THE HOLIDAYS ARE UPON US, PEOPLE!

Well, I had to call in sick to work today, which I absolutely HATE to do. I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say that I dare not get more than a few feet from my bathroom today and so I am stuck at home. I like home just fine, don't get me wrong, but left to my own devices and not of my own free will, I tend to get a little sideways. I am bored and I don't feel good, but I don't feel so bad that I should just lay down and sleep the day away. The means by which I can amuse myself are, therefore, quite limited.
So, here's what I've been thinking:
I started out thinking that I need to get on my Christmas shopping. Every September I think that I need to start my Christmas shopping and I picture myself being SO organized that it is absolutely sickening. Presents bought and beautifully wrapped under a gorgeous tree, lights everywhere, wonderful Christmas smells wafting through my house, family talking and laughing with one another. What really happens is that I end up shopping a week before Christmas, wrapping presents the night before and barely getting everything done on time as a result of my procrastination. This does not result in the above mentioned talking, laughing family. It results in a bunch of stressed out people wishing they had been more prepared for the holidays. The only thing that is always true of my fantasy is the beautiful tree which goes up the day after Thanksgiving. That's an absolute must.
So, I'm trying to figure out what I want to get all of the lovely people on my list, hoping I don't buy any lead-paint-laden toys and thinking maybe I will use my time today to get a holiday schedule and menu planned. Good intentions and all that, ya know.
What are your favorite holiday traditions? Are you organized? Tips? Tricks? Help a poor procrastinator out...

New Horse, No Name

Well, this is the latest in a long line of horses I've recently aquired. Actually not the very latest, because we brought a white one home yesterday about an hour after this one, but it was more of a sympathy purchase, so I'm not putting his picture up because he's sunburned and undernourished. We bathed him last night and started pouring the feed to him, so I think we'll see a whole new horse in a couple of months (the white one, I mean. Clearly, the black one is not sunburned or undernourished).

ANYWAY, the reason I've had so many horses lately is because my mare got a tendon injury early last year and she's not ever going to be ridable again, so we've decided just to raise mule babies out of her. Everything else I've bought to ride since then has been complete crap. Apparently, noone who is selling a horse finds even the most remote need to tell the truth. I find that completely deplorable considering these are very large animals that can hurt or kill you if they really want. Before this one, I bought a beautiful grey, was told he was everything I was looking for, rode him once and ended up on the ground, then had my husband ride him. Thankfully, he didn't end up on the ground, but it certainly wasn't for lack of the horse trying.

So, the above horse is SUPPOSED to be quiet, broke to ride, gentle, etc. etc. etc. We'll see.

Here's the deal, though, they called him "horse" before and I intend to come up with a proper name for him (if he gets to stick around), so if you have any suggestions, comment... Nothing like Bob or Spot or Blackie, though. Something really cool, maybe a foreign word that means something like SUPER GENTLE (he he he...)!

Local Pregnant Woman Murdered by Husband...

Last night, while watching the local news, I heard this story:

Police arrest a suspect in a stabbing that left one woman dead.
Richard Allred, 51, was arrested after he was released from the hospital Tuesday.
Allred is charged with 2nd degree murder and armed criminal action.
Those charges stem from a stabbing that happened last Friday at the couple's home on South Paula in Springfield.
Police found 33-year-old Jamie Allred stabbed to death. Her husband Richard also had a stab wound.
He remained in the hospital under police guard until being released today.
Autopsy results showed that Jamie did die from stab wounds to her neck and chest.
Richard Allred is held at the Greene County Jail on $500,000 bond.

While this story is quite alarming enough, what this brief blurb does not say is that Jamie was pregant with Richard's child. The news went on to say (and this is where I about fell out of my chair) that Homicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among pregnant women in this country! WHAT? I never once, while I was pregnant with my son, considered that I might have to worry about his father (or anyone else, for that matter) killing me. Those statistics are shocking, to say the least. A local policeman was quoted as saying that sometimes husbands and boyfriends just cannot deal with the stress of knowing that they have a baby on the way and that they eventually just snap and attack the woman who is pregnant with their child... huh? Go have a beer with the boys. Take a jog. Hey, if you have to, just tell her that you can't handle it and you don't want to be a part of their lives. YOU DON'T PICK UP A WEAPON AND KILL SOMEONE OVER IT!

I am completely dumbfounded by this. Not to mention that if you notice in the above news story, Richard Allred is charged with 2nd degree murder and armed criminal action. REALLY? You get pissed off and stab your pregnant wife to death and THOSE are the charges? I realize that, in this case, they are saying that he had not planned ahead and so that is where the 2nd degree charge comes in, but there was also a documented history of domestic violence in that home. For God's sake, under what circumstances are you fighting with your spouse and decide that it is okay to pick up a knife and stab them TO DEATH? I also notice that it does not mention in his charges that he is charged with the death of his unborn child. I am hoping to see these charges changed dramatically before he goes to trial. What a monster.

Morning Wood

Yeah, it's exactly like it sounds. Behold the conversation my 12-year-old son decided to have with me a few nights ago at his bedtime:

"MOM," he SCREAMED across the house, "I CAN'T FIND ANY SHORTS!"

"Son, you are wearing shorts." (They were boxer-briefs, which are like shorts, ya know. The new underwear that go halfway down the thigh).

"NUH-UH! THESE ARE MY UNDERWEAR!"

"Well, what's the difference? You are going to bed. What's the difference if you sleep in those or in gym shorts?"

This is where he comes into the living room, sits down across the room from me, sighs like he is having to be very patient with his mother (who, apparently just does not get it) and then he drops this bomb:

"Well, mom, this is probably going to scar you for life, but I'm going to tell you anyway. I'm 12 now and every morning I wake up with wood. If I wear gym shorts, no one will be able to tell, but if I just wear my underwear, it's really obvious, okay?"

My response was said with such speed it would have put any of those car commercial disclaimer-reader-guys to shame:
"No problem son, I'll make sure and wash all of your gym shorts tonight and keep some clean for you so that you have plenty of them to sleep in, now you better get your teeth brushed and get in bed, it's getting late..."

I'm still debating whether or not I'm scarred for life.

Misc. catching up after vacation

Back from vacation. Had a really good time. Let's see...
I went horseback riding a couple of times and had fun. My husband and I and one of my oldest friends (not that he's old, but I've known him for a really long time, ya know?) all went and had a ball except that we were the first ones down the trail that morning and the spiders were EVERYWHERE! Well, I'm deathly afraid of anything even remotely spider-like, so my husband had to go in front and swat them all down with a branch.... good man. Thankfully, the ride was uneventful other than good fun and conversation. In other words, it's one of the few horseback experiences I've had in recent history where I DIDN'T end up on the ground and that's always good.
I went to a big Blues concert in Springfield, MO. That was fun. The line up was the Cate Brothers, The Lara Price Band, Anthony Gomes, Leon Russell and the North Mississippi Allstars. Leon Russell was the biggest name there and, unfortunately, the sound was SO bad for his portion of the show that we all left for his part and came back to see the North Mississippi Allstars. I managed to meet and get my pic taken with the NMA bassist, which was the highlight of my day.
I read 3 books while on vacation. Terry Pratchett's, Good Omen's and The Art of Discworld and Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. Great reads, all of them. I have currently started collecting all of the Discworld series, 1st Edition, hardcovers. That first one is a real bitch to get ahold of. I'm thinking my husband will have to get me that one for Christmas... in other words, give me the money and I will order it. He's not too suave with the internet. Just the other day, he bought me a new saddle for my birthday. He bought it off ebay and it was supposed to be a surprise. Little did he know, I was watching the saddle and could very clearly see that he was the winning bidder. Blew the surprise, but he would have ended up telling me anyway. I'm just proud of him for shopping so far ahead of time. My birthday is another 5 or 6 weeks away!
The rest of vacation was just general hanging out with friends, organizing my house (fall cleaning), etc. Not real exciting, but just what I needed!

Most Sincere Apologies...

I haven't been writing here, have I? I do apologize. The past 3 weeks have been quite a turmoil at work and my mind just had NOT been here. Things seem to have calmed down for the time being and I have decided to take a weeks vacation in September to ward off the burn out. I shall return good as new.
Let's see, in the past three weeks I've been concerned with a few things:
Restless Leg Syndrome. My Gods, what, all the sudden, has caused so very many people's legs to go into this uncontrollable twitchy state? Thankfully the drug companies are coming to our rescue with their prescriptions. Side effects, apparently, may include hallucinations, problems with gambling, compulsive eating and increased sex drive. So, basically, you may lose everything you own while gambling and taking your fat, pink elephant seeing ass to hookers every night, but your twitchy leg problem will be a thing of the past. Okay, there's that problem solved.
My most fabulous friend was finally able to tell her old, crappy employer to take the proverbial flying leap and landed a great new job. Congrats to her and good luck on her first day tomorrow.
I finally broke down and bought a new car. Very happy about that.
Had the day off yesterday. That's right....I was off on a SATURDAY and it wasn't even the rapture! Spent the day with my son, of course. We went and saw STARDUST. LOVED it. Had some of the best sushi....no, wait....THE best sushi of my life, bought some books. Good day!
Now that you are all caught up, I shall try very hard not to abandon my post here for more than a couple days at a time. I promise...I'll try...

Ralfohgodwhatwasithinkini'mgoingtodie

Went out last night. I don't drink. I have a horrible and unforgiving migraine which seems to be punishing me for things I have not done. All I did was go out with a couple of friends, drink Club Soda with lime, laugh at the guy with the Mullhawk who was break dancing (and I use that term loosely), go back to the cabin at Midnight and go to sleep. Pretty damned innocent, right? Well then you tell me what the hell is happening with my body.
Migraines and unwarranted hangovers...Somebady call Bush because THIS is the Axis of Evil...grumble...