dec 26

About a week before Halloween, I went to Meijer to get some remaining necessities for the big day. Things like costumes and glitter spray. Ya know, important stuff. Weird, though. Halloween stuff was dwindling and Christmas doodads were sprouting right next to it. I think that's when my holiday depression set in, and my desire for December 26 took hold. Believe it or not, not everyone loves this time of year. Some even dread it.

You see, I used to have a ton of time for the season. Once upon a time, I was a student and then an adjunct, and I was done with adult responsibilities at the beginning of December. There was nothing I had to do but revel in all the holiday goodness and cheer. Then I got a real job. And kids. Who the hell has time to shop, send cards, bake cookies, decorate, party, and be happy all at the same time?? Screw it.

Then I start thinking about what all of it is really supposed to mean. It's supposed to be Jesus' birthday, right? Well, it's not. Ok, but we'll pretend it is. Can you imagine what He must think? Why the hell are these people buying flat screen tvs and wiis for my birthday? Why are they stressing themselves out and making each other unhappy? Why are they getting drunk at their office parties and having sex in the coat room with Jane from Purchasing? Why are they making a big freakin' deal about people saying "Happy Holidays?" -- more on that in a moment. As a society, we have taken this one-day holiday and blown it into way more than I think He would ever want it to be. I mean, think about how much our economy depends on how much we BUY this time of year. Should a holiday celebrating the savior of a certain religion be based on commerce?? How f'd up is that?? And it seems to get worse and worse every year because we let it.

So, yeah, not a fan. And while I won't for the moment go into whatever religion label I do or don't attach to myself, I am very conscious of the fact that not everyone is a Christian and not all Christians find this time of year to be a happy one. If you know I celebrate it, and you wish me a Merry Christmas, then that is very nice of you! If you think I might be Jewish, and you wish me a Happy Hanukkah, fabulous! Happy Hanukkah to you, too! If you just aren't sure what brand of brainwash I might be sniffin' and want to say, "Happy Holidays" just to be safe, I will wish you the same and mentally thank you for being sensitive to something you don't know. Because quite honestly, I really doubt Jesus cares what greetings we bestow upon our neighbors as long as it is said with sincerity and kindness. I mean, somehow I doubt he is sitting on his Son of God throne and saying, "C'mon people. I am "Jesus the CHRIST" not "Jesus the HOLIDAY! Get it right!" (Hey, wait a minute -- maybe THAT is what the "H" stands for!)

You know those WWJD bracelets that were popular for awhile? I think they are awesome. Just wish people would actually stop and think about what Jesus WOULD actually do, say and think and try to emulate that.

So, as I claw my way through one more season where Jesus is supposedly the reason but nobody really acts like it, I am going to keep a low profile and hopefully re-emerge on Dec 26 with a new attitude and a sense of survival.

Happy Merry.

shall i do this again?

Hmm...my last post was way back in March. It is now December. Guess it has been awhile, huh? Also guessing no one out there is reading this, but that's ok. For some reason I am getting the writing bug again, and I remembered that I have this outlet for just that purpose.

But what is pushing me to come back here? I think it is just a need to express myself, and what better place to do that than my own blog spot?

So, I am back. For now. We'll see how it goes...

another side of the story

Just read:

http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/03/breaking-silence-on-living-pro-lifers.html

It's My Turn to Pick a Movie!!

Most people who know us know that we do not have cable. Haven't had it since July 1997 and have no intention of getting it any time soon. When our tv is on, it is usually tuned to either PBS or a movie. (Well, there was the one night when I walked into the room to see Desperate Housewives on the flat screen and J sitting on the couch. Oops.)

So, while it is great to be able to say that we don't watch a lot of tv, the reality is that we do watch a lot of movies. Yeah, the same ones all the time because the kids pick, and kids can somehow watch the same freakin' thing a million times in a row without their ears and eyes bleeding profusely. They are so resilient. I, on the other hand, have developed and polished my ability to tune things out. I just might be able to match inattentiveness with any man out there! (ha!)

What I have noticed, unfortunately, is that E, who used to be able to sit and watch maybe 10 minutes of a movie before needing to move on to more exciting activities, now can become absorbed into the action. The child will put a chair in the middle of the family room, sit down, and watch a movie. As all moms know, this cuts both ways: Hallelujah! My child is being quiet and entertained without me! Oh crap! My child's brain is turning to mush with the electronic babysitter!

It is fun to watch him act out scenes later or to hear him talk about how much he likes the girl in the movie. Oh, we love Carmen in Spy kids! And sparkly pencils make great wands. Petrificus Totalis! Yes, E goes around and tries to petrify all of us in the house.

The one consolation is knowing that as the weather warms up that this won't really be an issue as the kids will be outside playing much more. So, instead, I will be thinking: Hallelujah! My kids are outside getting exercise and having fun! Oh crap! My kids are outside getting dirty, scraping knees, and staining their clothes! A ring around the bathtub every night!

But, at least then maybe I will get to watch a movie.
:)

picture tag

So, I'm over at the McGregor Journey catching up on their New York life -- I love living vicariously -- when I get to the "Picture Tag" post. I am totally getting the "my-blog-is-suffering-because-of-Facebook" addiction, and I love the pic that Jo puts up for her tag: very cool. I keep scrolling down and found out that she tagged me! Why that little . . . :)

Apparently, you are supposed to go to your 4th picture folder and pick out the 4th picture and post it. You then tag 4 people. Hey, simple! I like that. (The ones where you are supposed to tag 25 of your closest friends -- wth??)

So, while my 4th pic in my 4th folder isn't as cool as Ash's mom's pic, I do think it is pretty darn adorable:



This is E home for 3.5 weeks. So, he would have been about 17 months at that time -- now he's 2.5! Oh my. Love my baby boy.

So, who shall I tag? How about:

Kevin and Stacie
Jill's Expedition
Mamushky's World Headquarters
Raising the Divine Miss M

Goin' to Guat -- Day 3

Day 3 was picture day. Since we spent Day 2 shopping, I decided we needed to load up the camera with images. Above are just a few from that day. As someone who has never been good with cameras and picture-taking or managing to get everything back home, I was very happy to come home with what we did. (Classic picture history: Lost our camera coming home from our honeymoon in Hawaii. Yeah, that's right. No pics of our honeymoon. The other time was our trip to Nassau. Something bad happened to our memory card and wiped out all the pics on it. Fortunately, J had taken some on our old film camera. To say I was a bit paranoid about our digital memories surviving this trip is an understatement.)

J was not so thrilled with walking around all day, and he gave a big sigh and groan whenever I stopped to snap a pic. He survived, though.

The highlight of the day was finding the restaurant Cafe Sky. A casual place with rooftop dining, they served breakfast all day! We went for lunch and marveled at the view while eating our eggs and pancakes. Loved it so much we decided to go back for dinner that evening. Unfortunately, it was a little more crowded, and we ended up near a trio with potty mouths. Now tell me, does every effin' sentence have to be littered with effin' curse words?? Ugh! Anyway, this was one time when I really struggled with my Spanish with the server. We just weren't understanding each other.

The secondary highlight of the day was our trip to the jade factory near our hotel. I used to have a silver ring that I bought in Mexico, but I was constantly losing it, and then one day I lost it for good. Loved that ring. Figured that now would be a good time to replace it, so we went looking for a new ring for the mama. I found a pretty silver ring with a ball of dark green on top. Also found a pair of beautiful silver and jade earrings, and, strangely enough, a pound of Guatemalan coffee to take back to M. (Yes, I bought jewelry for myself and coffee for M.)

Eventually, we ended up back at the hotel for the evening. Found a fun kid movie on Nick and settled in for the night. We were pretty much packed and ready for our 9:00 a.m. departure the next day. The big question at that point was: Would it be fireworks or a party keeping me awake tonight?

Fireworks. :)

Goin' to Guat -- Day 2

Friday, January 16, 2009

Day 2 in Antigua, Guatemala with J:

*Fantastic pancakes for breakfast!

*Headed out to explore. Note: Looking at a map, Antigua looks easy to figure out. Basic grid system of one-way streets. However, you soon learn how few streets are actually marked, so you have to learn landmarks instead.

*Found a bank and exchanged some money.

*Found an indoor market. Spent a lot of money on a lot of souvenirs. Had to carry a huge bag back to our hotel with a boy complaining that his feet hurt. Oh, and I had no idea where I was going. :)

*Rested a bit and then headed back out. Finally found Central Park -- easy to find, but we had originally headed in the wrong direction our first time out. Picked a restaurant for lunch where J chose to have a hamburger and fries. Unfortunately, his mama forgot to order it plain, so it came with ketchup and mayo on it. Yeah, that went over well. I couldn't believe we were sitting in GUATEMALA and he was refusing to eat. But eat he did.

*After lunch, got some frozen yogurt and went to hang out in Central Park. Great place to people watch, but also a place to get approached by those needing money. Pointed out the shoe shine boys to J -- shouldn't they be in school? We then had a woman and a baby want to sell us a necklace. Two school-aged girls who spoke English decided to tag on. They went away when two police officers showed up and just stood there. I bought a necklace from the woman -- having an adorable Guatemalan baby to feed was enough for me. It's a wonder I didn't just empty out my money bag. After she left, the police hung around for a bit, but as soon as they left here come the girls demanding that I buy from them. Honestly, they were mean, and I didn't care for their methods. I think it scared J. I ended up giving them a few dollars but not taking a necklace. Totally wrong way of doing things. After that we walked back to our hotel, and I took that moment to explain it all to J -- why those girls had to do what they were doing.

*Back at the hotel, I was smart: Took the time to go through souvenirs and recall prices for that trip back through Customs. We rested a bit, and then eventually headed out for dinner. Being a bit later and not really wanting to be out much after dark, we just went around the corner to the pizza and pasta place. How exotic, huh?

*The evening was topped off by two events. First, we got a knock on our door and told that our "friends" were out front waiting for us. Friends? Yeah, Juan Carlos. Um, no friends, sorry. Second, someone close by had a loud rockin' party including a trumpet. They danced the Macarena -- had to smile when I realized, hey, at least they probably know the words. So, not a lot of sleep that night.

And those were the highlights of day 2. Getting lost but finding our way. Using my Spanish somewhat successfully. Buying stuff. Interacting with those in need. Enjoying the beauty all around.

Day 3 right around the corner!
:)