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Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy New Year!


Cannot believe it's the end of another year...

And, though I'm not going to be in Times Square tonight with a bazillion people, I want to wish all of you a Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

May you all have your dreams come true. May you find peace and love and joy.

And may you all read lots of books!

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

California Christmas


No, that's not my house. Though it does sum up decorating in Southern California!

Not sure why this is, but it seems that no matter what the weather's like leading up to or even after Christmas...Christmas Day is 80 degrees.

Now this may sound faboo to those of you in say, Denver. But it's hard to feel cozy or Winter Wonderlandish when you're barefoot and wearing shorts.

Still, we had a terrific Christmas and I hope all of you did, too!

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Almost Christmas


Yesterday was crazed with a full day of baking and wrapping gifts...today, less so, despite the trip to the grocery store.

It's a quieter Christmas than most this year. My mom, brother, sister in law and niece are in Chicago with the EXTENDED family this year.

And speaking of the Carberry's...mom, Eddie and Maegan are on a road trip at the moment. That's right. They chose THIS time of year to drive to Chicago!! And when the Carberry's go on a trip, disaster follows...the blizzard in Denver?? That was their fault. They had to change directions and take the Southern route, so if you hear of a blizzard hitting in the South, you'll know why. As it is, they're probably gaining thirty pounds each, since we Carberry's love Road Food. We'll miss 'em this year, but next year, we'll appreciate being together even more!

I just wanted to make a quick stop to wish everyone a Merry Christmas--or Happy Whichever Holiday you're celebrating. May the New Year be filled with peace and joy and love. May your heart's desires come true and may you always have a family to tease and enjoy.....

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

My Day at Deadline Diaries


Hey, it's my day to blog over at Deadline Diaries, so come on over to visit!

Monday, December 18, 2006

The Sugar Rush Begins......


This last weekend, the seasonal sugar marathon took off with a bang.

Went to my daughter's house to help Sarah make candy for giveaways at work! Okay, it wasn't on this grand a scale, but we did plenty.

Sarah found recipes in Martha Stewart's holiday magazine, and since I've actually made candy before, I was roped in to help. We melted, we poured, we snacked and mostly, we laughed. The hardest part was convincing Bristow, the Grand Dog that peppermint really wasn't in his best interests.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

The Elusive Gifties


Every year at this time, I start thinking about what it was like when the kids were little and I was on a QUEST to find the one thing they wanted more than anything else.

Usually, I was lucky. I did really well in the 'Oh boy, Santa brought me ______ fill in blank here! One year though, I was thwarted. And heart broken.

When the dd was three years old, she wanted for some unknown reason, this one particular baby doll. She wasn't very cute, and she was like that Stretch Armstrong doll, as in filled with some weird substance that made her cushy and strange feeling. Anyway, Santa found her at a store in plenty of time for Christmas. BUT on Christmas Eve, disaster struck!

The kids were sleeping as my folks, the dh and I got busy setting out Christmas goodies for morning. I unwrapped the special baby and discovered she'd sprung a leak at the back of her neck. It was like that movie Invaders From Mars. She had goo leaking in a steady stream and this was way too ugly to give to dd. I freaked. And the dh being a fabulous human being, reacted quickly. We had a half hour to get to Toys R Us before it closed at midnight. We raced there, searched frantically and couldn't find a replacement dolly. All we had was the mutant. Dh convinced me that Sarah would be so pleased with everything else she had, she wouldn't miss Brain Dead Baby.

Christmas morning....a sea of wrapping paper, lots of squeals and plenty of joy to be found. I relaxed. Figured all would be well. Until....Sarah came up to me and said, "Santa brought me everything I wanted EXCEPT my baby!"

Knife to the heart. I staggered, crying around the kitchen. Desperate, I jumped in the car, ran to the closest (and only one open,) drug store and bought a baby doll. Not the goo filled one she'd wanted, but a baby. Got her home and wrapped and dh put her in the garage. A half hour later, he brings in the baby, tells Sarah that Santa must have left it in the garage by mistake.

Big eyes went wider as she opened the paper and found the baby she'd been craving. Didn't seem to matter that this one didn't have the goo running through her plastic veins. All that mattered to Sarah was that Santa hadn't forgotten. And that she had a baby to cuddle. She carried Baby around for a week, never letting her out of her sight.

And I can still remember the jolt of pleasure we'd found in making a dream come true.......

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Shopping and other horror stories



Is it just me or does everyone go slightly insane when staring at a huge list of names you have to buy presents for???

My darling daughter says I chickened out by doing mostly gift cards this year, but don't you think teenage nephews would rather go shopping for themselves?

And then there's the ds's girlfriend. I LOVE this girl. But I don't know what to get her...so I'm going to take my best shot and hope for the best.

It's no easier to come up with something to say when your kids say, 'what do you want for Christmas?' I'm lucky enough that I can't think of a thing I really WANT. And that of course makes the kids crazy.

Do you remember when it was easier?

When you were a kid and knew EXACTLY what you needed to make your life complete??

Monday, December 11, 2006

Christmas time VS Deadline


When did Christmas get so close???

I had big plans. I was going to have this book finished by the 15th so I could relax and bake and make candy and oh I don't know... maybe CLEAN???

None of that's happening so far.

Still, I have high hopes. If I can just convince myself to get out of the chapter that's killing me at the moment, maybe the rest of it will roll.

Hope so, cuz Christmas is coming, ready or not.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

By Popular Demand------Rudolph!


Okay, so it wasn't really POPULAR demand. But there were hundreds of requests to see the actual Reindeer cake! Well, maybe not HUNDREDS. But several. Okay fine. A FEW.

So anyway, here it is! He's not gorgeous or anything, but he's become a family tradition! People fight over the right to slice off the first antler!!

I love a bloodthirsty family!