On your mark, get set, GO...

Let the madness begin!!! It's 3 days until Thanksgiving so that means it is 35 days until Christmas.
I honestly really hate Thanksgiving and I think I have figured out that Thanksgiving is a let down! When I was a kid it was this HUGE production. We would go to my Grandma's house and stay the weekend. She lived about 2 hours away from us. I remember she would get up in the middle of the night to put the turkey in the oven and then every 30 minutes after that to baste it. She would save bread all year long and freeze it for her stuffing. She did not make that cornbread concoction you Southerner's call stuffing. Oh and the mashed potato's! She would mash them and put them in a serving bowl with a pat of butter melting down the sides, then she would sprinkle paprika on top "just to give them color"! As soon as you opened your eyes in the morning you already smelled the turkey and the pies that were cooking as well. We always had pumpkin pie as well as chocolate pie, because it was my dad's favorite. One year I was probably 10 years old and my Aunt, my Dad, and me put a rubber snake inside the turkey as we were getting it out of the oven to bring to her. My Grandma screamed like crazy when she was pulling out the stuffing by handfuls and picked up that snake! We always ate on China at Thanksgiving and Christmas at her house. I remember being almost scared to eat because I didn't want to scratch the tiny pink roses that graced each plate. After dinner we usually watched Football and all of my Great Aunts and Uncles would come by for coffee. They would all sit at the table and drink endless pots of coffee and cackle about the past. Then there was the left over turkey sandwiches all weekend! But now, you rush and eat and it seems to be a burden to cook all of that food. You do not appreciate the turkey sandwiches because now you can buy turkey lunch meat all year!
Since when did Thanksgiving flow right into Christmas? I remember it taking forever for Christmas to get here! So why has Thanksgiving become just the day before the biggest shopping day of the year? I do not remember my parents rushing out at 4am those Friday's to get the biggest and brightest toys! In fact, I don't remember even have filled out my Christmas list that early! Maybe because I was lucky if I got one thing, not the countless things my kids ask for! I was in 3rd grade and I got a pair of white roller skates with green wheels to boot! I thought I was big stuff that year! We had a huge living room and I would skate thru the living room and into the kitchen and thru the dinning room all Christmas break! I had a red and white poncho that my Grandma had crocheted me and I put that over my waist like it was a skirt and skated and skated and skated with not a care in the world.
So friends, get ready Christmas is near.
Until tomorrow...
T-

These Hands...

These hands held my mother, held me, and held my children.

These hands wiped away many tears and bandaged several knees.

These hands played countless games but never seemed to win when they played against me.

These hands were never to full or busy to hold a book and read to me.

These hands always patted my knee.

These hands always slapped his knee when he laughed.

These hands were as soft as silk even after the life they lived.



These hands are the hands I wish I could hold today...

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden. ~Attributed to Claudia Ghandi ...

Alzheimer's...

You don't have to like them...

OK, let me just say it...Why do teenagers have such crappy attitudes? Do they all or did God just bless me with the only 2?! Why are they so damned moody anyway? It's not like they have to worry about getting the mortgage payment in the mail or making sure they get a gallon of milk on the way home from work or remembering to pick up their dry cleaning! So I am sure you all are wondering why I seem just a tad frustrated, well here is a brief synopsis of my last 2 days...

Yesterday, "Princess" got a job! Thank God! When she got home from her interview I congratulated her and was asking her a few questions. You know like how much will you get paid, her reply "Oh, I don't know! I didn't ask"! OK, how often will you get paid, "Oh, I don't know! I didn't ask"! OK then when do you start, her reply "Saturday", what time Saturday "Oh, I don't know"! By this time I was literally biting a hole thru my tongue trying not to scream!!! She then said she has to go online and check her schedule and they will text her with her schedule. So, later on in the evening I went to her room and asked her if we could talk about this job. I was planning on giving her the "school comes first" speech every parent gives when their kid gets a job. But the pink cell phone she owns is apparently chemically fused to her ear so she was unable to speak to me at that time! I gave up and went to bed. So this morning, like the good mother that I am, I was driving my kids to school. Princess was applying her eyeliner in the car like every other morning. I came to a stop light that was red, so I slowed down to stop, then it turned green, so I went. Like any human being on the planet would do right?!?! Well, apparently in Princess' world you shouldn't do that and be more considerate while she is applying her eyeliner! She yelled that she wished I could have a better attitude in the morning! And why would I drive like that on purpose? And, that it was extremely rude! All this time I am thinking in my head that that was a great idea she just gave me to gun my car while she so tediously applying her eyeliner!!!! Finally, after a long long couple of blocks to get to the school she got out slamming her door and off she went in a huff...
So, here goes my evening with the little man. Apparently 8th grade boys all have this "I really don't care" attitude bred into their genes! He is still working on homework that was given to him over a week ago! A WEEK! He is apparently to busy to do homework. I guess it does not fit into busy schedule. Then he proceeded to tell me that he is having a birthday party on Saturday night and that he has invited several boys over to spend the night! WHAT?!?!?!? I told him when he asked originally that "we'll talk about it" does not mean, ya, ok, invite them all over!! Well, that made him extremely agitated! And to warn you all, do not agitate a hungry teenage boy! So, he ate a bowl of Cheerios and went to bed. This morning he comes out in a hoody and shorts! Umm, it was 34 degrees this morning. I politely said, "you need jeans on" he said "it is not even cold"! After about 15 minutes of bickering, he finally changed into jeans!
SERIOUSLY! This is what I put up with day after day after day! Someone once told me "you don't have to like them, just love them"!

So, now I am off on another rant for my bff "G"...Why do doctor's offices have such a limited selection of magazines? WHY? Who places the magazine orders anyway? What percentage of people really want to read Golf Digest or Needle Point magazine? Just give us the basics like People, Better Homes and Gardens, Sports Illustrated, etc. People magazine should be mandatory in every doctor / dentist office! Its the Neapolitan of magazines! Its got something for everybody!

Well, I am off to get some work done. Have a good weekend blog buddies!!!
T-

Hot Lava...

Yes, I have 3, count them 3, dogs. It seems sometimes God leads me to dogs that have "issues" and I fall in love with them and take them home. First there is Zoe, aka Daddy's Girl. She is a pleasantly plump 4 year old Beagle / Bassett mix. She has Epilepsy and we drove to the other side of Fort Smith to get her! She is our "rebound" dog that we got after our first Beagle Daisy died. It was love at first sight. Then there is Riley. He is our 4 year old Lemon Beagle. We were not looking for another dog but found a sign at Petco for a Lemon Beagle and just wanted to see what they looked like. We drove to his previous owners house "just to look" and ended up bringing him home. Let's just say he did not have a great life before he found us! Riley is allergic to grass! I know, a dog allergic to grass is about the craziest thing I had ever heard of to. I mean come on, it's a dog! They pee in the grass for goodness sakes! And last but certainly not least, there is Millie. Oh my Millie I love her so. She is Mommy's girl! She is my sanity in my crazy life. Millie is our "normal" dog. Well I say normal, but it seems she is a bit OCD. But really aren't we all?

Did you ever play Hot Lava when you were a kid? You know, you would jump from chair to couch to chair and pretend the glorious brown shag carpet you had growing up was hot lava? Well, apparently Millie decided to play hot lava last night. She was jumping from couch, to chair, to my lap, to the recliner without touching the floor! I have to say it was one of the funniest things I have seen in my life! You have to picture a 43 pound Beagle jumping around the furniture! I was sitting in my chair yelling "the floor is hot lava, if you touch it you will die" which seemed to make her go faster from the chair to the couch to the recliner and back to the couch! Oh it's the little things in life that make you smile! :)

So once my lava jumper settled down into my lap for a nap my doorbell rang. I answer the door, it this young man wanting to sell me meat out of the back of his truck! OK, what in life makes one say you know I hate working at the grocery store selling meat, I'm going to start selling it out of the back of my truck! AND, who is buying it? Would you buy meat out of a rusted out truck with a freezer bungee corded in? Well, even though it was a bargain at $2 a pound per the "Meat Man" I politely passed and he went on to the next house. I wonder if he was ever able to sell the bargain meat...

My name is Tami and I am a Text Message Addict...

Until tomorrow...

T-

Teenage Drivers and Little Edie...

Hello All!

I figured it was time for me to get with the times and create a blog. I figured my kids do it, Cyndi does it, Rosie O'Donnell does it why don't I?

Let me get started by saying Ty will be 14 on Saturday! I just can't believe it! It seems like just last week I was yelling at him to brush his teeth and get to bed! Oh wait, it WAS last week! So on Monday he will be taking his written test for his permit! Scary I know! So Sunday Rick and Ty roped me into going with them up to the school for some "driving lessons". Ty got behind the wheel for the first time in his life and actually impressed me with his driving. Is it just me or are boys just natural drivers? It's like driving is bred into them, kind of like how all men (fans or not) know every call a referee at any sporting event makes. He knew just what to do and when to do it. So we ended the "lessons" about an hour later and I am pleased to announce that my car has no dings, dents, or scratches!


OK, yesterday afternoon I watched Grey Gardens. If you have never heard about it, it is a documentary filmed in 1975 about a mother and daughter. As much of a docu junkie I am I can not believe I have never seen this before! I was hooked about 4 minutes into it! It was wonderful! If you have not seen it or have not seen it in awhile, you must see it TODAY! Little Edie is my hero. I only wish I was as strong and resilient as she was. I mean really, who says you CAN'T wear a sweater on your head or a shirt wrapped around you as a bathing suit!! This movie is an absolutely must see for everyone!


"Will you shut up? It's a goddamn beautiful day, shut up!"

Until tomorrow...

T-