Duct Tape & WD-40

My Permanent Peeve List

I received my first Christmas card in the mail today.  This person has earned a place on my sh*t list.  It bothers me to no end to receive Christmas cards before December 1 (and even then it is a little too early).

Actually, there is only one other person on my sh*t.  I got her card the day after Thanksgiving which means she mailed them BEFORE Thanksgiving.

While I feel honored to receive your Christmas card and truly appreciate our friendship, your timing says something else to me.  It says that you are more organized and prepared.  Even though I know you have a difficult and hectic life, you are way better than me and everyone else on your list.  You can do it all.  Whoopee for you!

There may come a year when I actually do all of my Christmas cards in July. But I promise you that I will not put them in the mail until mid-December.

Actually, I have a lot of respect for those cards that I get on Christmas Eve and even the week after Christmas.  That says to me that you were very busy, but you still, somehow, found the time to let your friends know you care.

So, what does it mean to be on my permanent sh*t list.  Well, not much really.  I am still fond of you and wish you only the best.  I really do thank you for your card.  But I have a memory like an elephant and one year, I may send you your Christmas card in August. Or maybe I will make your card say Merry Christmas 2007, 2008, 2009 ...etc.

A Thankful Heart

Thanksgiving in St. Petersburg again this year.  I am thankful for that.  So thankful that my boys know and love both sides of their family.  Thankful that they are a little older so that the day is actually fun now. Thankful for lots of food to fill our plates.  Thankful that we had the same faces at our table as last year.  Nobody was sick or, God forbid!, dead.

Thankful for Martha Stewart because I bought her baking handbook and made the most awesome pecan and pumpkin pies with my first homemade crusts.  I took pictures.

Thankful that I have a hobby that I really enjoy.

Thankful that I am growing as person and a mother.

Thankful for the new people that have come into our lives this year.  Art Filip and Russ Suddeth and Rick Stout - you are men among men and have had a tremendous impact in the lives of my sons.

Shirley, Roxanne, Chris, Brenda K, Michelle P., Annette, Joyce, Gwen, Blair, Julie, John, Lisa C and Betsy - you all make me laugh and I am so thankful for you.

Thankful for another year with Gary.  He is a fantastic husband and father.  It was his birthday yesterday.

Thankful for my Mom who is my best friend.

Thankful for Sweetwater Episcopal Academy.  The people and the education are priceless.

Along the lines of that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger, thankful for flag football. 

Finally, as always, thankful for Steve Jobs.  He makes technology ROCK!

A Few Things to Show

As alway, Halloween was an exiting event at our house. The boys say it is their favorite holiday next to Christmas. It was kind of lonely without the Mardis clan to go Trick or Treating with. Kyla was gone to Chicago with her mom, so the boys went out with Gary.

Here they are in their costumed glory

Luke and Jack were Transformers "Ultimus Prime". Cole was a hippie flower child. I told him he looked like a Mexican biker with that long wig and mustache.

Here is our display of jack o'lanterns. I let Cole carve his own this year. He did a great job. The arrow is pointing to his.

I wanted to get a great slow shutter shot with my Canon and tripod, but in the crazy Halloween havoc, I left the good camera at the office.

And some Halloween artwork from Luke....

I'm not sure how much can see of it, so I will point out a few things. It is a one color crayon piece depicting a cemetary. Notice the title "You People Are Dead". Look to the right of his piece and you will see his dad's name on what is by far the largest of the headstones. You will also see the date of his death 2007. And if you are not entirely sure that it is a gravestone, Luke has included the word "dead". When I asked the artist what he was trying to express in his artwork, he responded "I don't know."

If it wasn't Halloween, I would be much more concerned.

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This is a Thankgiving tag book that I made to teach a special class at JoAnns. It was very simple. It has photos on one side and the back says "I am thankful for". Each family member is supposed to write what they are thankful for. I thought it was rather simple and cute. No one signed up to take it. I hate teaching.

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Finally, I have making a lot of these covered notebooks lately. It just seems to be what I want to do, so I am going with it. I might put them up on Ebay or Etsy if the mood strikes me.

This is the new one that I made for me. It fits me perfectly right now. It says "Mom's taxi. The kids drive her crazy, she drives them everywhere else."

Perfect.