Sing It Like You Mean It!

I have a special fondness in my heart for a cappella music. I found this on one of the blogs I frequent. I have not yet added her to my list, but after this, I think I shall. She is a busy mom, and has uniquely interesting tales to tell.

Classically, I don't like counting songs, or really repetitive ends to songs I would otherwise like. This version, however, is awesome. Enjoy!

The 12 Days Of Christmas

Hot Cocoa With A Peppermint Stick To Warm The Soul

Word of the Post
Today's word is: loquacious
/lo*qua"cious/ adjective
To speak continually; talkative; expressive; apt to blab and disclose secrets.
I am talkative, but I am NOT loquacious. The secrets I hold are so dear, I have forgotten most of them.
~~~~~~~~~~
Any time I decide I have it all figured out, I am surprised by something small that brings me back to reality. I have always been a generous person. If I can help, I will. I offer to drive people all over the place, I pick up kids, I would give you the last bit of food in my fridge, I would empty my closet to keep you warm. It is humbling when others are willing to reciprocate.

I have a wonderful pair of new friends. They would also bend over backwards to make sure that you are taken care of, that you see Jesus in every small thing in your life. They invited us to have dinner with their family on Christmas Eve. We have gladly accepted, and plan to bring a little bit of dessert, and a few presents. I will not go empty-handed.

Growing up in a family who did not celebrate Christmas, I feel now a lot like a child window shopping at a candy or toy store. My face pressed against the glass, my breath steaming up the view, dreamy look on my face, wishing I could join in. I always saw everyone having fun trying to guess what Santa was bringing. They had huge family gatherings, and long funny stories after the New Year. Maybe it was the influence of Currier and Ives artwork, I don't know. I always assumed that happy family Christmases were picture-perfect, snow-covered, and heart-warming. Christmas was never not happy at my house, but it was not the fantasy I had created in my head.

This year, I have been allowed to go inside the store, and it is overwhelming. I don't know what to make of it all. The smells, the warmth, the love, the excellent cooking (by a man, even!) all keep me dumbfounded. I never knew this was for Christmas. These things were all for Thanksgiving in my family. I have a hard time not picking a piece of each and every kind of candy, one of every toy.

There is a storm that has dumped snow on many around us. It has given us a dusting of snow, but has also blessed us with ice... again. This time, it is not building on the trees, it is blowing in the wind. This time, we do not have the danger of losing power so much as the danger of stupid drivers trying to kill us on the roads. I wonder what it is about Oklahoma that brings out the "weather idiots". They seem to think, and drive as if, they have big SUV's that can stop on a dime.... on maybe a dry runway with no traffic. Then, they decide to try it on ice, behind me.

I have long enjoyed watching automatic transmissions sitting idle at a stoplight, knowing which axle is their drive because their wheels are spinning. Do people not know that an automatic can be put into Neutral, and will not keep uselessly trying to push the car? I learned to drive in crazy conditions in New Mexico and Colorado. I had months at a time to practice, and drunk drivers to avoid. I guess it is too much to expect Oklahomans to know how to react to snow and ice. They only see it three or four days a year. I need to get a bumper sticker that says "no spelunking". It should go next to the one we already have (not on the car yet, however) that says, "hang up and drive!"

To sum up:
1. J and L are my cool new friends.
2. I like my new Christmas experiences.
3. I need to dig up the recipe for Maple Syrup Snow Candy from the Little House books.
4. I would love to turn donuts in a big empty parking lot this weekend.

Have a good one, everybody!

Here Comes "Samma Claus"

I was in the middle of blogging last Monday evening, when our house went dark. I copied the entry into my word processor program on my laptop, and saved it for later. Now, you get to see what I was thinking about Jack Frost just before he got a fuller revenge on us.

Jack Frost can have a bad temper sometimes. He has hit Oklahoma with a vengeance. I am not terribly certain what we have done to anger him, but he has made a mess of our streets, cars and electric companies. Our house has had two days of freezing rain, sleet, and bitter temperatures. I helped DH scrape almost half an inch of the stuff off his car last night, and helped him again this morning with more. The bright side? The wind has not been bad, so the cold doesn't bite at your bones.

The trouble this morning was getting into the car, to retrieve the scraper. Mind, the door was iced over. Good thing we had scrapers from another car and a key fob that unlocks the doors, without need of the exterior locking mechanism to be defrosted.

DH was told not to come in just yet.... after we had scraped 80% of the windows clean. So, we finished, and came back inside to warm up. Hot Cocoa is a wonderful invention. He ended up going in around 11, and was home by 2:30. His supervisor was there, working on stuff with a generator, because the office power was out. It has been fun trying to talk to people on our cell phones, because they keep cutting out, and telling us the network is busy. It took three actual phone calls, and several other tries on both ends, for his supervisor to ask him to come to work. My phone cut off my mom, in the middle of the conversation. So mean. That is what we get for relying so much on electricity.

Jelly Bean got to sit on Santa's lap while she was with Grandma and Grandpa over last weekend. (Her phrasing of his name inspired the title of this post, BTW) She told him she wanted a bow. He asked if it was a bow for her hair? She said, "No. A big red bow on top of my present!" The whole family is planning to put red bows on her presents. I am actually trying to make a pillow in the shape of a bow, so she can have a memento of this year for future reference. I am glad that she does not yet know how to read, and that she doesn't yet read my blog. :-) I won't be able to tell you all her presents in a few years. She will be sneaky and try to find out, and I shall have to be sneakier and not say. I just hope that the actual present doesn't look horrible. My sewing talents are limited, and my patience even more so.

We have visitors upstairs. Definitely mice, probably birds, and I wonder if maybe a squirrel (?), live in our ceiling. I don't really have any access to the area, since the only entrance is a hole in the ceiling of the garage, and we don't have a ladder. Today, they have been making all sorts of noise in or on the roof, and the poor cats are distraught at the fact that prey plays out of their reach. I have seriously been contemplating buying a ladder and some poison in a box, and planting it up there. Noisy critters. More reason to bug the landlord about fixing the roof. I think there are holes up there, and he could stand to get it inspected, at the very least.

It has been getting dark since I started writing this entry. It got very cold just in the past five minutes. Brr! Santa needs to bring me a blanket this year! I am in a sweater and shivering. I hesitate to turn up the heater, because of the skyrocketing price of natural gas. However, that is why we have the service, so I should probably use it. I am a miser, I suppose. Bah!

We have several parties this year, all expecting a present valued from $10 to $20 each. Is it just me, or is the "Dirty Santa" the new

I don't know where my brain was headed here. I don't remember what I was going to compare the "Dirty Santa" gift exchange to. I am sorry for this, because I was interested too.

I have been having a tough time coming up with a Christmas wish list for my mother-in-law. I do not need anything. There is not much I want. I can buy anything I feel I have a desire for, and I don't have that many desires right now. I think relying on others has put my wishes on hold. It hasn't yet "felt like Christmas" to me. I have done no decorating, and I don't intend to now. It is too late. It will only have to come down in the next two weeks anyway.

On my chat group, we decided I should ask her to contribute to the cost of replacing my engine, or that I should ask that she contribute to Niki's Sevens ministry. Being in the cold on the road prompted me to buy more blankets for Sevens than I was planning originally. I am thinking that might be the best option. Help others, don't spoil me. MIL says that Christmas is for "wants" and I think many of those are frivolous. I can ask for Wii games, but there are people freezing to death, and I know how to help them.

I have seen the goodness of God through my good friends, I have lacked for nothing (except for electricity) in the past week, and many months previous. I could use a new laundry detergent, a new digital camera with video, a package of thank you cards.... but I really can't think of anything that I don't already have. I can't ask for the jeans I would like, because I have to try them on. I don't like getting clothes, because clothes are so very varied in what fits my body. Money for clothes, maybe?

I think the couple gift of date is the best idea. That way, I don't have to think. She has given us this one in the past. An envelope for each part: a gift card for dinner, cash for a movie of our choice, and a little cash toward gas to drive there for an evening. One year, we bought a DVD we were waiting for, but still spent the money on "a movie".

I have tried this year to improve my spiritual life, our financial responsibility, and my housekeeping patterns. I have no intention of being selfish with this request. Celebrating with family is going to be enough. More than I deserve. I could not ask for more.

Maybe I can get Sara Evans' album with that song on it.

Humbug!

Ice, Ice, Baby

Ice storm, Ice refreezing, Baby came.

Our friend had her son on Wednesday, by C. His name (the one they have not quibbled over) is Alexander. He was 9 pounds even, and 21 3/4 inches tall. For Teh Club, email me if you don't know which friend I speak of.

I am on borrowed time with computers. Our home has been without power since Monday at 6:00 pm. Be not expecting a post anytime soon. I don't know when we will have power again. I have hot water, but nothing else in the way of creature comforts.

Pray for me, that I don't kill the OG&E dudes who are "working" to get our power back. Pray that we don't run out the welcome at our gracious friends' house. Pray that I don't lose my mind in the suitcases.

Just pray. After all the car trouble, this is just one more test. I don't remember praying for patience....

Air Conditioning Is A Necessity in Oklahoma

I have never come so close to purchasing a new car before. We were casually looking at new cars. We test drove an 2008 Honda Fit, we got windblown looking at Jeeps and Dodges, Saturns and even a few Fords. Our last stop was at the Hyundai dealership. We drove an 2007 Elantra, and it was nice. It was white, four doors, and still had the new car smell with only 7 thousand miles on it. We were actually in the finance office. We had gotten to the point of discussing how to make the down payment. I had the checkbook out of the purse. But I couldn't do it. Basic Math and my gut stopped me.

Do you suppose that a Finance Manager would understand if I told him I had a psychic flash not to buy the car? God spoke to me, told me not to go into debt? Have you ever had to have the breakup conversation with a Finance guy? It's not you, it's me. Really. Yeah, that's it. It's ME.

I feel bad (but not so very bad after all) about letting the sales guy think this thing was in the bag. He was nice enough. I don't fault him. I feel sad that he got his hopes up. It is his living wage (hear me laugh, I know what sort of commission car sales guys barely make) to make car sales, and we, while not intending to hurt anyone, really did not plan to buy when we walked in. Don't get me wrong, here. I want nothing more than to trade off the Buick Century. It gets on my nerves. But, it is mine. We own it outright, no payments, no debt. It may drive me nutty, but it is a comfortable sort of nutty.

I still have no idea what is to be done with the Chevy Malibu. It sits in Dad's yard, still on the trailer. I suppose that since it died on the road, it is probably toast. I have no plan yet on how to pay for any repairs. If it needs a replacement engine, I wonder if I can feel confident in its future performance? I am torn. I don't want to make payments, and I loved the Malibu. I desire a new car, yet I enjoy having my money.

I still don't know if it was that the car was not THE car, or if I sensed that I would have to pay so much to fix Dad's van. Saturday, we had to replace the starter in the Dodge. Which was a small price to pay, compared to towing my car for four hours. I don't really have an explanation, and I don't really want to dwell on the "loss" of the possibility of the car. I just know it was my reading and education from Dave Ramsey that kept ringing in my head. "Sleep on it." If the deal is right, it will still be there Monday. As good as the deal was, it was not right for us.

I sit here thinking that I can have been driving the prettiest new car. And if I had been doing that, I would be broke. Not really in so many dollars, but the feeling of poverty would have depressed me. More than the anticipation of paying for the fixing of "my baby" has already done.

We got to see Niece Jelly Bean today. She spent yesterday and today with Grandma and Grandpa. They were in Enid this morning, and came to see us after she had a nap. She sat in the car for the hour and a half that it took to come here, and she was reasonably quiet during the evening church service. She was so tired of being still and quiet. It was fun to let her run and jump. She is so smart! She knows the whole Alphabet song, the difference between "big" and "little", and she loves meeting new people. She had a little trouble pronouncing the J in Elijah, but she got Lynnea right on the first try. She even recognized "my friend!" after the service. (after distracting L's family all through the lesson; don't argue with me, I know she did) She was very good at supper, and didn't even cry too much when she didn't get to come into our house (a quick stop) before going to see Mommy, Daddy and Gum Drop.

It makes JB giggle to make faces at her. Ask her to "Make your Angry face!" and you will get a little grin and a "grrr" with a mean little arm flex that should scare you. Tonight, she giggled when I asked her to make faces. Then she went back to whining. It also made her giggle to hear me make a fuss. I whimpered and put my head in her lap, which made her laugh. "See? I can cry just as much as you!" I think she was fighting her sleepy with every ounce of energy, and she was losing the battle.

I am worn out just watching her today. She is so full of energy, so happy and so eager to learn new things. She was quite disappointed that we were not going to Bible Class after worship tonight. I don't know how parents do it. How do you keep up with a little ball of light and motion? I love the child dearly, but it makes me tired to watch her for a day. My brother's idea of remaining child-free is looking better all the time. Not my JB, but some kids in this world make me happy to not be a parent. Correction: Some kids in this world make me happy not to be THEIR parent. Mine would have much more education on manners and respect and obeying than the typical kid you see throwing a tantrum in the cereal aisle at the grocery store.

Or would they....?