touring and seeing the sights

This is not my picture. I had to search for one that showed a non sunny downtown Seattle. Like a big dummy, I forgot to throw my camera in the car. Busy Saturday with twists and turns in our schedule. Originally we were going to a birthday party but lots of the guests are not feeling so hot so we will attend in two weeks. Our Seattle family is just not meant to get together... We will soon and it will be a big combo bash, Christmas and lots of birthdays.
The four of us piled into the car and went down south to return my test kit. We continued further south to Del Taco. The results were mixed but generally good reviews. Burritos and fries were exactly the same but the regular crunchy tacos were not. As we sat there happily chewing away, we wondered how many of the other customers were Calif. transplants. We probably had big dumb grins on our faces the whole time.
Headed back north to downtown Seattle. Bob works there most of the time for the railroad. He has learned his way around pretty darn well. He took us all over, we didn't get out of the car and do anything as it was pouring. Lots to see and look at. Drove around a few areas that Bob and I would LOVE to live in, if only... Lots of great views of the sound and the skyline including the Needle. Traveled east back to Kirkland. Ate downtown at one of our favorite places, then home to a warm fire in the stove and some online poker for me.
Today was all about chores. Got to get the house in order for this week. Since I am taking the written portion of my test this Saturday, I will be doing a lot of studying. I wanted to have the house clean and laundry done, etc. so that I can concentrate. I hope that this goes well, I will really study and hope for the best.
Girls will have school all week and then have next Monday off for MLK. They are already looking forward to a three day weekend. Riley took donuts to school last week for her belated birthday. Her class helped celebrate by eating mouthfuls of crumb, powder and chocolate covered donuts. She did manage to bring some of them home which surprised me.
Well, it is off to prepare for slumber. Getting clothes ready, showers, homework done, signatures on homework, lunches and all the while trying to catch some of the "Golden Globes".
Looking forward to some sunshine here soon, just a little would go a long way...

Indirect Radiation

Well, I wouldn't say walking ON sunshine because that would lead everyone to think that I am some skipping, smiling, happy- go- lucky- type. I am not. Not my nature...
I am going to walk IN sunshine tho!!! Maybe not a full blown yellow, bright, warm sunshine but hey, I'll take whatever I can get. Today is meant to be a reprieve, a drying out. The poor souls who have had serious flooding need to know that the rivers have crested and that they can return home to assess damage. What a nightmare that must be to find your house filled with water, then sludge and wonder where to begin. Yuck. Like I said, we are lucky and live nowhere near a river.
Oops, the sun has disappeared behind a cloud so I can type away for a few more minutes. I went to the library the other day and got a book that I have had on hold forever. I am supposed to be studying for my written cosmo exam so am trying not to pick that book up but I will have to find a compromise. I have not done any reading for pleasure since before Christmas. I miss my books. I need a little Barnes and Noble trip too, just a little fix...
Tomorrow we celebrate a birthday, I go to return my doll head and her accessories, Bob has the day off and all is good. No significant rain for a bit and that will be grand as well. We will miss seeing our little Nattie girl tho. Hugs and kisses to that sweet baby.
A lovely weekend to you all...

"When the direct radiation is not blocked by clouds, it is experienced as sunshine, a combination of bright light and heat."

All Over the Place in My Head

It's raining. A lot. While I am not complaining, it continues to wash the reminders of snow away, others are not in such good shape. Washington was on the national news last night with Charlie Gibson showing footage of our state. The local news broke in just now to say that many of the rives have not yet crested and that many portions of Interstate 5 are closed. The city that I had to take my test in on Monday is not accessible now, many were evacuated from there. Man, am I ever glad that I got that out of the way!
In other news, there is news other than the weather... I am inspired by so many things right now. It has made me want to take better care of myself. Nothing earth shattering but I am determined to get healthy. If Oprah can do it in front of millions, I can do it in front of my blog buddies! I am going to start walking and if that proves to be impossible due to the weather, I have an exercise bike downstairs. I went to Trader Joe's yesterday and got some good things to eat too. Digging down deep into someone else's life and trying to help them figure out some reasons for their actions has made me look at myself and what my reasons are for what I do. It is time I help myself like I have always tried to help others. My career was all about listening to clients and being there for them not just about hair. In fact, sometimes it really had very little to do with hair. It really felt like a therapist situation a lot of the time. I loved it and I miss it but I realize that it is soooo much easier to help everyone else than it is to take care of myself. So instead of that tired old New Year resolution "losing weight", my resolution for this year is to take better care of me and learn to love myself more like I love others in my life. I figure if I can do that, the other good things will fall into place.
So please bear with me if I carry on too much, I tend to get all frenzied at first with something and then burn out too quickly, so I will try to pace myself.

Had to attend a two hour meeting last night at Sid's Jr. High. We are going to try to get Riley into a "choice" school next year. It is on the same campus as the Jr. High but is it's own school. You have to attend the meeting, take a tour of the school and fill out the application. It is a lottery system and only about 30 openings. It is a small school with only 140 students from 6th to 9th grade and there are only about 6 teachers. The curriculum works closely with the environment, nature and community service. Lots of camping trips and field trips, local native American arts, etc. Really cool. Ri wasn't too sure about it at first but when she saw that others from her school were there and what kinds of programs they offered she was excited. The odds aren't so great but we shall see. Our girls have been in "choice" schools most of their lives and we have always managed to get in so maybe our luck will hold.

My California BFF's and I are trying to figure out when they can get up here for a visit. I am so excited at the prospect of them coming up here to see me and where I live but am feeling a bit gun shy because of all of the weather we have had. I hate to say it but I am hoping that spring would be a better time for them. It wont ever promise not to rain up here but it doesn't always snow or flood like this either.
Birthday party this weekend for my cousin's little princess. She will be three. I haven't seen any of my family in forever!
Going downstairs to start on the never ending mountain of laundry, my doll head is down there drying her hair out, she sits there and makes me feel guilty if I don't do all of my chores. I can't wait for her to leave on Saturday.

Wind, Rain and Radio

I am going to throw a quick post in and then be off to different locations. I just got off of the phone with our local rock radio station, I tried to win a 100 bucks but got the question wrong, can you imagine? Me? Wrong? BUT, I got to be on the radio! I got to talk to the D.J. and his morning sidekick! My 15 seconds of fame, over and done with... sigh... oh well, there is always tomorrow.
Yesterday was good for me in that it was the first normal day I have had since before Christmas break. Back on schedule with the girls, etc. got my lovely kit all cleaned out and ready to return, did some chores around here and went to the store. I will now begin the process of studying my cosmo book and prepare for my written test. It's actually not written, it's at one of those computer testing sights. They have practice tests online and that is a helpful bonus. I will work on that this evening and every evening until Jan. 16th.
Yesterday was a good day in that I got to chat with my friend. When a friend is in a better spot than they were a week ago, you tend to feel like you can breath a little easier. I have been diligent in my prayers, having faith that it's going to be okay. As I said in an earlier post, she is mucho important to me and I am grateful to have her in my life.
I will go now out into the rain. I love the rain! I hate the snow! It was sooo windy yesterday. It cracks me up to watch Washingtonians in the wind. It's like they have never been in wind and are afraid it's gonna blow them into the Sound. Okay, by Seattle standards it was windy but they have never tried to drive up the 15 freeway in Fontana during a Santa Ana and see 18 wheelers overturned!!! Or had their living room window blow in and crash into your Christmas tree! Or be stopped by the police for a lack of visibility wind/sand storm on Thanksgiving day in your own home town. Now that is wind. But in all fairness, I would not like to be going up the Space Needle in the wind nor would I like to be driving across the 520 or 90 bridges in the wind as waves are splashing all around me. Whew! makes me feel all blustery inside just thinking about it.

Jump for Joy

Yup, jumping for joy, that's me. Let me tell you about my day. I got up, got ready and got to the testing facility in good time. Bob called me this morning and gave me the "all clear". That snow of last night had turned into a giant slushy mess but was do able. I used my cool new Blackberry's GPS to get me there with no problems. The other poor souls testing with me were a mixture of looks and types. The bleached out tinted pink and green with tatoos, cute guys with tats and emo haircuts. Older women with no English speaking skills and lots of young cute hopeful girls that reminded me of 1985 when I took my first practicals. So I am in the facility for four hours, it goes by fast. I paid for instant results. I thought instant meant right away. Not in the cosmetology testing world. Instant meant TWO and a half hours. So I get into my car and head for the freeway. I had a little lunch first, too nervous to eat much. I am on the freeway and see those blue signs that tell you what food, lodging and fuel is at the next exit. I see a sign that looks so familiar, so much like something I know from California. It is a sign for a DEL TACO! No way, it can't be. I get off at that exit and it was true. A brand new Del Taco. Oh the joy... I can't eat there because I am not hungry and I am nervous as hell. The brand new Super Walmart is right there too, so I decide on some retail therapy to calm my nerves. I finish up there and head back over to the test site in time to get my letter, sealed... At this point I have myself completely convinced that I did not pass. I had one critical error and figured that was what would send me into the non passing category. I walk out to my car, still not opening my letter. Another student asks me if I passed and I kindly tell her that I don't know, I haven't looked yet but I congratulate her. I sit in the driver's seat and open the envelope to find my results. I passed. I am almost crying from relief. I call my sister first, then my parents. I can't call Bob as he is at work and can't take phone calls. I text Sid too. When I told the family about Del Taco they were pretty excited, maybe a little more about the thought of a combo burrito than about my ability to do a faux perm on a doll head...

Freakin' Out

Where do I begin? To tell the story of how great a breakdown can be? Those were some song lyrics that I thought I would use to begin my rant. Dr. Zhivago???
As you all are WELL aware of, I am supposed to be south of here at 7:15 a.m. tomorrow morning for my test. I have been studying all day. Getting my kit ready, clothes ready, added supplies ready, mentally ready. I am not sure what time it was this evening but it started to snow. At first, it was some light flurries, oh how cute they are... flurries stopped and big white fluffy things, hmmm... haven't seen those since before Christmas. Fluffy large white snowflakes keep coming down and are starting to stick. Bob comes into the kitchen where I am trying to make dinner and asks me if I have a plan if it is indeed snowy in the morning. Uh...no.... hadn't made a snow plan because I am hoping it will stop soon like the news said, and I am in denial. So as I sit here bloggin' away instead of sleeping or studying I watch the snow that is still coming down. The news just said that it is supposed to turn to rain and make "tomorrow's commute a wet, slushy, slick, mess" isn't that nice... crap...

One More Day

I am sure that by now everyone will be glad when my test is over. I have been bitching and moaning about it for so long now that I am sick of it myself. I did apply for a date for the written portion and that will take place later in the month. The daughters and I went down to a mall in Tukwila to meet the people who I am renting my kit from. Picked that tub of loveliness up and off we went(see pic above). Instead of going home the usual way, I ended up staying on the 5 freeway and that takes us through Seattle. I commented to the girls how cool it was to just be going home from an errand and getting to see the Seattle skyline, the Space Needle, driving over Lake Washington and seeing Mt. Rainier shrouded in clouds. I will never become jaded or grow tired of it all. I actually did okay driving on the floating bridge today. It was my first time driving as I am usually the passenger and my very capable husband does the driving. He is such a good driver and I never worry when he is at the wheel. It's when I am at the wheel that the worst in him comes out. He figures it is his opportunity to give me a driving lesson and I am a captive student. I do remind him that I have been driving for 100 years now and that he must trust me as I am the shuttle service to his precious cargo, I mean daughters. I digress...
So anyhow, we made a detour and got some burgers, fries, onion rings and shakes at Kidd Valley. Sid was mortified at the suggestion that we pick up food there. It is the popular teen hang out and she would be embarrassed to be seen with her mom and little sister. Can you imagine? I felt so sorry for her...NOT. Alas, she was able to go in, order and leave with out being spotted or seeing anyone she knew. What a relief I am sure. I have to say that the burger was just okay, the shake was good but the onion rings were the BEST I have had. They rocked the house. So there is an official report on a Seattle based eatery that many talk about and has received awards through the years. It was a bit spendy for the four of us as well. But now I can say I have been if anyone were to ask...
So tomorrow is Sunday and I will practice, practice and practice some more. I have to be at the test facility at 7:15 a.m. on Monday. That is an obscene time of morning to have to be somewhere. Testing officially starts at 8:00 and lasts until 12:00 so at least I am not there all day.
I do have good news that I received today about my friend, she is in a good place right now and I am praying for her to do well and hoping for the best. I love her and need her in my life.
Check out my doll head friend, she is ready to go, all wrapped up in her plastic cap and rotating pivot stand thing. She better behave herself and help me pass my test or she will find herself sailing across the lake with out a parachute...

New Day Different Outlook

Well, technically it is not a new day, it is still the old day with 45 minutes til the new day. Close enough...
The New Year just kind of slid on into position, taking the place of the old year. I can't say it came in quietly. We have a neighborhood with a passion or unhealthy addiction to fireworks. Those began about 7:30 p.m. and did not stop until well after 1:00 a.m. The girls and I watched the fireworks explode off of the Space Needle. We actually watched it from the comfort of a warm bed. Bob woke up briefly to wish us all a Happy New Year and complain about the fireworks and promptly fell back to sleep. His snoring was louder than the fireworks.
I slept passed the Rose Parade. In Calif. this was not a problem as it is rebroadcast throughout the entire day. In WA it isn't such a big thrill. If you miss it the first time you are outta luck. My father has informed me that he TIVO'd it for us and we will be able to watch to our hearts content when we are there in February.
My mind is full of things right now, I will go down south tomorrow and pick up my kit for my practical test. I take my dreaded test on Monday. Sid let me practice on her today but as a reward I had to color her hair. I am also in turmoil over the hurting that a very close and much loved friend is going through. I am hoping that I can be a help to her and pray that she finds the strength she needs to see her challenges through. She is so smart and beautiful and you just wonder how someone with so much going for them and so much to live for can go to that dark place. It's one thing to go to the dark place, I visit it from time to time but the whole point of growing and learning is to get yourself out of that dark cave. I am using reserves and strengths that I didn't know I had and determined to help however I can even tho I am far away. She and I have had some bleak moments in the last few days but I am feeling hopeful for tomorrow. She is a big fan of my blog and will read this for sure so I want to make sure she knows that she is loved and cared about.
My family is all tucked in and each person has a cat on their bed as an accessory. Our spoiled little man is between us on the bed all curled up and warm. It's hard to move and get any covers while trying not to disturb "His Royal Highness"...

Highlights of 2008

I was reading something online and saw that a t.v. star had made a list of things that were a highlight(or lowlight) for her in 2008. I decided to do the same...
Amy's '08 list of things-
*got a replacement diamond for my lost diamond in my wedding ring- quite an upgrade!
*Bob lost his job (making our decision to move easier)
*Spent Easter in Arizona with my family
*Watched my oldest daughter receive academic awards and get promoted to 9th grade at her promotion ceremony
*Parted ways with my salon and quit working after many years
*Sid got her braces off
*Moved out of California
*Moved to Washington
*celebrated the birth of a new baby in the family
*went sailing for the first time
*mourned the loss of a dear friend's spouse
*mourned the loss of a client in a senseless death
*grandparents moved from the house they lived in for over 45 years and celebrated the move to a new apartment for them
*Bob's new career
*rented our CA house
*the presidential election
*the snow from hell
*won the WA state lottery(just kidding-seeing if you are paying attention)

So that is it- off of the top of my head. A year of changes for sure and I am pretty certain that 2009 will be eventful as well. Hopefully filled with good things, safe things and no sad things. Happy New Year to everyone and thanks for hanging in there with me and my crazy rants!

Prepare for '09- Shop now!

As the promise of a new year approaches, you can't help but think about how many changes occurred in the past year, what changes you can make in the upcoming year and what will or wont happen beyond your control. I am looking at these immediate happenings. Getting a job. I will take my practical boards very soon and will of course post my passing of those boards with great relish. If I did not pass for some weird reason I wont even mention it. I don't take failure well. I really don't take failure well when it has to do with my profession of 25+ years. I will pass the boards, seek employment, try to make some new connections, make some changes in my daily life. Nothing big, life changing but change non the less. More on that later and enough reflection for now.
The girls and I made our escape yesterday. Just as we were getting ready to leave, Bob called and requested some dry socks. He had been outside working at Costco all morning and he was soaked. His manager asked him to stay all day and he agreed to it but would have to work with wet feet. Since we were well into the east side, we continued on to Redmond. Target and it's neighboring stores never looked so good. On the previous day, the daughters were all a twitter about spending gift cards and getting out of the house. They both wore new shoes and quickly complained about blisters, being tired, low blood sugar(Riley), etc... I was disappointed to say the least, I was geared up for an all day errand, shopping whirlwind. Got some good bargains and stocked up on grocery items as well. Got a great deal on Craig's List for Riley. She needed a monitor for her desktop PC, 15 bucks. My uncle had one available at his company but I was beginning to doubt that I was ever going to get there and Riley's Ipod/computer drama was beginning to make me nuts. The icing on the shopping cake would have been if the liquor store was open on Sundays. Oh well there is today. We are going to try for Bellevue Square and Crossroads today. The girls will get a stern talking to and will wear comfortable shoes. I will not tolerate the glazed over tired routine today. What the hell do they have to be tired for? Oh, yes, staying up till all hours watching DVDs and playing Guitar Hero. Their inner clocks are a jumbled up mess.

Better than Christmas

I have a habit of being wide awake at around 4:00 a.m. I wait until Bob leaves at 5:00 and turn the news on in the bedroom. It helps me fall back to sleep sometimes, perhaps not always. Today it did and Riley crawled in with me. We slept late. I figured, why get up? To do what? I can't go anywhere, I have most of my big chores done, so lay in bed. I finally got out of bed after Bob called and said he would be home soon. Ri is hollering at me to look outside. Our street had been cleared!!!
The street clearing angels heard my fervent prayers last night. I did pray my guts out that it would warm up(it did) rain(not yet) not snow(it didn't) and that our street would get cleared(it did). Freedom at last! Bob called again and wanted to know what we needed from Costco. Oh happy day. We are having STEAKS for dinner, baked potatoes and salad. Grand... When he got home, he and Sid finished our driveway and cleared what fell off of my car from melting. My car is clean of snow as is my driveway. I have never been so happy to see pavement. I am way more excited about this than I was Christmas morning. Bob said that the rest of the 'hood isn't as clear so he will scout it out tomorrow for me, call me and give me a report. We are headed to Target as soon as possible. It's great too, I am holding over the girl's heads. If you don't clean your room and fold your laundry and unload the dishwasher we wont be able to go to Target... Hey, it's not mean, it's smart. How else are you going to get two kids to leave the Guitar Hero for a while and do chores??? Use what you got, that's what I say.
I just finished cutting Bob's hair. He is a human again. Handsome for sure, even if I do say so myself. He is happy now.
The mail even came after two days of no delivery. A package that I had ordered for the girls arrived in the mail, keeping Christmas going for a while longer.
So, the mood in the house is light and happy, like I like it. Really I do...

What day is it?

I am losing track of the days. I know this is the day after Christmas. The girls and I were actually foolish enough to believe the weather reports. They were telling us it would warm up and start to rain. Blessed rain to wash away the evil snow. I walked into the living room, looked outside and guess what I saw? Snow... It was snowing. Big fat fluffy flakes. Adding to the mix of snow, ice and slush that we already have. Our street now looks like we live in Fargo, N.D. They wont clear our street either. The main cities are overwhelmed with main streets and we live in an unincorporated county area so forget it. I am starting to see how natural disasters can add up to real trouble. If we lost power for more than a few days, someone had a medical emergency, etc. It took Bob a half hour to get his 4x4 truck in the driveway tonight. He spent another hour shoveling the driveway(it is a small driveway) so he can get out tomorrow. What if we had no water or gas? I am going to make myself panic. I have to pick up my kit for my state boards by Monday. If I can't pick it up, I am in big trouble. We are supposed to get rain tomorrow along with warmer temps. I will believe it when I see it.

Be On Your Way Santa

I have never been so glad to shut the door on that fat jolly old man as this Christmas. This was the Christmas that I never dreamed of. While I am glad it's over, done, finished and gone I still have some lingering issues. This was supposed to be the best Christmas. We are in WA for goodness sake. There are light displays, events, etc and chilly weather to make you feel the real Christmas feeling. Oh it was chilly all right, so cold that I was numb and could never feel the spirit. Oh there were a few nights when I had one of my 300 Christmas CD's playing and it was snowing outside and I felt very Christmas like. Otherwise, it was below expectations for sure. I guess to sum it up, I feel gipped.
The minute my street is clear and neighborhood passable, I am heading to the mall and shopping, talking to strangers, eating in a restaurant, you name it. I will buy myself a nice Christmas gift, check out the after holiday sales, etc. Tonight I will erase my Christmas ringtone from my phone too. I am keeping the house decor up because my family will come for dinner eventually and it just makes the house look so much better than normal. It'll be just plain dull with out it.
Christmas morning was nice. The girls got lots of nice things and lots of gift cards to spend on that mall trip we are taking soon. They have been playing with the Guitar Hero and Beatles Monopoly all day too. Their father has been helping them out with that. I can here them downstairs negotiating for the purchase of Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Blvd. I will attempt to clean up the kitchen soon. Bob had gotten a turkey from Costco as a gift. I cooked it, made stuffing, mashed potatoes, veggies, etc. It was a damn decent meal if I do say so myself. Instead of a traditional grace before we ate, Bob and I told the girls how grateful we were for all that we have and have been given this year. The fact that he didn't have to work today, a warm and toasty home, good food, plenty of presents, etc. God has blessed us in so many ways. We all agreed that we were thankful for it all.
So that man in the red suit and white beard can just stay up in the North Pole for a year and good riddance I say. The snow can go too and not return for about another 20 years or so. I want to get on with life, talk to humans other than the ones I live with and face to face too. Hope that everyone had a Christmas to be thankful for and is ready for the new year. My wish for the New Year? A clear road outta here!

A Brighter Outlook

It's amazing what can happen in a day. Nothing earth shattering like snow being gone but none the less good things. It finally stopped snowing for a while and began raining. This is good news. Warmer temps and rain is the key here. My sister had been asking if I had gotten any packages from her and I had to keep telling her no. UPS cannot come into my neighborhood! It's not safe!
Riley had her buddy over all day today and I did some chores and talked on the phone all day. I was downstairs in the laundry room and heard the doorbell. Sid came down a few minutes later with a box. She said she saw the UPS guy on foot and it was one of my sister's boxes. I opened it right away. It was a web cam!!!
Sid and I had just been talking about how cool it would be to have one since my sister has one. Well... there you go!!! We hooked it up and have already spent some time in Arizona tonight!!! There was a knock on the door about an hour later and another package from my sister! I wont tell you what was in it until after Christmas but let's just say it made my whole Christmas.
Bob called at about 4:30 and said he was on his way and may not have to work on Christmas day. The rain in Seattle did a lot to help the rail situation so he might get to be home for Christmas day. Sid and I are in the living room sitting on the couch by the tree and just heard the loudest "swoosh". Melting snow slipping down the roof and onto the ground! This is excellent. A bit more of this and I will begin to feel the shackles loosening. Hurrah...
I will finish up the stockings and gifts from Santa in a while and go to bed. The girls have already made plans to be up by 7:00 or so. I had better have a steaming cup o' joe waiting with Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha creamer in it, or there will be no Christmas!

Merry Christmas

It is Christmas Eve morning. It is actually snowing again! I have posted about being snowed in and the "joys" of it. It is small potatoes compared to what others have to go through of course.

I figured it was all okay for Christmas. Now here is the update, I had to postpone having everyone over on Christmas day, kinda sucks but it will be all right. Had to cancel Riley's birthday plans but that turned out really well. She had her friend from across the street over for dinner. Bob brought home pizzas, cake and ice cream. Sid made her a cool banner to hang up and she had lots of presents and cards to open. Made it thru that. Bob got called by the railroad yesterday while he was at his Costco job and they needed him to work today. Okay, Christmas Eve, we can't go anywhere anyway and he'll be home by 5:00 tonight, right?? WRONG. He called this morning to tell me he may not be home until late tonight, will have to work on Christmas day and the rest of the weekend. The railroad is in the same predicament as everything else around here, planes, buses, trash trucks, UPS trucks, on and on. He is working with emergency crews to get the trains moving again, tracks cleared and repaired. He could not say no since he is new and he hasn't worked for them for almost two weeks.
Like I told my Seattle family, I love living here but not right now... at all.
I miss my AZ family so much and am not excited about having Christmas with out them let alone my husband. If the girls were little it would be fun because I could do the whole Santa excitement thing. But they are older and not as exciting as they used to be. Add to it that they are disappointed about their dad not being around too much. Talk about a pity party... I know all the things about being grateful and trust me I am. But I still don't have to like my situation. It will pass and I will look forward to February when we fly to AZ.


The true reason for Christmas is not lost on me. I am not that selfish. I am truly appreciative that I have my faith, my health, my family's health and a warm roof over my head. I know this is all about the birth of our savior. I have never lost sight of that. I think being cooped up for six hundred days straight has me feeling a bit weepy and insane at this point.

My family here in Seattle has been AWESOME. Putting up with me, keeping me in the loop, sharing their crazy cabin fever stories, invites, etc. LOVE them and am grateful that I have them.
I have some friends that are not going to have the greatest Christmas because of loss and family situations that all came about this year. I would never put myself in the category that they are in. How dare I complain when I know they are suffering through the holidays and trying to be brave for the family around them. I don't know if I would have it in me to even have Christmas, they are the strong ones.
I will try to wrap this up now with insight and gratitude. My uncle sent me a nice e mail and I will take his advice. "Cozy on up by the fireplace and just abide in God’s grace!" It really is just about that. Thanks Uncle L.D. Merry Christmas to you all.

p.s. these are pictures I took on a walk around our neighborhood the other day. It is beautiful isn't it?

Happy Birthday to you Dear Riley

I just assumed that it would be so close to Christmas that I couldn't possibly have time to post any thing. I guess you know what assume means... I got nothin' but time. I am so glad to hear from others in the beautiful evergreen state that are going stir crazy too. Being house bound for a few days is cool but a week? It's getting old. But I also assumed or should say that Bob and I assumed that we would never punish a child by giving them a December birthday. We even talked in length about how we know lots of people with December birthdays and what a drag it must be, etc. Well again, we were wrong. We have a December birthday. It isn't so bad for her either. She kind of likes it. Her dad and I, along with all of her family have always made a huge effort to give her a separate and unique birthday. She knows no better and therefore is completely content with her holiday infused day.
Let me try to shine some light on the world and machinations of my youngest child. She is fair in looks but only in looks. She can be a tough kid or a true youngest baby. We have a bad habit of not being able to leave her alone. We have picked on her since she was quite small. She was (and is) so cute and so fun to chew on, tickle, squeeze, bite, blow raspberries on, nibble, poke and pinch. We have never tired of it and her father is the biggest culprit. She doesn't like it much but knows this is her call in life and place in this family. As she gets older it isn't quite the same tho. She has been blessed with the best sense of humor. Her impersonations and accents are dead on, her comedic timing and take on life is pure SNL material. She has spent a large amount of her life trying to be like her sister but has carved out her own personality as well. She is the magnet for children everywhere. Kids of all ages are just drawn to her. She often flies by the seat of her pants, lands in a pile of manure and comes up smelling like a rose. I have always been jealous of people like that. It is hard for me to go on without thinking of the millions of things she has done that make me laugh out loud. She has paid her father back a million times over for all of his evil tickling and biting by being able to impersonate him perfectly. Not one of us could get away with it like she does.
Riley was the pure Christmas joy 11 years ago. She was the sweetest little cuddly thing. She has always and still is my cuddle bug. I know she is trying really hard to be that cool "tween" but she can't help herself and wants to snuggle with her mom.
If I have been guilty of anything it is this, I treat her like the baby that she is. She is my baby and no matter how old she is she will always be my baby. I knew before she was born that she would be our last. I made sure I held her a little longer, baby talked with her a little longer, protected her a little longer. I knew by the first child just how fast it was all going to go. I wanted to savor and hold on just a bit more with my baby. Now I see this beautiful blue eyed, blonde girl who is breaking my heart and will break lots of hearts before she is through.
I had to explain to her yesterday that we would not be going out to celebrate her birthday today or tomorrow due to the weather. She told me it was okay. I can just see the future and me crying or whining about something and my baby will still be telling me "it's okay mom". She is the true grown up kid and I am the one being the baby. Happy Happy Birthday my little Christmas angel, Mom and Dad couldn't have asked for a better gift.

Be Careful What You Wish For

I love Bing Crosby. He is the essential Christmas crooner. I want to slap him hard now. "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas". It sounded good at the time but who knew that it would turn bitter and bite me in the behind??? It pretty much snowed all day again yesterday. The weather is calling for more snow all week. Yep, all week. That means Christmas too. There is a guy that keeps riding his ATV up and down our street. I hate him. I am jealous of his freedom. I have no idea where he is going on his ATV but he is out and about.
We live at the top of a very steeeeeep hill. Our area of Kirkland has the word Hill in it's description of the area. It's high enough that the neighbors refer to stores,etc, at being at "the bottom of the hill" . The hill is not passable as of now. Lucky for Bob there is a back way and it gets salted and cindered. He has seen so much snow related chaos in the last few days, he could blog for hours. He said that this snow and ice has brought out the best and the worst in everyone. Shoppers have stopped him in the parking lot and noticed how much, long and vigorously he has been shoveling snow. They thank him. People have complained that the floor at the entrance of Costco is "messy" or "dirty". Uhhh... ya think??? How could you not track in melting ice, snow, de icer, salt and sand? I am always amazed at how weird people are.
Just talked to my sister and our package from her will not be here in time for Christmas. It's just one of the many packages that wont be able to fly in to Seatac or get on a UPS truck and get to us. Oh the joy.
"Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow"
my hit list is getting bigger.

Define Snow

"Snow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. The process of precipitation is called snowfall."

That is the official description of snow, in a scholarly way. Here is my description of snow... Pain in the ass. I am house bound. My street looks like those flash frozen chicken breasts that you get in a big bag at Costco. I was brave and did grocery shopping the other day and only slid once or twice. The streets in my 'hood is ten times worse than that now. Bob has been getting up early and going to work at Costco but he has 4 wheel drive and has only slid around a bit. He actually did grocery shopping after he left Costco yesterday. The news had been full of warnings of snow, full force winds, freezing rain, power outages, etc. Bob said it was a scene straight out of Armageddon. Everyone in Costco wanted a generator and there were none to be had. Costco had to have employees go out into the parking lot to direct traffic due to the amount of people and the amount of ice patches that were forcing cars to slide around at the hands of drivers with little or no intelligence. Then when he got to Safeway he could not park in the parking lot. It was FULL. He had to park in the strip mall next to the grocery store and walk. He said the shelves had vast expanse of emptiness. The lines to check out were wrapping around aisles. I must admit I was very glad that he was the one out there and grateful. I would have lost it. Really, nervous breakdown stuff. So we have tons of canned goods, bottled water and candles. Nothing has happened tho, we never did lose power. I didn't care if we did except that Bob and I both were very concerned about the coffee maker. It needs power to make the brew of life for us. That could have been a disaster...
I am looking outside as I type and I feel like I live inside a giant Snow Globe. The snow flakes are giant and swirly. The wind kicks up every so often, blowing snow off of the roofs and it looks like a blizzard in North Dakota for a few seconds.
I had to tell Riley today to be prepared for anything tomorrow. Her 11th birthday is tomorrow. We had big plans to go into downtown Bellevue for their big outdoor Christmas thing and to Red Robin for dinner. As of right now, between you and me, I don't see it happening. I told her that if for some reason her Birthday does not happen that we will make it up to her in a big way. Lucky for me, I have her gifts and card already. I just need some cake and ice cream. She was as okay with that as she could be and who could blame her.
We are at about 7 or 8 inches and counting. I don't remember it snowing for this long even when we lived in Kansas City. On the bright side, my house is becoming very tidy and my laundry is getting done.

The Ghost of Christmas Past

As Christmas draws near and the house it quiet, I am in a reflective mood. I have lots of old friends on Facebook that remind me of the old days. I am thinking about my top 10 Christmas memories. I will try to narrow it down a bit or this post will go on forever and my readers will be snoring on their keyboards.
My first real memory and happy one at that is when I was very young, probably three or four. We always went to church and came back to my grandparent's house. While at church Santa would drop off my gifts. I was the first and only grandchild til I was three so you can imagine the gifts. I had an ironing board, iron, vacuum, etc. all my small size and they "worked". I blame those gifts on the domestic guilt I carry around to this day. My next standout Christmas was when I was 11. I wont go into any details but let's suffice to say that money and Christmas decor was tight that year. My mom, sister and I made ornaments. We strung cranberries and popcorn and bought ribbon to tie bows. It was actually a pretty cute tree. It is the tree in the picture above. That Christmas I got my hamster. He promptly bit me and died about a week later, lucky for me I got a replacement. I forget what else I got because I got such an awesome big gift that year, better than the hamster even. I got a Dad. Just what I wanted? I don't know if I knew I wanted one or needed one but now I realize I did both. Dad says he got a beautiful wife and two daughters that year. Well, we were pretty broke so that's about all he got. The Christmas' after that were all pretty dang good and filled with lots of great memories. We split the eve and day at my grandparent's house and our house, luckily we lived close to one another. There was always a house full. My next memories were of being a teenager. I have pictures of me with my friends in high school and having our gift exchange. After the family Christmas we would all get together and park somewhere in the remote desert and have our own celebration. You could do that back then without getting into much trouble. From there my next great memories of the holidays were when I became a parent. Christmas had lost it's luster due to getting older and realizing that Christmas was more a giant pain filled with adult emotions, mental anguish, anger, seeing the worst in people and all the family issues that come to a head. The adults kept that under wraps for us kids I am sure.Plus having to work in retail at a large hardware store that sold real and fake trees and all things Christmas. Don't forget the Christmas MUZAK that played over and over and over. When I had Sid, that stuff didn't go away and in some ways got worse due to me wanting to be protective. But seeing Christmas through her was magic. The videos are hilarious in that all you can hear are my parents, Bob, myself and my sister saying "Sidney, Sid, Sidney, Bird, Birdie, Sid" a million times over. We were all fighting for her attention and wanting her to love what we were pointing out to her. "look at the lights Sid" and on and on. My next best Christmas was when I got a baby. No,not fun to be giving birth around Christmas but it was only the 23rd so we still had time to regroup. Riley was the little tiny baby that slept through Christmas and all of it's madness. She was so precious. Then we got to do the attention grabbing all over again as she got old enough. Then Kenzie, the wonder niece came along and that made Christmas exciting again as well as us adults saying, "Kenzie look, Kenz, kenzie, miss k, look over here." Here are some Christmas disasters that stand out, I will be brief. The year I got pancreatitis and almost died on Christmas night. That whole holiday season was spent on Demoral and Vicodan until I turned yellow and had to have emergency gall bladder surgery. I was in the hospital from Dec. 25th to Jan.1st. Not fun. Then there was the year when we lived in Chino. 150 mile per hour winds and blew the living room window in and onto the 9 ft. Christmas tree. Glass and broken ornaments everywhere. It could have been worse but I broke the tree's fall with my body. Nothing says happy holidays like a giant piece of plywood nailed to your house. Then there was the time that we lived in Chino and my parents took the girls up to Victorville on Christmas eve. On the way home, what should have been a 45 min. trip turned into a 3 hour trip. Some poor soul decided that since his estranged wife was giving him grief about his kids, that he would get a Uhaul truck and blow himself up on the freeway overpass near the outlet mall. So there they sat, a 5 yr old and a 2 yr old in a car with Papa and Grammy. Good times...