Holidays

Did I mention that Dillon got an electric guitar? Well he did AND the amplifier. Oh boy. He turned and grinned at his sister and said "Guess how you are waking up tomorrow." He also told his Mammy that "Rock stars don't need college."

H E L P!!!!!!

Ho ho ho

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas. I know I did. My family was together at my parents on Christmas Eve. Every one of the "Benny Powell's" were there, from Gran, who turned 92 this year all the way down to her great great grandson, Sammy who will be a year old in March. Dillon got an electric bike from Santa. He loves it and has ran the battery down twice already. I fear he is going to be a daredevil. Masen got her standard American Girl doll! This doll came with six books and by 4:30 last night, she was starting #4. (Is that MY kid or what!!!) She just locked herself up in her room and started reading.

Conversation yesterday between my parents about Dillons E-Bike:

Mom: I need one of those for when we go camping!

Dad: You'd have to get one with a bigger battery.

Mom: Oh BITE ME.

And Happy Holidays to you too!

A life worth living

One of my favorite blogs is Heather Armstrong's. (aka dooce.com) If you visit, make sure you check out her "How to Annoy Me" archives, because they crack me up. Heather is very open about her fight with depression and post partum psychosis that landed her in a mental hospital. Some of you know the extent of my depression and some of you don't, but I can say without a doubt, that anti-depressant meds, namely Zoloft, saved my life. It didn't save my sanity. It didn't save my marriage, it saved my LIFE. After Dillon was born, I went through the most horrible experience of my life so far. Post partum psychosis is something so awful, that I can't come up with the adequate words to describe it. Depression, now, is no longer a daily struggle. I still have moments when the darkness creeps in. The difference now is that I can acknowledge what it is. I have no denial. I am not ashamed. I accept what this is in my life and I am convinced that because I don't fight it, and hide it, that it has made it easier for me to overcome. I am writing about this today because Heather's husband, Jon, has written a beautiful piece on his site (linked to in Heather's) about living with a spouse with depression. It was an emotional piece for me to read and I am thankful these two talk so openly about this topic.

May God bless you and your families this holiday and stay safe.

Fa La La La La

So, the new firm I am working for does a christmas project each year. They contact the local schools and ask about children who are in need. The schools send names, ages, sizes, and toy preference to us. This year we had 71 kids to provide for. Each child gets a new coat and a couple of toys, along with a christmas candy sack. Everything is purchased and brought here to our conference room. Then it is sorted by school, then by child. The presents are then wrapped and delivered to the schools, or a school rep picks them up. I have to say that I really enjoyed the process. I had a scrooge day yesterday, but then went shopping last night for a 5 year old girl, who, when asked what she wanted, replied "shoes". So I took Masen and we went to wal mart. We bought clothes and shoes and dolls and crayons and.'.well you see where this is going. My family is so blessed. No we don't own vacation houses in Malibu, or drive BMW's or Mercedes, but our needs are more than met. I dont want to take any part of my blessings for granted, whether they be material or not. I am grateful. I am blessed. And I am humbled. My God is an awesome God.

Having a dark day.

Someone seriously p****d in my toasties this morning. So I am trying, at times harder than others, to up my mood. I think what would make me really happy is one of those great big nerf bats and I could walk around knocking the crap out of anyone who dares look at me in the wrong manner. WHACK. Got one. See, now THAT feels better.

My Mother and My Son: ALL THE SOCIAL GRACES

Yesterday this conversation took place in the car on the way to Macy's ball game:

RETA aka MAMMY: Leaning over to Dillon, whispers: "Dillon, I think I need to "poot"."

DILLON: Holding his nose yells: "FIRE IN THE HOLE".


CHARMING!!

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ELF IN THE WORLD