An unexpected fringe benefit

Since we got the pool table, there have been unexpected fringe benefits. We have spent so much more quality time togther, husband and me. We talk so much more. We laugh so much more. We joke so much more. We watch TV much less. We have healthy competition between us. We have found something infintely fun to do together. He who loves movies I tolerate (mostly action/sci-fi thrillers), who does not read books, who does not particularly value birds, and does not read this blog (he thinks it's my private domain...lol) and I have found more common ground. We've found something new to strengthen our relationship and friendship. It's no secret by this time that I am the extrovert and he is the one who needs "cave time" at the end of his days at work. We could not be more different, and yet, we are closer and stronger than we've ever been, thanks, in part, to a pool table. We turn on the XM and can literally spend hours down there in the basement without realizing it. What a wonderful fringe benefit. We are our own "Rat Pack" and have this poster above on the wall behind the couch down there. It's been immeasurable fun, as has everything else on Chickadee Lane.

The New Year can only bring new opportunities for happiness as far as I can see. A very Happy New Year to all of you from all of us on Chickadee Lane. May you find that the coming year brings opportunities for growth, time to reflect, and much happiness.

Time to CELEBRATE!!

FINALLY!! We got a call from our realtor who had an offer to present on our former house! He came by at 11:30 yesterday morning with a decent offer which included us covering closing costs. We countered a bit, and the buyer came back with a figure in the middle which we happily accepted!

WE'VE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!! Yahooooo! Yippppeeee! Hooray! We'll close by January 19th! If you had told us back in June that we'd still own a house we moved out of in August, we'd have laughed. (I did not laugh when I paid the $180 gas bill last month.) But, as soon as we put it on the market, the housing industry slow down started in earnest, and there was a glut of available homes on the market and not nearly as many potential buyers since the interest rates starting eking upwards. After we put ours up for sale, we learned a few months later that there were 23 homes for sale in that neighborhood alone. Ours was 8 years old, and there were plenty of newer ones to choose from. But, this single mom with two kids found it just to her liking. Maybe it was the Thomas the Tank Engine blue bedroom upstairs? :c) What a very wonderful late Christmas/early Happy New Year gift for us!

Year-end blog review meme

(Two sweet visitors to the suet feeder yesterday.)

Borrowed from Laura's blog for a year-end review...

The idea is to post the first sentence of the first post of each month over this past year.

January - I never, ever imagined I would be bitten by the blog bug, but here I am. I have enjoyed other's blogs for so long now, and often entertained the idea, but wasn't sure I had very much to say.

February - I have a confession to make.

March - Wow... my husband is not one to surprise me... hardly ever.

April - From yesterday's Forward Day by Day meditation:

May - I usually go to the grocery store after church on Sunday as I love the huge grocery store located nearby.

June - All this week, ABC's World News Tonight has been doing segments on issues related to autism called Echoes of Autism.

July - Well, we put our For Sale by Owner sign out a week ago today.

August - We're here and I am back.

September - Back in July, I wrote about a patient of mine with lymphedema and what a hard time we had getting follow up care for him.

October - Yesterday, it was a beautiful sunny day, and I decided to have my afternoon cuppa hazelnut out in the cedar swing.

November - Today, we will truly "finish out" the basement with the addition of this very cool pool table in a honey maple color.

December - This is an indoor/outdoor thermometer that sits on our kitchen table.

Injured hunter :c(

Yesterday morning as I looked out my kitchen window, I noticed my juvenile Cooper's hawk high up in a pine tree. You can see the little white spot waaaay up there where he was perched scoping out my feeders below. (Click on the photos for a larger image.)
As I got my zoom lens out, I noticed he was holding his left leg oddly. It was not on the limb but rather held up against him as if he was hurt.

We got out the spotting scope to get a closer look, and sure enough, he was guarding it tenderly. Every now and again, he'd bring it down towards the limb, but would never rest it there to bear weight.


Then, he stretched it out, at the same time stretching out his right wing for balance I suppose, and I saw it... the red, raw flesh in the bend of his leg. I can't imagine what could have hurt him, unless his young experience being a hawk got him in a tussle with an older wiser hawk? He stayed up there for probably 30 minutes or more, just watching the birds below, but never tried to catch some breakfast. Finally, he just flew away. I do hope he can heal, and that this does not impair his ability to find food. I've so enjoyed him here.

Drats, no camera!

On Christmas day, an unfortunate opossum met it's demise on a curve in the road of our subdivision. We passed him as we left to go to my parent's house for lunch. On the way home as we rounded the curve, the sight was one to behold! Holy smokes! There were probably 4 or 5 huge black vultures enjoying a Christmas feast.

As we pulled up along side them, they simply stood their ground and stared at us as if daring us to try and take their find. I'd never seen one up close like that and was wishing so I had my camera! Yesterday as I left to make a run to the grocery store for a can of mushrooms I just knew I had in my pantry to make vegetable soup, there they were again, except this time a turkey vulture had joined in the remainder of the feast. Drats! Again, no camera! When I came back from the store, they were gone, and the opossum was reduced to a flat pelt in the road. Oh, the wonders of nature!

My homemade gifts

Now that Christmas gifts have all been opened, I can have my "big reveal" of my special homemade gifts this year! You can click on each photo for a larger image. I looked back through some of the favorite bird photos I've taken, and then added a favorite quote to each one before printing them on professional photo paper.

That was going to be the gist of the project, but then I pondered how neat it might be to then decorate each one with "nature" things to enhance the shadow box or frame. I found lots of moss, bird eggs, feathers, and small pinecones to use as decoration.

I think they all turned out exceptionally better than I imagined they would, and so far, the recipients seem to have been touched since they are such a personal part of me. It was definitely fun to create something so special to give.

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas morning began at 4AM when husband's cell phone started beeping. Seems someone felt the need to text message that they wanted "Aunt Nancy to leave me the (expletive deleted) alone," but didn't realize they sent it to the wrong cell number. By 4:45AM, we decided to just get up as neither of us was going back to sleep. So, I made coffee, and we went downstairs to play pool so we wouldn't wake Sam. We reminisced about our first Christmas together 17 years ago before we were married. Good memories...

Today, Sam's "consequences" end. He's done well for the most part, and has missed the use of his computer terribly, which has been nice as each time he asked about it, I was able to remind him of why he lost it in the first place. I do believe it has made its intended impact. He's pictured above with one of his favorite gifts from Nana and Papa, a Thomas cuddle pillow.

As I have thought much about this past week's events, I've gained new, and better, perspective. Last night as I was reading Anne Lamott's Blue Shoe, she mentioned a quote from a poem by the poet Rumi which really struck a chord with me.... "Through love all pain will turn to medicine."

This coming year, may we all be able to love enough to create medicine for our pain. Seems to me that's what our Savior's birth was all about...

Merry Christmas everyone...

Decisions, decisions...

A Merry Christmas Eve to all!

A visit to Eden

Now that we've had our family Christmas gift exchange, I can finally blog about this very special book. You see, I pre-ordered one for myself, my sister, and my mom. I happened upon Julie's blog on a link from I and the Bird, a blog carnival all about birding and birds. From the moment I started reading her blog in the early fall, I just connected with the world of this gentle woman whose life has been all about art, birds, and preserving wildlife. Yes, there is more than a wee bit of career envy here. I am transported to another world as I read about her daily adventures on Indigo Hill, and imagine how wonderful it would be to live there and do what she does for a living.

This wonderful book is a collection of essays she's written about her adventures and is divided into the seasons in which they occurred. She writes with such warmth and humor, and you find yourself right there along with her as she strives to be a helping hand to all living things, while experiencing the real struggles of being a mom as well. Julie has done all the beautiful illustrations in the book as well. There is no end to her talent, let me tell you. I have been reading the essays slowly, digesting them one by one so as to stretch out the book, as I didn't want it to end. This will be a permanent coffee table book on Chickadee Lane and I will tell one and all about it. I do hope there are more books to come, as Indigo Hill seems to be about as close as a bird lover can get to Eden.

Oh, how I had hoped...

I had been using the hand sanitizer and keeping a wider berth... but alas, now I've got the ick from husband. I knew on Wednesday afternoon when my throat seemed "scratchy" and by that night, I was feeling very chugged. Today.... ugh. Now the fun part begins, if my memory serves me right when he had this through last weekend. Oh well, it's pouring rain today anyhow. A good day to stay in and suffer.

Speaking of suffering... yesterday was a very difficult day. I had told Sam we'd go see the Polar Express at the IMAX in 3-D. He dearly loves this movie and this was the seventh time we've seen it at a theater. The wrench in his day was that my sister and nephew joined us. I should have known better. I could feel his anxiety mounting as we went by to pick them up at my parent's house. But, he was able to calm down, and by the time the movie started, he was happy and fine... or so I thought. After it was over, we decided to walk a block or so over to TGI Fridays and get some lunch. The anxiety started to build, and build. I thought if we could get seated and get him some food, he'd be fine. It's been soooo long since he had a total out of control melt down and I've become quite confident in my ability to calm him and help him through things.

I don't know if it was because of all the sensory stimulation of the restaurant itself or just leftover anxiety from his day not going as HE had planned it, but it started rapidly going downhill once we were seated. Suffice to say we had to get out of there before ever ordering. It only further deteriorated, and I found myself on the sidewalk in front of TGI Fridays in a position of being.... I can't hardly even write it.... afraid of his response to me and the escalation of his anger and anxiousness that I could not handle or diffuse. I finally lost it and yelled back, which was like throwing gasoline on a fire, thank you very much. I knew better, but I am human. The angrier I got, the more it exacerbated his response. That's the way it goes. But it's been so long, and he's so big now... it was heartbreaking. By the time we got back to my parent's house, I was locked in the bathroom, a blubbering mess. I could not talk to him for an hour until I let all my sadness about it all out. Of course, by then he was so contrite and worried about me being angry with him, but the fact remained that he melted down, reacted physically, I could not diffuse it, and was the brunt of his anxiety... and it scared me.

But here we are... in the throws of puberty. It changes the rules. The poor kid has testosterone surging throughout his body and it controls his aggression, not his ability (or total lack of) to reason his way through the feelings, which was already impaired by autism. When we got home, we sat down to talk about it all. I explained that there are consequences for our actions and that it is never OK to use our hands when we are feeling angry, especially towards Mom. He's lost the use of his computer for the weekend, which is huge on his economy scale. Dad went up and had a "man to man" talk with him last night as well, reinforcing expectations for his behavior. I feel better about it all today, but yesterday was a true slap in my face in the truest sense of the word. Just when you think you have it all under control...

Now, I shall take my tissues and head for the couch...

Well written Barbara...

My church is again in the national news this week because we are again at a point of schism. The only Episcopal Church I know is welcoming and inclusive, and there is always a place at the table for everyone, all God's children. However, some parishes have decided that there is no place for women or gay Christians and want to form an alternate branch with oversight from more patriarchal, fundamental wings of the church overseas. It's all very sad, but we knew it was coming. This wonderful eMo in my email from Barbara Cawthorne Crafton at The Geranium Farm spoke volumes about how I feel as well...



THE SELF-ANOINTED RIGHTEOUS

So much un-peace, in the Church and in the world. A peculiar pride in our own stubbornness has infected many of us -- as if reconciliation somehow represented a failure of moral nerve. We are strongly attracted to visions of ourselves as lonely martyrs for a holy truth -- and this is a dangerous self-image to have. It leaves no room to accept criticism we may desperately need.

And so we leave churches that aren't holy enough for us. Assume we know God's will solely through a narrow reading of scripture, and pride ourselves on never changing our minds. We stay the course.

In doing so, we are in danger of ignoring a God who is free. A God who does new things. We won't allow it. We insist on worshipping the ancient record of God's work in the world, instead of the God to which it all attests. We will not allow God to be the unexpected thing God must be in every age.

Here comes Jesus -- a child born into a world of division. In his name, we will exclude and even kill, and we will tell ourselves in that very moment that we are doing the work of the Prince of Peace.

No wonder Jesus wept. Lord, have mercy.

Lunch with a friend

I am having lunch today with my friend Queen T. Since we share knowledge of the Sweet Potato Queens, we call one another by our queenly names. We also have matching t-shirts which say, "If you are under 40, you are just larvae." We became friends going on six years ago, and are only two months apart in age. We've been there to support one another through various stages and phases of our lives, and though our face to face time has dwindled in the past year or so, we've tried to keep in touch by phone calls and "girl time" coffee dates. I invited her to my old church years ago, and she (and her parents) began attending there, but when I left my old parish, I also left that time we shared each Sunday, and I miss it, and her. But, it's funny... when ever we are able to connect face to face, it's as if no time has passed at all, and we are able to really enjoy each other and catch up. Poor thing, her birthday falls on December 26th, and so we'll have to celebrate both Christmas and her other special day today when we exchange gifts. I am so looking forward to our queenly lunch and warm time together.

On a frustrating note this morning, as I was reading all my bookmarked favorite blogs in tabs, I realized one is no longer a valid link, and was trying to delete it off the list of many. As soon as I hit that right clicked "delete" I had an ominous feeling. Yep, I fully deleted ALL my bookmarked favorite blogs.... sigh.... it's too early and my coffee was not fully kicked in. At least I have most of them linked here on my sidebar. It's hell to get old...

Just for fun

Found on Songbird's blog. Another fun meme...

It's the 123:5 meme, as seen at The Vicar of Hogsmeade.
The rules are:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next four sentences on your blog, along with these instructions.
5. Don’t you dare dig for that “cool” or “intellectual” book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest!
-------------

Now, I am sitting here next to a bookshelf, so in order to be fair, I will just close my eyes, and pick a book at random....

Drumroll.... It's none other than Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies!

"A huge man with an ice chest and a radio had arrived, wearing a tank top so that I could see what appeared to be the entire Book of Revelations tattooed on his arms. He nodded hello and walked over the the left, where he set up camp. He unfurled a beach towel and then turned on the radio to a talk show. I covered my face with my hands."

Yummy in your tummy alert

As I was out running errands today, I zipped into Panera Bread to pick up some soup for husband and myself for lunch. He is here at home nursing a head cold. I usually get their Chicken with Wild Rice soup, but they did not have it today. Instead they had something I hope will be an addition to the menu, Butternut Squash Soup! Maybe it's seasonal, or regional, but I do hope they keep it and that your local Panera has some. GO GET SOME TODAY and thank me as you go mmmm-mmmmmm with each spoonful!

What are the expectations?

I don't want to sound like I am not a compassionate person, because I am. But, as I have watched the saga of the hunt for the three climbers on Mt. Hood, I can't help but shake my head in wonderment. We see photos of their grief stricken families making comments about how "the mountain has no right to keep them" and pleading with rescuers to step up their search, putting the search crews in further danger. Now, granted these were apparently very experienced climbers, all three. Yet, they traipsed up Mt. Hood in winter, confronted a blistering storm, and now we are surprised and appalled that they are lost and can't be found? Maybe it's the part of me that plays it safe and doesn't dream of taking risks like this that makes me not understand how this could not be considered a possible outcome. Maybe I just don't understand the psyche of people who feel driven to do this in impossible conditions and then become indignant when they can't be rescued from their folly.

I do hate it for them and their families and I pray that the other two are found, I really do, but I am just saying...

Being a good friend

Friday was a much anticipated day here on Chickadee Lane. Don't you know, it was The Day on which Charlotte's Web was being released in theaters, and Sam was so very excited. I had told him we'd go and when I saw that it was showing at our local theater close to his school, I decided it warranted my picking him up a wee bit early to make it to the 2:30 show. He was beyond thrilled!

We arrived at the theater, ordered our two small plain popcorns, two medium drinks, and some gummy bears, paid our... ahem... $13.50 for said treats and found our seats. We were the first ones in the theater and had our choice of stadium seating.

Dakota Fanning was charming as Fern, and I was transported back to memories of reading one of my favorite books as a child. The boy who voiced Wilbur was also wonderful, and the friendship between he and Charlotte (Julia Roberts) was so sweet and believable. In a day when so many movies are full of blood and gore, it was just simply refreshing to be entertained by a sweet movie which reminds us all about the value of being a good friend.

Looking down the road

This week, I had a conversation with one of Sam's parapros. She has been his buddy and cheerleader since we started at the middle school. Because he does not fit the mold of regular ed or being in a self-contained classroom, we've sort of been in limbo land. He is a very black and white kid, in terms of how he sees the world. He does not do well on the standardized CRCT test, which requires more inference and thought. It is stressful for him to sit for it and his poor results sadly affect the school's AYP scores. So, at the end of last year, we discussed our options. The only way he could get out of taking it is if he was put under the GAA (Georgia Alternative Assessment) and then received a special education diploma. However, the GAA is for kids who can't be in a regular class and all teaching is more skill based in a self contained room. That's not Sam either. He is doing well in resource classes and I wanted him to continue to be in resource. So, we were told that they were "working on" an alternative assessment tool somewhere between, for kids like Sam who are functioning in the middle, but it hasn't happened yet. At this point in our lives, I am just not that concerned that he gets a special ed, rather than a regular ed, diploma. I just want him to learn what he can learn and to be happy. I know he's not going to college, so that's not an issue.

I also know that after Christmas, the school year seems to go into hyperdrive. The next thing you know, it's May. We are done at the middle school after this year, and it's on to the.... gulp.... high school of probably 1500 kids. What I do know is that I want his high school years more focused on a career path. I know that he is not going to be able to do term papers etc., and so I want less academic focus and more placed on what he might love to do for his life. Whether that be computers, or learning job skills... say, working in the library, or even a Blockbuster (though he'd probably not want any of the videos checked out...lol), that is what matters more to me. I do not want to be in a situation where he goes through four more years of academics and then, poof, at eighteen we're done with no clue where to head next. And, it's progress on my part that I can know this, face this, and not cry. It just is what it is. Each year and each step on this path reveals something more about what his future brings, or does not bring. And, finally... it's OK, either way. We grow together, and look down a road that seems more welcoming than scary. Grace abounds, and I am bathed in it's light.

The "new" bedroom

BEFORE with the pinky taupe back wall compared to the Interactive Cream on the side walls (click for larger view)

AFTER with Interactive Cream... ahhhhhh
(click for larger view)

It's done, and I am tired and sore. I will be happy to see Dr. R, chiropractor extraordinaire later this morning to tend to my twisted spine after days of roller holding. I am beyond pleased with the results. The room feels so much larger now and you really can notice the tray ceiling now since it's so much lighter in there. The color is so soothing and warm. My husband joked that he even slept better last night...lol. Something in those paint fumes.

By the way, I just have to give props to the Shur-Line company. Now, I have done a lot of painting in the past few years, and the one product I can't do without is their small Trim and Touch-up Pad. I love, love, love these little guys to do trim work. Yesterday though, while at Lowe's getting more paint pan liners and rollers, I noticed that they also make a roller which was touted to "leave more paint on the wall instead of on the roller." They were a bit pricier than the ones I had in my hand, but because I am in love with their trim tool, I decided to purchase a three pack. These rollers did exactly what they said they'd do! The application was so much smoother and I was able to cover more wall before putting more paint on! Bravo Shur-Line!! You make a painter proud! It's so nice to see a product deliver on a promise. Now I wish I had more painting to do.... just kidding... really.

Cream is cream

Well, yesterday I went about getting the bedroom painted. The Interactive Cream was much lighter than the pinky taupe on the walls, and when I put this first swatch on, I sort of panicked. It looked too.... yellow?.....too... light? I didn't want to end up in another Chartreuse Throw-Up Party situation as I did in the dining room and so I emailed the photo to husband, who was in a staff meeting and could not call me back for an hour. I just sat and waited patiently. He ended up coming home for lunch and we just stood and looked at it for a bit. Now, granted, this was only one coat over this much darker paint, and so we decided to give it a whirl. Repeat the mantra.... "It's only paint."

I must say, once I got the entire wall done, it grew on me, and as the light changed in there from the morning sun beaming in, it grew on me even more. Now I love it. Once I get the second coat on today, we'll move the furniture back so that we then have room to move the bed out from against the back wall, and I'll get it done today. It's such a sense of accomplishment to have this done. I'll have to swing by Lowe's to get a new paint pan liner and roller as I used my last ones yesterday. Once it is all done, the painter can retire for now. Maybe she can find a real job in a few weeks?

Last night, our trip to the mountain top garden Christmas light display was spectacular! We only had FIVE people in front of us at the entrance gate and so were able to just take our time walking through. Wednesday night is the ticket. Sam was so excited and chatty through the entire venue. He got a chocolate chip cookie and a drink mid-way through and we found a table where they were selling kettle corn, and we got some to take home. The temperatures were very mild for this time of year, and we only wore light jackets. It was beautiful as always and we had a lovely time enjoying what has become a Christmas tradition for us.

Dad (or mom?) came to call

A few days ago, I saw this lovely visitor in the tree line behind my house. I knew he looked a bit different from the juvenile Cooper's hawk I had seen earlier in November. I emailed the photo to a very knowledgeable Laura who tells me that this looks like an adult Cooper's hawk. (Click on him for a closer view.)

On Monday, I looked out the kitchen widow to see this bird once again, but this time standing on top of my feeder pole as if he owned the place. Well, guess he does in a way as he's the top dog in terms of predators in bird land on Chickadee. I simply love it here and the plethora of different visitors I am so privileged to host.

Dining room done!

~BEFORE~

~AFTER~

The change is subtle, but yet the color is much deeper and warmer and just "pops" with the rest of the house now. (You should be able to click on them for a closer view.) I am happy with the end result, though I probably would have gone a bit deeper, maybe more of a mossy green in hindsight. However, this will do for now!

Getting out the dropcloths

The bug has hit again. When we moved into this house, all the paint colors were acceptable to us. We didn't really feel the need to paint any walls, except for maybe the dining room. It is the only room left over with a pale green paint, which apparently was on many of the walls before the previous homeowners painted the entire house in golds and creams. So, I knew I wanted to get that room painted at some point. We've decided to keep it in a green family, but we're going to warm it up a bit with more of a gold/green color called Antiquity from Sherwin Williams.

We'd only seen the house once before we made an offer, and so when we went to pick out carpeting, we chose a pretty inlaid pattern beige carpet for the master bedroom. The day they came to put it in, husband called to say that it "didn't exactly 'go' with the walls" in there. Huh? We failed to notice that they had painted the walls in there a sort of "peachy-pink" beige color, and you could really see the contrast with the more brown tone carpet. It had been so dark in there with the heavy cornice and drapes that we thought they were just a run of the mill beige. So, I am also going to get them painted as well. We've chosen a more brown beige color called Interactive Cream. So, that's where I'll be today... in the dining room with the XM Holly channel booming, soaking in the new color. Tomorrow, it's on to the bedroom! Oh, it's so addictive.

Try, try again

Well, best laid plans... Yesterday, before we were to leave to go see the Christmas light display, I went on-line to see what time they officially open each night. While there, I noticed that you can now do e-tickets! You can pay from the comfort of your home, print out the tickets, and then not have to wait in line once there to get them. Nirvana!

So, I ordered three tickets, and just knew husband would be soooo surprised. I went to the page to print them, and all the air went out of my balloon. It would only print husband's ticket, not mine, or Sam's. Hmmmm.... I tried and tried, and all the while, there was this timer ticking down that said you had ten minutes to print, or poof, they'd be gone. Nothing worked, so I yelled for husband to come help and he hurriedly tried too. Nothing. Ten tickets with only his name on them. At $14.95 a pop, this was not funny in the least. Next thing we knew, it timed out. Poof, they were off the screen, and we had no tickets to present to the front gate.

So, I told him I'd call someone the next day and get a refund, and off we went, up the mountain, to see the beautiful light displays pictured here. It's probably a 40 minute drive, and the excitement built the closer we got. We pulled onto the street where nice guys in coats and flashlights guide you to park, and found that almost ALL the lots were completely full. It was only 6PM and they open at six.... deliver me. The line to get in stretched out as far as we could see, and I knew then that we needed to just cut bait and run. Sam would be beside himself waiting in that sort of crowd and then waiting to go through. So, we talked him into visiting a local ice cream joint and maybe trying again mid-week. Maybe by then, I can get my tickets printed out?

Proof is in the dipstick

1. Arrive at Doc-in-the-box at 10AM opening
2. Be second person to be called back
3. Explain continued symptoms to nice nurse
4. Pee in The Cup, then talk to the nice NP
5. Find out you DO have 2+ leukocytes, silly girl
6. Start seven days of Cipro twice daily... and quit trying to deny the facts

Christmas Meme

A nice Christmas Meme copied from Lynne!


1. Eggnog or hot chocolate?
Oh my... definitely hot chocolate. I remember drinking some "juiced" eggnog at the home of a previous boyfriend. It was his grandmother's special eggnog concoction. I spent the entire evening just pretending I was sipping while wiping the eggnog moustache off my face with each "sip." Bleh...

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
We always wrap Santa's presents, but they have no tags...after all, we all know they are from the Big Guy, right?

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
We used to always do colored on the tree, but this year, they are white. Mostly always white outside as well.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Does a plastic one with a red ribbon and bell hanging on the bathroom door count?

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Usually always the weekend after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding desert)?
On Christmas Eve, my mom does these sausage/cheese thingys on the small cocktail toast... so yummy. Oh, and she does these awesome cocktail meatballs too.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
My dad would always put a boot print in the fireplace soot and leave some cracked nuts by the fireplace as if Santa dropped them.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
When I saw that our new state-of-the-art-tape recorder (who knew one could really record their voice on tape?) had J.C. Penney on the back of it and I asked my mom why it said that if it was supposed to be made in the North Pole. I was probably 9 or 10?

9. Do you open gifts Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
We always open on Christmas Eve because we used to go to my grandmother's on Christmas Day morning. They are gone now, but the tradition remains.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
I end up doing most of it myself. I put it up, fluff the branches out, and get the lights on, and then Sam will help me place the decorations.

11. Snow- Love it or dread it?
Love it as long as I don't have to get out and drive in it and the power stays on. We generally only ever get a dusting here.

12. Can you ice skate?
Never tried, but am a complete wreck on roller skates, so I can only imagine...

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? (as a child)
Probably that big doll head thing where you could "do" her hair up so many different ways and put makeup on her? Then again, there was also Dancerina. As I recall, the batteries eventually corroded and ate a hole in the tights over her tushy.

14. What's the most exciting thing about the holidays for you?
It's just a different feeling. People seem kinder and more willing to give of themselves, even those who don't do it other times during the year. It reminds us all about the spirit of humanity. I also love Advent season at church. The music and beauty of it all.

15. What is your favorite holiday desert?
I don't eat desert anymore, but it used to be the tins of caramel corn and such.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
We visit a local mountain top garden that transforms into a lighted extravaganza each year. We've gone every year since they started it. Sam was around 2 the first time we went and he looks so forward to it each year. (We're going tonight as a matter of fact.)

17. What tops your tree?
An angel.

18. Which do you prefer- giving or receiving?
Always giving, but I am learning to be a better receiver.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Probably Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

20. Candy canes?
On the tree!

Crafty on Chickadee

Martha Stewart had nothing on me yesterday. People who know me know that I am not typically a crafty person. At least, I don't attempt many crafty projects... guess there is a difference. However, that being said, a friend made a comment to me about things I create and it got me to thinking of a neat idea for Christmas. The more I thought about it, the neater the idea seemed and the more excited I got. I wish I could go into detail, but well... my mom is a faithful reader of this blog, and she will be the beneficiary of one of these creations! Can't spoil her surprise!

So I found myself at Hobby Lobby and Michaels the other day oooing and ahhhing over all sorts of cute things to use in my secret creative project for Christmas. Yesterday, I put on the XM Holly channel, and went to the basement with a hot glue gun and got to work. The end result was spectacular and I am so proud of myself! I can't wait to share it with the rest of you once Christmas presents are opened. We each have so much creativity inside us that does not get expressed. Doing this made me see that I am capable and creative beyond my own expectations. That was a great lesson. Need to run... the phone is ringing... it's probably Martha calling.

Going to the dark side

On Tuesday, I had my former nurse manager over for lunch. She officially retired last year in November, and we've not seen each other since. She called me several weeks ago to suggest we have lunch so I invited her to come to the house to have some vegetable soup and catch-up conversation. We've known each other going on 17 years now, and she's the reason I got into wound care. When I was ready to come back to work part time, she was the one who immediately offered me a part time position at the Wound Center in 1998. I owe her a huge debt of gratitude and have told her on more than one occasion how much I appreciated her giving me the chance to work around my obligations raising a child with autism.

As we ate, she mentioned to me that she's been doing some "legal nurse consulting" on cases of litigation involving wounds. She took a certified course and does both plaintiff and defense reviews of charts. She wants to grow the business and proposed that maybe I'd like to join her as a consultant (not an expert witness who has to testify in court). She also does all the billing etc. for her husband's business, and so has not had the time to market her own consulting business. She currently has two attorney groups who have used her, but as she said, "There is a need and there is money to be made." People who do this full time and have a good bit of experience make upwards of $150/hr and then some.

But, all I could think of as she was telling me all this, is the feeling of selling out. Becoming one of those people who I used to envision looking at my own charting with a fine tooth comb trying to find the cracks. It would be sort of like going to the dark side. I mean, is there ever a defensible reason for someone to get a bad pressure ulcer? No. And, only 3% of these cases ever make it to court. They are usually always settled because if you hold up a huge color photo of the wound on your loved one's skin to a jury, all they will think is that it could be their mom or grandmother. Still, I hate the fact that we now live in such a litigious society, and that we encourage people to file suit for everything. Are pressure wounds preventable? Yes. Do I wish people had less of them? Of course. Do I think it's great that attorneys and "consultants" make boocoos of money off it. Not so much.

Woe is me

Yesterday morning, I awoke with a very full feeling bladder. Well, I did drink a bottle of water before bed as I was sealing Christmas cards and the glue was not so pleasant tasting. But when I went to the bathroom, I went, and went, and went... slowly. And, with a sense of "fullness." Criminy... I never even had a UTI until my 40's... seriously... never. Once I got up and going, the achy feeling remained and I was sure that was what it was.

I took Sam on to school and decided to run by Walgreens and pick up a test kit. That way, I'd know for sure before calling the doctor to go do an official office dip stick. I also picked up a container of cranberry juice (hey, can't hurt, might help) to consume, just in case it was not yet a full blown infection. I left the drugstore and went across the street to McDonald's where I knew I could use their restroom and check my indicator stick. No modesty here, and plus, I really had to go by that time. I read the instructions and held it under The Stream for the 10 seconds .... insert Jeopardy music.... and, and, and... nitrites and protein were both negative after the one minute wait. Hmmmm... this test is supposedly pretty darn accurate.

So, I went on home to start consuming the cranberry juice and pray that maybe, just maybe I'd caught it in time. I drank eight glasses of the cocktail during the day, but still felt the fullness and twinge when going to the bathroom. This morning, it's still there to a degree but much improved. Whew... maybe I dodged the bullet? Oh, the joys of being a woman...

Banjo Bunny has arrived!

Joy, joy, joy indeed! My wonderfully talented and creative friend Susan from Visual-Voice.net has launched her new card site, Banjo Bunny. Those who know Susan know that she puts her heart and soul into everything she does, and her creative spirit just radiates beauty and happiness into the world.

Her creations are simply lovely as well as humorous and fun. So, hop on over and support her as she launches this new chapter in her life. While there, check out her creative Advent calendar as well. There is no end to this extraordinary woman's talent. Good luck Susan! You rock!

Me and my buddy

Yesterday afternoon we decided it was a good time to get our pictures done for our Christmas cards. We put the camera on the tripod, put on some Christmas colors, posed on our stairs and took a few shots. Here is one I cropped of me and my buddy, Sam. Of course, husband is to his left, but seeing as how he did not choose to blog to the world, I am respecting his privacy. :c) This is not the one we chose to use, but I thought it was cute (because Sam kept wanting to say "cheese" after so many shots) and wanted to share with all my blog friends. Here's hoping your spirits are being filled with this season of giving and love.

OK, Lynne, here you go...

I figured I'd better get a shot of the winter surprise before it turned brown from the temperature drop this weekend. Friday it was very breeeeezy with a high of 46 here when it was 74 the day before... (I know, much warmer than you are having it up there in Minnesota. I'll stop my whining now!) I'll enjoy these pretty pink blooms while I can!

Real courage

I was invited to attend an MS luncheon this week by a dear friend who has the disease. The keynote speaker was Jackie Waldman from Dallas who was also diagnosed with MS in 1991, and who has turned her life, and many others, around by changing the focus of hardship in order to make sense of it. She's written several books about The Courage to Give.

She shared her story about how she initially just shut down and found herself curled in a fetal position lamenting the loss of her "normal" life and health. She would get angry at her family for laughing or having a good time. Didn't they know how horrible her life was? How could they just go on as if all was well with the world? But then, she found herself going through a phase of trying to get rid of it, or at the least try every single cure known to man in order to make the symptoms better. The focus stayed on this dreaded disease, and trying to defeat it. The harder she tried, the more tired and worn down she became.

As she told her story, I kept mentally inserting the word autism for MS, for our path was so much the same. I suppose it's the same for any life altering diagnosis. We get sad, we get angry, we bargain, we try to eradicate it... to regain what we thought was our promised "normal" lives. But, the secret is that you have to get to the stage where you create a new normal. You finally reach the path where your life is normal for you. All of a sudden, you can't even really name what you thought you'd have as normal, for you know no different. You realize that life does go on, and you can either participate or just stop living. We have a choice each and every day. No we can't control what happens in our lives so much, but we can control how we choose to respond to the path that is our life. So, live in fear, or live with courage. I prefer Jackie's path. Bravo girl, bravo...

What's wrong with this picture?

This is an indoor/outdoor thermometer that sits on our kitchen table. The top number is the temp outside and the bottom number tells us how toasty (or not) it is inside. This is how it was reading yesterday. We've had the most odd start to "winter" this year. I mean today is December for goodness sakes! I was shaking my head all day about how mild it was outdoors, but then was in for a bigger surprise.

Back in October, I posted excitedly about the spring surprise pots that awaited me. Yep, I would have pretty pansies all winter and then, once it warmed up, I'd have all these beautiful spring flowers shooting up from the bottom of the pot to make me smile. Except, yesterday when I went out to dead head the pansies I gasped! Do you see some things in this pot that are NOT pansies? Yep.... some of my bulbs are already coming up. :c(

The temps are supposed to really drop out today. They say this front, which has dumped all sorts of bad weather on the rest of the country, is upon us and the highs will be in the 40's today. So much for spring surprises.