Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

I would like to say that I took Ferris’s advice, and looked around once in a while over the holiday season. That, however, would be a big, FAT lie. There was simply too much to do. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the holidays—I enjoyed them very much. I was just very busy which is really ironic, since I had 12 days off. ((That doesn’t include the other 3+ days I had off earlier in the month )) Let’s see where all the time went.

First stop, Thanksgiving

We had a really nice Thanksgiving, even if Chris did try to add his thumb to the stuffing. If you don’t take anything away from this post, take this away: iPod, cleaver, onions, 80s dance moves—they do not go together! Injury aside, it was a blessed day with FL family, and we all ate way too much (sans Johnson thumb).

Zachary and Jonah ham it up for the camera

Once November came to a close we rushed right in to December, and the arrival of mom. Things just weren’t working out in Denver. Mom’s friend passed away earlier in the year forcing her to move, and putting her out of a job at the same time. In this economy it’s tough to look for work and mom ran out of options. So we asked her to come back to FL, either for an extended visit or for the long haul, if we can manage not to kill each other.

Work was as busy as always with fun projects and interesting clients, both with eCollege and freelance. While December is usually a slower work month, since I had to take all of my vacation and personal time or lose it, I only worked 14 days. That would explain my workload, lol! Add to that a Christmas program, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s and Jonah’s birthday, and you’ve got “Wham! Bam! Thank you, Ma’am!” I can tell you this, it’s not easy playing mommy, Santa, Web Goddess, wife, daughter, and dominatrix, uh, wife. ((Wait, I said wife already, didn’t I?))

Christmas did seem to come and go, but it wasn’t a total blur. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve at Nana’s house. It was nice having so much family, mom included. Christmas morning brought another flurry of gifts, including a full-size telescope for Zachary and a plethora of Star Wars ships, figures, and clothing for Jonah. The gift that stole the show, however, was Rock Band 2. In a word, it ROCKS!!  ((Is that why it’s called ROCK Band?)) I don’t know who loves it more, Chris and I, or Zachary. We have had so much fun playing it. I even received the The Beatles version as a gift and it is awesome! Now that vacation has passed it’s been tough putting Rock Band on the back burner. I think we’re bummed out more than The Goose.

After Christmas we had Jonah’s birthday. I thought the stores had run out of Star Wars items, but if they did it’s because we bought everything. He won’t run out of Star Wars things until he’s an adult and by then he can sell them for a profit. It was awesome watching Jonah run around the house playing with the Millenium Falcon and Yoda. At 3 he actually flies them around and plays with them. Is that odd? Of course not!

Jonah blows out his candles

And there you have it. A flurry of activity in six short weeks. Or six long weeks, depending on how you look at it.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s. I hope that 2010 is happy, prosperous, fulfilling and fun. I hope that all my family and friends get everything they deserve in this new year, and in many new years to come.

In his usual, exuberant manner, Zachary sang with all of his voice, heart and body. I am very proud of him and his performance, and I hope that he always finds such joy in song and dance.

I swear I just did this. Ah well, as they say, Carpe Flies, no. Seize the fish. No, Time Flies—That’s the one! Speaking of Carpe Diem I have to give a great big SHOUT OUT to sweet Citizen Janey! She completed this: The Women’s Half Marathon. And let me tell you, the time she completed it in, well it would have taken me a hell of a lot longer. Who am I kidding? I wouldn’t have lasted 10 minutes! YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION JANEY!

But enough about her. Let’s talk about my week.

I think I broke my toe a few weeks ago. Here’s a tip: don’t leave a case of 32-count diet soda sitting in an unexpected place in your kitchen, and then go wandering around for a snack after a few pints after the kids have gone to bed. I also don’t recommend re-banging it on the bunk beds a week later. Damn boys need to start changing their own sheets!

I don’t actually know for certain if it’s broken, but since the family has been to see Aunt Ivonne three times in as many weeks, I figure I’d give her a break. I do know for certain that being off the weight loss drugs has really sucked. Yes, I’ve gained a little weight back. I’m not up to where I was at my ‘peak’ but I’m up enough to be uncomfortable in my clothes. Could someone out there please tell me how to fit in 50 hours of work, domestic slavery duties, making sure two boys are fed, clothed, bathed and put to bed AND fit in an hour a day of Wii Fit??? I know the Miller Lite’s not helping (my waistline anyway, but I have two boys who are still breathing), but I’m sure if I could counteract it with some exercise I’d be ahead of the game (or at least able to keep up). If there is anyone out there who knows the secret, I beg of you, tell me what it it!!

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in fruit salad.

I do know that stress is contributing to it a little bit. I’m a stress-dinner-eater. By the time dinner rolls around I’m so ready for my day to be almost over and I’m ready to relax that I shovel my dinner in. I know I should monitor my portions, not take seconds, put my fork down between bites, yadda yadda yadda. Unfortunately, there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. ((Sometimes I know the difference between knowledge and wisdom and sometimes I ignore it!))

As I’m coming back to this, I just finished dinner. Yep, there was some stress eating involved. *sigh* Maybe tomorrow. For tonight I’m going to put the boys to bed and get myself a glass of wine. Zachary is on vacation, so by extension, so am I. It’s just easier to take the week off when he’s home for five days. We went to a wrap place for lunch while waiting for my car ((My car is another blog: if you really want to read about it check out at The Saab Blaag.)) and the girl behind the counter, while looking pointedly at me, asked Zachary if he was on a break. No, silly girl. I keep him home to do the domestic chores. Who else would do all of our laundry? But thanks for asking. Really, it is your business. ((Okay, Zachary only has to do all of the domestic chores when he’s home on break, like this week for Thanksgiving. ))

Oh yes, I was talking about wine. The boys are now in bed so it’s time. I bought my bottle of wine at Winn-Dixie tonight and they actually had me remove my ID from its holder and they scanned it. WTF!? I don’t like the idea of the grocery store scanning my ID every time I buy a bottle of wine or some Miller Lite. And don’t give me that BS about it reading my age. If the cashier can’t READ my age, they shouldn’t be in a position to determine if I’m old enough to purchase a bottle of wine. Big Brother is watching, from Winn Dixie.

I have no segue here, but I have to say I’m trying to learn more and get the most out of my MacBook Pro. Since I’ve started reading Mac|Life and Macworld, I’ve realized I have not even scratched the surface with all the cool shit this computer can do. I’ve installed some great apps (most of ‘em free), I’ve made changes to make the most of my doc, spaces and exposé, and I’m seriously enjoying my upgrade to Snow Leopard. Of course Snow Leopard would totally rock if my company’s exchange server was up-to-date so I could take advantage of SL’s newly integrated exchange support, but I guess a girl can’t have it all.

So that’s the past week of randomness. Would you like some more? Be sure to check out The UnMom. She’s as cool as me, lol!

I will apologize in advance for the “Blair Witch Project” filming of Zachary’s program. I was wearing heels and standing in the back. The result is not as smooth as I would like. Click on the play button to start (if you dare).

Jonah’s program was great for several reasons. First, I brought my tripod. Second, it was nice and short. His is the youngest class so they went first, meaning the boys were in bed on time. Of course, the entertainment value of Jonah’s program lies in the fact that there’s really not much too it except a bunch of 2-year olds crying and looking cute. Jonah was pretty funny. He was okay until he saw us. Then he would point to us and start to cry. Then he’d try and shake is shaker. Then he’d point and cry. Vicious circle.

Thanks to Tina Turner, I didn’t get as many pictures as I would have liked to. Guess I’d better ask Santa to put a bigger compact flash card in my stocking.

Zachary looked so handsome in the Easter suit that Nana bought for him. I love the green pinstripes and the cool tie. Surprisingly enough, Zachary thought the suit was “cool” which is why we didn’t have any trouble getting him to wear it. He even liked the dress shoes once we pointed out Jonah had the same ones. (It was the idea of Baby Jonah copying Big Brother that did it.) Check out the slideshow to see all the festivities.

Of course, this day is always mixed for me. Being around so many grandmothers really emphasizes the fact that mine is gone. Easter was always a fun holiday for me as a kid. Dressing up, hunting for eggs, Easter dinner with all of my favorite foods, finally getting to play pinochle with the grown-ups–there are so many great Easter memories. I choose to celebrate my grandma by remembering the good times. I think that’s what she would’ve wanted.