Attack of the Christmas Tree

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!! In my opinion it's the best time of the year. People are happier, families come together (and I get to go home), and I get to do one of my favorite things....shop! I was a very lucky child. I grew up in a very loving household. My parents really did Christmas big and made it special for my sister and I. Therefore, today this time of year makes me feel all cozy inside.

Another one of my favorite things to do is decorate. I redecorate my house for every season and every holiday. Got that from my Mom. My husband and I built a house last year that was way too big for the two of us so this Christmas it's taken me 3 days to get everything done. Wreaths and garland are hanging, tabletops are overflowing with shiny, glittering nic nacs, and stockings are hanging from the mantel. As of Wednesday everything was done but the tree. Unfortunately, my tree has to sit up on some boxes to keep the branches from dragging the floor. This stinking tree is going in the garage sale next year....it's time for a new one. Anyway, I can't lift the huge thing and my husband was out of town for a few days so there it sat. No ornaments, no lights, no ribbon. Waiting for my husband to come home and lift it onto the boxes.

If you know me, you know I don't like to wait around for other people to get things done. I'm a no nonsense girl. A sense of urgency is key for me. Make a decision and move on! That's my motto. Anyway, I couldn't wait any longer. Surely I could lift the tree. Who needs a man??!!

....so if I just tilt the tree a little and slide the first box under, then I can lift and tilt the other way to slide the other box under. Easy, peasy....

Not so much. Just as I tilted the tree I heard some rustling and looked up. I forgot that I had left the star on the top and now it was tumbling toward my face. Please notice the multi-pointed star in the picture. One point hit directly below my eye and cut my face. I am so lucky to still have my right eye!! The other points hit my head and left me bleeding under my hair. At least no one can't see those injuries.

I guess that's what I get for being impatient. At least now it's done....but not without a little pain and suffering.

Hold on tight, you're in for a bumpy ride!

So, I have to tell you about my Thanksgiving. My husband and I recapped the whole thing with our friends the other day and realized how crazy we sounded. It's almost as if we're making the whole thing up. Unfortunately, we're not.

Because I'm aware that some of the family may possibly read this blog and would be upset if I aired their dirty laundry, I'll try to use discretion. I said try....can't make any promises.

My wonderful (and thankfully NORMAL) husband and I go to his Mother's house every year for Thanksgiving. We agreed when we got married that Thanksgiving would be with his family and Christmas would be with mine. I don't compromise on Christmas. It's mine. Anyway, that's beside the point.....back to Thanksgiving.

My husband comes from a VERY large family so it's always an eventful holiday. He has 5 brothers and sisters, 13 Aunts and Uncles, and 40 first cousins. There's never a dull moment.
This year in particular was one for the books.

Let's start with Aunt D. Apparently, she has died 3 times since we saw her last. We were not aware of this fact. Only that she has had heart problems. Luckily, my husband, sporting a sweat suit, along with 2 others were there to revive her and bring her back to life.....according to her....while she was being revived from over medication....during her hallucination. Enough said.

Moving on to Aunt M. Fresh out of the clink hanging with the family at Thanksgiving. Asking around for Xanax. I'm gonna stop there.

This brings us to Cousin J. Who just stole $10,000 from Uncle K. And is now MIA.

Next, came the first trip to the ER. It involved my niece who, thankfully ended up being ok, but got quite the show in the ER watching a woman projectile vomit all over the floor. This threw my sister-in-law into a tizzy because she hates hospitals. She was frazzled all night. Then came the second trip to the ER. This involved my other sister-in-law who was having pains from her appendectomy surgery the week before. Come to find out that she's about 4 weeks pregnant....not the best way to find out.

Now let's talk about the arm wrestling incident. This is my favorite. Unfortunately, I instigated the whole thing but it was pretty darn funny! I always have fun watching my husband and his 3 brothers compete. They always have to out-do each other. Therefore, when I suggested an arm wrestling tournament I knew they'd jump all over it. It would consist of 4 rounds starting with the youngest....he always gets screwed. Who knew the antique table they were wrestling on wouldn't hold?? Got through 2 rounds before we heard the crack.....their Dad was not happy. I've never seen so much finger-pointing in my life!

The last two stories are too delicate to discuss. One involves an affair and the other involves the third and final trip to the ER. My sister-in-law went back in for more pain and unfortunately is still there 4 days later. We pray that they can help her without harming the baby. Only time will tell.

I'm glad I was able to share my family's insanity. Like I said, there's never a dull moment. But since I'm the one that actually has to live it I get the movie rights....don't even think about stealing it!

A Reason to Write

Well, I guess it's time. Time to start writing again. I haven't posted anything in a few months because I just haven't had much to say. I could tell you about my day but my day's don't really consist of anything exciting. I no longer have a job, I have no kids, and I'm still not quite sure what I want to do with myself. This leaves me at a place of frustration and uncertainty. I know I'll figure it out eventually so in the meantime I'll just vent to those who are willing to read about it.

But............today I had some entertainment!

My nieces and nephew came to stay with my husband and I for a night on their way to Arkansas for Thanksgiving. We are a good halfway point between Ohio and Arkansas so they, with their other Aunt (my sister-in-law), stopped here in St. Louis and stayed with us last night. The three girls are 6, 8, and 14 and my nephew is also 14.

I always have so much fun when I see them but after wards I'm completely exhausted! This time not only was I exhausted but so were my dogs. Neeman, my Lab, is getting older and has arthritis. He loved having the kids in the house but it was hard on him. He got all the hugging, petting, tail tugging, and treats he could possibly need for a lifetime. He goes by Norman now as well....the kids renamed him. Currently, he is in the corner asleep where I'm sure he'll be until tomorrow. Lucy, my Rat Terrier, has officially been traumatized. From the moment they got here yesterday until the moment they left today Lucy has been either chased or held constantly by one of the children. The look on her face when they would pick her up was priceless! Oh, the terror!

It's quite an experience to suddenly have 4 children thrust upon you. So much energy and creativity! They weren't here an hour before my walk-in pantry became a "General Store". We have a dish of change on the nearby table and that became the currency needed to buy food from the "General Store." My Nephew was the clerk and the girls had a blast paying him (my money) to buy snacks (my food) from the store (my pantry) that even I wasn't allowed to enter. Hmmm...what's wrong with this picture? It was very entertaining for an E-N-T-I-R-E 2 D-A-Y-S....a neverending game.

Knock, knock..."Mister store clerk. I'm hungry. I'd like to re-buy those Pringles I bought at the grocery store the other day. Thanks."

It's also interesting what goes through your mind when you discover one of them has been missing for a while. Huh...."have you guys seen your sister in the last 15 minutes?" Oh goodness. Where is she????!!! "Oh nevermind....I found her in the kitchen cabinet. Did you guys know she thinks your still playing hide-n-seek?"

The other times I would find them in my master bathroom using MY toilet. What is that? Why must they all poop in ONLY my bathroom??!!

We had a blast. It went by way too fast but we get to see them again in a few days for Thanksgiving. Until then, I better rest up!

Home

I've mentioned before that I was born and raised in Arkansas. This is home to me. Even though I've lived in Illinois for almost 8 years now, Arkansas will always be home. My entire family is still there and I just know that someday, my future will be there too.

I get to go home tomorrow. I always look forward to these times. When the trip back to the South nears and I have to rush around getting ready for the 6 hour trek. I don't even mind the drive because I know my destination will make me smile.

This time I don't only want to be there but I need to be there. My family has fallen on some hard times lately and I need to help them through it. I hate not being there the minute something happens...not being able to rush to their side when bad news smacks them across the face. It's a guilt I've carried with me for 8 years that I can do nothing about. At least not right now.

Just to name a few problems my Mom just found out she has diabetes and now has to change her way of life. Eat differently, prick her finger regularly, and exercise (something no one in my family is a fan of). This is just after she's come off of a not-so-nice surgery that kept her in pain for quite a while. Another thing I wasn't able to be there for. My sister is a whole other story. Her hard times have come in droves. I won't even bother to name the smaller issues they've confronted this summer because soon after the big shit hit the fan. A few weeks after my sister's husband lost his job she found out she was pregnant. Another couple of weeks later, on her birthday, she lost the baby.

My sister has always been my best friend. Even though she's older I've always felt the need to protect her. Maybe it's just a sister thing. Knowing she's going through pain absolutely kills me. Burns me to the core. There's nothing I can do but at least being there would help. This is why I need to go home.

The year 2009 has been a rough one for my whole family, including me. It seems to be shaping up to be another 1997.....BAD year for us! That year my lung collapsed and I had to have major surgery, my parents got divorced after we found out my Dad was having an affair, my Grandmothers house burned down, and on the very last day of the year my Great-Grandmother passed away. It was almost like God was saying, "Don't celebrate yet, there's still a few more hours left for things to go badly. There ya go....deal with that!" Bad year!

So I'm headed home tomorrow. To see my sweet Nephew, Max, and celebrate his first birthday, to be a shoulder my sister can cry on, and to help my Mom stick to her new diet and work-out regimen. No matter what goes wrong there's just nothing as wonderful as being with family!

Southern Hospitality

I've lived in Illinois now for 7 1/2 years. That's 7 1/2 years longer than I ever expected. My husband and I moved here in November of 2001 when his job transferred us to this area....this area being O'Fallon, IL which is about 20 minutes from downtown St. Louis. Good place to be if you don't want to live in the big city and would prefer to skip all that crazy traffic yet, still close enough to be able to attend big city events like baseball games, concerts, and art shows. Anyway, like I said I never actually thought we'd be here for this long but life happens and here we are...still.

I've actually gotten used to the area and I've had the opportunity to make some amazing friends. Friends that would be EXTREMELY hard to leave if and when we decide to move back home to Arkansas. Since I've gotten to know the area better I'm more comfortable and it's really grown on me. I owned a business here for 3 1/2 years which gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of people and learn more about the town I live in. There are still a lot of things I miss about Arkansas that I don't find here but for the most part I really enjoy my life here now. I just have one complaint that I don't think I'll EVER get used to.....the lack of Southern Hospitality.

When your born and raised in the South, especially in a town like Fayetteville, AR, you get spoiled with polite conversation and encounters with kind, agreeable people. As a matter of fact, you come to expect certain things. For example, people smiling and waving for no reason, employees in local shops being helpful and all around pleasant, and hearing "hi ya'll" every time you turn the corner. Nice, cordial people being nice and cordial for no reason at all. Just because.

I miss these people. Not to say that I don't have good people in my life here because I do. As I said before I have amazing friends (to all of my friends reading this please don't be offended...of course I'm not talking about you). It's the people you don't know that can really get under your skin. In the Mid-West if they don't know you, they don't see any point in wasting a smile on you. Or, if they are nice to you up front I've learned that it's not necessarily because they want to be but because they need to be for selfish reasons. Many a time I've been fooled by the up-front-nice-guy that later turned on me. It's baffling. All the sudden it's like that girl on The Exorcist...head's spin and an evil comes out that you didn't know existed. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a teeny bit but I'm always a little thrown by how quickly someone here has stabbed me in the back without batting an eyelash. I guess that's just what happens in business. At least in the South we mask it with charm and civility leaving the victim with a false sense of accomplishment. We wouldn't want them to walk away hating us afterall! (said with a southern accent)

Having a couple of friends from the South helps. They understand how I feel about certain things and we can easily talk about how different things are around here. For example, my friend from Alabama understands SEC football and how it's actually a religion in the South. Not a sport. People schedule things like weddings and parties around football games. If you plan your wedding on the same day as an Arkansas Razorback football game then that's your problem when no one shows up. Comply with the rules of the South or get over it! I also have a friend from Texas. Every event we go to with the girls seems to reveal some sort of Mid-Western ritual we've never seen. We just look at our other friends and say, "We don't do that in the South" (tip head and stick nose in the air here). At this point I should just consider myself lucky that my Mid-West girlfriends haven't disowned me considering I always talk about how great everything is below the Mason-Dixon line.

Thanks girls for putting up with my Southern banter!! Love ya'll (yes, I said ya'll)!!

My Daily Entertainment

I'm compelled to tell a story about my sweet boy, Neeman. Dog not child. No matter, he's mine, he's adorable, and for those that know him know what a gentle giant he is. Neeman is our yellow Lab and he has no idea how big he is. I can't say he's the smartest dog around but his personality more than makes up for his lack of intelligence.

The other day my husband came home from work and, as always, was assaulted by the dogs at the door. Although sometimes it can be painful, I consider this to be the best feeling in the world. Being greeted everyday with such enthusiasm and warmth. Unconditional love and appreciation that just radiates from their furry faces and wagging tails. As far as the painful part, I admittedly have my share of bruises covering my legs from these welcoming attacks.

Anyway, that particular day Jason noticed something was different. Before being attacked he not only heard the gallop of Neeman's large paws nearing but also a banging and pounding of something ramming into the wall with each step Neeman took. Now maybe I should preface this with the fact that Labrador's get very hot in the summer. They're big and have a really thick undercoat so the "dog days of summer" is no joke when it comes to this loving breed. For this reason, Neeman likes to sleep right on top of the air conditioning vents to stay cool.

Back to the story. As soon as Neeman gets near, Jason sees something swinging from his neck. At first glance, Jason is thinking maybe I tied something to his collar as a gift or chore for him (most likely the latter). This isn't such a stretch because we both have been known to use Neeman for little things around the house. For example, running outside to get the newspaper or going to the bottom of the stairs outside to fetch a toy he left in the yard. He is also always willing to transport things from me to Jason or vice versa when one of us is on the couch and the other on the chaise. After all he's got to earn his keep.

Well upon further investigation, and after getting the dog to calm down, Jason discovered one of our floor vents hanging from Neeman's neck! I so wish I had been there! His dog tags had somehow gotten twisted down into the vent and he now was wearing it as a necklace. The part about it that I love the most is that it went completely unnoticed by the dog himself. He was just so happy that Daddy was home the fact that a heavy, metal object was dangling from his collar didn't even phase him!

So in honor of Neeman here are a few pictures I'd like to share....if only I'd gotten a picture of the incident!

Unnerved

One of the down sides to not having a job....I've noticed the news is on ALL THE TIME. I keep my TV on pretty much all day and because of this I tend to see the news about 3 times a day. I don't necessarily watch the whole newscast, I just hear bits and pieces as I pass by while doing chores around the house. Unfortunately, this is enough to be unnerved by what I hear. It seems to me that there have been more shootings in the past few months than usual (I hate that there is even a "usual"). As we speak the news anchor is talking about the shooting at the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. A couple of days ago we had a shooting at a local, and very popular bar downtown. The week before that a police officer was shot and just last night a teenager was at the park and was shot in the neck.

Perhaps the one that hit closest to home involved a man I didn't even know. It impacted me because the victim was a very good friend of some of my good friends. I never met him but it was made clear to me what a good man he was because my friends all loved him so. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. A victim of circumstance. The bullets weren't meant for him but for others he was with. For this act of cruel revenge he gave his life. The pain my friends have had to bear for the past week is tragic.

What is wrong with people? It makes me sick to think about what could be going through the mind of everyone I pass on the street. Or for that matter, the neighbor down the street that I don't know well. It's no wonder so many people in our world live in constant fear. A fear that can be so encompassing they can't leave their homes. I hate to be such a downer but sometimes I just can't bear to hear the news. I don't want to imagine a world so vile that stepping out of my front door is more of a chance I take than an opportunity to savor. Very sad.

I've gotta get a job because the news is really bringing me down!