10 posts tagged “family”

Last night was my dad's Christmas cantata at his church.  He's in the choir and he likes for all of the family to come see these things.  We go every year and endure the production.  I saw endure because it's painful.  The program runs two hours with an intermission in the middle.  The "acting" is cringe-worthy.  The music is *okay* - some high points and some really, really low points, but mostly just mediocre stuff.  No one enjoys going, but we all do for my dad since he wants us to come. 

This year we went - but on a different night than the rest of the family.  My mom wasn't there since she had her work holiday party, so it was just the four of us.  The show started at 6pm and I didn't eat dinner before we went because I ate a late lunch.  By the time intermission came around, it was almost 7pm and I was hungry and the family couldn't take the cantata anymore, so we snuck out. 

I really shouldn't have guilt over this, right?  We went - we lasted as long as we could. I have that nagging, "Ohh, you're the bad daughter for not going." voice in the back of my head today. It didn't help matters when I saw my sister this morning and told her we left in the middle - she stopped in her tracks with her mouth wide open and gasped.  Ack!

Ahh, Thanksgiving... a day to eat and relax and spend time with family.  And for a lot of people - a day to be bored.  ;-)   I don't feel that way today, but I know that I have certainly felt that way a lot in the past!  I'm sure there might be some boring spots today, too, but I'm not worried about that because I can always come to the computer and play free online games.   I love that site because they've got the classic Nintendo games from my childhood - which is perfect on a day like today when we're all feeling nostalgic anyway.  I bet my brother would love it if I hooked him up on the site this afternoon after dinner.  We could start a competition just like the old days to see who is better.  Of course, he always won, and I'm sure that hasn't changed.  The fun is in the playing, though, not the winning.   Good times.

I've been thinking about Christmas time in our house when I was growing up - I have a lot of fond memories.  I still remember just about all of the Christmas decorations, especially the Christmas Elves we had - my mom stored them in a big cardboard box in the downstairs coat closet.  Going deep into that closet to pull the box out every year was always such a thrill.  

As she'd open the box, none of us kids could sit still as we recalled each ornanment and decoration that got pulled out.  We all wanted to dive head first into that box, but managed not to somehow.  :-) 

I wish my kids had the same sort of excitement we had as kids.  My kids are like, 'That's great... you've got the decorations out.  I don't have to help, do I?"  Nice!  I'm not quite sure what to do, if there's even anything I can do - to help them capture the same Christmas spirit I had as a child.  Then again, maybe they'll be writing posts like this in 20 years, saying how many fond memories they had of the holidays growing up... everyone's experience is their own, I guess.

Next weekend brings the Leonid meteor showers to us again.  We have gone up to the Poconos (where it's darker) to see these in the past, but didn't have much luck.  I think we were asleep when the heavy showers happened.  I've read that telescopes aren't necessary for these shows, but I don't know... I bet you could catch some good stuff with one!  And I think I'd love to see the showers (if we can catch them) closer.  I've been checking out different types of telescopes because I like to research before I buy anything.  Meade Telescopes and Celestron telescopes keep showing up in search results for optimal clarity and a wide range of features.  Do you have any experience with particular telescope brands?  I'd love to hear them.

I'm not sure if we're going to head up to the Poconos again this coming weekend - it's kind of late to start planning for it and I believe we have a lot of yard work to do around here, too.  That might work out for the better anyway, because then we could get a telescope as a Christmas present for the kids instead of buying it now for this trip.

This year, I'm hosting Thanksgiving at my house - first time ever!  I'm very excited about it, but I'm also nervous.  That's a whole lot of food to be around and serving all day, ya know?  I am sure it will be fine, but I just need to write about it to get it out of my system.  I'm hoping that what will happen is I'm so busy playing hostess that all of the food won't even be an issue or calling to me. 

One thing my sister-in-law does that I plan to adopt is buying those square aluminum foil dishes for the guests to take home the leftovers.  This way I'm not stuck with a refrigerator full of food that I can't eat.  Isn't that a great idea?

Growing up, my dad was always coming home with the latest and greatest in electronics.  He even built our floor console TV in the 70's!  When personal computers first started hitting the scene, you can be sure our house was one of the first on the block to have one.  I still have fond memories of that Tandy, I believe it was, sitting on top of the dining room table - taking up pretty much the entire thing! While my dad wasn't an inventor, he paid close attention to what the inventors were coming out with - and he still does!

I'm going to send him a link to this Invent-Tech Blog that I came across today because it keeps inventors - and consumers, as well! - informed and up to date on all the latest news concerning recently licensed products and inventions.  He'll be the first to know when a licensed product by Invent-Tech hits store shelves and that's going to make him feel great.  He loves being the first to know these kind of things.

Interestingly, my brother inherited this trait but more from the inventor's angle - he is constantly tooling around in his garage making his own tools to make his life easier.  When we were growing up, he always had great ideas for making different things to either entertain ourselves with or that were actually useful.  He's very handy.  I don't think he realizes his talents as an inventor, though - if I showed him this site, his reaction would probably be that he's not going to invent anything. I think he gives himself a disservice!  

Being an inventor doesn't mean you have to be a rocket scientist - it just means you have a creative mind to come up with solutions to enhance lives.  Anyone can be an inventor!  For those who are true-blue inventors, constantly trying out new things and working to get patents on your items - God bless you.  And go check out the Invent-Tech blog to stay informed and not get left behind.

Oh my goodness - I think I already found the perfect gift for my sister's best friend! Check this out - it's called Our Name in History and it's a custom made book for your family history taken from public records.  I could get her husband-to-be's family name and have this made.  How cool would that be for a wedding present?? I think they would LOVE it. 

And check out how nice this book looks, too.  Here are a few shots of it:

Sweet!!

I don't know if I ever came back here to tell you all about my sister's dog that we watched a couple of weeks ago.  It ended up being a disaster with him chewing up my hearing aid and basically making a big, gigantic (and I mean that literally!) pest out of himself.  We were never so happy as when he left.  I swear, I am going to have to talk to my sister about dog boarding because there is just no way in hell we are watching him again - ever. 

And now that we're thinking of getting a dog, we're having to put serious thought into that topic, too.  When we go on vacation next year, we're either going to have to find a place that allows dogs or we board them.  After what happened with my sister's dog, I don't think I want to ask any family members to watch our dog.

A few weeks ago my family was visiting my brother and his family for the day.  We had a great day followed by a delightful night sitting outside around their chiminea.  It was a wonderful, memory-building experience complete with all the kids telling ghost stories.  Loved it.  The warmth from the fire seemed to bond us all together and I knew that we needed to get one for our backyard, too.  It really enhances the area, especially when you have company over.

Rob and I were out shopping today and were looking at chimineas and outdoor fireplaces at the first store we went to, but couldn't decide on one to buy.  While in the checkout at the second store, I saw a lady with an outdoor patio heater in her cart.  That ois intriguing because ur back patio is all wooden.  We need to research what is safe to place on there.  Whatever we decide on, I'm looking forward to it - so we can start building our own family bonding moments. 

So we're going to be watching my sister's dog for a week and a half starting tonight.  I am not exactly looking forward to it and I've been questioning my boundary setting skills ever since I said I'd do it.  Then again, my sister did just watch my kids for us for 2 days when we went to Vegas, so I figured I owed her.  I'm still not sure that's exactly healthy thinking, but whatever.  This is progress, not perfection, right?

Rob used to be a military working dog handler, so hopefully he'll be able to do some dog obedience training with this pup while we have him.  I have a feeling he's going to need it.  I just hope he doesn't do too much damage - to my house or to my relationship with my sister!