Resolved in 2009

• To keep recycling more, spending a little less, and continuing with the changes I've made in my family's eating habits (all of these are already works-in-progress, but to write them down helps)
• To continue to de-clutter the house (see above)
• To do a better job enforcing time-limits and Sunday bans on TV, computer, and Wii time (I've been bad about it over this break)
• To read the Sunday School lesson before Sunday School starts rather than during the lessons each Sunday (I had marginal success at it this year, looking to do better next year.)
• To focus more on quality writing here and do less brain-dumping (though sometimes, that's a necessity)
• To watch all The West Wing DVD's Dave bought for me today. (He found all but Season 2-I'm more likely to accomplish this resolution than any of the others.)
• To blog more often about the funny stuff my kids do so that it isn't forgotten (Like Tristan paying Elisa a quarter so he could chase her with his Nerf gun a few days ago. Classic.)
• To do a better job as a friend (I live across the highway from on of my longest-running BFF's, and we get together how often? I work down the street from another, and when do we do lunch? I'm not blaming them-it's me that's lazy about it. I mean, at the very least, I should call more often and not rely on this blog as much as I do for communicating.)
• Along those lines, to leave more comments on the blogs I enjoy. Don't we all do it for the comment love?
• To continue to pursue the things that I enjoy independently of my friends and family (writing, hiking, photography, knitting, etc...) One of the women I most admire at church reminded me on Monday of the importance of retaining a small part of our identities as just ours because they are so easily lost in the daily juggle of family, work, and church responsibilities
• To make sure I'm contributing all that I can to my calling. Sometimes it's easy to slack when we don't have big activities coming up on this month's calendar.
• To make sure my kids know they are loved. Admittedly, most holiday time spent with my mom or Aunt M serves as a good reminder that I am doing a better job than was done with me, but I need to keep it a priority to make sure it stays that way.

Pretty Much Sums It Up

I've slacked off on blogging and just about everything else the past few days. I think this conversation between DH and I following his return from work today illustrates things better than I could:

Me: Christy was in town, so I went over to City Bites to see her and some of my other friends.
Dave: Oh! I was wondering why you weren't wearing pajamas right now.

Enough said.

The Dark Knight: A Review

I finally saw The Dark Knight last night. I've wanted to see it since it was released, and I'm not sure why I waited until it came out on DVD. Just one of those perks of having a big family, a job, and never enough time to do all the things that sound fun. Anyway, the viewing was last night and here are my thoughts:

• Too long-seriously, I kept thinking it was going to end, and then yet another plot twist revealed that we were indeed going to be watching for at least another 15 minutes.
• Too violent-I've got no problem with the Batman movies being dark, but I seem to remember that we managed that in the late 80's without nearly as much carnage.
• Not at all campy, and I appreciated that (I enjoy "campy" sometimes, just not here.)
• Gary Oldman rocks in his ability to hide himself in whatever role he is playing. I had NO IDEA that was him until the credits rolled.
• I felt like Maggie Gyllenhaal was trying to portray Katie Holmes portraying the assistant DA more than she was trying to make the role her own. It was interesting to watch. I also think Katie Holmes was silly not to do whatever it took to be available for that second movie. But that's just me.
• While I do think Heath Ledger earned the Golden Globe nod, posthumously or not, BUT (and I'm sure if anyone actually read this blog I would get criticized for this) Jack Nicholson has always been and will always be MY joker. (And Michael Keaton will always be my Batman too.)

Christmas Gratitudes

• That two of my children are still complete believers in Santa and that the older two are still believers in the spirit of Santa (with me as their mom, what choice did they have?)
• That we had the means to provide our kids with a good Christmas
• That I am still able to be with most of my family on Christmas Day (and along those lines that my cousin Katie made it here safely from Australia, we miss her so much when she isn't here!)
• That Aunt M still remembers me consistently (She thinks Dave is "that nice man down the street who fixes things for me" and is now a little iffy on my younger kids now-though she remembered Tristan as soon as she saw him yesterday.)
• That Aunt M is still in good health and happy to still be with us at the age of 98 and has such good caregivers (my parents included)
• That my teenaged nieces on both sides of the family are turning into such intelligent, funny, and beautiful young women
• That we got to spend time with the nieces and nephew on Dave's side of the family as well as mine this Christmas-we don't see them often enough
• That even amid all the craziness, conflict, and dysfunction that lives in my family; love is still our bottom line.

Stepping Into Christmas

So...when I picture all my "free time" over Christmas break, I envision baking, cleaning, and last-minute gift wrapping with endless time on the side for blogging and witty comments on Twitter. The reality is that Dave's sister is in town (a rarity), there are still errands to run and supplies to buy before I can even THINK about starting to bake, ALL the gifts I bought are now in the "last minute" wrapping line, AND I could start cleaning now and not make a significant dent in the condition of this house by Christmas morning (you can thank the kids being home all day for that one). Not to mention, two out of the four still have the nasty cold that started around here last Thursday. And will all of that going on, I think it is time for me to take a bit of a hiatus at least until after Christmas Day or until I just HAVE to write about something. Whatever comes first...SO, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all those other good wishes from my family to yours!

(And you will probably still see me on Twitter)

A Muppet Christmas Carol Revisited

I broke one of my own cardinal rules recently and re-purchased The Muppet Christmas Carol. Even though I already owned a copy that was in good shape, I just had to have the new one simply because this one had a widescreen option. I watched it today amidst many good memories...

I have been a Muppets fan since a little girl on Sesame Street who had a shirt just like mine sang "A, B, C, Cookie Monster" with Kermit the Frog in the late 70's. I faithfully watched The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and all the other Muppet movies and TV specials throughout my childhood and adolesence. I remember being shocked and devastated at the death of Jim Henson and being pleased to discover a fellow fan in my good friend Christina.

Needless to say, after a couple of years of silence from Henson & Co., we were very excited about the upcoming release of The Muppet Christmas Carol. Chris bought the soundtrack before the movie even came out and we listened to it faithfully on all excursions in her bitchin' Yugo from the time she bought it until the Friday the movie was released-oh yeah, we were at the theatre. By the end of opening weekend, we had seen it three times; so at this point I'm a little unclear over which time we took the two little boys I used to babysit, which time our buddy Marty was drunk and we spent most of the movie trying to keep him quiet (though it was in his nature drunk OR sober to turn all movies into audience participation events), and which of those times was the first time I saw it. I remember that some pretty big license was taken with Mr. Dickens original narrative, but that it was immediately forgiveable. I mean, was there any more perfect role for Statler and Waldorf than Marley AND Marley? And, to paraphrase them, it was good to see them doing anything again.

I loved the Ghost of Christmas Present and am still bummed they never made him into any kind of stuffed animal. I loved the line "Even the vegetables don't like him." I enjoyed Miss Piggy's turn as Emily Cratchit (and I'm not her #1 fan) and the classic Muppet scat between Kermit and Robin as Mr. Crachit and Tiny Tim. Mostly, I was just glad to see my favorite characters again after a two year hiatus singing Paul Williams songs and making me laugh and wipe my eyes simultaneously. And some 16 years later, those are still some of my favorite things. And having it in widescreen format was absolutely worth the re-purchase.

When It's All Said and Done...

I would rather read about this family having yet another baby:

Than to spend any more time mourning over what the short life of this poor baby must have been like:

And that's all I've got to say about that.

You Know It's a Good Day When...

You pull into the parking lot of the school expecting to pick up seven kids and...

• One has an after-school class that won't end until Dad is home and can pick her up
• Another one's mother calls and says "I'm home from work early, just have her walk around the corner and meet me there."
• Two more are picked up by their grandfather and your oldest daughter wants to go home with them and play until Dad picks up the one at the after-school class.
• And the one that lives two houses away from the two with their grandfather decides he wants to walk with them too
• (And there is written permission for all of these kids to walk home with the aforementioned grandfather, yours included)
• SO, you drive away from the school with just ONE child.
• A child didn't have to wait his turn for anything for two hours
• And when Dad came home with the other kids, he brought dinner with him.
• Now that's a good day.
• (Even though there isn't a kid in that carpool mine or otherwise that I don't love.)

Conversations with My Husband

Me (to Dave's voicemail): Hey Dave! Natalie is at Laura's. Can you pick her up on your way home? Call me and let me know you got this message. Thanks!

5 Minutes Later...

Me (to Dave's voicemail): It's me again, just reminding you to pick up Natalie on the way home from work. Thanks, Bye!

5 Minutes Later...

Me (to Dave's voicemail): (Hangs up)

15 Minutes Later...

Dave (walking in the front door): Hey! I saw you called. What's up? Where's Natalie?

Even if he HAD answered the phone, the conversation would have likely gone like this:



MEN. Grr.

Never a Dull Moment

So...Monday was Natalie's birthday and also the in-school Honor & Recorder Choir performance. I arrived for the show to check in at the office and discovered my son waiting outside the principal's office because he was in trouble. The principal had another meeting first and sent me on down to the gym and said we could all chat later once he had talked to Tristan. So far...not good. The concert ended abruptly when one of the performers (and a good friend of Natalie's) got hurt on stage and the school had to call EMSA for her. (I'm not going into the details in the blog entry out of respect for both the family and the school's privacy-I'm merely using it as an example of how there really is never a dull moment.) Because both Natalie and Caroline witnessed this at close range, they were pretty upset when they got in my car to leave that afternoon. Very understandable when you consider that their soft-hearted mother (who also saw it all) burst into tears at the sight of the ambulance when she went to her car to wait for the kids' dismissal from school.

Fortunately, making get-well cards, having Chick-Fil-A for dinner (birthday girl's choice), cake, and presents go a long way in distracting scared kids from things that we have no control over; and our evening at home was rather calm.

Unfortunately, this morning saw a fine dusting of ice coat the roads in the metro area. Where we live, we can choose between two school districts. As most of you know, we chose Norman. Unfortunately, it was the other area district who was smart enough to close schools. And that meant I had another adventure driving on ice this morning. We all know how much I love to do that. I did so driving between 25-25 mph all the way into town. The bad news about my house is that it's only accessible by major highways. Because that's the first place salt/sand trucks go, that's also the good news.

As we drove up I-35 N, we heard about three separate wrecks behind us on I-35 S. I decided I was definitely going to work if for no other reason than I couldn't drive back home right now. When I finally made it into the school parking lot (cursing my school district of choice every mile of the way), my boss called and said we were going to be closed today. Just what you want to hear when you can't drive home. (But I AM glad I didn't have to drive into OKC this morning.) So, I paid an extra long visit to Wal-Mart this morning and made it home with no problems or traffic an hour later. Because there will be no significant warming today, I've got just as much ice to look forward to when I go and pick everyone up this afternoon. But even though my car has rear-wheel drive and zero traction on ice, I'm very amused to say that the only place I've done any serious sliding today has been when I've left and re-entered my own street. I guess I'd better stick to the highway...and try to avoid EMSA. One kid per 5th grade class is quite enough for this week.

Week In Review(ish)

I haven't really read anything this week, I haven't seen any movies that I hadn't seen before (we've got Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix going right now, so not all reruns are a bad thing), but I have almost finished the Christmas shopping and that's no small feat. I did see a few new things this week though, and I have made the following observations:

• That's our boy! I was thrilled to see Sam Bradford get the Heisman last night. For those of you who go off of sports page results and rumor...take from someone who has watched every game he's played this season: He earned this! Having said that, all three candidates this year were incredibly deserving and incredibly talented and decent young men. I wish a bright future for all three of them.
• And finally...why didn't someone nail my rear end to the couch every week to watch The West Wing back when it was on TV as a series?! Because I am loving it in syndication. (And in my friend Sandra's defense, I think she would have if she lived closer than Kansas.)

My First Baby

My good friend Wendy sent me this a few weeks ago. I thought I would save it for closer to Natalie's birthday. She turns 11 on Monday, so here it is:

1. Were you married at the time? Yes (contrary to popular rumors spread by an old boyfriend who was a little bitter) But seriously, a January wedding and a December birth? That's pretty easy math, Folks.


2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? Stunned and surprised. I don't usually get what I want without a lot of effort and disappointment-and we had only been trying a couple of months. I spent the pregnancy waiting for the other shoe to drop, I guess it did the day she was born; but even then it all worked out OK.

3. How old were you? 24, aka much younger than I realized back then.

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? Target-brand EPT knock-off. I remember that because the package clarified that the product was NOT made by the same company as EPT.

5. Who did you tell first? Dave, who was already pretty insistent that I was because I was so moody. Little did he know...

6. Did you want to find out the sex? Yes, though I thought she was a boy. (I've been right about all the other kids, though.)

7. Due date? Dec. 10, 1997

8. Did you deliver early or late? I was induced Dec. 15th.

9. Did you have morning sickness? Yes, I hated it. At least it only lasted through week 11 with her. It went a few weeks longer with each subsequent pregnancy. I was still sick at my 20 week ultrasound with Elisa.

10. What did you crave? Ginger ale, Ramen noodles

11. Who irritated you the most? Probably my mom the most, and occasionally the rumor-spreading ex who I saw every Sunday at church. (Dave did during later pregnancies)

12. What was your first child's sex? Girl-I answered that one early, I guess.

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 35, the same as I gained with each kid (though I started out much lighter with the first one-didn't we all?)
14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Nope, but the delivery was awful.

15. Where did you give birth? Norman Regional Hospital

16. How many hours were you in labor? 12 (3 for pushing, she got stuck!)

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Dave

18. Who watched? Dave, Chris, and Janet

19. Was it a c-section? Nope-but it should have been. (All the OR's were full when they tried to do an emergency one. There's a complication they didn't mention in Childbirth Class 101.)

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Tried Stadol which I hated, got an epidural whick I liked a lot-and was absolutely necessary when everything went so badly at the end.

21. How much did your child weigh? 7lb 11oz.

22. What did you name him/her? Natalie Kathleen

23. How old is your first born? 11 on Monday

Build-A-Bear=Big Fun

Last Christmas, Elisa got a Build-A-Bear gift card. She got another one for her birthday. Today, we finally managed to redeem them both. It's Christmas time. I'm tired most evenings. AND I loathe shopping malls. The last thing I wanted to do was drive to one 45 minutes away during the busiest shopping season ever. (And I know we hear a lot about the recession, but that place was PACKED tonight.) However, my grandmother and cousin (who gave her the gift cards) wanted them redeemed before another year had passed and they were rather insistant. (There was also a party at BC Clark's that mom and grandma had tickets to attend.) And so, we went. I'm very glad we did. Elisa spent every penny of her gift card, and when Caroline insisted her bear from a few years ago had "outgrown" her shoes, she spent some pennies of her own buying another pair. I forgot how fun that place was, preferring instead to focus on how much you could spend there. Sadly, I forgot the camera. But a newly built bunny is now Elisa's new best friend and she and Caroline's bear "Miss Purple" have been modeling their shoes all night. I had a great time with my grandmother (always do) and managed to find a holiday dress for Natalie that doesn't look like a high school prom dress. All in all, a successful evening.

If You Can't Say Something Nice...Pt. 2

In my quest to 'get my house in order' I've discovered a few fundamentalist Christian mommy-blogs. One of them in particular has helped me make huge strides in getting things organized around here and coming up with a daily to-do list that I actually follow. And even though she and I may differ politically and doctrinally, I've developed an affection for her, her advice, and especially her delicious recipes. I have gone out of my way not to get her attention, because I knew my admiration for her would not be reciprocated. I knew that sooner or later she would post something I didn't like, and earlier this week, she did. It was not a review of my church, but another small proselyting church that gets the same amount of abuse that ours does here in the Bible Belt. I've had some not-so-pleasant run-ins with that church myself, but I also know some individual members who are wonderful and I try really hard most of the time to avoid criticizing any other faiths for that reason. (You know, "Do unto others" aka "The Golden Rule", yeah all that stuff.) Even though I knew better, I clicked on the comments and found what I expected:

"Next you should write about those Mormans. Now there's a dangerous cult." (insert a few more sentences of popular misconceptions about the LDS faith)

I wanted to be insulted, I wanted to be offended. But all I could do was giggle..."Morman? Is that like a new superhero? There's no need to fear! Here comes MOR-MAN!" It was very funny to me. It made me picture someone with a GED because she got married at 16 needing to feel superior to someone or something else and picking my church as the easy target it is here in the midwest. Sitting there in her "prairie muffin" attire (you have to click on that, some things I just can't explain...) feeling smugly superior to me, while I am laughing my ass off at her because she couldn't be bothered to proofread her already ignorant comment before publishing it. I decided not to leave any comments of my own because I knew nothing productive would come of it. But, if I had, it would have looked like this:

It's M-o-r-m-o-n, if you are going to sound like an expert on something you know nothing about; I think that Step One would be to at least spell it correctly. And by the way, Mormon was a prophet, members of the church are called Latter Day Saints. If you don't know the difference, you don't know anything about my beliefs. Would you like me to critique yours? I thought not. And I wouldn't anyway because Jesus said acting like that isn't nice. (Maybe not in those words, but you get the idea.)

But I took the high road and kept it to myself. Except now I just posted it on MY blog. Oh well. I tried.

I Have Only Myself to Blame

A front blew through the metro all day today dropping temps and some freezing drizzle in its wake. I hate driving in this stuff and I really hated that it happened on a Tuesday when the earliest possible time I can hope to be home is 4:30. At about 4:10 p.m., Natalie had finished choir practice, had her snack, and been intercepted by her dad who took her to her theatre class while I took her siblings home. At this point, most of them had been in the car with me running errands for over an hour. After the umpteenth squabble with his sister, Tristan jumped from the third row to the second row of the car and plopped himself onto Natalie's vacated spot. I hate it when they move while the car is moving and I hate it even more when the road, my tires, and my windshield are being pelted with freezing drizzle. I told him as much, and finished by saying "Buckle your seatbelt right now, this is one of the most dangerous days for anyone to be driving."

His response: "And yet there are many other people on this road with us who are doing just fine."

Delivered in the same tone of voice I knew so well from invoking it myself while talking to MY mother.

He's only 8...I'd say I've got 10 more years of this, but judging from the interactions between me and mom last Saturday, I have only three words to say: Kill.Me.Now.

Still Gives Me Goosebumps...

And in the midst of four birthday celebrations, all the chaos of school activities and performances, not to mention visits with Santa; let's not forget what Christmas really IS all about...

Week In Review

Reading

Eragon by Christopher Paolini-

Natalie has been trying to get me to read this for years. Since she will likely get Brisinger for her birthday next week (and finish it some 24 hours later), I thought I might as well start the series too. So far I'm really impressed with it and understand now why she didn't like the movie version as much as I thought she would.

Watching

Heroes-

Bye Bye Elle. I think I knew she was always 'temporary,' but I just love Kristen Bell so much in anything she does that I'm always sad to see her go. Oh well...I felt like the Eclipse arc was the best they have done plot-wise since Season 1, so hopefully it will continue throughout the rest of this season. Also, is there anything I enjoy on TV that Seth Green doesn't wind up being involved with? I thought not.

Christmas Specials-

So far we've seen Rudolph and The Grinch (of note) and I can't wait for A Charlie Brown Christmas tomorrow. It will always be my favorite.

College football: Alabama v. Florida

Dave and my grandmother made it very clear that I should be cheering for Alabama, but it was very hard NOT to get excited about Tim Tebow and the team that showed in almost every play who wanted the win more. Even if it gives them a home field-like advantage in Miami on the 8th (when, rest assured, I will be rooting for the other team-unless it's Texas UT.)

College football: OU v. Missouri

It is a testament to how much I like Elisa's Pre-K teacher that I was amused by the fact that my child had been taught to say "GO TIGERS" last Friday. (Her teacher is from St. Louis.) My husband thought this game would be a slam-dunk. I wasn't sure. Missouri had quite the grudge against us, and this time Chase Daniels was smart enough not to do any trash-talking before the game. Fortunately, my cautious attitude was unnecessary and while I certainly feel our victory last night was enough to shut up any of our critics, I doubt that it will. And when is the media going to stop bemoaning how TexasUT was "robbed" and start noticing how increasingly classless their protests have become? If Sooner fans were flying around with rude banners at games where their team wasn't playing, they would be trash-talking us for sure. Shoot, the stupid announcers at the game last night were so busy talking about "poor Texas" that the camera missed a few plays in the game they were actually supposed to be covering. All I'm saying is that the Sooners were only allowed about three days to mourn the fiasco in Oregon a few years ago before the press was all "OK, let's get over it and move on now Sooner fans." So when do they start saying that to TexasUT? I vote for RIGHT NOW.

At The Movies-

Australia-

I actually saw this over a week ago, but I still feel obligated to say that I loved it, loved Nicole and all her costumes, loved Hugh (like always) and agree with all the critics who say the kid stole the show. Dave would have hated it had he gone with me, and I can't think of too many men (even my gay male friends) who would have been happy to have sat through this. But I really enjoyed it-it was like Far and Away only with a hotter male lead, a Nicole Kidman who can REALLY act, and it was set in Australia which just made it that much better.

Extracurricular Activities-

Holiday Art Night-

This is something the kids' school does every year. We live so far away that I never feel like driving back there for it once we get home, but since this is their last year to go there-I made sure that we did. The kids had a lot of fun and made me all kinds of cute decorations so I guess the 2nd trip there was worth it.

Territorial Christmas-

This year, we did just one big Christmas event at work instead of three weeks worth of smaller ones. Even with the cold temps, we had great attendance, I gave tours from 5:00-7:30 without a pause, and it seems like everyone had a great time. (I was upstairs in the Historic House for the entire night, so I'm only guessing based on tour traffic-but everyone I met was pleased with the experience and dressed for the cold.) Either way, it seems like once rather than three times is definitely the way to go.

Friday Flashback(ish)

I am cranky today. I don't feel well. I've had a long week. And as soon as we got home after school today, I've been hiding out from my husband and kids in my room wearing the same sweats I've put on for the last three days immediately upon arrival at home. (Since I'm trying to make good eating choices, wearing sweats has apparently become my new comfort food.) Dave asked me if there was anything or anyone that I liked today. My answer was "Wendy."

Wendy and I met when she was 12 and I was 14 at the Norman Masonic Lodge. I was getting initiated as a Rainbow Girl that night and she was one of the first to bounce over and introduce herself. I thought she was adorable. I still do. We've been friends ever since then. She was my first Grand Assembly roommate (and my first cruise roomie many years later), she taught all of us how to give hickeys (we used to practice on the insides of our forearms while driving to and from state Rainbow activities), I saw her get her first kiss and she saw me get mine (both at DeMolay dances-go figure). Through the years, we have shared countless other adventures too: pool parties (that her neighbor "Frosty" used to crash), end-of-school slumber parties, "buzzing" Brian's house, double dates (some planned, others unintentional-Wendy used to drive a car with vanity plates which meant if we spotted it somewhere, we were likely to join her and whoever she happened to be with that evening), some pretty big family upheaval, and relationship dramas (hers, mine, and the rest of our girlfriends'), the usual hormonal teenaged girl spats that we (obviously) overcame, "big girl" parties as we got older, New Year's get-togethers, new cars, new boyfriends, engagements, weddings, babies, 30th birthdays, and new houses that now make us almost neighbors.

Wendy and I (as well as our other friends) have reached that point in our lives where we just love each other for who we are. Yeah, having been friends since adolescence guarantees that we still have quirks that irritate each other, and that there is some toe-stepping from time to time because, let's face it, we have no boundaries left at this point. And because we know each other so well, and because we love each other anyway, Wendy knows that from time to time; I become tired, cranky, and neurotically insecure. And that sometimes I feel really inferior to everyone else in the world and certain people, in particular. And even though that's silly, and even though there's no reason for me to feel that way; sometimes I still need to hear "Yes, you are SO MUCH CUTER than..."("so and so"-and no, it's not Chris or Lanie. I don't need to feel like I'm cuter than them. Thank goodness.) And today, in an email, Wendy confirmed for me yet again that I really am "SO MUCH CUTER!" and when I got home from work and retrieved my revitalized cell phone from the charging station, she had also left me a voicemail saying the same thing. And that's why even on a cold, icky, tired, and cranky day in which I hate everything; I still love Wendy. (Not to mention she is a way better date for Rocky Horror than my husband.)

If you would like to learn more about her, she blogs here at My Uncreative Side: AKA My Tantrums. Like me, I think she blogs more for herself and friends and family than a big audience; but I couldn't write an entire blog entry in praise of her without plugging her blog as well.

Wendy, I love you. And you are "SO MUCH CUTER" too! (But we've had this conversation before...)

Lots Going On, Nothing Blog-worthy

I've gone from someone who had something to say daily to someone who has nothing to say ever. I guess it's a variation on the "If you can't say something nice..." idea. Only in my case, it's "If you can't say something interesting..." We had fun last night at one school's art night, tomorrow is the big to-do at work while Dave and the kids go to holiday night at the other school. The big game is this weekend, and all kinds of other school and work activities follow the next week as does the weekend before Natalie's birthday. The school's Jingle Bell store is underway and all I had to do for it was to send money for shopping with the kids. Weird...mostly in a good way and slightly in that same 'I am no longer "nxxdxd vxry much"' (anyone else remember that handout?) malaise that I've felt since school started. Actually I think malaise is a good way to describe my mood over the last week or so, a good Thanksgiving notwithstanding. And that leads me back to that whole "If you can't say something interesting..." conundrum. So, expect blogging to recommence when I actually have something to say.

Muppet Monday

If there are two things I love most in the world beyond my family, it's The Muppets and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Somehow, I completely missed that Kermit would be performing just before Santa's arrival in Herald Square this year until it happened. (And if you think I got through this without running for the box of Kleenex, you must not know me very well!) Enjoy!



(And yes, this post kind of phones it in tonight while my family and I decorate our tree.)