2007

Happy New Year!

May all of your
resolutions be fulfilled,
and may all of your wishes
for the new year come true.

I'm IT!

Yesterday I was tagged by stillrockin to do the 5 Things You May Not Know About Me. Since I do not know this fella, I thought it was kind of odd. As I mentioned in a comment after his, I was raised to never play tag with strangers. But then Local Girl mentioned that she knew him and I thought, "OK!"

The problem is that I have done quite a few meme's and I am not sure if there is anything left to reveal about myself... Well, anything that is interesting, anyway.

I'll be back in 5 hours...
..........Hmmmm. Uhhhh?
Ok.

1. My husband says that I am a geek. I have some issues with this since , first off that's the pot calling the kettle black- Mr. Hospital IT /self taught/no formal training computer Person. Just because I have learned my way around the computer by destroying it with zillions of downloads for a PC game, then ripping my computer apart to fix it... and also learning basic html by ripping apart Blogger templates... That doesn't make me a geek! I do it for fun. It's not a living. It just makes me a self taught techie, just like...

You. OH. Dang, I'm a geek.

2. Appearance means everything to me. I am always concerned that everything is in it's place, and that it is visually appealing. I get bored easily when something isn't pretty anymore, and have to change it. By appearance, I am talking about my blog, of course! Otherwise those rules may or may not apply. Not to my house, as of right now though. It's in Post Christmas Shambles. I am usually tired of a blog template in 2 months, that's why it wouldn't be too terribly responsible of me to pay for one. If any blog designers would like to advertise/display new blog designs on my blog for free... I am all for it! email me :O)

By the way, the fact that I am constantly changing my template for fun has earned me uber-geek status from my husband.

3. I am temperamental. Sometimes a mood will strike and will change again with the tide. Most of the time I can occupy myself and keep myself busy, but sometimes- just sometimes I am so restless that I feel like I am coming out of my skin. When I am like this nothing seems to make me happy. I am wondering if rejoining the work force will help... I just have to wait for the wounds on my right leg to heal... then I can go to work. Waiting.... waiting.

4. This one is very hard for me to admit, and is very personal... but since I am running out of things you don't know about me, here it goes.

I know that at times I have the signs and symptoms of being bipolar, like my mother. Most of the time it's not overwhelming. I see and recognize the signs and try to change my behavior accordingly- usually after a good cry. I have always worried that one day I will be like her, and at one point told myself I would never have children. I would rather spare another human the suffering I went through as a child but choosing not to get married and have kids. I have also worried that (no offense to fellow sufferers out there) that admitting that I might be bipolar and going for help would mean that I am crazy, just like her (with OCD, Multiple Personality Disorder, and bipolar). In a way, this makes #3 make sense to me.

5. I am a R&B (and sometimes hip-hop/rap) junkie. Because of this, my husband has listened to music he never would have even tried. This includes DMX, Tupac, Babyface, Aaliyah, Timberland, The Fugees, Lauryn Hill, Johnny Gill, Boyz II Men, Brain McKnight, Mary J. Blige, Maxwell, Tony Rich...

I in turn have discovered over the years that I love alternative music because of my husband's taste in music. I never would have listened to a lot of music if it weren't for him, including: Linkin Park, Evanescence, Beck, Cake, Depeche Mode, Level 42, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Queen, In The Nursery, Thomas Dolby, Camouflage, Conjure One, Delerium, Paul Schwartz, Robert Miles...

So there you have it, 5 things you probably didn't know about me. :O) Who should I tag? Local Girl was already tagged...

How about ... (but only if you want to)
Just My 2 Cents
Karianne
Tiggerprrr
Karmyn
Jenny Ryan

What a difference a comment makes...

Kelly at Pass The Torch has something really neat going on right now. To quote from her site:

My corporate sponsor is raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. And you can help. Just leave a comment here, and Empowering Youth, Inc. will donate one dollar per comment.

Better yet? Send your readers here to leave a comment telling me that you sent them. The contest winner this week will be the blogger who is responsible for the most comments. The winner will choose from the remaining prizes,one of which is the Hidden Treasure of Assets boardgame.

So head on over and comment at PTT for a worthy charity. You can comment on that post for St. Jude's once a day. Since I read the actual info from Local Girl's blog, I am requesting that you make mention of Local Girl in Kelly's comments, instead of me. LG is one of my best blogging buddies and is always doing nice things for others, and she deserves to win something for a change! :O)

Famous Last Words, TT # 14

My husband recently quoted Poncho Villa's and Joan Crawford's last words which I thought were funny and interesting... So here are Thirteen Famous Last Words 1. Pablo Picasso- "Drink to me!" 2. Thomas Edison- "It's very beautiful over there." 3. Charlie Chaplin- When the priest, who was attending him on his deathbed, said "May the Lord have mercy on your soul," Chaplin quickly replied, "Why not? After all, it belongs to him." 4. Leo Tolstoy- "Even in the valley of the shadow of death, two and two do not make six." 5. Karl Marx- "Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!" 6. Ludwig van Beethoven-"Friends applaud, the comedy is finished." 7. Humphrey Bogart- "I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis." 8. Joan Crawford- "Damn it . . . Don't you dare ask God to help me." To her housekeeper, who had begun to pray aloud. 9. Pancho Villa- "Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something." 10. George Bernard Shaw- "Dying is easy, comedy is hard." 11. Anna Pavlova, ballerina- "Get my swan costume ready." 12. Florenz Ziegfeld, broadway producer- "Curtain! Fast music! Lights! Ready for the last finale! Great! The show looks good. The show looks good." 13. Isaac Newton- "I don't know what I may seem to the world. But as to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than the ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Sleeping Kitten, Hidden Airway- Wordless Wednesday #2

Merry Christmas

To all of my readers and
friends in the blogoshpere,
I am wishing you a happy,
healthy, and beautiful Christmas!
I hope your holidays are
filled with joy and peace,
and that you are
surrounded by the ones you love.


*"The Virgin With Angels" was painted by William-Adolphe Bouguereau in 1900.

My husband thinks I am a wiener. I think.

OK, this is a little more TMI than usual... I hope your sitting down.

This last Wednesday (man, it seems like a week has gone by already) , the wound on my hip split open. My doctor took my stitches out the Wednesday (on the 13th) before and said he thought there was fluid in it and to not be surprised if it did open up. So I immediately called and made an appointment. He cleaned it out, packed it with gauze and told me to come back next Wednesday, on the 27th.

Well, yippee skippy... Last night after grocery shopping for Christmas dinner, I noticed that the smaller incision was starting to come loose to. So naturally, last night I about had a nervous break down.

I was a Licensed Vocational (or Practical) Nurse for 11 years. I know what a wound looks like, and what an incision should look like over 2 weeks postoperative. I know that wounds can open. I often assisted with minor procedures like the ones I had as a Corpsman (medic) in the Navy, and I helped close wounds on occasion when the doctor decided to let us have some suturing practice (suturing is something you need to be able to do in the field). I guess the fact that I started bawling like a 2 year old might have taken my husband by surprise seen as I have all this medical experience.

My problem is that I am a control freak by design, not so much over people but more over circumstance. I have this need for control, and I know it has everything to do with my childhood...so the fact that I have not one, but two gaping wounds on my person is a bit of a problem for me. Sobbing last night I told my husband that he knows how I am, and he nodded, and then I said , "You've seen how I get if there are ants in the house! But at least you can kill ants, what am I supposed to do about this?"

Nothing. There isn't a thing I can do. I did what I could do, which was make an appointment this morning. When I took the packing out this morning the wound on my hip didn't look normal, so it was a good thing I made an appointment. I went in, he cleaned out both wounds- paying particular attention to the larger one on my hip. I told him my concerns. I could see a light bulb went off in his head, he now realized why I seemed so uptight. He realized that I have the Burden Of Knowledge.

He remarked that I looked run down. He also said that it is unusual for wounds to open like that, and I said that I knew, that was why I was so worried. I told him that I have had 2 sick kids off and on for the last 3 months, that I believed my immune system was compromised, and that yes- I did feel run down. I have been very tired lately. He agreed that the stress of sick kids, and the perpetual germ fest was to blame for my poor healing, and that Christmas coming up probably didn't help. My doctor then did his best to assure me that even though it would take at least 3 weeks for my wounds to close, not to worry.

Now, I am doing something that is very hard for me... giving up control. I have to take a breath and realize I need to stop freaking out! It's just so hard being on the other side of the hospital bed. I have done hundreds of dressing changes in my life, I never thought it would be me. I have seen about everything there is to see in medicine... OK maybe not that much, but I have seen a lot. Even though I prided myself on being a very compassionate nurse, and really listening to my patient... this brings things to a whole new light.

I am wondering if this is another life lesson I needed, maybe I am supposed to be a nurse after all.

It's food for thought.

Speaking of food, I am giving up control over Christmas dinner, too. My husband and I aren't big turkey people, and Thanksgiving is more than enough for us once a year, let alone a month later. I was going to make us chicken enchiladas, but now I know I need to take it easy. Standing on my feet all day making dinner on Christmas isn't a good idea, so I called the MIL. I have relinquished my control and guess what she has decided to make?

You guessed it, turkey.

TT #13, Thirteen things that never fail to make me laugh

Thirteen Things that never fail to make Mary laugh I realize that I may have put off some of my readers with my "low-brow" fart story... So I thought I would attempt at a more mature one. HAH! Better luck next time. :O) 1. So I Married an Axe Murderer- " He'll be crying himself to sleep tonight on his huge pillow!" 2. Just Friends- Ryan Reynolds singing I Swear 3. Scrubs 4. The Office 5. My Name is Earl- reminds me of me trying to get a decent picture of myself. I ALWAYS blink! 6. Survivor's Probst- Snarky is best. "The kiss was nice... maybe if it were love, he would have given you the immunity necklace." HAH! LOVED That. 7. Chris Farley- as the mall girl. 8. Chris Farley- in Tommy Boy 9. TLC's Life Lessons 10.Will Ferrell in Elf 11. Bodily functions. 12. This virtual snow globe. 13. My family- My husband when he talks in his dufus voice, my daughter Anna when she giggles, and my daughter Emma when she realizes she has done something funny. :O)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

She makes me so proud! *sniff*

Last night, as we were watching Jump In on the Disney channel, Anna explained to us that she got into a heated discussion with 2 of her classmates. Two years ago, we explained that once upon a time there had been a Santa figure, but not anymore. He was a fairy tale that parents had their children to believe in to get them to behave throughout the year. To some this may seem cruel... shattering a sweet an innocent thing into a million pieces, squashing a child's heart and dreams in the process. To my husband and I, what seems more cruel is feed a child with nonsense, only to have them crushed and in despair when they learn that the fairy tale is just that, and that their parents have been lying to them for years.
For me personally, I would dread that day... knowing that my child had lost all faith and trust in me.
Also, we got sick and tired of Santa getting all the credit, when we were the ones busting our humps.
*On a side note* Sometimes Anna gets picked on by classmates, it started in preschool and unfortunately some of them are in her kindergarten class. I have been working on the idea of self-defense without antagonizing them- meaning I have explained that it is OK to stand up for herself, but it's not OK told hold a grudge and instigate because she is mad that they treated her bad... in essence making her like them. I am also trying to get across the notion that the more she lets them see that she is bothered by them, the more they will pick on her.
Anyway, Anna told them that there is no Santa, Megan and Grace (fellow kindergarten'ers, part-time snot balls) became indignant and told her that if you say you don't believe in Santa, he will not come and leave presents at your house.
Her response? How can Santa not leave presents at my house, if he doesn't exist?As she told me this, The Gasp That Was Heard Around the World took place. It almost brought a tear to my eye!
My baby is all grown up! She makes her momma proud... but my job here isn't quite done.

A heaping plate of Holiday cheer, Wordless Wednesday #1

Sweetness (Pass The Torch Tuesday)

On the 6th of December I had minor surgery on my right arm and leg. The next evening I was feeling pretty lousy and all 3 of my incisions were burning like crazy. Near tears, I muttered to myself that I had doubts as to whether removing those lumps were worth it.

My 5 1/2 year old daughter Anna sat across from me, on our love seat. She looked at me with concerned eyes and said this:

"Mom, you know that if you didn't have them taken out that they would just keep getting bigger, and causing you more pain. It's a good thing you had them taken out."

Just like all those times when she was younger, when she got me more tissues after my miscarriage almost 3 years ago, or when she would run to get me the "sick bowl" when I was pregnant with Emma- she was once again taking care of me.

Even though my girl is no angel, those tender moments are very dear and precious to me. I know one day she will make a wonderful mom.

For more PTT's, visit Kelly. :O)

Heartwarming holiday memories

I about spit my French Roast all over myself when I heard this story the other day on Regis and Kelly. I feel so bad for that woman, but I am happy that they at least didn't publish her name. How humiliating! If you are offended at the mere mention of bodily functions, stop reading right about here.

I'm not kidding... it's not too late to turn back!


OK, you asked for it...

It reminds me of a vacation, a long time ago... My husband and I decided at the last minute to travel to Maryland to see my mother for Christmas. I have this thing, this idiosyncrasy where I dislike using public toilets for- how should I say... pooping. As quoted from Thursday Thirteen #2, 13 things that annoy me:

13. The dreaded "back splash" while using public toilets. Who knows who used the potty before you... I just want to hose myself off with hand sanitizer!

So, this would make feeling light and fluffy while on vacation almost impossible, unless confined to the safety of my childhood bathroom. After almost 2 weeks of the the "train reluctantly leaving the station", we were on the first flight from Baltimore to Chicago, returning to Oakland, California.

We were on a large plane, and our seats were 2 rows ahead of a plane partition so that the row behind us was right smack dab, next to the partition- preventing them from being able to recline. Though this may seem like a trivial detail, you will understand it's importance later on. :O)

Anyway, I already had had a bit of a stomach ache, and only moments after take off I was riddled with perspiration-inducing cramps. Lucky me, perfect timing as per usual. I tossed and turned in my seat about as much as a person can sitting in a 2x3 foot area. Nearly doubled over, I gasped and groaned as little and as quietly as I could, my husband looking over occasionally with concern.

Finally, the agony was too much to bear. Ever so gently I lifted a cheek, and silently shared what I can assure you was one of the most vile and embarrassing moments of my life with about 20 people around me.

I waited. With clenched teeth, sitting stiff as a board, but relieved- I waited. Moments later, the row behind me burst into shouting and muttering.

"Oh my god, that's disgusting!"
"Oh, that's just horrible!"
" I think I am going to die!"

I pride myself on being quick thinking at least half of the time, and knowing that everyone around me was gasping for air and I wasn't made me realize very quickly that if I didn't chime in, they would know it was me. So I joined in the shouting and exasperated mutterings (fighting back nervous laughter the whole while), "Oh my god, that's awful! Who would do such a thing?"

After the angry mob behind me settled down, my husband turned to me and said it had smelled like someone had died from food poisoning, and again I stifled the nervous laughter. Just barely. I broke out into a sweat again.

***On a side note, I have a penchant for giggling at bodily functions. It is an unfortunate fact and character flaw, one that I am not proud of. This is a close second to laughing at people tripping or falling on stairs... and just typing this has given me a giggle fit. It can't be helped. I suppose you are wondering why I am admitting this, but I figure I have just shared an embarrassing story that never fails to haunt me this time of year (mostly because my husband enjoys watching me squirm when he shares the story every other year).***

As we left the plane, the people behind me mumbled to each other that this indeed had been the worst flight ever, and that accepting seats right in front of the partition for a reduced price was not a mistake they were about to make any time soon. I felt relief once more, but only after finally leaving the boarding area and heading to our next flight.

Just as we were out of ear shot from the other passengers of our flight, my darling husband turned to me and asked a single, solitary "not so much of a question but more of a declaration" question.


"That was you, wasn't it."

In my defense, I would never resort to lighting a match, nor the casual flick of a lighter while on an airplane. That would be stupid.


Then they would know it was me. :O)

Yeeehaw!

Emma took 4 steps on her own last night! On second thought, why the heck am I cheering about this? Waaaaaaaah... My baby is officially a toddler! Oh man, she is growing too fast. Time to start feeding her coffee and ciggs to stunt her growth. *ponders for a moment* Nope. Didn't work for Anna...

Just kidding. Sheesh , get over yourself. :OP


Today is my brother's 33rd? I think? Birthday!!!!!! Happy Birthday Ben! *smooch smooch*
Don't worry, buddy, I still have more gray hair than you. We have our gene pool to thank for that. Unfortunately, somebody peed in it. :( Ooooh, and I think I see a dead frog. Anywhooo, Happy Birthday , bro! Love ya!

Arrrrgh, fire bad!

I just wanted to make a short post saying thanks to you all for your positive thoughts and prayers! Aside from the anesthesiologist trying to force me against me will to have general instead of local... it went just fine. Thank goodness the OR nurse stood her ground and plainly said "The patient requested local with sedation" each time that idiot tried to say I was getting put under. I do feel a bit like Frankenstein (or Frahnkensteen ala Young Frankenstein) with stitches in 3 places, though.

The Darvocet is good, but I am such a light weight I am only taking a half of pill, well except for last night. My arm was hurting pretty bad last night, it made my teeth chatter.

My MIL made us meatloaf and eggnog cake after she worked, all we had to do was bake the potatoes. YUM! Even though I do complain about her (most of the time for very good reasons), she is very sweet to us when we are sick or under the weather. She must love us or something. :O)

Ok, it's turning in to a not so short post... Thanks again for thinking of me!

Night-night,
Mary

PS- I am proud of myself for making it a whole 36 hours before posting, heehee. I kind of cheated though, earlier I showed the hubby 2 posts on other blogs that I thought were really funny/good, mousing all the while like I was born a lefty. Does that count?

I'll be seeing you...

I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces all day through
In that small café, the park across the way
(from my recliner, through the bay....
....window) The children's carousel, the chestnut trees, the wishing well
(Awww, it's gonna hurt like hell!)

I'll be seeing you in every lovely summer's day
(I wish! But winter is here to stay...)
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way
I'll find you in the mornin' sun
( blogging in the mornin' is so much fun)
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
(could be the Darvocet is kicking in too soon)
But I'll be seeing you
(in drug induced hallucinations too)

I'll find you in the mornin' sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you...

*sung by Bing Crosby, and the bold print is me, of course :D

Hey, tomorrow is my out patient surgery and though I will probably be jonesin' for my blogging fix after about 4.5 hours, I won't be on for a few days. I am having a mass removed from my right bicep and 2 from my right thigh at 0945 in the AM.

They had rescheduled me for 2PM, but now I am back to 0945. I hope they don't change me again, it's a little nerve wracking having to call my MIL to reschedule with her.

We will see how desperate I become before I try to mouse with my left hand. Any bets? I am thinking a day, LOL! Until then, au revoir mes amis!

Until we meet again... enjoy some photos!We have gone "rustic" this year with mostly handmade ornaments in whites, black/red, red, and clear (snow flakes and icicles). We decided to only put a 3rd of the ornaments we have because our tree was so heavy that it almost tipped least year, and the fact that the less we put out the less we will have to put away. Having an incision on my right arm has affected my decorating choices this year. I actually like it... for once it doesn't look like Santa exploded in my living room. Minimal is good.

Here are pics of the finished tree, sans pine comb- as Willow tree put it!

Some of our homemade ornaments...


And the Little People we have set up under the tree for the kids.


Finally, our Little People Nativity before Emma...And After Emma.

Humorous... and not so humorous

It seems that last night Emma developed a sense of humor, or at least has inherited her parents sense of humor. She was sitting on her dads lap, pooted, then proceded to look up at him and laugh.

John immediately pointed at me and said, "Hmmm, I wonder where she learned that from?"

Huh, wha? Just because they spend all day with me doesn't mean that all of their bad habits come from me... just the funny ones.

Did I forget to mention that Emma has disovered cat food? Mmmmm, meaty goodness in a pellet!

Other than that, I haven't been sleeping very well. We are trying to go visit Ben, my brother, hopefully in April. I think the idea that I might run into the egg donor (my mother) is really bothering me, so much so that I have been having odd dreams about her lately. I have been a mess for about a week, something hurts somewhere all day or everything hurts for part of the day. I think my anxiety is manifesting itself in key locations in my body, starting from about my forehead to about mid-calf.

Evidently my illness has crossed from physical to mental because I have actually thought about seeing her. I know my dear sweet husband is thinking the same because when I mentioned this, he said nothing but shook his head no, almost violently.

I guess part of me, despite all the anger and hurt, still just wants a mother who loves me. At this point I'd be better off trying to find an adoptive mother. Hey, I'm only 36. Why not. I know, I know, it's probably never going to happen, and it makes me sad. Well, I mean when it's not making me angry. My childhood sucked so badly there is literally a vaccuum, an endless void in my heart where any good feeling for my mother lived.

The weird thing is that every time I have this thought- to call the *egg donor*, so does Ben and vice versa. we talk to each other and say that we have both come to the same conclusion, which is "why bother?". Either we would eventually be opening the door to more abuse and heart ache, and the good times would be short lived, or she would slam the door in our face.

Ben and I are so much alike sometimes its scary. We are able to talk about the past, it's very painful but therapeutic. we are both discovering that neither of us had it worse than the other, and that there are things that each of us didn't know. Horrible things. When I tell John, he just sits there in shock. It's hard for John to understand it all- especially the part where we tell him that we still want her to love us ,though he tries really hard. What normal person could understand?

I miss him a lot. If I can't go Maryland this April, I will probably be depressed. Heck, I am getting teary just thinking about it. He is pretty much all I care to call family anymore.

Pooh, so much for one positive thing a day. I set my sights too far, too high. Well here it goes... The bright points in the darkness for me are my family. I don't know who or where I'd be with out my husband, my first and only true love. My kindred spirit and best friend. My girls... for so long I thought that they would never come, but here they are! Two radiant, sweet and precious blossoms. Stinky at times, yes, but sweet just the same. And my brother, my other kindred spirit. We laugh at the dumbest crap.

Well, with that said, and so eloquently might I add... my life isn't so bad after all.

And so it begins... actually, continues.

Emma had a refreshing nap today, she was all smiles when I went upstairs to get her from her room.

I said, "Hi honey, did you have a nice nap?"

"Um-hum."

"I love you!"

"I know."

Emma is doing very well in the chatter department. Every day her vocabulary doubles it seems, most of it with the help of her big sister. Unfortunately for us Emma has picked up other phrases such as:

No I did it- which actually means "No, I didn't."
Yeah, yeah, yeah- oops, that one was from me
and the dreaded.... WHY?

A little while later, I noticed that Emma had lined her half eaten cinnamon graham crackers on our new couch.

"You're messy, kid," I mention in passing on my way to the kitchen, stopping for a moment to put the crackers in their temporary snack cup home.

"No, I not."

I am so happy that Anna is teaching her the finer points of sassy butt-ism. It's all Anna's fault , you know... It's not like Anna spent all day, every day for the first 4 years of her life with moi or anything. Don't even suggest it. :OP

Our first snow day...

We have our first official snow of the season... and Anna had her first official snow day today. I am kicking myself for not taking any pictures of it! It was interesting, I have never heard it thunder during a snow storm before as it did last night. Anna has been dying to go outside, and I have been trying to hold her off until her daddy gets home from work but it's been something. I could have taken her out, but I would have had to take Emma out too. Poor Em, being a peanut and a little under weight since having pneumonia a month ago... I just don't think it's the best idea to take her outside- for what would be forever, because I know that Anna wold want to stay out for awhile.

Several times she declared that she was bored, and usually I would have found something for her to do, but not this time. I knew that despite my efforts, nothing I could ever come up with would be as good as feeling new snow crunch beneath your boots, or throwing the first snowball. At your oblivious parent. :O)

So here we are, trying to fill the day... but nothing is quite good enough to stay the snow bunny blues. I made us a typical snow day lunch of grilled Cheddar and provolone cheese sandwiches and chicken and stars soup. I had never actually made grilled cheese with real cheese before, usually I use the "sandwich" cheese variety. Anna had previously said that she hated grilled cheese, to which John and I guffawed.

"Bread, cheese and butter... what's not to like?"
She ate it all, which made me a proud mama.


After lunch I noticed that Anna had gotten a little ahead of me, decorating the tree. Even though the tree is up, we haven't gotten any further that the lights, ribbon, and a star. We plan to finish the tree this week end, and it's #1 on my list of things to get done before my surgery on Wednesday. ANYWAY, this is what I noticed as I walked into the living room...


and if you can't make it out...



Which makes realize why she had such a satisfied smile on her face. It wasn't the grilled cheese at all.

.