Happy New Year!

Car Conversations

I was driving Moose home from swimming yesterday. Out of the blue he asked,

"If you want to go to heaven when you die, why do they put you even further down?"

"Your soul is already gone when you're buried. The instant that you die, your soul is gone. It's not there at the funeral home or in the coffin or at the cemetery."

"So if you die in the emergency room and they use those paddle things to bring you back to life, does your soul come back or do you get a new one?"

(Pause) Cue the sound of my brain rattling.

"If God knows everything that's gonna happen, then He knows that you are not going to die and your soul is still there. You don't get a new one."

"Bummer."

Fun Monday - Christmas Most Recently Past

Sayre is hosting this week and she wanted to know two things -

What was the most touching, wonderful part of Christmas for you this year?

AND
What was the craziest, stupidest, funniest part this year?

The most touching and wonderful part was opening the gifts and seeing my grandson get EVERYTHING on his list (short list, folks, don't get real excited). He was really happy to get his football and also to see his mom after she got off work.

The craziest, stupidest, funniest part? I work in retail so there are more instances than I can list. One that stands out though is the little girl, probably about 5 years old, throwing a full-out, on the floor, screaming temper tantrum because her Dad wouldn't buy her a toy. I tried to smooth things over by pointing out that if her Dad bought her everything she wanted, it would make Santa's job awfully hard. She countered by telling me that if her Dad would buy her everything she wanted, it would make Santa's job easier because he wouldn't have to bring her anything. Yep, a future lawyer in the making, I think.

Merry Christmas (better late than never)

Merry Christmas to one and all, a little late, I know, but still very heartfelt.

We had a lovely Christmas here. Santa actually brought Moose everything he wanted for Christmas. Of course the child's list was only 3 items long and only one of those large, so Santa had it fairly easy this year.

The rest of us made out like bandits, as always. We then went out for dinner (thank you, sweetheart) and then to see Marley and Me. What a good movie! Of course, Juls and I had already read the book so were crying in advance. Moose is reading the book currently in his classroom and about 1/2 way through started telling me that they were leaving things out.

Other news - we have changed Charity's name. It just never quite fit and Shorty could never remember it. We mostly ended up calling her "little dog, little dog" but have finally settled on Bonnie - long for BonBon. She is much improved, as you can see from this photo.

and this one

Life in the Beef? Capital of the World

My daughter and I have recently had several interesting restaurant experiences. The town I live in is "the beef capital of the world".

I ordered the taco soup last week at a restaurant we frequent. The meat looked just a little odd. Juls asked if it was ground beef. The waitress said that it was. OK.

Then she came back and said that it was turkey ground beef. Turkey ground beef? Yep, turkey ground beef. Not a problem for me but Juls doesn't eat ground turkey, let alone turkey ground beef. We were hysterical and our waitress never did seem to realize that ground beef cannot be made of turkey. Ground turkey can, but ground beef? Methinks not.

Then tonight, while we were out looking at Christmas lights, we stopped at Mickey D's. I asked for a double cheeseburger and the voice in the box told me that they were out of red meat and that I couldn't have a double cheeseburger. I asked him what my options were and he started the list.

Grilled chicken sandwich
Filet of fish
Chicken Nuggets
Quarter Pounder
Homestyle


Excuse me? You are out of red meat but I can have a quarter pounder????

I have occasionally wondered about the source of some restaurant's ingredients but seriously, in the beef capital of the world, I cannot get beef ground beef or a burger made with red meat?

I am afraid. I am very afraid.

Latest on Charity

Just a quick update on the pup. Charity finally had an actual turd (yes, I know it's disgusting, but we actually cheered like it was the first time Moose used the potty on his own) on Thursday and went to the vet on Saturday to have her stitches removed.

She no longer has ribs showing and is beginning to act like a dog instead of a victim. She is venturing forth from her den and is interacting with the other dogs who are still not sure that she IS a dog. This is actually a good thing since they are not jealous of her and I have told them that she is NOT a squeaky toy.

The vet decided that she was healthy enough now to have her immunizations so all in all, it was a terrific vet visit.

I know all of this because Juls told me. I was in bed puking for the last 3 days...lol.

Charity evidently begins at the vet's

Charity.

Charity is still not well although she is better than she was. Her prolapsed rectum was put back where it belongs but her digestive stuff is still not right.

I took her to the vet this morning and horned in on Holly's eye appointment (scratched cornea, should be fine) because she smelled like death.

Charity has no temperature and is still trying with everything she has to become well. The person who owned her before I acquired her should someday suffer as this poor pup has. We located the breeder who owns her mother.

This puppy, who the vet judged to be 7-8 weeks old, based on her size and development, was born on July 23, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. She is almost 5 MONTHS old! The breeder, who kept the puppies with their mom till they were 3 months old due to their itty-bitty-ness, was in tears. The puppy weighed more when she was given to her previous owner than she does now.

I have shed tears over this baby and am trying desperately to not get TOO attached, as her prognosis is still guarded. She sure is a little fighter, though.

Fun Monday - No act of kindness is senseless

Writing this on the run, so I apologize in advance for it's faults.

Today's assignment from Mommy Wizdom is random acts of senseless kindness done in the past week. This week was full of little kindnesses for me. My daughter and I took hot cocoa to the Salvation Army bell ringers while we were out shopping.

We took cookies to our vet's office.

We took cookies to my new denture makers. (new dentures and a new denture maker)

We adopted Charity, our new little chihuahua (who will be going back to the vet today).

We smiled, sang carols (in line at stores) and have generally been spreading the spirit of God's love everywhere we go.

Correction: My daughter reminded me that it was not carols that we were singing in the store. It was "Salve Regina" which some of you may remember from Sister Act. The school kids sang it at Mass on Friday and their rendition was a little dirge-y for our taste but we managed to wait till we were not in Church to let it wail.

God Help Us All

We have a new dog.

This dog is another rescue. We (Julie and I) acquired her rather circuitously but ended up paying the vet bill for her prolapsed rectum and bringing her home. She is Shorty's new dog (a Christmas gift from Juls) since he is the little dog person in our home.

Her name is Charity. She is 7-8 weeks old and weighs 1.5 lbs.

PPL

Merry Christmas to Robin and all of her Pensieve friends!

Here are my contributions for the month:

#1
Pregnant grey clouds hang
Temperatures sharply drop
Snowflakes gently drift

#2
The heavens explode
Angels and seraphim sing
Salvation is ours

#3
A young boy’s belief
In the existence of Claus
Cherish and press “pause”

and the answer is....

First of all, thanks for your responses.

Moose was the thrower and NOT the intended catchee. The little girl whose teeth were chipped (and they were permanent teeth) has had them repaired (bonded and sealed).

Moose's mom and the little girl's parents are splitting the bill. I understand that it was an accident but the fact remains that if Moose had been in control of his own little self, it would never have happened.

We are hoping that he learns a valuable lesson about personal responsibility and awareness of surroundings and of the consequences his actions have.

Our new official Christmas song is "All I Want for Christmas is Madison's front teeth".

A Very Unscientific Survey

Scenario:

A grade school gymnasium during recess. The weather outside is frigid and the kids have been stuck inside all day. Half of the kids are playing dodgeball and the other half are in free-form chaos. A third grader throws a frisbee at another third grader who, contrary to Mom's note, was not sitting out during playtime. Evidently, while dogs have no problem catching frisbees with their mouths, 3rd graders do. Two teeth, one top and one bottom, were chipped.

Question:

Who is responsible for the dental bills?

I will let y'all know the actual decisions tomorrow. Thanks in advance for letting me know what you think.

Fun Monday - Heaux, heaux, heaux

This week's Fun Monday topic is from Mamalang. She requested It's the Christmas season, and I want you to tell us what are your three favorite Christmas Carols and a picture of your favorite Christmas "thing". It could be a Christmas tree, or your mantle, or a church, you in a Santa hat.

My three favorite Christmas carols? Easy - peasy.

My very favorite Christmas carol is "Happy Birthday". We have always had birthday cake for Baby Jesus as our Christmas dinner dessert since my girls were small. We always sing this song and my oldest daughter always named this as her favorite Christmas carol.

My second choice is a song not from my childhood. I am not sure why this particular song was not sung at Mass when I was a child or in my parents' house, but there you have it. I discovered this song as an adult and it speaks to my soul.

My third choice IS from my childhood. I mentioned it out loud and my husband sort of groaned but my grandson immediately went "We have that song in my class at school!" I do love traditions, no matter how cheesy.

Now for the picture of my favorite Christmas "thing". I LOVE Nativity scenes. This is a picture of the one in my childhood hometown, from that era.

In the 1970s, I was driving past this very Nativity during a rainstorm. My daughter started crying because the baby was getting wet and cold. We stopped and put our new baby's receiving blanket on the baby. It was returned, washed and dried, to my mother by the very nice firemen who watched us. I love small towns. Always have (except when I was high school and couldn't get away with ANYTHING) and always will.

Merry Christmas, y'all.

We DO Remember

It is all too easy in this time of holiday preparation and holiday feasting to forget another important anniversary -

I was not born in 1941 when this horrendous "day of infamy" occurred but I will not, nor will my family, forget. I had several uncles who served in the military during WWII and all made it home safely. My dad worked in the shipyard at Mare Island in California during that time. It still just breaks my heart to think about that day.

Please pray for the respose of the souls of all of those who died then in the service of their country and for our freedom.

Pearl Harbor - December 7, 1941 - a day that will live in infamy.

Update - A New Doctor

A couple of months ago, I wrote a very depressing blog about suicide, both deliberate and through negligence.

I have found a new doctor. I went to see him and told him why I was there, holding nothing back, including my own stupidity. After I told him that my previous doctor had said that it would take about 6 months for all of the medication to leave my system, he cocked his head, looked at me, and asked,

"Did he mention that this might be fatal?"

Uh, no. No, he didn't. I would have remembered that. It turns out that I have basically been walking around because I am just to dang stubborn to lie down and go into that coma!

I am back on my medication. I am grateful to my parents for whatever genes they passed on to me that enable me to survive my own stupidity. I am grateful to my new doctor for not yelling at me. I am grateful to God for the skill he gives my physicians and for the grace he continues to shower upon me. I am grateful to my family for putting up with me through all of this crap and I am grateful to y'all for hanging around.

Thanks.

The Best Time of the Year

There have been a lot of things going on in my neck of the woods - some good, some not-so-good. I have decided to focus on the good.

I had a spectacular weekend with my two favorite guys - Moose and Shorty. On Saturday, we got up and had breakfast at one of our favorite coffee shops. From there, we drove to Amarillo so that we could make our annual visit to the Salvation Army Angel Tree at the mall. Moose and I had a terrific time shopping while Grampits stress-tested the benches outside the stores. One pair of pants, one shirt, one jacket, one hat, two mittens, two shoes that light up when you walk and one scale model aircraft carrier (with aircraft) and we were done. We delivered said items back to the real angels who volunteer their time and energy to make this tradition of ours work and went on our way.

We went to visit Santa and Moose got to tell Santa what he would like for Christmas. His list was VERY short (only two items) and Santa seemed optimistic that he would be able to fulfill the little man's wishes.

We then went to the Hickory Farms store where I discovered that Moose has never - NEVER- had their smoked cheddar. We immediately rectified that and bought some to bring home.

Then, we went to the movie theater to see "Bolt". If you get the chance to see this movie, shell out the extra dinero to watch it in 3D. It was awesome!!! I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to see a movie with the kids that they don't have to explain.

Dinner at Furr's where everyone gets exactly what they want and no one has to be yelled at to finish their dinner and we came home just in time for bed and a good night's sleep.

Fun Monday - the neighborhood version

The white picket fence seemed apropos for this week's assignment - your worst neighbor per Beyond My Slab.

Here goes: Tell us about your all-time worst Neighbors from Hell. You know, the family of Irish clog dancers who once lived in the flat/apartment above you? Mrs. Nextdoor and her banshee-like multiple orgasms? Mr. and Mrs. Hard-of-Hearing with their television on full blast? The guys across the street who set off 4th of July fireworks starting in March and didn't stop until the first real snowfall?

If I did not live in a small town, I could tell you about our neighbor of 10 years who siphoned our gas, burglarized our house, stole our guns (and my First Communion prayer book and high school ring) and shot our dog. But I do live in a small town so I will share another neighbor from hell story.

When I was 18, I got married. When I was 19, I had my first daughter and my husband and I had the usual discussions re; naming said child. He wanted to name her Stephanie (guess whose name was Steven?) and I refused to because that was his girlfriend-before-me's name. When I was 20, my husband was killed in a car accident and the baby (whose name was NOT Stephanie) and I had to move. I got my very first on my own apartment. Any guess who lived in the apartment next door?

Yep, Stephanie.