Christmas Angels

This year we're starting a new Christmas tree tradition. Both mine and Hubs dads passed away last year and Christmas was their favorite. After breaking the angel that goes on top of our tree I decided we needed a new one. I looked online and searched the stores, but didn't see any that 'fit'. Then the idea struck me, literally, when I picked up a stack of frames and this picture of our dads fell out.  My two favorite angels now sit on top of our tree watching over us.

Some twine, glue, heavyduty poster board and a simple wood frame. That and a couple of mischievous angels ;-)

Merry Christmas!

Tuebor

**DISCLAIMER: Do not read this if you believe ignorance is bliss.  Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance means you are uninformed and unaware.  Leave now.     

To those who admonish the right to bear arms, who condemn prayer in schools, and who believe in freedom of speech so long as it does not offend you, remember this:   I fought for these rights, for my country, for my children, for you.  Try to take them from me, and I will shank you. 

In your darkest hour of need my right to bear arms is the difference between your life and the bad guy’s death.  I carry a Glock 22 .40 caliber pistol in uniform, a M16A2 rifle in my patrol car, and an S&W Bodyguard .380 between my boobs on my days off.  I’m accurate and deadly with all three.  My boot, belt, back pocket, and Kevlar vest keep my knives warm and at the ready.  Try to take my guns, my knives, and I will find another weapon to protect my loved ones. 

Ignorance and denial of the evil that surrounds us is the greatest threat.  So many people are oblivious to the monsters in this world.  They watch in horror as the media flashes headlines of school shootings, mass murders, snipers on rooftops.  Then the politics begin.  A trip to the mall, a plane flight home, a movie theater, college campus, pumping gas, political rallies, and just driving down the street have been recent horrors where monsters attacked with the use of firearms, knives, or explosives.  You’re appalled at first then you become complacent as the media frenzy fades and think it won’t happen to you.  You’re sheep. 

The psychology of the bad guys is another focal point in the media.  They’re all “mentally disturbed”.  That is a broad term that can be interpreted to fit a number of mental disorders.  It is defined as any clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome characterized by the presence of distressing symptoms, impairment of functioning, or significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, or other disability.

Guess what that means?  Any of you with general anxiety disorder, phobias, ADHD, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, etc  which are all psychological syndromes have—by definition—a mental disorder.  There are good men and women who walk the front lines every day with one or more of these psychological syndromes.  The top one being a sleeping disorder followed by caffeine induced anxiety I’m sure.   With this in mind do you really think the bad guys having a mental illness makes a damn bit of difference?  No.  What makes the difference is the choice they made.  They chose to kill.  I know plenty of bat-shit crazy people who wouldn’t hurt a hair on a fly’s ass.  Stop making excuses for their choices.  They are evil.  They killed innocent people because they wanted to and the only way to stop this from happening again is stop being sheep. 

A number of lawmakers are hell bent on making it harder for the good guys when the bad guys are…dare I say it…BAD.  While law abiding citizens stand in line with the red tape to legally purchase a firearm the bad guys are stealing them.    They break into homes and cars to steal them, take them from loved ones, get them from friends, and obtain them by any means necessary in order to break more laws that were meant to “protect” us.  A box cutter was the weapon of choice for the terrorists who hijacked planes and attacked us on 9/11.  Shall we outlaw all straight edged instruments that can be used as a weapon?  Laws only keep the good people honest.  The bad ones don’t give a shit. 

My children are vulnerable enough in this world and it scares me to death that they may be taken from me through tragedy.  On Christmas day those of you uninvolved with the atrocities that took place will gather around decorated trees to open gifts then gather around a table to feast, all of the evil will be forgotten.   Whether you are reading this shaking your head or nodding in agreement, remember:  I’m not the threat.   I’m just here to save your ass when it comes. 

Dear God, thank you for the strength to face what others fear, to fight what others cannot, and to protect them when they refuse to protect themselves.  In Jesus name, AMEN.

 

No Peeking!

I have a blast Christmas shopping for the boys.  Even amongst the chaos and crowds, when I find that awesome gift for one of them it makes it worth it.  The hard part is when I get that awesome gift home and can't find a place to hide it!

With Bammers' birthday just before Christmas I have double duty of hide and "remember where the hell I put them".  The trouble with birthday Bam is that he's four this year and catching on to the hiding spots.  Boys are so sneaky! 

I tried the attic for some, but my oldest has been up and down from there helping us with Christmas decorations. 

I tried hiding some under our bed...Fat Dougie wasn't too happy with the bag handle and pulled it out. 

I tried hiding a couple in one of the NEVER USED CABINETS on the ginormous entertainment center.  Wouldn't you know, hubs needed a cable--some random object--that happened to be in there. 

So I've taken another rout this year.  I'm hiding them in plain sight!  Two gifts have been sitting out in the house for over a week now and the giftee has no clue!  For our teenager I'm pretty sure I can hide his on his bedroom floor since you never see it anyway.  I'm also thinking of hiding some in the dishwasher and behind the canned food and dry rice in the pantry.  NONE of the fellas in this house would ever look there!

And let's face it, if all else fails I'll just put them in the closet and stick this happy little guy in front of the door:

Happy Holiday Gift Hiding!

And so it begins...

The day after Thanksgiving.  To some, a day of fighting the crowds and finding the best parking space.  To others, a day of dread as they are the ones who have to work and put up with the crowds.

Are the sales worth it?  The lack of sleep, sudden loss of large amounts of money, rubbing elbows with people who haven't showered in days from standing in line hoping to get in first?  Is it worth the $499.00 52" flat screen that will be outdated in a couple of years anyway?  Or the latest and greatest Elmo animated doll that does what--laughs, rolls, dances, sings?  Frankly, they should make that thing able to do chores around the house and help out, then I'll pay the fortune it costs to buy.  A robot vacuum is more exciting.

My favorite way to spend the early morning of Black Friday is with a hot cup of coffee, my laptop, and quiet house.  I got just that this morning.  Hubs and Peanut are still asleep, the dogs snuggled up beside them, and Bammers is chilling on the couch watching Scooby Doo cartoons.  I'm enjoying my cup of home brewed Dunkin Donuts coffee with a side of leftover Mississippi Mud Pie. 

My Christmas shopping? Online.  My budget?  Thankfully cheap this year with the ever changing "must haves" of a 13 year old boy who has all the gadgets, now just wants the accessories; a soon-to-be 4 year old who gets overwhelmed two weeks before Christmas with his birthday, so the "less is more" theme works Christmas morning. 

All you die hard Black Friday shoppers have one less person to contend with for that Must-Have-Item this year.  Good luck on getting the best deals and GOD BLESS, for the Christmas season has officially began.

Tidings of Comfort and...Toys?

Christmas is about so much more than gifts and decorating; it's about the birth of Jesus, the kindness of strangers, and the celebration of life. Ha! Tell that to a kid whose Christmas list amounts to the same cost as the national debt!

Trying to save money? Trying to keep it simple this year? Trying to preserve the last bit of sanity as you stand in line with the must have toy of the year for your 10, 11, 12, etc. year old? Good luck.

This year the hubster and I are having to buy at two different ends of the age scale for our kids. Our 10 year old boy wants BMX gear, clothes (yeah, boys like clothes too if you buy the right kind), an Ipod, dirt bike, gold chain, XBox 360 (as if the regular XBox, PS 1-2-3-PSP aren't enough!) and cold hard cash. He did say he wanted samurai swords and an air soft gun (cheaper than the rest of the stuff he wants), but we're holding them in reserve pending his midterms.

Our 1 year old son doesn't have a clue what the decorations are for (besides the joy he gets out of knocking them over or pulling them off the tree), so our list for him is what we make it. Not to mention he just had his first birthday barely a week ago so the presents he got are still fun. Keeping the two celebrations (his birthday and Christmas) separate are going to be much harder as he gets older.

So here's good tidings to all. May we keep our sanity, patience, and road rage under control as we all try to survive the Christmas rush and New Year.

Underdressed...Under Duress

This past Saturday night I atteneded a Christmas party with one of my girlfriends while the hubster hung out with her's and the all the kids. Mind you, we were only going out for a couple of hours to show face and say grace. We' were dressed somewhat nice as dark jeans, a nice shirt, and a snazzy scarf did it for me. I even wore 3" heel boots to make it a bit fancy. My friend wore black jeans, a frilly turquoise shirt, and black heels. Perfect outfits for going out.

Or so we thought! Arriving at the party we (1) almost knocked on the wrong door, (2) are carrying in a six pack each of berry flavored Smirnoff Ice and Hard Lemonade (real classy), and (3) were severely under dressed!

The hostess greeted us at the door wearing a floor length red sequined ball gown. We walked further into the home where everyone gathered around hor devours and wine...dressed in gowns! The men wore slacks, button downs with argyle sweaters or blazers, and ties!

The snazziest thing I wore was my purse that ended up in the spare bedroom with everyone else's coats and purses. The food was catered, the music was a DJ, and the atmosphere was high class. Short of running out of the house we ended up by the pool, I smoked a few, we downed a few drinks, and had a few Jello shots to shake off the embarrassment, no, anxiety perhaps.

The people were very kind, and not too many looks and whispers were directed our way. The time of night came when everyone headed indoors for the gift exchange...damn! We didn't bring gifts either. Our exit was only a screen door away. My girlfriend gathered the last couple of drinks as I tried to distract the stragglers and the DJ. They knew something was up, but at the first opportunity we bolted out the side door and ran to her car.

After a run in with the Sheriff, a few missed turns, and a few 80's songs, we made it back to her house. We ended up playing the Wii (bowling) and finishing off the beers with cookie dough and baked cookies. As for the under dressed part...well, there's always next year. We're already planning on buying our gowns when prom rolls around!

December 1, 2008

It's Monday, December 1, 2008. I've purchased one Christmas gift. I have two boys, a hubster, and numerous family and friends that still need gifts under the tree. Maybe I shouldn't put up a tree and pretend Christmas has already passed.

Then again, I have a few items I want for Christmas so maybe I'll suck it up and go shopping. Number one on my list is the safety fence for our pool. Our little guy started walking much sooner than we anticipated and after the unfortunate accident last year with Lou...well, we really need the fence. Number two is a jewelry box. I have a jewelry box, but the knobs keep falling off and my little one takes them! Number three on my list is a new cell phone. I'm a geek when it comes to gadgets. The new Blackberry looks heavenly, and though it's worth more than my total list combined I still want one.

What's your Christmas list look like?