A Very Cheesy Christmas

Christmas means all my favorite seasonal shows are on TV. Frosty the Snowman is a new favorite in the Jones family (for Oliver...rediscovered for myself), as well as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and I'm hoping to catch Rudolph before Christmas. But seasonal films also means that you will definitely get your fill of cheesy romance/miracle movies and heaven forbid....the Christmas Shoes!!! I cannot watch that movie. Ever. It listen to the song. Whoever wrote it should be forced to attend a Justin Bieber concert for the rest of their lives. Seriously. What a holiday downer.

Tonight, there are a ton of movies that start with Christmas. The Christmas Kiss, A Christmas Miracle, A Christmas Wedding....it just goes on and on. When really, some of the best holiday movies aren't even about the holidays. At least for me. Little Women, Harry Potter...and then there's the classic Christmas movies: It's a Wonderful Life, A Muppet Christmas Carol, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Street.

So my message tonight is to remind you to take some time with family, snuggle up on the couch and catch your favorite movie, or Hunger Games. Hunger Games is always on the watch list. Happy Holidays!

A Letter to Texas Weather

Dear Texas Weather,

There's a few things we need to talk about. But first, let me say that you definitely have your days. Like a nice warm day in early May, or a crisp day in late October. I seriously dig what you can do for a day out on the beach or a hike in the woods. However, on most days of the year, it's like you  can't decide what you want to be. Maybe 84 for Christmas and 34 for Spring Break? I am concerned for you. So I'm writing this letter as an intervention. Most places have normal, or at least predictable weather. I'm afraid you may be suffering from a multiple personality disorder. I believe it would benefit almost everything and everyone in this great state of ours if you would maybe get on some happy pills and figure this out. We all need a little help now and then, and I know a lot of people who will support you in this decision. Think of what this would do...more tourists may decide to visit and then stay forever. More businesses may make their home here. We may get a governor whose not constantly worried about how the humidity will hurt his hair.

Anyways, maybe you could at least consider some normalcy in the future. I really feel like you have the potential.

Sincerely,

CHRISTY

PS I do appreciate what you have done with hurricane season the last few years. Keep up the good work.

Holy Trash Cans, Batman!

Been working on a DIY Christmas gift for my bestie's little boy. They recently bought a new house and his bathroom his Batman themed. So after we both agreed that neither of our kids need anymore toys, I settled on helping him accessorize his new bathroom. Target had some hand towels but I just wasn't feeling them so I decided to test my art skills and make my own. I'm not done yet, but here's the work in progress. Leslie, just don't show Ro. Hope you like it!

Adventures in Geek Land

Don't get me wrong. I wear my Geek title proudly...or maybe I'm more of a nerd. What I am not is tech savvy. But I purchased and fixed up my own domain name for my blog today. It took me about 3 hours for what ended up being a fairly simple process. If you decided to do this yourself, just email me and I'll show you the two step procedure and save you a ton of time and useless YouTube videos. I'm pretty excited about this though. Note all I have to do is settled on a blog topic. Our maybe I should keep with whatever crosses my mind...suggestions? Leave a comment and enter your email to follow my blog!

It's that time of year....

It's officially the holiday season. Which means, as usual, I am experiencing conflicting emotions. I alternate between "yay! I love Christmas!" And "yay...Christmas." This Christmas especially seems to be drawing out any bipolar tendencies that may be lurking in my personality. But Oliver is way into Christmas this year. I don't think he really understands what it is, but he keeps getting told, "wait till Christmas" or "you can't get that today because it may already be under the Christmas tree." (That last one is not usually spoken aloud.) So, needless to say, he's really excited. The other day, he actually started kissing our ornaments and telling me they were pretty and he wanted to give them a hug.  This will be our first Christmas separated, and we haven't worked out a schedule for festivities yet, but I'm hoping it won't cause too much of a disturbance. But, before I get sidetracked, Christmas is that one time of year when people generally tend to remember that there are others out there who are in need. And that's why Christmas is my favorite time of year. I've decided that I'm not going to go over board on gifts to the kids. It looks like I have a lot of gifts under the tree, but I actually forgot and wrapped Oliver's stocking stuffers. So he'll be unwrapping a lot of non gift items like a ninjas turtle toothbrush and stuff. (And mom keeps bringing over presents when she thinks I'm not looking.) But I do not want my kids associating Christmas with how many gifts they can receive. I would much rather them learn it is the season for giving. So, we will be donating old toys and trying to buy some for toy drives. And hopefully, I'll have some time to get out there and be useful to someone. If you have any creative ideas, let me know. I refuse to sing but I'll gladly be the one that serves some warm cider while everyone else carols away. Please remember the less fortunate. Remember those without toys or a Christmas dinner and find a way to serve someone this holiday.  And watch Little Women at least once because it's my favorite movie for the holidays!

A list, because lists are cool.

My kids are awesome. I was never a person who felt like I HAD to have kids. But since day one, I find myself amazed that somehow I was a part of them coming into existence. So here ya go, ten of the top reasons I love each of my kids.

Oliver:
1. He is serious. And I love that. This kid is a physical clone of his father, but I have a feeling his brain works just like mine. (Which accounts for the size lol)
2. He has a great sense of humor. When I can understand him, he usually knows how to make me laugh.
3. He loves ninja turtles. I love ninja turtles. Enough said.
4. He's polite. Unless he's over-tired, he's going to say yes ma'am and please. And I didn't do much to get that established. He also says excuse me. Because he rocks.
5. He's an animal lover.
6. He likes to give surprise hugs and kisses.
7. He likes to play hide and seek.
8. He misses the numbers 1 and 3 when he counts to 6.
9. He has beautiful eyes.
10. He loves his sister.

Layan:
1. She has the biggest laugh of any young child I have ever met...if you can get it out of her.
2. She's going to be my chatter box. I can feel it now.
3. She has "the look".
4. She is interested in everything around her. She watched Les Mis with me like it was Yo Gabba Gabba.
5. She loves her Uncle Phil.
6. From the day we brought her home, she has adored her big brother and loves talking to him.
7. Her hair. It's beautiful and there's a lot of it.
8. She really seems like she's not afraid of anything.
9. She's got my eyes. Hopefully they stick around. You know how those recessive genes can be.
10. She's little but strong.

The Pity Party is Over

Writing has always been second nature to me. I don't mean to say I'm amazing at it, but I'm decent and it's always been my chosen method of communication. The last few months, writing has been a challenge for me. Writing has permanence. Once written, it becomes real. And I haven't wanted the past few months to be real. I never saw myself in this situation. And while I don't necessarily feel bad for myself (I know I am beyond blessed), I haven't done a great job of thinking of anyone else. On that note, forgiveness is certainly easier to talk about than to put into action. I struggle with it on a daily basis. I know forgiveness is something I must seek and give daily, but it always seems easier just to find a punching bag (real or metaphorical). That's simply being selfish. There's no other word for it.

So I want to start over. To remind myself that there are others out there who need me more than me. A friend once told me that people who get depressed are the ones who only think of themselves and their own problems. They forget the blessings they have and choose to focus on their inconveniences instead. Life isn't easy. But it becomes easier when you have a purpose. And there is not a better purpose to have than loving others.

From now on, you have my permission to smack me next time I complain or fixate on my issues. Tell me to get over it. This post probably makes little to no sense. But I'm going to stick with it and hopefully my writing comes back. And maybe I can entertain you with a story or two occasionally.