Christmas Season

We've reached the Christmas seasona again.  The time of year where we look back on the past months while looking forward to the next year.  We can send out socially acceptable letters bragging about our lives and offspring (where applicable) to people that we haven't spoken to all year.  We drive around looking at lights and listening to repetive music that we all know the words too.  We spend time wondering whether we should say Merry Christmas and offend someone or if we should just say Happy Holidays and make things more PC.  We try to figure out who to buy for and what to buy them, while simultaniously trying to stay within our budgets.  We spend time with family (both made and blood) when and where we can, and feel very lonely when we can't.  We are reminded of the important things in life, especially those we either don't have yet or have lost.  Christmas is a time of miracles and of loneliness, of family and friends, lights, music, gifts, indecision, and a million other things.  It is amazing how many things Christmas means to each individuals.  I love Christmas time.  I especially love it when I have vacation time as well so I can spend plenty of time with those I love.  For me, nothing means Christmas more than family...although the candy and cookies my mom and sister make come pretty close.   I've been on vacation for the past week, enjoying time with my family at my parents' house.  It has been amazing and while I love the family time, I do want to add this note: 

It is very, very, VERY nice to spend large amounts of quality time on the couch...doing little to nothing.

P.S.  I really do like Christmas letters, please feel free to send me as many as you'd like.  

I was shopping at Walmart the other day, and I saw this:

Are you going, what the HECK??

Yeah, me too.

Please note that while I do live in AZ, it has still be down in the fifties and cloudy lately.

Demon spawn

I don't much care for cats.  Granted I did have one when I was younger, but still not a huge fan.  This is my brother's cat Oreo, aka: demon cat.

Much as he appears in this picture, he will try to eat your face off.  He has been fixed, but he still pees on everything (I'm lost a purse and had to wash multiple items of clothing thanks to him).  He will attacks for no apparent reason.  He will let you pet him and when he is bored or done he claws you then walks off.  While I understand that some of this behavior is normal for cats, I still believe he is a demon in cat skin.  But when he climbs into my lap and starts purring, I still can't resist him.

What the...??

I saw this at a local Hispanic market...I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it looks dangerous.  And I'm not sure it's edible.  Any thoughts??

Cutest Niece Ever!!!

I don't care what anyone else may say.  I have the cutest niece ever...in the history of the world!!

(Most recent, but taken on my phone so it's a little blurry.)

Running...

            
I recently started running and while it's not my favorite thing to do, I find some fulfillment in it. This struck me as amusing...


                    

(P.S. Stolen from the following: http://iwastesomuchtime.com/on/?i=7575)

-ISMS

I found this in HS and thought I'd share some amusing definitions...

Socialism: You have 2 cows. Give 1 cow to your neighbor

Communism: You have 2 cows. Give both cows to the government and they may give you some of the milk.

Fascism: You have 2 cows. You give all of the milk to the government and the government sells it.

Nazism: You have 2 cows. The government shoots you and takes both cows.

Anarchism: You have 2 cows. Keep both cows, shoot the government agent, and steal another cow.

Capitalism: You have 2 cows. Sell 1 cow and buy a bull.

Surrealism: You have 2 giraffes. The government makes you take harmonica lessons.

(P.S. I would like a giraffe, so if you have one laying around...)

More change

So I'm moving. This means living amongst (isn't that great word) boxes since I am one of those crazy people that has to start packing a month+ before I actually move. I've also numbered all of my boxes and have a little notebook that has what is in each numbered box. To make things even more...ah-hem, organized, I bought 6 different colors of duct tape. Each color represents a room and each box has the color of duct tape for the room it needs to be put in (aka: boxes w/ purple duct tape belong in my bedroom, while ones with the duct tape w/ flames go in the kitchen). Yes, I really am that...organized.

Cancelling the utilities....

Sigh,

found at www.arcamax.com

Musings

Endings are tough. Doesn't matter if they are just "new beginnings", they still stink. And often there are so many of them.

Sometimes they are just suddenly there. No time to prepare and nothing you can do but suck it up and move on. Other times they sneak up on you like a cat upon a bird until suddenly they pounce and you are stunned to find your life changed. Some endings we create for ourselves, while others are created by others for us. Some we embrace because we must and it's time. Then there are the ones we resist with our very beings-putting first our foot, then as much of ourselves as we can into that closing door. Trying to stop what we see coming and don't want to admit to ourselves. Those are the hardest...the ones where we must admit defeat. But no matter what the shape, form, or time our endings take, they are still hard.

It's funny, even when we close that door ourselves and head onward, there is still some part of us that wants to stop. Wants to turn around, sit, and stare at that door that we just closed. Hoping we have some mystical Jedi mind trick that will open the door back up and let us go on as we were...even if only for just a bit longer. We want to take refuge in that which is familiar and comforts us, but in our hearts we know we can't. Jedi mind tricks are only in the movies and endings aren't meant to be undone. So really, all we can do is square our shoulders and march down the hall of life looking for those "new beginnings" and resisting the urge to try and undo our endings. Even when every squeak and movement behind us makes us think that maybe, maybe, this ending has changed.

We mourn our endings. It doesn't matter whether we had a hand in their creation or no, there is always something lost when something ends. And that's OK...the mourning and the losing. That is how we find more.

They say that for every door that closes, another opens. Sometimes it's difficult to see that door because we are so busy looking and wishing at the one that we just closed we don't feel the new breezes blowing. Therein lies the difficulty: how do we mourn our endings without ignoring the other beginnings?

Gas

Maybe gas prices really are going down??

A great weekend...

Dave and I went to the Prescott area this past weekend. It was nice to get out of the heat of the Valley. We went to Montezuma's castle (see the pictures above). It's a paved walkway but a nice walk with a decent wind. There was actually even water in the river that was nearby. :)



(Dave at Montezuma's well)

We also went to Montezuma's well. It's a super deep hole with millions of gallons of water that flow into it everyday, though the commentary pedestals say that it's been gradually been going down and the flow has been declining. The people that lived in the area (whose name I can't remember) also built homes along the f the edges and in the cliffs of the well. It also has a exit so the water can drain out...




The peoples who lived in the area created an irrigation ditch near the exit stream, it's about 10 feet higher than the water that has drained out of the well. You have to go down the stairs from the main path, but once you get down among the trees and the water, it is green and cool. Quite beautiful. And very enjoyable. I was so glad I got to see it. I was glad that Dave took me.




After visiting Prescott, we headed home through the mountains through Jerome. I'll have to hunt down pictures. It is a crazy looking down. I post about it later.

And now for a little game....find the lizard (there were TONS of lizard everywhere when we were walking around)

I hate mosquitos...REALLY, REALLY, REALLY alot

These are bad pictures, but give you the general gist of the horrible-ness of my mosquito bites. This is 4 days after I initially found them. I really dislike mosquitos. I have another 12 bites on my legs, just like these. :(

Delivery

Dear person who delivered a package to my house,

I know I live in what seems like a sketchy areas. The houses and yards can be a little rough, and we have animals that run wild. While some people might actually use the term ghetto, I prefer barrio. Our neighbors are, for the most part, friendly and the dogs mostly stay away. Cats...well, the cats are a whole other matter.

What I'm writing you about is the package you delivered to my house. I understand your desire to ensure its safety and appreciate your care, however when you hide something, you should convey to the recipient (namely me) where you are hiding it...and the fact that you've even delivered it.

Packages should be hidden from view, not hidden so well they are not found for months...and then found by accident.

You see, I had not realize you had hidden a package for me...I actually had not even realized you delivered it. So, for the last 2 or 3 months I've been going back and forth with the company that I ordered it from because they billed me for goods not received.

Here's my complaint...I found it. Now I have to go to the company and admit that it was here all along, but I didn't know it. Talk about embarrassing. You hid it so well in my backyard beside the dryer and behind all sorts of cleaning supplies that no one knew it was there! I have to admit I am a bit displeased.

Please in the future do not play hide and seek with my packages. Simply place them out of view of anyone walking by and convey to me where they are. I would greatly appreciate it. Especially since a cardboard box left outside for extended periods of time in AZ does not fare well and bugs like it.

Thank you for being so conscientious, but please in the future don't be.

Have wonderful day,

Me

Story...

There once was a girl named Jeni.

She decided to borrow her sister's bike to return her movies since the place was just up the street. It seemed a waste to drive her car.

It had been YEARS since she rode a bike, but she figured the cliche about bike riding was a cliche for a reason, so no worries, right?

Uh, not so much. She had problems getting started, then when she did start, stopping became an issue. She had forgotten how you can feel every single little bump in the road. When she came to a corner, she put a little too much brake on and ended up almost going top over tail. She did manage to get off the bike and catch it before it fell, but ended up with a large tire mark down her leg.

She walked the bike for a little bit after that, then stuck to the sidewalks (Yes this is not really legal, but it was late and nobody was there to care).

She managed to make it to the box to return her movies and then wobbled her way home. She was tired, sweaty, and hot when she got home. She put the bike back where it belonged and crawled back into bed.

The End

P.S. Bike seats are really hard & uncomfortable!

Things that have happened...

I know I've sadly neglected my poor little blog, but things have been crazy. No excuse I know, but still...my priorities fell more to sleep and food than blogging. :) So here is a quick update on some stuff that has happened and just some stuff in general...


Saw this sign...why would you tape a wet paint sign ON the wet paint? Just wondering...

Russell being a total stud at his first Volleyball game. I was lucky enough to go down to Tucson to see it. :)

Took some family pictures. This is one of my favorites of Rachel and Leila. :) Leila really didn't want to smile that morning.

Got to babysit Leila a few times. How big is she! It's crazy to think about how old she's getting! She had just woken up...she's way more content in the morning. Not sure how I feel about having a niece who is a morning person. LOL

My flipped 100,000 miles. Of course that was some time ago, so now it's closer to 105,000.

A picture of the whole family..all of the siblings anyway. It was a fun morning. We did it for my mom's birthday-just a little late. Rachel's friend took the pictures, and she did a great job. All of the pictures were fun!

And of course...These two got married. It went well, and they are well matched. It's fun seeing them together. I'm so grateful I've such great in-laws.

Of course life has been full of work, work and more work, but I don't think we need pictures of that! And I'm sure there are many things I'm forgetting, but this'll do for my re-entry into the blog-o-sphere.