I'm not good at them, but I love trivia nights!

We had a trivia night tonight at our church. This was the 3rd annual trivia night and it has always been on the night before Pulaski Day (yes, I the teacher have a big say in when we schedule trivia night and this way, I know I don't have to get up early the following day!). Anyway, I made the questions for 5 of the categories tonight. Here are some of my favorite questions.....which ones do you know the answers to?

1. From the Movie Quotes category: "It rubs the lotion on its skin. It does this whenever it is told." What movie is that?

2. From the US Geography category: If you traval due south from Detroit, Michigan, what foreign country do you arrive in first?

3. From the Games category: How many spaces are on a Monopoly board?

4. From the Slogans category: "What's in your wallet?"

5. From the Kids Stuff category: What is Arthur the Aardvark's last name?

6. From the Sports category: In 2007, a junior from Triad High School became the class AA state champion discus thrower. She is a resident of our town. What is her name?

7. From the Significant Dates In Local History category: What happened on 7/5/90?

Oh yeah, tomorrow on my day off, I get to go to lunch (again) at the Cheesecake Factory with 2 fellow teachers/friends. The diet starts on Tuesday!

Weekend

Well, B1, B2, and I are having a girls' weekend. Hubby is having a boys' weekend with a friend. They went to Peoria, IL to watch some hockey games (Dan and Mary, they might call you guys!), do some gambling, and possibly head over to Bloomington for a basketball game. So tonight, the girls and I went to the Korte Rec Center in Highland and swam for awhile. Then we had Chinese food for dinner and eventually headed to Wal-Mart to do our shopping. I don't know what our plans are going to be for tomorrow yet. I am going to check the movie listings to see if there is anything appropriate out there for a 7 and 11 year old. We will also prepare some snack foods for a trivia night at church on Sunday night. I miss Hubby when he is gone, but I do like having the bed to myself once in awhile! I can stretch out!

Update on my mom: she is still feeling very weak and tired. However, today marks 4 weeks since she has had to have a blood transfusion. She has not had platelets since then either. We take this as encouraging news. Maybe her bone marrow is doing what it is supposed to be doing??? She had a doctor check on Tuesday and he told her not to come back for 10 days, which is the longest span of time she has gone between seeing doctors since this all began in December. She is taking A LOT of different medications as treatment now and we are thinking that that is what is causing her to be so weak. She is going to inquire more about this at her next visit. Please keep the prayers coming.

Do YOU Text?

Who out there text messages? I remember the first time a friend of mine received a text. I wondered what the heck she was talking about. But now, I don't think Hubby and I could survive without being able to text. Well, I know we could, but we have gotten so used to it that we do it more often than we realize! Oftentimes, on holidays, I will text several people (usually current or former students) and wish them a good day. It's fun to get messages back! I remember back in August, when we received our cell phone bill, it was over twice as much as usual! Part of this was due to the fact that we had been in Canada on vacation and didn't pay attention to roaming time, etc. But another factor was that I had sent "group" texts on July 4. We went directly to the cell phone place and upped our texting options. Now, Hubby has his basketball players texting him all time. He sends and receives more messages than I do now! It really does come in handy though, like when we were in Vegas, sitting at a slot machine, and we didn't want to be carrying on a full conversation so the person next to us could listen. Does everyone rely on this cell phone feature as much as I do?

Photos from Vegas

We went to Las Vegas last weekend along with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. We had an awesome time together! We all got along really well and did almost everything together. I got to eat crab legs at my favorite crab leg place, the Mandalay Bay, and I also got cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory! YUM!

Hubby and me at the airport the night we left. Hubby, his mom, and his sister playing the slots at our hotel, the 4 QueensI love this picture! Here we are in front of the New York, New York Hotel and Casino. I want to stay at this one sometime!

Here we are in front of the Excalibur. I think this one looks really neat too!

Here is Hubby with a Vegas show girl, dressed in the typical feathers and beads!

Hubby, Mom, and Sis waiting inside Bally's for the Price is Right show that we saw! See the name tags!

Here I am with the host of the Vegas Price is Right show. He is actually the host of the game show "Whammy" on the Game Show Network.

We went to the South Point Casino one night so I could watch this PRINCE impersonator. I loved Prince when I was in high school. This guy is better than the real thing! I saw him 3 years ago in Vegas and made it a point to find him this time too! He really is awesome.....he looks, sounds, and even dances like Prince. I was on Cloud 9! The other 3 in my group gambled while I watched the show.

This was during the song "Raspberry Beret." See the fluzy girl dancing with her hat on?

I took this picture while we were driving back from the Prince show. The car was moving and I was sure I did not get the picture, but I did!

This is Snoop Dog in the navy letterman-like coat. He was filming a video on Fremont Street one night. He was the only celebrity we saw in Vegas.

Here we are at breakfast at the restaurant inside our hotel, which was really pretty good!

Inside Caesar's Palace. Remember when Joey on "F*R*I*E*N*D*S" worked as one of these guys?

I like this picture too! The lights behind us are awesome, and notice the Bally's sign? Typical VEGAS, baby!!!

I took this picture to show B1 and B2. I tried to explain how everything in Vegas is lit up in neon, even the McDonald's! They didn't really understand what I was talking about, so I took the picture for them.

Here we are on Fremont Street, in front of our hotel. We were waiting for the lazer light show.

Hubby and Me

What is his name?

Bruce Alan Frank
How long have you been together?

Together 20 years this March, married 15 years this July
How long did you date?

5 years, 4 months

How old is he?

38 at the moment (will be 39 in 15 days)

Who eats more?

We can both make a pretty mean dent in food, but overall, I guess he does
Who said I love you first?

I seriously don't remember. It was pretty mutual

Who is taller?

He's 6', I am 5'4"

Who can sing better?

Neither of us. He says that he thought all girls could sing until he met me!

Who is smarter?

HUH? I am smarter at math, he is smarter at coaching, we are even when it comes to raising our children.
Who does the laundry?

I do more but he helps out. He is good at folding!

Who pays the bills?

I do. He is clueless in this area.

Who sleeps on the right side?

Looking at the bed...I do. Laying in the bed...he does.

Who mows the lawn?

He does. This is his department. Once in a GREAT WHILE, I will help him if he asks.

Who cooks dinner?

Me. His cooking consists of frozen pizza or maybe baking some chicken patties in the oven.

Who drives?

Usually him but if he's tired and asks me to drive, I do. On vacations, I'd say it's about 65% him and 35% me.

Who is more stubborn?

OH.....this is tough. We are both pretty stubborn. It used to be that he would "give in" more often, but now he actually fights back! What happened there?
Who asked out who first?

He asked me out. Our first date was to York Steak House (which used to be inside St. Clair Square mall) and then to a Blues hockey game. March 26, 1988.

Who proposed?

I guess technically he did although we had gone ring shopping together several months before we officially got engaged. By the way, we were engaged exactly 4 years later at another Blues hockey game. March 26, 1992.

Who has more friends?

Good question. We are both lucky to have a lot of good friends, and many mutual friends.
Who is more sensitive?

Me for sure. I could cry at the wedding of strangers.
Who has more siblings?

He does. He has 1 brother and 1 sister. I have 1 brother.
Who wears the pants?

Um.....after it's all said and done, me.

Mom's Pitching Lesson

So, I accompanied B1 to her pitching lesson tonight. I have never been to a pitching lesson with her. That is usually Dad's department, but tonight he had to coach a basketball game and we had no other choice. Once, in the past when Dad couldn't make it, we asked Grandpa to accompany B1 and he was happy to do so. But, with everything going on with my mom, I didn't want to ask my dad this time. So, it was up to me. There were certainly a few pitches that hurt my hand! I told her to throw some change-ups after those! I didn't wear a mask or shin guards and thankfully, I didn't need them. I don't think it was the best lesson though because it seems that many of the pitches went way to my side. And, since this was my first time, I don't have anything to compare to. But it was fun all the same and I think that B1 liked the fact that I was catching her. And.....now I know too that I can do it!

Proud Mamma

I am so proud of B1! She was chosen to represent her class (5th grade) in the school spelling bee. There were 3 kids chosen from each 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade class. She never made it to the school spelling bee in either 3rd or 4th grade. This year, not only did she make the cut to participate in the school spelling bee, but today she finished 3rd overall at school and was one of 4 students chosen to go on to the district spelling bee! Yay for her! I am hoping the next one is in the evening so I can go without missing school myself!

Planning For The Summer

Last night, I met with several other people in our "group" and we chose our Cardinal tickets for this summer's games. Hubby and I share a season ticket package with these people and we buy 5 games of 4 seats and 5 games of 2 seats. That way, we get to go as a family sometimes but also, he and I get a "date night" once in awhile too. I love Cardinal baseball. Even if the team is going to be made of up "strangers" this year, we will eventually have to get used to these players! I grew up going to Busch Stadium and I just love the smell of the place. I reminds me of being a kid and walking across the bridge from the old parking garage into the stadium with my parents and brother! Great memories. But anyway, I feel that a couple of the dates I picked were awesome. I got Friday, July 4! So we plan to book a hotel room (and yes, I know I should do this sooner than later) downtown and stay down there for the fireworks, etc. Even though Fair St. Louis is smaller than it used to be, it will still be fun. Also, I got Friday May 30, which is my birthday. When I was growing up, I used to ask my dad to try to get "Shell seats" for my birthday every year. (My dad worked for Shell Oil and they had 4 tickets to each game 10 rows behind the Cardinal dugout.) My dad usually succeeded and if I was really lucky, he would have my name put on the scoreboard!

Also, today, I booked all of our Disney meal reservations for this summer. You can book these 180 days out and today was exactly 180 days before the first reservation. Well, I found out that since we are staying on Disney property, I could go ahead and book ALL of my reservations for meals, even if some of them were more than 180 days away! YAY! So here is what I booked: the first night we will attend the Polynesian Luau. I really wanted to book Mickey's Backyard BBQ but this will be a Wednesday night and they only do the BBQ on Thursday - Sunday nights. I've always wanted to do the Luau anyway so I guess it was a sign. The next day (which is also our 15-year anniversary) we will have dinner at the 50's Prime Time Cafe in MGM Studios. The day after that, we will have lunch with the Princesses in Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom. And the day after that, we will have breakfast at Chef Mickey's in the Contenporary Resort. Then we go on our 4-day Disney cruise, then come back to Disney World, and one of those days, we will eat at a restaurant in the Canada portion of Epcot called Le Celliar. It's a steakhouse. I was having trouble trying to decide between that one and the sit-down restaurant in Mexico, but for whatever reason, chose Canada. We shall see.....

LOSERS!

Anyone watch "The Biggest Loser"? We do. Well, B1, B2, and I do. Hubby would probably watch it with us as well but it seems he usually has basketball games on Tuesday nights. We are watching it right now, as I type this on the laptop. We never watched it in any of the other seasons but this time it looked interesting, so we decided to set the TiVo to record it. B2 likes watching the weigh-in the most but B1 and I like the contests, etc.

When I picked the girls up from my parents' house tonight, my mom was standing at the stove, cutting up potatoes to make part of their supper. It was good to see her being domestic. I asked her if she is hungry again now and she said yes. She claims that some medicine she takes makes her hungry. I told her that is good! She had another bone marrow test done on Friday so we are waiting on those results and then finally a treatment plan.

Gotta love the "no smoke"

I really love this "no smoking in public places" law that ILLINOIS has put into place since Jan. 1. Tonight, B1's girl scout troop was in charge of the food stand at our local bingo hall. In the past, you could definitely plan on coming home from working there smelling like an ash tray. Not tonight. It was awesome! The four of us worked all evening, selling food and soda. We also played a few bingo cards and I even won one game (there were several winners, so I got a whole $6!). But the no-smoke factor was great. Last weekend, we ate dinner one night in Missouri. When we were seated, they asked "smoking or non?". I began to think "Huh? What do you mean?" but then I remembered we weren't in ILLINOS anymore. From what I have seen at the places we have been since Jan. 1, the law is working out nicely and people are cooperating well. My lungs are happy.

Unnecessary Talking

OK, yeah I know I have been rather neglecting my blog. But I've had a lot on my mind and it seems that B1 and B2 have had a bit more school work than usual. It's January and it seems that in January every year, they get a bit busier at school. B1 has a science fair project she's working on, which really isn't that big of a deal (final product not due until March), but still takes a little time to think about. And the fact that science was never one of my favorite subjects doesn't help! They both have Young Author books due on Feb. 2 as well. I am always so happy when that project is completed and turned in! Again, English.....not one of my favorite subjects! I can do grammar for the most post, but writing? Yuck. They both got their report cards yesterday and B1 got all A's and all S's for satisfactory in her behavior/socialization. B2 got an A in the one subject they actually give a letter grade for in 2nd grade (I seriously can't remember which subject that is right now). But she went from an S to a P (progressing) in social studies and as usual, got a P for "controls unnecessary talking." This is a continual thing with her, she talks when she isn't supposed to at school. Last year, one quarter, she actually got an S in the talking category and we were so happy!

Update

We visited the doctor at Barnes (Siteman Cancer Center) on Friday. His plan for now is to treat my mom with drugs and begin to look for a possible bone marrow match. Her spirits still seem to be good and my parents went out to eat last night and also to an antique mall. Today, she came to B1's basketball game (in which B1 scored 5 points!) and they are planning to eat out again tonight. She claims she has been feeling much better since receiving platelets last Saturday and again on Friday the 4th. She will go to the hospital (Barnes) again tomorrow and get 2 more units of blood. Then on Friday they go back and see the doctor for the actual plan of medication.

So many people have been so kind to me and my family throughout all of this. I sit in church and look around and see all these people who I have known my entire life and I know that I could ask almost any one of them for help and they would not hesitate. I think growing up in a small town is wonderful in that regard.

B2 and I took the dog for a walk today in the almost 70 degree temperature! What a great day. The wind was blowing a little bit but it was pretty darn nice outside and our dog was happy to get some exercise! She looks at us sometimes with those big eyes, just begging us to play with her!

And finally..... if it affects you and your commute, then I feel bad for you, but I am SICK of hearing about the stupid highway 40 shutdown on the news!!!!! Get over it already and move on!

Holidays

My mom is now home from the hospital after a 2-night stay again. She had to receive 2 more units of blood as well as platelets. We should find out today when her appointment is going to be at Barnes to see a hemotologist there and hopefully begin a treatment plan. So far, she is taking everything pretty darn well.

All in all, we had a pretty good Christmas. After 4pm church service, we celebrated with Hubby's side of the family on Christmas Eve (this is always held at our house) and had a good time. Every year, I plan to make less food than the year before and every year, it amazes me how much food ends up being in our house! I ask people to bring something and they end up bringing several things. But it's all yummy so that's great!

Then on Christmas Day, the 4 of us exchanged gifts in the morning and then went to Hubby's HUGE family dinner for lunch. We came back from there, spent an hour or so at my parents' house and then came home so Hubby and I could nap. We got up about 6:00 and decided to go to a movie! I've never been to a movie on Christmas before but let me tell ya, the movie theater was certainly a hoppin' place! I think it was one of the only places open for business so go figure. We had a quick bite at Jack-in-the-Box (one of the very few restaurants we found open)first and then of course also had popcorn at the movie. B1, B2, and I saw "Enchanted." B2 had already seen it at a birthday party but was willing to see it again. B1 wasn't so thrilled about this movie choice but we had to take what was appropriate and she ended up liking it, as did I. Cute movie. Hubby saw "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story." He didn't really say much about it.

We celebrated with my parents and brother on Dec. 26. Mom stayed on the couch most of the time but was at least sitting up and took part in the exchange as she always does. We did some family pictures in front of the tree as we always do too. The girls made out like bandits with their gifts from Santa and their grandparents. They really helped to keep our minds off of Mom because they don't realize how serious her condition is, so they go about being themselves, which is the best medicine to help me. Even when they fight, it's so "normal" that is makes me feel better! Weird, I know.

New Year's Plans: We are going bowling with 2 other families. We have done this several years now and we have a really good time. We rented 2 lanes from 7:00 - 12:30am. Everyone brings food to share and there are special prizes given during the evening, etc. I can proudly say that I have ALWAYS been with my kids at midnight on Dec. 31. We have a traditional "family kiss" that we do every year.....all 4 of us pressing our lips together at the stroke of midnight. I love it!

Prayers Please

Merry Christmas, everyone!

This year's Christmas has been kind of tough for me. My mom was diagnosed on Friday with a bone marrow condition. We don't know a lot about it yet as the doctors didn't have the full tests back. I am going to go with them back to the doctor on Thursday and hear everything he has to say as well as treatment options. My mom is very weak and anemic. She is also sad at the idea of not being on this earth as long as she has planned and would like. I am so very thankful that I have Hubby, B1, and B2 to help me though this, as well as many good friends and family members. I can't help/stop thinking about my dad though, who so far seems to be doing pretty well and is holding up. I don't know if he really is being strong or just trying to do so for the rest of us. I wish I could help him more but knowing my dad, he would think he was being a burden to me if he came to me to just cry. I also think about my brother, who isn't married and doesn't have a family to lean on other than my parents and the 4 of us. I know that God will help us though this and that He never gives people more than they can handle. I believe He chose our family to go through this for some reason, which someday I will know. But we could use some prayers right now, especially my mom and dad.

Interests

My kids are all into Webkinz right now. We have 4, but according to them, that's not enough I guess! I have seen the website and it really does look pretty cute. They even have a doggie treadmill and when the dog runs on it, it's adorable! I am thinking I will buy another for each of them for Christmas yet and put it in their stockings. They just recently (after I had the remainder of the shopping already done) became interested in them. There's always something new to spend money on, isn't there?

Hubby and I are going to go to the Blues game on Sunday. This will be our first for the year. I bought tickets from a teacher at school who had to sell them. I think they are pretty good seats, 5 rows off the ice! I've never sat in seats that good! Blues games are special for us because our first date was at a Blues game (3/26/88) and we got engaged at a Blues game exactly four years later (3/26/92). We are excited about our "date" and the girls are excited that they get to spend some time at the home of one of Hubby's basketball players!

Kitchen Pictures

These are the handles we (I) picked for the new cabinets. I chose to have these on both the door-style cabinets AND the drawers (turned the other way, of course) because from past experience, I have found that whenever we have knob-type hardware on drawers, they come loose too easily. Just my opinion.

This is (obviously) a close-up picture of the new countertop, which is wonderful in hiding anything I missed while wiping up!

This space is new storage area for us. Previously, this spot housed a microwave cart, microwave, and a little breakfast table with room enough for 2 to eat. Yeah, we have a lot of "junk" on our fridge, but I think it makes our kitchen look "homey"..... see the Wheaties box on the counter? The picture on it is of the 4 of us!

These pictures were taken in the fall, hence the pumpkin decorations in the window. You can see how our table (which is not new) matches pretty well with the new hardwood floor. The cabinet in the background belonged to my grandma. I like the way it looks in our kitchen.

The barstools basically replaced the breakfast table. They have come in very handy. The girls often eat their breakfast while "bellied-up" to the bar!

This is my favorite picture. I really like how the tile guy put some black accents in to tie the countertop, floor, and cabinets together. The stove is new as well as the microwave, which I like having above the stove. The sink is also new and cast iron, so it was REALLY HEAVY to bring into the house! We are very happy with everything. Although we added more storage space, I of course managed to fill pretty much every spot!

The Busy Factor

I am sorry I haven't been posting much lately. The busy-factor of the season has gotten to me. And I was basically done Christmas shopping by December 1. But everything else is just crazy. Tonight, I thought about the fact that I pretty much have something to do every day from now until Dec. 26. Here is the schedule:

Tonight (Dec. 12): I went to the bowling alley in Florissant where I used to bowl in a league with one of my best friends. This was from my working in St. Louis days. It's become a tradition that I go there and we exchange gifts on a Wednesday shortly before Christmas. I can't go next Wednesday (see below as to why).

Dec. 13: I have a gingerbread house bought that B1, B2, and I will most likely decorate. We do this every year. They don't know I've purchased it and if time gets away, they'll never know the difference, but I hope to surprise them with that tomorrow evening. If we don't get it done tomorrow, I'll find time in the following week.

Dec. 14: B1 has piano lessons after school and then 2 basketball games, at 6:00 and 7:00pm. My Knights also play Highland, our biggest rival, at home.

Dec. 15: In the morning, B1 and B2 have practice for the church Christmas program. B1 has a basketball game at 1:00pm and at 5:00, four of her friends and one of B2's friends are coming over for B1's birthday party. We are going out for pizza and games and then back home for a slumber party.

Dec. 16: Church Christmas program and another basketball game for B1 in the afternoon.

Dec. 17: B1's "real" birthday. She will be 11. I plan to pick them both up after school and go to the rush hour show to see the Chipmunk movie. Then meet Hubby at Carlos O'Kelley's Restaurant for dinner. This is where she chose to go.

Dec. 18: Get my hair lowlighted after school.

Dec. 19: B2's gymnastics after school, meet Hubby for dinner, exchange kids, he takes B1 to pitching lessons, then I will come back home for a meeting at church which I MUST attend.

Dec. 20: make "cut-out" cookies with icing (B1 and B2 love this!)

Dec. 21: piano lessons again and then visit with Santa on the square in Highland.

Dec. 22: hopefully not a whole lot going on but I'd like to go to Alton and see the Christmas lights that night.

Dec. 23: start cooking for the next day.

Dec. 24: continue cooking, including the dressing for Christmas Day. Hubby's side of the family will come over around 5:00pm.

Dec. 25: Christmas morning at home, go to Hubby's big family dinner, go to my side's family dinner.

Dec. 26: celebrate with my parents and brother at my parents' house as we have done for several years now.

WHEW!

And that doesn't include ANYTHING I must do for school.

I really do promise that pictures of my ebay purchases and our kitchen will be on my site sometime soon. I just hate waiting for pictures to download!

First-Timer (literally!)

I kept the scoreboard tonight at our girls' basketball game! This was a new experience for me and I am happy to say that it went well. I only got "yelled at" once, from the opposing bench, when I didn't start the clock on time. I can live with that. Also, I accidently put up 11 fouls for the opposing team (Alton) when after 10 fouls, you don't need to put up any more. At the next stop in play, the ref told me in a funny, joking sort of voice "don't put up more than 10 fouls!" It makes it nice when the person sitting next to you keeping the book is someone you consider to be a friend and you help each other out (thank you, Judy!). Then, if one of you makes a mistake, it doesn't seem to be a big deal, you just help out your friend and correct it! I had a good time tonight and would happily do the job again if they need me to.

While I worked the 2 games, B1 and B2 had a good time playing school in my classroom (what better place to do so?). They love having access to the coloring tool on my computer and using the white board as well as the overhead projector. B1 claims she wants to be a teacher when she grows up so this is the perfect place to practice. I called my classroom phone from my cell at each halftime and between games to check on them and ask if they were getting along. They assured me they were but I have my doubts. At this moment, they are in one of those "I love my sister" modes though so Hubby and I are enjoying that. It's pretty rare these days!

Have and Have Not!

So, I like to buy and sell things on ebay. I recently (last Sunday) listed 18 items and by this past Sunday, had sold 15 of them. It was nothing major.....some older Hallmark ornaments I no longer want or need since we have SO MANY "must have" ornaments now, some kids' DVD movies and even some kids' VHS movies. Anyway, I made about $75, which I am happy with. But then of course, since my paypal account now had $$$ in it, I immedimately went shopping on ebay and found 3 items which cost more than the $75 I had made. Go figure. I will say that all 3 of these are Christmas items and I am very excited about all of them. I will be posting about them when they arrive, especially the one that cost the most! I am so excited about that one and I sure hope it meets my expectations! (Hint.....it has to do with fishnet stockings.....any ideas?)

Time To Make The Dressing

This will be the first year that I can ever remember that one of my grandmothers won't be making the dressing (yeah, for us it's dressing, not stuffing because we don't actually stuff it into the turkey) for Christmas dinner. See, my 2 grandmothers were cousins (which yes, makes my parents 3rd cousins, kind of gross I guess but it seems to have worked out and my brother and I have no birth defects!) and they followed the same recipe passed down from their grandmother, etc. One of them has always made the dressing for Christmas and usually, it was my paternal grandmother. But last year, she was dying of cancer and in the hospital on Christmas so my maternal grandmother made it. But this year, she has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and per her doctor, is forbidden to cook ever again. So this leaves the dressing problem.

My mom has the recipe on paper, which was actually written down by her aunt. I read it the other day and it's 5 pages long! She goes into great detail about how to grind the meat, dry the bread, etc. etc. etc. My mom prepares Christmas dinner every year for close to 30 people. She doesn't, however, have the energy to try to make the dressing. So she is checking into places where they might be able to have the dressing made and picked up on Christmas day. This is where I come into play. I thought about trying myself to make it this year. When I told my parents of this idea, I assumed that my dad would have a fit and tell me that I have too much else to do and that I shouldn't worry about it. But no, his reaction to me was to say "I wish you would."

My problem is that I would want to prepare the dressing the day before (the 24th) and on that day/evening, we have Hubby's side of the family over to our house for our celebration with them. I am pretty much busy cooking all day for that meal, which really isn't anything major though, but still takes time. I know that if I attempt to make the dressing, I will be on my feet all day and probably dead by the time comes to actually enjoy Christmas. Then again though, I will be off on the 23rd and I could prepare some of the dishes needed for the 24th on that day. Oh, what to do???

My parents have told me that the dressing "decision" is totally up to me. Either way, my mom is going to order the carry-out stuff, just in case I decide to try it and end up screwing it up. And if it turns out OK, then she will freeze the carry-out stuff in portions small enough for her and my dad for the next several months.

I really would like to try it and see if I'm up to the task. And if it turns out well, that's awesome, but if not, at least I tried. What do you all think?