tree was one of the most frustrating things I did this month. Of course, there is a story. I wish I had pictures to walk you through this process but I was so frustrated that I didn't even take any pictures.

On a Sunday morning, just over a week before Christmas (I think). I got off of a graveyard and then went to finish my mom's tree. Once it was finished, I went home and pulled all of the Christmas boxes out of my shed and into the house. I wanted to nap before I put up my tree. My plan was to take a nap and then get up in time for the football game. While I watched the game I was going to set up the tree. Well, I couldn't sleep. I sat in the livingroom and watched tv until the game came on. Then during the game I was so tired that I fell asleep. Ugh! Anyway, I then woke to find Dallas loosing. (I know big suprise - right). Well, I had to really get into the game and cheer them on. This took up a lot of energy. Which left no energy to put up the tree.

About 8pm that night I decided I better put up the tree because I would be working over the next few days and knew it had to get done tonight! So, I unboxed the tree. Usually I plug it in as I go but this year we had rearranged the living room and the tree was going to have to be plugged into 2 extention cords wrapped around the livingroom to the other side where the plug was. As I thought out how I would plug in the tree I realized all of the extention cords were still in the shed. Well, I decided that I had been putting up the same tree for about 10 plus years and never had a problem with the lights before. I just plug them in and they all work and pow! Then I decorate. My tree is pre-lit with only clear lights. But over the years I have decided that I wanted colored lights. So for the past 5 years (maybe a little longer) I add 3 strands of colored lights to the tree. Yes, I am my Mother's daughter and Yes, I learned to light a tree from my dad. My dad taught me that you have to put lights twirled around every single branch. He used to say, "your mom likes a lot of lights".

Now that I think about it, that might be why I love decorating Christmas trees so much. We used to do it as a family all while we grew up. Dad would come home a little early from work and He, Carla, and I would bring in all of the stuff from the shed. Mom would make something for dinner and then we would eat. After we ate, Dad and I would put the lights on the tree (sometimes for hours) and Mom and Carla would start packing away the nic-nacs and putting out the Christmas ones. We would play Christmas cd's and all sing along. When the tree was lit to perfection, Mom would sit in the floor and hand us the ornaments. Carla and I would place them on the tree. We got to pick where each ornament went for the most part (with some traffic direction from my mom). By the end of the night, the house would be decorated, the tree would be perfect, and the candy dishes were full of m&ms and hersey miniatures.

Those are amazing memories. I love to remember them....but on this Sunday night, there was no Christmas music in the air, there was no family helping me, and there definetly was no candy dishes. However, shortly after I started Amber came home and offered to help. There really wasn't much for her to do so she just kept me company while I diligently worked on putting the lights on the tree. I only found 2 strands of colored lights. So, I was a little sad because I usually put 3 strands on. Then, in one of the boxes I found a brand new 3rd strand. I shaped the tree and then added all 3 strands of colored lights. Amber found me the necessary extention cords after inquiring why it wasn't plugged in. So, we held our breath and waited for the big "AWE" moment as I plugged in the tree.

We released our breath in disgust as no lights came on when I plugged it in. UGH! What do you mean NO LIGHTS!!!!! I said to my self. I checked all of the plugs around the trunk of the tree. Guess what happened next.....Yup! I got lights. Granted, it was only the bottom lights that came on. And only the clear ones at that! How can this be I asked myself. I fumbled and fiddled. Still only the bottom section had lights. I got very frustrated. I unplugged all of the colored lights and just plugged in the clear lights. Same outcome. So, now, I am totally frustrated and a little ticked. I do something next that suprised Amber and even myself. I KICKED my Christmas Tree! Low and behold, guess what happened! You got it! Lights. Don't get too excited. It was only the top lights that came on. No lights in the middle. So, at this point I took a few deep breaths. Then I kicked the tree again. (Hey, it worked the first time, right?!?!) Nope, no go. So, I took all 3 strands of the colored lights off of the tree. I started trying to replace fuses and bulbs. Still nothing. I couldn't bear it any longer. So, I unplugged it and went to bed.

The next day (Monday) I got up and went to work. It was a busy day and I did not think about my tree until I got home late that night. I did not mess with it. Tuesday was the same. But on my way home Tuesday night I thought about it and what I was going to do. I tell you honestly, I thought about just throwing the whole thing in the trash. But instead I stopped and bought one single strand of clear lights. Once I was home I unboxed those lights and wrapped them around my hand (to make putting them on the tree easier). I then plugged them in. They came on and I started putting them on the tree (but just in the middle section where there were no working lights). I get half way done and guess what - my hand is filled with unlit bulbs. Turns out that only half the strand was working but I couldn't see the bottom half that wasn't working. ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!? After checking and changing out about 5 bulbs I call it good and ball up the portion of the lights that are not working and stuff them in the center of the tree. I was tired of dealing with it and frustrated beyond belief. But I wanted a tree up for the kid's sake. And too, I thought if I could ever get this tree up it would change my mood this year. But I guess my mood was powerful and maybe it was what was effecting the tree.

That night I put the ornaments on the tree. I even put Brennen's ornaments on the tree which I have not done in several years. But by the time I was done with those, I was tired. I went to bed. And I didn't touch the tree again until Christmas afternoon when I finally put the star on the top during Christmas Lunch. I did not even put the usual beads as garland or the ribbons that flow from the top to the bottom. Poor unfinished tree. So, here are some pictures of the tree.

Please love this tree. When Christmas is over it is going in the trash! I can not do that again next year. As you look at these pictures please do not second guess yourself. If you think I am drunk and took crooked pictures....you are wrong. The tree is actually leaning. I tried to caption the extent that it is leaning but the pictures just don't do it justice.

So, stay tuned for how we spent Christmas.....

The little tree

Every year (well, for the past few years) I have helped my mom put up her tree. A few years ago, she decided not to put up her big tree and instead bought a smaller (3 or 4 foot) tree. So now, every year the question for my mom is....."which tree are you going to put up?"

This year my mother decided to put up a small tree. It seemed fitting this year with things that have occurred in the recent past. One night over dinner we discussed what the little tree had looked like the last time we put it up (2 years ago). We remembered about all of the gold that was on that tree. It had gold ornaments, gold garland, and a gold star. It could be named a disco tree. This was not a choice but because she got it so late that those were the only ornaments left at that time. As we discussed it, it was decided between my mother and I that she wanted some new decorations on the tree. A few days later, I went shopping. I found a few snowmen. If you know my mom, you know that she loves snowmen. I also found a small container of colorful decorations. Some of them were a little weird looking. Notice the green PINECONE and the glass SNOWMAN in this picture:

After we put these on the tree, we sat back and looked at it. There was a red star that hung on one of the bottom branches. It really stood out and just looked awesome.

After we were done, I decided that there just wasn't enough ornaments still. I told my mom to let me look for some more ornaments the next day before we put the garland on. So, we left it with only lights and ornaments on the tree for that night. The next day I went to Big Lots and found some more ornaments. They were really cute. And guess what......yup they had snowmen in the set too.

So, without any further stalling, here is a picture of my mom's little tree. It turned out beautiful!!!!!!! I hope she really enjoys it.

Merry Christmas!