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Congratulations, Elizabeth – you’ll have an email from me tonight. And you’ll have 48 hours from the time I send the email to respond to me and claim your prize.
Thanks so much for the great participation, everybody – and Merry Christmas!
So. Are anybody’s kids sort of OVER THE TOP CRAZY right now?
We actually celebrated Christmas with David’s side of the family today, and at one point I looked up and saw my child doing somersaults in the foyer. It was his preferred method of traveling from one end of the house to the other, NOT THAT HE’S EXCITED OR ANYTHING.
There’s also been a whole lot of this in our house today.
That Batman sword has gone everywhere with us this week, by the way. Grocery stores. Retail establishments. Friends’ houses. And wonder of wonders, I have not heard the sound of shattered glass even once. It’s a Christmas miracle!
Anyway.
I just wanted to let you know that you still have a few more hours to enter the HP TouchSmart 600 computer giveaway. I’m going to close comments on the giveaway page at 7pm central time tomorrow night, and I’ll draw for a winner shortly thereafter. I’ll post the name of the winner here, and I’ll also send the winner an email. According to the official rules, the winner will have 48 hours to get in touch with me, and if I haven’t heard from him/her at that point, then I’ll draw for another winner.
(Why do I suddenly feel like a game show host?)
(Have all the doors in my house been replaced with numbered curtains?)
So what does that mean for all of you who entered the giveaway? It means that you probably should check your email on Christmas Eve. It also means that if you’re the winner, you need to promptly answer the email from me so that you can claim your fayn-cee prize.
Finally, remember: four other bloggers are giving away an HP TouchSmart, so if you haven’t left comments at all of their blogs yet, TIME’S A WASTIN’.
There. I believe that’s all.
Merry Christmas Eve Eve, y’all!
There’s something awfully fun about anticipating Christmas with a six year-old in the house. For the last few days our little guy has been WIDE OPEN, and he has jumped non-stop. Jumped down the aisles at the grocery store. Jumped down the hallway. Jumped down the driveway. Jumped from couch to couch at his friend AC’s house.
You might say that he’s beside himself with excitement.
Earlier tonight I was watching Alex put a couple of presents under our Christmas tree, and I had a flashback to his first Christmas. I remember how hard he worked to get wrapping paper to cooperate.
I remember how sweet he was.
And how happy he was. OH, THE HAPPY.
He’s a few feet taller now, and unlike that first Christmas, he only sits still for five to eight seconds a day. He unwraps gifts at lightning speed. He also wouldn’t stand for his mama dressing him in a one-piece black corduroy ensemble with candy canes appliqued on the front.
But you know what?
Even though he’s a little more rough and tumble these days, he’s still so sweet.
And he’s still so happy. OH, THE HAPPY.
And there’s still nothing more fun than being his mama – Christmastime or anytime.
Merry Christmas, Boo!
A few days ago David helped Mother / Martha / “Martie” move into a garden home (oh, the stories. THE STORIES.), and when he made it back to our house Sunday afternoon, he walked in the front door with a special treat.
GIN!
Oh, I kid. Kiddy McKidderson Kid.
Because do you know what’s really inside that box?
CHINA!
I know that might not seem very exciting to a lot of people, but let me tell you: I am such a fan of pretty dishes. Apparently I inherited the loves-pretty-dishes gene from my mama, and I have been crazy about china since I was in high school. It makes me laugh that I can be so sentimental about, you know, PLATES, but I totally am. I remember all the dishes my mama has ever owned, and if I ever happen to run across a full set of the everyday pattern that she used when I was a little girl, I’ll probably cry just a little bit.
Now I feel like I should go hide. Perhaps I’ve overshared.
Anyway.
Since Martha’s new house doesn’t have quite as much storage space as her old one, she was very sweet to give me 12 place settings of a china pattern that David’s daddy bought when he was stationed overseas back in the 50s. I can’t even tell you how much I will treasure it. The pattern is Noritake LaSalle, and I LOVE IT. It’s so different than anything else I have – I think it’s delicate and retro and modern all at the same time.
By the way, I’m pretty sure that you’re officially a grown-up when you enthusiastically snap a picture of a covered vegetable bowl.
But DID YOU NOTICE THAT FUNKY HANDLE? ISN’T THAT THE GREATEST THING YOU’VE EVER SEEN?
It took me all of five minutes before I started trying to figure out how I could mix the new-to-me pattern with dishes I already have. My fine china is Lenox Eternal, and I love how it looks with the LaSalle salad plate. I think they’ll look sassy on top of some charger plates I bought a few years ago at Old Time Pottery – they were a whopping $1.50 a piece, I think.
Won’t they all be so purty together on Christmas day? Is it wrong that thinking about all the mix-and-match china makes me a smidge giddy? Do I need to go hide again?
Maybe I need to go hide again.
I love the cups and saucers, too – even if the cup will only hold about two tablespoons of coffee. Because those two tablespoons of coffee will look fab next to that kicky handle, now won’t they?
So what about y’all? Do you use your “good” dishes on Christmas day? Do you have a favorite Christmas pattern? Do you like to mix and match the dishes you have? Or do you save yourself the headache of having to wash a bunch of dishes and just break out the paper stuff instead?
So this past Friday night I went to a book club Christmas party at my friend Leigh’s house, and somehow we landed on the subject of pageants. Everybody in our book club is from Mississippi, and between the six of us we know a fairly freakish amount of Mississippi pageant trivia. IT’S OUR HERITAGE, PEOPLE.
Anyway, we had a blast talking about different Miss Mississippi talents throughout the years, and by the time my friend Gwen showed us how she walked in the poise and appearance preliminary of Mississippi’s Jr. Miss, we were laughing so hard that we weren’t making any noise. The whole night was just a treasure.
When I got home from the party I decided to do a little YouTube research, and sure enough, I found some great Mississippi pageant moments online. But what proved to be an even bigger treat were the clips from old Miss America pageants. David and Alex were out of town, so I’ll have you know that I took advantage of my Friday night freedom by sitting at my desk for two solid hours and CLAPPING MY HANDS while watching YouTube.
I mean, IS THIS NOT A WONDER?
It’s probably my favorite Miss America talent of all time, if for no other reason than how thoroughly she handles her “guns.” She takes them out, she uses them, she puts them away, she takes them out again, she uses them again, she blows off the gun powder, she puts them away again, she takes them out one more time, she uses them one more time, she blows off the gun powder one more time, she puts them away one more time, AND STILL SHE NEVER QUITS CLOGGING. I say bravo.
Somehow all my clicking around led me to the Parade of States from the 1974 Miss America pageant, and I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I think it changed my life a little bit. I paused and rewound the clip more times than I can tell you, and I am so convinced that the entire world needs to bask in its brilliance that tonight before supper I made David watch it.
He just smiled and nodded and pretended to care. Clearly he doesn’t share my appreciation for fine American culture. Or bouffant hair.
I’ve been thinking for a couple of days about how I can possibly express the depth and breadth of my appreciation for this little nugget-o-70’s-gold, and I think it’s best to keep it simple. Which is why you’ll find a numbered list following the video.
1. I want to be friends with all of the dancers.
2. Dancer Kathy seems to have specialized in modern dance with a heavy concentration on the works of Bob Fosse. Well played.
3. Lisa, the former Miss Florida, likes to bust a move and isn’t afraid to break it down on national television. She also enjoys green.
4. Kevin Reynolds never figures out where he’s supposed to be looking. BUT HE KEEPS ON DANCIN’, BY DIGGITY.
5. About two minutes in, Lisa cranks up her moves again. It’s like watching Elaine Benes crossed with Ann-Margret in “Bye Bye Birdie.”
6. When Kevin decides he’s going to sing to the other camera, it’s still not the right one. But what he lacks in following stage directions, he makes up for with pure lip-synching effort.
7. Meanwhile the contestants continue to literally walk in circles. Over and over and over.
8. Around the 2:40 mark Lisa almost wipes out after a tricky spin, but thankfully she catches herself. That’s poise in action, my friends.
9. I can see somebody like Jessica Alba walking the red carpet in Miss Alabama’s complete ensemble. The hair, the earrings, the dress – the whole thing. Thirty-five years later, it’s all strangely modern.
10. Miss Georgia is DARLIN’ PLUS. I love her dress.
11. I bet Miss Idaho has wrestled with some profound regret about what she wore in the parade of contestants. It was an unfortunate choice.
12. Miss Kansas’ hair has some height and volume that frankly I find quite enviable.
13. Miss Michigan’s voice fascinates me. I’ve listened to her introduce herself at least seven times. It’s like some sort of golden harp.
14. Nobody has ever been less excited to be in Miss America than Miss New Hampshire. I want to hug her.
15. Ohio was fortunate to be represented by a very big bow. And also a cute girl with brown hair whose name I missed because OH MY WORD, THE BOW.
16. Miss Texas’ gown is divine. It looks like something Sue Ellen Ewing would have worn to a dinner at Southfork for the Cattlemen’s Association. Or maybe I’m projecting. But still: dreamy.
17. As Sister mentioned to me earlier today, this pageant was pre-implants, pre-Botox, pre-Restylane, pre-let-it-all-hang-out. And oh my goodness – these girls are absolutely beautiful. Natural. Unique. Real. And the clothes are FAB.
18. Reality television has taken the place of Miss America, hasn’t it? Girls don’t want to be Miss America; they want to be the next American Idol.
19. So before I start to overanalyze this whole thing, I think I’ll just watch the video again instead.
20. You can hardly blame me for wanting to practice some of those sah-weet dance moves.
– “Winter Snow” by Audrey Assad has been the subject of two different conversations with friends this week. It’s an absolutely beautiful Christmas song – and I don’t think I’ve listened to it once without immediately listening to it again.
– This post of Jon’s got an “amen” out of me this morning. Before I’d had any coffee, even.
– This post of Beth’s is just chock full of wisdom and perspective.
– A couple of years ago Shannon recommended The Jesus Storybook Bible. I didn’t order it at the time – thinking I’d get it when Alex was a little older – and then I promptly forgot about it. Because I’m organized like that.
Well, this past Monday night Andrew Peterson read from that very book at the beginning of his concert, and my friend Keely mentioned how great it is. So I ordered it the next day. And yesterday, when the box from Amazon arrived, I sat down in the middle of my living room floor so I could read it. By page three my eyes were all watery. It’s incredible.
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