Christmas Roundup

Whew!

I'm glad that I have today and tomorrow off. No work, no family functions, nothing I have to do. Time to regroup, reflect, and gear up for New Year's Day.

I promised pictures last night, but then Miss O and I had too much fun playing with her new toys. And to be honest, I decided to go to bed early to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Miss O, peeking to see if Santa enjoyed his milk and cookies...

Look there's stuff in my stocking!

Everyone in front of the tree.

This was the first year that I've hosted Christmas morning. M.'s parents and grandparents came over and we did presents and breakfast. I made a French Toast Bake, had fresh fruit, M made scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and of course cookies! I don't think my MIL approved of the cookies, but that was always a tradition in my family growing up. My mom said it was the ONLY day in the year that I could have cookies for breakfast.

Overall, it went very well. Everyone got to see Miss O open some gifts, they all seemed to enjoy breakfast, and we were able to eliminate one trip for the day. Around 2 o'clock we headed north to see some of my family and made it back home around midnight.

New Year's is next.

Christmas Wishes

It's the day after...and I'm back at work. Exhausted.

But all in all it was a great Christmas here at Not The Path I Chose. I'm going to try to get some pictures up later, once I get home.

Hoping everyone had a very blessed day, and that Santa was good to you!

Christmas Cookies

I love baking. Always have. Something about the measuring, the smells, the repetition that soothes me. When I'm upset I tend to gravitate to the kitchen, just to make something.

Except at Christmas.

My day started innocently enough. Get up, go to church, enjoy Miss O being an angel in the Christmas program. I came home in a pretty good mood. Maybe festive, even. I had started my Christmas baking last night, and figured with M working today, it was time to finish the baking.

Here's how the day went:

1:30pm ~ Empty the dishwasher from last night. Turn the radio on to the 24/7 Christmas tune station. Start figuring out what cookies to make next.

2:00pm ~ Humming along to Christmas carols, rolling Buckeyes with my daughter. This isn't so bad, right? I wonder why I don't do this more often.

3:00pm ~ I am SO tired of dipping cookies into chocolate. Who says I can't just dunk the whole thing into the pan and roll it around? No, it would be a peanut butter ball then, not a buckeye.

4:00pm ~ Get out the dough I prepared last night that needed to chill. Set out the cookie cutters, sugar and rolling pin.

4:10pm ~ Start to curse under my breath. Why won't this dough roll out? AND stop sticking to the counter.

4:15pm ~ I will not cry. I. will. not. cry.

4:20pm ~ Call M. demanding that he bring home a new rolling pin.

4:21pm ~ Give up. Move on to cutting some bar cookies I made last night.


*sigh*

Seriously, why am I stressing about cookies? Nobody is going to notice if I don't have 8 kinds of them on my cookie plate. Well, maybe my in laws, but who cares about that? I need to stop putting so much pressure on myself and just enjoy what I have. So, I'm now sitting on the couch, with a glass of wine, pondering what to make for dinner.

I'm thinking takeout.

Missing You...

December 18, 2003. A day that I will never forget.



I was just about seven months along with Miss O. I was at my Mom's house in Northwestern PA. We had just had my baby shower on the 14th, a little early, but with good reason.



My mother was dying.



She had bravely fought for almost 5 years. But ovarian cancer is relentless. No matter how hard you fight, it keeps coming back. Two complete de-bulking surgeries, more chemotherapy treatments that you could count, and even Eastern medicine could no longer stave off the inevitable.



The day was cold, yet sunny. As I sat in her bedroom, silently crying, I looked out the window. Large, fluffy snowflakes fell all morning, as I listened to her labored breathing. At one point, mid-morning, she rolled to her left, reached out with her hand and placed it on my belly. I cried harder, as the reality sunk in. My mom, the OB nurse, was not going to see her first grand baby's birth.



So unfair.



As the day went along, I started calling family. Letting them know the end was close. By 9 o'clock that night, her parents, her brothers and sisters, her daughters, and all her nieces and nephews were at the house. We all sat in her bedroom, some of us on the bed with her, others scattered around the room. As if she was waiting for us, within a half hour of everyone getting there, she was gone.



Just like that.

I miss you more than words can describe, and I love you with all my heart.

Seat Warmer Gone Wild!

A week ago, I started to drive home from work. It's been quite cold in my neck of the woods lately, so I would start my car, turn on my seat warmer, and brush and/or scrape off the windows. That's exactly what I did last Tuesday night.



My commute is quite short. As in less than a mile and a half. I can honestly say that I can get to work in less than five minutes. I know you're jealous ;)



So, anyhow...I hopped into my car after brushing a little bit of snow off and began the drive home. Two blocks from the TV station, I felt a little more heat than I usually feel on my lower back. Hmm, I thought that's weird. Another block passed, and I began to smell something burning. That's when I decided to turn off the seat.



I pulled into my driveway, got out of the car, and looked at the seat. I couldn't believe my eyes!

I ran into the house and yelled at M..."My seat warmer burner through my seat!" He didn't believe me, until I turned around and he saw the hole in my jacket!

It just got worse from there. I took off my coat and sure, enough my pants were burned too!

Please ignore the large size of my behind! Haha.

I had no idea that seat warmers could do this. We called the dealership, and they got me in the next morning. Of course, my car's warranty is expired, and they claim they aren't responsible. I don't know how I could have keep the thing from burning through, but if I want it fixed, that'll be $700! Seriously.

Needless to say, I'm sans seat warmers right now and will be shopping for a seat cover.

124...

That's how many posts I need to read according to Go.ogle Re.ader.

Unreal.

I guess that is what happens when you just can't get better. I think I wrote last week about how everyone here was sick. Well, I just couldn't seem to get better. I was still coughing, sneezing, and full of snot. I finally gave in on Monday and went the doctor. Yeah, I should have done that sooner.

Bronchitis AND a sinus infection. Woo-hoo!

So, five days later, after a round of antibiotics...I'm feeling human again.

I have plenty of blog posts in my head from decorating for Christmas to how my seat heater in my car burned my coat & pants. Really! I have a three day weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to catch up on my reading AND posting!

Colds

It's been a while since I last posted.

Here at Not The Path I Chose, every household member has been sick. Fortunately, not the flu type of sick, but we have survived coughing, sniffling, and sneezing. The kind of cold that comes in waves, and lasts forever. I started feeling rough last Saturday and I'm today is probably the best I've felt since then. Yuck.

M. brought it home first. He never gets sick, so I knew it was only a matter of time until Miss O and I started needing tissues, too. This lovely virus started with a hacking cough, the kind of cough that you feel in your ribs later. It then progressed to horrible sinus pressure, which of course led to a constant runny nose. Poor Miss O's upper lip is so red and raw from the drip and tissues.

I think the only way I have slept all week is with doses of Ny.quil. And we've gone thru four boxes of Klee.nex. FOUR boxes in a week.

But we're on the mend...I'm thankful for that.

Back In The Game

No, not that game...

This weekend I had an opportunity to do a little freelancing work. And I got to put a camera back up on my shoulder. Yay! It's been almost a year since I've done any shooting work...so, when I got a phone call asking me if I wanted to pick up a game, I jumped on it. It wasn't anything big, just a local hockey team playing in a tournament.

I had a ball! I was right down at ice level, getting to follow the action. Every once and a while, I would turn around and shoot an interview, or grab a crowd shot. It just felt...right. I was in my element. Where I'm supposed to be. What I'm supposed to be doing. Too bad that isn't my reality anymore.

I did pay a little for the fun, though. Standing on the cement floor for 4 hours was not easy on my lower back. My shoulder was quite stiff Saturday morning. But that didn't stop me from quickly agreeing to do another game Sunday night.

You can take the camera away from the girl, but you can't keep the girl away! ;)

44 Days...

Yup, 44 days. This crazy cycle managed to span two months!

But, just as I was ready to call the doctor again, the old witch finally decided to show. Finally.

So, cycle day 1 for me.

::::::::::::::::::::

I've done enough wallowing in self pity for the last week.

Time to pick myself up, dust myself off, and stand up straight.

It's the first of the month, a fresh start, and I have the holidays to keep my mind off of everything baby related. I had a really good weekend. Thanksgiving was a bust, as always, I'll have to share some stories later.