Fa La La La BLAH! My Christmas Dreams & Thank You Very Much!

OK, I have my own Christmas dreams. They include simple things, like watching Scrooge with Albert Finney once a year. I love the idea that you can be a total Scrooge and the spirits can fix you in one night. It just is not a total and proper Christmas without the song Thank You Very Much sung by the townspeople through the streets of this re-hashed musical version of the Dicken's classic.

Right now, my husband needs a visit from the three spirits, and Marley, too. I'm trying to get him to watch any version of A Christmas Carol with me. His reply: "We have at least four versions of that stupid movie, I'm going to watch football."

It doesn't take much to crush my Christmas dreams, but I need someone who finds the hope and magic that comes with the ghosts. I need to believe no matter what hair brained things I've done throughout the long year of 2011, that even I can be transformed into a new and better version of myself.

And if I'm looking for improvement, why can't everyone? Why can't we all thank the spirits and get on with it? Why can't we all buy into a little magic now and then? It's free, or maybe just a small fee on Netflix.

Thank you very much! Get rid of the Fa La La Blahs, grab some hot cocoa and watch A Christmas Carol.

I Love You, Lady With The Purple Paisley Suitcases

Yesterday, I was out shopping in a desperate way for one more table to match my patio set. This is sometimes what happens when you buy your patio furniture from Ross. I love the store, but you know if you are a Ross/Marshalls/TJMaxx shopper, you better buy it when you see it or forget about it.

A couple of months ago I bought four chairs and a little table. Last week, when actually trying the set out for the first time, I realized that I needed one more little table. Of course, when you are sipping wine and having snacks, you need room for it all. This meant the county wide search of all of the Ross stores was on.

On my third and last stop, I spied the matching table. Success! While waiting in line to swipe my visa, a very blond lady in front of me was purchasing two suitcases that were big enough to fit all three of my kids and our dog in.

Not only were these the biggest suitcases I've seen this side of a steamer trunk, they were the brightest paisley print of purple and hot pink that you can imagine. The woman was kind and friendly. You could tell she was just a little ray of sunshine that shared her warmth with everyone around her.

We are lucky people in this world to have these pockets of human kindness. There are so many scrooges out there that this Earth Angel gave enough light to blind one of them at least.

Pre Holiday Doldrums or My Life Is A Beer Commercial

I am sitting here, contemplating my holiday strategy. It's almost a little depressing to have this mountain of holiday happiness in front of me. The decorations blare at me in vivid reds and greens at every shop and all I can think is STOP!

There is so much merriment to be had--but I've had so much merriment lately, that I think another party season is going to kill me. There's the planning, the prepping, the shopping, the pre cleaning, the post cleaning, the cooking, the driving, the checking the list twicing, the gingerbread house icing....whew!

Oh, and according to my magazines, I'm supposed to look fabulous while doing all of this. A new holiday wardrobe, haircut and makeup is on the horizon? If I keep reading same said magazines, there is also a diet and a way to go to parties and only eat celery so that you still fit in you old clothes in January. This is a lot of work.

My husband and I were sitting on the padded bench at California Pizza Kitchen on a Sunday night, waiting for a table. The world was moving around us at top speed and there was that din you can only hear at 7 PM at night in CPK. It was a mixture of kids that were up much too late past their bedtime, hungry kids who needed to be fed fast, and parents trying to control the circus.

Our kids were racing around outside. We were comatose. It had been a full weekend of excellent social fun. If Ebeneezer Scrooge was looking into windows on Friday and Saturday night, he would have thought we were the Fezziwigs. It was all laughter, smiles, fun, great food, dancing and delicious drinks. Sunday, though, Sunday is always Sunday.

I turned to my husband and said, "I feel like I live in a beer commercial sometimes." He found this comment quite interesting. If Ebeneezer looked into the window of CPK, he would had seen a perfect mock up for Degas's L'Absinthe.

And that is where I am this Tuesday morning.