Christmas

Even Santa Poops

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I am not a fan of walking into a mall before Thanksgiving and seeing Christmas decorations or hearing Christmas music on the radio. You know the drill. One holiday at a time. I know each year they start earlier and earlier and this year, because Thanksgiving falls so late, it means there is a short three-week window between Thanksgiving and Christmas. So I am the LAST person to talk about Christmas before Thanksgiving. However…

…yes, I am breaking my own hardcore rules. I could not resist sharing some laughter and Christmas hilarity before Thanksgiving. About a year ago I wrote a blog on “Poo-pourri.” Well, I have a Christmas update for you. Father Christmas, Santa, whatever you call him. You grow up leaving him a plate of cookies and milk or egg nog. Over the years you start to wonder how does he get into my house if we have no chimney? How does he carry all those toys on his back on a sleigh and still be able to fly all over the world — that would be too many toys. Did you ever ask yourself if he ever made a pit stop that night? After all those milk and cookies did you ever think that he might have had to take a poo?

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There are clever lines galore inside this three-minute masterpiece, not to mention all the sound effects and extremely clever lines like: “The ghost of Christmas ass; Gingerbread Manslaughter; I have been holding this since Dubai; So you can keep sneaking without reeking; Your dingleberries will smell like jingleberries.” I am still laughing…

The real reason summer is over

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Summer is over. You might think I am crazy, that the weather is still warm out, but I will give you a few reasons why I am bummed that another summer is over. Sure, I could tell you that schools are back in session which means the time of my commute has just increased by another 10-15 minutes, which means I have to get out of bed earlier. I could also tell you that my company has summer half day Fridays, which the last one occurs for the summer on the Friday before Labor Day. I could tell you that the sun in my backyard is getting rarer and rarer each day. I could tell you that sunsets are getting earlier and earlier and the days are darker and shorter.

All of these things make me crave for life to slow down so I can enjoy things a bit more. Or maybe, I just need to slow down. The real reason I know summer is definitely over has nothing to do with the sun, schools, or light and everything to do with a Pumpkin Spice Latte. I am addicted. Every Spring I get excited for Summer and my avid excitement for iced coffee and every Fall I get giddy over a few months of joy and the ever sweet and addicting Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. I usually do not like to drink Starbucks. I am one who drinks my coffee black, and prefers to truly savor the flavor and, because of that, I think Starbucks coffee is disgusting. Except for the Pumpkin Spice Latte. You cannot taste the coffee anyways, so what does it matter? I am all about all things pumpkin. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, basically I want anything spiced, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin for the next few months.

September 2 is the launch of the Pumpkin Spice Latte for Starbucks. It seems that each year they launch it earlier and earlier, but I am not complaining. I drink them all throughout fall, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, until a random day in early January when we walk into a Starbucks and order a Pumpkin Spice Latte, and they say they are out. I am then a hopeless wanderer for five months until the days begin to get warm and my iced coffee glee starts all over again.

Go get a Pumpkin Spice Latte today for me.

Stories, reading, and my mom.

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I never remember my mom reading books, and yet I think she would if she had the time. Often she worked all day, had a second job, helped us with our homework, made our meals, cleaned the house. As many moms out there know, it is a thankless job, and yet I never remember my mom complaining. She stayed up all hours of the night for months to make our Christmas presents so that we would have something to unwrap under the tree. I did not know that at the time, and yet thinking back on the gifts she made for us I know the countless hours it took for her to pull it all off. If she was purchasing the gift she would put it on layaway months and months in advance and diligently go and pay a little more each week until it was finally paid off. This was before she had a credit card so it was the only way she was ever able to get gifts under the tree.

She was the epitome of stretching things to make ends meet. While I never saw her reading books, I always saw her studying the Bible, our church books, and praying. She read those periodicals voraciously. She was adamant that we all read well and, while I do not remember when I started to read, I rarely got in trouble for staying up to read with the flashlight. She must have known that one day I would figure out that I could either get sleep and feel rested or not and pay for it the next day.

While I do not remember my mom pushing me to read, I think she gently encouraged reading and knew I escaped into a book often as a kid. My home life was not the greatest place, and somehow I would jump into the plot of a book, and I could transport myself into a whole different realm. We were her guinea pigs while she was getting her Masters degree in Education. We would read excerpts and have to answer questions and I absolutely HATED the reading comprehension tests she made us take for her classwork. I hated it just as much on the SATs. I like reading, but I hated regurgitating it later with a list of questions.

As I think about storytelling, reading, and the passion I have for stories, I have a smile on my face. My brother-in-law makes up stories for my 2 month old niece and I know that she will have the adventure of story in her life. While I will not make her take practice reading comprehension tests, I know she will carry on the tradition of voraciously reading, like her mom and my mom. Stories let us live an entirely different life, if even for just a few moments.

My mom was a badass. I only wish she knew it. Maybe she did, I will never know.

Cutting thorns off roses

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I cannot remember if I was in high school or college, but over my Christmas break (which was usually a few weeks to a month) I would go home to Indiana and work in a flower shop. Now I was not a talented designer or florist, I rung up orders, cleaned the thorns off roses, unpacked flowers, made bows for poinsettias, and dusted the plants (yes plants needed dusting and spraying so they would be ready for funerals). Since I worked around Christmas time, there were quite a few individuals and families that ordered wreaths and flowers for their loved ones at cemeteries. It was an interesting time. Flowers for weddings, funerals, holiday parties, Christmas wreaths, poinsettias for offices and homes, flowers for significant others. It was fun to watch all ways that flowers were shared.

I only worked there a few Decembers, but I enjoyed my time. The couple that owned the business were interesting. The other florists had stories of their own, but I loved how the wife/florist would be able to ask questions to those purchasing flowers to somehow get them to talk. She was a quiet woman but somehow in asking what they wanted she would get a story. I would answer the phone, often FTD orders, and hear a story for why the individual was sending flowers across the country or the world. I always encouraged a card for someone to share their story, their thoughts, and feelings. What an interesting business to be in!

Today I love having fresh-cut flowers in my home. There is something luxurious about fresh-cut flowers, and while I have to be careful of which flowers I have in the house (due to Chris’ allergies) I find that many of the ones I love work out well with his nose. Fresh cut hydrangeas, calla lilies, or tulips are on the top of my list. Last week I found that all my outdoor spring flowers were coming up. A few crocuses have even bloomed. I know it is only early March, but it is so exciting to know that Spring is on its way with green stems pushing out above the soil. My large hydrangea bush has large green buds at the tips of the branches.

It is the little things right? The things we get to look forward to each day. I love remembering all those individuals I connected with over a decade ago as they selected their flowers by look, smell, or meaning. A flower can bring a smile to the face.

What is inside the Bawx?

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I am a bit of a minimalist. That does not mean I do not get giddy when I find a unique item that I hope only a few others have, or maybe is even one-of-a kind. I would rather wait for that very special thing, rather than finding a zillion other items that I only partially like and that fill my closet only to be worn once, or not at all. No, I am one to cherish and wear out something I love. Chris often asks me why I get on a trend of an outfit, bag, or a pair of earrings. It is not that I am a creature of habit as much as a creature of comfort. I like something and then I latch onto it, and wear it in nicely.

So when I heard about Bawx, I thought maybe it was just the right thing to share the day after Christmas. Many of you may have gift cards or cash burning in your pockets, ready to hammer it out with other more than crazy people returning their Christmas gifts for a different size or color. I encourage you to wait a bit and think more about your purchase. Do you really need that thing? Or the other one? Or that one? Instead you can buy a cardboard box. Yes, that is what I said. You can buy a cardboard box.

Bawx is for all the possibilities. It originated when two guys started looking at how children play. The result is a company that raises conscious thinking and supports children’s charities. The idea behind it is that often children like to play with the box more than what is inside. I wholeheartedly agree, except maybe if there was an iPhone or iPad in that box. They tend to be kid magnets regardless of the age.

In any case, I hope that Bawx makes you think before you make a mad dash out to Best Buy today. Do you really need it? Will it eventually just collect dust on your shelf? Maybe instead you will buy a Bawx. Prices range from $24.99 to $499. I am intrigued, are you?