Happy Holidays to All!

Christmastree6
Originally uploaded by chicchickbiz.

Darling Blogettes~

I wish you peace filled holidays full of happy memories and love. Thank you all so much for being my blog friends...

With much love,

-Joy

Feeling Charlie-Brown-y...

Hmmm, I must say I have a bit of Charlie Brown attitude going on tonight. My day went well...lots of laughs at work, a nice brisk walk after with hubby and Peeka...but now I feel, sad. My husband told me the other day he is planning a big birthday party for my 30th. I thought he meant with all our families and was worried it would be just one more "thing" that everyone has to get through. I wouldn't blame them, not one little bit. I am already feeling the strain of the holidays, I certainly wouldn't feel like going to yet another party the second week in January.

Anway, Serge said that no, he meant a "friends" party. Drinks, music, hanging out, whatever. Yes, well that would be wonderful if I had friends I suppose. You know, I never really notice that I don't have friends until occasions such as this arise. I have two very excellent friends and one of them lives very far away (North Carolina). I suppose I could invite my one friend to party down with us...hey three's a crowd right?

But, not to worry. Serge, being ever kind and generous, offered me his friends for the evening! It's like a rent-a-friend-party! I said that this would be very cool with me, but only if one would jump out of my cake singing "Foxy Lady" in a Jimmi Hendricks impersonation.

Anyway, I do have lots of aquaintances and some friends who I just am starting to socialize with...friendships are so much like romances at times. Is it too soon to invite X to a 30th birthday party? Would she think I'm being presumptuous? Would she think I'm too forward? Moving to fast? On and on the worries go...

Oh for pity's sake. One of my "resolutions" for the next decade is to do more things that scare me: Here we go!

I will contact every single person I know who shows any sort of friendly interest in me (yes, that includes you, new post office woman!) to my party. If I ask 50 people, 5 may show up...Regardless, I will be here with a tiara on my head, red on my lips and a drink in hand if you want to stop by.

Bring it on 30's, I'm not scared of you (much).

PS

Fat Boy is A-Okay...urinary tract infection, treated with antibiotics (he's thrilled having me stick my finger halfway down his throat with his pill each morning!). I'm SOOOOOOO happy! It is now the perfect Christmas...my babies all warm and safe and snuggled in on a cold night...bliss.

Decisions, decisions...

Oh my; what a lot of decisions to make lately. Is it really that I have a lot of them to make, or just that I'm procrastinating making any so that it seems like more than there really are?

Not sure...but here is one decision that is made (I hope!)

The 30th birthday ring...drat! I'm not allowed to post a picture here tonight it seems. Well, you will all have to wait with bated breath to see if I win it tonight as I'm sleeping...what suspense! How will I make it until morning?

Now...I have other decisions to make:
1) What do I want to be when I grow up?
2) What classes should I take this spring to get to that career?
3) Should I sign up for a dance class? If so, which type? Will I have time to take a dance class if I take a class to get me toward my (unknown) dream career?
4) What shall I bring for lunch tomorrow?
5) Should I teach paper arts classes this spring? Will I be over-extended if I do (on and on it goes...)

Just finished watching the Devil Wears Prada...pretty good but (sigh) as usual, not as good as the book. But I do LOVE Meryl Strep! She's so fabulous...love her!

Nighty-night blogette's...hopefully I can show you my ring tomorrow! :)

A Big Sigh...

One huge sigh of relief (Fat Boy is just fine, so my Christmas wish has come true!) and another of overwhelm...

This photo is from my husband's work party, an annual gala which is held in a hotel ballroom...isn't the decorating fabulous? Not sure whose arm that is in the picture, but the decorations look nearly as pretty as they did in real life. The party was last weekend...a treat to get away for an overnight and let loose a little...on the other hand I feel like I cannot catch up lately, no matter what I do; even one 24-hour period "wasted" on something as frivolous as a party seems to make me feel guilty these days.

For the past few years I have to admit that I've felt well, a bit disenchanted with the holidays. I prepare (love the decorating!); usually starting early so that I can really savor the season...but somehow admist the frantic shopping, stressing about money, worrying everything I bought or made for everyone is just completely wrong I lose track of the season. This is what my "perfect" Christmas would look like.

We would pare our activities down to 3 meaningful adventures: A sleigh ride with hot cocoa, a special and magical church service, and time spent in nature, walking and gathering natural decorations for our home.

You might notice that I don't have any volunteer activities in my list...I feel that this is something to spend the rest of the year working on. Many agencies find they are overwhelmed with help over the holidays (which is a wonderful problem to have) so I prefer to help at other, less busy times.

And of course, Christmas wouldn't be complete without time with family. But I wish we could take one whole day just to spend with each family and make it meaningful~start with a light brunch and then sing carols and walk outside, later returning to savor the experience of opening a few choice gifts and then maybe all preparing a dinner together. Time...that is what is missing from my holidays I think. Time to savor. Time to really capture what is going on around me; it's what memories are made of...

Here's Looking at You, Peeka-Choo...

This is Peeka-Choo...who answers to several nicknames, if said in the right tone of voice. Isn't she the cutiest?

Last week we had quite a scare. I found a lump on her side. It was hard and instantly I was thinking "cancer" and imagining the doctor telling us she had only weeks to live. I spent most of the long Thanksgiving weekend praying and trying to think positively and alternately running to the bathroom to cry when I thought about losing her.

We have two cats too, Spazzi and Magoo (aka Fat Boy). We had a beautiful, sweet adopted greyhound named Paca too. Paca did not have a mean bone in her body, as my Dad likes to say (and it's true). She was such a loving and sweet girl. We lost her to a freak accident last summer and my heart is still quite broken.

Needless to say, when I brought Peeka to the vets last week my stomach was sick. I was so scared...but guess what? The doctor aspirated the lump and it was NOT cancerous! Actually, we think now (as it's disappeared) that it was a reaction to her vaccination from the week before. I spent the entire time between then and now thanking God that she is ok and praying that she has a long, healthy life with us.

Now our poor Fat Boy is not feeling well. He seems to have a blockage or infection of some kind. I'm really worried. Why is everyone getting sick? Please, please, please let him be ok. Please let it be just some indigestion or something else that will be easily cured...please?

My furry kids-if having all of you healthy is all I get for Christmas, I will be completely happy. Promise.

Presents for a Vintage Swap...

Wow~I can't wait! My presents are all ready to go...my swap partner has been emailed to me...will she like what I send? I hope so! What do you think about this paper? I love it! I'm really into blues and reds this holiday season. Maybe I should have added some pretty ribbon? The box isn't quite sealed up yet...maybe I will toss on some bling before the final taping. I can't wait!