Troubling 2012

I recall 10 or 11 months ago, when I was in the depths of despair, hubby assured me that some day we'd look back and say, "2012 sure started off on a crappy note. Glad we got through it!"

Don't tell him I said this, but he was right.

If you recall, during the holidays, I had those near-fainting episodes -- one while driving -- and ended up in the E.R. (above) on New Year's Day. That spiraled into the weird flu/virus that had me light-headed for several weeks and eventually unsurfaced severe anxiety. Somewhere between dizzy spells and outright panic attacks, I found myself on the Witch Doctor's couch for some voodoo magic and, later, at the pharmacy for anti-anxiety meds. (And let's not forget the cancer "scare" with Dr. Fun. Thankfully, that was caught early and removed.)

Uff da.

Yes, with a lot of help and support, I did get through that and, come to think of it, we never really did get to ring in the new year!

I don't mind saying good riddance to 2012 at all!

On a positive note, though, I learned some valuable lessons. I am not alone. And I do not have to do anything alone. I have a husband, family and friends who are ultra-supportive. I saw that in the last 365 days. A lot.

I also was reminded that I can't take anything for granted. Anything can go on a moment's notice -- my health, confidence, loved ones, financial stability, even faith. I must cherish what I have while I have it. I'd rather not be reminded again with such a dramatic wake-up call!

As I say goodbye to my troubling 2012, I will carry these lessons with me into 2013. There is no guarantee this new year will start any better than the last, but I can handle it. If I can't, I can just reach out to one of you and know we'll be able to tackle it together!

I hope you found much to be thankful for this year. We're all here, right? I'd say that's a great way to start 2013!

Too Close for Comfort

I guess if we're gonna have a too-close-for comfort, last-second-scoring, Packer-Viking game, I'm glad the Vikings came out on top for once!

I have just two words: WHEW and SKOL!

Had fun today helping some Viking friends celebrate a birthday while watching the game at their house. It was actually sort of a mini-reunion for 7 of us who worked in one capacity or the other with each other at the daily newspaper years ago (when they remember Carter as a baby).

So it was great to catch up... and cheer, jeer and bite our nails together. Oh sure, there were a few Packer fans in the mix, but we had enough Purple Pride to go around. I was decked out in Vikings pants, socks, t-shirt, sweatshirt and winter coat and scarf. I think what put my good karma over the edge was wearing all the purple and gold beads some of my sisters (even a Packer fan) gave me for Christmas! Thanks, RoAnn and Romey!!

I was bummed Adrian Peterson fell just 9 yards short of breaking the single-season rushing record. When you think of how many yards he ran all season (2000+), that was soooo close. I feel bad for him. But I'll take the win.

Too bad we have to turn around and play them again next week. AT Lambeau.

And too bad I'm on vacation Monday and Tuesday and only have 3 days of work this week to wear purple! I'll do my best to represent the Purple Nation but the next two days are Badger Red.

Wow, this really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Saturday Shorts:

Snow Removal: Good thing Carter learned how to operate that snow blower yesterday. It just kept right on snowing all night and this morning. So he got another crack at it today. I think he'll do just fine if it snows when Daddy is on his work trips in January and February. (Or even if he is here!)

Happy Trails: My sister Rayna and husband Paul -- who weathered the crazy blizzard weather on their way up from Texas -- took our parents back with them. They left Thursday, got rear-ended Friday (everyone's OK) and arrived at their home on Saturday. That's a lot of miles traveled in winter with two octogenarians! I give them credit for taking my parents along and keeping them for 6 weeks. I know they'll enjoy some warm weather. Who wouldn't?

Pizza Pals: Had some friends over tonight for pizza, ping-pong and pop (or something)! Their son Nate (Carter's age) was home for the holidays so it was nice for them to get together -- and us grownups, too. Our schedules all around have been so busy in recent months. Time to take a breather and enjoy the finer things in life... food and friends (mainly friends).

Let it Snow?

We were told by the weathermen that we were just going to get a dusting of snow today, maybe accumulating to an inch. It turned out to be a couple inches. Like we needed any more.

It made for snow-covered and slippery roads so hubby was nice enough to drive me to the chiropractor this afternoon so I didn't have to battle with the road conditions. He dropped me off and while I was getting "adjusted," he made a Golden Arches run and got me an eggnog shake! Did I mention he was the best hubby in the world??

When we got home we decided it was time to turn over the snow removal reins to the teenager. Whether he liked it or not.

Snowblowing 101: Follow your lines closely to avoid unnecessary "laps." Watch which direction your snow is blowing.

Jim handled the shoveling and I took pictures. I'm sure I was busy doing something. I just can't remember what.

Carter did the neighbor's driveway, too. He agreed that snowblowing is better than shoveling. Don't we all? Now we'll be fighting over the snowblower to see who has to shovel. I might as well just stay out of this fight and let them handle it. Right?

So besides having a new snow slave (let it snow!), our other good news today is that Sylvester had a clean bill of health at the vet. She had her annual visit -- that only Jim dares to take her to -- and the doc said she is more like a 2-year-old than an 8-year-old. She is that healthy!

She even maintained the same healthy weight for at least three years in a row now. Maybe I should be more like a cat. Take naps. Act like a princess. I think I'm getting the lazy princess part down during vacation. Before I start licking my paws I figured I better get motivated today. So I reacquainted myself with the treadmill and did not watch any Hallmark movies.

I watched a chick flick tonight -- The Lucky One -- but that was between folding clothes and staying out of the line of fire in the ping-pong arena! It had to be done.

Krickety Karma

My back was protesting as I tried to roll out of bed this morning. I ended up having to go to the chiropractor. Apparently that is the price one pays for sitting on the couch watching too many Christmas movies on Hallmark.

Not kidding.

Either I stop watching or I need to sit in a more supportive chair. I have to go back tomorrow for another adjustment. Plus, I forced myself to schedule an hour massage for Monday. That's what karma dealt me today!

On the positive side, I was very productive -- updating my Christmas card mailing list, putting away the stockings and Santa hats, and sorting/tossing/organizing my sock and underwear drawers. C'mon, that has to count.

I didn't get beyond that since I welcomed a few distractions. First we went down to the Dells to watch our next-door neighbor Madison (Carter's age) play in a fast-pitch softball tournament. Yes, softball in the middle of winter. And yes, it was indoors -- the "dome" at the Chula Vista Resort.

While we were there, hubby got a text that one of his high school classmates was in town and getting together at another classmate's house in Rapids. So after the softball wins, we headed home, dropped Carter off and enjoyed some grownup fun and reminiscing. Well, the guys reminisced and us girls were just there to be supportive and laugh on cue -- even though we didn't have a clue who they were talking about most of the time.

Still a fun night and I managed not to turn into a pumpkin at midnight. Though I am heading towards a vegetative state promptly.

Yin & Yang or Ping & Pong

Hubby warned me that having a ping-pong table would get a little loud. Apparently his mother yelled at him a lot when he and his sister played in their basement. All that ball-bouncing racket!

I discovered today that it is not the Ping and the Pong that make the noise. It's the Dad and the Son talking smack down there! Here we have Jim, who has always been good, he says. And we have Carter, who plays almost daily in the basement at school and thinks he's pretty good. Jim warned us that we shouldn't get a table or there would be a lot of crying... when he wins all the time.

So he and Carter went to Wal-Mart to pick up some paddles and balls and are keeping an all-time, forever score sheet between the two of the them. As I type right now and hear some exclamations from down below now and then, I can tell you the latest tally I saw was Dad with a 16-1 record so far.

You think they've done anything else today??

Actually Carter had a friend over for awhile and they played a few games while hubby and I had a date. It's true.

We went to the matinee of "Life at 40." I thought it was going to be a straight comedy but it actually had some serious story lines. We laughed plenty, though. And we probably identified with more than we expected! We both liked it so that will hold us for another year or so before we return to the theater. That's just how it plays out. It's not that we don't like movies. It's just that we don't usually find the same one we want to see on the big screen. So I end up renting them. These days, probably a year after they are in theaters! I'm a bit behind.

Perhaps because I'm watching too many made-for-TV Christmas movies. Did I say "too many"? Well, I hate to say it, but there are 3 on right now on 3 different channels and I've seen them all. Uh-oh. I probably should make better use of my time the rest of vacation!

This home office could use a day-long cleansing and reorganization. And then I could spend 3 days in the Scrap Cave. And not do any pages!

Hmm... Actually re-runs don't sound too bad right now!

I Still Believe

It was like Christmas morning Bizarro World around here -- with the grownups up early, anxiously waiting for the kids to get out of bed so we could open presents! In the end, we waited until 10 a.m. and then lured them out of bed with the smell of bacon. Works every time!

Even though Casey and Carter pretty much knew everything they were getting, Christmas morning is still fun. You never know when there is going to be a surprise! This year, I was floored.

Remember how I told you Carter has been begging for a ping-pong table and Daddy Claus was saying, "No way. No how. No room"? Well, Mrs. Claus ordered a portable, table-top ping-pong set that could be set up on one of our folding tables downstairs. Not ideal, but at least it was something. Imagine my surprise when I went down in the basement to feed the cat this morning and I saw box on the floor for a real, life-size ping-pong table!

Wow, Mr. Claus definitely pulled one over on ol' Mrs. Claus! Certainly made a believer out of me!

In the end, we had Carter open all his presents, including the portable ping-pong set, then suggested he go downstairs to set up the folding table for it. He was just as surprised as me at what he found -- and pretty darn thrilled! Of course, there was not just "some assembly required," but "all assembly required." So that took up the rest of the morning. It didn't come with paddles, so we'll have to get those tomorrow when stores are open again. In the meantime, the boys used the ones from the portable set -- which now has a new home with Casey. Apparently college kids like to play ping-pong and drink root beer.

Jim and I didn't exchange presents since our gift to each other is our new bathroom. That might be for Valentine's, too. We just hope we have it all done by then. We have some more gunk to get off the walls before the painting is done, but we all took today completely off. Just watched TV -- the guys watching John Wayne and me watching some Christmas flicks -- and mellowed. Tomorrow we'll get back to "work" on our vacation.

By then, the smell of bacon might be gone for good. But our memories will still linger, reminding us we are never too old to believe!