Updates!

I figured since I'm doing updates to  my blog it was time to do an update on my blog!


Its been a busy few weeks. Finals are over, finally, which brought with it Christmas break and time at home to be lazy and veg on the couch, rest and relax. The boys are home as well which is always great. I love spending time with them when they are home but it will be hard when they have to go back to school.

Christmas was great even though I was dealing with a bad case of the bah humbugs there for a while. My step-son has been here for about a week but will be going back home in a couple of days. Its been nice having him here, if for no other reason than to see the Cable Guy so happy and relaxed. I forgot how hard it is having a 13 yr old in the house. They are always bored but I have to say he's been pretty well behaved compared to previous visits which I am thankful for. We spent Christmas day at my parents house, my brother and his family were there for a while and it always fun hanging out with little D. Normally its stressful for me trying to control referee all the arguments but it was surprisingly uneventful.


Guitar Man with his usual "put the camera down already" look






Sax Man takin pictures of his grandpa takin pictures



All 3 boys



The whole family together on Christmas day 2010

 

Bah Humbug!

   That's how I'm feeling this holiday season.


    I normally love Christmas, its my favorite holiday.


   But this year...I'm just not feelin it.


   The kids are both home from school, and finals are over for all three of us. I should be happy...but I'm not...well I cant say not happy...I'm just not anything... I'm not feeling much of anything. When I do its definitely anything but happy. It resembles more like sadness, anger, depression, even resentfulness (is that a word).


   I know it has to do with stress, and what the stress can and does trigger with my MS. I have been told repeatedly that depression was something I WOULD deal with at some point with my illness but I always figured not me, I'd be OK. WRONG!


   The stress isn't going away any time soon. Money has been tight for months since my husband and I made the decision for him to change jobs again, the second time in six months, so he could be hone with me because I was having such a hard time managing every day life and school and my MS with him and the kids gone. It was just too over whelming, but in doing this he took a huge pay cut and believe me we are now feeling it. Now out of the blue my step-son has decided he wants to come for Christmas, don't get me wrong I'm happy to see him if for no other reason than it makes DH happy, but why now after refusing to see us for over three years. So now I have to find the money to make not one but two trips out of town to pick him up and take him back. Christmas gifts that were already going to be few are now even fewer. I have already returned most of them once because I needed the money to pay bills. Then yesterday when DH started buggin about when he could get me something for Christmas I had to tell him he couldn't, there wasn't any money.


BAH HUMBUG!


   Its not the first time money has been tight, normally it doesn't bother me. I get gifts for the kids, gifts for my family, and always do gifts for the angel tree at our church.


   The tree has been up for weeks, but we just decorated it a few days ago. Granted I was waiting for the boys to get home from school to decorate it but I've only had the lights on the first night.


BAH HUMBUG!


   Normally I would have several batches of candy and cookies made....not this year...I did one yesterday and that's as far as I got.


   Sigh


BAH HUMBUG!


   I know its my  MS, I'm just so over it.


I want my holiday spirit back
        BAH HUMBUG
  


  


  


  

Thanksgiving...and Shopping Part 2

...My love affair with Black Friday  started a few years ago.


   At the time we lived in the sticks, it was a 45 minute drive into town. Come This particular Thanksgiving morning we got the boys up, who were pre-teen at the time, got ready and headed into town to my Grandmothers house where we always spent the day until she passed away. (The woman could cook! I miss you Granny). She always had the news paper sitting out and the boys were amusing themselves by looking through the ads and letting anyone that would listen know what they wanted for Christmas. I was thinking "you have got to be kidding, what do I look like a bank"?


   Well when I finally got to look at the ads I figured as much as everything was discounted I could get some of the stuff on their never ending list. So later that night I sat with my list and ads in hand plotting what was to become my first game plan.


   I had to get up way too early, which turned out to not be early enough, and drive the 45 minutes into town. I fought the crowds for most of the day and got most of what was on my list. I was wore out when I finally got home later that afternoon...wore out but hooked.


   Fast forward 7 years and I'm still hooked.


   Alot has changed in that time. The process has changed over the years, it now starts weeks in advance with the web sites and now iPhone aps that warn when they get wind of new ads from different stores being "leaked", but you never really know whats going to be in the final ad until you get up Thanksgiving morning and open that long awaited news paper and get your hands on that stack of ads.


   For me that process is always the same. Drink my morning coffee and look casually through the stack of ads to get an idea whats in them. Spend the day with my family and as everyone is winding down for the day I drag my stack of ads back out and start working on the game plan.


   When the plan is comes together its off to bed early so I can get a few hours of sleep before the fun begins!


   This year was no different than any other. I was up at 3:30 (we live in town now so I don't have to get up as early). Unfortunately it had been raining all day on Thanksgiving and the temperature had drastically fallen over night. I headed out the door loaded down with my coffee, bottle of juice, game plan, and stack of ads only to find out that I couldn't get into the car. The doors were frozen shut!


   Well that was a monkey wrench in my plan right off the bat. It took me 30 minutes just to get IN  the car! After not so patiently patiently waiting for the windows to defrost I headed to my first stop and the race was on.


   I knew this year was going to be harder than any of the previous years. Its always tiring but add in my MS symptoms and the exhaustion is almost overwhelming. I was determined I wasn't going to let this horrible disease take this from me too. It took longer than usual, and I clearly didn't make as much progress as in earlier years but I did it! I got just about everything on my list and then rushed home for a much needed and well deserved nap! I didn't even unload the car first! HA!


   Black Friday is officially over and my body is sore. I'm recovering at home this morning wondering what cyber Monday has in store for us.


   I usually don't get involved in cyber Monday but I have to tell you I was sadly disappointed with the black Friday ads this year. Yes there were alot of big ticket items this year that were great deals, but for those of us that were actually shopping for Christmas presents and not personal presents it was kind of a let down. So I'm still on the look out for that special gift for several people on my list...


   SO....I'll hang up my running shoes moo moo boots and clip board for another year, and look forward to another black Friday, God willing...




   On a side note I have to say how proud of my youngest son I am, who I have taught well. He got to enjoy his first black Friday shopping event with his friends this year. He stood in line with his friends, in the freezing cold, for 4 hours outside of Best Buy so he could get video games that were going to be on sale. For those of you that don't know, for an 18 year old gammer that's a big deal! He too left with a game plan and although he didn't spend hours shopping, came home and fell into bed. When he woke up after a few hours he was so sore from standing in the freezing cold for 4 hours he didn't feel like doing anything except playing those very games!


  

It's Almost Here!

The day, well one of the days,I look forward to all year long.


No it's not my birthday


It's not the last day of the semester (which by the way cant get here soon enough)


It's not the first day of spring break


It's not even Christmas,YET.


It's almost BLACK FRIDAY!!


Anyone that knows me knows I love to shop but even more than that I love to get a good deal when I shop. There's somethin about gettin the ads Thanksgiving morning and plotting my route. Making my list and checking it twice! Getting up before the chickens and making my way to my first stop long before the sun comes up.


Last year I signed up to get email alerts about all the sale ads before they were posted so this year I kind of have an idea of whats coming on the *big day. I thought this was the most amazing thing, this year they went even bigger. They are sending tweets about big sales going on prior to black Friday. AND if that's not good enough....


There's an actual black Friday AP!


*Ad day (Thanksgiving)


Yes this year will be a little more alot more difficult because of my non-stop and ever changing MS symptoms but I'm determined to not let it slow me down...much.


The boys have been pre warned I need a list by Thanksgiving or you get socks and underwear for Christmas which means more money for me to spend on myself!


Its almost as exciting for me as Christmas day....almost...


Happy Shopping!

To Whom Much is Given......

......Much is required. Luke 12: 48


   This past Sunday was the kick off our church's Angel Tree's Prison Ministery program. Children that have one or in most cases both parents in prison are invited to a dinner at our church and give gifts that were "bought" by the parents. In reality the church was given a list from the parents and we were asked to pick an angel from the tree just like any other angel tree works.

   Normally I would not even think about writting a blog post about doing something as simple as picking an angel from an angel tree but because of something that was said, by a family member no less, encouraged me to do so.

   My husband and I went about picking an angel the same way we always do, I pick one out and he watches! HA HA HA  I almost always pick a little girl, I have two teenage boys who I love dearly but have always wanted a little girl. So I look at all the angels on the trees searching for which ever angel stands out to me and thats the one I pick. Well this year I picked my angel and as I was walking away another angel caught my attention. I don't know why, maybe it was Gods way of saying I needed to do more. I didn't hesitate I just grabbed the angel without even looking at it by this time in a hurry because the service was going to start soon.

  As we were getting seated in the worship center with the rest of the family, we always sit as a group with our family, a family member made a comment to me about how rich we must be if we could afford to get two angels off the tree.

  Now we are by no means well off, there are some months I wonder if I will have the money to pay bills and have money left over but the past few months we have had the extra money but ya know even if I didn't have the money I would do without something so these kids could get gifts from their parents this christmas.

  God has blessed us financially right now. We have a roof over our heads, food in out stomachs, and the bills are payed. He has afforded me the opritunity to go to school to pursue my education, and for my children to grow up in a home with family and extended family who will always support them through the good times and the bad.

  I guess all I'm trying to say is if you feel like God is trying to tell you something maybe you should listen.....no matter what other people may think.....