Merry SITSmas!

Since today is "Merry SITSmas," I am taking this opportunity to say, "You Rock!" to all the other SISTas out there and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!!

(future SITStas, my daughter and neice)

I also want to share some thoughts on Chrsitmas with you.

Normally I'm one of those people who CAN NOT believe that trees and decorations are in the stores before November. I wonder who in the world decided it was a good idea to start playing 24 hour Chrismas music on the radio before Thanksgiving. I'm mad at the media for talking about Christmas sales being down when most people haven't even put together their shopping list yet. I'm not being a scrooge. It's just too much, too soon, I think.

But this year, I'm looking at it a little differently. If we can have an excuse to be with friends and family and little more and share in the Christmas spirit a little longer, then that can't be a bad thing, right?

It's barely December and we've already gone to see light displays, twice! The Angel Tree tags at church were all taken in one week. I have a list of holiday happenings in the area that we could go to together on almost any given day. Instead of excahnging gifts this year, a friend and I decided to have a "sleep-over" instead. Steve has taken a week off of work not to travel, but just be with us. I have a hard time buying gifts for some people because they already have everyhting they want or need.

We really are blessed. We have each and every day to spend with our families and know that we are loved. (cue The Carpenters)
Now get out there and buy me a present!

Talk Turkey

It's been another busy week. I'm not bragging, it's just that this is usually how my time goes when I am not working. The summers fly by, we're busy going here, there and doing all kinds of things. School starts up and I wonder how I ever had time for a job? This past week I was off and we were out of town like 5 days. Then there was Thanksgiving.
It was a great day of food and family spent at my Grandma's. I made Paula Deen's Pumpkin Trifle. It was pretty good, but I'm not a big pumpkin fan so there is a pile of it still in the fridge. Steve actually cooked a turkey. He wanted an ole' fashioned turkey like back home (that means stuffed with Stove Top) so he decided to do his own. It was fine, but he can have that nasty stuffing.

And we shopped yesterday - on Black Friday. Savannah stayed with mama and Steve and I got up at 4:00 a.m. to hit the stores! We didn't get any super-fabulous deals, but it was still some good shopping and we were home again and it bed by about 9:00 a.m. Whew!
I hope everyone else had a great holiday.

Week in Review

We've been busy lately and that's why I haven't had a chance to post, but I have pictures so that makes up for it, right? So here's why I've been missing lately:
-Thursday: Big fight with the hubby. I considered signing up for "Wife Swap."
-Friday: Wet, cold and nasty out, but I managed to go get a haircut and run some errands.
-Saturday: No, my dears, I didn't mean "blue" as in baby, furniture or paint. I mean the blue Wiggle: Anthony! We went to see the Wiggles last weekend. It beats the heck out of Dora and besides, my friend won tickets, so we went for free! It was a cute show and the girls had fun.

What I want to know is what did this guy do to deserve being drug to the Wiggles? Is his collar "popped" because he's that cool or is it to hide from anyone he might run into there?
-Sunday: church and then lunch at Grandma's. Steve left that afternoon for Boston for a few days.

-Monday thru Thursday: work as usual. Had to suspend one kid. Had to kick out another one.

-Wednesday: USC vs. Clemson ladies basketball game. I soooo did not want to go but it ended up being an OK time. Clemson won (yeah!) and Savannah loved seeing Cocky and the other mascots. Cocky even picked her up and danced with her for a second.

-Friday: went out with my pal Jenn to see a band play. Actually, it was the lead singer of our fav-o-rite band who are no more (sniff). We had a great time, but stayed out too late! Dang, I'm getting old.

-Saturday: left to visit friends and hit a sale! Quoizel had a close out sale and we scored a stained glass panel ($50), a hanging light fixture ($50), some under the cabinet lighting, and 2 towel bars. I've seen similar panels for around $150 and similar fixtures for around $230. Score!

We also went to see some Christmas lights. It was a drive-though event, but you could get out and roast marshmallows, see some artwork and a giant Christmas sand sculpture. Here are the little girls...

and the big girls...BFFs!
-Sunday (today): We went to church, ate lunch out, then headed home. Tonight there was a community Thanksgiving service and a reception afterwards.

Whew! I think that covers it. Oh, some of you have asked about the house. It is coming along quite nicely- despite the fact that someone stole 30 buckets of sheet rock mud!! Anyway, they started to brick up the house this week (view from the back yard).

Sheet rock is up and finished also. I'm not sure what's next but probably cabinets and/or paint. We're also ordering appliances. I haven't heard otherwise, so move in date is still planned for sometime around February. We'll see...

Well, that is all for now. Let me see if I can go catch up with some of you people and your blogs!

M.I.A.

I know I've been a little M.I.A. lately. I'm alright. Just kinda busy. I'll post an update soon. Here's a hint: I like the blue one best.
Hope everyone is staying warm!

To Blog or Not to Blog

...that is the question.
When I first started this blog, almost exactly 1 year ago, my intent was to let off some steam and share some of my mommy stories. I quickly found out that I couldn't be completely honest with my rants. REAL people read this occasionally, some of whom I know in person. I didn't want to come off as a total psycho who couldn't stand her husband and disliked being a mom. But let's face it, being a wife and mother is hard and sometimes those thoughts occur and you have to let them out. I don't communicate well, and sometimes writing it all out makes me feel better.
It's not that I'm afraid to put the "real" me out there, it's that I got a lot of personall sh*t going on sometimes and I don't particularly want everybody and their mama to read about it. While I would perhaps appreciate the input of an impartial stranger, I don't need the mailman to offer his two cents. Or Aunt Susie or my sister-in-law... So I sorta tried being funny and sharing silly anecdotes, like "Blueberry Hell" and "Southern Nectar." I've had some good ones, I think, but even then, sometimes I don't get any response. nothing. nada. It's not that I'm in this for the love, fortune or fame. I have no interest in BlogHer, stats or followers. I'm not an aspiring writer- been there, done that- Okay, maybe writing for a small daily newspaper doesn't REALLY count, but technically I've been published more times that I was ever interesting in.
I do love some comments though, as we all do, so I joined SITS - just a way to get and encourage comments. It's been good and I've come across some fabulous ladies out there, but sometimes it's overwhelming. SO many bloggers and roll calls, SO little time. And even that doesn't bring out the "lurkers,"- yeah, YOU!
But like I said, I've enjoyed "meeting" lots of you and my blog roll has expanded lately. Even my husband started his own dorky blog. I guess now that he reads mine he figured he would get in on the action, too. I don't know. If you happen to check it out, notice his use of theorems and geek-talk. Seriousley, we watch "The Big Bang Theory" and he knows what Sheldon is talking about!
So now I'm kinda wondering, "Why am I doing this?" If I feel like I need to censor myself, knowing that nobody may ever read it, but then again, maybe suddenly lots of people will read it....I don't know. I do know that I enjoy other blogs I can relate to. Everyone wants to feel validated and like they aren't alone. I guess, if I can share my ramblings with people who get something out of it- whether it's a chuckle or a "me, too!"- then that's why I'm here. To make those small connections with people. Uber cheesy? I know, this post sorta went all over the place, but I've found that it's better if I don't over-edit.
So, anyway. It's been a hell of a week and I'm ending with scripture:
"If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete..." -Philippians 2:1-2