Holly’s Happenings

Apparently when I was a kid I was as obsessed with music as I am now. Why do I say this? Well, let me put it to you this way. It’s been 25 years since I graduated from high school which means it’s been about 35 years since I was in 2nd grade. The reason I’m bringing this up is because this time of year ALWAYS brings back a song from a Halloween program that we did in the 2nd grade. After a quick websearch, I’ve found out it’s actually a poem, but my music teacher back then put it to music. But here’s the poem

Trick or Treat

Witches, ghosts, and goblins.
Stealing down the street,
Knock on every door way,
Trick or treat!

When your door is opened,
This is what you meet,
Scary creatures shouting,
Trick or treat!

I remember all of us kids up there on the stage in our masks made from construction paper singing this song, the melody of it is still in my head almost like it was just yesterday that I sang the song…LOL! Remember how it used to be cool to cut a couple of holes in a white sheet for your eyes and go trick or treating as a ghost? And my all time FAVORITE costume, the one I wore most often as a kid, was when I’d borrow a pair of pants and flannel shirt from my grandfather. Then my mom or grandmother would cut holes and sew patches on them in various places. We’d take a handkerchief and fill it full of paper then tie the ends of it around a stick. I’d put the altered clothes on and tie a piece of twine through the belt loops so use like a belt, mom would take black shoe polish and rub it lightly into my face and I’d proclaim I was the BEST hobo ever! LOL

Last night I had to stop at the store on my way home from my orientation to pick up break and milk. It never ceases to amaze me how intricately designed Halloween costumes are these days! They had every type of Halloween costume you could imagine for sale in the store! Long gone are the days of simplicity, replaced with what seems almost like a competition judged by cost rather than the imagination! Yes, I do realize that some kids and parents still do use their imagination and make their own costumes, but judging by the amount of empty space on the costume racks when we’re still four weeks away from Halloween, I’d have to say the people that do are getting fewer and farther between those that don’t!

Yes, I do realize that it’s basically two months away, but I’m a planner, I don’t like doing things last minute! Ask anyone that knows me well, if you call me last minute to do something, I’ll usually say no…LOL!

I know that this year’s Thanksgiving dinner will just be me, the hubby and the kids. It’s been that way for most of the last 15 or so years, and we actually enjoy it that way. Some years we do make the traditional dinner with turkey and all the trimmings. But considering that I really don’t care for turkey, nor does my son, unless I can find a really small turkey, it’s usually a waste of a good bird. So many years we actually opt for a non traditional dinner. We’ve made things like tacos and subs for Thanksgiving dinner…LOL!

This year, however, I’m going to make a traditional dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and all of the rest of the trimmings. Normally I make a small dish of sweet potatoes for my hubby (he’s the only one that eats them). But when I was talking to him about Thanksgiving dinner the other day he asked me if I could try to find a good recipe for sweet potato casserole this year instead. It was one of his favorite dishes as a kid, and he hasn’t had it in many, many years. Lucky for him, I don’t mind baking new dishes, so I won’t mind making it at all! But he’d better darned sure eat them and like them…LOL!

I think the thing that I look forward to the most on Thanksgiving is what comes after we eat. NO, I’m not talking about nap time…LOL! I’m not even talking about football. After the nap and the game, we load up the kids and go to the movies! We try to find a movie we’ve all been wanting to see. When the kids were small it was pretty easy, we’d just see the latest cartoon type movie. Now that the kids are teens, finding a movie we all agree on might just be a little more difficult!

To those who know me, it’s no secret that I don’t have a super close relationship with my family. We get along well and I enjoy spending time with them, but I just don’t spend much time with them in general. Mostly because most family “gatherings” result in my just feeling more and more out of place with them.

Anyway, I’ve been waiting on my son all week to tell me what he and his friends were going to do for the 4th of July. They had been talking on and off for a couple of weeks about all of them getting together and hanging out or doing something. I was totally cool with this, I think it’s great that he’s finally got a group of friends that he wants to hang out with! But after asking him almost daily for over a week to finalize their plans, he woke up yesterday telling me that they still didn’t know what they were going to do, so I made the executive decision that he wouldn’t be going out with his friends and that we would be going up to my brothers house instead.

Initially he was NOT happy about this, to the point that we had a very loud verbal argument. But I sat him and his sister down and told them that I was tired of all the yelling and arguing that has been going on and they had one of two choices. They could either live under my roof and go by my rules or they could put their shoes and socks on and leave, that I was NOT going to do this or go through this any more! Fortunately, they chose to stay…LOL!

I made some of my chocolate pudding pies and we left about 5 last night to head up to my brothers. The food was AWESOME, and my nephew even made some home made turtle soup. He convinced me to take a bite of it, MINUS the meat, and I have to admit that it really wasn’t “that” bad.

I also got to spend a good part of the evening holding my 6 week old great nephew. Talk about a PERFECT baby! This little guy was just amazing, even with all the commotion that was going on around him! The whole evening was one of the best times I’ve had in a VERY long time! And my mom was so excited because for the first time in a VERY long time all 7 of her grandchildren as well as her 2 great grandchildren were together, so several group pictures were taken!

The night ended with my nephews putting on a VERY amazing but VERY not so legal fireworks show! Both of the kids talked all the way home about what an awesome time they had and my son even commented on the fact that he knew he had a better time than he would have had with his friends, but a different kind of better. It was just an absolutely amazing day and I’m so glad that we went up there and spent the time with them!

I’ve gotten so used to spending weekends here at home that this past weekend kind of knocked me off “kilter” LOL. We honestly do lead a very simple, almost boring life. We love being at home and we’re not the type to be out on the go, especially on the weekends. My husband works long and hard hours during the week and looks forward to getting in some much needed relaxation over the weekends.

Saturday was spent helping his sister unload a moving truck. Nearly four years ago she moved away from the area, against EVERYONES advice, and moved into the home of her ex husband. You know, there is a reason why someone has an EX spouse, but I guess as years go by, they can tend to forget that. So when we got the call that she was doing a “fly by night” move when her ex was out of town for a few days, we knew that she had finally realized why he was her EX! So we got the truck unloaded and got the important things put back together, like her bed, the entertainment center and TV and her cats…LOL! My hubby then took her to the store so that she could pick up some necessities that would tide her over until the next day.

We were “up and at ‘em” yesterday morning and out of the house by 9:30 heading up to my sister in laws, with coffee and a few other necessities in hand. We then spent the rest of the day getting everything unpacked and organized, making sure that she could reach the most important things from her wheel chair and that other items that she might need could be reached easily with her grabber things…LOL!

We finally headed home around dinner time, to get a few things taken care of here before heading to bed a little after 9. I felt bad that my husband had spent the bulk of his Fathers Day working hard, but I knew that as much as he would have loved a nice set of Callaway golf clubs and a day of R&R for Fathers Day, he was just thankful to have his sister close by again.

We’re almost two weeks away from Mothers Day, which is May 11th, and I thought I’d make a list of gift ideas and then ask you all to give me any ideas that you had, if you don’t mind. I know what I’m getting for Mothers Day, because it’s always the same thing and has been for many years! I get my flowers to plant in my flower beds. But if I don’t get busy getting them cleaned out soon, I may end up having to spend Mothers Day cleaning them out rather than planting flowers to make them look pretty…LOL!

Anyway, here are some of the gift ideas that I had for my own mother, tell me what you think:

1. Pictures of the kids, complete with frames
2. A gift card to her favorite store or restaurant
3. Coupons for her local car wash, my mom is a fanatic about keeping her car clean…LOL
4. A 14 karat gold medical id bracelet, some of the newer styles are GORGEOUS!
5. A coupon to take over one day of work for her, my mom has ran her own cleaning business for almost 30 years now, I think she needs a day off!
6. A gift card or prepayment to the salon she goes to when she has her hair and nails done

That’s about all that I can think of right now, but I’m sure I’ll come up with more as Mothers Day gets closer. What kinds of gift ideas do you have?

I just looked at my calendar and realized that Mothers Day is a little more than three weeks away. It wasn’t until I became a mother myself that I honestly realized how special Mothers Day really was! Over the years I’ve given my mother many wonderful gifts and cards to let her know how much she means to me, but this year, I’d like to do something really special for her!

A few years before my father passed away, he had purchased a ring for mom that had birthstones of all three of us kids on it. You could tell from her reaction that it wasn’t the ring that she would have chosen, but she wore that ring religiously for many years.

Mom is a little older now and the years have caused her knuckles to get larger because of arthritis. She doesn’t wear the ring my father gave her anymore because of this. So I was thinking that a new mother’s ring that could fit her finger would make an excellent Mothers Day gift this year, especially one like this:

Whatever I end up doing for my mom this year for Mothers Day, I know that in her eyes it’s more about the thought put behind it than anything else. I have no doubt my mother knows how much I love her and how much she means to me and that I’m proud that I call her mom! And as a mother myself, I can only hope that my children grow up feeling as loved as I did by my mother! Even though I was not her biological child, there has never been a single moment of my life where she has made me think that I was anything but her own daughter!

Mom, if you read this, I LOVE YOU! Thank you for being a wonderful mother!

I’ve finally realized the source of my recent depression. Tomorrow is the HUGE family get together for my mom and step fathers 70th birthdays. My sister made a HUGE issue out of the fact that I couldn’t contribute to a 42 inch TV they were all going in on as a gift and specifically said that she didn’t want me to feel left out or out of place when my mom and step dad open the card and my name isn’t on it. It doesn’t bother me at all, but I know her well enough that she’ll call me out in front of everyone about it saying something like “Don’t feel bad, it’s not a big deal”.

Anyway, I’m praying that the storm that is supposed to hit us starts early enough so that I don’t have to go at all. We’re under a winter storm warning for tomorrow and Sunday and could get anywhere between 4 and 12 inches of snow, depending on what news channel or weather site you’re looking at. Since my little Honda doesn’t do so well in the snow compared to my hubby’s 4-wheel drive truck, and I don’t have a GPS system to guide me in case I went off road, if we get enough snow before it’s time to leave for the party, I can safely not go for weather related reasons! SO cross your fingers for me!

I can tell already that tonight is going to be one of my sleepless nights.  We’ve spent the day going through periods of freezing rain, we currently have about 1/4″ of ice on everything outside.  But we’re very fortunate, we still have power, phone and satellite.    But schools are already delaying for tomorrow morning.  My daughters school is currently on a 2 hour delay, but my son’s school hasn’t delayed “yet”.  I dread what I’ll go through tomorrow morning if it’s not, it will be a huge argument.  It’s not that I blame him, but it’s also not something that we can do anything about and I wish he would understand that.

I spent today decorating the Christmas tree and putting some decorations up.  But the fact of the matter is I’m simply not in a holiday mood.  I dread what the next two weekends bring.  Next weekend is the surprise birthday party for my mom and step father and a gathering of all of us kids.  It’s the type of gathering that I have avoided for the past several years, the type of gathering that I dread.  I don’t like being around my step father or my step siblings, I’m sick of their “I’m better than you” attitudes.  I don’t fit in at these type of get togethers, but I’m going for my mom.

The weekend after that is Christmas with my mom, this year we’re having it at my sisters house.  As much as I like Christmas with mom, my sister is turning it into a three ring circus by inviting every other family member that wants to come.  If ANY of my step siblings show up, it will be the final straw!  They are the main reason I no longer go to Christmas at mom’s house.  I wanted to have Christmas here this year, but my sister made a big fuss about the dogs and the fact that they get so excited and jumpy when people come to the house.  I tried to explain to her that they do eventually calm down, but it didn’t matter, so I agreed to just have it at her house.

But I’m just not in the mood for Christmas this year.  Putting the decorations on the tree just felt BLAH!  I just felt grumpy and depressed all day.  I don’t know why and I don’t know what’s going on to cause this.  I guess it’s just the cold weather blues that I sometimes get this time of the year.

So I’m sitting here tonight, everyone is already in bed, but I can’t sleep.  The dogs keep freaking out, I know it’s because there is some wind going on outside.  But I also had the motion light come on at the slider door here by my desk, and although I didn’t see anything I got freaked out.  So I pulled the curtains tight and pulled the blinds on the windows in case there is someone or something out there….LOL!  Secretly, I’m hoping the kids don’t have school tomorrow, but don’t tell them I said that.

I’ll try to take pictures of my tree tomorrow.  It turned out OK.  Apparently I told my husband to throw out my artificial tree after Christmas last year.  Honestly, I don’t remember saying that, but I also don’t doubt that I said it…LOL!  We have a real tree this year, but most of my lights didn’t work, so I just decided that I was going to make do with what lights I had rather than sending my hubby out on the icy roads to buy more.  I also didn’t have any icicles or garland, so the tree just has lights and ornaments.  To me, it looks very depressing, but my daughter, who did most of the decorating, says it looks awesome, so I told her I thought it looked awesome too.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m very thankful that we have a tree this year, but I was tempted not to put one up at all.  That’s how NOT in the holiday mood I am.

Anyway, enough of this depressing rambling, I’m going to play a game.  Thanks for listening!

Good morning everyone!  Before I got to the point that I didn’t have the time to sit here I wanted to take a moment and wish you all a VERY Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone and happy Thanksgiving Eve!  I hope that your week has gone well and that your Thanksgiving plans are well under way!  Our Thanksgiving plans have changed twice this week…LOL!  Initially we’ve been planning on having Thanksgiving dinner at my sisters house, but a few things happened this week and we had to cancel those plans.  So then we were just going to have our own dinner here at the house.  But then something else happened and we ended up changing our plans to just have dinner here and we’re now going back up to my sisters house tomorrow…LOL!  I know, we can’t make up our minds, can we?

Tonight we ran into town and picked up the things I need to make what I’m taking to my sisters for dinner tomorrow.  I’m making green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and the bread and rolls.  I was initially going to do all of the bread and rolls from scratch, but I found a few things tonight that made me decide to make them partially from scratch.  They’ll still be as good, they just won’t require as much work on my part tomorrow morning!

Tomorrow night I’ll spend the night at my moms house so that mom, me and my sister can drag our butts out and hit the stores as they start opening at 4:00 AM Friday morning.  This has been an annual “tradition” for the  three of us for 27 years now, with me only missing one year.  I even went the year that I was 8.9 months pregnant…LOL!  Fortunately we don’t stand outside in line for hours before the stores open anymore, we simply wait until the doors open and allow the initial rush to get through.  But with mom pushing 70, me in my mid 40’s and my sister pushing 40, none of us are any too thrilled with the thought of standing outside in the freezing cold for hours any longer!  By the time I get home Friday I’ll hit the couch and sleep for a few hours because I’ll be completely exhausted!   But hey, that’s the fun of it, isn’t it?

With the holidays quickly approaching, I’m sure you and I have both started thinking about gifts for friends and family members. Often we are stuck in a situation where we just can’t find a gift that we think is special. Because, honestly, everyone wants to give a gift that turns into a treasured item that the gift receiver treasures for many years to come. And how great would it be if the treasured gift you gave served a double purpose that would also ensure quality care for those who suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease?

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America has an eStore that would allow you to give a very special holiday gift that the receiver is sure to treasure for many years to come. And all proceeds from the items that you purchased from their eStore benefit The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, thus giving your special gift even more meaning.

Finding the cure for Alzheimer’s Disease is very important, but it is just as important to assure that the care for those who have Alzheimer’s is not overlooked. Sometimes, in the bigger picture of a serious disease like Alzheimer’s, more focus is put on finding the cure. But we also need to make sure that we take the time to make sure that those who suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease get not only the proper treatment, but quality treatment as well! Without quality care, those who suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease will not have the chance for the quality of life that should be given. That’s why it is so important to give to foundations like The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. They spend their time making sure that Alzheimer’s patients, as well as their families, are given the highest quality of treatment until a cure for this disease is found!

So why not make sure that the special gifts you are giving to your friends or loved ones also gives to an foundation that shows care and concern for a disease that has dedicated it’s time and resources to improving the quality of life for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s!

I swear my daughter starts her Christmas list the day after Christmas each year. It’s almost comical, but it gets annoying too. Especially when she comes up to me in mid July and says “Mom, I know what I want for Christmas this year”. What she doesn’t know is that I want to make this Christmas one that she won’t forget, and I have the perfect gift in mind. No, it’s not an MP3 player or anything computer related. I’m actually looking at a very pretty pink pearl necklace, that I have no doubt she will love!

As I’m sure you know, today is November 1st. That means that just 4 weeks from today is Thanksgiving! And four weeks after Thanksgiving is Christmas! And do you know what that means? That means that you need to get your Christmas shopping started SOON! Although I haven’t started my shopping, I have started making lists of what gifts I want to get. At the top of things to get for my hubby is a new watch, and I found several awesome Luminox watches that I know he’d love. Now I just have to narrow it down to which specific one I think he’d like best!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it’s THAT day of the year.  The day that all things scary come to life and come out in the night.  So be prepared because the little ghouls will come knocking on YOUR door tonight, and if you don’t have treats to give them, well, you never know what they’ll do!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

As for me and my little ghouls, we’re going trick or treating!!!!!!!!!  And you can BET that the BIG ghoul will get to sort through their stash before they can have it!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Yes, today is the first day of Autumn, I know that. But do you know that 3 months and 2 days from today is Christmas? NO? Well then you’d better get busy because if you put it off until the last minute all of those great christmas gift ideas you’ve had since last Christmas won’t matter. Because if you keep putting your Christmas shopping off, you’ll have to run to the local Quik-E-Mart on Christmas Eve and get something that no one would want as a Christmas gift.

OK ladies, we’re only a few weeks away from Sweetest Day, so it’s time to get busy! It’s time to start dropping those hints so that our guys don’t end up giving us something like a new vacuum cleaner or a lovely blender. We need to start dropping hints so that our guys will come home with chocolates, flowers and jewelry instead! I mean, come on, what would you rather tell your friends, “My guy got me a new mixer for Sweetest Day”, or “My guy got me a beautiful pair of diamond earrings”?

I would like to take a moment to wish each and every one of you a very Happy Memorial Day! I would also like to thank all of the men and women who are or have served our country in the Armed services for their sacrifice in keeping our country safe. And I would especially like to take a moment to thank the friends and families left behind who have lost their loved one(s) in the armed services. They may be gone, but they are never forgotten!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!