My mom was here for almost a week. While our little farm house is, er, little, we still had a nice time. Pete was away and that's why my mom came up. I had to work a couple of days and the sitter had finals. We even got to Christmas shop, to boot! Kendall sang in her first concert at school. My mom decided to stay an extra day so she could watch Kendall. It was so good to have her here.

I'm still not ready for Christmas. I'm just not creative at buying presents. The kids both got iPads from Pete's dad so how can we top that? The iPads came last week and we let the kids have them early. Still, I need to get out there and buy some more things for the kids. (not really-like so many kids in America, my kids have way too much stuff and take it for granted).

I guess I should get off this computer and finish putting ornaments on the tree. It looks nice from a distance because we do have lights. I'm not sure where all our Christmas decorations are, though. I wish I could find my Nativity. Sigh.

Our first snowfall (with the exception to the one Oct. 30) of the season came yesterday. It was just a dusting. The morning started out with rain and the rain lasted until the afternoon. Once the temperature dropped, big, wet snowflakes fell from the sky. The kids were so excited. I, on the other hand, kept telling myself how lucky we were to make it this far without a big snowfall. I really don't like winter and only after I bought a down parka last year, was I able to stand the cold.

I wish I could find a rewarding job. The airport gig is frustrating on many levels. I do like the free airfare but haven't taken advantage of it lately. Maybe that's one of the frustrations?!? The boss is another one, for sure. He's definitely one of the men who needs an idea to be his idea. It doesn't help that I'm female either. I miss the hospital environment where my skill set was appreciated.

I'm loving having a cat again. Gosh, I didn't realize how much I love cats. The kitten has this huge personality that fills a room. She is a lap cat, too. I love it!

I guess I better go for now. I'm so behind on everything. I can't believe Christmas is only a few days away...

(De) Ice, Ice Baby

I worked Saturday starting at 5 am. I used to work every Saturday but I was just working for someone who had worked for me earlier in the week. Anyway, it's starting to be cold in the mornings and the airplanes have frost on them. So, it meant that I got to drive the de-ice truck for the 6 am departures and I actually de-iced a plane at 8 am. It wasn't too bad, really. I can't say I want to do it all the time, but now the mystery is gone. Now, some of the old timers can shut up, too.

Christmas is coming up and I haven't started shopping AT ALL. I am so lame. But, part of me is so tired of the buy, buy, buy culture of Christmas. It is so over the top and totally misses the point of the holiday. Seriously, I wish we could just participate in the Heifer Project International and be done with it. But, my kids are 9 and 7 so that would be extreme the other way. Sigh.

It's been a week since the scandal broke in Happy Valley. Needless to say, people have not been very happy around here. Actually, heartbroken, dismayed, shocked might describe it. I watched the Penn State/Nebraska game on Saturday. Nebraska won. Both teams started the game with a joint prayer for the victims. I heard there wasn't a dry eye in the stadium. I was fighting back tears at home. Joe Paterno was fired and this was the first football game without him as head coach since the 60s, I believe. The coach (then graduate assistant) who witnessed the abuse but did not report it in 2002, was placed on administrative leave. This meant that Joe's son, Jay Paterno, coached from the sidelines. It was great to see him there! I'm only an acquaintance of him and his wife, but they are really nice people and I'm sorry they are going through this. At the end of the game, Jay broke down when asked what he put in the letter he had delivered to his dad before the game. He then said, "I love you and wish you were here." He then walked away. I can't imagine what that family is going through.

Work is still OK. It occurred to me tonight while I was listening to a story from "This American Life" that I really miss working in healthcare. I don't know if it's the idea of helping people or what. But, I do. I still volunteer at Centre Volunteers in Medicine every Monday morning by drawing blood and that gives me great satisfaction. If you click under the tab 'For patients', you can see me drawing a guy's blood. Anyway, I would love to be back working in the hospital, but right now, there are no jobs in my field. I would love to give it a try to get into administration, but I'm probably not qualified to do so.

And to end this post on a happy note. I love having a cat again. Midnight is so precious. She has to sit in my lap every chance she gets. However, she is going through the destruction phase. Oh boy! I had forgotten about that!

I just finished "The Help." Awesome book. While our family didn't have a maid while I was growing up, my mom and dad had one early on in their marriage (before I came along). My mother worked and the maid would come to the house and take care of my sister. My mom would come home to a clean house and dinner on the table. When my family moved to Northwest Arkansas from southern Arkansas, the lady wanted to move up there with them. Of course, that was during the years of the Sundown Towns, and the town they lived in was one of them.

When I was a kid I was fascinated by different churches. I would ask my dad what the different denominations believed as we drove by on our way to our church. Of course, there were no Blacks in our church. It always bothered me. Why didn't Blacks and Whites worship together? If God made us all, then why couldn't we all worship Him together? He loves us all the same, after all. I was much older when I realized that these barriers were man-made.