HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

We celebrated the arrival of the new year with our closest friends. Mainly because I'm overly obsessed with people not being on the streets on New Year's Eve. Plus, Tim was on call for work so we really couldn't go anywhere fun anyway.

Doesn't matter, though. We made our own fun, in the best way we aging parents can.

Here's the story:

Our friends, The Roosters, came to stay with us to celebrate evening. We had spaghetti with meat sauce, cheesy bread, and Red Apple Sangria (Tim was sad because he could only have coffee).

We played a card game we refer to as "White Trash Poker", we played Farkel and we laughed.

Boy, did we ever laugh. We laughed because we learned from our new Official Rules of Farkel, we've been playing wrong for years. And also because we learned we've been spelling the name of the game wrong too. It's not Farkle, it's Farkel.

We mostly laughed at Tim who wanted to test out his new BB gun by shooting at the neighbor across the street's mailbox (A sincere apology goes out to Nate and Crystal for the new dings in their mailbox). I won't even mention who's fence may have a few dings in it too.

The Teenager and a few of his friends hung out outside while The Kid and The Little Roosters played the new XBox 360 in The Teenager's room. When the younger kids got tired of playing XBox, the teenagers moved indoors.

The countdown to midnight literally began with the first yawn from the adults at 9pm.

I remember when I was young, I never understood why my parents weren't more excited on New Year's eve. It was all about being up at midnight when the date changed, watching the ball drop at midnight, kissing your loved ones.

I was thrilled. My parents were asleep. Now I know why.

We watched the clock.

"How many more hours until midnight? Oh gosh. Still 1 hour, 56 minutes and 49 seconds? I don't know if I'll make it."

"Look, only 49 minutes, 2 seconds left." Yawn.

We made it, though. We watched the ball drop. We kissed. We toasted. We listened to people shoot off fireworks.

By 12:10, we were in bed.



Happy New Year to all of you. May it bring you peace and happiness.

RAINY SATURDAY MORNING

I will not let it get me down.

Today is my dearest husband's 43rd birthday.

No, I did not get up and make him breakfast in bed. I did not make him coffee.

I chose to do what I know he loves most...sleep in.

He's snoring behind me right now.

I will wait until tonight to begin his birthday festivities.

In the meantime, it's raining.



But like I said. I will not let it get me down. I will tackle the monstrous pile of laundry and brave the messy living room.

I will fight the fur balls that are taking over the house from my 2 shedding dogs.

I will save the bedroom for last since the birthday boy is sleeping in.

Why do I do this?

Because I adore his almost totally grey hair.

We laugh together when he stands up and his bones creak.

I lovingly massage the BenGay into his sore muscles because he's not the young man he used to be.

Yes, he's changed quite a bit from the young, dark haired, adventurous soul I married many years ago.

But I'll be forever incredibly, stupendously, head-over-heals in love with him.

Why? Because he brings sunshine into my gloomy, rainy Saturday mornings.

Happy Birthday, My One True Love!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I know I've been absent.

I'm sorry and I have missed you all.

My daytime job is leaking into my nighttime jobs.

I'll be back soon.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving festivities.

I'll be back soon.

Stay tuned!