Daisy and Me

I just got back from seeing a great movie, Marley and Me. I really didn't know what to expect since I haven't seen many commercials even (finding time to watch TV is rare...) but it sure was a fun, feel-good, tear-jerker of a movie!! It did make me realize how important our pets are in our lives...how they are just one of the family and how much we would miss by not having them there. My little Daisy pup is part of us...she is practically LIKE us. She loves to sleep in the bed, with her head on the pillow. Her favorite place in the house to hang out is in my office...I like to think it is because it is also MY favorite place in the house! :-) She is just so much a part of who we are. She is usually one of the first waiting to greet me when I come in and when else can you be greeted so sincerely!! There's nothing waiting in the background like did I complete something for her or did I remember to take out the trash or anything! Just pure, unadulterated joy to see us. Who could ask for more?!?!?

I know many times we take our animals for granted...but life would be so dull without them. I really think it is oftentimes through our pets that we learn what it means to love another unconditionally. No strings attached...

Here is a picture that I took on my cell phone that I just can't help sharing because it is just so quintesentially Daisy...she is on the couch in my office and the picture says it all...

Merry Christmas...No - REALLY!

Merry Christmas!!! :-) I know that in light of my recent post about what a Grinch I was being some may be thinking "oh - here comes the sarcasm..."...but No - REALLY!! Merry Christmas!!

I hope that it is a safe and happy holiday season for all...I'm killing time waiting to be off of work but am finally ready to begin the festivities. Today is my wedding anniversary - 20 years! That's just insane...and I think i am just about ready for the big day. I will of course be joining all the crazy last minute shoppers shortly because I am also one of those crazy last minute shoppers! LOL I don't have much I still need to get - just some little stuff to go with the presents I already have to complete them out. So I think I am finally ready!!

Again - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

I need a recipe...

The recipe I need is not one for chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies cut into stars and santas, or even fruitcake! The recipe I need is one to snap out of my Grinch funk!! I don't know what it is this year because it could be so many things...is it the crummy economy? The fact that I am working right up until Christmas day practically? The lack of time in general? Not having my kids home to share the holiday with? I really don't know...but whatever it is it is wrecking my holiday season!!!!!!

I am usually someone that absolutely LOVES the holidays! I love Thanksgiving and all its trimmings, I love putting up the tree and the lights, I love having cookies baking and candles burning, I love giving and getting gifts. But Christmas is less than a week away and I could CARE LESS!! What is wrong with me!!!!????!!!!! I feel like such a freaking GRINCH!!! I haven't even gotten a tree yet...

So I have been listening to Christmas music for the past two days, I've eaten some holiday goodies, the deer and Santa are out front on the lawn, we should be getting our tree tonight...I just need to figure out what the other missing ingredients to the recipe are because I'm trying really hard to not be such a grinch. (okay - this is hilarious...as I am typing this and listening to holiday music on some internet all Christmas all the time station they are playing "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch"...I am totally not kidding...talk about sending the message loud and clear!!!)

So let me know if you have a couple of missing ingredients for me to add to my recipe...and in the meantime, Merry Freaking Christmas or something like that.

I Am Thankful…

As Thanksgiving nears, I didn't really think I could let it pass without spending at least a few moments reflecting on the things I am thankful for…so here goes!

I am thankful for my family – they are my rock and my everything…without them I just can't imagine what life would be like. I am thankful that they are all individuals that have their own way of doing things, even if I don't always agree with it! I am thankful that my husband took our vows seriously and has stuck with me through thick and thin, sickness and health, better and worse. Lord knows we have seen both sides of ALL of those!! LOL I am also thankful for my extended family – they have contributed to so many of my happy memories all the way from childhood to today…

I am thankful for our military – especially my two boys. It is amazing to me that thousands of young men and women sign up to possibly sacrifice their life for our country. They leave their families and go off to faraway lands sometimes going days, weeks and months without communicating with their loved ones, all while being in a place they don't know and where danger could lurk around any corner. I am sure it is not easy, but they do it anyways. I am thankful for that. With that, I am also thankful for my country – I am so glad I live someplace that I can say what I want, worship how I want, spend my money how I want and more! There are many places where they only dream of being able to do what they want and the USA isn't one of those! I am so thankful I have been blessed enough to be born here and know what freedom is.

I am thankful for my job – for all the drama that goes with it at times…it just isn't all that bad! I get paid a good wage that provides for a lot and I can usually go home at the end of the day feeling like I made a small difference in my little world. I know lots of times it is easier to complain about it, but in the end, I have to accept that it could be a heck of a lot worse!! And I'm thankful that it isn't!

I am thankful for my friends – I could again say, for all the drama that goes with it at times…LOL But I am thankful for them. What would I do if I didn't have my good friend that I trust (you know who you are!) that I can talk about anything with; or what would I do if I didn't have a friend that understands where I've been because they've known me for the past 10 years; or if I couldn't get together (way too seldom might I add) with the goddess girl that pours the wicked wax; or what would I do if I didn't have a terrific group of ladies that I could look forward to sharing lunch with each Wednesday? Life would just suck without those things!! J So I am very thankful for my little circle of friends – and I'm thankful that I have learned who my real friends are…

I am thankful for so much more…like sunsets, smiles, a laugh, football, a good movie, a good cry, a good book, Google, steak, my Saturday morning breakfasts with hubby, my students who always keep life interesting, candles, fires in the fireplace, crunchy leaves, bubble baths, dew on a blade of grass, the smell of baked goods in the oven, mist coming off of water, a beautiful moonlit evening, my bed, my home office that is my favorite place in the house, Black Friday shopping…I could go on and on!! There is just so much to be thankful for and it is something that I have to remind myself sometimes in these bleak times of financial distress…but there are so many simple things in life that it is important to be thankful for them every day and not just on a certain day of the year. So to all of those that contribute in any way, large or small, to my list – THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF MY LIFE!!! It is you who make it worth living…

Energy Suckers!

I saw an interesting article on Yahoo! this morning and just had to share because it was MIND-BLOWING!!! Check it out - it is all about how much energy gaming consoles use.

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_conscious_consumer/21/stop-wasting-money-video-games-and-energy-efficiency.html

Beauty in the Beast...

Okay - so it's no surprise that my life has been just a little hectic lately (hence the "Beast"!) but then there is a moment where you realize that there is also a whole lot of beauty! This week has been a roller-coaster (what week isn't though really...) but last night as I was driving to school heading west I witnessed one of the most spectacular sunsets I have seen in some time. It was absolutely amazing...I could actually SEE sunbeams! I don't recall seeing that before and I don't know if it was just the time of day, or the little bit of clouds laying low over the horizon, but it was like looking at an illustration where these rays of light were shooting out of the ground. Now I've seen rays of sunshine coming from above and they are spectucular as well, but this is the first time I've seen them shooting out from below. This is a picture I found at www.capetownskies.com/sunbeams.htm that pretty much sums up what it looked like

(although not quite as spectacular) just picture that against a background of pastel hues of pale yellow and rosy pink, turning into bright crimson and gold, and finally fading into a deep bruised purple sky...all the while these sunbeams are shooting out almost as far as the eye can see. It was amazing and it made me feel so small! It made me realize that there is so much more to life than just the rush, rush, rush of our daily lives. We just need to take a moment to appreciate it. I've continued thinking about that sunset I saw last night and how much of a message it was for me. I need to still enjoy the sunsets (or sunrises!) and stop to smell the roses so to speak. We are such a small part of this thing called life...it's important we appreciate the beauty in the beast.

Balancing Act...

My life has become a major balancing act lately and I find myself having a hard time not falling off! I'm balancing home, work, teaching, student, mother, wife...and then my problem is I want to be able to relax once in awhile too and that seems to be the foot kicking at the chair leg threatening to topple me over and off the edge in one foul swoop! I know I can do this...but at the same time I am battling major procrastination! I know I need to be a little more rigid and force myself to take care of what I need to, when I need to, instead of rushing around at the last minute. For example, this past Monday was a holiday so I intended to get up early (which I did) and jump right on my reading for school so I could also get some grading done...but instead I screwed around on the computer for about an hour sampling songs on iTunes! I wish that was the end of my procrastination...but alas, it wasn't and even though I completed my chapter reading, I didn't do one stitch of grading this weekend! GRRRRR...

So I'm trying...and trying....and trying...I'll keep trying...that's my mantra anyways!! LOL

His Highness is Out to Get Me!

Okay – so I think the cat is out to get me. I don't know what I did to piss him off, but it must have been something really good like not treating him like he owns the house. Or perhaps I didn't lavish enough praise on His Highness recently. Or MAYBE I slacked off and didn't jump right up and let him out when he asked (cough – demanded – cough, cough).

So this morning…it's a Monday…and I'm running just a few minutes behind. Not enough to get panicky yet, but enough to make it a not-quite pleasant drive to work as I jockey for position in the moron-o-thon of commute time traffic cursing Jacka$$ 1 and Jacka$$ 2 that decide they BOTH want to go the exact same just under tortoise-speed. Ya know? So I go and get in the car…I have my cup of coffee which is good, there is a good song on the radio which is also good…things are looking up! I pull out and hit the garage door button to close the garage and just as the door is about 2/3 down, what do you think the cat did? He casually saunters into the beam and sends the garage door right back up…and then SITS THERE. I honk the car horn…he SITS THERE. I stick my head out and yell "Move CAT!"…he SITS THERE looking at me like "What?". I open the door and say "don't make me get out"…he SITS THERE like he has found the absolute best place in the whole entire world to sit! I get out and walk up to the cat screaming and yelling at him the entire time…and he SITS THERE. I think he was rather amused actually. I finally get him to move by physically picking him up and gently placing (cough – throwing – cough, cough) him into the garage and out of the way of the beam.

I go get back in the car, re-buckle the seat belt, hit the garage door button and watch it get about 2/3 down when he WALKS THROUGH IT AGAIN!!!!!! Yep – no kidding. Thankfully (for HIS sake, not mine!) he finally decided that making me have a stroke had lost its appeal and I was able to get the garage door closed and headed off to work. It was a small miracle, but I was able to get to work without having to tell anyone that they were 1 or giving the one-fingered peace sign – no thanks to His Highness, King Simba!

Goodbye Mr. Newman...

I'm so deeply saddened by the passing of Paul Newman...what a truly great man and I can only imagine how his family misses him. I don't normally think much about "celebrities" and even have become to consider myself quite jaded actually, but Paul Newman is different. Here is a guy that was not just married to his wife - but faithful to her! Totally and completely dedicated to his family. And on top of all that, he cared about society as a whole. He recognized that he was in a position to help others through his "image" and did just that - giving over $250 million to various charities through his Newmans Own brand, as well as starting camps for kids with serious medical issues. They truly don't make them like that very often - he was an original and all of Hollywood should hold him as a role model.

Mr. Newman - you will be missed but your legend and charity will live on. Here's to a real man - my heart goes out to your wife and three daughters.