Counting Blessings and Sheep!

Today is the day after. The day after the day we spent with family and friends and turkey and ham and potatoes and gravy and creamed carrots and stuffing (ourselves and the dish) and corn au gratin and cranberry sauce and rolls and apple pie and pumpkin pie and ice cream and whipped cream and family pictures and laughter and teasing and stories and hugs and kisses and naps and ipods and iphones and ring tones and car rides and raindrops and reflecting and thinking and remembering and thanking.
With the parade watched, the food cooked and consumed, the leftovers divvied up and everyone back to their own homes with full tummies and full hearts, I have been given permission to say...MERRY CHRISTMAS! Let the Royal Rumpus Begin!

It's Turkey Lurkey Time!

Thanksgiving Eve...The Night Before Thanksgiving! The night before the day we spend with our nearest and dearest and reflect on our many blessings. I will start tomorrow the way I start every Thanksgiving...sipping a big hot cup of joe (that my sweet husband David will have brought to me) while I watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (my very favorite parade in the whole wide world.) I love that parade! The reporters in their warm winter coats, the big balloons, the Macy's Stars, the Broadway Shows, Snoopy, the dance teams, the close calls and mishaps, the bands, the crowds, Santa....Every year as I am watching it I say to David, "I would love to be in NY for Thanksgiving and go to the parade." And every year he sweetly replies "someday we will."

So like I wrote earlier, it's Thanksgiving eve, and I am watching Home Alone 2, Lost In New York. Well, I am not actually watching it-- more like listening to it and glancing at the tv every so often. I love this movie. I love everything about it. Kevin and his antics, The Christmas Pageant, the pigeon lady, Mr. Duncan, the extended family, the shower scene, the turtle doves, The PLAZA, the hotel staff, Central Park, the bad guys, the room service, Rockefeller Center...NYC...LOVE IT! Every time I watch this movie I say "wouldn't it be beautiful to be in NYC for Christmas!" And every time my sweet husband replies "someday we will."

Will I ever really be in NYC for Thanksgiving or Christmas? Who knows. Maybe... I love the dream, and I love David for keeping my dream alive. But tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day 2008, I WILL be with my family. With my husband, my four children, the girlfriends, the grandparents, the niece, the aunties, an uncle and maybe a friend or two. Right here in SoCal. And when I have them all around me, when the royal rumpus begins, I listen to their laughter, their stories, their snoring (cuz you know what turkey does to you!) there isn't anywhere I would rather be! And I am thankful. Thankful that we have each other, that we love each other, that we have love in abundance, that we have our health and our homes and jobs! I am Thankful for my puppies - Zuzu's Petals and Just Jack. And for my friends - some new, some not so new, some textual- all wonderful!

I have much to be Thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving.

It's Twilight Time!

I am a Twilighter. Or a Twilight Mom. Or maybe I am just crazy. Maybe. My 16 year old daughter Meaghan encouraged me to read the Twilight book series and I agreed thinking it would be an excellent mother/daughter bonding activity. And it did not disappoint. I have read all four books in the Twilight series, and I am dying to read the latest installment, Midnight Sun. Currently I am reading yet another Stephanie Meyers book, The Host. What can I say. I am hooked. Thank you Meaghan!

Last Friday night, I waited in line at the theater with Meaghan and about 300 of our closest friends to watch Edward, Bella, Jacob, Jasper, Emmet, Alice, Carlisle, Esme and the rest of the assorted vampires and er-humans come to life (well, not technically since they are vampires) on the big screen!
In line with us were females of all ages (and a couple of males)...from elementary age girls to women older than, well, older than me! Those on the best dressed list were wearing a variety of tee shirts, sweatshirts and baseball caps, all Twilight inspired, complete with images of Edward and the Cullens. "Bite Me", "Vampires Are Forever" and "Team Edward" are just a few of the slogans adorning practically every person in line!
Once we finally entered the inner sanctum of the theater house and were seated, our excitement escalated. Butterflies. Even some tears. Meaghan and I held hands and nervously nibbled popcorn and hot tamales and sipped diet coke and water. Our legs were shaking, we couldn't sit still, and we were perspiring! After a short yet spirited round of the "Team Edward vs Team Jacob" chant and a less than stellar string of movie trailers, it was Twilight time!

And then it happened.....we turned into...whoo girls. Each time a beloved character appeared on the screen we let it out ..."Whoo!!!!" with our arms thrown in the air! And when the man-boy-vampire hotty himself, Edward Cullen (portrayed by the one and only Robert Pattinson) walked by the school cafeteria window, the sound in the room was deafening. We melted at each close up. Each time he stared into our eyes, I mean Bella's eyes, we grew weak.
And I wanted to scream out to Edward..."Bite Me! Bite Me Hard!"...what? Oh, right. I did scream that. Loud. To Edward. The fictional vampire of my dreams.

I AM a Twilighter. I AM a Twilight Mom. And I AM just a little bit crazy. But most of all I AM blessed. Blessed to be the mom of a 16 year old girl that loves Edward Cullen and asked me to read a couple books with her. I love you Meggie! xoxo

Sunday Night At Our House....

Just an old fashioned Sunday evening around the television at the Wallace's...season finale of True Blood followed by Dexter...and of course the Laker game.

When did Winnie the Pooh, Fraggle Rock, Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles morph into De Grassi, America's Top Model, Family Guy and Sarah Silverman?

Our family room is home to countless movie screenings, season finale spectaculars, Bachelor parties and assorted holiday film fests. Oh, and don't forget Shark Week on the Discovery Channel!
The family room carpet bears the evidence of the above mentioned events and the staff of the local Pizza Hut knows us by name!
There's the doorbell...