Have I mentioned?

That I love

Pinot Grigio?

My Ipod?

My bose dock?

All three together, plus my jacuzzi and some cucumber-melon bubblebath?

Amaaaazingly relaxing.

So what playlist did I indulge in while taking my bath? Well, lots of Pat Green plus some Sugarland, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and a little Rascal Flatts for good measure.

I'll save the Aerosmith/Zeppelin/Pink Floyd for another day.

Random Thoughts

It's a beautiful, breezy, sunny day here in central Texas. I just came back from a long walk with the dogs. It's been awhile since I did that. I need to do it more often. Plug in the iPod, harness up the critters, and get out.

My love affair with the internet is in a bad place right now. I wonder how something that used to bring me such joy has turned so ugly. There is ugliness all over the web. Nowadays, it seems that I use my computer for paying bills, emailing my son at college, and playing solitaire. Sad, isn't it? There has been so much innovation in the last ten years, and I'm not exactly sure it has been for the better.

When did people become so cranky? We have the power to communicate which is unprecedented in history, and there is so much ugliness out there. I guess I need to purge my bookmarks. It just brings me down.

More later......

ICE!

'Twas a cold day in hell, errrr I mean Texas, this week. Austin is not used to ice. Having come from the northeast, I was happy to have saved one of my ice scrapers. I probably could have sold it at a nice profit this week.

Today was noisy as the temp got up to 34 and the trees started shedding their coating of ice. The live oaks do not shed their leaves in the winter, so they were very heavy and droopy. Luckily none of mine lost any limbs. But today was a constant cacophony of ice dropping from limbs. Oh, and sheets of ice sliding off my roof. That was a little disconcerting at first. Hope there's no damage up there!

Cowboys are out

As much as I HATE the Cowboys (and believe me, I really really loathe the Dallas Cowboys), I have to feel sorry for Tony Romo tonight. Seriously, I can only imagine how awful he must feel. Why couldn't it have been that knucklehead TO who screwed up and lost the game for them instead? That would make it extra sweet. Instead, I sit here thinking about how awful Romo must feel tonight.

But, I guess that's why they get paid the big bucks.....

On the other hand........ the COWBOYS LOST! yesssssssssss.....

A very pleasant surprise

Back in 1976, I was a high school senior. When my boyfriend (now my husband) wanted to go see "Rocky", I was a bit hesitant. Boxing was not my idea of entertainment.

But, I was Philly girl. Well, close enough to a Philly girl since I was raised just outside the city limits. And everyone was talking about 'our' movie. You see, "Rocky" belonged to Philly. More than any other Hollywood-ized ideal of what Philadelphia was, "Rocky" was ours. So, after hearing all the buzz, I knew I had to see it.

I remember the first time. (I'm not sure, but probably saw it half a dozen times in the theater). It just blew me away. And, of course, there were several instances of running up the art museum steps just because we could!

"Rocky II" was great, but it wasn't the same. "Rocky" was the perfect underdog. Once he was "top" dog, it just wasn't the same. The gritty Philadelphia-ness of the movie was replaced with slick Hollywood ideas.

When I heard that there was going to be yet another "Rocky" sequel this year, I cringed. As a parent, and your child is putting himself on the line for a goal, you pray that all goes well and that they succeed. Or at least manage to walk away with some pride. That was how I felt about this latest "Rocky" movie. I approached it with the dread of a parent, because "Rocky" is Philadelphia's son. And we don't want to see him fail or make a fool of himself.

So over this Christmas vacation, my husband, my two teenage sons, and myself headed to the Alamo Drafthouse to see Rocky Balboa. (by the way, the Alamo Drafthouse is by far the coolest place to see a movie. Order dinner, beer, drinks.... while you watch a movie. It's one of the great things about living in Austin!)

We got there about an hour before the movie started, ordered our dinner while scenes from all the previous Rocky movies played on the screen. I was wearing a Philadelphia Flyers sweatshirt because it is a Philly movie after all! Watching the scenes from the prior Rocky movies was great fun and brought back lots of memories. But how was Stallone going to pull this off? "Rocky" must be, what, 60 now? Or pretty damn close. Was this going to be a huge mistake and ruin the legacy of Philly's favorite underdog? Was I going to be hugely disappointed?

I must say...... all my fears were unfounded. Stallone did an incredible job. He took it back to the streets of Philly. It was as though he remembered how it all started. This movie was probably very expensive, yet it had the feel of the low-budget original. Gritty, and honest.... and I LOVED it. He brought back the old "Rocky". And the streets of Philadelphia. And he respected the character, the story, and the history. He done good! "Rocky" has come full circle. And I am still proud of him.

I almost didn't see it

I take my dogs on many walks through the park trail near my home. One morning, something caught my eye. Was that a little blue door in the tree?

How very clever.... how incredibly random.... how bizarre! Yes, it's a door. And a little welcome mat made from a small stone. And a sign that says "Peace in the Universe". What a sweet little thing to find. So whimsical. I wonder what sort of mythical creature resides behind the blue door.

And then one of my dogs decides to investigate that which has drawn my attention.



Unfortunately, he wasn't quite as charmed. It was just another tree to him and he lifted his leg and peed on it. (No, I didn't take a picture of that!)

December 23rd

Christmas Countdown #23


It's not easy being green! In the early 80s, we were a young, married couple living in the Catskill Mountains. And we were all about skiing! Naturally, we collected lots of skiing ornaments for our tree. Kermit is one of the coolest.

December 22nd

Christmas Countdown #22


Here is another New Orleans ornament. A very pretty ceramic Mardi Gras mask. I actually received this one from my mom years before I visited New Orleans. She had gone on a business trip and brought it home. My mom has always fed my Christmas ornament addiction.

December 21st

Christmas Countdown #21


We picked up this ornament in Las Vegas. It's actually a fired clay bag... tiny little bag. It has a handpainted quail (or some other kind of bird?) on it. Very cute. And Vegas was FUN!

December 20th

Greg was nuts about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back in the early 90s. I don't remember where I got this, but it is definitely one of my favorites..... Rafael on skis!

December 19th

Christmas Countdown #19

One of the first Texas ornaments that I bought when we moved here in 1996. It's homemade, with sparkles, and it's pure kitsch.

Love this silly chili pepper. Gotta have some tackiness on the tree or else it would be boring!

December 18th

Christmas Countdown #18


This is the first ornament I ever gave to my husband. It was 1979 and we were dating. He loved hockey. So, of course, I had to buy Snoopy and Woodstock playing hockey. It is a really cool ornament...

Our very first date was September 26, 1977, and we went to see the Philadelphia Flyers play the New York Rangers at the Spectrum. I should have realized then that hockey would always be a big part of my life. Both my sons have played hockey, (Chris still does), and Jim still plays and coaches... To be honest, I am just a little bit tired of hockey. I know I'm going to miss being a 'hockey mom' when it's all over, but I think I'm going to enjoy it for awhile once it's over.

December 17th

Christmas Countdown #17

Back in 1980, Jim and I were married and headed to Disney World for our honeymoon. Disney World was a much smaller place back then. It was the Magic Kingdom and three hotels. That was it. No Epcot, no MGM, no Animal Kingdom, etc. I actually think it was much better when it was smaller.

There was a small shopping village in Lake Buena Vista. This has now morphed into something way bigger and commercial. There used to be a small Christmas shop there. This is one of the ornaments we bought on our honeymoon. Santa in a helicopter. Nothing fantastic or unusual. But plenty of memories in this little wooden trinket.

December 16th

Christmas Countdown #16

Here's another Hallmark ornament that I love. It actually belongs to Chris. He was a huge Lego fan when he was little. He'd spend hours building things. I always imagined he would grow up wanting to be an engineer, or a builder, or an architect..... but that's not the case yet. He still has two more years of high school and he hasn't decided what he wants to be when he grows up.

This is his favorite ornament and it gets a place of honor just below the blowfish at the top, center of the tree.

December 15th

Christmas Countdown #15

Once a Philly fan, always a Philly fan. Even though I'm living in Texas and surrounded by Cowboy-mania *barf*, I will always cheer for the Eagles. Or the Phillie, or the Flyers....

Even though we are brutally honest in our assessment of how our 'home team' is playing, we are always loyal. Oh, and just because Philly fans have been known to boo Santa, we love him too!

This cheap little bear, dressed in his Eagles uniform, has been on my tree for over 20 years. And I hope he brings the birds good luck on Christmas Day when they have to face Dallas at Texas Stadium.

December 14th

Christmas Countdown #14


Well, here's another ugly one. It's a trout, I think. It's hiding on the back of the tree (which is where I hide all the ornaments that I'm not crazy about). This was given by my mother-in-law when she was going through her 'fish phase' of Christmas ornamentation.

I've always hated this damn fish..... but it's on my tree anyway. You just can't see it unless you are searching the back of the tree.

December 13th

Christmas Countdown #13


This is the first Hallmark ornament that I'm posting! I have lots of them on my tree, and they are all pretty, but there really isn't anything particularly unique about them. And they aren't hard to find. And most don't really have 'stories' to go with them.......

But I've always thought that Chris' Spiderman ornament was neat. Notice he has 'web' shooting from his hands to other branches of the tree.

Yeah. It's dumb. But he's cool.

December 12th

Christmas Countdown #12


Look! It's scuba Santa! This ornament is from 1985. Jim was very much into scuba diving back then. He has had many hobbies, and he always dives in head first (no pun intended). I actually went through the class to get my certification. I did well. Until it was time to get in the pool, under water, with all the apparatus. I just didn't like it. There is something unnatural about breathing underwater. I bailed.

It took a couple of years, but he eventually stopped diving, too. I think I found this ornament at the Lucy Evelyn gift shop in Beach Haven, NJ.

Have I mentioned that I really do miss the Jersey shore?

December 11th

Christmas Countdown #11


This ornament is Greg's. It reminds me so much of the hours he spent learning and practicing the sax. He's been doing it for seven years now, since 6th grade. He loves it so much, he is majoring in music in college. He plans on getting a degree in music, and education. His goal is to become a band director. At least he won't end up as an unemployed musician..... I hope.

December 10th

Christmas Countdown #10


Jim's grandparents lived on Long Beach Island, New Jersey. When he was growing up, summers were always spent on the beach, or on his granddad's boat fishing. (Now you understand the fish and crabs and other sea life on my tree!)

This ornament was given to us by his mom. Barnegat Light is on LBI. This is a wonderful memory of the Jersey shore on our Christmas tree!