On the brink

It has been a long time since my last post (December 23rd). Now, here it is December 31st, 2006, 3:15 PM. Only 8 hours and 45 minutes left in this year. After which, it will never be seen again. Strange and disturbing phenomenon, this reminds me of the post I did a few months ago about time; slippery stuff.

So, what's with the picture, you ask. Well, what with it being New Year's Eve and all, I thought it was a good time to post my new year's resolutions (following in the well known and highly praised footsteps of my daughter - this has to be a first, actually making her resolutions prior to the new year starting). That's a very good start in and of itself, Kara!

So, there are two resolutions I've already made in my mind, this is merely my documentation to make them both a reality and a means of holding "my feet to the fire".

• I will make every effort NOT to overcommit myself. This generally means not trying to cram so much into each weekend. Instead, I'm going to take some time off periodically from work to make sure I can do the things that are important and would be better done during the week.
• Scheduling lunch with Laura, Ty and Beckett with Wendy & Virginia on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. To do this, I will take a half day of PTO so I'm not rushed and we aren't limited to an extremely busy weekend day in a restaurant. This will make it much more pleasant for everyone.
• Taking a weekday off to spend it with my parents periodically. I need to do this when I'm not concerned about getting home to get other weekend things done.
• Scheduling a few days of PTO in April when I will fly with my mom and dad to Las Vegas to see Pam, Jim, the kids and Stephani. It will just be the three of us so we can focus on each other and there will be no other distractions.
• I am going to find an excellent piano teacher who will not force me to play in a recital but will help me to reestablish what little proficiency I had when I quit lessons in 6th grade and will help me to surpass that basic level.
• My ultimate goal is to be able to sit down at my piano and play Debussy's "Claire du Lune" beautifully and by heart.
• I may have to sell my car and replace it with an automatic to be truly successful with this. The joints at the base of my thumbs are both seriously deteriorating and I need to find ways to reduce the pain. Because I drive a stick, it contributes to the overuse of my thumb, at least on my right hand. We'll see once I am solidly into weekly lessons and lots of practicing. I had sworn I was going to keep it for 10 years and 2007 will only be 7 years.

Now, unlike my daughter, I'm limiting myself to only two resolutions because things like losing weight and exercise are ongoing issues for me and don't warrant the special attention of a true resolution.

I guess you could say I have a third resolution, instigated by my children. That would be not to buy new movies (unless absolutely necessary because I adore them) but rather to watch movies through our brand new Netflix service. We have been encouraged to do this for some time but in the absence of moving forward with this on our own, our kids took their own initiative and signed us up. So, we are sitting here with MI3 and Dear Franky, which we are hoping to watch some time this weekend. I'm sure they're right and this is the smarter way to go. To support this new opportunity, we replaced our old, rear projection 32" tv in the living room with a 40" flat-screened, HD rear projection tv.

Mike called it a relative recycle. We gave our old tv to Tracy & Pete and they gave theirs to Marilyn and Dennis. We do the same thing with my parents whenever we get a new computer.

Anyway, I'm encouraged about the new year and the sensible way I'm approaching it. I'm feeling well-positioned, so to speak. OK, this is officially getting boring so I'm going to sign off. See you next year.

Christmas Eve Eve

Well, it's Christmas Eve Eve and it looks nothing like this outside. We have lots of wet stuff and it's cold but not frozen; no ice, no snow and everyone can drive safely (not that they do, but they can).

The good news is, MY SHOPPING IS DONE! I was beginning to think I would never get there. The celebrations begin tomorrow so all I have left to do is wrap a few more items, do some advance preparation for the meals, then sit back and enjoy everyone's experience.

So, I looked for a Christmas movie to watch while I was typing and landed on an Olivia Newton-John and Gregory Harrison movie that must be at least 20 years old. It's playing on the family channel so enough said. But at least it has snow and takes place at Christmas. It was this or "The Spy Who Loved Me", "The Green Berets" or "The Breakfast Club", somehow those just didn't fill me with the proper seasonal cheer, how about you? I guess there must be non-Christians in charge of the network programming for all these channels. Funny thing though, all the commercials know the season. Once this is over, I'm off to complete my elfing, and throw something together for dinner.

Today was an interesting and sobering day. At Safeway, I ran into the mom of someone who used to work for me at US Bank. That means she recognized me after 10 years of being gone from there. I was too surprised to even ask about her daughter so hopefully I'll see her again and be able to find out about Heidi. She said she lives close by to the store so I'm hopeful I can rectify my poor manners.

After that, I went out to visit my friend Penny. It turns out Penny was moved from her retirement apartment at the beginning of December to a foster home as she has become increasingly forgetful and paranoid. The good news is, she still recognizes her friends and her family (during the day) so I didn't have to explain who I was. For the last few years I've given her calendars that have pictures of nuns doing crazy things. The 2007 calendar had photos of them riding a huge roller coaster, riding scooters, riding in a trailer being pulled by a tractor, playing Twister, and all manner of other crazy things. She laughed at every single picture so it was worth it just sharing her enjoyment. I talked to her daughter, Mary, before going out there and she thinks it's Alzheimers. That is especially sobering for Mary and her siblings since her dad already died of the same disease about 3-4 years ago. I have to make a point of getting back out there in the next month so Penny is still aware enough to know me. You never know when or how quickly this disease will deteriorate the brain functions.

How do we take and keep control of our aging process? This isn't the time or the place to get into this but it is weighing on my mind tonight. Not only from my own aging perspective but that of my parents and other close relatives, and even my friends and their parents.

But, this is the eve of hope and peace and a positive vision of the future. So, I'm off to watch the original "Miracle on 34th Street" and "While You Were Sleeping". Ta Ta All!

So, I am willingly going to march into the melee tomorrow afternoon because I'M NOT DONE!!! You heard it here first folks, the stockings are going to be the death of me. It's relatively easy for Santa to fill the older "kids" stockings but the little kids are tough. I don't want to get junk but it has to be small. However, I'm confident I'm up to this challenge.

Once I have procured all that remains to be purchased (including the ham and other foodstuffs for the holiday weekend), I will need to busy myself with the remaining wrapping and last minute items which will prevent me from being able to check in tomorrow night. Nevertheless, I'm hopefull that by the time I get back online, I'll have comments and responses to my comments on the last two Condi blogs to review. Don't let me down!

I'm off to get ready for tomorrow so this one's short but sweet. Today was a tough day at work so I guess I'm not very chatty. A demain demain demain!

Of course it is...

So, my daughter makes the comment to me on her blog that my comments are all about me. Well of course they're all about me because I'm saying them. I mean what right do I have to make someone else's comments, they have to be mine from me. So, I guess I answered that.

Tonight I went with people form work to eat Peruvian food. Very, very different but good. Even the drink they served at the beginning made with brandy, egg whites and something else I forget now was good but potent. And the chocolate mint gelato they served for dessert was exquisite, with fresh mint in it!

However, I got a parking ticket while I was in there because the confounded machine at the lot wouldn't work. The charge was $5, right? So, I put in all the change I had (four dollar bills and 95 cents) and borrowed the last nickel from a total stranger because the guy in front of me told me cards didn't work. So, I get all the money into the machine (it was very picky about the dollar bills), by this time there is a line of people behind me including some I work with, and it won't give me a ticket. Instead, it keeps asking me for another dollar. So then, I try to cancel that transaction, so it starts over again without giving me back my money. This time I try a card and that doesn't work, as I'd been told it wouldn't. So I figure, screw it. I paid my $5 and went into the restaurant and left 2 hours later. Sure enough, there was a parking ticket for $40 or so on my windshield. I was really angry because I had tried so hard to do the right thing. So I immediately wrote a polite but assertive letter to "these people" when I walked in the door tonight. I told them I knew they had at least one extra $5 payment in that machine that didn't balance with their ticket usage and I had witnesses. This better be the end of that is all I can say.

Isn't it interesting how even though you are the one who is "in the right" you have to spend all your time proving it? The same thing is true if you are burglarized, if you are hit in a car accident, if a doctor messes up your surgery; it's always incumbent upon you to prove that you were wronged. If I didn't know better I'd say I'm whining so that stops now.

It's Christmas, no one whines at Christmas unless "it's all about them". However, we've already established the fact that it's not so let's not start that again. I showed off my autographed Judy Garland/Margaret O'Brien photograph tonight. It was fun talking about the experience with everybody. There are lots of old movie buffs out there. In just a couple of days we'll be going over to my daughter's to have a "White Christmas" party.

It's good to have all these lovely mood setting experiences throughout the season. I need all the help I can get as I try to finish all my shopping...ugh! At least all our packages are mailed to the out-of-towners. It's funny how we only had to mail to two separate households and they were both in Las Vegas this year. Hopefully we'll get down there within the next couple of months.

Actually, we have to go down there for Mike's birthday in February because that's the only way he won't get older (there are no clocks in Las Vegas, at least not on the strip). Based on that, Mike decided he never actually experienced his 50th birthday either (we were there to celebrate it) so he wants to continue the tradition each decade. Now we have lots of family to see while we're there so that will be a good thing.

So, I think it's time to take my tired self to bed. We'll see just how strong the wind is that blows through the night. Gusts of 65 mph are nothing to sneeze at! OK, enough with the graphics already, nighty night!

New Member of the Family

I am happy to present, the newest member of our Christmas family, Mr. Santa Frog. He is quite wonderful and yes, he is as tall as he looks. He makes a perfect bookend to my very tall nutcracker with the black fur shako. They look splendid centered, within the sidelights, on either side of the front door. How could you not feel welcomed with his open arms to meet you and his very big feet to trip you (just kidding).

The cat was somewhat concerned once we got him set up but she realized she had nothing to fear when he didn't make a move during her dog sniffing (she sniffs much more like a dog than a cat). I think she's bipolar and flips between the two species. She has more wierd habits than normal ones, but that's a subject for another blog. Otherwise, I'll get off track yet again.

I'm spoiled, I'm getting my Christmas present installed tonight. My car is 6 1/2 years old and the CD player just completely died a couple of months ago. Considering how much I played it, I think it probably had a good run. I've no complaints except for the fact that I can't listen to Christmas carols (including the one Kara just obliterated on her blog) without it. Unless one of the radio stations deigns to play some lame version of something that is. So, starting tomorrow I'm going to have all my Christmas music lined up and overdose on it immediately. Nothing gets me in the holiday mood faster than listening to carols and watching Christmas movies and decorating and wrapping presents...okay, okay so it doesn't take much. I love Christmas, I admit it. Even with all the work stuff that needs to get done and how busy we are preparing for performance reviews and all the stuff that needs to get done to the house for entertaining and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera; I still love it.

I took video of (2 1/2 month old grandson) Beckett with Santa Claus the other day and just thinking about it cracks me up. Santa was trying to get him to "ham it up" since I was taking video and we were waiting around on the photographer so he picked him up and swung him back and forth, kind of like there was music only I don't remember any. Anyway, it hiked up his little, flannel shirt (he looked so darn cute) and his little chubby tummy was hanging out. All the time he had this frown on his little face and you could read his mind, "Why couldn't you just let me sleep?" Poor baby boy! It will definitely be a video he will beg his parents to put away when he is a teenager. Life is going to be very hard for him, being so cute and all.So, I was saying to someone that everyone acknowledges that the Coast Guard who work the bar where the Columbia meets the Pacific is the most dangerous "water" job in the country. But as I listen to these ski patrol types who are trying to rescue the hikers lost on Mt. Hood, I'm thinking that job is right up there from a danger perspective. A comment was made that they're crazy and I said, thank goodness for the rest of us that there are people who are willing to put their lives at risk to save those who made some bad choices or in some cases, were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. So that's my Thanksgiving speech now that it's almost Christmas. Actually, I think it's a year-round conviction.

Now John Stewart is talking about Bush's stubborness regarding Iraq. No way am I going there. Time to do some work. Feliz Navidad!

Out on my feet

Granted this isn't me but it could be me if you simply compare my tiredness to the tiredness of this child. I'm confident that I'm equally out of it I just haven't fallen over in the chair yet. And this presents a problem because I'm not finding time ot blog until late at night so there is no quality here. In fact, I rarely if ever remember the wonderfully clever subjects I think of throughout the day once I actually sit down to do this. I'm truly a dried up spring of ideas compared to where I started.

I did not get the VP job and I'm okay with that. It was going to require a whole new level of effort and commitment that I would prefer not to have to put forth at this point. I have enough trouble keeping up with my expanding responsibilities as it is. I think this will be a very challenging role for my peer who was selected. I think I also have a pretty good idea of why he was selected and it makes sense. Unfortunately, he falls into the white male category, which is beginning to sound like a broken record around there. This is not going to help our Affirmative Action plans. The additional money would have been nice but I make good money as it is, I am not complaining.

So, I knocked off a little more Christmas shopping today. I need to get two packages mailed to Las Vegas tomorrow to ensure they get there before Christmas. How can it be that late in the month already, who moved up the calendar when I wasn't looking? I only have two more Christmas cards (letters) to write, it will be good to get those behind me but I won't probably get to them until Friday. Yikes, that's only a week before Christmas. This is freaking me out. I still have more to buy for the shelter, that will probably get done late next week. I'm hoping they can still take stuff right up until Christmas weekend. The execs at work were extremely generous so that will be wonderful for the ladies and kids there.

Here's a good one, before I sign off. I stopped at the Salvation Army drop off in the Fred Meyer shopping center on the way home. I had to empty all the bags and bags of clothes and household goods out so I can refill it up with the goodies for the shelter tomorrow. So, I pull up to the little shed and it's pitch black there. A gentleman steps out and I asked him where his light was. He said OSHA came by and said the cords were a hazard so they took them away. I said, "Well, as long as you don't have any more cords, I guess you won't trip over them in the dark!" How in the world is he supposed to function without any light or heat? Sometimes the rules are carried to the nth degree, far beyond reasonableness. The world is full of craziness and the government does its best to spread it around equitably. Maybe for Christmas I'll take him a battery-operated light! So there OSHA!

Anyway, my bed is calling. Too bad I didn't get any of my work done tonight, that means I'll have a nice late one tomorrow night, ugh! I guess I just need to accept the fact that I work better under pressure, no matter how much I hate doing that.
Hasta la vista!

Reminiscing

Well, tonight we not only were able to see "Meet Me In St. Louis" on the big screen in its original 35 mm format, we were entertained by Margaret O'Brien (nee Angela) afterwards, who had played Tootie in the movie. It was so interesting to hear about her life, her experiences and most of all her memories specific to this movie. This movie has been a treasure my girls and I have held close to our hearts for years and each Christmas season it is one of the requirements that we watch it to get our minds into the proper holiday framework. I left the show with this glossy 8x10 photo, autographed by Margaret. It is going to hang in my movie corridor in a place of honor. It may well be time for Jeremy Fisher to go.

She was really a lovely lady and the fact of all she had seen and done in her life really didn't cause her to act in a condescending way or anything. A wonderful day and a wonderful opportunity. We're all glad we did it.

This has now turned into a two day post because something was wrong last night and I couldn't get this to publish. so, Extreme Makeover is just over, the paraplegic police officer has gotten a new house with an electric track throughout to help her get around and take care of her 19 month old little girl. There were alot of people who were not just para's but quadra's and they found ways to move and begin blood flow to go through her lower extremeties. I have no doubt that her dedication and strength and courage will result in her walking again someday, even though the bullet ricocheted off her spine to paralyze her.

So, now they are going to go through the house and I'm going to go up and finish folding clothes now that I've finished wrapping more presents. Too bad I never got any work done, bad, bad, bad. Somehow, I'll live through it. I always do. I'll be back sometime soon. Au revoir...

Catching up!

Well, tonight I had dinner with an old friend, one I hadn't seen for over a year. Turns out she just lost her job (severance) about a month ago and she is also a recent grandma like me so we had lots to talk about. We have always described these conversations, as "he said, she said" because we always want to know all the details of any event the other one experiences. We talked for three hours so we went through plenty of details.

We talked about our various travels, my recent cruise to the Mediterranean and hers to Hawaii (Kauai). I spent mine walking on cobblestoned streets and she spent hers hiking into their mountains. At one point, she and her husband hiked down a 1,700 foot incline then had to hike back up. She said when they got back to the lodge, they had crusted salt all over their faces from the sweat and the sea air. Sounds like fun to me! Actually, I think I'll take my flatter sightseeing walks through ancient ruins and just look at her pictures of Kauai.

So, today was the 65th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day. I wonder if anyone has ever tried to add up all the wars that have occurred over the centuries, at least those that were recorded. Then, I wonder if anyone has ever added up the casualties from those wars. Just imagine if everyone had always gotten along, no one had ever been greedy for land, power or wealth or intolerant of others beliefs and none of those wars had been necessary. We probably would have overpopulated the planet much earlier than we actually did. In fact, that would be an interesting study, to try to anticipate the affect of no wars at any time in our history.

There would still have been natural disasters and phenomenon that would have eliminated some of the population but it would have been a very different history. I wonder how much faster we progressed, in an industrial way, because we had to come up with faster and better ways to build weaponry and large conveyances. A fascinating topic and one I'm sure someone else came up with long before me. Who knows, maybe some day I'll actually have time to research something like that. I can't imagine having that kind of extra time.

In fact, I really need to head to bed so I can be up and at 'em early in the morning. We will be visiting with friends tomorrow night at least so I'll have that to look forward to throughout the day. I'm healthy, I'm enjoying my work right now even if it is driving me to an early grave, I have wonderful family and friends, I love having the house decorated for the holidays and entertaining at Christmas and the sun was shining today so I had my car washed. What could be better? Oh, the cat (Mrs. B) just said, "Winning the lottery," well there's always one in every crowd. Bon chance!

A Little Taste of the South

So, we just got back from dinner at a place called, "The Screen Door" where they serve good old fashioned southern cooking. I had something called the screen door plate on which I was allowed three different sides and corn bread. So, I had red beans & rice (of course), cole slaw and brussel sprouts in some kind of sauce. Plus, one in our party shared their mashed sweet potatoes and they were really, really good. Then, because I hadn't already eaten too much (wrong), I shared a piece of pumpkin cheesecake with caramel sauce. I know, don't you wish you were me? Now the question is how do I sleep, it won't be easy.

It was only 38 degrees outside as we were driving home tonight, I guess that means we have only 15 days until winter is officially upon us. What I refuse to count is the number of days left until Christmas, I can't even think about it. I just need to focus on finishing my shopping. Mike bought a classic gift today, it's probably going to be the topper for the season, a toilet seat filled with fishing flies. It's for the mud room toilet by their new garage in their new house. I'm sure they'll be delighted with it:).

You know, I'm really sleepy (probably all that food I ate) so I'm going to cut this short. I have Charade playing right now while I'm typing. Audrey Hepburn is such a unique beauty except for the smoking part. I wonder if she regretted all the smoking she had done when she was dying of cancer? It is a strange movie though, even with how many times I've seen it I still don't really get it. I just like to watch Cary and Audrey.

I think I'll go to bed to dream about southern cooked delicacies. Adieu.

Peace?

So, this is the season of peace and joy, right? So, are you saying you don't like this symbol of peace, well tough. This was already in my saved file and I don't even care if I've used it before even if I swore I was always going to have a new picture. I'm just excited that I was able to get back in and post something after fighting with the new blogger site. I know, I know, this post is supposed to be about peace, it's amazing how quickly I can veer away from that subject. Especially if I'm behind the wheel of my car. I honestly think if I didn't commute to work everyday, I would be a more patient driver. But when you are a commuter in heavy traffic, you expect your fellow roadies to behave in a heavy traffic commuter way. If they don't, it brings a frown to your face and less than pleasant thoughts may possibly make their way out of your mouth, possibly. So, anyway, enough about this subject which already takes enough of my mental prowess each day so I don't need to think about it at night too! Fa la la la la, la la la la!

So, I am way off the subject I was planning to post a couple of days ago but I couldn't get access to this silly Blogger beta. You know the definition of beta is "full of not working parts"! So, exactly why were we "forced" into this thing? I have to say I haven't found anything improved in it yet but I don't have the very extensive history of blogging as some others I could mention but won't. I'll wait to see what the learned opinions are on the subject.

This is another one of those "why are you bothering to put anything down on paper" blogs because it has no point, I have no point, the world has no point, not even my cat has a point. Ugh! I think it's time for bed. How in the world did I get from peace to here. Actually here is nowhere because this stinking blog never went anywhere. It's pointless and not only that, I'm missing a bunch of my Santas that I need to decorate downstairs, which means I can't finish what I started and that makes me unhappy especially because I don't have a clue where they are. I guess this is just a generally unhappy day, this was not helped by the blog talking about ruined and pointless relationships. I think I'll just blame the writer of that subject matter as the reason for my ennui. Avez-vous un problem avec la?