Tammi's World

More Than Just Football

It's no secret I love football movies.

Well today, I've seen one of the best ones I've ever seen.

We Are Marshall.

I know the story of what happened that November in 1970, mainly because I have a very good friend who grew up in Huntington, and attended Marshall.

What happened?

"Southern Airways Flight 932 was a chartered Southern Airways DC-9 commercial jet flying from Kinston, NC (ISO) to the Huntington-Tri-State/Milton Airport (HTS) in Ceredo, West Virginia. At 7:35 PM on November 14, 1970, the aircraft crashed into a hill just short of the Tri-State Airport, killing all seventy-five on board. The plane was carrying the thirty-seven members of team, eight members of the coaching staff, twenty-five boosters, four flight crew members, and one employee of the charter company.

Because it was the team's only chartered flight of the season, many boosters and prominent citizens were on the plane, including a city councilman, a state legislator, and four of the city's six physicians. Seventy children lost one parent in the crash, and an additional 18 were orphaned."

So it's not just a "football" movie. It's about over coming. It's about going on. It's about healing.

And so you know......I still LOVE to watch The Thundering Herd take the field......

I've Created a Monster

Yesterday I had a visitor. KTreva stopped by for some R&R. I made that pot of beef stew and we watched a bit of football.

Then......it happened.

I asked if she'd like to learn how to play my favorite game. Dutch Blitz.

My sister bought it for me to replace the one I lost. Now.....I *LOVE* to play Blitz. It's very easy just incredibly fast paced. And you have got to be able to focus on about 4 things at one time. AND keep everything moving.

I've played this since I could barely sit at a table. I'm good. Really. I rarely lose.

Folks......she almost beat me. I had to work to stay ahead.

It was a blast. We started out playin' nice and kind. Then......I saw the light come on. She *GOT* it. That's when things got quiet. All you heard was the slapping of cards. And the occasional grunt or curse when we missed something. Oh, and the trash talk. Can't forget the trash talk. We're both pretty damned competitive. Yeah.....lots and LOTS of trash talk goin' on.

We played for hours.

I'm just so happy that I finally have someone around here to play Blitz with. But I'm gonna really need to focus. She may well be the first to dethrone me.........

Good Starting Point

Tactical Error #8,874.

I flippin' fell asleep out in the living room again. I *HATE* when I do that.

See....I don't have a couch right now. So, I either recline the Golden Throne and stretch out on the ottoman, or......now try and picture THIS.....I curl up on the loveseat. Me. 6'2" curled up on a loveseat.

Yeah.....I blame it on the fever.

Anyway, I fell asleep watchin' some show about crime, I don't even remember, but I woke UP to MSNBC.

Talking about the upcoming vote in Iowa.

I woke up to hear them talking about Bill and Hillary. Obama. Huckabee.

I've decided to twist this to my advantage. (because that is exactly what I do...) I figure that's about the best way to END this year. Start the last day of 2007 as horribly as possible. It can only get better from there, right?

Nope. Not gonna happen

Dear Fate,

I am very grateful that you gave me the week of Christmas, healthy and relaxed. I really appreciate that.

However, I am not amused that now, the last week I can focus and get organized, you decide I should really kick back. Kick back with aches and pain, sore throat and stuffy nose. Not funny. Not funny at all.

Just because the holidays are over, does NOT mean I'm in a position to be sick. Let's get that straight right now.

So....I'll be indulging in my chicken soup (ironic that was the menu choice yesterday), tea and general Pamper Myself kind of stuff. You will NOT win this one. No. You will not.

We. Are not amused.

Sincerely,
Tammi

Make it 2 Olives

The Recipe For Tammi

3 parts Attractiveness 2 parts Laughter 1 part Friendship Splash of Warmth Finish off with an olive

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

found at ALa's place

Today's Funny Frase

What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?!

Lasts

My first thought this morning was joyfully realizing this is the last Saturday of 2007.

OK. That's not exactly true. My FIRST thought was Holy Crap, I drank a lot last night and whoever made me drink that shot of Gin is going to pay......

But my second thought was that this is the last Saturday of 2007.

And I gotta tell you.....I couldn't be happier.

While not the worst year, this sure as hell hasn't been the best of years. I don't know WHY I'm so excited for this upcoming year, there's nothing big on the horizon, I'll be working my tail off with the job, financially things will be much tighter than I anticipated. But none the less, I've really got a good feeling about it.

So this weekend I'm celebrating all the LASTS. Today, I've got a big pot of my homemade chicken soup already simmering. Cornbread will be made this afternoon.

Tomorrow? Beef Stew.....with cheesy biscuits.

Yes. I *DO* celebrate with food, got a problem with that? :-)

I'm getting ready to hunker down with a new book I treated myself to and just laze my way through this day. No chores to do. Every thing's done. Just me.....a strong pot of tea.....and a good book.

Oh, and soup. Can't forget the soup.........

Today's Funny Frase

I'm out of my mind.....but feel free to leave a message.

I'm thinkin', no further comment is needed.......

Not Much of Anything.....

Huh. I don't get it.

I slept the sleep of the dead last night. Woke up to a fabulous pot of coffee. Had a conversation with a dear friend and her adorable children.

Snow is falling outside - it's really quite beautiful.

But......

And *THAT* is the problem. But.

Oh, I don't mean the one stickin' out behind me that is quickly becoming the size of a third world country. I'm dealing with that.

No. It's But....

I'm not really fussy, per say. I'm not depressed. I'm not tired. I'm just........

See what I mean? It's very perplexing.

Oh, I do have to tell you. I went to the post office yesterday and there was a box waiting for me. From my good friend Laughing Wolf. As I tore it open I had to laugh. He got me a booney hat. From his first visit to Iraq. You see, I told him to send me home a Marine, but I guess the shipping was a bit high on something like that, so he sent me the hat instead. I'm wondering if I add water maybe I can grow one! Might need to try that out.

Anyway......so yeah. Nothin'. I pretty much got nothin' today. So I would suggest, if you're lookin' to do a bit of bloggin', check out these posts......

Hook tells us about his Christmas

Chrystal tells us about her experience at a concert

One will make you proud, the other make you laugh. That's about all I can do for you today.

Enjoy this, the last Friday of 2007. Make it one to remember.

Just watch out for that But......

Impressions

This year I received the best gift I've ever gotten. Not just a great day with my family, although that was very nice.

No. It was a letter. From my 17 year old niece.

It's funny. When we were on our way to church Christmas Eve, she was complaining that she had wanted to buy everyone gifts this year, as she finally had a job and money of her own. We got a good laugh at how surprised she was at how fast money goes.....

I gave her a bit of a rough time, tellin' her how disappointed I was to not get anything from her. But that's just the nature of our relationship. She has a VERY sharp wit, and loves the verbal sparring. And she's pretty damned good at it too......

Anyway, Christmas morning she shows up with three letters. One for her Grandma, one for her Mom and one for me.

Wow.

To say my letter "got to me" would be an understatement.

You see.....I've always believed that it is the responsibility of the adults to give the children in our lives love and guidance. ALL of the adults. When my nieces and nephew were born, I promised each of them to do the best I could.

And when I moved away I felt guilty. I wondered if they knew how important they are to me. How much I love them.

And I worried. I worried about what kind of example I was setting. What lessons were I leaving them with.

Well, Heather gave me the gift of knowing......in the form of a letter. And, like I said, it's the greatest gift I've ever received.

My Aunt Tammi

.....when I'm feeling blue, I just think of you!

Yeah, she's a pretty amazing young woman, isn't she?

Real Life 101

Do y'all feel like I do? Holy Moly!! My head is still spinning after the weekend.

But today.....it's back to life. And I woke up to a whopper.

My house was cold.

Now, I keep it cool, but we're talking COLD. So I checked to make sure I didn't mess up and turn the damned furnace off. It was on, so I checked the breakers. OK.

Then I heard the fan kick on. Sorta. Kinda. Well, it was whining anyway.

That was when I smelt it. Hot. Wires. Not good.

So I called the trustee and had him come over. You see, I freak over cars breaking down and furnaces that are older than I am smelling funny.

The motor was *HOT*. Not good. He fiddled around a bit, tightened the belt and it came back on. Seems to be working fine. The only problem is that smell is in the house and it's too cold to open the windows.

So I've now made about a dozen trips up and down the stairs to check on things. The good news is, it'll jump start the diet for the new year, cause there isn't much better exercise than running stairs.

The bad news is - I'm just a little paranoid.

But Paradise is toasty warm and I'm hitting the year end reports. So I guess life is as it should be.

I hope y'all had as good of Christmas as I did. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to have a NICE day with the family. No bickerin'. No cryin'. Just exactly what I wanted. Love Laughter and a great memory.

Now if this damned furnace just stays working........

Twofer.....

So far, this ranks right up there with one of the best holiday season's in memory......

I just got back from Mama Vi's and have much to do, but I thought y'all might enjoy the funny frases from yesterday and today. I know they made me chuckle as I tore them off.

Yesterday:

I want to be Santa.....he knows where all the Bad Boys live.

hehehehehehe

Today:
Let me get this straight.....I'm supposed to pay money for a dead tree, not get freaked out by a fat guy in a red suit, and eat candy out of my socks?

That one acutally sounds very much like someone I know.......

Hope y'all are having a wonderful Christmas.....

Merry Christmas!!!!

May the Christmas season fill your home with joy, your heart with love and your life with laughter."

Countin' Down

Had to do it....much better than that "thing" I had on the side bar. This stays at the top til Christmas....scroll below for new content......

Christmas Countdown @ CommentsJunkie.com

Christmas Angels

Tissue Alert.......

And exactly WHY Soldier's Angels truly are exactly that.....Angels.

May no soldier go unloved........

Christmas Eve

Headin' to Mama Vi's. Today she and I will putter a bit and get the food ready for the big meal tomorrow.

And anything else she wants me to do. :-)

I just want this to be the BEST Christmas for her. No tension, no hurt feelings. Just happy people, laughter around the table and everyone too full to cause trouble.

Seems easy enough, doesn't it?

The roads were a mess last night, so I'm hoping they've gotten everything nice and clean for my drive this morning. I'm not worried about tomorrow night. I can *ALWAYS* make it home........

So y'all enjoy yourselves today. Just remember......breathe. And laugh. Oh, and a little humming wouldn't be out of line at all....

Huh

You Were An Angel This Year

You Were 10% Naughty, 90% Nice You know you've been a super good girl this year So good, that you may have missed out a little... Don't worry, Santa will make it up to you!

Were You a Naughty Girl or Nice Girl this Year?

*Note to self: RELAX next year....have some fun......this whole "Angel" thing ain't what it's cracked up to be.....

found at Tink's place

Another Reason I'm with Fred

Simple, straight forward and to the point..

And I couldn't agree more......

Blowin' in the Wind

It was raining when I got home from Fritz's last night. But you could feel the temperatures dropping. I knew I'd be waking up to a whole different scene this morning.

Yeah, Boy was I right. We got about an inch of snow.....but the real story was the wind. Hell, it's so windy I even have snow on the sun porch. And it's still just a blowin' and driftin' like crazy.

But here's the funny part......picture this......me, just awake, in my cool flannel jammies and slippers, running around my yard just as the sun was comin' up.

What was I doin'? No, not making snow angels, I can assure you. No, I was chasing Christmas trees. I have two mini trees, one by the front door, one by the back...It's windy enough that it blew them all over, and of course they are strung with the lights on my bushes, so as the tree blows away, it pulls my pretty lights off.....

And I have news for you folks, I didn't spend that time outside in the cold and wet for my damned Christmas lights to all come apart 2 days before Christmas.

As I finally got everything straightened out and back where it belongs the Snow Plow Guy (don't know for sure which guy it was) was stopped in front of my drive. Just watchin'. And laughin'.

So I waved.....we're a friendly town and he drove off shaking his head.

But damn....my lights are back where they belong, and that's MUCH more important than the rumors of my insanity at this point....

Perspective

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Wow......Christmas.....

And as I've said a few times here, sometimes we just get so wrapped up in OUR lives, and OUR holidays that we simply forget about those who are having a *VERY* different Christmas this year.

Sgt. Hook, again, gives perspective.

He's reposted a couple of his, IMHO, best Christmas posts.....Christmas Presence 2005 and Christmas Presence 2006.

Read 'em both. Then just think about it for a moment. ESPECIALLY if you are able to be with friends and family this season. Think about how lucky we are.....

One of the best Christmas gifts we can give to ourselves, and to those away from loved ones this year, is to appreciate the time together. Don't take it for granted, because it really IS a gift......

Funny

OK - I don't care if you are a fan of The Chipmunks or not....you GOTTA see this over at Leslie's place.......

Just Sayin'.....

Dear Santa,

Or....in case you didn't know....they ARE havin' a sale.

And I *HAVE* been very good....

Well, sorta......for the most part......well, I've been good compared to MOST years......

Confession

I. Have a sweet tooth.

A terrible sweet tooth. BUT....the one thing that is excluded from that is......chocolate.

There. I actually put it in writing. I don't really like chocolate.

I would rather eat sawdust that anything dark chocolate. Yuck. Ick. Blech.

Semisweet is.....alright but I'll tell you it's never something I'll go out of my way for.

Now, milk chocolate I can do. But I never crave it.

Same with white chocolate.

I love powdered sugar, sweet fruity things, rich buttery things. But chocolate? Not so much.

So I've decided that starting next year, I'm going to make MOSTLY chocolate goodies for the holidays. That way....I'll leave them alone.

As I stood in the dining room this morning, putting together the last of my goodie trays, I realized I had no temptation with the chocolate stuff. Even the fudge....but oh...I could have eaten every last one of the sand tarts. Oh yes I could have. And cinnamon sugar cookies? Yeah, those bad boys have my name all over them.

But I feel like some kind of a freak. A non-chocolate eating freak.

The upside is, I may have figured out a way to get through the holiday season without putting on a ton of weight. THAT would make up for all my feelings of inadequacy.....

Wow!

Sleep. What a beautiful thing. I had forgotten how wonderful it really is.

By the time I got home and finished dinner last night I was all in. Finished. Done. Exhausted.

So....I did the smart thing. For a change.

I actually, physically went to bed.

And promptly feel sound asleep.

Folks....I got 8 full hours of undisturbed sleep. Eight. Eight Full Hours.

Wow. I feel fabulous. I need to do this more often.

I have tons of energy to get through what I need to do today. I'm happy. I actually woke up with a huge smile on my face. And a song running through my mind.

I've already finished cleaning up the kitchen, all while dancing thankyouverymuch. Now? I'm tackling the filing I need to finish.

Wow. This sleep stuff Rocks!!!

My Christmas Miracle

Wow. What a day.

Started out very early this morning. Then over 300 miles worth of driving HAD to be accomplished. No choice. Had to be done.

So the beginning of the day, while not perfect, wasn't bad. Then, as I'm pulling into a town called Sterling Illinois, IT happens.

Actually I was at a stop light and turned right when IT happened. Some horrible loud POP. Then....then the car drove like crap. Shaking and creaking. Making the most horrible of noises. I had to keep the wheel pulled so far to the right (like I was still trying to turn) just to keep it in a straight line.

Not good. Not good at all. I've got a lot of driving to do these next few days. And I've been told all along that it's my brakes giving me all these problems. Those are scheduled for replacement on Christmas Eve.....4 hours from my home.

This? This was not a car that was going to even MAKE it home, let alone 4 hours east.

Now, I have to tell you. There is NOTHING that makes me freak out more than having car trouble. Seriously. And I was having a melt down.

So I did what I always do in these situations. I started praying. Now, I'm not silly enough to think God would "heal" my car....what I needed was a bit of luck. It's Christmas, money is tight (to say the least) and I have no time to be stranded an hour away from Paradise.

My hope was that I could milk the car home. And then, as stupid as this sounds, I was hoping I could limp it over to Mama Vi's where the guy could look at it.

That...was MY plan.

Well, I finished my sales call and got back in the car. Just trying to pull out of the parking lot I knew....there was no way. The drive back from Sterling is long, and VERY rural. I was pretty sure I wouldn't make it.

So I pulled into a little station across the street from my dealer. Steve's Auto Sales & Quick Lube. Now, I'm just about hyperventilating at this point.

A very nice guy came out and asked how I was. My response? Bad. Really REALLY bad.

Then I told him what the car was doing. Or at least I tried too. Yeah, he took it for a drive.

Bad. Really bad.

So after a bit of investigating they tell me it's the CV Axle. Then they tell me what it's going to cost.

I'm rather proud that I didn't vomit in front of them.

But it had to be done.

Bad. Really bad.

So they fixed Lana. And then charged me 1/2 of what the estimate was.

AND made sure I knew my brakes are in PERFECT condition. AND I don't need new tires.

In fact, Carl told me the car is in GREAT shape (other than she needs a good cleaning).

Half folks. They charged me half.

Half I could afford. Barely. Sorta. But I could do half.

And Lana drives/rides better now than she has since I bought her. Quiet. Smooth. Perfect.

Not only that but they made sure I completely understood - my brakes are FINE. No problem at all. Pads? Almost like new. They need NO WORK at all. AND - my tires are in fantastic condition.

THAT is My Christmas Miracle. As much driving as I did today, that could have happened anywhere. They showed me the axle, what parts were not missing (yes, there were pieces missing) were not where they were supposed to be. If that puppy had broke anymore, well.....it wouldn't have been pretty.

So the guys at Steve's Auto Sales & Quick Lube are my angels. Period. I'm down there every month, and I promise they will be the ones that get my business.

Now I'm home and going to make a pot of soup and just relax. My guardian angels have worked overtime today....I don't want to push my luck.

Your Opinion........

I heard something the other day. Pretty serious. And I've been rolling it around in my mind trying to come to terms with what happened.

I decided to put it out to YOU, without the where and who, because...well I *CAN'T* give you all the details. Mainly I want to know what YOU think and what YOU would do......

And yes....this really did happen. I give you my word.

An emergency call went out, asking for medical assistance. When they arrived at the 4th rate motel on the outskirts of town, they didn't find what they were expecting.

They were called out because someone called in stating they were suffering from alcohol poisoning. Well, the room was tidy. This was NOT a tidy room kind of motel. The bed was made, and other than a few empty beer bottles and empty pint bottles, it wasn't out of sorts at all.

The patient was FAR from fall down drunk. In fact, he was very lucid, but insisted on being taken to a very specific emergency room. AND he insisted on taking his guitar. Said he couldn't leave it behind. He showed them the guitar, and they begrudgedly agreed to take it along.

The entire time, the patient was insisting he was Puerto Rican. His name....was Ishmal.

Before he would leave the room, he had to make a call. Now, the person who relayed this story to me speaks Spanish. Well. Ishmal was not speaking Spanish - it sounded more middle eastern. The only English spoken was to tell the other person what hospital they were going to, assure them they were taking the guitar and to say I love you.

During the transport Ishmal informed them that he had called a councilor at the homeless shelter.

Now, warning bells were ringing internally for my friend. Things were not adding up.

Upon arriving at the hospital they did make the patient leave the guitar case in the rig. They then had security check it out.

It was clean.

Oh, and the patients blood alcohol level? .08

This was all put in the run report......and luckily nothing happened.

This didn't happen in a major metropolis, although it was a fairly large city. And like I said, this really did happen.

So.....what do YOU think? Personally, to me it has all the ear marks of a "dry run". And I don't like it. I don't like it at all.

Now, I know that alcohol is not permitted for Muslims, so this threw me a bit, but still.....it just has WARNING signs all over it.

Thank You for the Troops

Blackfive and Uncle Jimbo had a great idea. A video Thank You and Happy Holiday's to our troops. On YouTube!!

You might see a few of your favorite bloggers on there......

Money would be nice, but this is OK too

Shhhh.......be very quiet.......it's so calm out there and I don't want to rock the boat.

Yesterday was a dream. Few issues, work wise, and I got so much done around the house. Two more batches of cookies made and the kitchen floor scrubbed on my hands and knees. Not to mention laundry.

When I was in this industry down in Florida this time of year Kicked My Ass. I was so busy I didn't have a moment of peace. That one year Mama Vi came to stay for the month, if it weren't for her helping me with the paperwork I'd have never survived...

But it's very different up here. Oh, orders are being placed, but not in huge amounts. The plant can keep up and things are shipping on time. Issues are coming to the surface, but the stores are giving me time to get things resolved. So I fix things but without a looming deadline, for the most part.

This is very weird. Nice - don't get me wrong - but weird.

Now, of course tomorrow will be hell on wheels. I have several appointments set and of course my boss requests a conference call smack dab in the middle of them all. And we never have short, sweet, to the point conference calls.....but I think I've worked out a plan, so that shouldn't be *too* much trouble.

But I'm kinda loving this quiet stuff. Huh. I wish I had the info on next year's line so I could use this opportunity to work ahead, but it seems that is a foreign concept around here, so I'll just improvise.

Meanwhile......this ROCKS. My cell phone didn't even have to go on the charger yesterday - and THAT is a first.

So I'm going to just keep my head down and enjoy this while it lasts. While it's not QUITE the same as a Christmas bonus, it works for me.......

Funny Email

This is why men don't design Christmas wrapping paper:

Not necessarily safe for work......

Even The Rabbit Knows

Last night while I was making a batch of Christina's Chocolate Toffee Cookies - holy cow. Talk about a dark chocolate lovers dream..even though mine don't look NEARLY as pretty as her's do..... anyway, while those were baking I had Frosty The Snowman playing on the TV.

I had just sat down while the last round cooled when they came to the part where Frosty is talking to the rabbit about how they HAVE to find someone to take the little girl home and him to the North Pole.

The rabbit was trying to come up with ideas, and the first one he suggested put the biggest smile on my face.

You see....his first suggestion was to call in the Marines.

Hehehehe......even that damned little rabbit knew, the Marines make EVERY thing better.

They sure don't make cartoons like they used to......

Spirit of Christmas

I wanted to share a story with y'all. Now, it's not a secret that Dee (my sister) and I aren't the very closest of sisters. But sometimes, sometimes she does something that just makes me so very proud of her.

Yesterday was one of those times.

I've mentioned that she is a firefighter and EMT. Well, yesterday morning she had a call to one of the more "challenged" sections of town. It was a family of 5 - Mom, Dad and three teenage kids.

They live in a two story home, if that's what you want to call it. No power. None. It's in the 20's right now. They were all huddled in an upstairs bedroom - all five of them. There were three mattresses laid out and everyone had their belongs in a clear plastic bag.

The mom was having what turned out to be a panic attack. Gotta tell you - I would be too if that was my life - especially with kids at Christmas time.

She was so impressed with how well mannered the teenagers were. So respectful, so caring of their Mama.

They got everything straightened out, calmed everyone down and left.

Once back at the station she called the union to see if she could do what she had planned on the drive back. She got their blessing.

Dee is roasting a huge chicken, making a bunch of sides and dessert to take to this family on Christmas Eve. She called the power company to see if she could get their power restored, but that's not possible. She then went to the dollar store to pick up some simple, but needed Christmas gifts.

She does this sort of thing every year. She sees the worst of society on a regular basis. And every once in a while she comes across a family that just needs something to jump start them.

And she makes it happen.

I'm in awe of her generosity. THAT is the spirit of Christmas at it's very base......

I just needed to share that with you. That's my sister. I'm so very proud.

Everyone Needs A Snicker....

Seriously - start your day out right.

Check THIS out.

Oh, and be sure to read the comments. As usual, there's some real treasure in there.....

Thanks Richmond.

Today's Funny Frase

A few presents short of a full sleigh...

I knew someone was watching me lately..........

Random.....

Well Christmas is less than a week away, and I'm not really ready.

I have 30 pounds to loose, 4" that my hair needs to grow to make this hair style work, and well....presents to wrap, baking to finish and a house to clean.

Work? Work!?! Oh, yeah, better do that too. So this morning when I woke up with a huge smile on my face and my mind a whirl I knew it was just going to be a random day.

So this is just a post of my random thoughts.

1) I am so blessed. Really. I know you are probably sick of hearing that, but I have to say it. Because it's truer than you know. It's almost always my first thought of the morning.

2) Last night I had the BEST evening. I had a chance to finally catch up with my dear friend LeeAnn. It has been TOO long since we've just talked together. The only thing that would have made it better was if we were sitting together in her living drinking those yummy sounding mint chocolate martinis. We brought each other up to date on what's going on in our lives and minds. Laughed, got all sappy and well....just generally listened to each other. Ohhhh it really was wonderful.

3) I don't know if I will ever be able to go back to a "regular" job. Folks....I took a nap yesterday. I needed it so badly, and I just fell asleep. And I didn't get in trouble. I start my days so early, and I deal with issues as soon as they come up - so it's not like I don't put in a 50+ hour week. It's just on my terms. And I really like that......

4) Step away from the peanut brittle. Holy Moly. I have enough peanut brittle made that I could leave a bag on every door in THE Valley and still have some left. It's just so easy to make, and I mistakenly bought WAY too much stuff, so even without knowing it, I've got a batch going. I need to stop now. It's almost embarrassing....

5) I'm really not taking very good care of myself. I'm not sleeping all that well, and even though I'm drinking plenty of water, I'm not eating good enough for that to make a big difference. I need to really bring myself back into line. I'm kinda bloated. And that's not really a good look for me. I realized it when I was trying to make the video wishing our troops Merry Christmas and saying thank you. I ended up just filming my Christmas tree and talking.......Yeah....gonna need to fix that.

6) What a crazy year 2007 turned out to be. Last year this time if you had told me I'd be living HERE doing what I'm doing I'd have laughed at you. Just another reminder to never say never....

OK - time to make the donuts. There are reports to finish, emails to send and the world to save - one mattress at a time. Not to mention cookies to bake and fudge to finish.

It's the Wednesday before Christmas. Can you believe it?!?!?

Remember

Despite the busy preparations for the holiday it is important to remember those who are separated from the ones they love. Those who are in harms way, sacrificing so that we may even CELEBRATE this time.

And, because this is war, there are those we lose. There are families dealing with those losses even now.

Sgt. Hook introduces us to Staff Sergeant Michael J. Gabel and Corporal Joshua C. Blaney who were both killed in action on December 12th.

Raging Mom has learned that her son's unit has suffered it's first loss - Army Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Allen Lowery.

So please, in the midst of the shopping and cooking and running around....remember to keep our military men and women and their families in your thoughts and prayers......

Christmas Comedy

What HE said!!!!

Cancel Christmas???

I almost ruined Christmas yesterday. For not just ONE family, but two....

Talk about going into a panic......

See, I have this one dealer that called and asked for a bit of a favor. The owner and her manager really wanted to buy some beds for their kids. BUT...money is tight (as we all know) so they were looking for a deal.

Now, I have to be honest. I don't really give much away. I can't. Business is Business, Friendship is Friendship. It's how I was brought up....

But sometimes you have to spend money to make money. This particular store has REALLY done some great things this year. All based on our relationship. I figured I could do THIS much for them.

So I arranged for some discount pricing. They ordered the beds and we got everything scheduled for delivery to be yesterday. Plenty of time before Christmas.

Late in the morning my phone rang. I saw it was this dealer on the caller id. When I answered all I heard was crying.

Seems when they entered the order they set it up for those products to ship COD. Which means the driver couldn't leave them without getting a check.

That wasn't what was set up. There was no way in hell those women could do that. They were COUNTING on the 30 day grace period.

Those beds were the only real presents they had for their kids.

This was looking more and more like a disaster.....

So......I call my credit department. They are all at lunch. Shit.

I can't hold a truck up for an hour on the HOPES that we can work this out. So I tell the customer they have to let the truck leave but I *PROMISE* everything will get straightened out and the beds will be delivered tomorrow (today).

Then just hoped I hadn't made a liar out of myself.

Finally FINALLY I got a call back. As I explained the situation I got nothin'....no response. Silence.

Then, what I heard next was WORSE than silence. "What do you want ME to do about it? They have to pay to get the product. Period."

Shit.

Shit shit shit shit shit.

So I start dancin'. Beggin'. Pleadin'. I was so sweet I was makin' my teeth hurt.

Nothin'.

Damn......

Finally, after being transferred and switched and put on hold.....I found a reasonable human being.

Who got it.

We released the orders and the beds will deliver this morning.

Christmas wasn't ruined after all.

But damn....it was a close call.....

It's Just Common Sense

I saw a "report" yesterday that just had me cracking up. Now, please know...as ditzy as I can be, and despite the fact that I started out in college as a music major, I'm actually not a dumb girl. I ended up a business major with just about enough credits to make it a double major with economics. What can I say? Business has always fascinated me.

So anyway, I see this report - "spending on women's apparel -6% since November, +4.5% on men's apparel during same time frame".

It was all over the television news yesterday. Hell. You'd have thought it was the second coming or something, they way they were playing that story on loop.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the whys on that one.

Who does the BULK of the Christmas shopping? Women.

And I'm pretty sure, with the economy being what it is right now, and consumer confidence in the tank, most of those women are buying gifts for OTHERS rather than clothing for themselves.

Add to that the fact that so many take the opportunity to purchase clothing for the men in their lives, that pretty much explains the increase in men's apparel.

But...even though gifts are being purchased, and not ALL of them by women, most adult females do NOT have clothing on their wish lists. Mainly because we don't really like other people picking out our clothes.....

So I don't think this is an "ominous sign". Not at all. It makes perfect sense.

It's not all bad. People are shopping for things OTHER than Christmas gifts.... I was checking out my sales for the month of December and fully expected to see numbers that were in the dirt. What a pleasant surprise to see that, despite everything, I'm having a pretty healthy month....

Yeah, I'm not thinkin' we're gonna see much about THAT sort of thing.....

Here's the kicker. If it's not gloom and doom, or talk of the sky falling then let's just MAKE it that way.

After all....who wants Good News these days?

Funnier than you know.....

Found this over at RedNeck's place. Thought I'd see what it had to say........

You'll die from a Heart Attack during Sex.

Your a lover not a fighter but sadly, in the act of making love your heart will stop. But what a way to go.

'How will you die?' at QuizGalaxy.com

My first thought was "Hell Yeah! I'd die of shock, for cryin' out loud..........

Gone Too Soon

We've lost another of music's greats. Dan Fogelberg dies at 56.

So young....so very talented.....

His music isn't to everyone's taste. But ohhh....I do so enjoy it. He tells stories with his songs, and I love that.

Here are just a few of my favorites......

What a treasure his music is......

h/t Raging Mom

HISTORY!!!

I haven't done nearly as much football blogging as I usually do. Not sure WHAT'S up with that, but it is what it is.

However......yesterday history was made and I'll be damned if I'm not going to mention it.

For the first time in the 32 year history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers they have returned a kick-off for a touchdown.

That's right - I said the first time in the HISTORY of the team.

Michael Spurlock made the 90 yard run and all I can say is it's about damned time.

For 14 years I've held my breath at every return. Hoping, praying that THIS would be the time.

And for 14 years I was disappointed.

So doesn't it just figure that during yesterdays record setting run, I was baking cookies. Yep. I missed it. Completely. Had no flippin' clue.

But man oh man you shoulda seen me when I saw the highlights. Holy Cow.

So congratulations to my Tampa Bay Buccaneers!! Finally.......we've got a seat at the table.

Oh, and we made it into the playoff too! Double Bubble.....

UPDATE**Because I can't stop watching it.......

Weather Folks WRONG Again

When I fell asleep Friday night, right after the local news, they were calling for a beautiful sunny weekend with 1" - 2" of snow late Sunday afternoon.

I woke up yesterday to find about 3" on the ground. And snowflakes the size of plates falling from the sky.

All day. All day it snowed. It was magnificent.

This morning the sky is a beautiful clear blue and well, we got us a bit of snow.....

All that beauty, sunshine sparkling off the white ice......it's such a shame that all I can think of is how long it's going to take to clear my damned driveway.......

Center Stage

As I sit here trying to finish up my Christmas cards, I'm listening to one of the Christmas CDs that I finally found. And man did it bring back a memory.

I started performing publicly when I was 6 years old. Dancing, singing....yes, I've grown up a "ham".

One of the first solo's I ever performed was at school. And it was O Holy Night....not an easy song to sing well what ever age you are. But, it was believed that I had the experience to pull it off, even in elementary school.

So I practiced. And practiced. But you see, I wanted to surprise everyone so I practiced in secret.

The day of the big performance finally got here. The program was scheduled for the afternoon. That way the parents could attend and then we'd all be done for the day.

I was especially quiet that day. Didn't do much talking. I was focused on my solo. I kept running it through my mind, over and over again. I just had to be perfect.

The program itself was running as smoothly as possible. Finally, FINALLY it was my turn. I had slipped into my "costume" (a short white robe paired with a black skirt - very angelic) and stepped center stage.

The music started, I closed my eyes and sang my little heart out. You could hear a pin drop. I knew, in my heart, I was doing my very best.

And then I got to the chorus. That's the most emotional part, so I just belted it out....

Fall on your face! Oh, hear the angel voices!
Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born;
Oh night divine, Oh night, Oh night Divine.

Yes. You read that right. Fall on you FACE.

I don't think they stopped laughing until WELL after the song was done.

But looking back - it was pretty appropriate for ME to make that mix-up.

Ahhh memories of Christmas past. You gotta love 'em......

Dinner Anyone?

Attn. Northern Illinois, Southern Wisconsin and NW Indiana Bloggers.....

The one, the only That 1 Guy is making a brief personal appearance to our humble area. And, believe it or not, he's comin' hungry.

Click HERE and see what he's got in mind. Then be sure and leave a comment if it's somethin' you're interested in.......

Surreal

Now I have to start out saying I'm NOT a big "Conspiracy" person. I don't believe anyone is Out to Get Me, or that there is a master plan to make my life, or anyone's life really, bad.

But....that being said, I do think that Light Bulbs communicate with each other. Yes. Yes I do. And I think they have a very warped sense of humor.

Case in point. This week.

I don't use a lot of lamps or lights. I have my desk light for when I'm working, my dining room light, that I actually keep dimmed, for when I'm in there. In the kitchen I very rarely turn on the overhead light as I don't really need it. Just the light over the sink and the one over the stove - with the kitchen window I'm good. And at night I much prefer watching TV by candle light, cause it's just plain relaxing and very soothing.

OK, now that I've explained THAT, let me go back and tell you about this week.

First, the one outside light on the garage went out. Then....the light in the back of the utility room. Next day, my desk light blew. Then, the light beside my chair in the living room. Not long after that, the OTHER light in the utility room went, as well as the light in the hallway going to the bedrooms. Yesterday, the overhead light in the bathroom went to be followed by the light in the stairwell going DOWN to the basement.

Bastards. So now I have to replace 6 regular bulbs and 1 3-way. All at one time.

Now you TELL me they didn't plan that out....go ahead, just try and convince me.....

To make matters worse, I only have 3 bulbs in my stash. So it looks like a trip to the store is in order......I'm going to have to spend a fortune just buying lightbulbs.

Damn things anyway.......I swear, it's enough to make a girl paranoid.

At Least They Know Who I Am....

Here's a bit of the conversation I had at Fritz's yesterday for lunch:

Tammi: Damn. Did y'all hear? 1 - 2 more inches of snow this weekend.

Neighbor: Yeah. At least it's not as bad as it could be.

Tammi: Yeah, but my drive....damn.....

Fritz: We noticed that. You probably want to shovel ALL the way to the street. That "speed bump" at the end isn't really supposed to be there.

Tammi: I know - but that's all ice....

Fritz: Oh and we all agreed it's pretty damned funny you only shovel HALF your drive.....

Neighbor: Yeah, we were all laughing about that the other day....

Great. I'm finally making a name for myself but is it because I'm so nice? NO. Maybe I have pretty Christmas lights? NO. Hell, I"d even be alright if it were because I wore my jammies to the diner but NOOOoooooo. It's because I'm a girlie girl that can't shovel her drive......

Damn. Guess I know what I'll be doin' this afternoon.....

I Feel Better

After watching these, I feel much better about the whole shower curtain thing.....

I don't know whether to be proud of my personal restraint, ashamed for my lack of effort or afraid that there are folks out there worse than I am......

Go Bold!!

Oops. I think I may have miscalculated. Just a bit.....

Remember when I told you I found my Christmas shower curtain? Yeah, well, it arrived the other day.

I tore that box open like some crazed kid. Really, I'm kinda glad no one was here to see that display....

Anyway - I got everything out of the package and couldn't WAIT to get it all settled.

I pulled the everyday rugs out of the bathroom and scrubbed the floor. (Can't have new Christmas stuff out on a dirty floor, for cryin' out loud...)

Ohhh the new rugs are PERFECT. So bright, and cheery. This is gonna rock!

Then, I took the everyday shower curtain down and started to put up my new treasure.

So, look at THE PICTURE for a moment, would you? It's pretty red wouldn't you say? And, while just one simple picture, it's sorta kinda busy. Well, to some folks way of thinking anyway.

Now, I'm not a very TIMID decorator. I'll go bold to make a statement. And when it comes to Christmas and Santa, I'm ALL about the statement.

Yeah. I think that is pretty clear at this point. It's the first thing you notice walking out of the kitchen.

See.....seems I may have miscalculated just a tiny little bit. I'm used to big bathrooms. Bathrooms with lots and LOTS of space. Paradise? Yeah, I'm thinkin' the best way to describe it is "functional". It's got just what a bathroom HAS to have to be called a bathroom, and nothin' else.

So all that red? And those Santa pictures? Sorta "in your face". From all the way across the house!!

A friend stopped by yesterday and when they were walkin' into the dining room all you heard was the "Oh MY!" Seems the shower curtain caught their attention before the tree did.

But here's the kicker. I LOVE IT!! I wouldn't change a thing. In fact.....the only thing missing are more Christmas towels. I'd add some garland, but experience has taught me that doesn't work so well in a room that tends to get "steamy". Yeah, not so much.

The only REAL problem? Now I want another bathroom in this place. That room turned out so well, I wanna do it again!!!

actual photos below the fold....brace yourselves....

now remember - I'm not a photographer. It there's a way to take it crooked or blurry, I'll find it.....

Sometimes I scare even myself.........

You Didn't Know?

I just realized. I forgot to tell you something.

Kinda hard to believe when I do share so much with you. And THIS is important.

Laughing Wolf is headed back to Iraq. For Christmas.

Wow.

And personally, I think that is pretty damned cool.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks!

A Wonderful Evening

Last night....I had an engagement. In days gone by, you may have referred to it as an affair to attend.

So right after dinner I made sure I was properly attired, make-up just right and hair in some semblance of order.

You see, I had been invited to watch my friend perform in the Jr. High Winter Concert.

And I loved it.

I'm tellin' you, there is just something about a small town. The gym at the High School was packed - as it should be. The kids were all excited...nervous and giggly. Man, it brought back so many memories......

It was a pleasant surprise to hear such a wonderful mixture of music. Traditional Christmas hymns and carols, with some great secular favorites then a bit of "pop" mixed in for good measure.

Everyone really enjoyed it. You could tell. As I looked around the crowd, the proud looks on the faces of parents and grand parents, the kids on stage so intent on doing their best. Even the solos were wonderful.

It was a great evening. I didn't expect to go - the invitation came at the last minute. She didn't think I'd want to go. Silly girl.....

I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Oh Johnny

One thing about this time of year, but it does tend to make you look back.....review your holiday's of old, as it were.

Got me to thinkin'. I remember back about-well, many years ago, we started a "new tradition" in our family.

It was New Years Day. New Years Eve was Mama and Daddy's wedding anniversary so everyone slept in that morning.

We all gathered in the kitchen, since Mama was makin' a big holiday breakfast. As she was getting everything finished up, Daddy comes upto the table with a big ole smile on his face, carryin' our Christmas stockings.

What? Christmas is past. In fact, at our house, all the decorations came down on this very day......

Wait! There's stuff in them there stockings!!! How could this BE? Santa had already been here, and it was actually a pretty good year. We got COOL stuff on Christmas morning. Candy, toys, I even had a new notebook and pen for my "business".

And trust me, we knew we girls had not been good enough that year to warrant a 2nd visit by Santa. Hell - that was the year I broke all of Dee's fingers because she was bothering me during the annual showing of The Wizard of OZ. Yeah - the likelihood of MORE stuff from Santa was not real strong.

Well Daddy explained it all. Seems Santa has a cousin. A cousin who decided that Santa wasn't the only "good guy" in their family.

This guys name was New Years John. Like Santa he visited every home of every boy and girl, leaving presents. Depending on how good you were that year, the quality of the gift reflected that.

How Cool Is THAT?!?!?!

Uh oh. That was when it hit me....remember that broken fingers thing I mentioned earlier? Yeah, I was pretty sure Johnny Boy had heard about that......

So Daddy gives us the stockings as Mama stood in the kitchen watching. Dee got a ton of great stuff. I watched her very carefully before I snuck a peek into my stocking.

Then....I could delay no more. Ohhhh - undies. VERY cool. (I'm one of those girlie girls who has ALWAYS loved gettting undies for Christmas....)

Ahhhhh slippers. Pretty slippers. And a nightie to go with it!!! (I think we all know how I feel about jammies....)

A book? I got a book in the stocking?!?! WooHoo.

Seriously - it was wonderful. I couldn't have been happier if I had shopped for myself.

Well, that was the first year New Years John stopped by. And every year after that, he never lets us down. And yes, I still get undies. And lighters, and cigarettes. He's very good to me - I must admit.

But what a cool idea. I have no idea how Mama and Daddy met this guy, but I sure am glad they did. It just made the ENTIRE holiday season full of promise.

Yeah, John's ok by me.........

Exactly!!

THIS is the best example of why I love Christmas.......

Thanks for sharing Roses!

I Hate To Miss It

One of my very good friends is turning 40 this weekend. I had been invited to the party but since it's in Florida I'm just not going to make it.

But ohhhh do I want to. The GRIEF I would give that girl....

You see - she and I have a very unique friendship. We've been friends for almost 10 years now. We worked together at Trop. In fact, we were traveling partners for years.

Dallas? She almost got us killed and we ended up doing drunken karaoke in front of Walmart's upper management. Did get me an offer to join the "Walmart Choir", but still.....ugly. Just ugly.

Phoenix? Hehehehe. We stayed a week at the Biltmore. Let's just say, that place will never be the same.

New Orleans? Yeah, we won't go into that right now. The pictures are actually locked up in a neutral location for safe keeping......

AND, it was her wedding that I sang at that led to the Disney Wedding Singer gig.

Yeah, we got us some history.......add to that the fact that she was always trying to "fix" me.

It made her crazy that I wasn't a big "dater". I'm kinda picky, not to mention very shy at that kind of stuff. So she was always trying to help me out.

Like for instance my hair. She HATED my hair. Too short. Too curly. Hated it. Oh, she'll love it now, and I'll never hear the end of it. But for YEARS she never let up.....

Oh, and if you only knew how many times she broke the rules and tried to fix me up. Hell, one time she tried to set me up with the guy who is now her husband - for cryin' out loud..........that's just wrong.

And we won't even TALK about clothes.....

So yeah, I'd LOVE to be at her 40th birthday party. I've got lots to make up for. But the good news is we're going to try and get together when I'm down there in January. It won't be the same as public humiliation, but I'm sure I can make it work for me.....

Hmmmm...I'm thinking dinner out at a really nice restaurant with me and a wig......

Define "Good"

I've seen this several times, but it never fails to make me smile.....

Christmas brings out the *DUH* in me....

OK. I gotta talk about these damned treats I made. Some of it turned out exactly right. The peppermint candy, the peanut brittle, the sugar cookies.

But those keeflees are NOT to a standard that I would give out. That defeats the entire process. Oh, and my chocolate covered pretzels? Yeah...they look really good - covered in chocolate with white chocolate drizzled over them - but I used semi sweet instead of milk chocolate. Not right.

I'm too embarrassed to put these on trays to give away. I was so mortified the way the damned things turned out I didn't even send any home with Ktreva Sunday - and that was part of the plan. So here I sit, with my dining room table COVERED in sugar and butter. Oh, it's in a finished product form, but still.....not really good if it's the holidays, you're alone, and you have a bit of a sweet tooth.

For instance, yesterday breakfast was 2 keeflees. I sat and bitched about them the entire time I ate 'em. But eat 'em I did.

Mid morning snack? A handful of pretzels. Again, bitched the whole time. But again, I ate 'em. Lunch? More keeflees with some fudge for "dessert". Thank GOODNESS I had some roasted veggies left for dinner.

So...this is the plan. I just threw out the keeflees. AND the buckeyes. Today I'll pick up milk chocolate and tonite I'll make another batch of pretzels. The "RIGHT" way.

Tomorrow I'll start new Keeflee dough. Saturday I make another 4 dozen keeflees with my new modified filling. Sunday? I'll redo the buckeyes.

THEN...I'll make up all the trays and get that shit distributed. I didn't make this stuff for myself. And I've GOT to get it out of here.

But seriously. What single woman needs a dining room table covered in that much baked goods and candy?

If I don't get this taken care of, they're gonna need a crane to get me out of this house.....

He was probably disappointed...

Part of my "getting past things" process this weekend was realizing I was....ummm....well....what you might consider a bit "raw" in my reaction during the meeting with my boss.

And truth be told - I felt kinda bad about that.

So, I sent him an email very early Saturday morning. Here's the opening paragraph:

"First and foremost I’d like to apologize if I was in any way out of line during our discussion on Thursday. In my defense I was completely taken by surprise and didn’t have time to prepare. I’m just comfortable enough with you that I reacted without any filter, and for that I am sorry. Your position in the company as well as who you are dictates that you deserve better than that."

I then went on to list out the changes that were discussed.

His response?

"No problem. I actually thought you handled it very well."

No Problem?! Folks, I edited it a bit when I posted it here.......all that foul language on the website and all. No problem?!?

But the first thing I thought of was....if he thought that was "handling it well", WTF did he expect me to do? THAT should probably be my concern......

I might need to start thinkin' about this whole "reputation" thing. AND, with a new VP movin' in to cover this area (IOW - new boss) I'm just wondering how he'll explain me to them???

Thank You

This is THE coolest thing I have ever seen.

As much as I travel, I *TRY* to say Thank you if I see one of our military hero's out and about. But sometimes....it just doesn't happen. For what ever reason.

I followed a link I found at Hook's place, and sit here with tears. This really is the coolest thing I've ever seen.

And the timing is perfect. As we travel during this holiday season - hell, during our everyday life....a simple, easy way to let our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines know they are appreciated.

Please check it out......

Please Pray..... *Updated*

Crap. Crap. Crap.

I have a big training class this evening. Actually it's more than just a training class - it's an official "Kick Off". Got a big wig flyin' in from Philadelphia just for this shindig.

It's about 2 1/2 hours from here. East. Just south of Chicago.

It's scheduled to start at 6:00 this evening and will go about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

All I'm hearing on the news is about this "ice storm". It's hitting today.

So....I thought I might want to see what I'm looking at driving in.

Shit.

Let me recap.

Rain/freezing rain
Rain
Rain
Rain
Rain/freezing rain
Rain/sleet

Shit shit shit shit shit.

So.....my 2 1/2 hour drive just turned into a 5 hour drive. One way.

If I'm lucky, I'll be home by midnight.

Shit.

Sometimes.......I just really miss Florida.

*Updated: Session just got cancelled. Thank Goodness........

Good Medicine

I had a showing yesterday at the Corporate office. A designer that, while has done as well as expected, still isn't a big "dealer" for me.

So I rushed out of the house and headed into rush hour traffic. I like to get there about 45 minutes before the customers are due, just to refresh my mind on the line, put together what I want to emphasize and basically put my game face on.

It was going to be close. My appointment was at 10:00 and by 9:15 I was still on the highway and everything was crawling. I....was in a panic.

As luck would have it, I made it in plenty of time. But imagine my surprise when I got out of the car and my feet flew out from underneath me. Ice?! Everything was covered in ICE. Huh. Didn't hear anything about THAT on the radio.

Anyway - things went wonderfully. I challenged the dealer and her assistants to double their business next year. With the line-up we choose and their business being what it is, it's really a no brainer.

But what made me smile was their response. This business owner. This woman who runs a tight, tough ship looked at me and just as serious as day, nodded her head. "Tammi. We'll do what ever we need to for you."

How nice is that?! Especially with everything that's been going on.....

Then, I swung by the Craft company. I hadn't been there in a long while, and that's really a shame as it's so close to the Corp. office.

I need to do that more often, let me tell you. I REALLY miss working with people on a regular basis. I miss the relationships, I miss the conversations. And man....they were so NICE to me.

We miss you Tammi.

Love the new hair cut Tammi.

What a great outfit Tammi.

We miss you so much.

Now be honest. That's REALLY nice to hear. Damn.....it was EXACTLY the medicine I needed. I warned them I might just start stopping by weekly just for a compliment or two to get me through......

Sure did make that drive home a bit more pleasant. Hell - that made my week!!

It's So Easy......

This past weekend, doing all the cooking and baking, I really missed my family. We've always done that sort of thing together. In fact, this was my first attempt at flying solo. The only saving grace was Ktreva comin' by on Sunday....there's just something about another person, in the kitchen, making goodies that makes things seem more normal.

I was talking with Mama Vi last night, checking on HER weekend. See, her sister come out for the weekend and they had a HIGH time. As many questions as I had, I just didn't feel right calling and bugging them while they were having some "sister time".

While Mama and I were talking, I told her how many questions I had and she gave me grief for not calling. Once I explained my reasoning, she understood, she just wasn't happy about it. You see, Mama Vi is one of those that needs to be needed.

Then I just flat out told her....."I couldn't have missed you more this weekend if you were "gone"."

You could HEAR the smile across the phone. That was EXACTLY what she needed to hear.

And it served as a huge wake-up all for me. See, Mama knows I love her. Oh, I don't say it "easy", not even to my family. You will NEVER hear me say "love you bye". When I say it, I want you to know I mean it. I want you to know it's not a knee-jerk reaction.

But what I'm bad at is admitting I NEED someone. Need their help, their presence. That? I don't do so well.

And here's the kicker. I'm one of those folks that need to know I'm appreciated. Need to know I make a difference. Need to be needed.

And I come by that honest. I get it from Mama.

For the past few years, with everything going on, we've been so focused on helping HER we forgot that she still needs to be needed. That she still contributes. We were so busy making sure she took care of herself, we didn't let her take care of us.

So when I told her that last night it was the EXACT thing she needed to hear. And I'm ashamed to admit I don't remember the last time I gave her that.

Well then, I couldn't get her off the phone. She should have been sleeping, but we talked for over an hour. She was sharing secrets about our holiday yummies. Laughing about incidents from candy weekends past. You could just hear the energy in her voice.

After I hung up the phone I just sat and thought about all that. What an easy thing it is to say I miss you. I need you. And why it's just so hard to do.

Then I made myself a promise. I really need to get better at that. Because the day will come when I can't tell them, either face to face or over the phone. It'll be too late. And I just don't want to live with those regrets.....

ANOTHER Funny Email

I've seen this one before, but never with the picture. Ahhhh Christmas.....

My dear friends,

Somewhat embarrassing to admit, I'm not getting an annual bonus and
Christmas is tight this year. I will be making bedroom slippers for you
all as gifts. Please let me know your sizes. You'll most likely agree
that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've
included the instructions below:

How to make bedroom slippers out of maxi pads:

You need four maxi pads to make a pair.
Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot part.
The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top.
Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part.

Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers (this is most
aesthetically appealing), etc.

These slippers are:
* Soft and Hygienic
* Non-slip grip strips on the soles
* Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh
* No more bending over to mop up spills
* Disposable and biodegradable
* Environmentally safe
* Three convenient sizes: Regular, Light and Get out the Sand Bags.

I've attached a photo of the first pair I made so that you can see the
nifty slippers for yourself....

Awaiting your response. It's crucial that I get the right size for each
one of you.

I'm not so bad afterall.....

And I thought *I* needed to get a life........

Blessings

I really am blessed, you know that? I sure do!!!

For reasons that completely rest on my shoulders I lost most of my Christmas decorations. Mama Vi went a long way in setting me up again. Luckily, I had a bit of money to go out and buy some "basics" so the house was looking rather festive, if I may say so myself.

Then, a sweet sweet elf pulled a fast one on me. She had a few folks send me some ornaments and prettys. I got a box from Richmond just chocked FULL of lovely things. And Army Wife and her family sent a gorgeous cross that is going to stay up all year - just too pretty to pack away. My darling elf sent a stunning Santa ornament and her DH, well, let's just say I have the sexiest flamingo in a bikini in northern Illinois hangin' on my tree!!!

Thank y'all so very much. Memories. You gave me some beautiful memories.

Cuz got into the act when she came down. She brought me some FABULOUS ornaments from her and Carmen that are the perfect finishing touches for my tree.

Yesterday Ktreva and her sweet boy, Clone, came over and baked cookies all afternoon. My home was full of the wonderful smells of the holidays as well as lots and LOTS of laughter.

It was a great day.

And some of you have REALLY been surprising me. I'm getting some incredible emails from folks I never knew even read this little blog of mine. Wow. You all ROCK!!!

Let's not forget friends reaching out that I haven't heard from in *YEARS*. There have been some GREAT conversations these past few weeks.

So yeah. I'm more than aware of how blessed I am. Isn't it a shame that it takes the holiday season for us to remember????

Check it out!

Sgt Hook has been posting some incredibly thought provoking things lately. Not meaning that that is unusual, it's just damn we should be encouraging HIM not the other way around, for cryin' out loud.

From what I understand he's blocked from several blogs - so head on over. Read this, and if you have time just read as much as possible. Leave a caption. Let him know we APPRECIATE all that he and the rest of our troops are doing. COMMUNICATE!!

It's so easy....and even just a comment can mean so much......

Candy Ass

You'll be happy to know I did finally figure out the super secret key to the keeflees. So....only the first 18 were disappointing. I don't know if I'll do another batch this year....those bad boys are some serious work.

I didn't get everything done I wanted too. And to be honest, I don't know WTF I was thinking when I put this plan together. Holy Cow!!

I have one batch of peppermint melts that I can do this week. I'll be dipping pretzels in chocolate for days. Oh, and the buckeyes are still waiting.....

About 3 or 4 more batches of peanut brittle and it should be ok. And of course cookies. I still have cookies to bake and decorate.

One thing I DID accomplish this weekend was gaining an even BIGGER respect for Mama Vi. She did this for YEARS. With just us girls and our husbands. She had it organized like a well oiled machine.

She gave the guys the "big jobs". Rolling the balls for buckeyes - what a PITA. And dipping those mini ribbon pretzels in chocolate. Holy Cow! Is that monotonous.

We all had our specialties. And it always all worked so well.

But I realized, she always planned it over 2 weekends. I'm telling you, after the last couple of days - I KNOW it's not possible for 1 person to do all that in a weekend.

The good news.....by tomorrow at noon I will have enough to pull together my first goodie tray for my customers. After next weekend I'll have all I need for those and a few trays for friends.

But damn - I'm not too proud to admit it. This holiday baking? Kicked My Ass!!

Holiday Baking - The Saga

So far?

Keeflees - 1
Tammi - 0

You know, when I give out a recipe, I give TIPS to make sure it turns out. I don't want someone making something I shared and hating it.

Well, obviously my sister does not feel the same way. I just called her.

Dee: Hello?
Tammi: I hate you.
Tammi: A lot.
Dee: laughing Making keeflees, huh?
Tammi: Pastry. Dry. Why?
Dee: Treat it like pie crust.
Tammi: SHIT!!!

Yeah. She never mentioned that.....

OK - so the first batch isn't perfect. Those will stay here. The problem is.....the pastry takes 1 dozen eggs, 1 lb of butter and 6 cups of flour. The filling? 1 pound of walnuts that took me an hour to grind! Then....2 hours rolling the dough into small balls....Not cheap. Not quick.

Damn........but I will persevere. Oh yes I will......

But which ever Hungarian developed this recipe - while they earned a spot in heaven for how GOOD they taste, deserves an ass kickin' for how complicated it is.

OK - gotta go. There's baking to do......

Music to Cook By

Some of my personal favorites:

I could go on and on.....but that'll get you started.

I heard a rumor

Yesterday I bought a carton of cigarettes. The pack has been redesigned and the clerk and I were talking about that.

That's when I heard that things will change even more, here in the EXTREME NANNY STATE.

Seems that come January, when you are no longer allowed to smoke indoors, there's going to be an even bigger change. This time it's the cigarettes themselves.

From what I was told, if you drop your cigarette or just lay it in the ash tray it will go out. Unless you are inhaling on it, the damned thing goes out.

So the GOVERNMENT is not just satisfied with telling me WHERE I can smoke, or when, but now they are actually telling me how.

Part of my "cut back" strategy is to just let most of the cigarettes just burn themselves out in the ashtray rather than smoke them all the way down. Huh. Guess that won't be workin' so well for me any more. I supposed they'd rather force me to go on the patch or maybe they are planning statewide mandatory hypnosis.....

I wonder when I can expect "THEM" to tuck me in and make sure I'm saying my prayers......

Damned Nanny State.....

For Pam.....

OK Pam....you asked so here's what I'll share.....some of my candy recipes.

Now, this particular one has been handed down, handed down and passed around. I have NO idea how much a batch makes, but I know this year I am doing 6 batches.....

Microwave Peanut Brittle

1 Cup sugar
1/2 cup KARO syrup - it HAS to be KARO, otherwise it doesn't turn out right.
1 cup peanuts (raw Spanish peanuts)
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp butter or margarine

Mix sugar, Karo syrup, peanuts and salt. Place in glass microwave safe container. Cook on high for 4 minutes. Stir, cook on high for another 4 minutes. Add butter and vanilla. Cook on high for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and add baking soda. Pour onto a greased cookie sheet and cool. Then you just need to break it up.

I don't like really THICK peanut brittle so I use a bit of an oversized cookie sheet with a lip. It's a personal preference. But I will tell you - this is the easiest peanut brittle recipe I've ever found.

I will repost the Peppermint Melts and Buckeyes - just in case...

Peppermint Melt Aways

1 bar of white chocolate (melted)
1 large package of peppermint candies, crushed

Mix together and pour onto cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Spread out and let set. When hardened break into bite size pieces.

So easy......and it looks WONDERFUL on a goodie tray. Not to mention how very yummy it is.....

Buckeyes

This you need to start ahead as the candy mixture needs to chill for at least 2 hours.

18oz crunchy peanut butter
2 1/2 Cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 stick of melted butter
1 lb powdered sugar

Mix together and chill (covered) for at least 2 hours. Can sit over night.

After chilled form mixture into quarter size balls.

Separately melt 1 package semi sweet chocolate chips.

Dip balls into melted chocolate, leaving just a bit of the candy mixture uncovered at the top of the ball (hence the name - Buckeye)

Place on cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Let candies set up.

Here is the original post, that includes White Trash and Chocolate Charlie, just in case you're looking for more!

Saturday Question

Well, it's been a while, sorry about that.....I'm just sorta kinda havin' a hard time comin' up with questions on Saturdays.

But.....it's the holidays so I'll just use that.

This weekend it's all about the goodies. We've been doin' candy and yummies for years now. We don't do a lot of BAKING, in my family we always focused on the candies...

For years, my favorites were the buckeyes. Peanut butter and chocolate. Ohhhhh so very yummy. Plus those are kinda fun to make when you're a kid.

When you're an adult and making 100 peanut butter balls? Yeah, not really so fun at that point. Oh - I still love to EAT them....but the making? Let's just say I'm happy it's only once a year.

I love fudge. But I do make that throughout the year. So I don't really consider that Christmas Candy.

The peppermint melts? Love love love. And the peanut brittle? Oh.....if I can get it thin enough, that stuff is addictive. I just hope I get it right this year.

My favorite Christmas candy is one I am NOT making this year. Carmels. I have a passion for that soft carmel covered in chocolate. Holy Cow!! I'm not even gonna tell you how much I love that stuff.

And THAT is why I'm not making it. I don't need anything in the house that I will eat that much of.

Now baking wise, my favorite holiday treat is Keeflees - hands down, no question. Hell, one Christmas I ate myself into a sugar coma, between the candied ham, candied sweet potatoes and the LARGE number of keeflees I ate.

I have to apologize because I am unable to share the family's super secret recipe...but I will point you towards THIS one that is rather close. It's not the same, but pretty close.....

So tell me...what are YOUR favorite holiday yummies? Candy and or baked goods......who knows, there's still time. I could add it to my mix.......

Let's Get 'Em Home

This is a VERY cool idea.

A site that is dedicated to getting tickets for those in our military that need to get home for the holidays.

Very cool.

The name of the site is Let's Bring 'Em Home and they've been doing this for seven years now.

This is taken from their home page:

"WE'VE STARTED! Yes, this is our SEVENTH year helping our nation's military spend Christmas with their loved ones! That's right, each year we take donations to purchase plane tickets for junior enlisted military personnel, allowing them the opportunity to fly home and spend the holidays with their families. This program was initially started in December 2001 to show our grateful appreciation to American service members deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and has become an annual tradition ever since.

Last year we raised over $75,000 and helped 150 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines go home for Christmas. This year we'd like to do the same, and we need your help to do it! Remember, your donations are tax deductible!" (emph. mine)

A pretty damned good cause, don't you think?

Now, with everything going on, I haven't been able to donate yet - but I can put the word out. And I WILL donate next payday. I will NEVER ask y'all to do something I can't. Not my style.

Anyway - here's the link to the site. Click around, explore things. There is a page showing all the requests out there and the status of where things stand.

If you can. Give. If not - please, at least spread the word.......

H/T Redneck. Thanks Dude. VERY cool....

One of the lucky ones

Enough of that. Time to get out of my funk.

I didn't sleep Thursday night, so around 3:00am I just gave up and started working. Ran some reports, sent a bunch of faxes and emails and actually - got a lot done.

By noon I was done. Hit the wall. Finished. So tired by 6:00 last evening I just pretty much passed out.

Which of course meant that I was awake at 3:00 this morning.

If I was a baby I'd tell you to turn me head over heel so I could get my days and nights straightened out.

Either way - I need to get over myself.

I didn't LOSE my job. I still make pretty good money. I'm still doing something I enjoy, to an extent.

I'm one of the lucky ones.

A total of 158 people lost their jobs. A lot of folks took a cut in pay, like I did, but have a whole family to support.

Yesterday I was really pissed. I felt betrayed, used, unimportant. But......there were executives in my company that fought to keep me. Like I said, I'm one of the lucky ones.

So today I'll get my ass OUT of these jammies, shovel the drive and go to the grocery store. I'll clean my house and get ready to make yummy Christmas goodies for my customers and friends.

I will go and sleep IN MY BED tonite, and tomorrow I will laugh and cook and have a great day.

Dee is fixing the brakes on my car of Christmas. So that takes care of that worry. So it takes longer to get Paradise furnished. Anything worth having is worth waiting for.

I have a friend who works as a "contractor" in the same business I do. We actually started out on the same day with the same company. He is having to work as a "contractor" - no benefits and strictly commission. Right now, his monthly check is about $1,000. And in this position you pay your own expenses - you gotta spend money to make it. I have nothing to complain about......

So - no more Whiny Wilma. No more pouting. No more, no more, no more.

It's going to be fine. I'll make a few adjustments, figure out how to get everything done.

Like I said - I'm one of the lucky ones. I need to keep reminding myself of that......

Well Shit

Sleep was pretty scarce last night.

I spent most of the night curled up in the golden throne dozing. With the TV on.

Infomerical bonanza.

I woke up for good while they were talking about the Temperpedic beds......you don't even want to know what I think about those.....

Right now, as I'm working on a few reports that are due today, I caught just a bit of the conversation playing softly behind me....

"2 bowel movements a day. Gallons of sludge in your system. Foul odor."

On and on and on......

Only I would sit here for a half an hour while they talked about "Old fecal matter" and not even notice.

Oh wait! Now they are telling me if I shit better it will help me look and feel younger......

So - I'm full of shit? And that's a BAD thing?!?!?!?!

I wonder if there's a decent movie on. I don't need an even shittier start to my day......

Yeah, that looks right....

I like Christmas. I've never kidded you about that. And I've said over and over, that I like a little bit of Christmas where ever I look.

Well, no one knows that better than Cuz - all these years we've been decorating our homes together she knows.........well, I REALLY love Christmas decorations.

So, of course when she saw this it had my name all over it!!!

Actually, I'm thinking that would apply to SEVERAL of us........

No More Filter

I was told to be at the corp office first thing yesterday morning. So.....I got there good and early. The purpose of the meeting was to go over next years forecast. And I'm so very excited about next year.

As I settled in for the meeting, the first words out of my bosses mouth were "the good news is you still HAVE a job".....

WTF?!?!

Well. Seems there has been a corporate restructure. As those bean counters in their ivory tower looked around at territories, seems they saw mine, saw how bad the economy is and how few REAL opportunities there are and said "Huh. We don't need this Tammi. Let her go."

Lucky for me SOMEone likes me. However.....I now have to travel as far north as the Canadian border, take a HUGE paycut and well.....suck it all in.

Now. please know I did not make this easy. For anyone. In fact, when he asked how I was doin' with all this my words were "I couldn't have been more totally f*cked if you had laid me out across the table".

Oh, and as the discussion went on I said somethin' about that pay cut means that he no longer qualifies for the Tammi Filter. He gets exactly what's on my mind....

There is no doubt in anyones mind that I am not pleased with this. BUT....there is also no doubt that I also understand the reasoning behind it. Turns out 58 people lost their jobs** this week. I know I'm damned lucky not to be one of them.

But oh....it hurts so bad that this happened even given all the successes I've had and all that I've pulled together. It's not personal. It's business.

At least that's what I keep telling myself.

**Turns out that was just the NON sales people let go. There has been no announcement on how many of us were let go or put in a different position. Rough estimate is over 100.

Three Words

Restructure.

Fuckin' economy..........

I'm taking this afternoon to collect my thoughts. I'm still employed, but.......

Where's Karma when you need it?

Why do good things happen to bad people? And even more, why do BAD things happen to good people?

But it's that first question that is really gettin' me today.

I got word last night that someone I used to work for, someone who is a bully and an asshole and just a sexist bigot just hit the mother lode.

How does this happen? Where's Karma?!? Why does this person keep getting ahead when good people, that work hard, know their stuff and play by the rules keep getting shit on?!?!?

I believe in "What goes around, comes around". I really do. But damn. Sometimes it just takes so long...........

I'm a flippin' genius!

You need to watch this.....

If ANYONE ever calls me ditzy again, I'm kickin' their ass....

Absolutely THE best example ever!!!

Empathy. Not always a great trait.

I might be taking empathy a bit to far at this point. Lana, my car, is starting to feel bad when my friends' cars feel bad.

It started Saturday when Cuz and I were out in that damned ice storm. Brakes. Brakes are very important when driving....especially on icy roads.

We had "an incident" but pulled things out and everything was fine. Being the mechanically minded genius that I am, I thought maybe she was just throwing a tantrem and that everything was alright.

Fast forward to yesterday. Lots of driving. The main highways were alright, but the minor highways sucked. Lots of drifting and iced over in several spots. The more remote I got the worse it got.

I wanted to try and get home before dark. A tall order considering it's dusk by 4:30 in the afternoon.

Driving a windy, hilly road I hit an ice spot. Pulled it together but realized my "tracking" was off. Shit.

When I came to a stop at the bottom of a hill, it was close but I stopped. No ice that time.

Not good.

This morning I HAVE to be at a meeting in Chicago. No rescheduling. No excuses.

My car is my life. Without it I cannot work, I cannot do anything. I'm pretty damned remote.

I'm going to be having things looked at this weekend. But damn the timing sucks. And it's rather suspect, to my mind.

Seriously, I think Lana is just empathizing. And, while that's a great trait in people, she really needs to get over herself.....

THIS is Funny

Hmmmm....wonder if they need any mattresses to go with that set?!?!

And how appropriate if they come from me?!?!

Blogging sure is starting to catch on............

Funny Email

This just needs to be shared.........

'Two Prostitutes -- $50.00.'

A policeman, seeing the sign, stopped them and told them they'd either have to remove the sign or go to jail.

Just at that time, another car passed with a sign saying: 'JESUS SAVES.'

One of the girls asked the officer, 'How come you don't stop them?!'

'Well, that's a little different,' the officer smiled . . 'Their sign pertains to religion.'

So the two ladies of the night frowned as they took their sign down and drove off.

The following day found the same police officer in the area when he noticed the two ladies driving around with a large sign on their car again.

Figuring he had an easy arrest, he began to catch up with them when he noticed the new sign which now read:

Two Fallen Angels Seeking Peter -- $50.

Today's Funny Frase

Have aN ice Day!!

Kind of appropriate when you wake up to this.......

I'm due in a meeting about an hour south of here, then another one that's rather off the beaten path. Sure do hope they've got the roads salted down!!!

But isn't it pretty?!?!

Capturing the Essence

Huh....Harvey managed to find the PERFECT example of how it must feel to be the only male in the house with Cuz, TNT and myself.

Yeah, my mind has kinda been in the gutter lately.......

For Cryin' Out Loud....

I saw this title and had to read it. I thought it was a joke.

"Divorce pains the planet"

They HAD to be kidding. Right? I mean seriously, they wouldn't REALLY waste that kind of money doing a study on something like that. Would they?

Well, yeah, they did. I sat here reading with my mouth hanging open.

It was quotes like this that just boggle the mind....

"As if the burden of divorce weren't bad enough, people with failed marriages can be blamed for global warming, according to a study by Michigan State University. "

A study. A REAL study....

"Divorced couples use up more space in their respective homes, which amounts to to 38 million more rooms worldwide to light, heat and cool, noted the report.

Dissolving a marriage also means doubling possessions, from the lowly can opener to the SUV. The report, however, did not estimate how many more natural resources the children of shared-custody parents consume by getting birthday and holiday gifts twice. (emphasis mine)

Oh, well that's it then. The study is no where NEAR complete. (insert rolled eyes)

Nor did it count the greenhouse gases spent to shuttle kids between their pair of energy-hogging households. (Tip for carbon offsetting services: the domain name OffsetMyDivorce.com is available.).

Yes. You read that write. They are actually askin' for someone to start a website dedicated to something THAT stupid.

But for me....THIS is the money quote:

"The research suggests that singletons who shack up with someone again can undo the ecological damage. Although it might be inferred that "living in sin" is also eco-friendly, the findings did not necessarily endorse the practice of unmarried couples living together."

Now I'll be honest. I'm not AGAINST folks living together...but for cryin' out loud - to my mind they are suggesting that folks shack up just to help the environment. Don't they realize that for MOST people, it's easier to break up when you live together than if you have that "commitment" of marriage.

I swear to PETE. This is just carryin' the whole "eco-friendly, global warming" shit Off The Charts......

Enough already.

I'm Easy!

It really doesn't take much to make me happy. Seriously, it's all in the perspective. I cannot imagine, no matter how "down" I'm feeling, not finding something to be happy about.

Yesterday was the perfect example.

I had an appointment with a new prospect. One of the things my boss is really adamant about is that I *HAVE* to open up the Wisconsin territory. Huh. He makes it sound like when the pioneers headed west in their covered wagons. And trust me folks, I ain't no pioneer woman.

Anyway - I had this appointment. In Wisconsin. As I'm driving into the town I see a billboard announcing "McDonalds Now Has Sweet Tea".

Sweet tea? In Wisconsin?!?!?! WooHoo!

So after my call, since I had to drive to Milwaukee, I swung through the drive thru. A chicken wrap and a large sweet tea was all that was on my mind. (I told y'all I'm very focused)

Get to the speaker and the girl asks, in way of a greeting, would I like to try their new sweet tea?

HELL Yeah!!!

I think I scared her.

There were a crowd of folks standing in that little window area when I pulled up, probably wantin' to see the crazy lady.

Anyway - I couldn't stop smiling. That tea, while not as good as mine thankyouverymuch, was EXACTLY what I needed. A little somethin' sweet, but also a piece of "home".

See, when I was the Road Warrior in Florida a big glass of sweet tea was a must every afternoon. And down there you get it everywhere. Up here? Pretty hard to find.

So I asked the girl if ALL the Mickey D's were going to carry it. She said just in their area, as a test.

That sealed the deal. My new favorite town in Wisconsin is Beloit. I can promise you, I'll be hitting Every Damn Mattress Place in that area til I have plenty of reason's to stop by. And if nothin' else, that will be my first stop - the Mickey D's that is - every time I head up north.

WooHoo!! See....it's IS the littlest things that make me happy.

Let's Cook!!!

I've been thinking about the goody trays I'm going to make as gifts. I just about have the choices finalized.

Wanna hear?

Well, I'll definetely be making two of the recipes I listed here - the Peppermint Meltaways and the Buckeyes. Those are staples as far as I'm concerned.

Of course I'll be making fudge. That goes without saying.

And pretzels dipped in white chocolate and milk chocolate. Yummy and oh so easy.

I'll be making Mama Vi's microwave peanut brittle. So good, and it's been a long time since I've had any of that.

Cookie wise, Christina has a few recipes (with pictures) that had me drooling at the keyboard. The Tender Toffee-Chocolate Rounds just sound too good to resist so those are getting made.

I'll probably do some Spritz Cookies, cause the only time I make them is Christmas and they're too good not to include.

Oh - and I'll be making the family's super secret Keeflees. Holy Cow. One Christmas I ate myself into a sugar coma with those bad boys.

I still want to do a couple other cookies, and I've got to get those narrowed down by Saturday.

Ktreva is coming over to help me out and I am really looking forward to spending the day with a dear friend making goodies.

Wow. Three good weekends in a row. I won't know how to act....

Home for the Holidays

Stacy gives us some wonderful news.

I asked you a while ago to go and sign a petition to bring Lex, a military working dog, home to the family of his partner.

Well....I'm not going to ruin it - head on over and read...

Mission Accomplished

I think y'all have figured out that I am a HUGE fan of Christmas. I love everything about this season. The shopping, the baking, the fellowship - and most especially the decorating.

I use a LOT of red at Christmas. I don't know if I love red because it reminds me of Christmas or if I love Christmas because it gives me the opportunity to use so much red. Either way.....I'm in hog heaven.

And I like to decorate every single room. EVERY room. In fact, my Christmas from Mama Vi this year is a gorgeous Christmas bed set - sheets, comforter, pillows - for my guest room. I cannot WAIT to put that out next year.

I like to see Christmas where ever I look.

One thing I've always wanted but never found was a Christmas shower curtain. Oh, they're out there.....I just couldn't find one that I *loved*.

Until last night.

Now, I should explain something. I am a HUGE fan of Santa Claus. Always have been. But I don't like the cutsie Santas. I'm more of a traditional or old world kinda girl.

So when I saw THIS I knew it was for me. It was EXACTLY what I'd been looking for all these years.

I am over the moon. My living room looks beautiful. There are a few "touches" that I need to add, but I know exactly what I want so next year will be even better. My kitchen just makes me smile - a few pretty rugs, garland, lights, ornaments and some beautiful nut crackers. Add in some poinsettias and a small tree - it's perfect. I can't imagine changing a thing. I haven't done much in the dining room but...next year? Oh yeah...it's all laid out in my minds eye.

Now - the bathroom will be exactly what I've been wanting.

This...this obsession of mine is why I start decorating so early. It takes a week to get everything settled the way I want it. Then, if I'm working that hard, I want to enjoy it. So you get start the weekend of Thanksgiving and leave it up til the weekend after New Years.

And this year? This year I'm thinking the big "score" is that shower curtain. I cannot WAIT for it to get here.......

I Win!!

I won Sgt. Hook's Caption Contest.

Gotta love Jimi Hendrix!!!

Gone

ANOTHER great day. Slow, lazy morning then before we were ready Harvey and TNT arrived. But we didn't mind one little bit. Cuz just adores TNT and now that she's met Harvey, well.......let's just say they become one of her favorite couples.

Dinner was pretty damned good if I must say so myself. Conversation plentiful and more laughter than not.

Then......it was 5:00. Cuz was packed and it was time to head out.

Yick.

We get to the airport, she checks in and we have 30 minutes to try and say everything we haven't so far. Not an easy task for the two of us.

The time flew by. Before I was ready it was time to walk her to security. As we hugged goodbye I had the hardest time letting her know how much her visit meant to me.

It hasn't been a good couple of months for me, for what ever reason. And this visit was exactly what my heart needed.

Until it was time to say good-bye. See - she's not supposed to leave me here. She's supposed to take me back with her, I'd sleep on her yellow sofa, and everything would right with the world. I'm not supposed to be left here, alone, in this oh too quiet home. This wasn't the way it's supposed to work....

But she couldn't take me. I have to stay. Our lives have changed and I guess it's past time I get over that.

Sigh

As I drove away from the airport, the lonelies hit. I got home, shoveled the drive and knew I couldn't procrastinate any more. I had to come inside.

Paradise is very quiet tonite. And it feels just a little bit empty.

Damn....why does everything have to be so bittersweet........

A Theme of Sorts....

Huh. Seems we've sort of adopted a theme of sorts for the weekend.

Everything has been about "hanging balls" or "balls breaking" or even "nut cracking".

Just now as I put the apple dumplings in the oven I smiled and looked at Cuz. "Hmmmmm little yummy balls of goodness just for us".

Huh........guess you can tell where OUR minds are.....

Together

Wow. Yesterday was just about the most fun I've had in longer than I can remember.

We got up and I made a French Toast Casserole that would blow your mind. It was yummy. I'll have to remember to post the recipe. Anyway....we had this great breakfast and just kind of puttered around, just enjoying the fact that we were sitting - together - having coffee and cigarettes - together - in my house. Together.

Just as the snow started we headed out. It didn't look too bad, so I took the back roads to town. Big mistake. Big. Huge. We almost lost it a couple of times. Lana isn't really ready for this weather yet, and the salt trucks hadn't hit the country roads so that would NOT have been my best decision.

But we made it. And we shopped. I can't tell you what all we got, because we got a lot of gifts, but ohhhh did we have fun. It's been over 3 years since we'd shopped together and I forgot how well that works for us.

We hit a couple stores then......headed north. Headed north to where it was colder. And windier. And icier. Yeah....that's SO us.

We stopped in and visited with Richmond for a bit. Hey...we were in the neighborhood and I just knew she and Cuz would hit it off.

I almost had to leave Cuz behind. She fell in love with Richmond. She fell in love with Richmond's house. Hell, she's still talking about how good the cheese was she had out for us. Not to mention the girls were sledding. Hell....talk about heaven on earth. That's Cuz's dream.

But the weather kept getting worse. It was horrible. The roads SUCKED.

We made it to the stores she wanted to hit, bought more treasures and headed home.

Rockford and THE Valley didn't get hit as hard as they did in Wisconsin so we decided to round the day up with a trip to the mall.

Let me just tell you - for the first time in our lifetimes Cuz out shopped me. I was so damned tired by the time we hit the mall I could barely walk. But ohhhhh am I glad we stopped. That was the PERFECT way to end the day.

We got home around 9:30 and heated up some stew. Damn!! It was even better than the first day.

Cuz decided we were gonna do a craft to decorate the pass-through between the kitchen and the living room. Yes, you read that right. A craft.

So we did.

Well....she did. I watched and told her how beautiful it is. I'll get pictures posted when it's totally finished. But I will tell you it's just beautiful.

Today......we're pickin' up a bit. I've got a ham on simmer and getting ready to clean some green beans and new potatoes. The apple dumplings are about ready to go in the oven. You see.....Harvey and TNT are due around noon. Cuz and TNT hit it off when we were moving me out of The Little Blue Cracker House. So this should be a very good day.

I woke up this morning and all I could think about was how right my world was. I love havin' Cuz in my house.....I love havin' people over. The house is almost humming with excitement.

So I better get going. I want to pick up a bit, get those dumplings in the oven, and get everything tied up.

I can't believe she's leaving this afternoon. That is gonna be tough. But I'm not going to think about that right now. I'm just going to focus on enjoying the time we have.

Over Fluffed and Flocked Out...

It's been a VERY long day.........................

NOW it's Home

Yesterday was somethin' else. It just FLEW by. I had so much to do, between work and gettin' ready for Cuz, and I'll be honest. It just didn't all get done.

A week of open houses put me WAY behind. And, as usual, there were issues. Issues that do not get fixed quickly. Issues that pissed off some pretty big customers. Issues that forced me to schedule meetings into an already over booked week next week.

As for the preparations....I wanted Paradise to be as pulled together as possible. I couldn't WAIT to show it off to Cuz. I wanted her to love it as much as I do. You see....it's not a fancy house by any stretch of the imagination. But that isn't what I love about it. It's the feel that grabbed me. And it was important that she felt it too.

So, anyway....the morning passed in a whirl of "grouchiness". Then...I HAD to go to the Farm & Fleet for salt and a shovel. And I had ordered some prints from Walgreens that needed to be picked up before they got rid of them. And then...there were the groceries that needed to be bought.

Farm & Fleet and Walgreens was a snap. Even bought my Christmas cards for this year. SWEET. That would be the only pleasant oasis of my afternoon.

What kind of idiot goes to Walmart for food and necessities (read: candles) 6 hours before they are predicting the first major snow storm of the year to hit? **Cue Tammi: Waving hands and jumping up and down** Geesh.... 2 hours. It took over 2 hours to pick up a few things. And traffic?!? Oy.

So...got home and put everything away. Had to start the stew so that we wouldn't have to wait til 9:00 to eat. I'm watchin' the clock, getting more panic as each minute ticked by.

Damn.....still so much to do. But I had to leave at 5:30 to be sure I was there waiting for her.

5:35 I'm backing out of the drive. Head to the gas station, cause by now Lana is livin' on fumes. WTF?!?! There's a damn LINE at the gas station. Damn storm.....

As luck would have it, parking was a breeze and I was sitting in the waiting area at 6:05. Her plane was scheduled to land at 6:10.

As I sat there waiting, I took the opportunity to people watch. Yeah, that's a whole post in itself. Holy Cow.

I didn't take any water with me, or even any thing to read. So I sat. Inside I was so excited. Cuz was comin'. She was going to spend an entire weekend with me. We were going to do all those things that we've missed so much. Cookin' and snackin'. Talkin'. Shoppin'. She was going to finally see my home....it was all I could do to just sit there.

A nice elderly woman was sitting two seats down. She looked over at me and asked if I were waiting for family. I nodded and said my sister was comin' in. (not a stretch at all. Cuz is as close to a big sister as I've ever had) She asked if I was excited. I smiled and nodded. I told her this was the best Christmas present ever.

Then she said the only reason she asked is I looked kind of sad. See...I don't smile a lot. So a lot of folks don't realize that I'm pretty much a happy person. But that one really surprised me. I was so excited I was "humming". I can't believe the seats weren't bouncing with all the energy I was holding in.

Finally they start coming out of the terminal. There she was. The third person out. I stood up, smiled and waved. As I walked closer I said "Damn. You really made it." She chuckled and said "I was gonna cancel, but figured, What The Hell. It's just a weekend.."

Cuz is here. I wish I knew how to express how wonderful that is.

We toured Paradise and I explained my plans. She, of course, brought me pretties. We ate beef stew and beer batter cheesey biscuits. And talked.

She said as she went to bed, "I'll probably be up by 4:30-5:00 your time". It's 7:30 here, 8:30 in her world. She is out like a light. hehehehe I told you folks, it's a great guest room......

The breakfast casserole is in the oven, and coffee is waiting. Today we'll run around and try to get everything done so we are safely ensconced when the snow and ice hit.

Cuz is here. Paradise has never felt so much like home....