What a Whirlwind it has been!

Oh yes, it has been! I hope that everyone out there in blogland had a wonder filled Christmas just like we did here at the Southern Somedays home front. It did seem, though, that we celebrated straight for about a week and a half which definitely lends to feeling like you had Christmas (and then some). We hosted 2 parties and 1 lunch within a 24 hour period which kicked off the week of Christmas for us and after that the ball was rolling and we were laughing the entire, wild ride. One of my favorite times was our Candle-light Christmas Eve Service at church. There is just something deeply moving about seeing all your family and friends, with their faces lit by a traveling spark of light in that moment of calm, in that moment when one and all have turned their hearts to the true reason why we celebrate - the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ...it gives me goose bumps every year! We also were blessed with lots of time with friends and grandparents and can't imagine the season without those traditions.

DD and I even braved the "after Christmas" shopping rush and did a little shopping (more browsing than shopping because, #1 we didn't NEED a thing and #2 the sales just weren't all that spectacular).

Anyway, now that 2009 is only 2 days away I am turning my attention to the New Year and, of course, resolutions! I have 1 (yep, only 1) and that is to pare down and simplify my life. I want to rid myself mentally and physically of all the clutter that has gathered in the corners of my life. So, this week, I am planning, preparing and starting the transformation. There are several blogs, like http://www.simplemom.net/, that are really helping me focus and execute my resolution. Can you tell that I started planning my resolution a while back? So, in addition to all the fun stuff I like to blog about, you may see a post here or there about my 2009 Simplify Plan. So, do you have any resolutions (other than to not make resolutions)?

A NON-Christmas post!

Yes, there probably is a law against it but I have a NON-Christmas post today! Well, it might be, sorta a Christmas post...but not really. Anyway, today, I went into the bookstore to pick up a few last minute things and low and behold I stumbled on something for ME (imagine!). I came across Melinda Rainey Thompson's book, SWAG, Southern Women Aging Gracefully and after reading her "10 Ways to know if You're a SWAG" I just had to buy it since I can honestly say I have checked off all 10 (though, that in NO way, indicates that I am aging...THAT is just against my nature, of course!)

Ten Ways to Know if You Are a SWAG

1. You feel the urge to bake a pound cake after reading the obituaries.
2. You have had professional photographs made of your children barefoot and dressed in their Sunday clothes.
3. You believe that cocktail dresses do not double as church clothes.
4. You'd rather have a fight with your husband than with your best friend.
5. You have stolen magnolia leaves, or you know someone who has.
6. You have monogrammed the middle of your shower curtain.
7. You could live without Yankees who equate your accent with a low IQ.
8. You know better than to eat the potato salad at a family reunion.
9. You are socially conditioned to believe that tanned fat looks better than white fat.
10. Your children hide their Easter baskets and Valentine's Day candy from you just in case you have a dieting lapse.

Christmas 2008

I hope you are all having a wonder-filled and blessed Christmas season.

Oh....MY

OK, these probably won't make it until my Sunday night party. I had planned to place a few dishes of various chocolates around the house for our party and thought I would just try "one" of these. Good luck with that! They are pretty well amazing!

20 Years!

Some how a 20th Anniversary seemed much farther away...like we would be old when that happened!

Heavy heart...

My DH and I had an argument last night. No, I don’t generally air dirty laundry here in blogland but some how it seems to be weighing on my heart today. No, the argument isn’t…it is long resolved and was really not a major issue, but in light of the pain and anguish another family we know is facing I feel it was wasted energy. You see, a sweet family that we know is waking up this morning to face the day after learning, yesterday, that their beloved husband and father was murdered. A wife and 3 children are trying to figure out how to cope after being assaulted with the news that the man they loved lost his life at the hands someone he stopped and tried to help. There is hope, though, because this man loved God and worked to share his faith as a Chaplin and youth pastor. I don’t even pretend to know what they are feeling or how they will even get through today. Please pray for this family and hold yours a bit tighter because you can.

VOTE for Saxby!

Don't leave it to chance, GEORGIA...pray then get out and VOTE!