This was Christmas 2006

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

My Christmas Miracle Current mood: thankful My Christmas Miracle On the "first" day of Christmas my secret friends gave to me, a gift to start twelve days of surprises and gifts on my front porch. We waited in eager anticipation every night for the knock on our door, to see what gift would be left on the porch. There was candy and small trinkets for the children, little cars, and gloves and socks. A nativity greeted us one night and every day there was a special Christmas story to read together. We learned of the true meaning of the season, giving, caring and selfless service. Saturday morning, my middle son woke up screaming in the middle of the night saying his ear hurt. I took him in to the doctor's office that day and we got antibiotics for his ear infection and the dr. also handed me two $40 gift cards to the grocery store. When I checked my mail that day, there was an anonymous letter that contained a $100 gift card for the grocery store. A couple days before Christmas we got a visit from Santa Claus. I still am not sure who it was but someone dressed up as Santa brought over gifts and food. Each of the boys got 2 toys, and a box full of brand new clothes. Each of us got a blanket and I got some fuzzy pink slippers. He also brought a complete turkey dinner, a twenty-one pound turkey, a box of stuffing, a bag of potatoes, and a can of yams. He even brought a roasting pan to bake the turkey in. He left what looked like a cookie tin, but when I went to pick it up, it felt very, very, very heavy. I opened it and saw it full of change, with a few dollar bills floating around. As I dumped it out, something got caught in the canister, and I looked to see a wad of $50s, $20s, etc. I counted out $400. On Christmas Eve, someone knocked on my door, no one was there, but on my porch was a jar full of money. There was $28 in that jar, all in loose change. Christmas morning, my oldest woke up at 3AM, and wanted to eat the candy that was in his stocking. I put a movie on for him to fall asleep to, and told him we would open all the goodies in the morning. I slept well, and dreamed that there were tons of presents on my front porch. Christmas morning arrived and the kids and I enjoyed opening all the gifts. We had plans to go to my mom's house that day, so as soon as we were done opening the gifts, I went out to start my car. On the front seat of my car was a bag full of presents for all of us. I couldn't believe it, we had already had so many blessings, and they just kept pouring in. Christmas day was a wonderfully happy time spent with my entire family. We had turkey, prime rib roast, stuffing, potatoes, etc, etc. I decided to use a bit of my cash to get the oil changed in my car. I drive a 1984 Mercedes-Benz 300DT and I waited two and a half hours at Wal-Mart for them to tell me that they didn't carry the oil filter for my car. I was so frustrated and anxious; I had the 2 year old and the baby with me. But they told me that if I went and got the oil filter and came back, they would give me a free oil change, and they also handed me a $25 gift card. So I did get my oil changed and received even more blessings. Malachi 3:10 10 ….cprove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not dopen you the ewindows of heaven, and pour you out a fblessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Christmas Week

Merry Christmas. I'm not going to worry about being politically correct, this is my blog and I celebrate Christmas, so its Merry Christmas, and feel free to leave your own holiday greeting in the comments. I think all should be embraced and not shunned. Its a celebration of the gift of giving.

My kids are going to their dad's for Christmas this year. Its going to be weird not to have a Christmas with them but we opened some presents tonight. They got a lot of Crayola coloring things. A glow station, a color wonder sprayer, and a glow board. It looks like it will be a lot of fun, but most of the things need batteries.

I ordered their big present today. They'll get it when they get back. I got them bunk beds. Right now they are still sleeping in toddler beds, and my oldest is definitely growing out of his. So when they get back they'll have new beds. I think it will be really good for them.

Its snowing again today. On top of the 10 inches or so that we got last week. We're supposed to get another nine inches tonight. I really don't like the snow. I mean its pretty and all, but its cold, and it keeps me from doing things I need to do. I hate being trapped in my house. I don't always go anywhere anyway, but I hate feeling like I can't. I suppose its a contradiction of sorts. If I had my way, I'd stay home, locked up, reading all the time, but that doesn't pay the bills. I wish it did. But the fact that the snow is getting to where I can't go anywhere gets on my nerves. I also hate the cold and especially the fact that I've been home for 4 hours, have socks on, had soup for dinner, and have the heater on, my toes are still cold.

This is a good reminder of why a somewhat adequate food storage is a good idea. I'd panic about not being able to get to the store if I didn't have about a week's worth of food, possibly more stored up. It also makes me think of things I'd like to keep on hand for these situations. Lots of hot chocolate, soups, broths, flours and ingredients to make bread. Potatoes, things that are quick and filling.

But this time of year also reminds me of why I love living where I do. There are some very generous people in this community. This year I've gotten a $50 gift card to the grocery store, $100 and gifts for the boys, $20 and a pair of gloves and a box of oranges. These were all given anonymously, and I appreciate it every year. The first year was overwhelmingly, but as I've gotten on my feet its been just enough to help out. I'll post the blog entry I had written about that year after I post this one.

A feast

A feast?

For two years I fought
I fought temptation
I fought desire
I fought the tug of my soul

For a year I ignored
I ignored feelings
Feelings that threatened
Threatened my peace

For a month I pretended
Pretended we could be friends
Friendship would be enough
But it couldn't be

For an hour I gave in
I gave into the temptation
I gave into the desire
I gave into my heart and soul

For a moment I had peace
Peace that was real
Real Peace of heart
Real Peace of soul

I ignored my mind
I tampered the fight
I forgot the reasons
It was you and me

And that was more than enough

Saturday-Fun day!

I got up this morning still feeling the crud hanging out in my nasal passages. But I decided that shouldn't take me away from the things I needed to do today. I needed to go to Moab. Its the closest place that has the stores that carry food that my son can eat. And I needed to stock up. So, I started getting ready. As I was making sure the kids all had shoes on, the bishopric of our ward rang my doorbell. All three had Santa hats on and they wished us a Merry Christmas and dropped off a bag of cookies.

We drove into Moab, and as we passed the theater I quickly glanced over. Twilight is playing! I text my friend and let her know and ask if she wants to meet me there for the one o'clock show. Affirmative, sweet. And my cousin agreed to watch the kids.

I'm wandering around city market, trying to find the things I need to get. The one major thing, I still couldn't find. Its xanthan or guar gum. But I did find a bunch of wheat free, gluten free baking mixes. So I bought a few bags of each, bread mix, brownie mix, chocolate chip cookie mix, cornbread mix. It was very exciting! Now I can make treats for him. It was a successful trip all in all.

When we got home, I did a crisis clean on my apartment. Being sick for a few days makes a buildup of messy. Now its comfortably tidy. At least until the kids start playing lol.

Its been a long day, but productive and I feel comfortably exhausted and ready to cuddle down with a book. I'm almost finished with the last book in the Riddle-Master trilogy. And then I'm going to start The Aviator. A book I've read a few times and still love.

The winter ills

Its that time of year again. The creeping crud is creeping through town. Making the rounds. I was out for the last couple days. I still had to work but it was miserable. A true cold is not fun. Every year this happens, it starts with one person, and usually gets spread around the school, the kids bring it home, pass it to the parents, who go to work and spread it there. It seems like its a neverending cycle of illness.

I fixed the keyboard on my laptop. My youngest child has been pulling the keys off the keyboard. These keys are not easy to put back on like desktop keyboards are. So I ordered a new keyboard for my laptop. It was about $40. It came with no instructions, no documentation, nothing to give me a clue as to what I was doing. So, I did what I always do when face with a problem I can't see a solution to.

Google.

And google saved me again! There was a wonderful blog post with step by step instructions including pictures, that someone in the same predicament had posted. He had figured out by trial and error how to do it and shared with the internets his solution. After studying his blog for a few minutes, I was confident enough to get started. I removed the power sources, the panels that were in the way. Removed 8 screws. These things are tiny! After wrestling for a few minutes I finally was able to pry the old keyboard off the laptop. Ok, now time to slip the new one in. Not as easy I thought it would be. But after tweaking and prodding, I got it in. Reverse the steps put it back together, power it on. Great. Now half the keys don't work. I wonder what I did wrong here. oh well, you don't really need the 5,6,7,t,y,u,g,h,b,n,m, keys right?

So, I have two options at this point. Call my tech repair man. Or, redo it. Since I can't exactly call the tech man, I decide to go with option B. I again, take everything apart, darn those tiny screws!! After a cursory glance over, I can't see that anything is misconnected, so I just push a little on the keyboard cable, tweak the connection a bit. Then with everything still apart, supplied power, and tested the keyboard. (this is not recommended, try not to have power going to an electronic device that has its innards exposed) Voila! Its working perfectly. I still have no idea what it was that was wrong or how exactly I fixed it. But I don't mind, as I now have a wonderfully working keyboard. Which makes it so much easier to type.

I edited the last poem I posted. Somewhat due to advice received from a friend. And I felt that another stanza might be necessary. I like how it shows the dwindle in time, 2 years, 1 year, 1 month, and now I added 1 moment. If it works, it works. This is the first poem that touches a little on that "from the heart" writing. I felt its power when I wrote it. I have all these words running through my mind and I know I can shape them into something beautiful or ghastly.

That scares me.

Things Change

I'm living in the town I grew up in for the most part. Its a quiet, small town. Population 1800. I've felt comfortable in this safe town. But on Halloween I realized that it isn't as safe as it used to be. I had walked across the park to Woody's get something to drink. I was with a couple friends and on the walk back, a bunch of kids came running out of the trees towards us. Once they realized that there was a guy in our group they backed off. But since then I've been weary of walking across the park at night. In high school I wouldn't have thought twice. In fact many times, around midnight, I'd walk up to Woody's to get a soda and a snack. This saddens me. I know things could be worse but not feeling safe to walk the block to the convenience store in this town is not right.

It snowed tonight. Just an inch enough to cover everything in white. I'm not fond of snow or cold. But its beautiful. As long as I can stay in, where its warm and cuddle up with a mug of hot cocoa and a good book. I love Christmas though. I've started putting up decorations. I don't have a tree yet, a friend of mine is bringing me one sometime. I put some lights up though, and decorated the shelves with little figurines and a few nativities. Its starting to look very festive. I started watching Christmas movies. I watched Bridget Jones's Diary last night. Watched some of The Polar Express earlier and now I'm watching Elf. I'll probably put While you Were Sleeping in after Elf is over. And I'll have to watch Serendipity sometime as well.

Reading

I love to read. Give me a book and I'll devour it. I'd rather read a book than watch a movie. Its been awhile since I've actually been able to read, to lose myself in a story so much that I have to re-orient myself to the real world when I finish.

I've read quite a few books in the last couple months. All from very different genres. So if you're looking for a an idea of what to read, I'll describe a few...

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King~ not his usual creepy stuff. Kind of a cross between Lord of the Rings and a western. The first book, The Gunslinger, is very interesting and gripping. As the series progresses though, some of the creepy stuff creeps in (lol) I still need to read the last book, I've been putting it off because I really don't want the story to end.

The Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton~ This is real vampire fiction. Full of gore, violence, crime, werewolves, vampires, voodoo. Its a fun read though. There are 16 books in the series. So far. Another one is due out next year. This is a series for adult readers.

The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer~ Not really a vampire series. Its a love story. Forbidden, because Edward is a vampire. Most girls will identify with Bella. She's awkward, clumsy, trips on flat surfaces, her skin is too pale, she's average. Edward is a part of a family of vampires that has sworn off killing humans, instead opting for animals. Not quite fulfilling. But they'd rather not be considered monsters. Its an entertaining read. This is a series for pre-teens to young adult readers but I know many older people have enjoyed it.

The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia A. McKellip~ This is a fantasy/scifi series. Very much like The Lord of the Rings, but a bit lighter read. I'm just started the third book. Its great, very well written. I'm enjoying it. Each book has taken me just a few hours to read. Preteen. Although some of the made up languages can be hard to follow.

The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern abridged by William Goldman~ If you loved the movie, you'll love the book. One of my favorites. Anyone would enjoy this I think.

Beauty by Robin Mckinley~ I love this book. Its a retelling of the story of Beauty and the Beast. I've read this book at least ten times a year since I was 12. I have the first couple pages memorized. I love the imagery. Its an old friend. I think anyone would enjoy this as well.

I think thats all I read in the last few months.