~ Happy New Year's

~ White (Wine) Christmas

When I was dreaming of a white Christmas, THIS is what I had in mind . . .

~ Christmas In Nebraska

It’s Christmas Eve and if you were dreaming of a white Christmas, Omaha is the place to be. It’s cold, it’s windy, it’s snowing and the roads are icy. While I miss a lot of things about home, the Nebraska winters are not one of them.

From what I understand, it’s mot much warmer in other parts of the country and the weather is just as miserable. Well, except in California. Where the sun is shining. Where the temp is 70 degrees.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas ~ stay warm, stay safe and may Santa be good to all of you.

~ Happy Friday

Gingerbread Latte, anyone?

We're switching cable companies today from Time Warner (who, btw, blows monkey chunks) to Dish Network. However, it seems there's been a 'glitch' and Dish won't be getting us back online until Jan 5th. This is where I calmly say, "WTH"???

Time Warner is supposed to be shutting off my cable/internet today but to be quite honest, they have never been prompt and their service leaves a lot to be desired so.....maybe today they'll keep on that 'bad customer service' streak and I'll have the internet until I leave for Omaha. However, knowing my luck, today will be the one day that they'll actually do what they said they would.

In the meantime, I'm running around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to get ready for our drive to the tundra that is known as home. I have shopping to finish and baking to start (shh, don't tell Lynsay that I haven't even started my baking).

I'll have my laptop with me in Omaha so I'll be sharing 'travel tales' and Christmas pics.

Have a great weekend; I'm off to hit the stores and of course, Starbucks.

btw, just a little side note here ~ this is my 100th blog ~ Yay me!!

~ Rudolph, Is That You?

On Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen . . .

Comet and Cupid and Donner and . . .

Mercedes???

What happened to Blitzen? Does Santa have a new reindeer that I don’t know about? And why is this one green and made of metal??

It seems everywhere you go in the valley, you see more and more cars and SUV’s decorated with these fuzzy brown antlers and a BIG Rudolph nose. Seriously, what’s the big draw here? Is it just me? Am I the only one who thinks this looks totally ridiculous? I know it's Christmas. But seriously!

If I had a Mercedes, (dreaming big, here) the last thing I’d put on that car would be a big red nose. And antlers sticking out the top of the windows. *shudders @ the thought*

Now, stop for just a second and try to imagine, if you will, the look on KJ’s face if I were to pull up in the driveway with my car all pimped out and looking like one of Santa’s rockin' reindeer.

First thing he’d do (after picking his jaw up off of the driveway) would be to ask me if I was lost. He’d then point me in the direction of the nearest trailer park!

In Council Bluffs. Which is in Iowa. Which is directly across the bridge from Omaha. hmmmm . . .

. . . where can I get me a set of those antlers???

~ For Kristin

When I saw this, the first person I thought of was my niece, Kristin. This is something so typical of what she would say to her boyfriend, Adam. Lynsay and my nieces are the girls who say exactly what's on their mind. But this? I immediately saw Kristin in my mind and could actually hear her (with attitude) saying it. God, those girls make me proud....lol.

So Kristin? This one's for you, sweetness.

~ Oh Christmas Tree

"Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall."

~ Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas

~ Do You Believe?

Next to “White Christmas”, “The Polar Express” is one of my favorite Christmas movies. The first time I saw it, KJ and I had gone on Christmas night when it first came out. There we were sitting in the IMax theater at the Henry Doorly Zoo with our little 3D glasses on. You'd think I was 5, I was loving it so much.

I love the story and the magic of the movie ~ the journey of a boy who can no longer hear the sound of the Christmas bell, meaning he no longer believes. As he travels with other children to the North Pole and the giving of the '1st gift of Christmas', he's reminded again and again of the spirit of Christmas. Even as an adult, the movie touches that place deep inside that leaves you with that age old question . . . do you still believe?

As a small child, I was a firm believer in Santa. On Christmas Eve, we would watch the weather before bedtime. As the weather man stood in front of his map, a blinking red light would show exactly where Santa was. That night, I would lay in bed listening for the sound of Santa’s sleigh and the the thud of the reindeer as they landed on the roof. Of course I never heard those sounds; I always fell asleep way before Santa got there!

I remember how I would religiously put out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer and on Christmas morning, there would be nothing but crumbs on the plate, the milk glass was empty and the carrots were gone.

The stockings would be filled with fruit, nuts and candy canes. The lights on the tree would be blinking and the presents from Santa were always left unwrapped and displayed in front of the tree. Trust me, with my eyes as round as saucers as I spied that Easy Bake Oven on Christmas morning, I was a big believer.

As an adult, I still ‘believe’, but these days it’s more about believing in the spirit of Christmas. I've always told the kids that as long as you believe, Santa will come. It’s when you stop believing that Santa disappears.

While I know that at the ages of 23 and 21 they no longer actually believe in Santa, I’d like to think that they still ‘believe’ in the spirit of Christmas.

In the grand scheme of things, Christmas isn’t about the bright lights, the beautifully wrapped presents piled under the tree, or the full-to-the-brim stockings hanging on the fireplace. At the end of the day, Christmas is about family. It’s about faith, it's about hope and it's about love. And, it’s about believing. Believing in the power of your faith, the power of hope and the power of our love.

Merry Christmas . . . from my family to yours ~

~ From A Sow's Ear

There have been times when I’ve found myself completely in awe of the women I surround myself with. From owning their own power tools to being the queens of home deco, these women are at the top of my ‘Artsy Fartsy’ list. It’s no secret that I’m not mechanically inclined. I’m also directionally challenged and I’m far off the map from being artsy-fartsy. The closest I get to doing crafts is the Christmas wrapping-paper explosion in my living room.

A few things that continually keep me in awe . . .

Some of them have an inner strength that never ceases to amaze me. In the face of death, illness or great adversity, these women put their shoulders back, hold their heads high and carry on.

Some of them are incredibly artsy-fartsy. You’ve heard the saying, “turning a sows ear into a silk purse”? It applies to a lot of them. Literally.

They can take twigs and ribbon and turn them into a masterpiece you’d be proud to hang in your home. Some can take a few beads, some pieces of silver and a strand of wire and turn it into a bauble fit for a queen.

I have friends who can sit in front of a sewing machine with a piece of fabric and turn out anything from gorgeous pieces to wear, draperies for an entire home, slip covers, pillow cases, jewelery bags, purses and suitcase tags. Probably with their eyes closed. Seriously. I hate these women. (not really)

The talent isn't just within my circle of friends, it continues on in my family . . .

Donna, who is my sister-in-law in Texas, can turn her home into a winter wonderland that would outd0 anything that Better Homes and Garden could ever dream of. My sister can turn out a floral arrangement that would be fit for the entrance table at the White House. And my daughter? She can paint masterpieces.

All this being said ~ while my toothbrush is the only power tool I own, I’d like to believe that I could put something together as long as the directions were simple enough for any 5-year old.

And while my prowess in the kitchen is better than ‘good’, Martha Stewart still doesn’t live here. Now that I think about it, neither does Bob Vila.

~ The Best Things . . .

Have a great weekend~

~ Takin' It To The Grave

As an adult, when it comes to my friendships, I have been truly blessed. The women I surround myself with are some of the most loving, supportive, and amazing women I know. And while we are scattered across the country from California to Florida ~ Minnesota to Nebraska and points in between, we seem to be in constant contact. Whether we need to laugh or cry, vent or share, we know that we’re only a phone call away. With the stroke of a few keys, we’re laughing, we’re venting, we’re sharing our ups or our downs. And sometimes a glass of wine.

As women, we have the uncanny ability to ‘connect’ with those who are like us in some way. Whether we share a love of books, of shopping, of wine, of coffee, of chocolate, or just a love of life in general, we can meet a new friend and in less than 5 minutes, we know all the pertinent information. We’ve connected and from that moment on, you know that you have a friend for life.

Men will try to understand it. They’ll question our ability to ‘know’ and they’ll forever wonder how we do it. It’s like a secret that we all share and they want to know the secret. I’d like to think it’s part of our allure, that one little thing that makes us mysterious. I know that it’s that one thing that as hard as they try, they’ll never, in their lifeteime, figure out. And yet we not only continue to let them try, we derive great pleasure in watching them. I call it cheap entertainment.

All of this being said, I have a new neighbor. In the course of two days, this ‘neighbor’ has become a Ya Ya. We connected the first time we met. She flew in from Canada on Tuesday night and we’ve spent the past two days shopping for her new home.

On the first day, she tried to get me beat up in the parking lot of the outlet mall. We all know the rule ~ if you’re at the Coach store and you find a bag you like, you hang onto it because more than likely, it’s the only one in the store. Karen (our new Ya Ya) had her eye on a bag that a woman was carrying. She watched as the woman silently debated with herself about the bag. Finally, the woman must have decided it wasn’t the bag she wanted because she not only put the bag down, but she walked away from it. Naturally, because Karen wanted the bag for her niece, she walked over and picked it up. Hey....we all know the rule. Later when we're at the cash register, she nods her head to a couple standing a few registers over and proceeds to tell me the story of how she got the bag and that the man was complaining about how his wife had the bag and then "someone" else picked it up. At this point, the man was shooting daggers at Karen and I. I said to her, “Great, you’re going to get my ass kicked on the first day out.” Hey, only a true friend will do that.

It’s been two days of great fun ~ we’ve laughed til our sides hurt, we’ve had serious conversations and not so serious conversations. She knows about the 'daily dose' I need to make my day. And we discovered today that we’re going to be dangerous shopping buddies because we have the same taste. And, not surprising, we already have a story that we’ll take to the grave.

As women, we can appreciate the fact that we can connect with each other the way that we do. As women, we also seem to value our friendships more than we ever did as young girls. I am beyond thrilled that, even though Karen doesn’t live here full-time, she’s here at all.

My Ya Ya’s ~ a group of women who are loving, supportive, and amazing. I can only hope that I give to you even half of what you all give to me.

Wisdom

~ by Maya Angelou

When I was in my younger days, I weighed a few pounds less,

I needn’t hold my tummy in to wear a belted dress.

But now that I am older, I’ve set my body free;

There’s comfort of elastic where once my waist would be.

Inventor of those high-heeled shoes my feet have not forgiven;

I have to wear a nine now, but used to wear a seven.

And how about those pantyhose—they’re sized by weight, you see,

So how come when I put them on the crotch is at my knee?

I need to wear these glasses as the print’s been getting smaller;

And it wasn’t very long ago I know that I was taller.

Though my hair has turned to gray and my skin no longer fits,

On the inside, I’m the same old me, it’s the outside’s changed a bit.

But, on a positive note…

I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things . . . a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.

I’ve learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.

I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.

I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.

I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

~ Winter

As you can see (notice the drops hitting the pool water), it really does rain in southern California. It's snowing non-stop in Omaha and, according to Debi, winter has arrived in Minnesota. But winter for us is rain. And some clouds. Maybe a little more rain.

Definitely snow ~ on the mountains.

I know, you guys really hate me right now, don't you?

~ Talk About Frosting My Cupcakes!

WARNING ~ The contents of this post may leave your mouth hanging open in shock or your sides aching from laughing so hard. The author (me) is in no way responsible for whatever damage you may do to yourselves in the process of your open-faced shock or side-splitting laughter.

Moving right along.....KJ and I have been Nebraska ticket holders since about 1992. We’re Boosters and that means not only do we pay for our tickets every year, we also pay booster fees every year. You would think that after paying for tickets and fees for the last 17 years, we would have been able to get tickets at least once to a championship or bowl game. Wrong. During these years, not once have we ever been lucky enough to get tickets to a championship or bowl game. Not once.

That being said, when we found out that Nebraska was going to be playing Texas this past weekend in Arlington, KJ, once again immediately went online to request 4 tickets. After he filled out all the information, a message popped up on the screen that said, “Thank you, your REQUEST has been recieved” . . . not a message that said, “Thank you, your tickets will be mailed to you.”

We waited and waited to hear whether we would be one of the lucky ones who would get tickets. After not hearing anything ~ no email, no confirmation notice, etc. ~ we assumed that once again, we weren’t one of the booster members who got tickets.

The kids left a week ago today after being out here for 5 days for Thanksgiving and KJ left that same day for Phoenix.

Now, I don’t know about you guys, but when the mail comes and KJ is out of town, if it has his name on it, it goes on his desk. I don’t open his mail, he doesn’t open mine; it’s like my purse or his wallet....his mail is his, mine is mine.

On Monday, there was no mail at all. On Tuesday, there was nothing but ads. On Wednesday, there was the usual stuff ~ bills, magazines, etc. On Thursday, there was mail for KJ so I put it on his desk. And, I don’t usually pay attention to his mail unless he specifically asks me to keep an eye out for something.

KJ got home from Phoenix late last night. He eventually makes his way to his office and starts going through his mail. In that stack of mail was an envelope from the Nebraska Athletic Office. Now, since we’re booster members, if I had paid attention to this, I would have assumed it was something to do with tickets for next year.

(Prepare yourselves ~ this is where your jaw drops to the floor in shock)

When KJ opened that envelope up last night, imagine our surprise, not to mention shock, to discover 4 tickets to the Big 12 Championship game. The Big 12 game that was played on Saturday. The Big 12 Championship game that we didn’t go to. The Big 12 Championship game we would have been at had we known that tickets were being sent to us.

Now, all of that aside, what kind of idiot sends tickets to California on a Monday for a game that is being played in Texas 5 days later? Seriously. The envelope was postmarked in Nebraska on Nov 30th. The envelope didn’t arrive here until Thursday afternoon. Now, even if KJ had been home, we would have been scrambling to get to Texas by Saturday for that game. Yes, it could have been done. But had we had an inkling that we would be getting tickets, he would have postponed his trip and we would've been on the road Thursday night. But we all know that’s not the point.

The point is (and this is what really frosts my cupcakes) we’re out $352 for tickets that we didn’t get to use. And yes, even after a call to the university, we’re still SOL. My feeling is this ~ the university should have sent something out letting us know we were getting tickets. Evenif they had they let us know that we MIGHT be getting tickets, we would have made that work. At least then we would have been watching the mail on a daily basis.

Instead, I was here in California watching Nebraska play on TV while KJ was in Phoenix.

Now, had Nebraska won that game, I assure you, I’d be a lot more pissy than I already am.

Hmmm, maybe I should figure out a way for Tom Osborne to see this!

~ Baby It's Cold . . .

. . . . inside!!

Here it is, December 6th and I have yet to turn my heat on. It was 65 degrees in the house this morning! I was perfectly fine ~ sweats ~ warm, pink, fuzzy footies ~ tank top ~ zip up hoodie.

KJ will be home from Phoenix sometime this afternoon. What do you think . . . should I turn the heat on before he gets home or wait and listen to his "YOWSA" when he walks in the house??

~ Beginning To Look Like Christmas

The holidays are about family. Wait, let me rephrase that. The holidays should be about family. Whether that means your children, your parents, your siblings, nieces or nephews, aunts or uncles, or those friends who are like family ~ spending the holidays with your loved ones should be about love, laughter, good times, good wine, and good food.

KJ and I spent a quiet Thanksgiving here in California with the kids. It was the first year ever that it’s been just the four of us and you know, it was a bit on the weird side. It was odd having to cook for just four instead of the usual 10 or more. One turkey? We’re only having one turkey?? Two pumpkin pies instead of the usual four, half the amount of dinner rolls, mashed potatoes, etc.

Over the course of the 5 1/2 days that the kids were here, I came to realize this ~ we never know what gifts our children are until they leave the nest (or in this case, the nest leaves them) and they then come back to the roost for the holidays. I’ve always known how blessed KJ and I are as parents, to have Ryan and Lynsay. They enrich our lives on a daily basis with their love, their laughter, their strong sense of family, Ryan’s wicked and dry sense of humor and Lynsays girly-girl ways.

Other than Friday, when the boys golfed and Lynsay & I hit the outlet mall - which is a story in itself - and then had pedis, the entire weekend was spent as a family. I cooked (lots), we went to the movies, went to the street fair, went to the farmer’s market and out for breakfast, and played Wii. Have you ever watched a 23 year old guy do Yoga with the Wii? It’s beyond entertaining. It was a long weekend of family dinners and family activities. I had the headache from hell the last three days of their visit and was a bit on the grumpy side at times (sorry, my babies) but God, having them home....there aren’t words to express how it felt. I will say this ~ every time the kids are here and they leave, I understand more and more how my mom feels when I go home to Oklahoma and then have to leave.

While I would have loved being able to spend the holiday with my entire family, being with the kids was pretty damn cool. When we took them to the airport on Monday afternoon, (which I hate doing ‘cause saying goodbye to them damn near breaks my heart) KJ and I were barely out of the airport parking lot when he looked over at me and said, “I miss them already.” *sighs* Dammit!! There I was with my big girl panties on, being brave and trying not to cry. Until he said that.

With KJ in Phoenix til next Monday and the kids safely back in Omaha, the house is quiet. Too quiet. Even Murphy (or Smurphy, as Lynsay calls him) noticed that everyone was gone. He went running from room to room trying to find everyone while looking at me with that, “Okay, what have you done with them?” look.

I’ve spent this week decorating the tree and adding little Christmas touches throughout the house. KJ put the deer out front and I have to say, they look pretty cool standing amongst the palm trees.

We don’t have snow but it’s beginning to look a little little like Christmas ~

~ Grins & Giggles

For my Ya Ya's . . . .

~ Life Is Short

~ Counting My Blessings

Thanksgiving is the time of year when we all ‘give thanks’ for the blessings in our lives. As I sit here, I’m thinking that I hope I do this more than once a year. I hope that I let my friends and family know how much I appreciate the gift that they are. And trust me, friendship is a gift that we open over and over and over.

During the course of day to day living, our lives are touched again and again by the angels we call friends. I can’t count the number of times that my Ya Ya’s have shown me not only continuous support and love, but each of you have given me encouragment and strength at a time when I seemed to have needed it the most. You have all, in your own special way, held me up at some time or another, refusing to let me fall ~ spiritually or otherwise.

This Thanksgiving when I find myself enveloped in the love of my family, when the laughter of my children has me smiling from the inside out, I will give thanks to the many other blessings I have . . .

. . . my YaYa’s. May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving. May you be surrounded by friends and family, may laughter be the sounds you hear again and again and may love continually fill and warm your heart.

Happy Thanksgiving ~