Isn't It Funny....?

...how warm and fuzzy Christmas lights can make you feel while you are putting them up in December?

By nuttakit/freedigitalphotos.net

By feelart/freedigitalphotos.net

By feelart/freedigitalphotos.net

And then how gosh darned absolutely annoying they can be when you're taking them down in January???

Man, I wish those lights would just take themselves down!

My Goodness, How Did That Happen???

Yikes, it's been literally weeks since I've posted anything at all here.  I can't believe it. 
Maybe it was that whole Christmas and New Years holidays thing.  I did actually find myself enjoying the whole process of the holiday season this year....
Or maybe it was the keeping up with homeschooling.  Oh, I'm still learning on that one...
Or could it have been the planning for a great big ol' double 40th seventies themed birthday party?  I've hired my friend, the Elvis impersonator, and yes- it's gonna' be awesome!
Actually I have to admit that the last couple of trips down to Palm Springs have left me sun soaked, adventured to the point of injury twice and yet extra relaxed- dare I say it- even just a tiny bit zoned out of real life.  Heck yeah, even doing detailed cleaning of scrubbing floors and washing windows feels a whole lot better in the sun somehow.  Yes, this doesn't look a bit like my everyday life back in the northwest, but somehow it's beginning to feel more and more like home. 

I'm pondering many thoughts on how this 'California living thing' affects my overall views on life and what this means.  Yes, sometimes I am even capable of deep thoughts while basking in the sun and I'm wondering why it's taken me so long to get to this point.  Ah well, in the scheme of things, 40 years isn't so long to get to your own truth, is it?!

At any rate, it's time to get back at it.  So I think I will!

Tidings

I'm so glad to see that I'm not the only one getting a little behind with the blogging this Christmas season!

It's funny that somehow this year I don't feel so rushed or squeezed and I don't even feel too guilty for what I don't have time for.  Maybe, since I'm about to turn 40, I've finally learned how to prioritize or something like that.  Ha! 

Actually, the fact that I'm helping out with homeschooling my nephew may be the real reason that I'm not quite able to keep juggling all my usual balls and may also be a good reason that I'm willing to drop a few of them.

So for now, I will wish all my blogging friends good tidings of great joy and say that I will pop back in as time permits.  Have a good one, y'all and enjoy everything and everyone the holidays bring to you!

Hanging Christmas Ball by Digitalart, found at: freedigitalphotos.net

The Answers And Peace That I Need

As I stared at a blank screen for the longest time, I went back to view my blog and found a new comment on my last post.  The comment was from Loretta and it got me out of my funk and into finally writing this post that really I guess I have just been avoiding and yet I so need to write.

So I'll start with this:  Christmas was probably the best one we have had around here in at least a few years.  There was no family drama requiring a visit from the sheriff- Ha!  We were blessed to get our gifts early in the form of our fun new puppy and our Palm Springs condo.  I even took a chance and told Santa about how much I want to move to Texas.  He made no promises, but hey it never hurts to try!  We also received some of the best surprise news that we could ever have gotten when we found out that my husband passed his latest actuarial exam- which we were totally NOT expecting.  Yes, one of those exams that require study of at least 300 hours of stuff like this:

With the passage of this particular exam, it puts my husband in a very good position to be a real live actuary by November of this year!!!!!!  We never thought he would pass so quickly as this exam is one many people get stuck on and take over and over.  And really, he just didn't have a good feeling about it.  What a fabulous and welcome surprise.  This also means that as soon as he gets his credential, I will get to start those pilot lessons I've said that I am meaning to take!

So many wonderful things....  My heart is just full of thankfulness.  I can't believe how blessed we are during such a time of turmoil all around us- in the world, in our country and right here at home.

You see, I don't want to seem ungrateful.  I strive to be content and yet grow in life.  I know we ought not dwell on the things that are not as we would like and that many things are out of our control as human beings. 

And yet some things are too big to ignore. 

My sister is still in jail.  I have discovered that she is in need of more help and rehabilitation than I ever imagined.  She is addicted to every form of bad behavior and wrong choice that there is.  She is a very sad and sick person that has destroyed so much for so many.

She has been offered a combination of incarceration/rehab/work release of 3 years and is otherwise facing 5-10 years in prison.  She still believes she can somehow 'beat the system' and has refused the 3 year deal.

I am trying hard to swallow the fact that I actually agree with her in that she should not take the 3 year deal.  I don't think she should take it because I feel that she needs a lot LONGER in custody to keep society at large safe and to give herself any chance at all of actually changing her life for the better.

I can't help feeling like a big ol' bitch of an older sister who has so much in this life and yet would wish her little sister such a tough row to hoe.  I don't mean it that way and I know in my heart that people understand that. 

I need to look at this as an opportunity to expand my vision of what positive change can be. 

And I will. 

In time, I will accept whatever is meant to be for my sister and I will put it all into proper perspective as soon as my heart allows. 

Image found at: posterenvy.com

I'm Only Doing Positive. For Now. ...So Enjoy This Christmas Tale

Can I just say that I have never in my life ever had such a strong desire to just hole up and take care of my own... 

So for now I'm working my butt off (quite literally) day in and day out and tonight I'm busy wrapping my nephews gifts in the color of money.  Cuz' I'm teaching him what I know to be true- that success really is the best revenge.

And I know the current POTUS thinks I'm one of those evil small business bastards that should be taxed the hell out of, so to that I say: anybody who wants to kill my initiative and ingenuity can kiss my...

Oh yeah.  Sorry.  I was being all positive and everything....

Here's a kick butt Christmas tree story instead.
 
All true. 
Happened today.

So I show up to one of my regular clients homes and there's a new request added to the list of party preparation.  Seems there's a tree in the garage that needs to be put in a stand and brought into the house.

OK, I'm game.   The tree looks like any other regular type fresh cut Christmas tree, all baled up and sitting in a big bucket of water. 

I walk over and try to lift the tree out to see how it'll fit into the tree stand.

I swear to you, that tree had to have sucked up enough water to choke a horse.  It was HEAVY.  I mean, 'holy crap I think I might have herniated something' heavy.  And it didn't look anywhere near big enough to be even slightly that heavy.

So I got some help to get the tree out of the bucket and into the stand.  Nobody else could understand how a tree of such 'regular' size could be that heavy either...

Then we all noticed how the size of the trunk was no way gonna' fit into any regular size stand.  The base of that thing had to have been 8 inches across and the stand would only hold something maybe 5 inches across.

So we did what anybody in the mode of getting that stupid tree to fit into the stand would do.  We got out an electric saw and started hacking away at the base until we were finally able to stuff it into the stand.

Great.  We had a tree in a stand.  Let's bring it into the house.

Except that when we got the tree into the house somebody noticed that all the bottom branches had been cut off and were just being held on by the baling that was tied all around the tree.  So, of course, when the baling was removed the tree was branch-less at the bottom for at least 2 feet.  I guess somebody might have mentioned that the idea was that the tree would be cut off at the bottom and the lowest branches were to be used as greenery for decorations. 

Oops.  Nobody had informed me.  That would also help to explain why when we hoisted the tree upright inside the house, the top was scraping the ceiling...

So now we needed to take the tree out of the stand, re-cut it and get it back into the stand.  Did I mention that somebody thought we better hurry up and put water into the stand so that heavy ass water logged tree wouldn't lose all its needles or anything?  Yeah, brilliant.  Because moving that tree that was already losing pounds of needles wasn't nearly enough fun on its own.  Having a huge puddle of water on the hard wood floor was so much better...

Back outside we went with the tree.  Using a neighbors borrowed saw, we cut that sucker back to a point where the tree trunk would fit nicely into the stand.  Great.  Only now the baling had been removed from the tree and it was nearly too fat to fit back inside the door. 

We did get that super heavy, now shorter tree back into the house.  It only took 3 people tugging and shoving and one person getting slightly injured to get it done.

The tree was lovely.  So green and nicely shaped. 

No one would ever guess how difficult it had been to tame that beast into the beauty that it now is.

But wait.  There's more!  That tree had more surprises in store for us.

It had a giant lady bug nest in it that we discovered while trying to get packages sent out to the UPS guy.  Yes, just picture it.  Ladybugs everywhere and one very confused UPS dude. 

And it was only after the tree had been sprayed for the ladybugs that the wasp flew out of it, very suddenly, dive bombing across the room so as to scare the livin' hell right out of all of us that were left still doing party prep.

At this point I looked at the homeowner and stated clearly that if a squirrel suddenly flew out of the tree, then that would be it.  I was out. 

He said he understood.

That's it.   That's my story.  All true, as I said.  Now I wish all of you and yours the very best this Christmas and I hope that your tree is drama free this year!!!

***all images in this blog post courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net***

Different Christmas Magic

Yeah it's a little bit weird, I'll admit it.
We've been here in Palm Springs for the past two weeks and my husband and I have yet to really notice that it's Christmas time.

Palm Springs Christmas Trees

Between the beautiful warm 80 degree weather and the fact that we've both been working ourselves to the bone to get our little 80's time capsule vacation condo turned into something a bit more modern, Christmas has really snuck up on us.

I can see now what people mean when they say that it's a little bit strange to be in a place without distinct seasons.  You really have to step outside what you've ever thought of as traditional holidays and just embrace what's new and different to you.  

One thing we remember as completely magical is the tiny beautiful perfect snowflakes we saw in Joshua Tree National Park when we first came to Palm Springs 2 years ago.  It takes very dry conditions to get these; something we would never see in the damp northwest.

Can you see the tiny perfect stars?

We're taking the time to take in what's unique for the holiday season here before we head back home to Seattle in a couple days.  And while I'm happy that I had the forethought to prepare my home early for Christmas before we left for this trip so that I wouldn't feel all frazzled and behind when I got back, I have to admit that the fact that the first person to wish me a Merry Christmas this year was a guy that looked like Jimmy Buffet in a red tropical shirt is probably going to be one of the best memories of the season.

Happy Christmas

...to all, and to all a good night!

Photo credit: wpclipart.com

What I'm Giving To Friends And Neighbors For Christmas

...Or, how to use storm debris for the greater good.

(Yup, this was the post that I meant to get up before I traipsed off to Atlanta, GA for a week of above average warm temperatures and sunshine and getting to meet a blogger buddy IRL, but more about that later...)

Here's the deal.  As a kid I lived in a fairly poor family.  And we got pretty creative when it came to giving gifts for Christmas.  Looking back on that time now, I'm grateful for the things I learned from that experience. 

My mother would save up to get some parts for this particular project, but most of it is recycled or found stuff.  With a little time and your own artistic interpretation, the result is something like this:

A lovely live centerpiece that will last throughout the season!

Around here, we almost always get a good storm at Thanksgiving time.  So afterwards it's not too hard to find greenery that can be used for this project.  Since I am allergic, I use gloves when I go hunting around for this stuff and any time I am handling the greens during this project. 

If you want to try this yourself, you will also need:

 Photo credit: shroomery.org

 Those little plastic containers that lunch meat comes in or you can buy as sets with lids.

Photo credit: floraldesigninstitute.com

Some floral foam called wet foam or oasis, that you soak in water for several hours prior to the start of the project.  This is the most expensive part.  I used coupons at my local Michaels craft store a couple weeks in a row to get this stuff.

You will also need an icepick, a sharp knife, small scissors, some wire- preferably green colored, some floral picks or other glittery doo-dads and some taper candles.  I had several taper candles of different colors just hanging around the house that I used.

When I know I am about to make these, I set my wet foam in a sink full of water.  Just float them on top and they will sink as they fill up with water.  Do this several hours ahead of time.  Then head out to a park or street that has some greens you would like to use.  I only take the ones that are on public property and have been blown down.  I do not recommend strategic trimming as local law enforcement might frown on that! 

So once you have a good amount of greens to choose from- it takes me about a garbage bag full to make a half dozen or so of these centerpieces, it's a good idea to clip apart the pieces from the branches and group them into about three sizes- your large base pieces, some medium ones and then the smaller pieces that will be used to fill in at the top near the candle.  

The size that the wet foam comes in is about the size of a brick and I divided it into 3 equal parts that were just right for fitting inside the plastic containers.  Do this by cutting with a sharp knife when the foam is full of water.  When the wet foam pieces are inside the containers, you are ready to start the artsy part!

For extra stability and balance of the piece, it is good to put the first larger greens into the foam by actually running them through the plastic container.  You need to be careful to keep them at the top of the plastic container and not allow too big of holes to accomplish this so that the water in the foam won't end up leaking all over peoples tables or mantles later.  I do this by using an icepick to poke two holes down each long side and one on each end of the plastic container and then making the holes big enough to let the greens through with a little snip of the scissors if needed.

Next, you get to just pretty much go crazy with your design.  I did mine with an oval shape, but you can do it more round or just totally asymmetrical if you want. The only things that I keep conscious of at this point is that I want the design to eventually work down to smaller pieces at the top and that I want to leave space in the middle of the foam for my candle.  Just keep working away at it by adding greens into that foam.

When you have the foam pretty much covered, it's time to add your candle so you can be sure that it fits.  I take the bottom of the candle down a bit and 'sharpen' it up so it stays steady in the foam.  I do this by whittling it down some with the sharp knife.  The candle doesn't have to be put in the center as I did, either.

Now, it's time to add the last pieces of greenery to cover up the rest of the foam and even things out as you wish. 

Lastly, you get to add those sparkly things that finish off the piece.  This is where the green wire comes in.  That way you don't have to be too careful about hiding the wire.  It pretty much disappears into the greenery.

You could even add a bow or other goodies.  Sometimes I even put the finished project into a pretty shallow bowl if I want to add a more lasting gift along with the decoration.  Your friends, neighbors, coworkers, or even boss will love these and if you're not allergic as I am, you could even keep one for yourself!

Wreath Adventures

Last summer when a local nursery had a Groupon deal going, I knew exactly what I was going to do with my pay $20 and get $40 worth of goods coupon.  I even got it for $5 off.  So I was feeling really good about my plans to get a special wreath this year.  You know, not just the 'there's a red ribbon on it so it's festive, right?' kind of wreath.  Not just the one I usually pick up at the local Fred Meyer store.

My plans were finally put into motion last week when I went and picked out my most fancy ever wreath.  It has pretty decorations and a really nice bow that hasn't been smashed.  It even has a light dusting of flocking on it- just the kind of snow I could love.  I was pretty excited about this wreath.

I brought it home and put it up on the door with the usual hook that I always use.

The wreath promptly fell off the door.

OK, so my super duper wreath was way too heavy for my old hook.

Off to the store to find a better way to hang it.

I bought one of these.  I knew it would be able to hold my very heavy wreath.

Photo credit: farmersmarketonline.com

Except that my door doesn't allow for enough space for the wreath holder...  So I could have the wreath, but I wouldn't be able to actually close the door.  Definitely didn't work.

Next try:  find the biggest hook I could.  Put that on the door.  Add the wreath, and PRAY.

Meanwhile I'm discovering that the beautiful dusting of snow on the wreath ends up all over me every time I handle it.  Oh, and I'm clearly very allergic to whatever that snowy stuff is- I've heard it has fiber glass or something in it- because I have nice welts on my hands and lower arms from it.

So anyway, I do manage to get the wreath to stay up on the door.  Halleluiah!

Time for a final dusting off of that 'snowy' stuff that is all over the door from all of my trials and tribulations since the wreath is going to be sticking around this time. 

Oh crap, my door is cedar and now I have a nice deep splinter.  Yeah, I dug at it for a while with a needle and it's still in there.

So now I have a band aid with some bag balm on my finger.

And way more of a story than I ever needed.

Oh, and a really pretty wreath...

Lottery Christmas Love

Finally getting to that story I mentioned a week or so ago...  I figured I'd like to leave you with a little gem while I'm away getting some sun.

We don't indulge in lottery playing much around here.  What with my husband being in the business of statistical analysis and all, we tend towards the belief that lottery tickets are a voluntary tax on those who are bad at math.  However, once in while even something like a lottery ticket can be a positive force.
Recently, my husband and I were at our weekly bowling league.  It was the night of our bowling Christmas party.  This party consists of people bringing snacks to munch on between turns at bowling and everybody bringing a small $10 or less gift to exchange.  You don't get to take a gift from the gift exchange until you bowl a strike.  Naturally, this results in the gifts with the most appealing appearance being chosen first.
This year there was the usual mix of candy, booze and silly Christmas decorations.  As the evening wore on and the pile of gifts disappeared, there came a moment when one last person finally got his strike.  However, there seemed to be no gifts left.  But no, there was something left there on the counter-  a plain white envelope, with 10 lottery scratch tickets in it.
The person who got this last gift was exactly who you might have guessed would be the last to bowl a strike and get to choose a present.  He's a middle aged guy who doesn't bowl real well.  He actually gets dropped off and picked up by his parents because he is somewhat impaired.  He lives in a trailer on his parents property.
He took his envelope and went quietly off to a corner to scratch his lottery tickets. 
He came back with the BIGGEST SMILE on his face!  "I just won $100", he said, with much gusto!  Then he proceeded to give us the play by play.  He ended up winning on the last two tickets.  The 9th ticket was the $100 winner and he got an extra $2 on the last ticket.
Nobody could believe it.  We were all just so happy for him.  Nobody else would have been as excited as he was about winning this $100.  It just wouldn't have meant as much to anybody else.  That money ended up exactly where it was supposed to.
He really wanted to thank the person who had put the lottery tickets into the gift pile, but nobody would fess up.  Of course a few of us were able to figure out who it was, but nobody told.  It was obvious that they really wanted to just remain quiet about it.  It was like the person who bought the tickets got a gift just by seeing this guy's reaction and that was more than enough thanks in itself.
The guy who won the money really wanted to spend some of it on something special for his Mom.  He mentioned that he would like to get something like the stuffed snowman that I had gotten in the exchange, because his mother collects snowmen.  He really wanted something to give her when she came to pick him up as a way of sharing his good fortune.  I was more than happy to give it to him.  It was a privilege to be a part of such a good moment for him and a sign of all the beauty that was to come for me this holiday season.

A Little Holiday Sharing

Yes, I must admit again how much more difficult it has been than I had imagined it would be to try to fit in some blogging during this holiday season.  But for all the right reasons.....
So much fun and frivolity, a truly enjoyable Christmas this year.  What an absolute gift.

And all of you that read and especially those that respond to what I have to say here are a fabulous gift as well.  So for that I say a heartfelt THANK YOU!  And I offer up a couple of photos that tell some of the story of how things have been for me this Christmas time:

The beauty of taking the time to use the good china and crystal.  Not because I feel I need to.  Instead, because I get to show my loved ones how special they are to me and how

much I feel they deserve to enjoy the best I have to offer.

                                     

A father and son.  Reunited.  Finally. 

This holiday season I have been shown again the important lesson that imperfect relationships are beautiful in their own right.  That the love we show to one another through the patience and tenacity we have as humans preserves that which we deem as necessary to our very existence.

A Happy Chaos

Just a quick update.  I have been caught up in the festivities, but I am still alive.
We are baking, wrapping, light looking, Santa visiting, and even birthday celebrating our way through a wonderful holiday this year.  Today my nephew is 9 years old!
Things are so much better for him than they were last year.
I will hopefully get a chance to post a lovely story for the season in the next few nights (,after my nephew has gone to bed.)  In the meantime, just know that I am grateful to be enjoying such a happy chaos this year!
Happy Christmas to all!