The Eve of the New Year

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! It is hard to believe that the New Year is already about to begin. I am having a somewhat low-key NYE this year. The friends and I are going to dinner down in Philly and then heading to Keith & Michelle's for a small group party! There will be drinks, food, and games galore...(and, who knows what else...you can never predict anything with these people!)

Have you thought about New Years resolutions? Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. I'm sure everyone has at least one thing that they would like to do, if they really put their mind to thinking about it. I have quite a few things........here are some of them, in no particular order:

• Take my vitamins...yes, yes, I know...doesn't sound like much of a resolution, but for me it is...I get colds very easily, especially being an elementary school teacher!
• Exercise more...not only do I want to lose weight, I also want to go back to doing the exercises I was given at my last round of physical therapy. It's no wonder I still have back & neck pain...I haven't kept up like I should have.
  
• Get a massage...yeah, to help with the pain...anyone want to donate to my cause?
• Get a permanent teaching position...I want somewhere to settle in...I'm tired of floating from place to place.
• Move out...yeah, this is dependent on whether I get a permanent job.
• Worry less, open up more...I worry a little too much sometimes...I need to learn to go with the flow. I also tend to keep my feelings inside and dwell on them...Basically, I need to stop that!
• Say no (respectfully)...ok, get your mind out of the gutter...all I mean is that I too often don't take enough time for myself. I often give up my free time doing things other people want me to do. While I know this is sometimes a good thing when help is needed, I either don't get things done I need to do, or I get stuck doing what I don't want to.
  
• Pick my battles...I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist, not necessarily towards others, just mainly on myself. I put too much pressure on myself to get things done and do it right. I need to continue to realize that you win some, you lose some...let it go!

Well, it looks like I've got a lot on my plate for this year. No time like the present to get started. See you in 2006! Feel free to let me know some of your own resolutions!

A Non Sequitur Christmas

I thought this was cute and wanted to share............Have a Merry Christmas!!

My Holiday Traditions
a novel

(you'll need some time to read this!!)

I've always been interested in finding out other people's holiday traditions. Today, in the 2nd grade I'm teaching all week, I led a discussion on holiday celebrations and traditions. Most of the students celebrate Christmas, while a few others celebrate Hanukkah, while still others celebrate both. We made a web on the board to show each child's favorite holiday tradition. It was great to see all of them get excited in sharing their own story. It was also interesting to see whose Christmas Eve traditions compare and contrast to my own.

In my family, our Christmas Eve celebration holds more tradition than does Christmas Day. That is not to knock Christmas Day or anything, it's just that more preparation goes into the Eve than the rest of the holiday. For many years now, the tradition has been that my parents, sisters and I, along with my aunts, uncles, and cousins from my Mom's side, all gather at my Mom-Mom & Poppy's house (my Italian grandparents) for Christmas Eve. My Gram (my Dad's Irish mom) has been spending the Eve with us too ever since my Granddad passed away...after all, no one should be alone on Christmas! There, we eat food, food, and more food. The dinner tends to follow the more traditional Italian Christmas Eve...that means fish. Typically, it is called "The Feast of the Seven Fishes." However, we don't always have seven. According to my grandparents, it's not necessarily important that you have seven...you can have more or less than that if you wish. And there are not seven exact types that you must have...but there do seem to be some fish that are typically eaten at Italian Christmas Eve dinners.

At our Christmas Eve, the fish we eat is usually as follows: shrimp, eels, calamari (squid), smelts, whiting, and king crab...this year we are also having tilapia (for those of us a little squeamish over some of the above-listed fish---usually the kids). My Mom-Mom, with help from her sister--my Aunt Dolly, and my Mom's sister--Aunt Jo--spend much of the day frying the fish to get it ready for later.

The food doesn't stop there, though. My Mom-Mom also makes some sort of pasta, usually cappellini (very thin strands, also known as angel-hair pasta). The sauce is usually baby shrimp in a thinner red sauce. Yum.

We're not done yet. Most years we also have something called zeppole (we say ZEE-po-lee)...it is otherwise known as fried dough. This is one of my favorite parts of Christmas Eve. Although, a little birdy told me we may not be having it this year...it is a lot of work for my Mom-Mom. She likes to make her own dough from scratch, and with frying all the fish...well, it takes up a lot of time. Anyway, back to the zeppole. There are many ways that Italian families eat it. Some eat it sweet, rolled in cinnamon and/or sugar...others eat it plain...others eat it filled with anchovies (as my Poppy likes it!). Still others may eat it with a tomato sauce or even jelly. Typically, my family eats it either sugared, with jelly, or plain...but we've also had it filled with tuna. We stay away from my Poppy's zeppole filled with anchovies! In addition to all the dinner food, we have too many desserts to count, which usually get passed on 'til Christmas Day.

Now, onto the rest of the night...for at least a week before Christmas Eve, it is common to hear "I can't wait until Christmas Eve" from my sisters, cousins, and me. Why? Well, because of polyannas. The torture (for the little ones) is that after eating dinner, they want to do pollyannas right away...however, the adults want to get the dishes cleaned up a bit. So, it's usually my job to keep them occupied with other activities, like karaoke or crafts. Don't be fooled though...every five minutes, you hear "Are we doing pollyannas yet?"

Here's how it works...Every year, just before Halloween, we pick names out of a hat (it is restricted currently to only the grandchildren...there are 7 of us). We keep the names a secret and buy a gift for the cousin whose name we receive. No one is supposed to find out who had who until that night...but, the tricksters sometimes find out. Anyway, the big joke is that we try to fake each other out...don't ask me how this started, but some of us go so far as to put the wrapped gift in another cousin's lap, and then yank it away to hand it to the person it was really meant for. But, don't worry...it's not just the grandchildren that receive presents that night...we all give gifts to our Godparents as well as Grandparents...so, pretty much everyone goes home with something! The whole while, we also listen up for the sirens blaring...'cause typically every year we get a visit from Santa Claus on the local fire department's fire truck. We all run outside and the kids receive candy canes from Santa.

When all of us finally go home...my family's tradition continues at my house. My parents, sisters, and me exchange some gifts that night. My sisters and I give our gifts to each other, and we also give our parents their gifts. My parents usually will give each of us one gift to open on Christmas Eve...we receive the rest on Christmas morning.

I'd love to hear about your traditions...feel free to share!

Snow Day

So, yeah, it snowed last night (or, actually, very early this morning--depending on how you want to look at it). I'm really bored though, right now. Schools are all closed...my Mom took my Jeep to work...nowhere to go, nothing to see.

Kelli and I have already been out to shovel and salt the walk. At first shovel, it's a light fluffy snow...however, when you get below the surface, it's heavy and wet. And it's freakin' cold out there. Murphy hates the snow...his little paws can't handle it. Watching him try to walk through the backyard is hilarious though...he was trying to find a nice, low place to go to the bathroom (to no avail) so his legs were completely sunken in and his little butt got wet...it was quite funny if I do say so myself.

Before I go...here is a little Christmas trivia for ya...

Why is the word Christmas sometimes shortened to Xmas?

• Answer: Popular belief was that Xmas was a way to rid Christmas of it's original meaning. However, this isn't true. Xristos means Christ in Greek, also meaning anointed. Mas is an abbreviated form of the word Mass. Together, they translate as "worship for Christ."
  

My List of Must-Sees for the Christmas Season


So you've read Tim Ballisty's Christmas Song Extravaganza (oops, I forgot "Ultimate"). Now let's talk movies. You lika the Christmas movie? The Christmas movie is good, no? Okay...enough of the joking around. I love Christmas movies and specials. In addition to great holiday music, it's one of the best ways to get into the Christmas spirit. I've compiled a list of my favorites. I know some of you may not agree, but, that is why it's my list. Feel free to tell me what you think, though...I'm always up for a good debate.

In Chronological Order (with some of my favorite quotes):

• It's A Wonderful Life (1946) - "Daddy, teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings."

• Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) - "A toy is never truly happy until it is loved by a child."

• A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) - "Isn't there anyone out there who can tell me what Christmas is all about?"

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - original (1966) - "It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags!"

• Frosty the Snowman (1969) - "Happy birthday! Hey, I said my first words."

• Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1978) - I don't have a quote for this, but my favorite part is when Bert and Ernie each sell their prized possessions to Mr. Hooper in order to buy a Christmas gift for the other; Ernie sells Rubber Ducky to buy Bert a cigar box for his paper clip collection. Bert sells his paper clip collection to buy a soap dish for, you guessed it, Ernie's Rubber Ducky. In the end, good ole Mr. Hooper gives back their prized possessions, for nothing in return.
  

• A Christmas Story (1983) - "You'll shoot your eye out." and "Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian."

• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1983) - "Hey! Hey!...Unto you a child is born!... And it's Jesus!...So go on...go on!"

• Scrooged (1988) - "The catch...is that you need to shower, little man. You are ripe! Wooo!"

• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) - "Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?"

• Home Alone (1990) - "Bless this highly nutritious microwavable macaroni and cheese dinner and the people who sold it on sale. Amen." and "Is this toothbrush approved by the American Dental Association?"

• The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) - "Light the lamp, not the rat! Light the lamp!" and "It's ok, girls. Life is made up of meetings and partings. That is the way of it. I'm sure that we shall never forget Tiny Tim, or this first parting that there was among us."

• The Santa Clause (1994) - "Charlie, stay away from those things. They're reindeer; you don't know where they've been. They all look like they've got key lime disease."

• Elf (2003) - "SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!" and "I just like to smile! Smiling's my favorite." and "You stink. You smell like beef and cheese! You don't smell like Santa." and "I'm singing! I'm in a store and I'm siiiiiingiiiiing!...I'm in a store and I'm siiiiiingiiiiing!"

• The Polar Express (2004) - My favorite part of this movie is when the three children-- known as Hero Boy, Hero Girl, and Lonely Boy--are standing outside the back of the train and they sing When Christmas Comes to Town.

So, there's my list. Now, if I only had time to watch all of these before Christmas...

Gotta Love Garfield

Happy Birthday, Granddad


Today would have been my Granddad's 82nd birthday...he passed away 4 1/2 years ago. Hard to believe that much time has already gone by. He is surely missed...I know his Irish eyes are smilin' down on me. I love you, Grand.

My Recent Visit to Virginia

I forgot to post these pics from a couple weeks ago. My travel buddy, Tom, and I went down to VA for a weekend, to visit Alicia & Tommy. Below are just a few of the pics I have. Within the next day or so, I'll be putting the rest up in my online photo album.

The girls--Alicia & Me--at dinner

The boys--Tommy & Tom...aka Tom²

Alicia & Tommy with their new dog, Shadow (a lab-dachsund mix)

I just couldn't resist!!...Shadow reminds me so much of my first dog, Pappi, who died when I was 10.

A pic at the Civil War Museum, where we went sightseeing

Cruise Has No Control

I am fed up with Tom Cruise. He is seriously getting on my last nerve. For me, my true disdain started back when he was on The Today Show with Matt Lauer and seemed to profess to know more about psychiatry than everyone else. I had never seen the entire interview, just snippets here and there. So, on Monday night, I watched his interview on Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of the Year special, and I saw another piece of the aforementioned appearance on The Today Show, where he told Matt Lauer, "Matt, Matt, Matt... You're glib... You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do." That is so condescending; if he had said that to me, I probably would have slapped him. Yeah, I'll believe that statement when I see the letters DR. before your name. I really think he has no business deciding what is scientifically right or wrong. Of course, he can have his opinions, but to spew them like his word is the Bible is just irresponsible and arrogant. For him to say that there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance, shows to me that he is refuting the evidence of years of scientific research, by people who actually know what they're talking about.

Then, taking that a step further, while speaking with Barbara Walters, Cruise credited himself with "465,000 children" being taken off of Ritalin after he spoke out about the dangers of psychiatric drugs in the Matt Lauer interview. Give me a break. Who died and made you the authority on psychiatric drugs??

I can see it now...a hypothetical conversation...

Person #1: "Yeah, I decided to stop taking anti-depressants...but my doctor doesn't think it's a good idea."
Person #2: "Oh really? So, why are you doing it then?"
Person #1: "Well, because Tom Cruise said so."

And to top this all off, I read today that old TC has bought a sonogram machine so he, himself, can do the sonograms at home. Here's a snippet that explains the position of the American College of Radiology:

The ACR issued a statement warning that Cruise and Holmes could potentially harm their unborn baby by performing ultrasounds without the benefit of a doctor's supervision.

"This is a patient safety issue. Untrained people, even if they have the financial means, should not buy, or be allowed to buy and operate, ultrasound machines which are, in fact, medical devices and should not be used without a medical indication," said Dr. Carol M. Rumack, chair of the ACR Ultrasound Commission.

"The ACR is concerned that Tom Cruise has been badly advised regarding the use and potential abuse of ultrasound," Dr. Rumack stated. "There are many abnormalities that may be missed by the untrained eye. Also, if it is not medically necessary, the use of ultrasound raises unnecessary physical risk to the fetus."

His behavior actually stops me from wanting to watch his movies. I'm still convinced that's the reason why War of the Worlds didn't do so hot in the box office. I rented it recently because I typically like Steven Spielberg movies but, sad to say, Mr. Spielberg---Arrogant Mr. Cruise killed it for you.