Isn't it funny.............

Photo taken by Poaqao from Flickr.)

the thoughts that run through your mind at 5 AM when you awake and can't get back to sleep? Well, maybe not funny. Maybe a better word for them is strange. My thoughts seem jumbled this AM. Not connected to each other. And for me that is strange. My thoughts usually follow some kind of pattern and are at the very least related. Not so this morning. They have jumped from wishing I had more windows in this house to wondering why the ants seem to like my home year round. We have at least 2 inches of snow still on the ground that hasn't melted or been blown away by the wind. Wouldn't you think that all the ants would be in some kind of hibernation? Not so, it seems. As I went into the kitchen and flipped the light switch on to get a drink, I happened to look down to see probably 30 ants gathered around what looked like a small piece of pizza that had inadvertently been dropped un-noticed on the floor. With a steady line of ants walking toward it from under the cupboard. This actually was fascinating yet at the same time made me angry. I mean here it is 5 AM and I have uninvited guests in my home EATING! Where do they come from this time of year? They are the small red ants.......I have called them 'piss ants' for a number of years. I call them that because they 'piss' me off. I really don't know the proper name for them........nor do I even care! After watching them munch on the piece of pizza for a little while, I went and grabbed the ant spray that is safe to use indoors around children and pets and sprayed them and the not so straight line of all of them and under the cupboard. Hopefully that will take care of them once and for all! That's the way I take care of uninvited guests that enter my home in the wee hours of the morning and eat!

A Wonderful Christmas.....

filled with love and good food. Here are a couple pics of part of the goodies we had Christmas late afternoon when all the kids were able to gather at our home after all the other running around.
Everyone was able to be here except our daughters in Kentucky and Texas and their children. Amber also couldn't make it until today and then I had to drive 103 miles one way to get her. She and her future sister, Alissa, are both here with me tonight. This shows you how well they get along! They are both in jams and are ready for bed......however, from the sounds of their laughter it will be a while before I successfully get them into bed and asleep! I'm sure it will be way before Bumpa gets home at 1:30 AM. I think some of the silliness is because they are both tired. How fun it would be if the two grand daughters from Texas and the one from Kentucky were to join them!

It's Saturday and I am totally finished with the shopping, wrapping and even the baking! Last night our oldest son, Brian, came out with his three children to participate in the annual event. This picture is Brian and his oldest son, David. The little girl in the foreground is his youngest Rebecca......but everyone calls her 'baby Becca'!

The cookie sheets you see on the table are brand new. David, Elijah and 'baby Becca' brought them out as an early Christmas present to their MEMA. My old ones were pretty old and warped. They originally were my mothers and I remember making cookies on them when I was a young girl. Yes, I was young once and I can remember that far back........woo-hoo! This photo is one of David thinking he is sneaking a cookie, but we caught him and half the fun of baking them is eating them!

Doug stopped over too, with his fiance Virginia and her oldest, Alissa! They weren't here long enough to help make them...........just long enough to help eat some. LOL Not a very good picture of either Virginia or Alissa, but at least it gives everyone an idea of who I am talking about!
This is David, Elijah (4 years old) and 'baby Becca', doing what they do best..........waiting under the Christmas tree for Santa's arrival!

This picture is where I spent most of my day on Friday.........trying to finish up my Christmas shopping. And you know what? I got all but three presents. And those three won't be hard......not that the others were either. All in all, shopping was a piece of cake this year. Everything I was looking for ended up being on sale and I got such good deals that I was able to even pick up some things I had been wanting for the house.....on SALE TOO!

And this is what it looks like as I prepare to wrap it all and place it under the tree. I can't wait to get it done. I love wrapping presents. As a college student I was employed for one Christmas season in the gift wrap department of a fairly large local department store in downtown Grand Rapids. It was probably the most fun job I have had!

When I get them all wrapped, it looks like I will have to move that chair somewhere else. That chair belongs to my 'fur kid' and I'm sure she won't be pleased with me moving it to a different spot. She always seems to get out of sorts when I move her chair to a new place in the room. And I never knew that 'fur kids' could give dirty looks, but this one of mine has it down to a science! Okay, gotta go get busy or I won't get it done!

The game is over........

and we both have won. Exactly the way I wanted it to turn out! We both have a better understanding of where the other one was coming from. Now, on to other things!

Hub has been working a lot of overtime......A LOT! He is even working his second shift tonight. He will get out earlier than usual, but he will get about 8 hours in. I worry about his health. As most of you know, he had a major heart attack a couple years ago. It happened in a remote area of the Upper Peninsula and took him over 8 hours to get to a hospital. The doctors say most people don't survive this kind even with getting quick medical attention. GOD was watching over him and keeping him alive and safe. There is no other explanation! I am sure I would not have been able to survive the death of another spouse! Any way, the point of all of this is, that while the extra money is nice, it would never be able to replace him should he over do and not take the time to relax and enjoy life a little more. So that is my prayer..........that things will slow down for him and maybe, just maybe, he will catch a little of the Christmas spirit, thus refreshing mine!

"Shoulda stayed at deer camp..........."

are the words he used on Sunday. All because he cut his thumb and I thought it needed stitches and he wouldn't listen to me. My words...."do you need any help re-packing!" He never did end up seeking medical attention and has since decided it should have been stitched. He also snapped at me and said I had been treating him as if he were a child ever since he came home. I asked him 'how so?' He had no answer...........therefore, I assume he was imagining it.

As a result, we are not speaking! Know what though? He just isn't equipped to continue this silence...........some things women are just better at!

This too, shall pass...........eventually!