A Woman's Poem

A Woman's Poem

He didn't like the casserole

And he didn't like my cake,

He said my biscuits were too hard

Not like his mother used to make.

I didn't perk the coffee right

He didn't like the stew,

I didn't mend his socks

The way his mother used to do.

I pondered for an answer

I was looking for a clue.

Then I turned and

smacked the SHIT out of him...

Like his mother used to do.

The Christmas Meme I Stole from Alix at Casa Hice

As promised, here is the Christmas Meme I stole from Alix at Casa Hice.  Also as promised, I'm giving her credit.  Check out her meme.  She has really cool answers (stop gagging, Garret).   Just click on the link!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? 

Definitely hot chocolate.  I'm not an eggnog fan.   To make the hot chocolate even MORE yummy, though, try adding some vodka and Chambord!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?  

Santa wraps the gifts!  When my kids were little and Gina had started school, I realized she could probably recognize my handwriting (she was real smart like that).   Every year, her school had a fundraiser, selling candy and gift wrap.  So I had the kids pick out their wrapping paper.  Then I told them I mailed the wrap to Santa.  So on Christmas morning, each kid had his or her gifts wrapped in their very own paper and I didn't have to put any tags on their gifts.  Feel free to steal this idea! :)  Also, Santa left the leftover wrap for me to use on other folks gifts the following year!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
White lights on the tree, no lights on the house (I've gotten terribly lazy the last 5 or 6 years)
 

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
I don't have mistletoe right now but I want to get some.  I recently learned John has never been kissed under the mistletoe and I really need to rectify that!

5. When do you put your decorations up? 
before Christmas Eve.  For the past 2 weekends, I meant to get the decorations out of the garage but I keep procrastinating. 

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
um... all of it!  love turkey but also honey baked ham!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? 
The one thing that really sticks out in my mind was Christmas 1966, we had a blizzard on Christmas Eve and it was a Saturday (my dad worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer on Saturdays from 3pm to 11pm.)  My sister, Jeanne and I went shopping at the local Five and Ten Cent Store for Gifts with our $5 each! (LOL)  We had enough left over to buy sodas at the hoagie shop (zeps, subs for those of you NOT in the Philly area)  across the street.  We each bought Fresca.  Do you remember the Fresca commercial where the girl drinks the soda and a blizzard starts?  Well, we thought the blizzard was our fault!   My sister Peggy got stuck at the nursing home where she worked and my Dad's car got stuck about 6 miles from home and he had to walk home.  He didn't get home until 5am and we all got up at 6am!  It was also the last year Santa decorated our tree.  I hope my mom didn't wait for dad to decorate the tree and get the gifts out!  I wouldn't be surprised if she did, though!


8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
The year Jeanne and I got sleds.  my brother, Michael told me there was no Santa  and I didn't believe him (I think I was TEN!!)  he said if I didn't believe him, just look in the closet under the stairs in the hall and I'd find 2 sleds with my name and Jeanne's name on them.  Sure enough, there they were!  Michael was so mean!  I hated him!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
When the kids were little, we'd let them open one gift on Christmas Eve.   We haven't done that in some time.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
White, non-blinking lights, dark matte red, bright shiny red and gold christmas balls.  Gold ball garland around the tree.  Angel on top.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Depends.  If I'm off from work,  Let it snow!  Let it snow!  Let it snow!!  If I have to work, yuck!  I hate hate hate driving in snow!

12. Can you ice skate? 
I used to.  Now I'm afraid I'll break something if I fall.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
My Flexible Flyer sled when I was 10.  My silver fox jacket when I was about 30.  My Kindle this year!


14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Seeing my kids and being happy when they like their gifts!


15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Cherry pie!
 

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
I didn't even know this was a tradition, but on Christmas morning, I we have coffee, orange juice and Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon rolls.  I thought I was just trying to get out of making a big breakfast on Christmas morning!  A couple of years ago, one of the kids asked if we were going have that for breakfast.

17. What tops your tree?
an angel if I can find her

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?
both!

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? 
yum!

20 Favorite Christmas Show?
My favorite Christmas movie is The Santa Clause, but I do like the traditional It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol.

21. Saddest Christmas Song?
The Christmas Shoes   by Newsong. (you'll need tissues)

22. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
O Holy Night by almost anyone but especially Josh Groban and a close second is Emmanuel by Amy Grant.

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?

Dear So and So,

Dear Christmas,

Can you please put yourself on hold for about 6 more days?  I'm not anywhere near ready for Christmas. 

Love,

The Procrastinator

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Fridays Guests,

Thank so much for showing up finally!!!  I'm liking the extra tips this week too.  Keep up the good work and so will I.

Love,

Joanie the W/W 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Mother Nature,

Enough with the rain already!  

Had it with the water,

Soggy Joanie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dear John,

It's OK that you weren't able to keep my Christmas gift a secret, but I'm soooo excited to be getting the Kindle!  I can hardly wait to play with it and download books!

Love you, love you, love you

Joanie

p.s.  that's gonna be a tough act to follow!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dear Dr. Nasta,

You amazing woman you!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving John his new lease on life!  So far, the transplant is working and there's no sign of recurring cancer.  Let's hope and pray his PET scans and CT scans continue to show a healthy body.  If  I could still have kids, I'd name my next girl after you.  What a wonderful early Christmas gift you gave us last week!

Love,

John's "wife"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dear Readers,

If you like Dear So and So and want to do one of your own, go on over to Kat's Place, grab the cute button and write one of your own!  Be sure to add your name to Mr. Linky so Kat can link it back to you and other folks can read your letters.  Maybe even pick up a few more followers!

A Stolen Christmas Meme

OK, I have so stolen this meme from Mary at Unmitigated.  She has a really great blog!  You should stop over there and check her out, after you've read my stuff, of course!

1.) Have you started your Christmas shopping?

I have started and one kid is nearly finished.  I still have the 2 older kids, Gina's boyfriend and John and I"ll be finito!

2.) Tell me about one of your special traditions.

On Christmas morning, we have Grands Cinnamon rolls, coffee and orange juice.  I didn't even know it was a tradition until one of my kids asked if we were still having that for Christmas breakfast.  I thought I was just finding an easy lazy way to get out of cooking breakfast on Christmas morning!

3.) When do you put up your Tree? 

I swear each year the tree goes up later and later.  I kind of lost my Christmas spirit when my ex left and it's been real hard to get it back.  If Christmas never arrived I'd probably be fine with that.  But I'm trying.

4.) Are you a Black Friday shopper? 

NO WAY!!!!  Actually, I work in a restaurant in a mall, so I'm there on Black Friday, but I'm waiting on all the lunatics who ARE shopping!

5.) Do you travel at Christmas or stay home?

When I was married, we'd go to one of the ex's siblings homes for Christmas.  It was just a day trip since almost everyone lived within an hour from each other.  Now the kids still go, but I'm not invited any more. :)   The past few years, John and I went to his brother's home in Philly, but this year we plan to go out for dinner.

6.) What is your funniest Christmas memory?

I can't really think of anything really funny.  Although me waddling around at 9 months pregnant trying not to go into labor before Christmas was over was amusing.  I made it!  Dani was born Dec 26.

7.) What is your favorite Christmas Movie of All time?

Call me silly, but I just love The Santa Clause!  Of course, all the traditional movies are great too! 

8.)Do you do your own Christmas Baking, what’s your favorite treat?

Baking?  uh, no.  Feel free to donate cookies to the cause though!  Oatmeal raisin please!

9.) Fake or Real Tree?

Fake.  For years and years we had a real tree.  Then around 2001, we bought a fake one at KMart on sale.  It looks real!  Gina was away at school and we put the tree up and didn't tell her it was a fake.  After 3 days, we finally had to tell her!  My son, Tim kept saying stuff like "Boy, you can't even smell the tree this year." 

10.) What day (as a Mom) does the actual panic set in to get it all done? 

right around now.  Too much to do, too little cash available.  I always manage to pull it off though.

11.) Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve? 

You know, I used to be the kind of person who not only was ready for Christmas by the 1st week in December, I would wrap everything as soon as I bought it.  Now, on Christmas Eve, I'm in my bedroom, wrapping gifts.  It's official. I have become my mother.

12.) What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas?

When the kids were little, it was watching all the Christmas shows on TV.

13.) What Christmas craft do you like the best?

The ones that people give me!  I don't do crafts.  My daughter is knitting everyone gifts this year.  I hope everyone appreciates the hard work she's putting into all of it. 

14.) Christmas music. Yes or No, and if yes What is your favorite song?

I like Christmas music!  I have B-101 on my radio right now.  From Thanksgiving until Christmas, all they play is Christmas music.  My absolute very favorite Christmas hymn is O Holy Night. (Joanne, this is the choir from your hometown of Coquitlam).  I get choked up every time I hear it.  Another big favorite is Emmanuel by Amy Grant.  I always wanted to hear Gina sing that one in church.

15.) When do you plan to finish all your shopping? 

Before December 24th.  Hopefully within the week.

Random Tuesday Thoughts: Snow and Losers (and I've added more stuff)

So I put up the Random Tuesday Thoughts button and went completely blank!   This could take all day.

So we had our first snowfall of the year this past weekend.  We didn't get much (about an inch), just enough to wreak havoc on the side roads.  

I hate snow, unless I'm all snug in my house.

The South is looking better (read warmer) all the time!  

A year ago this past weekend, Dani and I were in Indiana, PA (not to be confused with the state of Indiana) and Pittsburgh, PA for her college auditions (she's a theater major).  We had to drive from Pittsburgh to Pottstown in a snowstorm, the first snow of the year.  That 5 hour drive turned into an 8 hour drive and I needed major alcohol when I finally got home!

I might get my Christmas shopping done before Christmas.  I have started at least!  

I just saw a preview of The Biggest Loser finale and I KNOW I'm going to cry like a baby through most of the show.

I hope Danny wins The Biggest Loser ($250,000) and I hope Abby wins for the contestants who were sent home ($100,000).

I now have chapped lips because my nose is stuffed and I'm breathing out of my mouth.  I hate chapped lips. 

I am so far behind on reading all the blogs I follow!  I need a week's vacation just to catch up! 

I keep finding more stuff to add to my RTT!  I'm sad.  I just found out that As The World Turns is being canceled and their last show will air in September.  I've really haven't watched the show too often, but I have watched it more in the past couple of years because my daughter's college roommate is a character on that show.  Marnie Schulenburg plays Alison Stewart on ATWT.  I hope she can find work soon, maybe on a prime time TV show!   Break a leg, Marnie!

OK, this lame RTT is OVER!

Oops!  I nearly forgot to give props to Keely at The Unmom for doing RTT! 

Check out her site and if you do RTT, link yourself so others can read your stuff!  And check out more RTTs!

Can of Whoop Ass

Do you want to see what a can of Whoop Ass looks like?

I love me some paratroopers!!

DAMN IT!  I HAVE A COLD!

achoo! 

WARNING! WARNING!! THIS IS A MAJOR RANT!!!

My ex-husband has our kids for Thanksgiving AND Christmas dinner every year. No one even asks me what I'm doing for those holidays. They just ASSUME I'm going to my sister's house. The kids are usually at home until it's time to drive to that toxic waste dump that is the state of New Jersey, so I do get to see them for a little bit.

The first year we were separated, I had nowhere to go on Christmas Day. My friend, Ruth Ann TOLD me, not invited me... TOLD ME I was coming to her house because I was not to be alone on that day. (my kids could have found me dead drunk that night if I had stayed home) I thank God for Ruth Ann. I had a nice time.

The past few years I went to John's brother's for dinner, but this year, we're going out for dinner. His sister is in charge of the plans.

For the record, I'll be seeing my oldest on the day after Christmas because she has to juggle her time among me, the bastard and her boyfriend's family. And I'm fine with that.

We have a "tradition" at our house on Christmas Day. We have Pillsbury Grands cinnamon buns and orange juice and coffee while we open our gifts. I didn't even know it was a tradition until one of my girls asked me if I was going to get them for breakfast a few years ago.

I just got a text message from my ex, asking me what my plans were for the kids on Christmas. His brother is hosting dinner, and he'd like the kids to go to his house for brunch first. That lying cheating bastard is taking the last part of the holiday from me. I could say no but my 2 younger kids (21 and 19) will go anyway. Apparently everyone has forgotten that he cheated on me with that slut he married and everyone is supposed to be friends with her now. I even think my youngest has a relationship with her just to stick it to me because she doesn't like John and that's my punishment for being with him.

Wow. I am really worked up about this.

My day in court and an update about John

So today was the day I had to go to court for that bitch who stole my credit card numbers and wiped out (temporarily) my checking account.  I had to take the day off from work.  I had to be there at 9 am.  I got there around 8:45 (I beat the detective there).  I had been told a few days before that usually the defendants who are already in jail go last, so it might be along day.  It was ok, I had 2 books with me to read.  Around 9:30, the detective tells me they brought the wrong person to court!!!  How stupid is that????  Did the wrong person think, "Oh cool!  I get to go for a ride and get some fresh air!"  Did the bitch think, "Oh cool!  They forgot about me!  Maybe I won't have to go to court after all!"  The wrong one was all the way to court before they realized they had the wrong person there.   So they cart her ass back to jail and pick up the right person.  So I sat around for another hour, eavesdropping on other defendants who are talking to their attorneys  (amazing how many DUI cases there are!)    Finally, a little after 10:30, the detective comes out and tells me she's there and she had no attorney and wants to waive her rights (she's wanted in 3 counties in PA for passing bad checks and the credit card fraud with me).  They move to link all 3 cases together and now they will ship her ass off to Michigan and let them deal with her.  (She's also wanted in Michigan on various charges).  So I never had to testify and I lost another days pay for nothing.  The good news is she's in jail and we don't have to pay her room and board any more.  she will now become the guest of the state of Michigan and they can pay for the roof over her head and 3 squares a day for who knows how long.  Just so long as she doesn't come back to PA.

I'm still waiting to hear from John about his doctor visit.  He was scheduled for 11:30.  He was getting blood work done at 10:30 when I sent him a message when I got out of court.  It's now 12:20 and I haven't heard anything.  And I'm getting scared.  As soon as I hear something, I'll pass on the info.  

OK, I finally heard from John and HIS SCAN IS CLEAN!!!!

Thank God!!  This is the first time he's gone through the chemo and had a clean scan a few months later.  Maybe, just maybe, the stem cell transplant and all the chemo worked and the cancer is gone for good!  I guess we'll only know when his scans come up clean every 3 months. 

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