So the lovely Cj has tagged me with a meme. I’m supposed to share 7 things about me. And after reading her post I’ve gathered I’m supposed to share things about me not related to my career. Since my family is my career, I guess I’m not supposed to talk about them. We’ll see how well this goes.

1) I don’t know why this is so, and I can’t explain it either. The shared dumpster stresses me the hell out. Seriously. I become completely neurotic over the stupid thing. I get frustrated when people down break down boxes. It irritates me when someone throws something perfectly usable away. I just about lose my cool when people pile up their trash until it’s fallin onto the ground rather than walk an extra 4 feet to lift the lid of the dumpster next to it and toss it in a nearly empty can. You can’t even begin to imagine what Christmas day is like for me when I’m trying to throw out the trash. This year I took to playing Trashcan Tetris wherein I would take small items and stuff it into open spaces. Don’t even get me started on people tossing large items NEXT to the can rather than into them. Sharing the dumpsters with all these other people makes me insane.

2) I am 34 years old, a wife and a mother of 3. I have no idea how to manage money properly. Budget? Sure, we’ve tried that but failed miserably. We’re always playing catch up and never ahead of the game. If I actually made resolutions, I’d resolve to create a budget and stick to it. It’s faitly pathetic actually.

3) Some day when I join the workforce again, I hope to get a job at a library. I’d also prefer if the library wasn’t in California. Maybe someplace much more rainy than here. Which actually brings me in a weird way to…

4) I’m crazy for a fictional character, just like a huge population of other women who have all read Twilight. Holy cow, can I just tell you Edward is delish? Because he is. I haven’t seen the movie and I haven’t seen many images of Robert Pattinson. And the pictures I have seen don’t do the character description justice. He’s so much more. So yes, I have a massive crush on Edward Cullen, like so many others that have read Twilight. Speaking of that, I really hadn’t intended to read the book. It just kind of fell into my lap. (Thanks Kelly)

5) We don’t do much local shopping, and the local shopping we do is usually at a chain store. We’ve talked about this over and over wracking our brains over what local businesses we shop at. The first one that comes to mind is Lascari’s Restaurant. It started as a little hole in the wall place and has since expanded to first, a larger location, and then they’ve opened a quick serve deli and another restaurant location. I did buy something from The Wishing Well for Christmas. But I hardly go there a lot. But most recently Jason and Jessalyn have been supporting our local movie theater. This place is really great. They have stadium seating and first run movies for CHEAP. $4 before noon, $6 from 12-6 and $8 from 6 p.m. on. And they have a coupon on their site for a free popcorn with drink purchase. It’s crazy awesome.

6) I will never own another Windows machine again. Ever. E.V.E.R!

7) There are more people that I interact with online and actually know are real friends, than I have in “real life.” Most of the people I’m talking about I’ve been in a real live room with, so yes, we’ve actually met. But quite a few of them I think the world of, and wish we didn’t all live so far apart. (I’m looking at the ATL area and the PHX area and a few more, you know who you are.) I have a small group of friends within a reasonable driving distance who mean the world to me. But I also love the people I interact with online pretty much daily.

So there ya go, 7 things about me. I’m not going to tag anyone. If you think this sounds liek a fun thing to do, then consider yourself tagged. If not, move along,nothing to see here.

Another Christmas has come and gone, and I’m left with toys, boxes and random stuff with no home. This has to be the hardest part of getting gifts. Finding a place for everything isn’t so easy when you live in a relatively small place. I’ve been making some good headway over the past 6 days though. Yes six. Our official Christmas gift exchange began on December 23rd and I’ve been putting stuff away ever since.

There were some fantastic gifts and some that, as I mentioned would probably happen, missed the mark.

The Good

My wonderful husband fulfilled my biggest wish, a wish I’ve had for the past seven years. A brand new KitchenAid mixer, in red. *swoon* Today I’m going to put that baby to work and attempt my first homemade bread. Garlic pull-apart bread to be specific.

My mom also got us a printer/scanner/copier along with paper and ink.

The Bad

My stocking stuffers. Honestly, I have no one to blame but myself. I’m in charge of that task, so when my stocking lacks fun stuff, it’s because I didn’t get myself anything fun.

You’re not actually expecting me to mention anything else are  you? Because I’m not going to.

The Ugly

The piles and piles of trash that gets left behind. I like to call it Glee Debris. And there’s the inevitable trip or 5 to the Goodwill to drop off all the old stuff I had to get rid of in order to make room for the new stuff. And the piles of dishes left over from Christmas breakfast and the general cup/utencil/plate/bowl usage and lack of getting to the dishes because I’m too busy trying to put away stacks of other stuff.

Anyhow, it was a lovely Christmas spent with the people that are important to us. I’m pleased with how it all went, and I’m looking forward to the new year with new memories to be made. Keep in mind though, Christmas 2009 will be here before you know it. Don’t believe me? Just think back a year. How quickly did that time fly by? For me, it seems that every year speeds by at an impossible rate. The years are just flying by. It’s like the old addage goes; The days are long, but the years are short. How true that is.

Christmas Eve 2005

Jessalyn at 4 months

Today I bring you the Friday 5 plus 3.  So I guess that would make this the Friday 8, for 1 week only!

1) What’s your favorite holiday tradition?

There’s no simple answer to this since I have a few. The first tradition begins on the first Saturday in December when I get together with the family to prepare our Christmas Eve tamales. Another is getting together with said family on Christmas Eve, scarfing down a boatload of delicious tamales and then the goofy Christmas carol sing along just before we pass out the Christmas gifts, and then of course the gift opening. Another favorite tradition is watching the move White Christmas from 1954. I just love that movie. And another event that is looking to become a tradition is just before Christmas, my girlfriend Kelly comes over and we make food gifts together. Oh and for the second year running, driving out to a neighborhood that really does up their Christmas lights. So fun!

2) A favorite cookie recipe?

Really you can’t go wrong with the Nestle Toll House cookie recipe. A classic and so yummy!

3) Share a story behind a special ornament on your tree.

At least 3/4 of the ornaments on the tree (and still packed away because they didn’t fit) are special. None of them really have a good story that goes with it. But there are a lot of ornaments I used to get every year as a gift from my grandmother. And now, my tree is full of ornaments I’ve been collecting for my 3 children over the years. They’re all special to me because each ornament for my kids represent that year. Most of them have pictures of them so I get to look at them year after year and see how much they’ve grown. If the ornament doesn’t have a picture, I went out of my way to get something that related to the year. One year Caitlin was really into Hello Kitty, so I got her a Hello Kitty ornament. Chris was into Toy Story so he goot a Woody ornament. Jess loves Tigger and so, well you get it.

4) All you want from Santa is….?

A KitchenAid mixer!

5) What’s your favorite Christmas movie and why?

White Christmas without a doubt. Bing Crosby’s voice is amazing, Danny Kaye is hilarious, The music is beautiful, the choreography is incredible, the sets are quaint, the story is sweet. That movie never fails to make my eyes water. I ALWAYS get a tear in my eye at the end when the General walks in and there they are, his regiment from the Army. Oh man, it’s so great. I just LOVE this movie!!!

6) Are you dong anything special for the holidays this year?

No more special than every other year. But it’s all special to me.

7) What’s the best toy you ever got when you were a kid?

I’d have to say it was the year I asked for Barbie clothes. By the time I was finished unwrapping everything, I think I had every outfit on the market for Barbie at the time.

8 ) Why is Christmas special to you?

I love gifting people. There’s just something wonderful about taking a few moments to think about each person on your list, and thoughtfully pick out something they’ll hopefully enjoy. It’s the perfect time to express gratitude for being your friend, family member, spouse, child… And it’s a time when everyone can sit around and share stories and make memories together.

I know not everyone reading this celebrates Christmas, but in our family we do. So I’m going to wish  you a Merry Christmas as well as Happy Holidays!

Wow, to say time flies would be an understatement! My first born is turning fourteen today. It’s hard for me to think back to the day I had her. It seems ages ago. But I’ll give it a shot.

As I sit here typing, it’s just after 7 a.m. Caitlin was overdue as my due date was November 26. It was a Tuesday morning; I was nervous and excited at the same time. Because she was late, I was being induced. Being my first child, her father and I had decided we wanted to be surprised so we didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl. Either was fine with me of course, but in my heart of hearts, I wanted a little girl.

The nurses hooked me up to an IV and got the drip going that would start labor and bring my little one into the world. By 7 p.m. it was clear that things weren’t progressing well and we ultimately decided on a c-section. I won’t lie, I was bummed. They wheeled me into the operating room and shortly after, her father joined me. Now I have no idea why, but rather than giving me an epidural, thus allowing me to move a good portion of my body, they gave me a spinal so I could move only my head. Looking back, I can’t help but feel cheated because I couldn’t hold my newborn for several hours due to lack of bodily control.

Anyhow, I’ll never forget this. As they were operating, the Dr. asked me if I had names picked out. We did. If the baby was a boy, he would be Timothy, a girl would be Caitlin, obviously. So I’m there on the table and being pushed, pulled and generally turned inside out. Next thing I know I hear a baby crying and all I’m thinking is. “Would someone shut that kid up? I’m trying to have a baby here!!!” Then from somewhere behind the curtain I only sort of hear the Dr. say, “It’s a Caitlin!” My brain didn’t make the connection. Baby crying and “It’s a Caitlin” didn’t make any sense to me. I didn’t say anything, and her dad had to make me understand we had a baby girl.  In my defense, I was young, drugged up and exhausted.

I had no idea what trials and tribulations that child would put me through. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s really hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that she’s 14 now. My little baby girl isn’t a little baby girl anymore. She’s a beautiful, outgoing, independent, stubborn, amazing young lady. She makes me as happy as she makes me completely nuts, but I love her and I wouldn’t trade her for all the riches in the world.

I love you Caitlin. I really do.