Happy New Year 2008!

It's been a wonderful holiday season and I've been really blessed this year. I wish for all my blog friends a new year filled with happiness, love, success, and joy. Your love, friendship, and support were an encouragement to me and I thank you.





Auld Lang Syne



Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?


For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.


We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine† ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne

Feed the World

Last year, I shared some of my favorite Christmas songs as I've been doing this year as well. There is one that's very special to me and I'm sure I've mentioned this song several times, "Do They Know It's Christmas". Why do I love this song so much, well partly it's because it reminds me of my teenage years, which I think I consider my "glory days". Back then, it inspired me to want to help my fellow man. Fast forward to present day, and still this song inspires me. Recently I was reading some news articles on the internet when I ran across a Best/Worst list of Christmas songs. And there near the top of the Worst list was this song. I was crushed. How could anyone not like this song? Apparantly, it's not cool to think of starving children at Christmas. Well, could there be a time any more appropriate that at Christmas time, I ask? What other time of the year should we do more for those less fortunate? I find this thought disgusting! Yes, Jesus birth is the reason we celebrate Christmas, but let's not forget that his message was/is equally as important. Love one another, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, visit the sick/imprisoned. What better time than during the celebration of his coming?

Feed the World. Let them know it's Christmastime again.

Our Tree

After many requests (mainly just Vickie ;)), here are some pictures of our Christmas tree this year. As you will notice, it's a black, white, silver, and grey kind of theme this year and much bigger since we have more room. (Thanks, honey) I just love this tree, I think it's my favorite of the last several years. You may remember, I change colors every year. So, here's our tree and a few of my favorite ornaments.

Buffemaspolooza

I.Love.Jimmy.Buffett. AND I.Love.Christmas. Well, DUH! If anyone has paid any attention to anything posted on this blog in the last two weeks, you've picked up on that! So, what better way to combine my love of Buffett and Christmas than with a selection of Buffett Christmas songs. It's hard to think of Christmas without frigid temperatures, but how nice would it be to experience Christmas on the beach? Bliss, pure bliss.

So without further delay, here's "Mele Kalikimaka" and "Christmas Island".

A Dedication

This song goes out to my wonderful, adoring husband, Mr. Grinch. Now, he's naturally a wee-bit cynical, but if it were up to him we'd have no Christmas tree, no decorations, no presents etc. I think it's a facade, that he truly loves Christmas and the meaning of the season, but he can't show those emotions, cuz you know, it's not manly. Anyhoo, he's my Grinch and I love him, not to mention that he 's a great gift giver! :)

Here's to you, babe!

John and Paul

I've been working on a post for over a week now. Writing, re-writing, I just haven't been able to put into words exactly what I wanted to say. It was about the Beatles, specifically John Lennon and Paul McCartney. I have loved the Beatles since I discovered them when I was a teenager. I decided I was a flower child, and totally immersed myself in the 60's pop culture. But it was the music of the Beatles that spoke to my soul. While I love Paul's fun and melodious tunes, it's John's lyrics that truly speak to me. His anthems still linger and are just as pertinent today as they were 30 years ago. Peace and love, that's what's really important. How we treat each other, equally, and with no regard as to race, nationality, religion, or gender. So, for this week, I give you two pieces, one each by both John and Paul. John's piece, while written during the Vietnam War era, speaks to us now during the Iraqi War. So, this is Christmas, what have you done? Another year over, a new one just begun.... War is Over... if we want it. Peace. Give it a chance.






And now for something completely different... Paul's piece. A more lighter piece, fluff really, but anything that's catchy and can be sung along with, I love. So for fun, I turn to Paul... 'scuse me, Sir Paul. Simply having a wonderful Christmas time.

Music News

So, Frank Sinatra, Ike Turner, and Madonna walk into a bar.. the bartender says, 'Hey, what's kind of menage a trois is this?' Frank and Ike beat up the bartender while Madonna nonchalantly replies, 'No, just strange news".

Sorry, bad joke there, but how weird that Madonna, Ike Turner, and Frank Sinatra all make the headlines in the same week. First there was the news of Ike Turner's death, then Ole Blue Eyes being memorialized with a U.S. Postage Stamp, and then weirdest of all, Madonna is elected into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame.


I don't know much about Ike Turner and what I do know is not flattering, aside from the well-known fact that his recording of "Rocket 88" is considered to be the first rock n roll song recorded. Unfortunately, I think his legacy will be that of a philandering, abusive scoundrel. I still pray his soul rests in peace and his family finds comfort in their hour of grief.

And, on the day of what would have been his 92nd birthday, ole blue eyes himself gets his own stamp. How cool. Gotta wonder what Frankie would've thought about this.




And finally, Madonna is elected to the Rock n Roll hall of fame. This pretty much verifies what my husband has been saying for years. The rock n roll hall of fame is a joke. Nothing in Madonna's discology is even remotely rock n roll, tho' I suppose her rock n roll attitude and longevity could qualify her for the hall. But, still, there's something about it that's just not right.

Interesting news.

DollyPalooza

I. Love. Dolly. Parton. I think I've said this numerous times on this here blog, but I absolutely love her. She was my role model as a child. I wanted to be her, or at the least be her daughter. I thought she was the prettiest little thing and her voice was like that of an angel, simply beautiful. My aunt always told me while I was growing up that "Pretty is as pretty does" and that suits Dolly. Not only is her appearance beautiful, but her soul is as well. She has revitalized the area where she was raised and has continued giving back to that community and to our state. She's known affectionately as "the Book Lady" for her reading and book program that gives every newborn child a book a month for the first five years of their lives. This program, Imagination Library, started in Sevierville, Tn is now in 36 states, Canada, and 566 other countries around the world. So, this little Tennessee mountain girl has done good. These are but a very few of her songs I love.


Christmas Without You




I"ll Be Home With Bells On




Hard Candy Christmas




I Believe in Santa Claus

Country Christmaspalooza

Continuing on our journey through favored Christmas music, thus I present my favorite Country Christmas songs. Yes, they're the lying, cheating, drinking, stalking type songs, but as I've discussed before this is the music I was raised on, so look over my redneck side.


Santa Claus is Watching You... Ray Stevens



Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy .... Buck Owens





Merry Christmas from the Family .... Montgomery Gentry



and you can't be a redneck without Jeff Foxworthy's 12 Days of Christmas

Christmas Meme

My dear sweet husband tagged me to do this meme... so here goes.


What are your three favorite Christmas songs & who sings them?

To narrow my favorite songs down to three, regardless of the genre, is extremely difficult. But, for me, I can't fully enjoy the Christmas season until I've heard these "Christmas in Dixie" by Alabama, "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid, and this by Jose Feliciano




What are your three favorite “Christmas” foods?

My husband selected eggnog here, but I'm more of a boiled custard kind of gal. Less spicy than the nog, I love it. My second would be whatever candy item my aunt makes for me, she makes candy for "special" people at our church and because I'm her choir director, she gives me a tin. She usually makes peanut brittle, which I love, but because I hate the peanuts, she makes me something different. Last year, it was homemade toffee and all I can say is YUM! Third favorite isn't necessarily a Christmas food, but I just love turkey and dressing, and a good baked ham and all those trimmings that go with it. And I'm gonna pick a fourth here and go with the breakfast foods because that was always my family tradition growing up. We had breakfast at my parents house at like 7am and all my brothers and sisters and their spouses and children would descend upon our home and we'd eat and just enjoy each other's company. This is our first Christmas without both parents and it's gonna be hard, this breakfast was a big deal to our Dad and in his memory, I'm going to start this tradition with our children.


What are your three Christmas secrets?

In general I don't have secrets. Well, let me say that anything I would keep secret would be intimate things, if you know what I mean. So, instead of secrets I'll tell you a few things about me.
1. I change the decorations on my Christmas tree every year. Last year, it was a white tree with pink decorations, the year before it was all blue, one year I made the decorations and the kids painted them, and this year our tree is black w/silver and white. I'll post some pictures of it later.
2. Starting right before and after my birthday in October, I start dropping hints of things I'd like for Christmas to my darling husband. From just mentioning things I'd like to have, to circling items in a catalog and leaving it in obvious places, he somehow picks up on all these hints, he's good! VERY!GOOD! and...
3. I am not a snoop! I have never snooped to find my presents. Why? Because I love surprises. I love the unwrapping of the paper and uncovering the surprises beneath. I love to be surprised so much that I pick out numerous items I'd like to have so that no matter what my husband selects for me, I'll be surprised. It's wonderful!

Christmapalooza

As my dear, sweet husband so eloquently put it, I'm doing a Christmapalooza. Last week my selected artist was the big E, Elvis Presley. This week, it's Amy Grant. It is not Christmas for me until I've listened to her Christmas CD's. I had misplaced my very favorite one, gave up looking for it, and finally bought a new one. It's hard for me to select my favorite song on that particular CD because the entire CD is great, but here are a couple. I do have a couple songs I'm more partial to, but unfortunately couldn't find them to share with you. The first one is a jazzy/swing type number that gets me in the Christmas mood, the second one is a beautiful hymn reminding us of the sacrifice God made in that miracle of his precious child, and the last one is special to me because it conjures up childhood memories of my Tenneesee Christmases. I hope you enjoy Amy Grant's "Christmas Can't be Very Far Away", "Breath of Heaven", and "Tennessee Christmas".

Carpe Diem

I make a big deal about my age. I obssess over it, I'm constantly in the mirror plucking gray hairs, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles, and in general making a fool out of myself. For all intents and purposes, I am young. Now, I realize that I'm no "spring chicken", but I'm also not ready for the rocking chair and actually, I think I can say I'm somewhat comfortable with where I am age-wise. After the shocking news I received today, my behavior has been embarrassing. Today, I learned that a friend of mine from jr. high and high school died. He was the sweetest boy, the cuter of a set of twins, so intelligent, athletic, and caring. Boys wanted to be like him and girls, well, we wanted to be with him. Struck down in the prime of his life. We'd lost contact over the years, a natural course of life after school, so I don't know if he was married or had children. Still, my heart goes out to his family. We are never given a promise of a tomorrow, but at the same time, we never expect to die young. We plan for long successful lives, marriages that last, children and lots of grandchildren, but it's at moments like these when we should realize that life is short. Take time to smell the roses, as the old cliche says, carpe diem and all that stuff. Appreciate those you love and make sure they know you love them.