I want to play a little game here.

OK, so let's assume that you woke up tomorrow, able to afford the things in life that you really want. I'm not talking about winning the lottery and buying a Ferrari. I'm talking about realistic things that you'd like to have should you gain some personal long term wealth. Things that are realistic purchases, though not necessarily affordable to you right now. I would love to see your own list posted on your blogs! Let me know if you do it!

*I want to add that I was extremely blessed with Christmas gifts, and this isn't any indication that I don't appreciate my blessings. This is just for fun.

Home/Neighborhood: I would buy or build a home that is at least 3500 square feet either on land in the Rockvale/Christiana/Barfield vicinity or in Innsbrooke, Rockvale Meadows or Berkshire. It would have to be a home with a functional front porch, a large covered patio and a fenced in back yard. I would have Phillip build a wooden fort/swing set for the kids, and add a trampoline.

Vehicle: I would want an SUV that could hold seven or eight people. Currently, I'm eyeing a Toyota Land Cruiser or a hybrid Yukon/Tahoe.

Business venture: I would open a business in Murfreesboro that offered cuisine/catering and coffee. My best friend, Mandy, would be my main employee, my boss in fact, running the show for a nice salary. I would find the most prime location and decorate it in a unique, appealing manner. I would also open another business in an ajoining space that served as a local art gallery, selling art, jewelry and locally designed clothing, similar to Magpie etc. in Nashville.

Santa has come and gone

The kids don't know it yet, but Santa has come and gone as they sleep, tucked away safely upstairs! Boy, was he generous! They are going to flip their little lids and jump for joy when they come down the stairs tomorrow morning. This year has been extremely special, as I finally have two children who understand the notion of Santa enough to truly anticipate his arrival and contemplate which bright star in the sky might just be Rudolph's nose leading the sleigh tonight. I couldn't imagine my precious angels missing out on something that was so special to me as a child! We've sang and we've danced to Christmas music for a couple of weeks now, but seeing them finally get to tear into those gifts that have taunted them for a month now from beneath the tree will be wonderful. We also spent Christmas Eve with my parents, MawMaw and PopPop, having dinner and cutting up. Tomorrow, we will see them again AND we'll see their other grandparents, MeMaw and PaPaw.

More importantly, Miles can't stop telling people how Christmas is the celebration that began with the birth of Jesus, and how Jesus died on the cross to "give us the whole world" and because "he loves us bery much". Look at that! We have managed to bring our children the excitement of Santa and the joy of Jesus Christ at the same time!

RIP Denzel

She let me know first thing this morning that he was gone. After 12 years, her cat Denzel had passed away. He's been through three states worth of addresses with her. He became her pet in college when she rescued him. He was here through graduation, going back to school for a certification and right up through her engagement and recent marriage. He's been sick since the spring; the vet warned he might not make it til now. However, she still wasn't prepared for Neil to find him last night.

She asked if we could make it to the funeral tonight before she went to work with a heavy heart. We made preparations for a special 'ceremony' in his honor. Phillip wrote out the Rainbow Bridge poem on a painting of a rainbow by Miles. Neil dug a hole for Denzel's final resting place just beneath her childhood bedroom window. Finally, she came in the door, eyes red and swollen from a long, sorrow-filled day. After a moment, she asked that we go ahead and "get this over with".

We filed outside, Mandy, Phillip, Miles, Lola, Olivia, Neil, Mrs. Judy, Mr. Charlie and me. Mrs. Judy placed candles around the tiny grave and Mandy asked to see him once more. She spoke sadly to her Denzel. She sobbed and lingered. She stood and took her spot next to the grave, flanked by Miles and Neil. Phillip began to read the Rainbow Bridge and she fell apart. Neil placed Denzel in his grave, and Mandy kneeled next to it to have her moment with him, below the flower bed around him. Miles and Neil patted her back gently. I pulled out my handwritten lyrics and began to sing Amazing Grace. I wouldn't normally need lyrics, but thankfully I had the foresight to jot them done. In the moment of her grief, I hesitated to begin, for the melody went blank from my mind, much less the words. Mrs. Judy first let out a nervous laugh, then began to cry and joined in.

It was over, and Denzel was honored in a way that was special and heart wrenching at the same time.

RIP Denzel, beloved kitty to Mandy Caffey...

Barbara Mandrell and her words of wisdom

As spoken by my child, age five:
Me: What would you like for breakfast this morning?
Miles: Graham crackers and a cut up apple, Momma.
Lola: I'm starbin', Momma, I'm starrrrrbin'.
Me: OK. Well I'll go fix you a nice breakfast plate with some graham crackers and a cut up apple, then! Why don't you go get settled in your room and I'll bring it to you?
Miles: But Momma...you said...we can eat...crackers...in your bed...anytime. Like the song, remember?
Me: [laughing hysterically]

Fun times at Wally-World

Well, not really. I did go to Wal-mart, this much is true. However, the level of fun experienced is questionable. Why does it seem that people lose all common courtesy when there is a crowd? I waited patiently for my turn to have a prime look at the available Campbell's soups, only to have approaching customers repeatedly give me the stink eye like I needed to hurry up and choose my cream of celery and stop trying to located the cream of asparagus. Apparently Wal-mart doesn't carry cream of asparagus. Who knew?

Regardless, I can't understand how people think they will go into Wal-mart on a Sunday afternoon just 11 days before Christmas and have a quick shopping trip, much less how they can pretend that they didn't know you were waiting to get your turn to retrieve a particular item off the shelf. The best is when someone just marches up and takes your buggy and moves it way away, like they can't wait 6.4 seconds for you to turn and place your merchandise in the buggy. No, 'excuse me', no attempt to bite their nails for 6.4 seconds. Just grab my buggy and moved it 10 feet away...so they can step into the spot my buggy once warmed, mouth-breathing down my neck for a box of freaking Betty Crocker au gratin potatoes. It makes me think, "Oh! Watch out lady! You're tempting me to buy every last box of 'em if you don't back off for another 6.4 seconds!"

The lotion aisle was just as bad, with multiple groups of female customers clogging up the area while they endlessly chitter-chattered about random nonsense, not even looking at the lotion. They even giggled about how they were in the way...but didn't budge! For the love of Jeebus H. Christ, people, park and talk somewhere out of the way, not blocking an aisle or an entire genre of product!

I was a patient, courteous shopper, not hovering or mouth breathing on anyone's neck. I wait my turn, park my buggy as conveniently close yet out of the way as possible and I select my product as quickly as possible, even though other shoppers drive me bonkers. Learn from it, strangers!

A great night!

Wow! Tonight we went to the movies and saw Twilight! Phil and I both thought it was wonderful. The only thing is, now that he's seen the movie I really, really want him to read the book. There was so much more detail in the book, and some scenes were changed, as they always are. However, I liked the way the scenes played out in the book better. There were elements of the movie that were not part of the book that I loved, but reading the book is absolute must if you're going to watch or have seen the movie! Trust me!

I also went to an art show, Winter is Soluble by Mark Sloniker, at Magpie etc. Lots of fun was had by all...and when I say 'all', I'm referring to a nice little crowd that mingled! Phillip did some Christmas shopping while I went to Nashville for the show, and my girls are at my parents'. Tonight has been a really relaxing.

Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree!

I keep forgetting to mention that we put up our tree last week! It is beautiful. We went with a tall, slender Alpine Fir instead of the usual tree with a larger diameter. I absolutely love it! It is so graceful, if a Christmas tree can be graceful.

I used unique silver and gold ball ornaments, other brushed gold ornaments with silver sparkling accents and some various Lenox ornaments intermingled with our favorite special ornaments (mostly Hallmark ones and a few others). The tree is covered in plenty of colored lights, and we keep it on from breakfast until bedtime. It is my favorite tree that we have ever had, since 1999 when Phillip and I had our first Christmas as a couple.

The girls had the best time helping me hang all of the ornaments and they stand amazed at the site of it every single day. There really, truly is something spectacular about the taller, more slender tree. The ornaments look so much more cozy and the tree feels vintage to me when I look at it.

*Sigh.*

Bothersome news

I am somewhat disturbed this weekend with all the coverage of the discovery of what we all know will turn out to be little Caylee Anthony's skeletal remains. I have felt all along that her mother certainly killed her; I'm sorry, but a real momma would be hysterically screaming and collapsing to the ground the instant that she realized her child had vanished...not waiting around a month to report it to police.

Then of course, you have the UT Body Farm identifying molecular compounds in the air samples from the trunk of Casey Anthony's car that are also present in the decomposition of human flesh. Then you have transcripts showing where she texted friends, referred to her child in more derogatory terms than seem necessary. Don't forget the computer hard drive searches that found that someone in the home where she lived had been researching chlorophyll, neck breaking, household weapons and more.

It is just that the details, such as the fact that duct tape was wrapped around the little skull's mouth area, are so bothersome. The fact that all along, this warped killer lived just 1/4 miles from the body. The fact that any momma could harm her own child is so terrible, I can't even fathom what kind of sociopathic monster she is.

I mean, I feel such a tremendous amount of guilt for giving my two kids a swipe on the butt for genuinely being repeatedly bad or disrespectful to me...and this person killed Caylee before tossing her into the woods in a garbage sack with her mouth taped shut. It makes me ill.

Rude people, holiday fun and my girls

I have never experienced such rude people as I did at Opryland Hotel Monday night. People were busting at the seams to just steamroll you over in the walkways, though it wasn't really busy. On a side note, the lights were cut WAY back from previous years. They used to have a set of mechanical elves that you could see below you when you took the Cascade Sky Walk, but those didn't appear this year.

Tonight I went to my MOPS steering team meeting/Christmas party. It was fun!

My girls can NOT wait for Christmas. They ask ever morning if Santa came 'last night'.

Thankful, A to Z

Things I am thankful for:

• Allyson, my oldest sister!
• Betty, my mother!
• Candles that genuinely smell like they are supposed to and Coca-Cola!
• Daughters, since I'm the youngest of four girls and Dean for my daddy!
• Erin, my sister also known as Dinky!
• Felder, my maiden name, and Fuji for the fried rice!
• Gin, my next to oldest sister, Ginger!
• HP, for without them, I wouldn't have my laptop back!
• Ice cream! Specifically Dairy Queen ice cream!
• Jake and Josh, my nephews both celebrating birthdays this month!
• Kneaded dough...since I LURV bread!
• Lola, laughs and Louisiana!
• Miles!
• Nashville
• Opryland memories!
• Phillip! (My hubby)
• Queer friends who make me laugh and bring back memories!
• Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac, for the memories it brings me!
• SatCo for the queso and chips!
• Tongues, for without a tongue we could not speak (eloquently).
• Uterus, for without one I wouldn't have my Lo-Lo or my Milesy!
• Vogelers, for without them, my life would be almost void!
• Weight Watchers, for helping me lose 24 lbs without effort after Miles was born! (*Note to self, get back on W.W.)
• X-rays, for detecting my broken bones in '88 and '96.
• Yoga for the skinny people that actually do it.
• Zeigler's, for without them, I wouldn't have Aunt Mimi!

Magpie trunk show, coming right up!

A trunk show...

Magpie Etc. Gallery

12/4, 6 to 9PM, plus Friday, Saturday and Sunday...

10th Avenue South, East Nashville

Handmade gifts for those you love...and for those you just like!

Hand-dyed scarves, apparel, jewelry, art and more...but most importantly, featuring me!

My favorite links

Sometimes, I realize that some of my favorite links aren't that popular to people that I know. I don't want to list a long group of links on my page, so here is a list of my favorite sites:

• http://www.findadeath.com/
• http://sorryimissedyourparty.com/
• http://www.foxnews.com/
• http://http://www.bestweekever.tv/
• http://www.nashvillefashiongroup.org/
• http://www.worldofwonder.net/

Boots!

Last night I made an attempt to find leather knee boots. Not all man made, not pleather. Leather. I was really surprised to find that after stopping at Rack Room, Stein Mart, Belk, Dillard's, Penney's, Sears, Goody's and some shoe store in the mall, I only saw four pairs of real leather knee boots. EVERYTHING was man made pleather. (I wouldn't really expect to find real leather knee boots at Goody's, but I went ahead and checked.) The ones that I did find were at Belk and Dillard's. At Dillard's, the only ones without some distinguishing item like a giant buckle or a patent toe piece, were $190 Borns. I loved them, but they weren't on sale and I am not paying $200 for something that will be between my feet and the dirty pavement.

The best part was the little naive salesgirl at Dillard's telling me that I wouldn't find leather for under almost $200 b/c there just weren't any to be found anymore. I laughed and told her that I could find some for under $100. When I got home Phillip told me about a sale at Off Broadway, and I am happy to say that I went there today. They had a large selection of leather knee boots that were all on sale for around $100, $90 or $70. So "HA!" Dillard's girl! HA! The ones I bought might not be Born brand, but I love them and I never set out looking for a big name, just real leather knee boots in black, which is what I got.