We had another snow fall the other night, only about 2 inches.  There is still quite a bit of snow in the yards but the streets are clear now.  I haven't seen this much snow in Oklahoma since I was a kid.  Very pretty!

My daughter Julie is having a New Year's Eve party tonight and Ron and I will go for a little while but I don't do the midnight thing anymore. 

Anyone have any New Year's Resolutions?  I haven't given it much thought.  I just want to try to do the best I can in whatever I do.  That's about as much of a resolution as I have made. 

I do hope that 2010 is a happy, propsperous and healthy year for all.  Happy New Year!

The last week of vacation

It's the last week of my vacation.  I've rather enjoyed being snowed in.  It gave me an excuse to be a complete slug.  I am going to try and be a little more productive today though. 

Ron and I went to see Avitar last night.  I learned something I should have known.  If you are blind in one eye you can't see 3-D.  It just looked normal "to me" anyway.  The movie was good, kind of an animated science fiction version of the Indian wars.  There were so many political messages I was afraid it would freak Ron out.  (He hates movies that try to teach him something)  The conservation message was loud and clear complete with "tree huggers" and we Americans were taking over the alien's land for a precious mineral (rock) for the big corporations.  Sound familiar?  Ron surprised me and didn't get overly offended but some how he made a reference to Tarzan and women's lib.  I must have missed that part!  Anyway, it was fun and we had a good time.

Did anyone get a Snuggie for Christmas?  I just don't get it!  Isn't a Snuggie like wearing your coat backwards?  They show people sitting at football games wearing snuggies.  What about their back ends?  Would you need to wear two of them?  One on the back and one for the front? 

Well, another Christmas has come to pass.  The girls made it over yesterday for dinner along with Ron and my brother.  We had a good day.  The snow is slowly melting but looks like it will be around for awhile.  I'm moving slow today.  I'm not sure if I'll even try to get out today.  The streets still don't look very good.  I don't want to get stuck somewhere and there are always things to do around the house to stay busy.

I finally got on facebook.  My daughters have tried to get me on it but I just wasn't that interested.  I'm still not sure what I'm doing yet and not sure if I'm even interested.  I'm not sure just what the purpose of it is.  People telling you what they are doing all day.....????  Or is that twitter?  I'm confused.

Merry Christmas

The sun is out but the drifts have blocked the front and back doors.  It's really pretty outside but it sure is cold.  There were lots of stranded motorists last night but they set up shelters around town.  My family will try to get over this afternoon if the roads are good enough to travel on.  This is the first white Christmas I think I've ever had.  Beautiful!

always a day late

Well, the blizzard has finally hit Oklahoma.  We are usually a day late and a dollar short but here we are.  The wind is gusting at 50 miles per hour and so far we've had only sleet but it is supposed to turn to snow this afternoon.  This will require some last minute holiday changes to our itenerary.  Our church service has been canceled so we will be staying home.  I guess it will just be Ron and myself tonight but the girls and their spouses are coming over tomorrow if the roads are good.  This may be the first white Christmas I've ever experienced.  I don't remember any snow when I was a kid.

Last night we had a gathering at my daughter's house and we had a lot of fun.  Games, food, good company, it doesn't get any better than that.  I was sorry Ron couldn't be with us but that's how life goes sometimes.  He gets off work at 3:00 today so he will join us then.

Well, I hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday.  Merry Christmas!

Holiday Expectations

It's hard to keep our expectations for the holidays in check at times.  We all dream of Norman Rockwell images of families around the holiday table, everyone smiling and all the dreams of the season coming to fruition.  However, if we put too much of our energy into our fantasies we may set ourselves up for a let down.  I have to admit I have always had a little trouble in this area.  I want everyone's Christmas wish to be fulfilled and I put way too much pressure on myself to meet those expectations.  This year has been different, the events of the past year have changed me.  I don't know whether the change is temporary or permanent or maybe just the result of a family in transition.  There are empty chairs at the holiday table and family members are shifting their roles to fill the space.  In spite of the obvious sadness of losing someone as dear as my mother I am not feeling the stress of fulfilling everyone's expectations.  I'm just a little numb this year.  There are so many things I understand now about my parents.  How they were moved to tears by a song or how nostalgic they became when they looked at pictures of loved ones no longer with us.  I thought I understood their feelings but I really didn't until now.  It is so different now being the "oldest" in the family.  I can't really explain it.  I hope it is a position I finally become accustomed to and I'm sure I will in time. 

We are having a friends & family get to gether this evening.  Ron won't be able to attend since he has to work but since nothing feels normal this year anyway I'm just going with the flow.   Sometimes we just have to give ourselves a break and go with the feelings.  This is my year to sit back and just be quiet.  (If you knew me you'd know how totally OUT OF CHARACTER that is!  But I'll regroup this year and come back full force in 2010.