Catch up Time!

First off, I hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas. I will catch you all up on ours in a little bit.

The broken rib is doing pretty good. Still a lot of pain, especially when I cough, sneeze, hiccup, move, laugh...you get the picture.

Do you know that it is impossible to shave your legs with a broken rib. Yeah, I look like a cave woman from the thigh down. I think I may have to bribe Not a Grampy to shave them for me. Of course, his payment will have to wait until my rib is healed.

On to happier things, Christmas.

Not a Grampy was the hero of the day! We had 18 people over for Christmas dinner. A 15# Standing Rib Roast with all the fixins. Plus we rented another table and chairs so everyone would have a place to sit. He was able to get it all out, almost on time, and get everything cleaned up without loosing his cool! Which if you know my hubby and his family...(we don't refer to ourselves as the Looney Family for no reason) is a miracle in itself. Just goes to show that Christmas is the season of miracles. That and Not a Grampy's penchant for having everything scheduled down to the nano second!

Now on to the fun part! Pictures!!

Here is Gizmo wishing you all Merry Christmas!

Not A Grampy on Tuesday, peeling potatos for Christmas dinner.
Can you tell I have some good drugs??

This is GK #2, nope he really wasn't with us this Christmas. He was in Tennessee with his parents...looking for snow. (They didn't find any)

GK #1 opening his gifts. He spent Christmas with us!

Luckily we have a large yard. Our dinner guests were outside...

..and inside.

We had a wonderful time. Family, friends good food and good fun! Hope everyone had a blessed holiday!

Oww!!!

Owwie! Owie!! Owwie!!

I broke my rib. The 9th one on the left side. (who knew ribs were numbered)

I have 20 people coming for Christmas dinner in two days and I can't do shit...

Did you know they don't wrap the ribs anymore? Nope, just leave them on their own with instructions to rest and not partake in any strenuous activities? WTF does that mean??

I have this breathing thingy that I am supposed to take 10 deep breaths into every hour. That's to make sure I don't come down with pnuemonia. See since my rib is broken I don't take very deep breaths...(because it hurts like hell).

I have to go to work today, I am off tomorrow and the rest of the week, but I have to go in today. Shit, that means no Vicodin...

Oh, how did I break my rib you are wondering????

I jumped off of the bar stool out by the tiki bar Saturday night. Only when I jumped down, I forgot that my left foot was wrapped around the bottom wrung...Yup, slam right into the wooden/tile top of the tiki bar.

Did I ever mention that my mother never included Grace anywhere in my name?

Merry Christmas to all!! Wish me luck with dinner, Not a Grampy will be doing most of the work!!

If Some People Had Their Way...

we would be sending the following Christmas/New Years greetings out:

A Politically Correct Holiday Greeting

Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of your particular choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion, as well as those who choose not to practice any religion at all. Additionally, a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures, whose contributions have helped make our society great, without regard to race, creed, color, religion or sexual orientation.

(Disclaimer: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the holiday spirit.)

Fuck it!...

From my house to yours..

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.

I will get up in the morning, put on the coffee, pull out the Baileys (for my coffee, of course) turn on the tv and watch the Macy's Day Parade.

Later I will get my arse off the couch and put together the vegetable dishes I am responsible for cooking.

About 1:30 pm we will head out the door to a cousins house to celebrate this day. We will be with Not a Grampy's family, sisters, cousins, their children.

We will chat and toast, eat and be merry. We will have a wonderful time and then leave to come home.

Thanksgiving will then be over. Which means one thing!

Christmas!! Yeah! Christmas!!

Friday, I can start putting up all the Christmas decorations (after I go shopping at 4am of course)

So! Happy Thanksgiving and look out here comes CHRISTMAS!!

Bleck! Still!!

Well this damn cold has gone to my lungs. I am wheezing and coughing...

I have to get the Christmas decorations down today and put away.

I have a ton a laundry to get done.

Not A Grampy told me to let him do it. I'm supposed to stay in bed/couch and get better today. Not do anything. Yeah, right.

Not A Grampy is working from noon to 5 pm, when he gets home he is going to take care of all of this? Doubt it. His Christmas gifts are still spread all over the living room.

I will let him do the tree. I will do the rest of the decorations.

I hate being sick!!

Ready or Not...

Christmas is here! Woo Hoo!

The gifts are all purchased, wrapped, mailed and placed under the tree.

I am currently tracking Santa on Norad and as of this typing he is in Calcutta, India!

This will be a bit of a different Christmas for Not A Grampy and I this year. Our son is living in Ohio and is not able to come home for Christmas. This will be my first Christmas without him in 24 years.

We will be having Christmas dinner at my daughter's house. We will pick up GK #1 from his mother and take him up to daughter's home Christmas morning. We will then open gifts and enjoy the morning and prepare for dinner. She is doing the majority of the cooking this year! Which means I won't have the messy kitchen. LOL

I am, of course, responsible for bringing the wine!

To each of you I want to wish you a Very Merry Christmas! Be safe and enjoy your families and friends!

People Amaze Me

In October I mentioned how the organization I work for provides gifts for our participants. It truly is a wonderful program.

This year we were very concerned if we would be able to provide for all of the families. The economy has not been that wonderful. In Florida, the bottom has dropped out of the housing market. People are loosing their homes to foreclosure on a daily basis. Realtors are having to go to work at retail or fast food establishments just to provide for their families.

We had 65 mothers sign up for our Adopt-A-Family program. They completed the Wish Lists and we sent them to the individuals, companies, organizations who wanted to help.

We would be thrilled if 1 or 2 of the items on the children's lists could be provided. The gifts started coming in this last week...

This is the hallway...

Here is one families gifts in a co-workers office

These are gifts waiting to be distributed ...

People have, again, gone above and beyond. Just yesterday, we had a mother, father and 6 year old boy stop in the office looking for a voucher to purchase clothing at our Thrift Store. They are homeless and living in a tent nearby. Besides the voucher we gave them boxes of food and we were able to provide some Christmas gifts for the little boy.

We are receiving calls every day from parents desperate to provide something for their children for Christmas. Thanks to our wonderful community we are able to do that!!

Every toy will be out of this building by Christmas Eve. What we do not distribute will go to local churches, Guardian ad Lidem program, food pantries, any organization that provides services to the less fortunate.

OMG

For those of you who have been with me for a while, you know that I started this blog just before I had a little bit of plastic surgery done.

Not A Grampy has XM radio in his car. He heard this Christmas song and immediately thought of me.



If you can't see it, go here

What do I want for Christmas?

Not A Grampy is up a creek this year.

You see, for the last few months I have been showing him items that I would like for Christmas. Just some things, that I wouldn't buy right then, but I would mention to him and say "you can get it for me for Christmas".

Two weeks ago Not A Grampy was complaining that he didn't know what to get me for Christmas. I reminded him that I had been mentioning items to him for the last few months. As an example: while we were on our trip over Thanksgiving, he was complaining that my purse wasn't zipped closed. I explained that it would not zip closed because, my wallet (the one he purchased for me for Christmas 2 years ago) was too big.

Now, I wouldn't mind a new wallet or even a new purse. I don't really need any jewelry (but I will probably get some anyway). I can always use Victoria's Secrets things or even a gift certificate for a Spa Day. I would really like....you know there really isn't anything that I would say that I am absolutely dying to have. (Although he could refill my wine rack, it is looking pretty pathetic)

I would much rather spend the money on my grandchildren and even the kids. Or some strangers who will not be having a Christmas this year. We all know there are plenty out there.

But I am sure whatever he gets me I will love and I will truly appreciate it.

What Movie is your Christmas?

Look what I found at Amy's house!

Your Christmas is Most Like: Miracle on 34th Street

Sweet and caring, Christmas is about helping for you. While Santa may not exist, you try to share his spirit.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Yup this fits!!!

This is fun!

I just made a total "elf" of myself and Not A Grampy!


http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9548717421


Why don't you try it and share with us?

Have fun!!

Halloween is Over!

Which means that the Holidays are just around the corner! Woo Hoo! Which also means you guys can all quit complaining about my Christmas Tree countdown on my sidebar! Look only 53 days til Christmas!!

I love this time of year. Even here in Florida. While my daughter is over there whining about no snow, to me it doesn't matter whether it is icy and cold, it is the feeling, the closeness, that only seems to come around this time of year.

Why is that? Why is it only this time of year are people feeling generous? Why not in July when food banks are out of food, or soup kitchens are short volunteers to help serve?

We do an Adopt-A-Family Program, where I work. Our program participants complete a Wish List. One for each child and one for the parent (usually a mom). We then find local residents, companies, other organizations who "adopt" the family and buy the items on the list. Including wrapping paper, bows, ribbon, etc. We even have one individual who purchases a holiday meal for every single family in our programs. (35 at this time) All the items are then brought into our Administration office.

The unwrapped gifts are given to the family. Mom gets to wrap the gifts for the children. This way they are from her and she knows what they are. The children wrap the gifts for mom. We pull them aside and have a wrapping party. You should see the faces of these woman and children when they see the piles of items waiting for them. On more than one occasion we have had complete breakdowns, of both staff and participants.

All of this is done with complete confidentiality also. The people buying the gifts do not have the name of who they are buying for. All they get is the sex, age and the Wish List. Nothing more.

I am always amazed at the generosity of people for the Holidays. This place looks like North Pole Central! Tables of gifts line our halls, we have piles of gifts in our offices!

The one small item that seriously irritates me, though, is that many people do not believe teenagers should have a Christmas. We have a terrible time collecting Christmas gifts for our teenagers. People want to buy for small children, but don't they understand that teens are just as important? Teens need to feel that they are loved, accepted and wanted as much as smaller children. They also need that feeling of wonderment and warmth that is this time of year.

We began adopting out families three weeks ago. Now, you understand why I begin thinking of Christmas long before Halloween is over.

Tis the Season...Almost

Recently, Sugar Queen Dreams talked about how much she loves Christmas.

With my father's health deteriorating so quickly, I started thinking about different parts of my childhood. And you know the one time of the year that has the most memories? Christmas!

Growing up, we did not have a lot of money. Like most families we struggled at times. As a child, I never realized it. I had a lot of love, respect and caring in my family. I had the best parents in the world. They never went anywhere their children could not go.

Christmas was even better. We always had a wonderful gift under the tree on Christmas morning from Santa Claus. Always in "Santa" paper, direct from the North Pole!

We lived in a small town in the center of Washington State. We would travel to Seattle sometime before Christmas to visit with my grandparents and visit Santa Claus in the Space Needle. Santa always knew my name and my sister's name. He always asked us about either our teacher (by name) our dog (by name), sometimes even fights we had gotten in sometime during the year with our cousins or neighborhood kids. Santa really did "know when we were naughty or nice"

In our small town, we would also visit Santa at the local shopping center. Again, he knew us by name, he knew different things about my parents jobs, he knew about camping trips.

Santa Claus would call my sister and I during the summer and on our birthdays. Or whenever anything major occurred in our lives. Like when my father was laid up with a broken leg and out of work for 3 months. Santa Claus called just to see how we were doing.

Let's not forget the Christmas Eve get togethers that were held at our house with all the cousins. Santa would stop by to visit us special, before he left for his trip around the world!

When other kids would tell me there was no such thing as Santa, I would simply tell them they were wrong.

In Seattle the Santa Claus was my father's uncle.

1966

1968

In my hometown, Santa worked with my mother. He is also the Santa that would stop by the house after he was finished at the shopping center on Christmas Eve.

1972

Those are my favorite memories of childhood and Christmas.

What are yours?