Christmas Memories

  When you think back on previous Christmas's what comes to mind? That year you got a puppy or when the power went out halfway through cooking the turkey? Maybe it was the one where Grandpa was in the hospital and you all went there for the afternoon and brought him his turkey dinner. Or where Aunt Mary drank too much wine and broke out the mistletoe. As I sit here looking at my semi-decorated tree I thought I'd share a few of mine. Feel free to do the same.

  My cousin Charlie always came after dinner for apple pie and ice cream. Every year he was old enough to drive. He would stay just long enough for a quick slice and a chat then head home again. He was the only Christmas day visitor as most of the visiting happened on Boxing Day. How he always arrived just as we were clearing off the table for dessert is a mystery.

  Mom's parents used to come "see the gifts" which I swear may just be an east coast tradition but one that was a personal favorite. It was the only time they would visit where playing cards wasn't the first thing. Each gift would come out and be passed around and told who it was from. Aunt Charlotte would come later in the day and while Dad and Uncle Roy talked about the weather and fishing, the same gift passing would take place. Sometimes Aunt Ann would stop in and our lifelong neighbor Angie would walk over later when she saw all the cars had left.

  Sometime between the 27th and New Year's day Mom and Dad would do their visits. We would go to Aunt Jeans and have her shortbread with rum icing cookies. Then my Grandparents house where Lori always played us the new album she got for Christmas. I know we went to other homes as well but the details are blurry. All the kids' favorite visit was to Uncle Roy and Aunt Charlotte's house because they lived beside Bernard's hill and we could go sledding for a few hours.

  Christmas morning we always had bacon and eggs. Bacon was a real treat as were oranges and a bag of nuts in the shell. Those were only during the holidays. We weren't allowed to open any gifts till after breakfast and the table was cleared off! Looking back that was quite a challenge for us. It is not a tradition I have carried on I should add. Once we finished opening we could play all day with whatever Santa brought us. You know I remember those details vividly but not one single gift. Interesting.

  Mom always put tinsel on the tree. One strand at a time. Yes, you read that right. And we were constantly being reminded not to run past the tree so that the tinsel didn't move. God forbid if it did then she would have to fix it and maybe even rehang it. The cats loved the tinsel too and we had to keep them from eating and playing with it. 

   Christmas time, in my memory at least, was always fun. I guess we choose to remember the good and forget the bad. I'm sure there were squabbles and full out fights. Just like there are at my house now. But I hope my kids will only look back on the fun we have had and our traditions with smiles and laughter. Just like their parents' will! 

  Thanks Mom and Dad for the great memories! The best gift of all.

    Ang

Battle Royal

  When Prince William got married the world gushed over Kate Middleton.  We were all glad he got his "happily ever after" with a real-life Cinderella. His mother, the late Princess Diana, would have approved of his choice in partner. Then more recently we watched Prince Harry fall in love and get married too. Again the world was mesmerized. And once everyone was living the dream, the press/tabloids/opinion writers decided to begin to tear it all down. As fast as they built it up.

  It started easily enough. An article about how the two women were nothing alike. Then one about an argument over a wedding detail. A harsh word at a staff member and some alleged tears by a Duchess and voila...a 21st century drama is underway. The British tabloids are the worst in the world and they know how to rile up their readers. 

  Stories about Meghan Markle being bossy arose....I could see this being true though as there is a big difference between the British and Americans and how they live their lives. Kate didn't like her new sister-in-law. One follows the rules while the other is a rebel. All speculation of course. Most probably not true. But a magazine publishers fairy tale.

  After a year of the fairy tale now they need to invent some cracks. Harry & Meghan are moving to the country because Kensington Palace is too close quarters with Will & Kate living next door. There is a strain on the brother's relationship because of their wives dislike. Jealousy. Anger. Distance. Something new every day. And most of the "blame" is on the women.

   Is any or all of it true? Probably not. Are they best friends? Again I doubt it. But I would bet money that they are polite, friendly and civil to each other when they are together. You know...like adults are most of the time. And why did the tabloids make it about the women and not the brothers? Is it so easy to believe that women can't get along? That there is always some competition between them and conflict. Short answer...yes it is.

  I honestly don't care whether these two women like each other or not. It does not affect me one way or the other. But I wish there were more articles about women empowering each other than they seem to print about them tearing each other down. Fake or not.

  Ang

  

LOL

  You know what the world needs? Right now at this very moment? Laughter. Side-splitting, cheek hurting laughter. The kind where your ribs hurt and you've snorted at least twice. You're wiping away tears and slapping the table and still can't bring yourself under control laughing. Each and every one of us needs this. And it's pretty simple to achieve.

  Watch The Birdcage or any episode of The Golden Girls. Google Carol Burnett outtakes and watch Tim Conway cry tears of laughter. Those baby giggling videos are perfect. Or the puppies. Anything that you think is funny. Just get to a point where you forget the world around you and then ask yourself how you feel.

  You don't need to watch something either. Have a friend who is super funny or a great storyteller? Spend a few hours in their company. My cousin Irvin tells stories that make me howl in laughter. Even now just thinking about it makes me smile. Or look through some old pictures. I guarantee there is a hairstyle that will make you fall out of your chair. We all have one don't we Will? 

  The world is a serious place right now. And we are all overworked and stressed. The holiday season adds to that. We need something to relieve the tension and one that doesn't cost us a dime. It's out there we just need to grab hold.

  Ang

Baby It's Cold Outside

  Baby It's Cold Outside, it's -16 so it's really cold out there, is the new "Happy Holidays" controversy for 2018. And it's driving me mental. Why? Because it is 99% made up. Someone with too much free time on their hands made one comment and boom social media overreaction. A controversy is born.

  Yet if it wasn't for us, by us I mean folks with a social media presence, this would have died a swift death a week ago. But we can't do that. We need to talk about it as if it's true. You would think by the way this has spread that everyone has been told at least ten times that the song is offensive and they never should be subjected to the song again for fear of permanent damage to their brains. 

  Now I know this entire blog is contributing to the insanity. The irony has not escaped me but I wanted to tell people it is fake. Yes, a few radio stations have gotten complaints. They probably get those same complaints about Cardi B or Maroon 5 or even the Stones. This particular song, which we've all heard over the holidays since 1949, seems to have invoked a response in many of us.

  The worst part of this controversy? Other than the insanity of it in the first place. It's being blamed on the #MeToo movement! Women are now being accused of being too sensitive and too politically correct. Social media is now filled with users complaining about how they spend their whole day worried about the feelings of others and how no matter what they say it's taken the wrong way. One person says it, another retweets it, the next one says someone was told....the cycle begins.

  Taking an issue as important as MeToo and reducing it to this makes me very sad. Almost every single woman in the entire world has a story to tell in this movement. Saying we are all now to blame for losing a holiday classic belittles the trauma and loss of dignity many went through. It's not fair and it needs to stop.

  If song lyrics are offensive to you turn off the radio, turn the channel or pick another song. Don't make up a controversy and don't blame it on a victim.

  Ang

The Holidays...Part 1- Great Expectations

  Every year, every single year, I have big plans for Christmas present shopping. Ask me October first and not only do I have a "plan" but I'll have one gift already bought. Feel free to call me the Martha Stewart of holiday gift giving! Not only does the plan detail gifts but decorating, food and must-do events. I am delusional and everyone knows it but my true friends let me enjoy my bubble while it lasts.

  It is now the 10th of December and my plan has failed miserably. Wait that word doesn't even come close to the level of failure this year. Why you may ask? Because there is still shopping to do. And those presents must go in the mail to the other side of the country! I'm not holding my breath that they will arrive by the big day. My bubble is officially popped!

  Yesterday the tree finally went up. Not decorated. But in the stand with the lights working. Progress. Today I need to fix the branches and haul the boxes up the stairs. It does look pretty without any decorations at night....I know what you are thinking and you are right, during the day it needs something. Very few other Christmassy things will be going out though. There just isn't enough time.

  I have spent the last thirty years trying to make John excited about the holidays and the shopping and decorating. He has never, ever, shown any interest in either. Yes, he will climb the ladder for the outdoor lights. Set up the timer for said lights and haul the heavy tree up the basement stairs. But once that is done he is just as happy to sit in the chair and watch me, and now the kids, do the rest. And now the kids are losing interest. I'm doomed.

  The holiday season will go on. Whether my house is decorated or not. Tree or no tree. Cards or no cards. Presents will not matter. The days will go on till we all wake up on December 25th with the same excitement we had as children. After all, it's about being together....right?

  

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

  Ang   

  

One Good Thing....Just One

  Someone made a comment today that really struck me as truth. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here....you, as an ultra-conservative, will never think one thing a liberal does is good. And he was 100% correct. Radical liberals will react the same to conservatives. So why can't people see the other point of view on anything when it comes to politics?

  I would say that Canada suffered through almost ten years of Conservative PM Stephen Harper. I was never a fan of his for various reasons but was everything he did as the leader of Canada bad? Of course not. He made some changes and brought about some policies that I agree with. And many I didn't. The same can be said for our Premier Doug Ford. While I disagree with almost all of his ideas for the province there are a few that might just be okay for the greater good. With an open mind, I will wait and see.

  Not wanting to paint every conservative with the same brush, but I am about to, they don't seem to be able to say anything good about a liberal. The vulgar word "libtard" has become a favorite go-to word for the unyielding conservative. It's offensive and you all know better than that. I've asked several right-leaning folks to say one good thing the latest PM, a liberal, has done. Silence. They make no pretense of even giving it some thought. Nothing. That is a sad fact for the majority. Sad for us as a country too.

  There will never be a time when everyone is happy. Some leaders will always be too liberal or too conservative or not enough of either. But we need to find a happy medium where the majority of people are getting ahead. 

  Let's try to become the "glass half full" country again.

  Ang

  

  

Too Busy

 Listen up all you overworked, underpaid, stressed out and tired people. Stop complaining. That's right you heard me. Stop right now. Who do you think you are? Cardi B? Because she is so busy she can't show up for her court date. That is a level of busy you and I "average people" don't understand.

  After allegedly ordering her bodyguards to attack two female bartenders in a strip club for sleeping with her husband, she is charged with assault and reckless endangerment. Now I don't claim to be a lawyer but years of Law & Order reruns means I know you show up for court. Because an angry judge is not who you want to be standing in front of.

  Her lawyer showed up and said she was too busy because she is a "fairly notable hip-hop artist". Wow. Just say that out loud and hear how foolish it sounds. I guess the fact that she is "fairly notable" means the law doesn't apply to her as much as it would to say an unnotable cashier or a nonfamous daycare worker? Does a lot of money and musical success mean you are above the law? Apparently.

  I wonder if this same court case had happened three years ago and the defendant was Belcalis Almanzar would the judge have been so forgiving or the lawyer so confident. The answer is simple....nope. Ms. Almanzar would not be afforded the same courtesies as Cardi B. Even though they are one and the same. 

  We've watched celebrities get treated differently over the years. This is just another example. But it's a hard one because we are all too busy. It's an excuse that doesn't ring true. The judge is busy. The clerks are busy. Every single person who works in that courthouse is busy. Yet somehow they managed to drag themselves there. She has access to private planes and can afford the Uber price to show up on time. Cardi B is more important in her own mind and she made sure the judge knew it as well.

   Stop complaining about how much sleep you got or how much work you have to do. Forget about the laundry piles and the dirty dishes as you help your kid with homework or shovel your driveway. Just thank your lucky stars you aren't as busy as Cardi!

  Ang