Yes, I'm still alive - barely...

I know it's not just me, but I swear, every year the Holidays roll around and kick my ass!  There is never time for me to do the things I like - sipping coffee and watching food network.  All of it is shopping, thinking about other people, shopping, telling my kids that Santa's going to put them on the naughty list if they keep behaving badly, shopping, baking, shopping, shipping, shopping, shopping, shoppping.

Ugh.

I'm tired just writing that.

So, because I'm tired and have very little time before I march out and brave the crowds at Target and the grocery store, I thought I'd provide a little pictorial for you.

For some reason, our cat's self-confidence is off the charts - they think they are gifts, and they spend time under the treee.

This is what happens when we hear daddy coming home.  Shhhhh!  She's hiding so she can jump out and go "BOO!"

Like the kitty hat?  I'm not sure about the lips.

This is a Tony inspired tradition.  We put lights in the girls' rooms.  This is Mia's.

Olivia's room.

We found this bunny.  It must have been really cold because the bunny stayed there all day, hiding from the wind.

Awwww...  They look so sweet, don't they?

Take two girls, add a daddy, fun faces should be shared.

While the camera is very interesting, there is something very exciting going on to the left.

Obviously, when you need to scratch your face, you just have to scratch your face.

This is what we woke up to yesterday - surprise snow!  It was exciting since there wasn't much and we didn't know it was coming.

The last treat to bake - pre-Christmas, that is.

The finished product.  Just as yummy as it looks.

Everywhere we go, people comment on Mia's hat.  Her response? "Meow."  You just have to wonder what her parents are teaching her.



My first gray hair...

I have to tell you this story.

This is how I firmly open mouth, insert foot.

I have been giving my husband a hard time about going gray for years.  It started when he was about 27, I think.  Maybe earlier.  I'm not good with time.

Anywho.  Tony, the mister, has very dark hair.  He says it's dark brown.  I say black.  Olivia says black.  Mia says black.  Majority wins.  It's black.  Because of how dark his hair is, it was very noticeable when he started graying.  Right around the temples, up over the middle, and patches in the beard.  He is still a very young man, only 31.   It's just fun to tease him.

Then, my brother came to visit in May.  Within minutes, I could see the grays poking out of his eyebrow and the rest of his hair.  Oh my gosh! I was laughing and teasing - it was like a gold mine of jokes for me.

You see, I have no gray hairs.  I have been the lucky one to be older and not get the grays.  But Tara, they argue, you dye your hair.  Yes.  Yes.  I have dyed my hair.  However, the self-imposed budgeting I did left hair dying until we have enough money for it.  So, it's been more than a year since I have dyed, which has left me with lovely brown on top, blonde on bottom hair.  No, it does not scream white trash, thank you very much!  Ok, so maybe it does.  Whatever.  I'm saving money.

Then, at work, my manager and co-worker began discussing how they cover their grays and how early they both started to gray.  Enjoying my non-dyed non-gray hair, I had to gloat.  It's one of the few things I have - nice hair and pretty eyes.  I also have cool toes, but, I digress.

Cut to later that night, going to bed, brushing said lovely hair.  I pulled it back into the requisite sleeping ponytail and what do I see?  A GRAY HAIR!!!  AND ANOTHER! AND ONE MORE!  (I know, I know, you didn't see that coming did you?)

My husband laughed.

I would have cried, or laughed, or picked my nose, but my foot was firmly in my mouth, lovely toes and all.

Tara's Top Ten...

I finally had a great idea!

One that I could feature on my blog - weekly!

So, yeah, I stole it from David Letterman, but, it goes with my name (Awesome Alliteration - holla!)

This week - for the inaugural top ten list is (drum roll please):

Top 10 Reasons I Miss My Car:

Subtitled: Rental Cars Suck

1. Julie the Journey is green.  The replacement is silver - from a lot of silver rental cars. What?  Did someone decide that the only color for any car should be silver?  I mean, Anderson Cooper may be a silver fox to some women (sorry, Anderson, not me), but I need a little color in my life.  Plus, the green of my journey helps me to find it in a sea of silver and white cars parked in the same place.
2. 6 cylinder engine.  While the fuel economy may be better, it has little to no pickup and bores me.
3. My rental is obnoxiously loud.  What the crap?  It only has 24,000 miles on it!  Why so stinking loud, stupid 4 cylinder car.
4. Rear Video Entertainment System.  Now, I'm listening to the gobledy-gook that comes out of my three-year-old mouth as opposed to the Lion King for the 756th time.  On second thought, this may be a welcome break.  Sidenote - I got to listen to Olivia tell Mia that I would die someday, she would die someday, we are all going to die when Mia asked about a cemetary.  Is it wrong that I didn't jump in?  Nah, I figure I'll let Olivia handle all the big conversations - where do babies come from, death, etc.
5. Listening to my ipod.  There is no available way to listen to my ipod in this car.  Really?  Do they make a special lower than the lowest class, class for rental cars?
6. Knowing how to open the gas door.  On my car, there is a friendly little finger divet to open the fuel door.  On the rental, I spent a good 15 minutes trying to figure out how to open the fuel door.  There is no lever, no button, and no finger divet, and no owner's manual.  I figured it out by punching the fuel door, which subsequently popped open.
7. It smells like me and my family.  Yes, we've spilled drinks and coffee and french fries are most likely rotting somewhere in the back.  However, the rental smells bad, even worse than my car.
8. Rear backup camera.  I feel as if I held the golden chalice with being able to see what was going on behind my car.  Now, I've got a dirty beer mug with a hole in the bottom and have to attempt to make sure I don't run anyone down, or back up into another car.  How did I ever drive without the backup camera before?
9. Radio controls on my steering wheel.  'nuff said.  This should be standard on all cars.
10. It's just not my car. :-(