I'm still here (but not always all there)

I have so much to write about, but I'm having a hard time getting it done! I have great pictures from the girliest tea party ever, I want to share about my new kitten, and TODAY! Oh, my, today we played in the most snow I've ever seen. My daughter sledded for the first time, and so did I!!!! Pictures coming soon . . .

Good ol' B-Town

***Disclaimer: Please don't judge me, or the entire town, by the stories here that make national news!***

Some of you may remember this story, about the gentleman who got creative while trying to remove stubborn tires. I still can't believe it made national headlines. Even talkshow hosts discussed him!

Well, as if that weren't enough, I just saw THIS headline on a national news site. The picture to the right is the actual photo of the display, only a few blocks from my home. My husband is a police officer, and we are well aware of the crazies who live here, but the news guys have to cut us a break sometime! It's actually a pretty decent place! (I think I should have named this post "So Embarrassed"!!!)

So embarrassed . . .

We talked too much to remember to take pictures while we were making our goodies. Then, we ate too much. You'll just have to take my word for it - everything was yummy.

Finally back to normal!

Well, surgery has come and gone and I am pretty much back to normal. Good news everyone - if you ever find that you need to be poked in the belly for some laparascopic surgery, you're going to be just fine! We're talking about two days of laying in the bed (and just sleeping because of the pain pills), and that's about it. I was still a little groggy for a few days, because of the anesthesia, I think, but the pain went away pretty fast indeed. I was so happy. :-)

We also got a new family member named Jasmin, the sweetest little kitten ever. I don't know WHAT did it, but my husband surprised me with the decision that we could get one. She came home the day after I had surgery. More about her later!

Tonight our very good friends are coming over and we are making Christmas goodies! We started this last year and swore it would become an annual event. I think it might be because we all want peanut butter balls, and you can make soooo many more if you have extra hands! Our daughters are going to make painted Christmas cookies, and we are going to make other yummies. Check back for pictures!

You might be Jewish if . . .

All night we've been watching History Channel specials about the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Knights Templar, the Holy Grail and all that other stuff that has become so mainstream since "The DaVinci Code" debuted. It was especially interesting to me because I've been in somewhat of a spiritual undertaking for a while now, trying to get a grip on exactly what I believe. This has become imperative to me because when my daughter asks really important questions, I want to be able to answer her with conviction. Tonight I discovered that I might be Jewish. This might come as a shock from someone raised in the Bible belt, but not by a church-going family, and choosing on my own to become involved in a slightly charismatic, Pentecostal, very non-Jewish denomination. Well, I guess I'm probably not Jewish (the lily-white skin and Irish ancestry make it a genetic impossibility), but I'm intrigued by Judaism. I think I'll do some research and report back. I'll probably discuss it with a certain Hindu-Jewish-Buddhist-Christian-Goddess Worshiper-Naturalist-Native American Spiritualist (I might have left something out) family member of mine, too. She's bound to have some input.

Ick

Soooo . . . that surgery I briefly mentioned is happening tomorrow. I'm trying not to be nervous blithering, babbling idiot, but I can only promise so much. I will feel much, much better when it's all over. Wish me luck!

Winter fashions?

I want to find the person who decided that winter fashions should be sleevless and icicle-inducing, and STRANGLE them! I have a holiday party coming up, and it's a little dressy. Not formal, just nice. I would like to find a nice dress to wear. I will be recovering from surgery in the abdomen area, so it would be preferable to wear a dress than anything with a waistband! I started looking for some such thing (it's been a while since I've bought a dress), and I cannot believe what I have found! EVERYTHING is sleeveless, or, if you're lucky, has little cap sleeves. Even the materials are flimsy, and I get the shivers just looking at the mannequins with their bare arms and practically bare everything else! There are some really cute wraps that can be used, but they really have no warmth value. WHAT is wrong with people? I guess if I lived in sunny southern California this wouldn't be a big deal, but I need some Pacific Northwest inspired frocks!

Freedom of Choice

I enjoy having the freedom to choose. I take a lot of pleasure, actually, in activities that give me multiple options from which to choose - picking out paint colors, finding the perfect Christmas tree, selecting the ideal combination of wrapping papers to maximize the effect on Christmas morning, selecting a dessert . . . you get the idea. (The one thing this doesn't apply to, though, is clothes. I like them, and I like them nice. I just don't like to pick them out or *ick* try them on.)
All that said, I am GREATLY displeased when a choice is taken away from me. For example, I choose to wear contacts. I think my eyes are my best feature. Some people can look stunning and oh-so-suave in fancy specs, but I've never considered myself one of them. Today, I've had to face the fact that I just don't think I can wear contacts any more, at least not on a regular basis, and it's not by choice! I have this weird-o funky autoimmune thing called Sjogren's Disorder. It makes my body attack its moisture producers, so I have little to no tear film on my eyes, my skin is dry, itchy, and rebelling with eczema, and my mouth makes so little saliva that I have difficulty swallowing my food sometimes. It's completely obnoxious, and I'm feeling just a little whiny about it today. My eyeballs are simply rejecting the whole idea of contacts. Today was the first day I tried them in about 2 weeks, and I had to take them out after 2 hours. Oh, well. I will look for the silver lining . . . . at least I work for an eye doctor and I can get some good discounts on glasses! :-)

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!!!!!

TOM JONES is coming to Seattle in May. I LOVE Tom Jones. I realize this makes me a complete dork, but I just can't help it. How can you not love someone when the sound of one of their songs just makes you smile and want to jump up and dance like an idiot?

NOT a good day

Lots and lots of lovely snow fell over the weekend, and it was very pretty. Last night, all that snow falling became rain. Between midnight and 7:00 this morning, we had received just over 7 inches of rain. Are you following me? This is on ALREADY completely saturated ground.

This morning, I walked down the steps into my basement to get to the washer and dryer. I came off the bottom step with a SPLASH into freezing cold water, about 3 inches deep. Now, that will wake you right up, for sure. It wasn't too bad yet, because a few years ago we put a little board in the doorway and sealed it just in case this little area at the bottom of the steps got wet again (it only happens in really severe flood weather).

Fast forward a little . . . I took my daughter to school, my husband got called in to work because they need all the help they can get in this mess. In the time I was gone, the amount of water in my basement has at least doubled, probably tripled. Roads are completely flooded. People's entire houses are flooding. There are major mudslides. Keeping things in perspective, I shouldn't be so distressed about my basement. But I am. Because I'm here by myself, scooping it out using a trashcan, and I'm not even making a dent. Oh, and the rain hasn't slowed down at all, and it's not supposed to until later this afternoon. If you need me, I'll be wading around in my basement. Bring your lawn chair and visit a while, we'll need margaritas later.

See what I mean?

THIS is what they got less than 20 minutes up the road from me. I got nothin' but slush. Life can be so cruel.

This year, she has outdone herself. She managed to find another "crystal" star, this one slightly larger than last year, with a fancy spiral for hanging it on the tree. I think we've started a trend. I wish I could make these . . . . if only I knew someone who was really talented at beading . . . Oh, yeah! Hey, Grandma, we've got a project for next Christmas! :-)

My Favorite Things, Part II

Each year, Haleigh picks out a new ornament for the tree. It started with Christmas the year she was born. She actually arrived the day after Christmas, but we had already picked out a beautiful ornament and had it engraved with her name and the year. I just kept things going after that, picking up something to mark each year. About three years ago, she started selecting her own, and this child of mine has remarkable taste. Well, first she picked matching Dora and Diego ornaments. :-) Last year, she picked this beautiful beaded red & gold star. The beads (she calls them crystals) catch the lights in a way that looks so lovely on our tree. It has become one of my favorite ornaments, too.

My Favorite Things

I LOVE Christmas. Probably my most favorite tradition is trekking out to locate the perfect tree to cut down and bring back home. I love every bit of it . . . the agonizing indecision, walking out in the beautiful countryside with my family, getting the monster in the house (and in the stand!), and beginning the decorations. Every year, my husband and I have had Haleigh put her special ornaments on right before she goes to bed. Then, we turn on the Christmas music (always Martina McBride and Garth Brooks . . . . every single year), drink lots of eggnog and finish trimming the tree, and the rest of the house! This year Haleigh stayed up and put lots of decorations up with us. She's getting older now, so she actually likes this part a little more! Here's a picture of this year's winner.

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

This was our trip to Lowe's last night. The snow started coming down pretty hard yesterday. Haleigh and I were driving to Wal-Mart, and everything started getting very white. While we were inside, a winter wonderland was constructed. Wal-mart sits between some rolling hills, and when we came out they were beautiful! All the pine trees had a dusting, the ground was a solid blanket of white, and it was still coming down hard! Unfortunately at my house, it was not the same story, but that didn't stop these guys from trying their best to have some winter fun.

The snow never sticks very much at my house, but you can drive less than a mile up the road and everything will be covered. I have to say, I admired the persistence of these two . . . they were determined to sled before everything turned to slush!

Today the snow was supposed to be gone. Imagine my surprise when I woke up to find everything turning white again! It has mostly turned to rain now, but my husband says that 4 or 5 inches fell just up the road. I might have to go check it out later! :-)