My Resolutions

New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.

Mark Twain

I dont make them. Happy New Year Everyone!

A very good girl.

One of my oldest and closet friends had to make a horrible loving choice this morning. She called me this afternoon crying her heart out. She had her old girl Lodi for almost 14 years. Lodi had been fighting bladder cancer, a skin disease and a terrible weakness in her back legs. She slipped on the ice this morning and just couldnt get back up. Her mom picked her and rushed her to the vet and decided to take away Lodi's pain.

Lodi was a huge mutt with the most loving attitude I have ever seen. I met her when she was just a pup. She swiped my candy bar and my Dr.Pepper and we were best buddies ever since. When I would go to Tulsa and stay all night, Lodi would cry at the guest room door to come and sleep with me. She would get all her toys and put them in the bed and she and I would snuggle.

I know Dee Dee's heart is hurting. I am hurting for her. Godspeed on your journey to the bridge Lodi. Stewart and Oscar kitty are waiting to embrace you.

Monday

GET BACK TO WORK HOOMIN!

Worst Blizzard in Oklahoma History.

That's what they say anyway. I doubt it. They don't have records from like oh say 1747. LOl. My little pine is struggling to keep its head up. Thursday was the worst day I have ever seen in OK myself. I didn't work Thursday, I wouldn't have made it. Cars were abandoned along the highway, a 50 car pile up in Midwest City. I had to go in last night. The drive usually takes me 30 minutes but last night it was about an hour and a half. I am not crazy. I went slow slow slow along the emergency snow route rather than the interstate. I don't want to be up on the highway with the big trucks. Sheesh what a mess. I counted 25 cars along the way. Just sitting in the middle of the road where people walked away. For those of you who don't know what I do, I work in a lab. I am a Histotech. I cut human tissue. (no animals, ever) If that sounds interesting, trust me after 16 years, its not. When the weather is bad it is the only time I don't care for my job or living out of the city.

The trio got a new blanket and a blue tent for Christmas. Tango loves her an afghan. I find these gorgeous handmade blankets at the thrift store. It's hard to believe people's hard work end up there for just a few dollars. I can load up on blankets for just a few bucks. Dudley and Mojo were hiding at first. It takes them a while to warm up to something new. Not Tango though, she comes right over and lays her chubby self down. They all got extra treats Christmas morning.

Jake and I are going to see a movie tonight and split a pizza. We are a little stir crazy from being in the house and he wants to spend his Christmas money. The boy waited up for me last night to get home from work. 4 am he was standing by the front door. His trip to the Bahamas was cancelled. Bad weather and his mother's boyfriends family takes everyone to the Bahamas every Christmas. Unfortunately the father has cancer and took a turn for the worse this week. I will be thinking of him. I know what its like to watch someone dying at Christmas. Changes the holiday forever.

I hope all of you are well and warm and you got what you wanted from Santa. We are supposed to get above freezing today, thank goodness. I took lots of food out yesterday for the birds. They were grateful and singing for the seeds and suet cakes. I feed some stray cats at work and was sneaking out the back door last night to give them their food. (I am going to get into a lot of trouble one day, if I get caught. lol). I slipped of course, navigating the ramp and fell right down on my ass. Nice.

Thank you and Happy Holidays to all

I have enjoyed nothing more this year than my fellow bloggers. I find you all to be quite wonderful. Your kind words for me when my Stewart left, your generosity towards animals and charity is stunning and humbling. I love that you are all different. Homemakers, artists, environmentalists, advocates, conservatives, liberals, christian, pagan and a little bit of eastern philosophy too.

I appreciate the differences in people. I always have. There are some who are more comfortable with everyone being the same. I revel in our differences and am tickled with commonality in total strangers. Thank you all for what you have taught me.

My Christmas wish list:

I hope to continually find ways to be a better person.

I hope and pray no more children will be brutalized in the coming year.

I hope no more animals will be brutalized in the coming year.

I hope the passion and anger people feel for politics will be replaced by a passion for making the world a better place.

I hope the people who jump up and down and scream about whats wrong with this country will jump up and down and scream when they see a woman being abused instead.

I pray there will be more patience and compassion for our fellow human beings.

I pray that our troops will never feel unappreciated, unwanted or unloved. I hope and pray they stay safe and return to spend next Christmas with their families. I love you men and women and THANK YOU. (Donnie and Chris, stay safe in Iraq please)

I pray that there will be a lesser need to take in more bunnies at Heartland this coming year. I hope we find some good forever homes for our four-legged kids.

I hope all my blogger friends have an absolutely stunning Christmas and a wonderful New Year filled with delights and dreams come true.

Love Christina,

Mojo

Tango

Dudley

Nemo

Haven

MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!

Cajun Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas:

an' all t'ru de house,

Dey don't a ting pass

Not even a mouse.

De chirren been nezzle good snug on de flo',

An' Mama pass de pepper t'ru de crack on de do'.

De Mama in de fireplace done roas' up de ham,

Sit up de gumbo an' make de bake yam.

Den out on de by-you dey got such a clatter,

Make soun' like old Boudreau done fall off his ladder.

I run like a rabbit to got to de do',

Trip over de dorg an' fall on de flo'.

As I look out de do'in de light o' de moon,

I t'ink, "Mahn, you crazy or got ol' too soon.

"Cux dere on de by-you w'en I stretch ma'neck stiff,

Dere's eight alligator a pullin' de skiff.

An' a little fat drover wit' a long pole-ing stick,

I know r'at away got to be ole St.Nick.

Mo' fas'er an' fas'er de' gator dey came

He whistle an' holler an' call dem by name:

"Ha, Gaston! Ha, Tiboy! Ha, Pierre an' Alcee'!

Gee, Ninette! Gee, Suzette! Celeste an'Renee'!

To de top o' de porch to de top o' de wall,

Make crawl, alligator, an' be sho' you don' fall.

"Like Tante Flo's cat t'ru de treetop he fly,

W'en de big ole houn' dorg come a run hisse's by.

Like dat up de porch dem ole 'gator clim!

Wit' de skiff full o' toy an' St. Nicklus behin'.

Den on top de porch roof it soun' like de hail,

W'en all dem big gator, done sot down dey tail.

Den down de chimney I yell wit' a bam,

An' St.Nicklus fall an' sit on de yam.

"Sacre!" he axclaim,

"Ma pant got a hole I done sot ma'se'f on dem red hot coal."

He got on his foots an' jump like de cat

Out to de flo' where he lan' wit' a SPLAT!

He was dress in musk-rat from his head to his foot,

An' his clothes is all dirty wit' ashes an' soot.

A sack full o' playt'ing he t'row on his back,

He look like a burglar an' dass fo' a fack.

His eyes how dey shine his dimple, how merry!

Maybe he been drink de wine from de blackberry.

His cheek was like a rose his nose a cherry,

On secon' t'ought maybe he lap up de sherry.

Wit' snow-white chin whisker an' quiverin' belly,

He shook w'en he laugh like de stromberry jelly!

But a wink in his eye an' a shook o' his head,

Make my confi-dence dat I don't got to be scared.

He don' do no talkin' gone strit to hi work,

Put a playt'ing in sock an' den turn wit' a jerk.

He put bot' his han' dere on top o' his head,

Cas' an eye on de chimney an' den he done said:

Wit' all o' dat fire an' dem burnin' hot flame,

Me I ain' goin' back by de way dat I came.

"So he run out de do' an, he clim' to de roof,

He ain' no fool, him for to make one more goof.

He jump in his skiff an' crack his big whip,

De' gator move down, An don' make one slip.

An' I hear him shout loud as a splashin' he go,

"Merry Christmas to all 'til I saw you some mo'

Pig Licker and The Dancing Queen

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.... Jack Kerouac

(The ones who lick pigs)

Dance as though no one is watching you. Love as though you have never been hurt before. Sing as though no one can hear you. Live as though Heaven is on earth........Souza

A good friend of mine sent me these pictures. They go right along with two of my favorite quotations.

An Angel in a Santa Hat.

Poor Haven, he cant out run me. You can tell by the pic he just gave up and laid down. (for those of you new to my blog, Haven has severe head tilt. He can still hop and has a happy, pain free life so dont look at the pic and think he is a sad bunny. He is our precious little (well, not so little) angel. Dont worry folks. He got some treats after for being such a patient boy.

I tried to get the girls in the hat, I really did. They werent having it. Dudley acted like I was trying to put a live rattlesnake on his head. I am not giving up on them, no way but I am pretty sure I will be defeated. My girls are tough. LOL

Santa Who? Whatever!

Not too sure Miss Mojo believes in Santa Claus. She should, Santa is magic.

The age old question, "Do you believe in Santa Claus?" I do I do I do.

I have seen Santa.

When I was 21 and lived in Natchitoches, La. A friend and I were Christmas shopping downtown. We were discussing our favorite Christmas memories. She asked me when I stopped believing. I was shocked and told her I never stopped believing. We kept walking and at the end of the block, in the window of an old store there was a man with a white beard, big chubby belly and red cheeks. He was making something with wood (a toy, I think). I said "Look Melaine, its Santa". He looked up at us and winked. His eyes twinkled and I will never forget his smile. It was Santa Claus, no doubt about it.

When I was a little girl Christmas Eve was always so special. We would go to church services, when we came home my mom would fix us a little snack and I would get the cookies and milk ready for Santa. My dad would read The Night Before Christmas. When he was done he would tell me I better get to bed because he heard on the radio Santa was close. One year we happened to be searching the night sky and saw a gorgeous falling star. My dad got so excited. "Look" "Look, there's Santa and he is going so fast all you can see are streaks in the sky". I was in awe and still am.

Of course we believe in Santa, Mojo.

Missing Stewart

I am missing my baby boy a lot today. So do his boys. Stewart was much bigger for "leaning" on. Nemo tries to let Haven lay on him but Nemo is only 4lbs and Haven is 10lbs. Kinda heavy for my little Neep Neep. My three boys....."sigh" they were always so sweet together.

No Eureka Springs, Homework, Winter

Okay we didnt go to Eureka Springs for girls weekend. Why, you ask? I dont want to sit in a hot tub when the wind chill is 12 degrees. I dont like walking around shopping when its 28 degrees with a north wind. The girls suggested Dallas instead. Yuck, I hate the traffic in Dallas. I wanted to go somewhere quiet and peaceful not watch thousands of people scurry around like ants. (at least ants seem to be doing something useful) We will reschedule E.S.

I had a 6 page paper due this Sunday. I put it off til the last possible minute. Why on earth, at the age of 39 did I decide to go back to school? I dont have a dang clue. I hated school the first time. My computer went wacko and I couldnt get the paper to format right. I turned it in anyway. I guess I will have to accept a B in the class.

I did go and see "The Blind Side" this weekend. What a lovely movie. I suggest you see it. By the way, I am an absolute sucker for those Lifetime Christmas movies that are on this time of year. This year has been a let down so far. I need sappy! The last 2 Sundays the movies havent been good at all. Lifetime is messing with my Christmas traditions. I dont like it one bit. I broke out my copy of A Christmas Carol last night and read it. I love Dickens. He had such hope for humanity. I have seen every Christmas Carol movie ever made. I really love that story, for a cynic like me, it gives me hope. Love the play too. Nemo enjoyed nibbling on the edges of the book while I read.

I hate winter. Bah Humbug! The picture above is my Trumpet Vine this summer. That's what I want, warm weather, flowers blooming in the yard, smell of freshly mowed grass. I want to sit on my patio and drink coffee and watch the birds. Instead, I am stuck in the house freezing my toots off. We have a chance of freezing drizzle tonight. Woofreakinhoo. One day I will leave this cold ass state and just look at pictures of winter. I will laugh hysterically while I wear shorts in January.

Let me focus for a minute on what makes me happy:

bunnies

books

high cotton count sheets

volunteering

black silk boxer shorts (not on me, on attractive men)

chocolate

a good margarita

a really good concert

flowers

summer

good coffee

hanging out with my nephew (who is going to the Bahamas for Christmas, the lucky little sucker)

ordering all my Christmas presents on-line

when winter is over

I love lists!

My blogger friend at waterloofarms.blogspot.com/ had these questions up on her blog. I am a total sucker for this kind of thing. I used to make up questions like these and pass them out to friends and coworkers. Crazy, I know.

(1) What is your favorite Christmas movie?

A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott (best scrooge ever)

(2) What is your LEAST favorite Christmas movie?

Bad Santa

(3) What is your favorite Christmas Song?

Oh Come All Ye Faithful

(4) What Christmas song(s) drives you crazy?

Grandma got run over by a reindeer

(5) What is your favorite Christmas drink?

coffee with cinnamon schnapps.

(6) What is your favorite Christmas memory?

My dad pointing out Santa and his sleigh in the sky after church on Christmas Eve

(7) What is the best toy/gift you've received on Christmas?

3 story Barbie townhouse

(8) What is the worst toy/gift you've received on Christmas?

used perfume

(9) What do you LOVE about the holidays?

white christmas lights

(10) What annoys you about the holidays?

bad manners in the stores

(11) Do you prefer a star or an angel on top of a Christmas tree? Or something else?

Doesnt matter to me, they are all pretty

.

(12) What is your family favorite recipe at Christmas?

Mom's pecan sandies

(13) Are you a Grinch or a Who at Christmastime?

little bit of both but more Who

(14) Christmas light displays - Love them or Hate them?

Love em

(15) Santa’s at the mall - Fun times or Creepy?

Sometimes creepy and sometimes funny.

(16) Christmas cards - do you send them, yes or no?

NO NO NO.

(17) What is the best thing about Christmas, in your opinion?

magic of Santa Claus

(18) What is the worst thing about Christmas?

its during winter

(19) When do you put the tree up and take it down?

Week of Thanksgiving, down on New Years Day.

(20) Out of the 12 days of Christmas, which day and item would you want your true love to give to you?

2 turtle doves

(21) Why do you think that Grandma got run over by a reindeer?

she was liquored up

(22) Who is your favorite reindeer?

Comet

(23) Do you believe in Santa Claus?

Always, I have seen Santa Claus.

(24) What is your favorite smell at Christmastime?

Cinnamon

(25) What would make you happy at Christmas this year

Not one person or animal in the world was cold, hungry or lonesome

A Sweet Lesson In Humanity

Years ago, A 10-year-old boy approached the counter of a soda shop and climbed on to a stool. "What does an ice cream sundae cost"? he asked the waitress.

"fifty cents" she answered.

The youngster reached deep in his pockets and pulled out an assortment of change, counting carefully as the waitress grew impatient. She had "bigger" customers to wait on.

"Well, how much would just plain ice cream be?" the boy asked.

The waitress responded with noticeable irritation in her voice. "Thirty-five cents."

Again, the boy slowly counted his money. "May I have some plain ice cream in a dish please?" He gave the waitress the correct amount and she brought him the ice cream.

Later, the waitress returned to clear the boy's dish and when she picked it up , she felt a lump in her throat. There on the counter the boy had left 2 nickels and five pennies. She realized that he had had enough money for the sundae but sacrificed it so that he could leave her a tip.

The moral: Before passing judgment, first treat others with courtesy, dignity, and respect.

Adapted from a A lifetime of success.

Pat Williams

Fleming H. Revell