Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

What’s your favorite Christmas memory/story? I just have to share mine of the Christmas when my older cousin and I drank almost an entire case of Corona beer. It probably sums up my lovable, twisted family the best.

It was 1987. Mom and dad were divorced, I was still in college and my cousin, John, had supposedly graduated from MU. I say “supposedly” because no one actually witnessed said graduation and we’ve never seen a diploma. Anyhoo, mom got John a case of Corona as a graduation gift (appropriate since I think all of us honed our drinking skills in college). John turned to me upon receiving said gift and said, “Here Cuz, have a beer.” As it was my first Christmas being 21 and I was thrilled to be sharing a drink with my cooler, older cousin. One beer turned into another, then another, then another. Over the course of the day (about 10 hours), John and I drank all but two of the beers in that case. We were never really drunk, but not completely sober either. My sister and I spent the night at my aunt and uncle’s house so my cousin greeted me the next morning with the last two beers instructing me to finish what we’d started. I’m not exactly sure I drank that beer, but I remember thinking he was crazy. All in all, a fun Christmas memory and one we talk about every year. I wonder if I could do that again? Hmm, I doubt it. My days of being able to handle that much liquor in one day are over. Plus, think of all the calories! I’d rather eat cookies.

The house is finally decorated and almost completely clean – yes, that’s a major accomplishment. Next up – wrapping gifts. I have them all bought, except for a few for Steve, but have not felt the urge to wrap them. Under the tree is the poinsettias I bought for my booth at WinterFest so at least it looks festive. Still, I miss the wrapped packages. I’ve been working this week on special order jewelry pieces and have one customer coming today to pick his up. I always feel great when these things go out the door and they are no longer on my workbench! Now maybe I can get some wrapping done.

This year, I’ve made the decision not to do Christmas cards. I feel a pang of guilt whenever I go to the mailbox and find them from other people, but I just can’t do it this year. It’s not like I have a family portrait to share so I don’t think they will be missed by most people. I just feel so behind! I told Steve I’d probably be in the mood for Christmas sometime in mid-January.

Despite my procrastination with the holidays, I do enjoy them. The lights are so beautiful, our aluminum trees (yes, more than one) look great, and we have a party to attend this Friday night (because it’s all about the parties during the holidays). So Merry Christmas everyone! I hope Santa brings you lots of goodies and good cheer throughout the season.

I admit that once again I faced the threat of an ice storm with skepticism. Last time I did that we tore up the bathroom and were without power for 9 days. This time, however, I thought there’d be no way we’d get hammered as hard again. So far I’m right, but it’s just nasty outside with freezing rain and slick, wet streets. I got up this morning at 6:30 to go to the gym and had little trouble getting around until I almost bit it on the sidewalk outside. Guess I’m going to plan a day inside getting some things done around the house rather than braving a trip to Target (which is probably a madhouse anyway). I’m going to count my blessings as my dad in Jefferson City has been without power since yesterday. I think he’s still in the dark since his answering machine didn’t pick up when I called this morning. Hopefully, he found a warm place to stay for now (one that will take in his dogs too).

Here’s a couple of pictures of what we’re experiencing right now. Yuck!

Here’s what the cats are doing to weather the storm. Don’t you feel sorry for them?

I guess it’s hard to complain. Who doesn’t want to spend time with their good friends? But last night was one of those weird nights where we wanted to see everyone and there just wasn’t enough Steve and Tammy to go around. We’d planned to meet Kevin Blomenkamp and his friend Ricardo (seriously, that’s his name) at the artwalk to see the BFA student exhibition then go get dinner/drinks. The plan was to meet at 6 p.m. Then it was between 6:30-7 p.m. Then it got later and later. In the meantime, Steve and I went to the exhibit, talked to the graduating seniors, shopped some of the cool stores downtown, and ended up at the pottery sale at Springfield Pottery. Along the way, we ran in to Sarah Kerner who was passing time while hubby Matt worked. She was bored, we were waiting so the three of us wandered around downtown. Kevin and Ricardo finally called around 8 p.m. while the three of us (Sarah, Steve and I) were helping Duane and Prudy close up DB Designs. By this time I was starving and told the guys I needed dinner. Now Duane and Prudy were in the mix as they wanted dinner too. Sarah was going to leave to find Matt. The decision was made for Duane, Prudy Steve and I to get a bite to eat and Kevin and Ricardo were going to meet up with us later. Halfway through dinner, Matt called to see what we were doing and we had to turn down an opportunity to hang out with them since the night’s plans were getting complicated. Whew! Are you following this, ’cause I’m not sure I am. Bottom line is that we have so many great friends that we couldn’t do something with all of them in one night. Apologies to everyone for us being so scattered and crazy last night. We love you all and wish things could have been different!

Yep, I’m a dropout – a Weight Watchers dropout that is. About 5 years ago, I was getting almost too large to buy any clothes from regular stores so I decided to take charge of my weight and I joined WW. After about 8 months I lost 30 pounds and looked great. It was really exciting to buy all these new, smaller clothes. Then, slowly, reality set in. My body just didn’t want to be that small. I gained about 12 pounds and that’s where I’ve stayed since then. Four months ago, I joined a gym and have been working my butt off trying to get back down on the scales. The numbers didn’t budge, but I did gain a lot of muscle and lost 6% body fat. So you’d think I’d be happy, right? Of course not! I want the magic weight/clothing size numbers. Last month I rejoined WW thinking I’d be all motivated to get back on track. Well, that lasted about 2 weeks. Let’s face it: writing down everything you eat is effective but it’s also tedious. I know what to eat. I know what not to eat. I know how much to eat. Now I just have to do it! So I’m going to quit WW (again) and keep doing this on my own. I don’t go to meetings anyway so I don’t know why I thought that weighing in every week would help. For now, I’ve given up Diet Coke and desserts so we’ll see what happens. Wish me luck ’cause I’m gonna need it!

I can’t believe it’s already December 5! Ye gads! Where did the time go?! Steve and I have been scrambling to get the house decorated for the holiday so every night we’ve devoted some time to at least one room. All that’s left now is the big tree. This year, it’s all-out retro here at Chez Kirks. We ditched the white lighted greenery outside and lined the house with multi-colored bulbs. We even put lights around the new picture window which should frame our aluminum tree nicely. I’m now trying to find a cool wreath for the front door, but have been unsuccessful in my search. I may just take the wall-style aluminum tree and put it on the front door. I still have a couple more Christmas gifts to buy then I have to wrap everything. I predict I’ll be in the mood for Christmas some time in mid-January!

It’s that time of year again when work takes a back seat to all the fun you can have on the Internet. Thanks to Office Max, you can spent hours elfing yourself! Check out what I look like. Thanks, Suzanne, for the link!

[Elf Yourself](http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1160379192)

Well, the first night of WinterFest was a success! I had a terrific booth space, good help (thanks mom and Steve) and lots of customers. I even sold two pieces of my new granulation. Today’s the big day with the show running from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. I’m sure glad I get to sleep in tomorrow since it doesn’t begin until noon! Come out today and see me.

This weekend is WinterFest at Hammon’s Hall – one of my biggest shows of the year. I’m really excited because this year I’ll be on the 2nd floor instead of the 4th so I’m hoping for increased/new traffic. I also have new pieces to show which means my loyal customers will have some new goodies to see. If you’re in the Springfield area and want to get some great Christmas shopping done, stop by the WinterFest event at Hammon’s Hall located on the corner of Cherry and Hammon’s Parkway near MSU. Admission is free. Come see me!

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things about Christmas was listening to the music on our record player. Yes, Christmas music on vinyl. As many of you know, I’m a collector of vinyl and have been working on my Christmas music collection for several months now. My goal is to own all the albums I had as a kid since many aren’t available in any form. Today I decided to take the “cover art only” albums and change out all my frames for the holiday season. I had several copies of some of my favorites so I’d have a good LP to play and a bad one for framing purposes. It was when I was framing the back room albums that things got freaky. There, in the top left-hand corner of the back of the album, was my mom’s writing and the word “taped.” I remember, sometime in the early 80s, when we got a new-fangled cassette player and mom converted all the albums to tape. Being her usual organized (and slightly anal-rententive) self, she’d written on the back that the LP had been taped. I immediately called her and we had an “I can’t believe it” moment over the phone. Of course I then called Steve and my sister to tell them the same thing. Turns out my beloved album had come home. Later this afternoon I started going through all my other albums and gathering all the Christmas selections to place next to the turntable. I uncovered another stash of LPs like the ones we’d had growing up. I turned them over and, in the top left-hand corner, mom had written “taped” on these as well. Now I had four wonderful pieces of my childhood back in my life. What a warm feeling it is to know I have these even if they are in terrible shape for playing. I guess it’s true that if you love something and set it free (or have a garage sale and sell it) that it will someday return to you!