Let's Meme Again, Like We Did Last Summer

1. When do you usually know it's the holidays?


As soon as Thanksgiving rolls around and we have to figure out what we're going to do for the Miller Family Christmas party gift exchange.

2. What do you want for Christmas this year?

I want this bankruptcy stuff to finish up so I can relax. Also...Rock Band.
3. Do you go all out with decorations?

Nope. I have two boxes of decorations and the tree. I have this fear that the decorations will multiply and spiral out of control. Then I will have no choice but to leave them up all year around.

4. What are you doing Christmas Eve?

Watching Fred Claus, getting together with the Cap'n and Spooky, going to church for a Christmas pagent, having Chinese buffet and then to my parents so that they can give the girls their gifts.


5. What are you doing Christmas Day?

Opening the presents Santa brought and staying in our PJ's all day long. There will be no meals, only grazing.


6. It's Christmas time. What are you reading?

I'm finishing up An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison. It's a very compelling memoir of her experience as a psychologist suffering with bipolar disorder.


7. Favorite movie to watch during the holidays?

I can't find my copy of it but, I love to watch Love Actually while wrapping presents.

8. Favorite Christmas song?

This one (and don't give me any crap about it):





9. Favorite holiday drink?

Mead



10. How is your Christmas shopping going?

I'm done...I hope.


11. If you could spend Christmas Day anywhere else, where would you spend it?

I'd like to take my kids back in time to 1995 and spend time with Doc's parents, who we lost well before the girls could know them.


12. Any holiday traditions?

Our traditions have been a bit rocked since our matriarch passed this year. So we're hoping to start some new ones. Like a white elephant gift exchange and a Christmas poker tournament.

13. Favorite thing about the holidays?

Sitting around the Christmas tree with family. Also, bursting out into spontaneous caroling. My Work Wendy and I were singing "O Come All Ye Faithful" in the work kitchen while filling the dishwasher when Jeanne joined in with the alto part. We sounded awesome!

Thanks for the tag Dr. Monkey!

I tag the following folks:

Cap'n Ergo Jinglebollocks
Skyler's Dad
Some Guy
Genn6

Merry Christmas everyone!

My Christmas To-Do List

Hello my little sugar plums! I hope you all are ready for whatever kind of Christmas you want most:

• All the bells and whistles with lots of presents


• A spiritual and inspiring day to celebrate life in mid-winter


• A sky-clad dance around the burning yule log


• A long sob and a tall Long Island ice tea

I'm gearing up for a special event myself; I'm hosting my Dad's side of the family for Christmas. On Sunday, I'll have 13 people in my little house. It's been a bit of a logistical struggle. My house isn't exactly palatial. I actually don't have a dining room, so having a meal has proven to be a bit of tricky business.

But Doc's been a real trooper and the kids have started to help out too. Last weekend we got the basement, kitchen and living room standing tall. Last night we got Riley's room spiffed up and we got started in Lucy's room and our room. Lucy has been a big help since she is willing to give up most of her toys to charity. We actually had to go through her box and put stuff back! Riley is very sentimental and reluctant to part with much of anything. To clear her clutter, we'll be bagging it up and putting it in the basement so she can still get to it if she wants.

So, what we do we have left to do before Sunday?

• Finish cleaning our room


• Finish cleaning Lucy's room


• Clean front bathroom


• Clean back bathroom


• Magic-erase the walls (just to take the crayon off of it, not remove the walls entirely)


• Go grocery shopping


• bake cookies


• prepare large batch of mac and chees for the vegetarians


• Do a final number-puzzle shuffle to maximize room in the kitchen


• Set up a table in the basement for people to eat at (the basement is finished so they won't be eating in a cave...ooh...maybe I should get some candles to warm it up down there!)

Everything else can be done on the day of the party, such as preparing the roast and if I'm feeling lucky the Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna Roll-ups with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce. Doc thninks we'll be spending Christmas day cleaning, but I think we'll be fine. We got a lot done yesterday and I think I can knock out the bedrooms and the bathrooms tonight.

The rest is gravy.

Anyhoo...We're busy and happy and everyone seems to be playing on the same team. It's not too cold out and January still doesn't seem like a reality yet. But when winter finally does heft herself up and plop down on our heads, we'll find a way to remember that spring is just around the corner. Until then, we can enjoy our de-clutterfied home, play with our toys and laugh our heads off.

Merry Christmas to you. Hugs and kisses!

Love,

Flannery

My Christams Wishes For You

Dear Friends,

As I sit here drinking my Christmas Diet Coke, I'm thinking about all of you lovely people. I'm looking forward to a couple of busy days and I'm not sure I'll get the chance to write much until later. But I wanted to capture a few things and lay them out here.

First and foremost, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. I hope all the hard work and stress pays off. Even if you don't celebrate Chistmas, I hope you have a lovely day off. I wish for you a Christmas Miracle. Perhaps you find your keys without turning the house upside down. Maybe a dashing young man or a brave lady will save your life. No matter what the size and scope of the miracle, recognize it and honor it by declaring out loud to yourself or your family: I've found my keys! It's a Christmas Miracle!

Secondly, I invite you to listen to this song and think about all those people who can't be with you today. Remember the good times you've had with them. Give them a call, if you can, and raise a glass in their name.

And finally, I hope your heart blossoms and swells with all of the magic there is around you. And don't tell me it's not there. It is and you know it. It may not be as grand as it was when you were four years old but it's there. You just have to look a little harder to find it.

Love,
Flannery
XOXOX


PS: I hope Santa brings you everything you asked for.

Picture Pages

We have nine days until Christmas and we are ready...mostly.

Behold our beautiful tree...

We decorated it last weekend and it no longer looks like the picture above. Lucy removed most of the bulbs she could reach.

Angels we have heard on high...

Riley picked out the tree topper.

This is how we celebrate our freedom at our house...