Bye Bye Christmas!

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse....nothing was open for my dads drunk hungry belly. Christmas eve EVE, I worked until midnight to make some extra cash for Christmas gifts. My brother drove me into work so I was without a car, I had to relive my teenage years when I had to call my parents and beg for a ride. Except this time was much different, roles had suddenly been reversed. My parents were more than willing to come pick me up but failed to mention some minor details. After I hopped into my dads Lexus, I noticed we were driving the opposite direction from where my house was. As we pulled up to the Limp Lizard, I realized what was going on...payback! This was for all the years I called my parents after having a couple too many drinks at 2am to come pick me up from Amanda's house, 20min away when they had to get up just 4 hours later to get ready for work! This explains why my father and I didn't get along throughout my high school years!!

All I wanted to do was go home to my nice warm shower, my queen size bed and my brand new 500count thread Vera Wang sheets that I would wrap myself up in a cocoon with. But I guess this was not written in the books for me on this particular night. My parents wanted to meet their friends out at a bar called the Limp Lizard. I didn't even have my id so it's not like I could have went to another bar to meet my friends while they hung out with theirs since I still get id'd everywhere I go! So I was stuck at the Limp Lizard with my already half in the bag father and my social butterfly mother. I was not at all resentful that I had to drive them home from the bar or even hang out with them at the bar, I was more upset at the fact that I would not be getting my beauty sleep for our eventful weekend.

Anyway, the night unraveled and I ended up having a blast (which is inevitable with my parents and their friends). The majority of the stories from this night are too obscene to share! Just when I thought the night was coming to an end, as we hopped in the car my father directed us to the nearest golden arches. After a night of drinking he needed some grease in his belly, of course this appalled my mother and I since we are really healthy eaters. We thought his efforts had failed when we stopped at the nearest drive-thru heart attack and it was closed. We were soon mistaken as my father persistently forced us to drive him to the next closest McDonalds which was 20min away. Now, keep in mind, it had just snowed in Syracuse and the roads were slick and officers were out parading the streets for drunk drivers yet my dad found none of this relevant in his quest to find Ronald. You know society has a problem when the drive-thru at Mickey D's was packed at 1am on the night before Christmas eve when everyone should be fasting and preparing for the Christmas feast! Granted, we were one of these cars waiting in line to suffice papa carl with an angus burger and a large milk shake. He failed at requesting for a happy meal with a race car toy and when he demanded to speak to Ronald we were lucky he even was able to order anything at all when the less than happy McDonalds employee slammed the drive-thru window in his face.

When my bed, myself and Vera Wang sheets were finally reunited, the sound of my father echoing throughout the house as he slurped down what remained of his McDonalds milkshake will remain in my memory as I lay my head to rest. Thank you dad for my Christmas time memory this year. I would love to hear anyone who had a similar experience...

White Christmas?!?

<-- Cole after a long day snowmobiling

My brother just posted his status on Facebook as "al the snow is gone I am sad" and this made me sad. It really doesn't feel like the Christmas season without some fresh snow on the ground. There are three reasons I am already disappointed with this particular Christmas.


1. No snow 
2. No more snowmobiles 
3. No time off. 


These are three main reasons why I don't feel like it is even Christmas in 3 days! I am used to having at least a month off for Christmas and this year I am only getting Christmas day and the following day off! Yes, I am playing my little violin although I know there are many other things people have to complain about. But that is the only thing that I look forward to Christmas for is getting some time off to rest and spend time with family. The icing on the cake is the fact that as a family we are not even going on a cruise this year and as I am typing this I realize how much of an ungrateful brat I sound like. In my defense, every year the family takes the time off for Christmas to go on a cruise.


No time off=no cruise! 

Now to add to my scrooge like behavior, my father called me the other day to inform me that he sold my snowmobile! I loved to snowmobile and I was at least looking forward to going home for a couple of days and taking the sleds out for a spin. Nothing like getting out deep into the woods, snow falling off the branches above you, pushing your thumb on the throttle and feeling the warmth of the sled. I need my ME time and escaping out in the wildness, going fast, collecting your thoughts, enjoying the serenity and peace! Believe it or not, I am a thinker! I am a very people oriented person and love being around people but there is a time of the day when I have to be alone and spend some time just thinking. Being a social butterfly, it is not easy to find time in the day for yourself! But being on the sled, gave me a lot of time to think and there is something about being in the presence of mother nature that really puts things into perspective and helps clear my head. This is all a tease because I will no longer have this time anytime. Weird how as we get older all we want is time. All I want for Christmas is time with good company and great family! No iPhone or Michael Khors purse could make me laugh as hard as my father does when he makes fun of my aunt or bring me so much joy as my mother does with her love and affection.

I am sure I will have many stories to share after my Christmas experience this year with my family. Our Christmas dinner will be very similar to the Klumps dinner scene.

To be young again!

 (Courtesy of Pottery Barn Kids)

I read a blog on the Times Union page this morning (very interesting) about a woman who was walking through Target and noticed a kids toy that she really liked. This reminded my of a similar experience I had this weekend. I just started doing my Christmas shopping (as most of you know from my last blog) and as I was in Pottery Barn trying to find something that my mom already doesn't have and I was intrigued with the  toys in the window so I took a look inside. The toys that I found in this store were ridiculous! They had Dyson vacuum cleaners, stainless steal sinks and $50 fake baking sets for ages 3+! Now, I would be lying if I said I didn't get everything I wanted when I was little, being daddy's little princess, but my toys were much less extravagant. But now looking back my favorite memories are not tied to toys but more about the activities my brother and I would create to keep us occupied. I remember pulling apart the cushions of the couch and riding them down our stair case onto the landing where we piled up all of our pillows off our bed.
Oh how I would go back to this time in my life when from the moment I woke up to the time when I lay my head down to rest the only thing I had to worry about was when Rugrats was on T.V. or if my neighbor could come play hop scotch with me. What I wouldn't do to go back to such a simple life! Grow up slow!

Happy Friday!

(I really wish I was here right now!!!!) 

Today is the day! I have finally decided to do some Holiday shopping! I have already finished half of my done online, had to pay ridiculous prices in shipping but it beats fighting the crowds at the mall! As I was sitting here thinking of who I had to purchase gifts for, I was thinking how hard it must be to be married with a family, then the gift giving must get insane! I really only have to worry about my mom, dad and brother, which is just about enough for me to handle. I commend those people who think of gifts for everyone! I certainly don't have enough patience or creativity to think of gifts for everyone. I can barely think of something to get my brother! That kid has everything from iPads to beats audio head phones. So what I have been preaching about I am actually going to practice. I am thinking about getting something we could do as a family and donate to a charity in our name. We are fortunate enough to have each other and we don't need anything else! We usually take a family cruise together every Christmas, but this year we didn't know what every ones schedule would be like so we couldn't book a trip. I sure could use a vacation right about now. But even just getting some time off to spend with my crazy family will have to do this year, and I am completely satisfied with that :)

Ho Ho Ho!!!

I still can't get over how fast Christmas has crept up on us! And yes I still have yet to do my Christmas shopping! I was thinking as I was driving into work today that I was boycotting Christmas until it snows! This rainy weather is just not cutting it for December 15th! Also, not going home for winter break has tainted my Christmas spirit. Just last year I got one whole month off for Christmas break and now all I have is four days! So now I feel like I barely have any time off and no time to shop!

Now that my Grinch speech is over with, check out these really cute Christmas cookies I am going to try and make this year :)

The Giving Tree

Let the countdown begin! Only 13 more days until Christmas! I still have yet to get any Christmas shopping done! I did however purchase some polly pocket toys for a little girl in need. Every year my family adopts a family and purchases things for them that they are in need of. My family decided that we don't need anything this year and we should give back. So as I was strolling through the kids section at Target I noticed a bunch of children begging their parents to get them the nurf gun or barbie doll that they wanted. This reminded me of a childhood story that my mother used to read to me when I was little called "The Giving Tree." This is a story in which I will never forget. The little boy in the story asks the tree for everything, shade to sit in, apples to eat and eventually he cuts down the tree to make a boat. He leaves the tree with nothing but a stump left and when he returns as an older man the tree says he has nothing left to give. The boy, now an old man, says that all he wants is a quiet place to sit and think, in which the tree replies that a stump is a good place for doing just that.

Are we all guilty of this as a whole? Do we take and take until there is nothing left to get? And then only when there is nothing left do we realize how little we actually need? I think about this story especially around Christmas time. We all ask for gifts and send out our Christmas lists to our families in hopes to receive everything we wanted. But when all is said and done, the gifts are all unwrapped from under the tree, what are we left with? Just our families company, after we have sucked all of the giving out of them that is all they have left to give is themselves.

Point of the story: How are you going to give back this Christmas season?

Are you ready?!?

I couldn't believe that just three days ago I was wearing short sleeves outside and it's December! How crazy is that and how is it even possible?? Being from Syracuse, we would have already had to break out the shovels by now but even in Syracuse we have yet to see a snowflake. I try not to think about this too much because it honestly scares me! Is this global warming at it's finest or is this just the calm before the storm?!? Now, most people are probably happy they don't have to wake up early to brush off their cars and shovel them out of the snow bank but I am not one of these people! It just doesn't seem right without snow this time of the year. How am I supposed to go see the big tree in the city with no snow on the ground? Or how am I supposed to gather up my snowmobile gear without any place to go to? This honestly saddens me. To me, it doesn't even feel like Christmas! My tree isn't hung and my shopping hasn't even begun! The changing of the seasons is important and I believe that we need change! Change is good, it makes us appreciate what we had and also allows us to experience new things! So who is ready for a big storm??

What's next...Christmas?!?

With Thanksgiving over, Christmas is right around the corner! My neighbors have already hung their Christmas lights, radio stations are already playing Christmas music and retail stores have already stocked all of their shelves with Christmas decorations. This got me thinking about what the Christmas season has really turned into? It seems as though the retail industry has turned Christmas into purchasing the best gifts and the newest products. I am almost disgusted when I see people standing outside department stores on Black Friday waiting to plow each other over when the doors open, meanwhile they could be spending their time at home with their families whom they probably only get to see on the holidays.

My Facebook updates are full of what everyone got on Cyber Monday! As per my previous post, to me the holidays are not about receiving, I look forward more to spending time with my family! For the past couple of years instead of giving gifts we have gone on a cruise together. I think that is what everyone should do! Because at the end of the day, the Coach purse or Marc Jacobs sunglasses will go out of style but your family will not!

One Week 'Til Thanksgiving!

Christmas music already plays through our radios, department stores are already stocked with Christmas decorations and the lights are already strung across people's landscaping, yet we have not even had our Thanksgiving! Is it just me or does this holiday season seem to be rushed? I, of course was late getting my Halloween candy, and ran to Target to get some for our little trick-or-treaters. I was so shocked to see all of the Christmas decorations that were on sale already! Maybe I have been oblivious in previous years but this year it seems to me that everyone was all of a sudden in a rush for Christmas to come, yet Thanksgiving is still a week away! I am interested in the general consensus, does everyone else feel this way also? Don't feel guilty because I can't say though that I have been completely innocent in this process, we already have our tree decorated at the MoveThatBlock office!