'Tis the Season?

Is anyone else thrown off by the 'extra week' between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year?

With Thanksgiving so early this year, I'm just not feeling the Christmas spirit yet, and I'm usually one of the first to get into the spirit. I'm struggling to even think about decorating yet, though! Maybe it because of my traveling?? Or am I just so busy with work and trying to finish the bathroom at the house? Maybe because Eric's traveling so much?? I'm really not sure... I just know it doesn't feel like the holidays for me yet...

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm anti-holidays this year. I love Christmas - always have and always will! But I feel like I'm forcing it more so this year - I'm just not ready. The year has been going by way too fast for me. I feel like I've missed half the year! Or more!! Is that because I didn't travel at all until recent weeks??

I'm trying, people. Bear with me. Hopefully I'll be a little more ready for it next week, after my little vacation this weekend. Those who know me know I'm usually all over the holiday decorating and such. I AM getting my Christmas shopping done, at least... but even that doesn't feel like 'holiday shopping' yet...

*sigh*

If you see me, just make sure I haven't gone grinch. I shouldn't, but this lack of spirit has me concerned. Maybe I do just need my little break this weekend and all will be right again. Maybe.

Auburn's Oaks on Toomer's Corner

Some of you may remember the tragedy that struck the Live Oaks at Auburn, known for the tradition of being rolled after big wins. Back in 2010, after Auburn beat Alabama and went on to win the National Championship, a lone Alabama fan, Harvey Updyke, took it upon himself to poison these trees and later call into a well known radio show to brag about it. I wrote an emotional blog about it at the time, and even I didn't expect the outpouring of support received from all over the SEC, even 'Bama. Who'd of thought our tradition would spur that emotion and support from others.

Well, it's been nearly two years now, and the Ag Department staff and students at the school (and others beyond our campus) have been doing everything possible to save them. They started by digging out all of the contaminated soil, but they could already see signs of the poison in the trees early on. But they didn't give up hope. They continued to nurture the trees, even though when spring came along, they showed serious signs of struggle. They pruned back the areas of the trees, getting as much sun and natural strength to the parts of the trees that seemed to show signs of pulling through, literally leaving skeletons of the trees that used to be there.

Fall of 2011 came, and they okayed the rolling of the trees to continue, with the removal of the paper a much more delicate process. I went to a game in 2011 and saw the trees in person. It broke my heart. But at least there were still signs of life.

Earlier this fall, Auburn spoke out with the plan to give the trees until spring to see what kind of life remained. They had some hope, as there were shoots coming from the base of the tree, and a few in some branches. While the full tree canopies would never recover, maybe something could be made of what remained. Until November 17th. Auburn had their 3rd and final win of a dismal football season. But the rolling of Toomer's Corner commenced! A traditional never tasted so sweet! However, that night sometime, the toilet paper caught fire (they are trying to find our how/who), catching the trees on fire, and killing much of what tender life remained.

Again, crushed.

While they haven't outright said this is it for the trees, I can't imagine them able to come back from this. We're heading into winter, which means, while it be minimal compared to up north, the trees will go into a dormancy. Which means what life there was won't even have a chance to heal. Which means it will be difficult for anything to come back in the spring.

You can read about the latest analysis on the webpage created to keep updates on the trees. The latest update goes to a document full of pictures showing before and after shots... neither of which are pretty.

A very, very sad day in Auburn.

One can't help but look back and compare the demise of the trees to the demise of Auburn's football program the last two years. Call me superstitious, but why wouldn't there be a connection? We were at a peak in our football program when this happened. We showed signs of weakness last year, just as the trees did. And this year... it all but died, just like the trees. So next year, start anew with younger, stronger trees and a new coach and a fresh, young team?

I just want to know what's going to come of our tradition. It'll have to stay alive somehow, and rolling little 20' trees won't be the same. I know they've had a task force working on this - it's a big deal! Not only does this affect the tradition of rolling Toomer's Corner, but that corner also stands as the original gateway into campus. So it has to still maintain that welcoming feel, it still has to be a statement corner.

Regardless, the old oak trees that stood there for so long will be greatly missed. They already are, in fact, since they are but a frame of what was once there. One can only hope this becomes a notch in the history of the school, and the tradition that follows is even stronger than one we had, whether it includes rolling Toomer's Corner or not.

Black Friday Turned Grey...

Is it just me, or had Black Friday lost its excitement?

I remember when we used to get the Thanksgiving paper on Thursday morning, and pour through the ads and make a plan for the next day. We'd even include some of the things that didn't have ads, like outlet malls. Then Friday morning would come, and very early one, and we were off!! And usually home by lunch, DONE! But now...

Between the fact that all the ads are put on line before hand, and we even get all the ads delivered to out door the day before... eh. Plus, not you have Cyber Monday, which has just as good, if not better, deals. Then this year, you even have places opening on Thanksgiving night! I don't care what kind of 'guaranteed in stock' mumbo-jumbo you give me... that just makes Black Friday insignificant. The excitement is gone.

Maybe it's cause I'm older or I'm just not looking for the things that are the hot items on Black Friday... but I just don't think it's the same as it used to be. It's become one more thing that mass retailers have ruined for consumers. Sure, they get their buck from people still. But I rarely even look at the ads anymore for Black Friday. Why bother - the deals just aren't that special.

I'm looking forward more to Small Business Saturday tomorrow. Even if it's just my one favorite shop I go to. It's not about the sales they have, but rather, it's about supporting local. And my favorite spot, Silver in the City, has lots of fun stuff, anyway. Way more fun to go to, now.

Thanksgiving

For the first time in quite a few years, Eric and I did NOT host Thanksgiving. It was kind of weird, actually... we, instead, got in the car and drove to his sister's house in KY. Again, strangely odd... but in a good way!

Kelly moved to Kentucky this past year and since she has a job in retail, Black Friday really impacts her Thanksgiving availability and schedule, so it only made sense to make it work for her better by going to her house. She and Kimber had no problem taking on the cooking responsibilities. It worked out nice, as well, because the kids still had the neighborhood kids to play with during 'down time' from the family time.

But I forgot what it's like to travel on a holiday like this - everything (well, a lot) it closed between point A and point B. This makes it hard to plan stops, though having an iPhone sure helped determine what did and didn't work along the way for that! But we managed. We got down there just before noon, which gave us just enough time to settle in before eating. The kids seem to really enjoy their new house since they have so much room to spread out and call their own - that can be hard with four kids!

After the nice meal, we watched some football as the kids played. After our food settled, we finally had dessert before calling it a day so we could drive back home. We brought Nolan with us so he could visit his Dad in Indy, so we again had to find the right places along the way to stop. Again, yay for the iPhone!

All in all, it was a good day. Strange not to host, but a welcome change, too. But we'll be back to our hosting duties at Christmas. Until then, time to decorate!

Florida Trip... FINALLY!

Until this past weekend, I had not done any significant traveling. A couple of trips to Chicago, and a quick weekend wedding out west in Spokane, but that was it. Which is very rare for me... But I finally managed to get in a trip back to FL this weekend. With purpose, of course.

I flew out on Friday into Jacksonville. Friday was 'the big day' for the trip. Or so I thought, at least. I did learn later that I was also a surprise visitor for my niece and nephew. How was I the last to know that?? But Friday... Friday was the reason I was really heading to FL.

Saturday was my Mom's birthday. Since last Christmas, Eric and I have been planning on a big birthday/Christmas gift for her this year... a new stove. She still had the 15yr old, builder grade (no woven window!) stove in the kitchen, despite upgrading the other appliances. So with some savviness, Eric and I got a good deal and schedule delivery of the new stove on Friday.

So my mom picks me up at the airport - I was totally watching the clock since I had been given a window, but we had plenty of time. But I was still watching it. We swung by Publix and met my Dad for a late lunch, and then we headed to the house. By this point, I was just waiting for the heads-up phone call from the deliverymen. It was no surprise they were slammed the weekend before Thanksgiving, so they ended up being a little late. But that ended up being a good thing.

Funny part was before I gave my Mom the card with 'the gift' inside, we were sitting at the table and she was pondering going to look at stoves over the weekend, since she might get a good deal before Thanksgiving. I just had to bite my tongue at this point, thinking, in the back of my mind, "just wait a few hours..."

Needless to say, she was thrilled by it! We broke it in Friday night rather quickly, baking a cobbler, a cookie cake, and some quick bite appetizers. And we continued to break it in on Saturday morning with breakfast. I do believe it will be well used over the holidays.

Saturday morning, after our late breakfast/brunch, we headed down to Palm Bay to see Kristin and the family. I had n idea I was a surprise to the kids until Friday night, so I figured this was going to be even more fun! Darian's soccer team was in a tournament, thought she wasn't playing since she had a cast on her arm. But she was still there to support, as was the rest of the Pitts' family. So we showed up at the field and met up with all but Darian on the sideline - she was on the team bench across the field. Kristopher was a bum and figured out I was coming already, so he showed little surprise. We watched the rest of the game, though, and afterwards, started walking around the field to find Darian.

As we walked and talked, getting closer to the team, Darian apparently saw her Mom and then did a double take on my. All I heard/saw was her scream my name and come charging at me. If that doesn't make you feel loved, I don't know what does!

We went back to their house and just caught up through the evening, ordering some pizza and then we did a little celebration with the cookie cake - we celebrated Kristin's, Darian's, and Mom's birthdays. Not too special or spectacular, but we got to taste the creation of Mom's new oven - it was the perfect cookie!

The next day we met back at the soccer fields for one game, and then went out to breakfast. Mom and I stole the kids away for a quick shopping trip before heading back to Jacksonville. As I figured it would be, it was a fun side trip for me. of course, we shopped our way home a bit - Christmas is coming, after all! We finally got back to Jacksonville, grabbing some take-out along the way, and got back to the house in time to see Dad for a bit more and catch-up with him.

This morning wasn't much more than getting ready to head back to Indiana. Oh, and taking Christmas decorations down from the attic so Mom could start getting things up around the house. I was kind of jealous, as I knew I hadn't started that yet! But we only got things down - nothing decorated. And before I knew it, it was time to head to the airport.

So yay for finally getting back to FL! Crazy to think I'll be back there in just over a month for Christmas. Where has this year gone??

Make-A-Wish Requestathon

I feel like sometimes I ask for a lot... but I'll never stop asking for a cause like this!

The annual Z99.5 Make-A-Wish 36hr Requestathon in currently going on! Make-a-Wish is my philanthropy. I donate. I volunteer. And this Requestathon is was inspired me and introduced me to Make-A-Wish all those years ago.

Like any marathon fundraiser, they have a big goal and it's usually the biggest fundraiser of the year. This is no exception. It's amazing to listen to if you can (which you can do online at the above link). They brink Make-A-Wish families int he studio and they talk to them, both ones who've had their wish granted and those who are waiting and depending on the fundraiser. If you listen long enough, you'll go through the whole range of emotions. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll get warm fuzzies.

You can also donate at the same link. Or you can call in for a little one on one with a volunteer. I just finished up with a shift at the phone banks. The phones weren't ringing enough!! But, I think it was being made up for online somehow, because they were on track with milestones. But don't let that stop you - help me support a wonderful cause for kids with life threatening illnesses and their families.

Boom

Initially, I wasn't going to blog about this. It's a serious topic, and I didn't think it'd make waves. But once I learned it made national news, I thought it was worth a short blog to reflect and ponder.

Eric and I were watching TV around 11pm last night. Eric was kind of dozing in and out of consciousness, and I was surfing around on my iPad - nothing good was actually on the TV, obviously. Suddenly, there was a shudder on the house, enough to rattle the windows, along with a big 'BOOM!' sound. We both looked at enough other, wondered out loud about what it was, and jumped up, looking out windows and such. The news was just ending, and they didn't say anything about it, so we assumed it was localized in our neighborhood somewhere... but what was it??

It wasn't until about an hour later, as we were heading to bed, that I notice a helicopter hovering over an area somewhere south of us. First, I though it was over the interstate - maybe a truck overturned? Was that the noise?? It made me grab the iPad on my way upstairs and start searching news websites. It didn't take long to find out what the helicopter was hovering over.

"BREAKING NEWS: House Explodes on southside!" Reading further, and turning the TV on, led us to learn that there was a huge explosion that destroyed TWO homes, and then caught neighboring homes on fire. Even crazier was that it was such a huge explosion, it actually knocked other homes right off of their foundations, blew out(inward) windows for blocks, and sent people running outside trying to figure out what happened and what to do. We felt it and it was about 10 miles away! There were a few interviews happening, but there was such little information to be shared, even from neighbors, because so many people were asleep already or at least inside for the night.

So obviously, more photos and news about the explosion has started to trickle through the news outlets today. Surprisingly, only two dead (with quite a few in the hospital, but none life threatening). Still no confirmation on the cause - while most people keep thinking a natural gas explosion, I find it odd that the gas company is getting very defensive in that fact, claiming there were no calls from the area about a leak, nor was there any obvious evidence of that yet. Which you gotta admit, for an explosion that big, even if the house was unoccupied (which it was all day, apparently), it had to be permeating outside of the home at some point that someone would've smelled something. But I could be wrong, I suppose.

As of now, there are a lot of houses that aren't even occupiable - aside from the ones that completely exploded or burned down - others have structural issues, or broken pipes, or a slew of other issues. It looks like a war zone in this once quiet subdivision. It's insane.

Even more insane is to think that this happened out of the blue. Can you imagine, sitting in front of your TV or already in bed and all of the sudden, a house next door just explodes unexpectedly?? What would you do? What would you grab if you had to evacuate at that moment, not knowing when you'd be able to come back - or if you'd be able to come back? I don't think I'd know what to do in such a split second...

Election Day

So the day has finally come. After months of horrible, mud-slinging, negative ads, Election Day is here. Thank goodness!!

At the end of the day, there will be winners and losers. But what's sad is that whomever wins the presidency, this country will still be divided and full of spite. Our party system has gone so far to the left and right, and they've taken so many constituents with them, that the subject of politics is essentially fubared from conversation. It's become so focused on being a red state or a blue state that they've forgotten about what's right. Politicians no longer know how to reach across the aisle and come to a compromise that's good for the people.

Even worse, there's no end of this one side view anywhere in the near future. Both parties are guilty of it, and any other party that tries to break into the system doesn't have enough money to make their voice heard. Some of them actually have the right ideas, too - it's amazing what you learn when you do a little research. But of course, some are even further out of whack that the two parties we've all come to despise around elections (damn ads).

Democrats and Republicans have become so wrapped up in what their 'party' believes that they forgot about why many of them got into politics to begin with - to make things right for the people. They're so busy pointing fingers and the other one, pointing out what they did 'wrong' because it's not what their party believes. And so much of the nation has been sucked into the debate that they, themselves, find themselves taking one side or another, and driving a bigger wedge into this nation.

I, for one, have never voted a straight party ticket. Ever. I don't think there should even be an option to fill in one bubble and vote straight party. In fact, I don't think the party affiliation should even be listed next to the candidates. First off, that would force people to do some research before going to the polls. Secondly, it would take the party system out of the actual polling places on election day. Sure, they'd still throw a ton of money towards their candidate in the form of advertising (if only we could ban negative ads). But it sure would make for a better outcome, I think - keep people from voting for someone just because of their party affiliation. How do they even know if that person really stands for what they want? What's keeping someone from crossing over just to get elected?

As we sit here and watch the results come in tonight, I can only wonder how much more this country can handle going down this road... a road with nothing but bickering and one-sided politics that will never actually make people happy. A road to forever gridlock. I've said it before, and I'll say it again... our political party system needs to be scrapped, as it works now, and we need to start from scratch. Because right now, democracy is NOT working.