Cheers!

NYE! One of my most favorite nights of the year. Its all about new beginnings. Starting over fresh.

 

There have been some instances in that I have had a few too many drinks on my birthday (the night before) and so I did not enjoy NYE as much.  But, now, my life has changed for the better. Its not about going out and partying anymore. It's about enjoying some time catching up with friends then getting home in time to watch the ball drop snuggled up in a blanket with a cheap bottle of champagne and enjoying the extra day off with Duchess. 

This area is supposed to get a good sized snow storm tomorrow so it will be a good day to lay around, watch the Rose Parade & Rose Bowl and put together her new bouncer. 

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2014 is prosperous and joyous for us all. 

(And the Tigers can go ahead and win the World Series... that'd be cool too.) 

31

Why is it that after a certain point in life we no longer care for birthdays? I used to make it a point to get a new outfit, get my hair done, and have a pedicure. Now, not so much. I am literally in my 30's. Ew. Seriously, I had hoped I would have a lot more things panned out by now. But, we can only do what we can do. Here's hoping my 30's are as good as my 20's were but in different ways.  

WOW! That's a Legit Santa!

OK.  Sooooo, I may have slightly, kinda, sorta... ruined Christmas for a few small children (while waiting in line for the Duchess to meet Santa for the first time) this past Sunday.

I may have explained to my BFF Cakes and her Hubby B11 (they came to wait in line with us), about a story my other BFF Tiff, texted me the day before. Tiff asked my opinion about something her 8 year old son said to her about Christmas and Santa Claus. You see, it is his impression that she just "puts his gifts under the tree every year and eats the cookies he leaves out."

He then went on to say that he "will know this year FOR SURE if Santa is real or not because there is one specific thing he really wants and ONLY Santa knows what it is." Scary right? I have NO idea what I would say to that.  And that is exactly what I told her. We spent like an hour trying to plot via text message how to accidentally get it out of him... and then we realized:  what if it's something completely ridiculous??

I, being a new Mommy, have not yet experienced these predicaments. So, being fascinated with what my future holds, I went on to tell the WHOLE STORY to Cakes and B11 in what Cakes calls my "outside voice." Right there, while waiting in line... to see Santa... surrounded by children... diligently waiting with their adorable handwritten Christmas lists in tow.... 

I am a terrible person... Me and Cakes wanted to DIE. I just wanted to silently grab my things and my kid, get out of line, and get the hell out of that Mall. ASAP.

But, we had already waited nearly an hour and were on the Red Carpet! 

Sorry bunch of people I don't know, we are waiting this one out! 

We tried to re-assure ourselves that most of those kids weren't even listening to us... right?

So, here we are! Finally at the finish line! The Duchess is about to meet Santa Claus for the very first time! 

Let me tell you, this guy was serious about his job. I handed her to him and he placed her on his knee and asked how old she was. I responded "5 months old and (obviously) this is her first Christmas." 

And do you know what he said in true make-me-a-believer, straight-out-of-the-Miracle-on-34th-Street-Macy's-Santa fashion? He said so beautifully, "Well you know, the very first Christmas' are extra special for Santa. It's all the other Christmas' after that, that are special for the children. Merry Christmas, Emerson."  

Umm. At this point, I may cry right  now. Standing here. Talking to the Mall Santa. Then Cakes says, out loud, in her outside voice, "WOW! THAT'S A LEGIT SANTA!!" 

Ps. Duchess didn't even blink an eye. Not one tear. Not scared in the least. Very lady-like, indeed!

12 Shopping Days Left!

With only 12 shopping days left, I am D.O.N.E. Christmas shopping. 

#Boom

AND all without stepping foot one time in a Wally World. Take that Wally World! I have recently stopped shopping at the aforementioned store because:

A. There isn't one very close to my house.  The closest one is on Central Ave. surrounded by some of the WORST traffic nightmares most anytime of day. It could be 2:30 on a Tuesday and you will still sit in stopped traffic on that overpass. But that's not the only reason why...

B. I know several people who work for this Company. Do I need to go on? (There is something about making a 70+ yr old woman work a 12 hour shift on Christmas Eve that just grates my damn nerves. But, I digress.)

C. Every time I step foot in there, I wait in an endless line where there are 27 open lanes but only 3 have a cashier...

I have found that the two Target locations near my home offer just as low prices on the important things I would need from a store of that nature (cleaning supplies, dog food, etc). And with very few traffic nightmares.

This past week I was home for 3 days with a bad cold. Duchess had the sniffles too and sprouted her 2nd tooth, which makes for a rather unhappy little Princess.  So, I found some time to online shop in between naps, bottles, and runs to the microwave to warm up my tea. 

Now, all I can hope for is that the stuff I bought actually makes to my house in time for Christmas... 

#SOML

Last night, for the first time since the late 50's, NBC broadcast a performance of The Sound of Music Live. Carrie Underwood was starring as Maria.  In my opinion, IT WAS GLORIOUS. Finally something on network television that isn't a cartoon! Don't get me wrong, I will forever love A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and A Wish For Wings That Work <----- A CLASSIC. (If you have not seen this one, you're seriously missing out.) 

But, finally, it was like watching a cultural television event. Ok, ok, Carrie Underwood is a country singer from Oklahoma. And the actor who played Captain Von Trapp is on HBO's True Blood (which is a show about Vampires).  But they were wonderful. If you can get past the slightest of southern accents and just appreciate it for what it was, it was breathtaking. It looked like millions of people were watching it along with us, because my Twitter feed was blowing up with the hash-tag #SOML. 

The entire performance was live. It was like watching a real musical, only on TV! You could sing every word to every song and remember the lines of some of the ones you'd forgotten over the years. 

Even my sister made her kids sit down with her and watch it. It can be tough for a 9 year old and a 3 year old to appreciate a musical. We were texting back and forth through it and she told me that although it started a little slow (as most musicals do), once the Von Trapp children came on screen, they became more into it. 

Duchess and I normally head over to our neighbor's house (and friend) to watch Grey's Anatomy on Thursday nights.  She and her husband are also the god-send, that watch my daughter while I'm at work. While picking up Duchess yesterday, I asked her if she was going to be watching .... and I assumed she thought I was going to say Grey's but instead she finished my sentence with "THE SOUND OF MUSIC?!" It was hilarious! I brought hot chocolate fixings and we made a night out of it.

Its my understanding that NBC is hoping that this production will become a holiday staple and run every year as many holiday staples do, for years and years to come (Frosty, Charlie, Rudolph, A Christmas Story, Nat'l Lampoon's Christmas Vacation).  I hope it does. I want to have this tradition with my daughter, sing those songs, and drink hot chocolate. 

Golf-clap to NBC. Well done!

Master of the Blog Universe

I'm still learning all of this interesting bloggy goodness. I must not be as computer-savvy as I thought I was because I have no clue about HTML, formatting and setting up a blog to look like one of those fancy ones people have. 

Its mostly a way for me to get out of my own head for a few minutes. With that being said, I hope you all can still find something worth reading about here. And if you have any tips feel free to let help a girl out! 

A. I want to add a list of bloggers to follow.

B. I want to make it prettier.

C. I don't know how to add videos or links to other pages. 

Thanks,

XOXO

First Tooth

Yesterday, The Duchess turned 5 months old.  As you can see, she's very happy about it! 

We put up our Christmas Tree and she seemed to enjoy the lights.  Later on I gave her, her nightly bath (she LOVES baths) and while getting her PJ's on, she grabbed my finger like she often does to put in her mouth.  This time she bit down harder than usual and wouldn't you know it?! She cut her first tooth! (The left front bottom one - if you were wondering.) 

She is still intently trying to roll all the way over on her belly. She is getting really close but hasn't gotten all the way there yet. I cannot tell you how much I adore this little girl. She's so funny and her laughs are infectious. Baby laughs are simply, the best thing ever.  

She has started to eat more and sleeps really well through the night although we are still working on sleeping in her crib...  Boy, is that stressful. 

She smiles all the time and seems to be just the happiest little thing. 

Everyone says time flies by and to enjoy all the little things that are happening everyday because they go by way too fast.  I get sad to think that soon she will have a mouth full of teeth, and eat pizza and hate her vegetables.  And that someday she will be a teenager... dun dun dun. (Yes, Mother, Pay back is a bitch. haha!)

I love this kid. She's made my life complete. I am excited for the future and all the milestones to come. 

Manners and Common Decency

OK. I may not be the most polite of women sometimes. I may not always mind my P's & Q's. I may curse like a sailor on occasion. But, I have never been so utterly annoyed with the common decency of most people in my whole life, as I was while trying to get home from the airport the other night.

Duchess blowing bubbles at people at the Airport 

Me and Duchess were traveling on our own home from my Sister's this past weekend. Our flight was cancelled and we had to be re-routed on another airline to Detroit.  I was actually not upset by this. No harm, no foul. It couldn't get me down - I just had a great weekend with my family and it was a straight-shot flight. We will hunker down here, eat some kick-ass BBQ Chicken Nachos at Jim n' Nicks (YESSSS!) and wait out our next flight.  Everything went swimmingly. Duchess was a perfect angel. People stopped us on the way off the plane to tell us how perfect she was. I thought, "Wow, some people are really nice!"

Hold that thought.

Upon leaving to find my parked car, I realize that we are in a completely different area of the airport. No where near where my car is parked.

So after wandering around the wrong parking deck for over 20 minutes, I asked a guy who worked there and he told me we needed to find our way back up the elevator, and out to the street and wait for a Shuttle to take us back to the other Terminal. As we waited in the cold for about 25 more minutes, many more people arrived to take the Shuttle as well.

When the Shuttle finally showed up, everyone pushed passed me to get on first. Not one offer to help get on the bus or help with the stroller or our luggage, nothing. One guy even jumped right in front of me while I was waiting my turn in line to get on. Like, literally, walked right in front of my stroller to hurry up and get on first. As spoken by Stephanie Tanner of Full House: "HOW RUDE!!" (I mean, its not like we weren't ALL ready to get home. Especially, the woman with an infant who was standing in the freezing cold for the last 25 mins. But sure, please, hurry up and get on. We wouldn't want to hold you up, Dude.)  

We finally got home around 11:00 p.m. 

I may not be the kindest, most helpful person on occasion, but I was raised better than to watch someone struggle and not even offer to help them get on a bus! I hold doors for people every time I come in or out of one.  I say please and thank-you. I always tip well.  It is even still ingrained in me to reply with "yes ma'am" or "no sir" from my formative years living in the South.  

I intend to teach my daughter better manners than that.  

It is true what they say: people are way nicer down south...