Tuesday, December 12, 2006

"When it's Christmas in Carolina ..."

" ... it's Christmas all over the place."

Ah ... Squirrel Nut Zippers. Can't hardly beat that one.

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This time tomorrow, I'll be living it up with a new IV in my hand. Woo! I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM, so there'd better be drugs waiting on me when I get there.

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I've done some professional procrastinating over the cleaning chores around here. In other words, I haven't done any. I guess I'll do some today. (sigh) Depends on how much fun I have getting through the (whispering) bowel prep. Sorry kids.

I had a pedicure yesterday, so my toes will look nice when I'm snoring in the operating room. And I did another big trip to the grocery store. Hopefully, I'll just have to make one more trip (or send someone) on the 19th before our Christmas guests arrive.

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The problem with doing all my Christmas shopping early is that now I keep thinking of OTHER things I want to buy for everybody.

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The hall ceiling is hole-free. It ain't pretty, but you can't see the attic rafters anymore. He says he'll call someone professional to make it look right, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. And the fresh paint in Adam's old room has officially begun. Well, the patching of the nail holes has. Surely that will lead to paint soon.

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No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up Christmas list

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This concludes Dawn's Tuesday Stream Of Consciousness.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

"Christmas is here, bringing good cheer ..."

A Christmas Meme:

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate. This year, it’ll be sugar-free. Bah.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? When my kids were little, I followed the same tradition my Mom and Dad did when I was growing up. The gifts from Santa were never wrapped, but displayed under and around the tree. Gifts from Mom and Dad were wrapped. As we got older, all our gifts were wrapped. My grownup kids still get their stockings filled, and they know those are from Santa!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White, although I have been known to mix the two on a few trees over the years. Now we have a pre-lit artificial tree with all white lights. The lights on the mantle garland, the mini outdoor trees and the lights we string on the back deck are all white, too.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Yes. It never works for me though. Bah, again.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually by the time the first week in December is here, our decorations are up.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Daddy’s “Stuff”. Too much will make you pay, but it’s positively addictive.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? When I was a kid, the whole season was simply magical. The older I get, the less magic there is. I do remember one Christmas Eve, I had to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and I was terrified I would interrupt Santa as he left our gifts under the tree. I called my father into my room, explained my predicament, and he lovingly walked with me and guided me to the bathroom … all the while, my eyes were squeezed tightly shut and covered with my hand.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don’t remember how, or who spoiled it all for me, but I remember being so worried about letting my Mom know that I knew the truth. I pulled her aside one night, and as gently as I could, I said, “Please don’t be mad at me, Mama. I know there is no Santa. But I PROMISE you I won’t tell Kay and Laura.” I wish she had told me that I was WRONG. I probably would have believed for another Christmas.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I don't. Sometimes when the kids would beg, we’d let them open one small gift on Christmas Eve.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
There’s no theme … it’s all the ornaments the kids made through the years at school, mixed with things I’ve had for years. I still buy something new every once in awhile. Lights, ornaments, gold and white “filler” (silk flowers and sparkly stuff), and candy canes. No garland and no icicles.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? We get it so rarely here, that I always love it. I hate to drive in though, and I hate to worry about my kids driving in it.

12. Can you ice skate? No, but I remember a winter trip to Minneapolis to visit my Dad’s family when I was little. My Dad went ice skating, and I was fascinated and totally impressed … I had no idea he could do that!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? There have been a few! I loved getting my Barbie doll in 1963 or 1964. And then the Mystery Date game a couple of years later made me feel like a teenager … so grown up!

I also loved getting my red and white Adidas shoes when I was 17.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? FAMILY.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Divinity! Give me egg whites and sugar, and I’m a happy camper. I will have to take the divinity madness slow and easy this year though, or I will be a sick-as-a-dog camper.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Cooking. I love to make all the goodies and cakes. And I love to be in the kitchen, with family all over the house. To me, that’s Christmas.

17. What tops your tree? A totally boring ivory colored bow with gold trim. I’d love to find the perfect star one of these days.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? No doubt about it, I love to give. I love shopping for loved ones, trying to find something that will make them smile on Christmas morning.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? I’ve always loved “Carol Of The Bells”, and I will cry just about every time I hear “Little Drummer Boy’. “Oh Holy Night” is another favorite.

20. Candy canes? Don’t really like them, unless they are the soft, melt-in-your-mouth sugar canes made by Bob’s. I hang the regular ones on the tree, and toss them out when Christmas is over.

21. Favorite Christmas movie? “Christmas Vacation” with Chevy Chase or “The Christmas Story” ("Oh, fuuuuuuuudge!").

22. What do you leave for Santa? Santa can eat any of the goodies off the dining room table.

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Went to dinner at Adam and Brandy's last night. The tree was decorated and the house looked sooooo pretty!

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I loved my new hairdresser! She lightened my hair, and cut it quite a bit. She was going to cut it way short, but decided to save that for next time. She said the lighter hair would be enough to get used to, with everything else that's going on this time of year. I'm almost disappointed, as I am SO ready for a change. Jimmy doesn't like it, of course. (sigh)

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A lot to do today ... gonna make zucchini bread and freeze it so we can have it for a breakfast or snack choice when family's here for Christmas, laundry awaits, there's cleaning to be started (and finished tomorrow), and I will work for an hour today on the phone.

Happy Sunday, everybody.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

I'll just have an Earl Grey tea ..."

Once I got rolling yesterday, there was no stopping. Good grief.

In addition to the 2 appointments, which took HOURS ... we exchanged a Christmas gift on Woodruff Road. One word: TRAFFICFROMHELL. We ate lunch at Strossner's (yum). We went to an auto parts store so that Jimmy could get a new trailer hitch ball thingie for his truck. He's going to borrow the neightbor's trailer to get all of Em's stuff home in one trip today. We bought paint for Adam's old room at the Sherwin-Williams store. And we ended up at Sam's Club to get a few supplies and Christmas food for the masses. (Few Things From Sam's = over $200. Every time.) We got home at dinnertime, unloaded the car, ate leftovers, and stopped for the day.

Today I am seeing yet another new hairstylist. In my never-ending quest to have hair that looks "normal", I am trusting another stranger to do the right thing. The anxiety has already set in.

Before I go, I will work for an hour at my new job. I'm now working at home, answering phone calls for a national teleservices company. Right now I'm taking orders for just about everything you might see on TV that's offered with a 1-800 number, including Tempur-pedic mattresses, AARP health and auto insurance info, Natural Cures books, and Wild Party Girls dvds, to name just a few. Oh, the humanity. After the holidays, I'lll train for another project ... maybe Sears Home Repair or Pro Flowers. I love the abilty to work when I want to, and while I'm wearing my PJ pants. And I'm sitting down the whole time! Whoo.

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Almost time for the weekly phone call to my Mom. And the day begins. Y'all have a good one.

Friday, December 08, 2006

"There's something wrong with the world today ..."

... I don't know what it is. (Amen, Aerosmith.)

I understand that a lot of Americans are totally focused on "Celebrity News", whatever that is. Magazines like People and Us Weekly are packed with fascinating peeks into the lives of role models (ahem) like Nicole Richey, Victoria Beckham, Paris Hilton and her new best friend who needs panties for Christmas. I will even admit to reading a little bit of the stuff every day online from my favorite Hollywood gossip site. (That's how I knew Britney needed panties. And a swift kick in the ass.)

But y'all. Damn. The other night, I had the local 6pm news on in the background while I finished up wrapping gifts. I stopped, mid-wrap, when I heard our local "journalist" announce the breaking news that .............. are you sitting down? ...............

JENNIFER ANISTON AND VINCE VAUGHN HAVE SPLIT UP!!! (Gasp!)


Please, someone explain to me how this is "news". They are 2 very ordinary actors who have dated each other for a few years ... and their breakup is announced on the Greenville, SC local news hour? As I listened to the news anchor give the heartbreaking details to the people in Greenville County, I started to wonder if our celebrity obsession had gone a couple of steps too far. I mean, come ON. They weren't married, they didn't have kids, they've done nothing newsworthy ... they broke up.

The moment when I KNEW it had gone 'round the bend ... the anchorwoman used the term "Vaughn-iston". God save us.

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Sorry for the incredibly long breaks between updates around here. I've been trying to get a lot accomplished before my surgery next week. I've done all my gift-shopping, I've decorated the castle, and I've done a lot of "getting rid of". I've donated a ton of stuff to local charity, and organized drawers and closets. Feels really good!

Jimmy has taken on the job of painting ... gotta save those dollars for motorcycle stuff, ya know. So, 2 months later, one bedroom is done. He hasn't realized it yet, but he'll finish a 2nd one before our Christmas guests arrive. It took awhile, but I think I've resigned myself to the fact that this will take forever, and I won't get my new carpet for another 5 years or so, if things continue at this rate. But he does do a really good job with the painting. He's just slower than molasses on a winter day.

He also complicates things for himself. The other night, he was in the attic, putting the insulation over the attic fan. And then all of a sudden, there was a huge hole in the ceiling with his ass (or some other body part, I don't know) sticking through. I wanted to cry ... it feels like our house will NEVER look they way I want it to, and now the ceiling in the hallway is gone. But I took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and accepted the fact that, even though it will take MONTHS, he WILL repair it. (I've made myself get tears in my eyes now, just typing that. ARRRRGHHHHHH I want a nice house!!!!)

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Went to Clemson yesterday to help Em get her stuff packed up. We worked all afternoon, and ended up with a couple garbage bags full of trash, 4 garbage bags for charity donation, and my car loaded down with the stuff she's moving back home with. The only belongings left in her apartment are a bed, a bookshelf, 2 TV stands, a bedside table, and a floor lamp. We'll go down at some point on Saturday to get that.

After we worked, we went to dinner with Jud in Anderson and had a quick, but very nice visit. I got to meet Allie, the cutest puppy EVER. She even showed me the tricks she's learned ... she can play dead, roll over, and shake already! She's precious.

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So anyway ... today I have 2 pre-op appointments ... one at the hospital, and one with the gynecologist. Surgery is set for Wednesday at 8 AM. I've got a trillion things to do between now and then. Wish me luck.

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Rest in peace, little Beamer. Thanks for all the smiles you brought to my face over the last several years, buddy. Laura and Melody, I love you both ... and wish I could ease your pain.