The Endless Possibilities

Whole lot of this going on at my house. My boys are always working on THE LIST-adding, deleting, thinking, shuffling. It's a real living, breathing document. No matter what toy/gift they think up for the list, I never say no-although most of what is on that list won't be bought. Because you know what I've figured out? It's not what's on the list (or even under the tree) that's so important. It's the endless possibilities that are so magical and mesmerizing. And making the list costs nothing. Christmas is the season for possibility and hope-and you don't even have to spend a dime. And how heart-warming is that??? Guess it's true-there are some things money just can't buy.

Here's hoping some of your wishes come true this holiday season.

Holiday Throw Back

Operation Santa is in full swing. And Santa's helpers are thicker than thieves. Hope they don't blow their cover...

"Raw Cat" Report

The "raw-cats"(that's rockettes if you're recently tuning in) were GREAT! In spite of the girlie nature of the show, both boys were enchanted and big kid even asked to borrow his dad's glasses (since he left his at home) to better see all those high kicks-which caused Mr B to raise his eyebrows and Honey (the grandmother) to chuckle. Looks like big kid is paying attention to all those skirts and legs. And I loved it all. You kinda feel like a fool for smiling so much-but it really was entertaining and heart warming and impressive. Worth the money-definately.

The unintended hi-lite of our Christmas day trip though was our lunch at the Aquarium restaurant (overpriced but worth the aquatic experience of dining with sharks). The boys really enjoyed walking around the circular tanks making discoveries and snapping pics (I will post a few of their favs). And the food was good...you never know at these places. But my only regret was that I waited so long to give in to lil brother's constant requests to pet the sting rays (another opportunity to hand your money over to strangers). So after 3 hrs of dodging and redirecting-I couldn't take it another minute-I marched him over and shelled out the bucks for him to completely soak his sweater and wipe shrimp-goo down the front of it (sigh). But he totally loved petting the "ex-a-rays" so actually it made me happy for getting to make his day.

Hope your family is enjoying some of your own excursions! Will post a few pics soon...

Lil brother is under the illusion that we are going to see the "raw-cats" this evening. Not sure the Rockettes can quite live up to that venue expectation. And of course, once I break the news to him that he's also gonna wear his Christams sweater... well, you can just imagine how that's gonna play out.

BTW-I am very excited about seeing the "raw-cats" and making a trip to the big city!!! AND the first dusting of snow sifted in last night while we were all asleep. I am SURE this is an omen!

Tight Rope

Big kid: "Dad was actually right! Girls are like a pack of animals. If you tell one "no" and make her mad at you, they will all come after you!"

So to help him out of his jam after rejecting C's advances, Mr B made him write her a letter saying that he thinks she's nice and pretty and maybe he'll ask her to dance at the next school dance but for now he's just too busy and she's really a great friend, etc, etc, etc, (I helped with the spelling, of course; no call for a poorly spelled rejection letter)... and according to good pal Drew, C seemed flattered and placated by this and called off the girl-wolf-pack.

But from big kid's reports, another round of drama is brewing in homeroom, lunch, and 5th period and the girl's are angling again. And as he is giving me all the gory (juicy!) details, he is totally flummoxed about how everyone seems to know what is going on-except him (snicker! eye roll!). From the looks of it, Tristan-Cheyenne-Dakota-Michaela-Jordan are teaching big kid some important lesson life lessons. Big kid better watch himself...

A Rockwell Christmas

Norman Rockwell gets it right every time!

BTW-very proud of Mr B for not being a grumpus during tree decorating. He had to arrange the uncooperative, lop-sided angel on our 9 ft tree several times-to my satisfaction-and didn't utter a single, solitary complaint (and I KNOW he was thinking some very bad thoughts about her).

XOXOXOX to Mr B!!!

Final GOYA Posting!

Get Off Your @ss Tuesday

Quote from the blog Did I just eat that out loud? :
And the truth is, in my heart of hearts, I am lazy. And I am very good at the lazy. I am the Tiger Woods of lazy. Perfectly content to stay in my house for days on end, just riding the buttdent in my sofa, watching seriously bad reality television, reading cookbooks, and giving myself pedicures.

It’s just who I am.

I have a talent for coming up with The Good Idea. Just ask my pals and co-workers. It’s a God-given gift. The Good Idea just falls out of my head (@ss???) with no effort and little provocation. So 8 weeks ago when The Good Idea for GOYA popped into my brain-I was SOLD! So I hit the keyboard to brag to you about this new idea-so very proud of myself for birthing yet another Good Idea. And just as I was patting myself on the back, it hit me….SH*T!!! I was gonna have to get off my @ss!!! And then the resentment set in. Yes, I was mad at you. For expecting me to get off my ass. Then I got sneaky and thought about just “forgetting” and started hoping and praying that ya’ll just weren’t smart enough to remember. Then guilt showed up. Live a lie? Wasn’t I using this blog as a way to be honest about my successes and failures? So here’s the truth: I really didn’t want to get off my ass…I just wanted to talk about getting off my @ss. And then resignation set in. I knew I was gonna have to keep this promise to tell you the truth-because I just can’t live with myself any other way. So I grudgingly got off the couch, put on my sneakers, and harrassed/bribed Mr B into joining me.

So 8 wks later and 10.8 lbs thinner, I am definitely in a better place-physically and mentally. Do I love exercising and dieting? HELL NO! Am I doing it perfectly? Hardly. But I’m doing it-mumble bitching the whole way as a matter of fact. So if you were a part of the village who tuned in every Tues to read my GOYA report-thank you. For being that invisible force that kept me honest-when my own apathy felt so safe and warm and comfortable. So GOYA boot camp is over. What’s next? A whole lot more work. But I’m well on my way!

PS And for now, I’m on Good Idea hiatus. Will keep you posted when the next one rears its ugly head…or not!