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Pshaw, that title was just for you.
Speaking of Pshaw…everyone take a gander at the new love in my life — Chilly. Pshaw made him for me and presented him to me over coffee last night. Amazing, isn’t it? Pshaw made him!!!
In addition to Pshaw’s gift, this year’s Christmas was quite, well, caffeinated. The few people who read this little blip on the World Wide Web remembed my nuttiness for coffee so I got quite a few coffee gifts. Some favorites: a very intersting book from Maw Finn called How Starbucks Saved My Life, a $25 Starbucks gift card from the parents (I announced rather too loudly that it would buy me exactly five coffees), a coffee cookbook and coffee mug from Bro. Finn and a coffee mug from Newscoma and Squirrel Queen.
I did the boycott thing again. Stayed at home and watched “Ratatouille” while everyone headed over to gma’s house and stuffed their faces. Great Christmas!
All I can say is I hope the new year is completely and totally free of orange salamander hunting. Ask me or Pshaw about it if you dare.
Yesterday was my sister Nurse Elizabeth’s 23rd birthday. She received many wonderful gifts and the best one may have been a call at 5 a.m. telling her that she didn’t have to go in to work at the hospital. But…….she didn’t get a happy birthday post from me and for that, we’re halfway estranged now (wink at Cousin Jennifer). Well, not really, but come on…..for 23 years I’ve had to live with the fact that Greedy Eli will always get more presents than me around Christmas time. She’s always got at least five extra presents. It’s really warped me for life. I’ve been trying to change her birthday for years.
So…….I think one more day of waiting for her birthday greeting didn’t kill her.
Happy birthday, Elizabeth!
Text message conversation excerpt from Friday night. Scout’s replies are not exact due to deletion, but are close enough. All txt abbrevs r accurate.
Finn: Hey.
Scout: Hey. How was early cmas?
Finn: Great! we shocked the heck outta them with our xmas present……
Finn: R u prepared?
Scout: I don’t know. I think I sorta know what it might be….oh my gosh!!!
Finn: I am 9 weeks pregnant.
The conversation lasted longer and was punctuated by many “wows” on my part, many more details on Finn’s part and a whole lot more gushing and even a few tears shed on my part. I have to say, this Christmas was already on the up and up with the CDS party ushering in the true meaning of the season, but this news just threw the spirit into overdrive and I still get all mushy just thinking about it.
Finn and The Accountant as proud new parents. Cooper as a new brother. Paw and Maw Finn as grandparents. Bro. Finn as a new uncle. And the list continues.
What a wonderful Christmas present for a whole lot of people!!!
Please go here and send your heartiest congrats.
Warning: May contain large amounts of the Christmas spirit. Read at your own risk.
Patsy’s hands shook and the shaking began to slowly rock her entire body until she was actually moving the table sitting in front of her. Her smile widened and her teeth began to protrude more and more. She leaned forward in her chair and as her trembling grew and strengthened to earthquake proportions, the first notes of “Here Comes Santa Claus” bounced off the piano’s keys and the syncopation coupled with the appearance of the jolly man in red was enough to drive Patsy completely off her seat and onto her feet along with everyone else seated at similar tables all around us. Her squeals pierced the room and they were infectious. Along with everyone else, I stood and cheered because Patsy had done the unthinkable. And I was completely overcome.
The Community Developmental Christmas party is always a highlight of every year. Most people only hear of CDS when it’s time to make a donation for the annual telethon and when they make a donation they are making donations toward people with disabilities. But, after hanging out with some of these people over the past few years and really getting to know them, I truly beg to differ about the ”disabled” part.
Try spending a Christmas party with a few of them. Just try to sit there and be a Scrooge. Chances are, you can’t. By simply walking into the room, you’re practically hugged to death. You will be asked for your name, you will be greeted with words of “It’s so nice to meet you,” you will be asked to sit down and you will be asked all about your day.
For them, Santa never dies because they are blessed (not limited) in the ability not to look at Christmas and everything else with a clouded, complicated, calloused and hardened mind, unreceptive to the Christmas spirit, but instead through the simple, sweet and unaffected mind of a child. Their bait for the Christmas spirit is unwavering belief in the good and pure happiness and faith that the good will always prevail. Peeling back the complications, crabbiness and despair that try to break into the holiday season and everyday life, they exude trust, love and support.
Disabled? They are the teachers of some of the greatest lessons.
And I’m always overcome. I’m overcome at the thought of how complicated we try to make the catching of the Christmas spirit out to be when all we really have to do is look at it simply, truthfully, without complications and without despair. Look at it through the eyes of Patsy.
You’ll learn how to cheer for Santa again.
The Christmas spirit is now officially upon me. Today it reared its head and I grabbed on and now refuse to let go.
Why?
Well, for one thing, I got to spend a good deal of time with one of my favorite people in the world. The second item that helped to usher in the spirit was the receiving of my first Christmas present.
I’m positively giddy over it. Here it is.
Isn’t it beautimous?! And now, the first person to correctly guess what it is will be the proud recipient of my Best Friend Forever award.
Sending you all a healthy dose of the Christmas spirit. Feliz Navidad!
In a wonderful attempt to feed me some of the Christmas spirit that I have been such in need of, the Queen of the Squirrels has tagged me for this Christmas meme.
So, here goes.
1) Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2) Share Christmas facts about yourself.
3) Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4) Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
1. Wrapping or gift bags? Depends on how much I’ve managed to procrastinate. If I need a gift covered in a hurry, I’ll bag it, but if not, wrapping can be fun.
2. Real or artificial tree? gotta go with real…specifically cedar
3. When do you put up the tree? varies….really haven’t put up a tree in a few years to be honest
4. When do you take the tree down? usually day after Christmas or thereabouts
5. Do you like eggnog? egg nog
6. Favorite gift received as a child? New Kids on the Block dolls. Yes, it’s true. I got the entire collection.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? no
8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Can’t recall one, so they all must’ve been good. 
9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. This is something I remain steadfastly old school about, but I still think you can’t beat a good hand-written, hard copy letter/Christmas card/birthday card/etc. Emails are fun to receive, but cards and letters reign supreme. Off of soapbox now.
10. Favorite Christmas Movie? Christmas Vacation and The Christmas Story
11. When do you start shopping for Christmas? usually almost at the last minute
12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? probably peanut butter fudge or chex mix
13. Clear lights or colored on the tree? colored
14. Favorite Christmas song? Sleigh Ride, Last Christmas (This was actually ”our song” for the first guy I dated), Silent Night, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, all of the Charlie Brown Christmas songs off the soundtrack….mostly anything
15. Travel at Christmas or stay home? stay home
16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen…and the most famous reindeer of all, Rudolph
17. Angel on the tree top or a star? star
18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning ? christmas morning
19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? traffic, crowds and meanies who can’t stop uttering “bah humbug”
20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color? no, just usually suffocate them with lights (especially bubble lights)
21. What do you leave for Santa? classic cookies and milk
22. Least favorite holiday song? gotta go with Jingle Bells, I guess…overplayed
23. Favorite ornament? I have a blue bear made out of some kind of clay that I got for my first Christmas and it has my name written on its tummy.
Anyone who wants can now take this gift and run with it.
My friend Holly has decided to tag me with an award that most people who know me will feel is long overdue. Yes, I’m now officially certifiable. I accept this award on behalf of everyone who had a hand in making me this way (you know who you are) and will now pass it on to someone who I feel is equally deserving of this distinguished honor……Finn, you’re it.:)
Yeah, it’s been a week since I’ve last given this thing the time of day. It’s been a very busy week of basketball and more basketball and non-bloggity type things that otherwise are not blog friendly and shouldn’t be included on blogs. But, lately I’ve decided that as much as a blog will attempt to call out to you to write on it and give it the attention it feels it deserves, it can be just as gratifying and releasing not to put anything on it at all and neglect it for a few days as it is to be frivolous and free spirited with it and blog things you later wish you hadn’t. Shamefully, here I go because the thing is once again calling out to me.
I’m really really trying to catch the Christmas spirit right now. Yesterday was a great start as I had birthday cake with Finn and family, but I must now attempt to keep that spirit going and not let it fall to the normalities and depressing woes that accompany a regular work week. Armed with egg nog, jingle bells, fake snow and carols galore, I’ve been sneaking around in search of the spirit that seems to be greatly eluding me for the moment. So far, the only thing I’ve been able to successfully capture at this juncture in the hunt is a cold, but I’m more than willing to be persistent.
My next step is going to a mall, hunting down the Santa and feeding him this Christmas list that I have which might, just might, help me to capture the Christmas spirit.
1. A new cell phone AKA the one I ordered over a week ago to come in. I really miss my Finn texting!!!
2. Snow!!!! The sticky kind, not the icy kind. I want to go sledding and make a snowman and have snowball fights….yeah, I’m really still just a kid.
3. The movie Ratatouille. I’ve not seen it yet, but I’ve heard it’s super.
4. To go to a Preds game at least once before the year ends.
5. The ability and the means to buy Christmas presents for special friends and family members.
6. To get over this darned cold!!!
There. That’s pretty much the gist of what I want.
Oh, if any of you happen to catch the Christmas spirit (or already have it), please break off a little piece for me.:)
Time flies. Today is Saturday, the first day of the last month of the year, but most importantly, it is my good buddy Finn’s birthday!
On my birthday this year, Finn wrote a post which I’ll never be able to equal, but I’m going to give it a feeble try.
It’s not very often that a person gets to know and becomes friends with his or her friend’s family before even meeting the friend, but that was the case with Finn. I’d known Maw Finn through class and work a good two to three years before I really even knew she had a daughter. By chance (I consider it fate), I interviewed her and her mom about a book they’d written for in September of 2006.…on the same day as the Cal-Tenn game in which Tenn creamed Cal….and the rest is history.
In the span of a year and just a shade under three months we’ve:
Gone to a few Predators games.
Watched a few basketball games, picking out a few BD’s in the process.
Driven down to lower Alabama to see the hometown of Harper Lee and Truman Capote.
Had several great conversations in person and laughed, cried, divulged all in the space of several hundred (or maybe even thousand) text messages.
Seen a new doggy enter the Finn household and a beloved cat depart.
Met up in Springfield, Palmersville, Dresden, Martin…in a coffee shop, at a barbecue joint, at Abode Finn, Abode Maw Finn, a Mexican restaurant and a funeral home to name a few.
But, most importantly, we’ve gotten to know each other, found several similarities and become good friends.
And to think that we grew up just down the road from each other.
In honor of Finn’s birthday, drop her a line here, play some John Mayer or some Pearl Jam, put on Project Runway or a Titans game, pick up a pen and write a poem, kiss a chocolate lab and eat a piece of pizza, a Poptart or some cookie dough ice cream.
Feliz Cumpleanos, Finn!!!!
And here’s one straight from the Mockingbirdisms archives from a certain trip to Europe she took last year.
What do you say?