Wednesday, December 31, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

2009


The year 2009 is quickly approaching. It is deeply hoped in this heart of mine it is going to be better than 2008. So much has happened in this year to me personally that it feels good to look at the majority of this portion of the road that is behind me and muster up enough courage to hope that the next year is actually going to be better for me, my family, friends, and everyone else in the world.
Part of me is extremely worried about what this new year is going to bring. There is so much turmoil in the world right now where nothing is certain. Yes, I understand the uncertainty has been there all along and will continue into the future, but this time the uncertainty is almost palpable.
It may be wrong of me, but I am hoping President Obama can indeed make a positive change for this country which will in the trickle down affect me in the positive as well.
Hope is hard to come by these days with all that is going on.
2008 wasn't all bad. There were some bright spots in there, but, for the life of me, right now I cannot think of one single one to use as an illustration other than I have a job now and am employed.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Um....

The Christmas ill has arrived.

I am still knitting.

The shopping is NOT done.

The presents are NOT wrapped.

Yes, there is panic mixed in with the death-warmed-over feelings.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

He's Expecting His First Puppy!



Cheyenne is getting his first puppy not very long after Christmas. It is a lab/rott/boxer mix. To me this means smart/smart/smart. If Cheyenne can train the little fella he will have a wonderful companion! However, it is going to be somewhat of a culture shock for him because up until now all he has had as a pet has been cats. Currently he has three cats, which are going to totally freak once they realize their domicile is going to be compromised by a dog. This amuses me greatly. Cheyenne has never had to worry about whether or not his shoes were out of the way, or if the toilet seat was down, or if the toilet paper was where it was supposed to be. He has never had to concern himself with setting a get-up time just so a puppy can go to pee, or that he needs to make sure he has the right food and clipping toenails and all of those wonderful dog-owner things. Yes, dear readers, it amuses me, because when I see people get their first dogs I always acquaint it with someone having their first baby, which is what having a dog is like. The baby grows up relatively quickly, true, into an eight year old (or sometimes a 12 year old) child for the rest of the dog's life. Sometimes it is a great big culture shock. Sometimes it isn't. There is always several hours of panic scattered throughout the beginning though, just like a new parent.

I am going to be here to help him, of course, and I am quite confident he is going to be a good dog owner and friend, but he is going to have a lot to get used to, as well as a totally different mind-set to undertake, especially until he sees what kind of personality the puppy has or will develop. I am actually excited for and with Cheyenne, and, at the same time, very glad all of mine are grown up enough I don't have to worry about any of the newer things related to puppydom.

It is hard enough to keep up with the cool presents my pack is going to receive as well as to what they should get for Christmas! (Currently the things are stashed away nicely in the cupboard up away from prying noses.)

Monday, December 15, 2008

funny pictures
moar funny pictures

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

3-2-1...BEEEP!!

Thanksgiving – with its turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pies, cakes, and so many varied dishes – has come and gone. As is the tradition, many shoppers woke up early on the Friday after Thanksgiving to begin their Christmas shopping. Traditionally this has come to be known as “Black Friday” because the stores go from being in the red financially to being in the black. Despite the economy being what it is, shoppers did go out on “Black Friday” and shopped until they dropped. Several of my friends were among the masses filling the malls, stores, and shops about town. I stayed home with my darling hubby and enjoyed just being alone with him for the first time in quite a few days. It was lovely. It was precious. It was needed because both of us were exhausted.

It is hard for me to accept Christmas is not that far around the corner. Money is stressing me out this year, as in the lack of…. I have a job interview tomorrow that I am so hoping and praying I get. It is full-time work in a medical office answering telephones and doing a lot of typing. This is work I can do, and, if everything works out the way it should, I might actually be able to start work on Monday with a paycheck coming within a couple of weeks. If not, well, I am going to have to borrow money from Hubby for Christmas shopping for the first time in quite a while in order to get the few presents I need to purchase, as well as a couple more yarns for making presents people have requested of me.

Knitting has gone from being my little hobby; it appears, to being something else…something very positive and very necessary. For a while there was this negative part of me that kept pushing at me that the knitting had become a burden and I should just give it up. Just as quickly as this thought another one popped up, this one louder than the other, “If you give up knitting, what are we going to do with our hands when the TV is on? And why be forced to purchase the warm things we could make?” I had to agree with myself, but this did not lift the Christmas lethargy that has befallen me.

It is so hard for me to find the cheer and the happiness this time of year usually brings me. The song, “Where Are You Christmas?” has me nodding in agreement, because this is just how I feel, except for the joyous return of the Christmas spirit at the end of the song. I hope it does come back, because I miss it – I miss everything about it.

Why has it befallen me, this non-Christmas spirit? I have thought about this question a lot recently and have not found one reason why I should be feeling this way, except for the lack of funds on my part. Plus, I keep looking around me at all of the economic forecasts and am fearful and filled with questions: Has the country gone so far down that the new President cannot pull it out in time before another Depression hits? Why did President Bush let the country get into this condition? He ended up richer, but we common people are much poorer than what we were eight years ago, and this nation, us common people, are fighting two wars, which is straining the economy even more. When I look at all of this I don’t want to spend too much money on just things, but want to make the presents purchased, or made, truly good ones, and important to the recipients.

On the other hand I want Christmas to be special to everyone around me. I want this Christmas to be especially special because of so many reasons – the difficulty some of my friends are going through, a sense of change that is in the wind, and, quite honestly, a sense of uncertainty for the future. More than anything I want this Christmas to be wonderful as a point I can look back on, as well as my family and friends, as something memorable and good should the following year be less than memorable or good.

When you combine all of these things there is a tremendous amount of pressure on me. I could just let it go and concentrate only on myself and Hubby, but my family has grown in the past year with wonderful friends and I am closer than ever to my in-laws. My world has expanded over the past year with people, good, wonderful people that fill my heart with joy and happiness and it would be grand to give them something special just to show them, visibly, just how much they mean to me. Because, quite frankly, if the bottom does fall out from under us, out from under this nation, all we people are going to be left with is each other.