Happy Xmas is Over Day!!!!

I've long been not so much into Christmas. The way it always makes the huge gap between the haves and the have-nots seem so much bigger this time of year. The stresses of finding the perfect gift that you feel you "have" to buy for people. The majority of kids who haven't a clue as to how fortunate they are to have gotten everything they ever wanted (I speak as a former one of those kids). How you can't find a single place to go that isn't overwhelming with Christmas items and song.. (yes, I can't help but see things from all sides of the fence and wouldn't want to be someone who didn't celebrate Christmas and yet be subjected to all this bombardment of the holidays)..



And so I started Christmas alone in my house with my "kids".. And due to the fact that I had convinced my family that we should NOT exchange presents (instead we pulled our resources and did something nice for someone else), I didn't even have any gifts to open.. BUT I was awoken at 6:30 by a Merry Christmas email that had been sent to my phone from my friend E, who is back in New Jersey spending the holidays with her family. And that turned out to be the start of a pretty wonderful day.......


I opened Alex's gift, a new Kong bone which I stuffed the end of with homemade caramel that my mom had sent especially for her.. And I let loose a dozen or so assorted cat toys that had the fuzzy ass gang running wild through the house for a good half hour...
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After the ruckus was over, I was able to go back to sleep. I've had a horrible cold for the past week and a half so this was much needed. But at 8:30 I was again woken up by my phone. This time it was D calling me from her parents house in New Mexico to wish me a Merry Christmas.

I finally woke up for good around noon and called my brother and his family to find out what Santa had brought. Then I called my mom and dad. It's always good to talk to them, but especially on the holidays.. Then I called E. It's so nice to be able to talk to her while she's back in the US..

I spent the afternoon with my geocaching buddy, Brijin. She was having dinner at her place, and I was in charge of bringing the mashed potatoes and gravy. It was just Brijin, her mom, our friend Erin, and I, but we had a great time... After dinner we played board games and finished with a bit of late night geocaching... Good food, good friends, and a lot of laughs.. What more could a person ask for??....

So, in spite of how it may have appeared when I woke up (alone with no presents to open), Christmas is what you make of it.. And, I have to admit, mine was pretty damn good!.....

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas as well!!!!!

The Fuzzy Ass Gang

**My camera is has been out of service for a while now, but sometimes you just have to make do (in this case, with my phone).. **

As I was huddled on the couch this morning trying to say warm in my freezing house, I thought I'd entertain myself by taking pictures of my ever growing, youngest kids.. It's amazing that they stopped running long enough for pictures.. Well, almost.. They didn't stop long enough for retakes.... From top to bottom: Chadrik, Kimba, and Elphie...

6 "Weird" Things

I DON'T play these "tag, your it" things, but this one's for Tif-do (and her snazzy new do)...

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the '6 weird things about you.' People who get tagged need to write a blog post of their own 6 weird things as well as state these rules clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says 'you are tagged' in their comments and tell them to read your blog. I'm not so sure what the definition of weird is so here goes:

1: I can't smell bananas. I'd never liked bananas while growing up, but it wasn't until I was in the Army, that I learned why. They'd use banana scented oil to test the seal on our gas masks, and I was never able to smell it.. And if you think about it, bananas have very little taste, it's mostly a smell thing. Trust me, if you can't smell them, they just taste like mush....

2: I dream every night. Almost every time I go to sleep, really. Even if it's just for a few minutes..

3: I have 4 friends who are very important influences in my life. They are all quite different, but they all have one thing in common. I remember what they were wearing at the time we became friends..Be it 3, 4, 10, or even 24 years ago...

4: I don't do naked.. As soon as I get out of the shower, I get dressed. Even if I'm the only one living in my house.. I won't answer the phone or even a text message until I'm dressed.. And I can't sleep without at least a t-shirt, boxers, and socks on..

5: I have to have something on my feet. Even on days when I wear my sandals, as soon as they come off, the socks go on!!

6: I'm not at all afraid to die.. Not that I'm in any hurry to do so, and I absolutely do not want anyone else to, but I have no fear being dead.. Seems like a grand adventure / mystery to be solved to me...

And, (being that Dacheese is the only person who has listed 6 weird things and she didn't "tag" anyone) I'll tag LVH, Hayduke, Mrs Hayduke (whatever her name is on her new blog), purplelurple (whose blog I am unable to post comments on for some odd reason, so someone should let her know she's been tagged), Aunt K, and whoever else is reading this to make the 6th person...