My Guitar Hero!

Yesterday Jack decided to play his Guitar Hero game standing on our front porch. I'm not sure why, but he says it was more challenging since he couldn't hear the music. I did wonder if the neighbors were going to call childrens services on me for locking my kid outside when it was about 20 degrees!

We had crazy wind last night so his hair was whipping around like a real rock star. I think he looks pretty cool.

Get out your check book right now & write 2009 on all of the checks left. If there are only a few left write them on the next set, too. If you give someone a check today or tomorrow that says 2009 they will still accept it.

For more Tuesday's Tip Jar check out Blog Mommas.

*Note: Blog Mommas isn't doing Tip Jar Tuesday, but I'll leave mine up anyway!

My friend Denise at Sunflowers, Chocolate and Little Boys has given me some Bloggy Love. Denise is sad cause her folks had to go back home, so stop by & give her some comment love.

I really like this award because of the way it says that these bloggers are not interested in lots of prizes, awards, etc.

I have been to some blogs, where the only goal seems to be snatching blog awards anywhere they can find them, whether they have been given these awards or not. The blogs I love are ones that I can relate to. The ones that deal with lifes joys, pitfalls & surprises with grace and laughter.
The award states:

"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I would like to give this award to:

Alicia at Confessions of a Snowflake You have to check out the pics of her adorable son on Christmas morning. She's got some great traditions that I may steal!

Kat at Inspiration CAN be Found Everywhere. She's been a great friend and always makes me laugh.

Lynnette at Diamond in the Rough. Another great friend. She's dealing with one of her sons joining the Army & jumping out of airplanes!

Rachel at Scientific Nature of the Whammy. Lately she's been trying to get her son to sleep through the night. I remember how hard those days were.

Karol at Mrs. Incredible. You have to check out poem her husband wrote her. He's a keeper!

Suzann at Lavender and Roses. She's just one of the many moms who got sick & still had to keep doing all the mom stuff. Why don't we ever get a day off?

Just like Denise, I did not choose 8. Many of the blogs I follow already have this award. To the 6 that I chose, thanks for keeping it honest! Hugs & love to you all!

There's Turkey On My Schnauzer

Yep, you heard me, turkey on my schnauzer. Oskar was the landing spot for the Thanksgiving leftovers that went flying through the air. In my freezer was stuffing, potatoes, gravy & turkey. All homemade and left over from the Thanksgiving feast we had with my parents.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family the Sunday before. We had tons of leftovers that my mom sent & I froze them so we didn't get turkied out that week. (Little did I know then, that I wouldn't be eating any dinner on Thanksgiving seeing as how I was in the emergency room.)

Tonight I thawed all of the fixins and set about making an easy meal for the fam. While trying to cut a large chunk of semi-frozen turkey, my knife slipped and I narrowly avoided cutting my thumb. Luckily this time I was able to avoid injury to myself, but in the process I sent the cutting board covered in turkey shooting skyward. Just like snow falling from the heavens, turkey rained down in our kitchen.

Oskar, faithfully waiting for me to drop any morsel, was stunned to see the meat he could smell, landing all around him and covering his head & back. He just stood there frozen, staring at the food all around him. He didn't even try to eat any of it, he was just shocked. Jack cleaned the turkey off of his head, Chris swept up the turkey from the floor & I came to my computer & sat down.

At the somewhat young age of 41, I think I am swearing off preparing, or even re-heating, any Thanksgiving type food.

Camera Critters

I found this Camera Critters meme and knew I had to post the pics I took yesterday.

Oskar while he was outside helping Chris shovel the 8 inches of snow we got.

Chloe trying to keep warm between my robe & the couch. Directly behind her is a heating vent.

Moe is exhausted just thinking about all of that shoveling. She sleeps for about 20 hours a day on this Christmas quilt from my mom.

Chris & all of the varmints after a hard day. Moe is kind of hard to see, but she's the glowing eyes in front of the Christmas tree. She's obviously miffed that Chris had taken her quilt.

Check out more Camera Critters here.

Update On My Owie!

I've had a few people ask me how my burn was doing. I gave myself a 2nd degree burn on Thanksgiving when I poured boiling gravy on my hand.

It looks totally fantastic compared to what it was. I had a huge blister the size of a golf ball & after that popped the sensation of the nerves healing was pretty intense. It's been really painful & has been a real lesson on what people who have been badly burned must go through. Thanks to God that it wasn't worse.

I am greatful for all your prayers & well wishes.

xoxo

7 Random Facts

My bloggie friend Janah at So Not Mom-a-licious recently recieved this tag and posted some really courageous things about herself. She left the tag open, so I picked it up & ran with it.

The tag requires that I tell you 7 random facts about myself that you must always remember! I totally agree with Janah that the "always remember" part is a little much, but here goes.

1. My ex-husband, Ass-hat , had an affair while we were married. He went on to marry this person & now she helps to raise our sons. Fun!

2. I pretended to like guacamole for months while I was pursuing my now husband. I hate guacamole. Luckily he was flattered by my fib.

3. I have never liked being an only child.

4. I'm having trouble feeling a connection to Christ this Christmas season.

5. I suffer from depression & anxiety that often immobilizes me. Depression is very difficult for people who have no experience with it to understand. Most people think you should just be able to "suck it up" and move forward. I don't hide the fact that I have depression because I truly want people to understand that it is as much of an illness as diabetes or any other you can name. For those who suffer from depression the social stigma is just one more humiliation that we don't need.

6. Sunflowers make me happy.

7. I miss the time I used to spend camping by myself.

I think those should totally be random enough!

Now I'm supposed to tag 7 random people. Since we are having a snow day here in Michigan, I checked around today and found some fellow Michigan bloggers. These are not bloggers that I know, but I like the opportunity to make new bloggy friends with things like this. So I pick:

Jen from Buried With Children. She's got 4 adorable kids including a set of triplets!

BlueViolet from A Nut in a Nutshell. Her picture of her kids when they were little really is just adorable.

Diane from Good Mourning, Glory. She seems like a great mom who does things her own way. I can totally relate to that.

Brenda from In The Treetop. The pics of her cats with Santa hats was all I needed to see to know that she's my kind of gal.

Karen from The Bunny Burrow. I wouldn't trade my 2 boys for anything, but looking at pics of her 3 girls makes me wish for someone I could put in dresses. (My sons frown on that.)

Carol from Charlie and Me! My schnauzer Oskar said I had to include this fellow schnauzer lover on my list.

Tamy from 3 Sides of Crazy. When I read her blogger profile I saw that we have lots of common interests.

For more Word Filled Wednesday

Visit The 160 Acre Wood

I used to love to spend hours wrapping my presents beautifully. Special bows, gift tags cut out by hand, etc. Then I got my cats. Bows & gift tags would be scattered around the house every morning leaving me to shake & try to figure out what was in each wrapped package so I could replace the tags. Of course this would start all over the next day.

Finally I decided to get 4 different papers every year for my 2 sons. One wrapping paper was for all of JD's presents from mom. One wrapping paper was for all of JD's presents from Santa. Same thing for Jack. This made Christmas morning easier so I could seperate the packages quickly & easily without having to worry about finding the right tags for the right kid.

**Bonus Tip! 25 free Christmas downloads from Amazon.com. I learned about these from another Michigan blogger A Nut in a Nutshell

For more Tuesday's Tip Jar check out Blog Mommas.

This Counts As News???

A "headline" from my Comcast home page:
'Full House' Star Drops 22 Pounds

Nothing agains Candace Cameron, but this is a woman who was in a show that went off the air 13 years ago! Really?

Sometimes It Pays To Have A Physical Deformity

Does anyone else get freaked out by some of the shows on the Discovery Health Channel. I would not be surprised to see titles like '400 lb. Tumor', 'My Face Was Ripped Off By My Dishwasher', & 'My Twin Lives Inside of Me'.

Actual shows I have watched on this channel are 'I Am My Own Twin' and one about various surgical instruments being left inside of people. Separating conjoined twins must be a real ratings draw, cause those shows are always on. Tonight features a show about a "mermaid girl" & coming soon is the story of 3 blind & deaf triplets.

And we will in fact be able to watch Michelle Duggar give birth to her 18th child (this one will be on TLC). About her I have often seen the phrase, "It's a vagina madam, not a clown car." I can't imagine this woman even needs to go to the hospital anymore. She had better be careful when she sneezes!

I'm sure the money from these shows help to offset medical bills in many of these cases, but somehow it seems to be taking voyerism to an ickier level (yes, ickier is a word).

Zoinks, here is the info from Discovery Health about a show called 'Electric Love':

A North Carolina anesthesiologist induces orgasms in women using pain relief technology. Follow three women who have never experienced orgasm through a clinical trial that unlocks secrets to the human brain's pleasure zone.

I bet they didn't have to pay women to participate in that study. I'm happy for those ladies, but I personally would not want millions of people tuning in to watch, ya know?

Fiesta Time!

I am torn. Jaci over at Ravings of a Mad Houswife is giving away 4 4-piece Fiestaware place settings.

I love you all but I must win these. They're SO pretty! I will be sure to post pictures of my new place settings if when I win. And yes you'd better believe that I will be decorating my new kitchen if when I win. I suppose you could go visit Jaci & register yourself, but there's really no point since I'll be winning them.

Word Filled Wednesday

Psalm 138:5

For more Word Filled Wednesday

Visit The 160 Acre Wood

Somebody Thinks I'm Worthy!

I got a wonderful blog award from Mimi over at He & Me + 3. Mimi is someone who dropped into my life thru the blogosphere & she has been bringing a little sunshine into my days ever since. Mimi is a fellow believer, an awesome photographer, and a mom to 3 pretty gorgeous kids. She's got a great name too!

The Rules are simple:

You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award.

The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas.

You must link back to the person who gave you the award.

You must list 5 things that you love about Christmas.

If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space! :o)

Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 45; it's up to you. But, you must pass it on to at least one person in order to keep the Christmas cheer going!

Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment on their blog.

Things I Love About Christmas

1. Celebrating the birth of the Christ child

2. Quiet moments that I get to steal with family

3. Decorating the tree

4. Giving presents

5. Getting presents

6. Seeing relatives that I don't get to see enough

7. Listening to the CD's Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas & A Christmas Together: John Denver and the Muppets

8. Memories

9. Food

10. Sitting in a dark room & looking at the lights on the tree

Now I get to tag people!

I pick:
Denise from Sunflowers, Chocolate, and Little Boys. As soon as I saw the name of her blog listing 3 of my favorite things in the world, I knew we would click.

Jenn at Delightfully Cliche. Hopefully she can get to this after she gets caught up on her rest!

Janah at So Not Mom-a-licious. Life's been tricky in her neck of the woods, but she still makes me laugh.

Finally Victoria at Vicupdates. She's a 17 year-old living with Lyme disease and she totally has Christmas spirit.

Tuesday's Tip Jar

Every year at Christmas I open all of the boys electronics & put the batteries in the toys that need them. Any of the toys that have 5,000 of those stronger-than-steel twist ties get those removed & plastic things holding them to the package get cut off. Then I put the toys back in the packaging and wrap.

This made Christmas morning much easier in Mimi-land because the boys could access their toys immediately without me having to find something like the jaws of life to get the toy out. It also saves on the box getting torn to shreds in case someone wants to return something.

For more Tuesday's Tip Jar check out Blog Mommas

Simple Women's Daybook

Outside My Window... Snow, bare trees & dusk approaching.

I am thinking... About how much I have missed blogging due to my burn.

I am thankful for... My family & friends who are there for me, always.

From the kitchen... A mustard dijon pasta sauce that didn't turn out well due to lack of dijon!

I am wearing... A long sleeved t that says "all who wander are not lost" & fuzzy sweat pants.

I am creating... A sense of peace.

I am going... Nowhere fast.

I am reading... American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfield.

I am hoping... To emerge from my funk.

I am hearing... My beautiful boys watching t.v. upstairs.

Around the house... Christmasing!

One of my favorite things... My husband. He is more than I could have wished for.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... Getting the shopping done.

Here is picture thought I am sharing... Chloe thinks she is a tiny kitten!

Thank you to Peggy at ~The Simple Woman~ for this great daybook idea. You can visit her here.

I Quit!

I've gotta say I'm pretty sick of "the system" right now. Court did not go very well for me.

I just wanna say that sometimes it's tiring to know that you are the person "doing the right thing" when the person, or Ass Hat, "doing the wrong thing" continually gets rewarded for their bad behavior. Having the moral high ground doesn't feel like much when for all intents & purposes the person with seemingly no morals still comes out "ahead".

I know all of the blather about me being the one who is teaching the kids right & wrong. Ass Hat will end up "paying the price" in the long run, etc., but right now I want someone at Oakland County Friend of the Court to see thru all the BS & call the man on his awful parenting skills & judgement.

For goodness sakes, the man punched our 16 yr. old in the face, in my church, during a youth event, started giving the same kid alcohol when he was 14, took him to see this outrageous movie & the court rewards him with more time with our 13 year old!!!

I give up.

I guess I should say I give it up to God.

**For anyone who doesn't know what the heck I'm blathering about see this post.

Words You Don't Want To Hear...

Any of you who pay attention to my blog know that things have been a little sucky in Mimi-ville this week. Since this trend is continuing I thought I would just fill you in on a few things you don't want to hear.

If you or someone you love is at an emergency room you do not want to hear the words "fecal impaction." This will put an immediate halt on any Christmas cheer you may have been harboring, trust.

If you are looking up a movie that your ex-husband, affectionately known as Ass Hat, took your 16 year old son to see you do not want to read words like "a man & a woman have anal sex...feces splatter onto the cameraman's face", or "A woman removes her panties...blows bubbles from an orifice". These are only 2 examples of the myriad of sins in this movies description. Obviously poor Ass Hat had no idea that this would be a poor movie choice. The title "Zach & Miri Make a Porno" really gives nothing away about the storyline.

When you are suffering from a 2nd degree burn & you have run out of narcotic pain killers you do not want to hear the words, "Dr. Mouiuuoiyae (not his real name, but it is made up almost entirely of vowels) can't squeeze you in until Friday morning!

I have to close now. I have to go pick up 16 yr. old from school & go to family court with Ass Hat. He's not quite sure why I don't want him to spend extra time with our 13 yr. old. After all 16 was 14 years old before Ass Hat gave him alcohol for the first time. 13 still has at least 6 more months. If there was ever a day I needed narcotic pain killers, today is right up there.

Psalm 25:7

For more Word Filled Wednesday

Visit The 160 Acre Wood

Christmas in SITSville

Now that the Christmas shopping season is upon us like flies on poo, I find myself falling into my usual bah humbug mood. In the race to find the right present, make the right foods, get to everyone's parties that "I just can't miss", I've stopped enjoying the holidays. In fact, I'm usually grumpy, tired & downright miserable.

Well this year I've decided to take back Christmas. I vow to make Christmas about the family that was created in that manger so many years ago & the family that I have here for myself today.

I invite all of my SITS friends to do the same. Just say no to another day at the mall. Make some cookies, put on some Christmas music (Elvis works best for me), grab someone you love & smooch them up good!