I hope 2012 brings you all the success and happiness you can handle!

Every year, Christmas seems to come faster and faster. This year my family was so preoccupied with other things going on (the oldest turned 17 & got his license, two of the kids had school concerts and so much more) that it was only a few days ago that I got my shopping done. And it is done. I am hoping, though, a couple of packages come in on time—I hate wrapping a picture saying, “gotcha this, but it won’t be here ‘til next week.” Nothing like procrastinating!

Last Christmas, we had a white one, this year, up ‘til now it’s been an overly wet one with rain nearly every day for the last two weeks. We need it, but it’s been somewhat gloomy—outside. We’ve been having fun since the kids got out last Friday. We’ve already watched Elf (“Santa? I know him! I know him!”). The eldest and I made the hubby watch Bridesmaids. He wasn’t as impressed as I hoped he would be, but I laughed ‘til I cried in a couple of spots (and the gag reel is even funnier!) As usual Spike TV has Star Wars on so when no one watching anything specific I pop it on there and hear Luke and Leia in the background.

I plan on making a bunch of cookies later this week and on Friday having a mini-turkey session. Not near as involved as Thanksgiving, but pretty close. Saturday we’ll head to church for Christmas Eve service then Sunday, oh Sunday I think we’ve (FINALLY) talked all the kids into sleeping in for a change. They used to wake us at five (yes five) and then we’d tell ‘em to hush ‘til six. The hubby and I were zombies the rest of the day thanks to usually staying up ‘til 2 or 3 wrapping gifts. I’ve got all but the two suckers I am hoping arrive in time wrapped this year so sleep will be my gift .

It’s hard to believe Christmas is less than a week away and 2012 is a mere nine days (and change) away.

I hope you all have a wonderful time with your friends and family and have safe travels! Merry Christmas ~ Happy Holidays

All my grandparents are sadly gone now, but with Christmas approaching, I am reliving my family Christmases, telling my kids about them. The kids sort of remember their great-grandparents, but it’s vague at best. And my kids can’t relate to some of the tales as all their family lives within an hour—so holiday traveling…totally foreign. But for me, growing up we traveled. My Texas grandparents were long a drive away (7 hours ‘til I was 10 then only 5 hours). Every other Christmas we’d load up the car and drive to west Texas (a small town called Rotan, an hour north of Abilene). 8 cousins, between 4 to 6 aunts and uncles—and of course the grandparents—would cram into a house so small it was (easily) moved from one lot to another while my mom was in college (can you imagine coming home for a weekend in college only to find the house gone?!?! but I digress…). The house was probably 700 sq ft. and the 14-16 folks staying for the 3 or 4 days didn’t seem to get on each others nerves or fight—well, me and my brother did, but we always did—and the grands’ siblings would pop over so it was an uber-full house.

The only decorations, my grandmother had an aluminum Christmas tree in the corner of the living room; that sucker was 30+ years old when I was a kid. When the cousins got there, we’d go chop down mistletoe from one of their trees. We’d stuff it in everything we could—even my granddad’s church boots—though we never hung it up, not a one of us wanted to get trapped underneath with a cousin… just saying… Oh, and my grandmother had a bowl of hard candies. You know the kind you see come out at Christmas. I am pretty sure that sucker was the same bowl for many, many years and we’d painstakingly pry one piece off, eat it and get a tummy ache—could be the copious amount of cookies we’d had before, but I’d like to blame the old candy bowl.

Every so often it would ice, not snow, just ice—the joys of west Texas—and we’d have to stay inside, but otherwise we’d ride horses, see who my granddad’s goat would knock down first and go to the neighboring town to the community center to see Santa (we’d always get a stocking full of nuts and fruit—which we would then peg each other with ). We’d play dominoes or cards. It was a real treat when one of the cousins finally got old enough to sit in the kitchen with the aunts and uncles and play hearts. This was way before handheld game systems or anything other than the old stick Atari so the cousins would use things we found in Granddad’s shed(s) to play with. FYI lawn darts and kids at Christmas… we were lucky to only hit one cousin—the youngest of course.

Up ‘til I was in high school, my granddad would hook up one of this wagons to the horse and we’d go around the town. Granted the population of Rotan back then was a little over 2K so it didn’t take all that long, but, wearing our Santa hats, we’d sing carols—I’m pretty sure my granddad turned his hearing aid off during the rides—and wave at the cars driving by or stop at a great-Aunt/Uncles and say hello.

I miss the Christmases with my cousins and grandparents and am a little sadder still that my kids won’t get to experience anything quite like it. But I have my memories … if only I had that darn aluminum tree… that would be awesome!

I finally, after years of resisting, broke down and created a Twitter account. I have been balking at this for as long as I have know what it was. Cut to Tuesday last week—the #4 child was home from school because they were totally without power. His unexpected day-off drove me nuts. Not that I had so many plans, but when you’re counting on being all alone and then all you hear all day is, “Tyler, Tyler, Tyler” (the name has been changed to protect the innocent—being me as I can’t bear to write his real name here to have the often heard chant live on indefinitely via the internet) as #4 child yells (incessantly) at his BFF over XBOX; it’s a little disconcerting.

Naturally, my response to that was to create a twitter account. @DennieMcDonald (sorry for the wonky link... didn't know how else to show it--showing my newbieness) I know there are a couple of people who are probably shaking their head with a long awaited, "I told you so..." Yeah, well, I am stubborn but I eventually come around. I had to do something to while away the day because he popped whatever mojo I had going (thankfully the power was back on the very next day). Now let me say, had he been sick, it would have been different. My mommy-mojo would have been triggered and I’d have been on tissue duty and wouldn’t have thought anything of it. But as I was in Denise-mojo…. the Twitter account.

I am still trying to get the hang of it and am only following a few dozen people (a couple the hubby just rolled his eyes at when I showed him). It is a little sad though, when you have to ask your teenage son how to do things. When I was his age, the hardest thing I ever had to explain to my mom was cruising up and down Forest Lane and then I totally downplayed what we did.

It is another vehicle to get in touch with authors and readers (and it removes a layer from celebs you might find interesting). It is kind of fun, but you *can* get swept away pretty easily. Hopefully it will also give me some much needed motivation and inspiration.

So that’s my new vice. Anything new with you?