Merry Christmas!!

As I'm sure most of you have been, I have been extremely busy. Working, baking cookies (7 different kinds and at least 4-6 dzn of each), last minute shopping, etc.....

But I did not want to miss wishing each and every one of you a very Merry & Blessed Christmas!

"Glory to God in high heaven, peace on earth to those on whom His favor rests"

Mt 2:14

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Some of you live here in Michigan and can see for yourself the weather we have been having but I thought I would share it with some of you not as fortunate enough to experience it. I do suppose that is relative though, depending on how you look at it. Personally, I am loving it!! Not real fond of driving in it, but I guess everything has it's pro's and con's. A friend invited me this weekend to do something that I would think is the ultimate in Christmas spirit. She is going caroling. But not just any kind of caroling. They are going caroling in the snow on horseback! That would be one of the most delightful things in my life I could ever do! Unfortunately, I have to work. Double bummer and fiddlesticks! At least my son gets to go. I'm sure he'll have a wonderful time!

Speaking of work, I have been putting in a lot of hours and haven't had the time to post a whole lot. For some odd reason it seems to be really busy these last couple of weeks. Huh? Wonder why? And to be perfectly honest, I don't know that I could come up with something to say if I tried to post daily. I either have a boring life or I just don't have the talent to find interesting and fun ways to write about even the little things. I also have to try to find time and thoughts to post on my other site. So I do what I can and I am so grateful for those of you that return here daily looking to see if I've updated. You are true, faithful blogging friends.

I hope this finds everyone doing well, I do know there are a few of those I've haven't heard from in a while. Let me know and I will make a snow angel for you if you like!

A Coke by any other name is still......a Coke

There are a few things that give me away as a true Southerner. The first one is using the word "y'all". That's a true give away. The other is my word for carbonated beverage - Coke. (for purposes of political correctness I will refer to these as c. b. ie carbonated beverage for the remainder of this post) I sometimes say soda, but NEVER, EVER pop. I don't even call my dad pop. Pop is the constant sound going off at work at this time of the year, when the kids are all playing with the wooden pop guns. But to be honest it doesn't bother me, you get used to it and don't even notice it.

Any way.....Jeff Foxworthy tells an amusing story of the southern take on c. b. Goes something like this:

You know your a Redneck if you've ever been a part of this conversation.....
Hey! Want a Coke?
Sure!
What flavor?
Dr Pepper (or Sprite or whatever your preference may be)

Everything is a Coke down south. I have lived up here for 3 years now and still can't get used to the word 'pop'.

I try not to buy too much c. b. My kids get it at friends houses, at work, and plenty of other times so I don't feel I need to keep a stock of it here at home. I will buy it occasionally if it goes on sale, but it seems to disappear over night. We have a couple ghosts in our house I have named "I don't know" and "Not me". It seems when the c. b. or anything else seems to disappear, I ask the kids who drank it all and they all rat out on poor "Not me". Sometimes it's "I don't know" They seem to take turns. They can't get away with a thing. But I don't feel too sorry for them though because they have been known to leave a mess in my kitchen/breakfast room. Coats scattered all over, gloves tossed on floor, shoes strewn all over the place, cups left on the counter, etc..... Again, the kids tattle on "I don't know" or "Not me". I'm considering an exorcism to rid my house of them. They are getting to be a real nuisance.

Y'all let me know if you have any suggestions! ;)

The reason for the season

*addendum at bottom*

Many of you have posted your Christmas rants so I figured I'd throw in my $.02 worth.

Oddly enough one of my favorite parts of Christmas is sending Christmas cards. There are some old friends I only hear from at Christmas time, but that is ok. I am not complaining, I am glad we have this time of year when we think of others and send greetings letting them know they are still fondly thought of.

Sending/giving cards has always been a very personal thing for me. I have been known to go to 1/2 dozen stores and card shops before I find that "right" card. Christmas time is no different, although I do buy the box of cards instead of individual cards for each person. But I still have to find the "right" card. I have been to many stores looking for cards to send this year, but I had an extrememly difficult time. It seems over the years there seem to be less and less spiritual cards and more Santa, humor, and simply 'Happy Holidays' cards. There was the card that showed Santa and his sleigh of reindeer on an outhouse that said "Rudolph, I said the Schmidt house!" Then there's the scene of a bunch of cute little animals standing around a Christmas tree lit up in the forest. Or how about the ones with a beautiful winter scene of a farm house and a horse drawn sleigh in the snow. I enjoy humor and cute as much as the next person, and if there is no snow in Miami, FL does this mean it's not Christmas?

My point is this - What do any of these have to do with Christ being born? I'm sorry people but this is the Christmas season and that is what I am celebrating. That is the day that gives us the holiday. Without Christmas there would be no holiday.

I came close to choosing a card that said "Happy Holidays" and cross out the 'i' and make it a 'y'. I bet that would have made my point. Well, I finally found some today and I will sit down and make them out tomorrow. I certainly wish I could send each and every one of you a card. Please feel free to email your mailing address if you feel comfortable doing that. I would love to send you one.

The inside says "May His name renew your spirit and bring blessings of peace and joy to you and those you love throughout the coming year. Merry Christmas"

We should be celebrating Christ's birth and not the holidays generated with this special day.

Well, that's my $.02 worth. But who can put a price tag on Christmas?

***I almost forgot.....Today is a special day in the Catholic Church. It is the celebration of the Immaculate Conception. You can go here to read more.

Confession time

I want to apologize for not posting for a few days. It has been a difficult last few days for me. I feel I can tell this to you.....I have an addiction. This past weekend I have been suffering from an increased heart rate, uncontrollable shaking, pacing the floor....all the usual symptoms of the DT's. I didn't realized it had become this bad. Controlling my life the way that it has. I am openly admitting it now.

See, for the majority of this weekend I lost my ISP. No DSL. I was cut off. Cold. It was a terrible experience, but I am back now and doing much better. If Verizon dares to do this to me again they will have to deal with my wrath! But on the upside of things, I was able to get some things done around here that have been neglected. So, bite my tongue, it may have been a necessary evil, or a blessing in disguise, how ever you may choose to look at it.

The weekend end started out just as bad. Friday night when hubby and I were supposed to go out to dinner....well, that never happened. No big surprise. Then Sat., lost the internet. Temps have dropped into the low teens, so it is cold as the dickens! We did get a pretty snow out of it though. :)

I will try and catch up on all of your pages soon. Hope everyone had a better weekend than I did!

What a week!

I finally got the lights on my tree. I never did find the lights I was looking for so I just used what I had and spread them out a bit more. You really can't even tell, so I am happy. Then got it decorated and put up Christmas knick-knacks around the house. Still haven't put up any outdoor lights but I WILL! Temps have fallen but I'll just bundle up.

A lady from my church called last week and asked if I would be willing to facilitate a bible study group. I have felt that something has been missing in my life lately and I feel this was the Holy Spirit at work. I agreed and went to a meeting Thurs night about it and classes will start in Jan. I am really excited about it and looking forward to it. It's adding more to my plate but I need to make room for God and he will make room for everything else.

My poor husband has been working 12 hour days since he returned to work but the new schedule begins next week and he will return to a more normal work week with rotating days off. To top it off he also has military drill this weekend. Seems we don't get to spend much time together and he is so tired, but we are going to go out to dinner tonight, so I am looking forward to that.

My daughter is going to a Christmas dance tomorrow and we found a beautiful dress that we had altered to fit her perfectly. It is a strapless dress though, so mom, ie: me, will be up tonight making a matching shawl to wear with it.

I'm sure there is more but I have to run for now. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!