Baby, it's cold outside!

Stay warm everyone. It's freezing here in the south today. Definitely sweater weather. What kind of sweater are you???

You Are a Turtleneck Sweater

You are sophisticated, streetwise, and even a little cynical. You are quite cultured, and you don't fall for gimmicks or trends easily. You are naturally chic. You have a urban, cosmopolitan style. And you know that the secret to looking good is not trying too hard!

What Kind of Sweater Are You?

Award

Thanks Belle (a real W.O.M.A.N.) for this award days and days ago. YOUR blog is fabulous and so are you! I am now to list 5 addictions. Is that all? Ha. Ok here goes.

1- I am such a sucker for pretty paper products. I buy all of these monogrammed cocktail napkins, plates, etc. for parties I intend to throw and then, because parties are so overwhelming, I let someone else have the party! Not entirely true. I do host play groups, book clubs and Bunco so I always use them then.

2- Facebook is probably a mild addiction. Since I've been home a lot lately, it's fun to check in on other people's lives. It is strange though at the same time. A "friend" may be someone I haven't spoken to in years yet I'm looking at their vacation or holiday pictures. Feels like I'm snooping!

3- Magazines. Although I'm trying to cut back on subscriptions. I just don't read
them like I used to. Now I'm just thankful to receive PEOPLE's daily email for updates on important star info I require to survive life.

4- I've mentioned this before. Reality TV. If I don't see "The Hills", "The City", "The Biggest Loser", "Intervention", "The Bachelor" I feel lost. Ok, I DVR a lot and don't get to a lot of those I DVR, but you can bet I've seen at least 2 of these shows a week. I also got a little excited when I read Celebrity Apprentice is coming back in March.

5- Reading. This isn't bad. I always have a book that I'm reading, whether it's for book club or not. I love to read. I think I'll keep track of how many books I read this year. I'm interested to know.

I'm not sure who has/hasn't done this. If you want to list your addictions. Go ahead!

I'm still here.

Sorry for the inconsistent posting last week. It's been a little hectic at my house. My mother-in-law, as you may or may not know, returned to our home on Monday, Dec. 29after a second lengthy hospital stay. She is so weak and literally sleeps most of the day. Pancreatic cancer is not a friend and, unfortunately, the doctors have now given her only 2-4 months to live. We're all struggling with this. What to do? How long to stay here before going somewhere else? She wanted to go home this weekend so after a lot of thought and effort, the car was loaded with oxygen tanks, medicines and her clothes so Mr. Pink could take her home to be with her mother and brother's family.

It may sound selfish, but I wanted to stay home so I did. Mainly because I knew the car would be so packed, but also because I need a mental break from all of it after 2long weeks. The minis went as well for the weekend, although MIL will stay for a week. MIL is divorced from Mr. Pink's dad and with all that was going on, FIL couldn't visit over Christmas so it was a good time for the minis to see him since they live in the same town as MIL.

So today starts another "me" day. I plan to go shopping and maybe even a movie. I'm skipping church today. Don't tell anyone. I already feel so much better personally even though the pain of seeing my MIL go through this is never away from my thoughts. I started this blog when her cancer began as a way to "escape". I still want to use it as my escape so I won't post about her or what we are going through if I can help it. I just wanted to offer an explanation since my posts may be more sporadic.

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend with your family. Give your loved ones extra hugs today. Life is so precious.

Ahhhh.

The minis returned to school this morning! Unfortunately, they returned home this afternoon. Kidding. A bit. Here is what I won't miss this week now that we are (somewhat) returning to "normal" around here.

1- Hearing "Can me have something to drink?" every 30 mins of every hour.
2- Tripping over various rainbow-colored power rangers as I walk through the house.
3- Incessant begging to stay up late because "it's not a school night".
4- "The Bachelor" tonight because the minis will be in bed, lights out at 8:00 sharp.
5- The frequent wardrobe changes thus creating more laundry for me. I thought only girls went through the forever changing clothes stage!

But, I will tell you, I have missed seeing mini#2 fly out the front door (in socks) and race up the street to meet mini#1 as he gets off of the bus each day. It really is priceless to see them hug and full of love for one another for a whole 15-20 seconds. Then it's quickly back to normal as they fight over who sits in the "favorite" seat for snack. Some things never change!

Goodbye 2008...

I hope everyone has a fun night celebrating. We're keeping it low-key with three other neighbor couples and hanging out next door. I'm taking honey-pear sparklers to drink. Very easy: pear nectar mixed with honey in bottom of champagne flutes and topped off with champagne. Tasty. We're snacking and playing games and will be dressed comfortably. Ok, I'd rather dress up, but after the last couple of hectic weeks it will be nice to be close to home. What are you doing?

Football and more football

Are you tired of football yet? We were extremely happy about the San Diego Chargers' win last night. Phillip Rivers, their quarterback, was our star QB at NC State. As I type we are watching NC State play Rutgers in the PapaJohns.com bowl (at least we qualified for a bowl albeit an unheard of one). The score is 10-6 in favor of the Wolfpack, but it's still early.

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. We did. However, my mother-in-law had to go to the hospital last Tuesday. She had developed a blood clot so she was unable to be here for Christmas morning. We went to see her though and then headed to Charlotte (just kids and me) late Christmas morning to see my parents and brother. My mother-in-law is coming to our house sometime today. She is so weak and not eating again so I am nervous about handling all of this. We'll get through this and, hopefully, she'll be able to enjoy some time with her grandsons. We don't know how much longer it will be. The doctors are estimating 6 months, but we think that is best case scenario. This is all very sad. It's a huge, scary responsibilty for us and it's tough when young kids are around. Keep us all in your prayers.

*Update: The Wolfpack lost a tight game. 29-23. Oh well. Just a house full of sad faces right now.

Ok, time for a little honesty....

I hope this post finds you all sane, happy, and relaxed. But, if it does I'm no longer your friend because I feel a little insane. But I will be honest here and admit a few things to my blog friends.

1-

This man exists a little in all of us, me included. At Wal-mart yesterday, when the lady ahead of me had check issues (Wal-mart's machine, not her funds), Scrooge was trying to come out of me. After all I had just endured a less-than-ideal shopping experience with about 3000 other shoppers, 2 being the minis! However, I realized these unpleasant feelings and smiled instead realizing we would be out of there soon.
I have to be a good example for the minis even though I really wanted to leave them and my cart in the checkout line and flee to a secluded island.

2-

I'm 38 and I watch "The Hills". So what! I love it. Last night's finale was just what the doctor ordered on Dec. 22. I will also admit that I know when enough is enough. I had to tape the aftershow because, even I, Miss Reality Show Addition, couldn't stomach a straight hour and a half of these privileged girls saying "actually" every other word and staring blankly into space after a comment is made.

3- I made sausage balls on Sunday because I wanted them. Granted I used reduced fat sausage, reduced fat bisquik, and even reduced fat (2%) cheese. However, I don't think it really mattered because I went through most of them by myself in record time!

Ok, I'll stop with 3 because I still have so many things to do before MIL gets here today. So friends let's hear it. Go ahead. Use my blog to confess. You'll feel better and I won't judge a bit. My gift to you this Christmas!