I stood in the check out line the other day, watching the woman in front of me, as she had all 5 of her credit cards declined. Then she proceeded to have a meltdown - screaming at the cashier, as if the declined cards was somehow her fault, (poor cashier) before finally storming out of the store, leaving all of her items behind. Then there was an old lady, a few people behind me. I had heard her mumbling as soon as she lined up - complaining about the wait. But when some young guy tried to break into the line up in front of her, all hell broke loose. There were LOUD words exchanged between the two, clearly heard over the soft sounds of Bing Crosby's "Have yourself a very Merry Christmas" playing on the loud speaker in the background, and at one point I thought for sure she was gonna take him out with her handbag. Nothing like a good ol' handbag fight and some fowl language to get ya in a festive mood!! haha Hilarious! Christmas...... It's meant to be such a special time of the year!! Yet, we've turned it into long "I WANT" lists, racked up credit card bills, overworked retail workers, and cranky, stressed out shoppers. We're so busy taking Christ out of Christmas that we've forgotten why we celebrate it in the first place. We have removed the true meaning of what Christmas is all about. Every year as the holiday gets closer I hear people complain about missing the "holiday spirit." "Just don't feel the mood anymore" they say. Hmm...I wonder why?!! We spend an inordinate amount of time focused on shopping and buying gifts. We practically kill ourselves buying trees we can't afford. We run up our credit cards buying toys and gifts, and empty our bank accounts overstocking our pantry's with more food than we can eat. All in an effort to make someone else happy!!! Yet, I have to wonder......... On Christmas morning, as we sit around the tree, waist deep in torn Christmas wrap, are we really happier people? As we loosen our belts or slip into our "elastic waist pants" after the huge Christmas meal, complaining all afternoon about how full and fat we feel, are we really happier people? What if, just for one year we decided to cut our gifts by at least half, and instead, gave back to those in need? What if, we went into our closets, grabbed old toys and clothes, and provided them to those without? What if, instead of gorging on food, we used some of it to feed those who are hungry? What if, we took our family and spent part of Christmas day volunteering at the soup kitchen? What if, instead of buying gift cards for our friends, we gave the money to a charity instead? A friend of mine watched a celebrity on TV (I don't know which one) talking about her favorite Christmas memory. It was the time her family and friends got together on Christmas morning and instead of giving gifts to each other they each brought a small paper bag with their name on it and some paper. Throughout the day they would each take turns writing something on a small piece of paper and dropping it into each other's paper bag. By the end of the day their bags were each filled with appreciation, compliments, memories, and thank-you's (only for them), from the people they love. What a special and memorable Christmas that must have been!! This year, I have cut back on Christmas giving, and have given to the food bank/charities instead. Yesterday, I sent a cheque to a local family, whose son is dying of cancer. The Dad has used all his holiday/sick time/family time at work, and is now torn between paying his mortgage or being there for his son. I sent him his mortgage payment for December. My friend sent January's. It's not much, but it definitely renewed the warm Christmas fuzzies within me. As for the paper bags... I would like to try that at our house - and I will. But with my disfunctional (yet marvelous) bunch, I could see the bags containing things like " you're funny (looking)" or " Dad just fart" ...and then .... I just might have to get out MY handbag!!!!
Not that we aren't all grateful...but I'd love to hear about some of the worst Christmas gifts you've ever received.
For all of you with any money left, be aware of the next expected mergers so that you can get in on the ground floor and make some BIG bucks.
Watch for these consolidations in 2008:
1.) Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W. R. Grace Co.
will merge and become: Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.
2.) PolygramRecords, Warner Bros., and ZestaCrackers join forces and become:
Poly, Warner Cracker.
3.) 3M will merge with Goodyear and become:
MMMGood.
4. ZippoManufacturing, AudiMotors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining will merge and become:
ZipAudiDoDa.
5. FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become:
FedUP.
6. Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will become:
Fairwell Honeychild.
7. Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become:
PouponPants.
8. Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women will become:
Knott NOW!
And finally....
9. Victoria 's Secret and Smith & Wesson will merge under the new name:
TittyTittyBangBang
I would like to extend a hearty VOX welcome to my long time friend SassyFace. I am so glad she finally decided to join Vox. She is a very funny and talented lady with lots of wisdom to share.
Drop over and say hi!
1. THINGY (thing-ee) n.
Female...... Any part under a car's hood.
Male..... The strap fastener on a woman's bra.
Female.... Fully opening up one's self emotionally to another.
Male.... Playing football without a cup.
3. COMMUNICATION (ko-myoo-ni-kay-shon) n.
Female... The open sharing of thoughts and feelings with one's partner.
Male... Leaving a note before taking off on a fishing trip with the boys.
4. COMMITMENT (ko-mit-ment) n.
Female.... A desire to get married and raise a family.
Male...... Trying not to hit on other women while out with this one.
Female.... A good movie, concert, play or book.
Male.... .. Anything that can be done while drinking beer.
6. FLATULENCE (flach-u-lens) n.
Female.... An embarrassing by product of indigestion.
Male...... A source of entertainment, self-expression, male bonding.
7 MAKING LOVE (may-king luv) n.
Female...... The greatest expression of intimacy a couple can achieve.
Male.. Call it whatever you want, just as long as we do it.
8. REMOTE CONTROL (ri-moht kon-t rohl) n.
Female.... A device for changing from one TV channel to another.
Male... A device for scanning through all 375 channels every 5 minutes.
What should I wear..
I think I'll wear my sailor suit..and now to prepare...
What lady doesn't like chocolate? This should score me some big points!! Look out head pat and cuddles, here I come!! Pfft... and they say chocolate is bad for dogs! I say...depends how you use it! *wink
Drew and I finished our shopping tonight and decided to stop at the McDonalds in Walmart to have a coffee before heading home. The only table available was a long bench connected by individual tables. We got our coffee and sat down. Drew across from me - me on the bench. Sitting on the bench next to me (at the next table) was an older woman...probably in her 70's. A well-groomed- looking good for her age -70's...but 70's non-the-less. She is sitting there all alone..when suddenly..this older (70ish) man approached her. He asked if he could sit with her. She politely replied that she was waiting for someone and was obviously not interested in making conversation with him. He smiled and took a seat (on the same bench) at the table next to her. It was quite obvious he was trying to score, and even more obvious as he tried to make conversation with her. But she continued to play hard to get. The conversation went on for a few minutes as he asked if she was from town and blah blah blah. Still this woman seemed disinterested in his advances and spoke very little back to him. Until finally he made a comment about her scarf... Him :"that's a pretty scarf you have on there. It brings out the color in your eyes" Her: a smile. "Thank-you that's nice of you to say" Him: pardon? Her: "I said, thank-you that's nice of you to say" Him:"Your Welcome"..(as he slides over on the bench and is now sitting next to her at the same table) Him: "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you, I forgot my hearing aid, so I'll have to sit next to you" Her: "OH...ok" (extends hand)" Hi..my name is Mary" Drew: (whispers)..."Damn...70 years old and still got it."
What is there to do when time is rushing by faster than anything you’ve ever experienced. It's screaming, "ready set…. go!" but all you can bring yourself to do is mutter feebly "wait…I'm not ready" *sigh* It's hard to believe that my youngest daughter will be graduating in just a few short weeks. Where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday we attended her kindergarden graduation. I still remember her proud little smile as she waved at us from her place in line. Swaying back and forth at the microphone when her turn came to say her part. She never missed a beat. Every word - clearly spoken. Even then she was strong and confident. That's the thing about my daughter...she has never been afraid to speak her mind. And although I have always been proud of the way she stands up for herself - refuses to be controlled by peer pressure - and lacks all fear to be different, it has also been the source of my greatest frustration. The dreaded teen years. Or should I say "The Rebellious Years." Those years gave Drew and I more grey hairs than I care to count. Her quest to be queen of the late night social scene just did not jive with ours to keep her on the right path. "Other kids stay out 'til 2am. Why do I have to be in at 12:30?" "Because we're your parents? Because we worry? Because we want to get at least one decent night's sleep?" It's funny how our generation expects a seriousness from our kids that we never exhibited ourselves. We lecture them, saying "don't make the same mistakes we did." The same lecture our parents gave us. What makes us think our kids will listen any better than we did? We had to discover things for ourselves. And let's face it... the "don't do it's" were some of the most fun things to try. Will our daughter make mistakes? Of course! Which is probably why we cringe whenever she leaves the driveway..lol. But I also know she has to experience life - learn from your her own mistakes and carve her own path. It's difficult to let go, but I know that my girl will be fine. She's growing into a fine adult. And if the stars aline just right, may she, about 30 years from now, have a beautiful 17 year old daughter just like her.
My daughter's friend hasn't been feeling well for a few days now. While at our house the other evening she looked very pale and was definitely running a fever. Later that night, she was so sick her parents had to bring her to emergency. I was sure she would be admitted to the hospital. Pfft...who was I kidding! Last night she showed up at our house. With an IV in her hand. YES you heard right...AN IV ....All taped in place with hospital tape. At first I thought she must be joking...but oh no...IT WAS NO JOKE! Apparently, her tonsils had swollen to the point she could not breath. Yet, when she went to emergency, they popped in an IV, gave her some drugs for a couple of hours, and as soon as she could breath freely, they sent her home. Her IV is to keep antibiotics going for a few days. She has to make a couple of trips to emergency daily to have the drugs pumped into the IV, and she is responsible at home to keep her IV clear (with some sort of solution they gave her).... She has to pump this solution into the IV herself. Can you believe that!!! *shakes head* I know health care has really gone downhill........ but seriously, THAT takes the cake. What the heck is next? If she needs her tonsils removed are they gonna give her an instruction booklet and a butterknife.. CHRIST!!!
