"We Wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year"

So it's Christmas Eve. It's the best time of year to have Children. Ethan is so excited about Santa Clause- it's really adorable. I know one day some idiot classmate of his will tell him the truth about all of that- but I hope he gets to believe for a while. It's really fun to be able to watch his eyes light up on Christmas morning and c'mon as a mother- you have to admit, there is not as powerful as pretending to have Santa on your Blackberry speed dial.

Ah work. This is a really good time for work. Mostly there is none except that I do take care of invoices for all of marketing so this is a pretty busy time for me. I also have to organize a large training for January in Dallas so I'm doing a lot of prework to be ready when I get back from Miami on January 5.

I did have enough time today to go down to the gym at the office and take a shower to be ready for my Christmas party with my family. My dad is so bummed out so I called all my sisters yesterday and asked them to meet me at Grandma's house early so we could make a video tape for my dad and email it to him. I think it will make him feel so much better.

Lauren and I talked a little last night. Mostly we fought but decided that we were going to be okay as time would heal whatever we were going through. I said 'I'm not mad at you- I'm mad at him. I'm so mad at him and it's going to take some time to be okay with this. She wants to marry Chris and have kids with him. I can't stop that trainwreck. I can only watch it happen. Maybe people change. Maybe. I hope so. For her.

I'm lucky to have Shanna who is a great friend. For all the problems I have with Lauren; I have none with Shanna. I'm happy to know that I'll always have her. I never worry about us. I know we're going to be okay. I don't have that kind of stability with anyone else in my life. There is something there that says that everything in the world can leave us; but we'll never leave each other. I don't know why I think I need anything else.

So much happening in January. Miami, The House, 25.
Too much.

Going to Miami... Welcome to Miami (Can you hear Will Smith?)

I haven’t been on blogger in foreverrrrr…well 2 weeks but still. Oh, btw, I am going to the Orange Bowl BABY! Miami- 1 week over the Orange Bowl, New Years, and my birthday. I’m so excited but dreading the drive. This weekend, my GPS arrived and I am in good hands. I wish there was a ‘don’t take me to the hood’ option on it though. Miami is rough parts or so I hear. We are actually staying in Boca Raton though. I’m so excited to go down there and root the Bearcats to a victory against the Virginia Tech Hokies! It’s going to be awesome! 60 degree weather in January and watching FOOTBALL! How amazing! Misty called me this afternoon and over talking I realized that she didn’t have enough money to give her daughters a good Christmas which made me feel soooo crappy about buying a $350 blackberry that I did not need. I am in the works of making sure that she has a great Christmas though. It’s funny – she’s in what most would call a toxic relationship with the father of her 2 daughters who seems to have an addiction problem. Addiction to what you ask? Anything. Addictions change but if you have that personality- you have that personality and he does. Just like Chris, Laurens boyfriend. After years of them fighting and him treating her like absolute shit, I got mad and broke ties with him and thus strained my relationship with my best friend of 10 years. I wanted to be the supportive friend who would always be there for her…but I could not support her going back to him AGAIN. I just couldn’t watch it and I didn’t want him anywhere near me. Lauren and I will probably never be the same and I have to deal with my decision to go that route. However, there is a difference in my disgust of Chris and my wavering interpretation of Randy (Misty’s boyfriend). Now they both suffer the same issues, and maybe it’s because there are children involved, but I am rooting for Misty and Randy to make it work and I’m definitely hoping that Chris and Lauren don’t work out and she’ll finally open her eyes and be done. Is it because of their children? Is it because I see the crap between Lauren and Chris more often than Randy and Misty? I don’t know. But I found it odd in our conversation that in many ways the best friend of my past and the best friend of my current are both dealing with these similar situations and I have such different strong feelings about both of them. I really need to analyze this further. But not here. Not now.

Oh Richard left a note in my car today on my airfreshner that said ‘I love you’. It made me all warm inside. This weekend was a drag. I was stressed out to the max on so many levels. Last Wednesday Richard was sick. On Friday I came down with the identical bug. And then Ethan has it today. It’s terrible. I hate this season; sad and gloomy and dreary and sick. Argh.

Happy Thanksgiving...

I could list the things I'm thankful for in life, but it would take nearly forever. I'm a blessed person for whatever reason and I know I have God to thank for that. I know I have veterans to thank for the freedoms I exercise. Blessed. To be an American is to be truly blessed.

Yesterday, at a seedy bar, I wrote Angela and Lauren ALARK on a wall already filled with love or hate exclamations. I love that it's there and hopefully will be forever. Speaking of bars, I went to a few last night and ran into my sister after her shift at Hooters. Some old dirty regular followed her to RTs and was buying her drinks. It really pissed me off to see this old man with his eyes on my baby sister like she was a cupcake. I wanted to hit him in the face. Lauren basically had to drag me away while I gritted 'Ft. Knox' through my teeth. It's our code for always protecting each other from guys. Don't ask. We have a lot of these little cryptic messages. That's what happens when you've been best friends for 10 years. She's also going to the game with me Saturday. She graduated from UC and never made it to a basketball game or a football game. How does this happen? Only to Lauren.

*YAWN* Well I have to be up at 2 am for Black Friday Shopping. I'm looking forward to it.