Christmas Tidings

"Oh look, yet another Christmas TV special! How touching to have the meaning of Christmas brought to us by cola, fast food and beer.... Who'd have ever guessed that product consumption, popular entertainment and spirituality would mix so harmoniously?" 

~Bill Watterson - The Essential Calvin and Hobbes~

I'm sitting in my bedroom blogging this evening as my husband spends a few hours with his parents and his sister. Because my sister in law is going through some serious health issues of her own, I have been temporarilly banned from the house. Stupid flu. 

This has NOT been a "normal" family Christmas. Daughter #1 worked today and is now crumpled up in bed feeling crummy. Daughter #2 has taken some Christmas food to my mother and gone to see her boyfriend and his family. They are getting older and I'm reminded of how my parents must have felt as my sister and I moved on with our lives. It's bizarre and saddens me some. 

I was starkly reminded of the first Christmases Yoda and I spent together - days when we barely had a couple of dimes to rub together, not much else than that. Those were rough, but good days. Because of the move, cash is at a premium so we drew names for gifts. This was hard because as "mom" or "dad" you want to give your kids everything. This was the first year we had to really limit ourselves so Yoda would have gas money to get back to Dallas and some grocery and laundry money as well. The gifts we exchanged were small, but from the heart. I think this is the way it should be. Forget quantity... quality is a much better thing. 

(Sigh)

As I have been grounded today, I have spent some time working on my Smash Book. It's a non-traditional scrapbook by K&C Company that my daughters got me hooked on earlier this summer. I added a few things from a couple of my trips to New York City, San Francisco, Inn of the Mountain Gods, St. Louis, and Dallas, TX. (I think I've been a few places, eh?) If you are wanting something a little different for a scrapbook, but don't want to invest the time and energy in a full-blown big one, I highly recommend a Smash Book. Awesome stuff right there.  For me, each page is a reminder of how blessed I truly am. 

And speaking of blessings... I pray for you and yours a Merry Christmas filled with Christ's love, faith, hope and truth. (Whether you believe in Him or not.) 
I'll see you again on the flip side. 

Back in the Saddle

I have been on a hiatus for a while. I've been working on those pesky New Year's Resolutions and trying to get my life into some semblance of order. So far, I've made some progress and I'm pretty happy with how things have gone. I've lost weight and have reached my first goal (lost about 30 pounds total thus far!!!.) I've simplified a lot of things and am working on my relationships. All of that falls under the category of "Work in Progress."
Ok, it really falls under the category of "Rome Wasn't Built in A Day," but carry on I shall.

The kick in the pants is my writing life. I just can't seem to get a grip on that. I'm not sure what direction I want to take and I probably should keep up with the blog just so I can keep writing something creative and "me." I mean, I write every day. However, I can't really say that my reports are titillating for the average bear and definitely NOT accessible for anyone else to read. So what to do, I don't know.
I'm telling ya... this is a conundrum for the ages.
I wonder if Shakespeare, Twain, etc went through this kind of angst or if it just "came" to them.

In other news... eldest graduates in about a month and will start working at the vet clinic full time. Yay! Youngest is making plans for college and culinary school in Rhode Island in a couple of years. Wow!
Darling is doing really well at work and is getting to travel some and do a lot of interesting things since he found a job that really takes care of employees. A rarity and we are blessed.
The dogs are all good. I guess all in all, the family is doing pretty well.

Mother... oy. Maybe I should write about mother, but no one would believe me. They say truth is stranger than fiction, but even then I don't think I could properly convey the proper tone of borderline lucidity/insanity that prevails in her universe. I'm gearing up for her nervous breakdown any day now. This will be breakdown number 3 or 4. If she doesn't break, either myself or my Gotham sister may instead. We love her. We also do a lot of head shaking because we can't adequately explain her thoughts, words or actions. If I could, I am pretty sure I would have some sort of DSM-IV medical miracle on my hands.

Well, I need to get some sleep. The alarm rings early (anything before 10am is early) and I have to try to get a bunch of stuff done at work tomorrow. This writing thing though... lots to mull over.
G'night.

One For All....

The family gets together fairly often for movie night. Tonight was such a night and after we dismissed more Tom Hanks movies than I realized I actually had, the mutual decision was made to watch the Three Musketeers.

This version of the film was made in 1993 and it's still one of my favorites. Charlie Sheen (strangely enough) received top bill. Keifer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell and Oliver Platt along with Tim Curry and Rebecca De Mornay are also in it. The movie does not follow Dumas' work to the letter, the "accents" are pretty abhorrent (O'Donnell can't even pronounce his own name.) And last but not least there are a lot of continuity errors in the film. So why is it one of my favorites?
* Dialogue - witty
* Comedic timing
* Action and Pacing
* Musical score
* The acting / script is good enough that I can overlook the flaws.

When I watch this movie, time flies because even though I know what's coming it's (for me) a perfect mix of action / adventure, romance and sarcasm. If you haven't seen it, it's a pretty jolly romp if you keep your expectations realistic. In fact, I think I may have to watch it again.

The idea of the three musketeers is interesting to me - as is the musketeer in general. To me, they are the cops or the secret service of the day. Their job is to protect the king, the queen, the country and each other. Maybe in a way, we are all musketeers.

"This world is an uncertain realm, filled with danger. Honor underminded by the pursuit of power, freedom sacrificed when the weak are oppressed by the strong. But there are those who oppose these powerful forces, who dedicate their lives to truth, honor, and freedom. These men are known as Musketeers."