December 2005

It’s Christmas Eve! I was giving this some thought last night, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I enjoy Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day.

On Christmas Day, you have opening presents and a big dinner. Really nice stuff, but not really a whole lot going on. Plus, the wonderful, delicious anticipation is over at that point. Christmas Eve, there’s so much more to do and to look forward to. In my family, it’s tradition to go out to lunch on Christmas Eve at someplace nice. Now, it’s not so much lunch this year as it is dinner because for some reason no restaurants in Reno want to open before 5pm on Saturdays. And of course, there’s going to church. Nothing beats church on Christmas Eve. After church, we drive around to look at Christmas lights on the way home. Then? You get to open one present each before sending the wee ones to bed. The adults stay up and play Santa. Then you go to bed, tired but happy and actually for once looking forward to waking up in the morning.

Update: The dog is fine, back to her old self. She still won’t eat dog food, heaven forbid. But she’s no worse for the wear. Seriously, that is one lucky dog.

So, it’s no big secret that I spoil my dog, Beetoe. I can’t resist. Here I am a women who has been pregnant twice since having the dog, but hasn’t had a baby. I have all these misplaced maternal feelings and I need to use them on SOMEONE. H is too old to tolerate my foolishness and K is too big to pick up and cuddle. So Beetoe it is. I usually let her clean my plate after lunch, and we’re constantly sneaking her snacks like honey roasted peanuts or Reese’s pieces.

Now, the latter may have just been her death sentance. She has learned to LOVE small round candies. Cut to last night: I had purchased a bag of mini M&M’s for H’s kindergarten Christmas party today. It was on a list he brought me home of things he needed to bring to the party. No biggie. I left them up on the kitchen table, still neatly packaged up. We went out to Jack in the Box for dinner and then to the grocery store to pick up a few last things for the weekend. When we got home, I noticed the bag of M&M’s was laying on the middle of the floor. I stepped closer. I noticed a portion of the package had been neatly peeled back, exposing the sweet contents. I picked it up. Half a bag of M&M’s.

Cut to the dog: Very guilty look.

There was a lot of puking last night. Thankfully, it was all done by the dog, poor thing. The first several times was inside the house (thank the LORD for steam cleaners) until we finally caught a clue and took her outside. She would drink water like it was going out of style and then hurl. Rinse, repeat. We did this for several hours, before she finally seemed to perk up some. She became less interested in the water, more interested in running around sniffing things. We tried going to bed and she was just too WIRED at first to settle down so I took her out again. We both, in fact, took her out several times during the night. But eventually, she stopped shaking so much, her heart stopped pounding quite so hard and she really seemed to have gotten over it. And frankly, I doubt there was ANY chocolate left in her belly. I’ve never seen a dog throw up quite so much in my life.

So, lesson learned. Keep the chocolate hidden SAFELY away and encourage only digestive sytem-healthy treats. I’m just so thankful that she’s okay. Today is four years to the day that we first got her (hence her real name, Mistletoe). And I would have hated to lose her so close to Christmas. You see, she is my baby, for all practical intents and purposes. I just need to find some other way to mother her than sharing my food with her.

Wow. It was only one year ago today that I started this silly thing called “Blogging.” A dear friend of mine had been blogging and recommended it to me. And am I ever grateful she did. Blogging has been wonderful for me. Not just the whole design business I’ve gotten myself into (though that is wonderful, I’ll admit), but the purpose and release in writing these posts. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Looking back at my first series of posts brings back a lot of… memories. We had just arrived in Elko, NV to spend the holidays with my in-laws. And to hear me talk about it then, you’d think I was being forced to walk on hot coals or having my fingernails ripped out. But truly? I like my in-laws. And I’m very lucky in that respect because I know so many women who have barely tolerable relations with their in-laws. But mine are cool. And I was totally dogging Elko. See, there was a time when we would have liked to have LIVED there, so it’s not all that bad.

The long and the short of it is; I was in a FUNK. December was a hard month for me last year, and the closer we got to Christmas, the worse my mood got. I did NOT like being taken from my safe, hidey-hole of a house and made to interact with people at the one time of the year I’d probably been dreading the most. I really was in a bad way. I simply wanted to get through Christmas, get past it. And for me? That’s saying a lot. I’ve always been the sort who has loved the Christmas season. I love the music, the presents, the decorations, the family… Even as a child when I could barely tolerate the total boring-ness of church, I enjoyed going to church during December. So for me to be a total grinch, was a big change. But liek I said, I was in a bad way.

Things are so much better this year. I wouldn’t say I have the same level of Christmas spirit I had when I was younger, more carefree, more naive… but I’m really looking forward to the holiday. Seeing my parents is going to be fun, despite all the cleaning I still have left to do. I’m excited for H, because I know this is all such a big deal to him. I can’t wait to bite into that turkey. I want to see everyone open the presents I bought them, see their expressions. I want to know what’s in that one strangely shaped package under the tree that’s for me. I want to go to church and sing Christmas songs and hear the Christmas story one more time. That’s a 180 degree turnaround from last year and for that, I’m so grateful.

So happy Blog-aversary to me! I can’t believe it’s only been a year. I should have started this up years ago. Here’s to many more years!

Here it is at long, long, LONG last. I realized today that perhaps the reason that our local “All Christmas, All the Time” station is playing an abundance of horrid songs is because I have not purged them from my system via this blog post. It’s a long shot, but I’m willing to risk it.

Let us begin:

• Anything by Manneheim Steamroller - I cannot stress this enough. Let’s put it this way: Christmas and synthesizers do NOT mix. Heck, anything and synthesizers don’t mix. But this sounds like the Disneyland Electric Parade or something. Anytime I hear “Deck the Halls” by them on 106.9, my ears start to bleed.
• “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney - If I *never* have to hear this song again, it’ll be too soon. I hate this song. HATE. And dare I say I detect synthesizers? See?? I can’t imagine anyone beside my six year old son would actually enjoy this song. (What’s real fun is me trying to explain to him everytime I turn off the radio when it comes on. “But I *like* that song!” “Too bad, I hate it.” Call me Grinch.)
• Any Christmas song by Gloria Estefan - Truthfully, I don’t really enjoy any of her songs. Once she seperated from Miami Sound Machine, her music just went downhill. And these “Christmas songs” of hers sound like something I’d have to hear in an elevator somewhere. Bleh!
• “The Little Drummer Boy” by anyone, but especially David Bowie and Bing Crosby - This is one of those rare songs that has annoyed me since the early years of my youth. And I hate the David Bowie/Bing Crosby incarnation. David Bowie should stick to rock and Bing Crosby should have been ashamed of himself. Anyhow, the song sucks.
• “Christmas Shoes” by NewSong - HATE. This is a song people are strongly divided on. And I can understand why the people who like it, like it. But that’s basically because those people are SAPS. This is a song solely crafted to tug at heartstrings and I detest that. Everytime I hear it, I feel manipulated. K hates it even more than I do. So whenever it comes on, we make fun of it. Petty of us, I know, but who can resist?

  FWIW, I’m not cold, I’m not heartless. I just don’t enjoy this song. I don’t think it’s “sad” because I think it’s forced. If perhaps the writer had put a little more effort into the song, to make it feel more genuine instead of wanting to whip something out to sell inspirational books with, then I’d like it more. Believe me, I’ve had hard Christmases in the past, I’ve lost loved ones. And I think a song like “Christmas Shoes” cheapens the experience that some poor people have at the holidays.

• “Do you hear what I hear?” by virtually anyone - Another one I haven’t liked since infancy. Vince Gill does a decent version but for the most part, this song just grates on my nerves.

Dear God, I feel the list could go on, and on…but I will close it here. There is much I could include, but these are the songs I hate the most. The rest are songs I don’t like to be sung by certain people, like “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by The Jackson 5 or “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Billy Joel and Rosie O’Donnell. But if I included every song like that in this list, I’d be at this all day and dear friends, I am a busy lass. So enjoy my list of wretched tripe and feel free to pipe up with your own opinions in the comments.

edit: if you don’t like venomous venom, then check out my favorite Christmas songs list.