I live in a marshmallow world. I’m a white girl, surrounded by white people. I don’t go out of my way to avoid minorities, but I also don’t seem to meet any. Thus, my world isn’t nearly as diverse as I would like.

I actually would like to meet people with rich cultures. I’d like to expand my knowledge and world view. I’m not really sure how I go about that.

My neighbors that don’t look like me are reserved to say hello. And some of my neighbors who do look like me, are kind of inconsiderate.

I think my plan of action is to befriend some of the parents of kids in Elijah’s class. It’s a start to changing my view.

I’m way too nosy for my own good. I’m sure there is a more appropriate word for me. As much as I like surprises, I like to know stuff more.

As a child, I would always snoop for my Christmas presents. It got to the point where my parents would hide my gifts at the neighbor’s house. Or the trunk of the car. Or the trunk of the neighbor’s car.

It’s bugging me that my husband, who abhors shopping on Black Friday, rose early to go out and buy my gift.

What did he get me?!

Do I really want the surprise to be spoiled? No. But this excitement is too much to be contained. In an effort to thwart me, he wrapped the gift while I was out doing my own shopping.

Let the speculation begin!

I don’t need any special day to look upon how thankful I am. I have people around me going through hard times, and it’s a daily reminder that I am blessed.

I have a home, filled with healthy children, and a husband who provides for us. I have food in my fridge, clothes on my back, and a car that takes me where I need to go. I have family & friends who let me know they care. I have a Savior who gives me grace, and a church where I feel welcome.

This day, I hope someone reads this and knows I love them. As a sister, or a friend, or even someone I have not yet met. You are special nonetheless.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My favorite thing in the whole world is napping. I don’t know if it’s something I never let go of as a child, or if I rediscovered it in my youth.

I nap almost every day. The wii fit says with my 7-8hrs sleep a night, a nap is putting me at too much sleep. I disagree. I feel refreshed after a nap. Like I can take on the rest of my day, watching over Wingus & Dingus. Two wild boys=exhausted, stressed out Mommy.

My favorite spot to nap is in my bed, in a sunbeam, if one can be found. I sleep under the covers, even in the summertime. The comfort and weigh of the blankets helps me to drift off.

Just thinking about it now, makes me a little sleepy. zzzz

In Fall of 1999, we celebrated our first American Thanksgiving. We were without a car, in California, in a town that you badly needed a car to go ANYWHERE. A friend of Geoff’s was heading back home to NY for the holiday and offered us the use of his car. Sweet! The world would be our oyster! We figured, hey with a car we could go anywhere for Thanksgiving dinner.

Oh how ignorant we were!

Nothing was open. Nothing. We drove around and it was like the town was deserted. Really? Not even KFC?

Disappointed, we drove home and ate from the food in our cupboards. Which was probably spam and beans, or something else depressing.

I’d like to contrast that sad image with the feast we’ll be having this year: turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing (or dressing, if you will), pecan pie, pumpkin pie, cornbread, rolls, cranberry sauce and my favorite: gravy.

If you have no place to go for Thanksgiving, you are welcome here.

We live in SE Aurora, and our nearest shopping area, Southlands, touts themselves as being a place of community. They even have a Main Street. Whether they think they truly accomplish this community feel, I’m not sure. They certainly have some work to do to achieve that.

Last night we went down there to check out their Christmas tree lighting and parade. They had a decent crowd, and the entertainment was alright. The emcee announced the parade would start in a few minutes, so we scoped out a place to check it out. After a few minutes, we opted to move closer to the start of the parade, and closer to where we parked. Though the parade had allegedly started, we were able to make it right to the beginning of the route, and there was no movement. We stood there for at least 10 minutes before the parade started.

Let me preface that I’m using the word parade loosely. By definition: a series of people or things appearing or being displayed one after. Okay, you had that. But with less than 10 groups in this parade, you would think it could

A: start on time!
and
B: not have such big gaps between the acts.

It was pretty chilly out there, and even though the kids were bundled, they still complained of being cold. Not nearly as much as Mom & Dad complained, but still.

We did not stick around for the tree lighting. With the way they were running their schedule, we figured we were in for more waiting. Next year, if it starts at 6pm, we’ll go at 6:30. It will (hopefully) eliminate the waiting around for things to start.

Eep! I just realized I didn’t blog today, and there are only 4 more hours left. I’m cold and my body aches, so I’m gonna cop out and just give you 3 facts about me.

1. I have never broken a bone. I’ve never been a big milk drinker, so I figure I must be a prime candidate for osteoporosis. But maybe I secretly have strong bones and I’ll dodge that bullet.

2. I always wanted a sister. As a young girl, I had a big doll that I would pretend was my little sister. I would even dress her in some of my clothes. I couldn’t tell you what her name was though. I’m a bad sister.

3. Someday I would like to be in a movie. I’ve been on television (local news), newspapers, and radio (hosted my own show)-but film has eluded me. Since moving away from California, I think my chances have slimmed.

I often look back on the early years of my marriage and wonder-how did we do all that? Where did I have the energy to work multiple jobs, spend time with my husband (going to school) and have the money to go out with our friends to dinner, movies and sporting events?

It almost seems like a different life to me. I had two jobs, I worked at a restaurant, and nights I would work at the sporting arena. We lived in a tiny bachelor suite, the only room that had a door was the bathroom. I worked, and Geoff went to university. Geoff worked summers at the university to pay for his schooling. We saw our families on the weekend, or during the week if my dad was taking us to the grocery store. We had no car, we either walked, took a bus/train or we bummed a ride from our friends.

Now we have a mortgage to pay for, kids to put into school, bills to pay. We hardly ever go out to dinner, movies or sporting events. We have few friends here that we actually hang out with.

I miss that old life. I am not so delusional to think that if we lived back home it would be different. We still would have bills to pay, but maybe we’d have those close friendships again. We’re all married with kids now, though some in our circle of friends are not our friends anymore. People change, they grow apart.

But those days…I look back and think those were the days when we was fab.