Hospice Austin

I have a very special place in my heart for Hospice Austin because of the help they gave our family when my dad was dying of lung cancer. This story epitomizes what the orgnanization is all about and made me want to find this woman and just hug her. God bless her.

Shoplifting Christmas Dog

This is greatness!

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

The joys of Christmas

Christmas in my family has changed so much in the last few years. After my parents got divorced years ago, we always spent Christmas Eve night at my grandparents’ house, Christmas morning/lunch with mom and then Christmas night at my dad’s house. It was exhausting, but we were lucky to have so many Christmases to enjoy.

Last Christmas was a blur – dad passed away in April last year, so nothing was the same. I don’t even really remember what we did, except that we all exchanged stockings at the grave. Stockings were dad’s favorite part of Christmas and even though we’re all adults now, we’ve continued the tradition.

This year, we did things a little differently, but it’s been lovely and I feel so blessed to have my family. We started off with Christmas #1 at my step mom’s house last Sunday – she out did herself and made brisket, ham, mashed potatoes, pea salad, and what seemed like millions of other yummy foods! We stuffed ourselves and exchanged gifts with her, it was really nice.

Christmas #2 was yesterday with the extended family, including some cousins, aunt and uncle, grandparents, etc. We again stuffed ourselves with traditional foods and watched my uncle eat just about all of grandma’s fruit salad “in the yellow bowl.” We played a Christmas Trivia game and won prizes (thanks, Aunt Becky) and then played a gift exchange game where we passed gifts around according to what our answers were to a list of questions. It was fun and we learned some things about each other. I ended up with a $20 gift card to China Wall…woo hoo! Then we went to church and ate dinner at Kerbey Lane. Somewhere in there I managed to finish wrapping all my presents.

This morning, I slept in and woke up alone…and it was awesome! Some might think that’s odd, but I have been so busy lately that this was the greatest Christmas gift of all, time to myself! If I had time to think about it, I might be sad, but how can I be? We still have Christmas #3 at mom’s house this afternoon. Plus, my sister and I leave for a week in San Francisco tomorrow! Have I packed? Nope. But who cares? It’s Christmas, I slept late, and now I’m drinking coffee and listening to Christmas music. It’s awesome.

My mom and sister let their doggies, Cali and Hero, open their stockings this morning and I thought these pics say it all. Even dogs can show the joy of Christmas!

That's my baby

So every year I get the cutest Holiday photo cards from my friends with kids. I truly believe that aside from my own nephew, my friends have the most adorable kiddos in the world. I thoroughly enjoy getting the cards, but every year I get a little jealous because I don't have little ones to show off. Well today, my 14 year old cat named Bridget reminded me that she truly is my baby. As independent as she is, there are times when she still needs my help. A few minutes ago, she somehow managed to get her head stuck in the handle of a plastic bag, so she ran into the room where I was, dragging the bag along with her. She looked up at me with her big, beautiful blue eyes and meowed the most pitiful cry. So what do I, the loving mother, do? I laugh and immediately pick up the camera! Poor baby. But don't worry, I quickly removed the bag from around her neck and gave her lots of loving. Poor baby. :)

Beef. It’s what’s for dinner – or what’s on his wrist.

I thought for sure this was a joke, but apparently it’s for real. Burger King has just introduced a beef-scented cologne for men. Yes, BEEF-SCENTED. This is just so wrong. I instantly thought about the Seinfeld episode where Jerry stuffed mutton in Grandma Mena’s napkins and Elaine ends up getting chased by dogs because of the mutton. Oh yeah, this new cologne is a great idea. ;)

Austin’s Just a Little Less Weird Tonight

Today one of Austin’s most colorful characters, Jennifer Gale, has died. She was transgendered and made a career out of running for public office. Jennifer had recently started her bid to run for Mayor of Austin. She loved to sing and loved to talk about topics of interest to Austinites. It’s been reported that Gale died of cardiac arrest. Ironically, she spoke (and sang) at a Health & Human Services subcommittee meeting just last night and mentioned her concerns about the health and well being of Austin residents. So her “healthcare initiative” may have been a little far-fetched, but at least she was passionate and used her voice to get her points across. RIP, Jennifer Gale.

Oh Christmas Tree!

Finally! My tree is up! I desperately need a tree skirt that matches my totally cute black, silver & pink theme, but this'll work for now. Took some creative pics while moving the camera...just thought they looked cool. Maybe it's because I need sleep. :)

Fa la la la

Fa la la la, my butt. I love Christmas, but I really, really hate decorating the tree. Seriously, what is so great about Christmas trees anyway? First, you have to drag everything out of the storage closet/attic, then you spend what seems like hours of unpacking all the limbs, fluffing them and trying to decipher what color their ends are painted. Inevitably, I get a couple wrong and end up with a really short limb on the same row as longer limbs. Ugh. Let's not even talk about the lights, ok? I got my tree up last weekend, but put off decorating until tonight. I couldn't even finish. HALF of a strand of lights went out AFTER I got them all up, so I had to replace them with a new strand I bought on sale last year. Let me just say whoever the yahoo was who decided to put mini white lights on white cords instead of green cords is an idiot. Scratch that - I'm the idiot for being too cheap to just donate the old tree and get a pre-lit one! ARGH! I may just scrap the tree altogether! Lights are up, but they're coming back down once I get enough energy. The white cords show up too much, especially when the lights on the bottom have green cords. If this tree ever gets done, it will be a Christmas miracle.

sleet man

We got a little bit of sleet and snow here in Central Texas tonight! One guy in Austin made this adorable little sleet man. :)

Chuck Norris Does Pflugerville!

Chuck Norris visited my alma mater, Pflugerville High School, last night! But apparently he got lost on the way.

Color of the Year

Who knew there was such a thing as a “Pantone color of the year?” Especially one that “Embodies Hopefulness and Reassurance in a Climate of Change!” This year’s color is called Mimosa – I say give me 3 or 4 Mimosas and my hope and assurance in all things will be restored! ;)

http://tinyurl.com/5kb6ol

Polar Bears Have Outies!

According to an article in Slate, polar bears have “outie” bellybuttons and their gender is hard to determine. I don’t care if they are boys are girls, they are darn cute! Plus, it gives me a chance to point back to an earlier blog I wrote about Polar Bears Against Palin. :)