Category: Living the Life

MyPicture, originally uploaded by deew27.

Because I can’t seem to come up with anything to write today, I was looking through some of my posts from this time last year. I can’t believe how tiny Zach looks in his Santa picture from last December. This was uploaded exactly one year ago today. A year flies by so fast.

dec_06 037, originally uploaded by deew27.

Well, we didn’t get as much snow as we expected. The reports are that we got about 8 inches in my area. Hubby just finished shoveling our steep driveway so we can get the car out of the garage. We both stayed home from work today. There’s not much point in him working today with the kind of job he has and it just wasn’t worth the struggle to get out of the driveway for me to go in this morning.

While Hubby was shoveling, I bundled Zach up and took him outside to play in the snow. It was his first real snow experience and I don’t think he really enjoyed it all that much. I think it was more frustration than anything because he was having a really hard time walking. I suppose when the snow is up around your knees it would be a little hard to walk in. Eventually he played around a little and then he wanted to help Daddy shovel.

I hear the roads aren’t too bad today which is good because I didn’t think to stock up on milk before the storm hit and we’re almost out. We won’t go out today unless we absolutely need to. Hopefully by tomorrow the ice on the roads will be melted away and we will be able to get a little Christmas shopping done.

Zach and I stayed home today due to the ice and snow that has finally begun to fall.  The roads were pretty bad out this morning from what I saw on the news, then cleared up a little bit, then got bad again.  Hubby had to go out for a couple of hours, but he is now back home safe and sound.  I probably could have gone to work today, but it was nice to stay home.  I expect I’ll probably be here again tomorrow as well.

For the first time since we have lived in this house (3 years now), we finally lit a fire in our fireplace.  That’s how cold it is in here.  Even with the heat cranked up, there are still drafts of cold air coming in around the windows and doors.  The fire is nice and toasty warm and of course I enjoyed taking pictures of it.

The cats really enjoyed sitting in front of the fire too.

This is one of my favorite shots of the fire.  Doesn’t it just scream for marshmallows and graham crackers?

Zach woke up from his nap just in time to catch the beginning of the snow fall.  I took him to the window to have a look and he was quite amazed.  When I told him it was snow, he repeated me.  It is so cool that he can listen and actually repeat the words I say most of the time.  Well, until he decides to repeat the wrong word anyway.  Hubby went outside and brought in a handful of snow for him so he could touch it.  He was very interested until he figured out that it was cold.  Then he tried to shake it off of his hand.

Zach touching the snow

I imagine I’ll have lots more pictures tomorrow.  For some reason I just love taking pictures of the snow.

This morning on my way to work I was listening to the local rock station as I almost always do.  Every year around this time they start up a “Hope for the Holidays” campaign in which they help out local people who are in need that aren’t able to get help through traditional charities.  People can e-mail their story to the station and it is then read on air.  Listeners then call in and offer what they can to help the person out. 

This morning they had a single mom who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and was going through chemo treatments.  Due to the treatments she had to quit her job which then led to her getting behind on her bills.  Her gas was shut off, which means no heat or hot water (and it is getting super cold today) and it has been that way for several months now.  Plus she was a couple of months behind on her rent.  She could have asked for a lot, but all she asked for was help buying some Christmas gifts for her 7 year old daughter.

Almost every time I hear one of the stories and the subsequent gifts offered I end up bawling my eyes out.  What makes it so special is that the radio station isn’t just giving things away.  Other people are calling in and giving what they have to people in need.  Several people called in this morning saying that they could only give $20 but that they wanted to help.

Sometimes the cynic in me wonders if people take advantage of the generosity of others, but other times I am so touched that people out there really care so much for people that they don’t even know.  Humanity never ceases to amaze me.

I wish that I had the resources to give.  I wish that I could give like that all year, not just around the holidays.  And the truth is I could, but I don’t.  I know that I could spare $20 here and there, but for some reason I don’t do it.  I might drop some change into the Salvation Army tin when I walk into a store, but that’s about it.  My excuse is always that I need the money for my own family when really, I spend it on frivolous things that I know we could do without.

Zach’s Christmas gifts have all been purchased, but I have several more to buy for other family members.  Most of those gifts will be bought on credit cards as we are already stretched as far as we can stretch at this time of year.  We’ll spend the new year trying to pay off those charges as well as the rest of the debt we have collected through the winter months.  We’ll make it.  We always do somehow.

I guess what it really boils down to is that I’m feeling like I spend too much and don’t give enough to others.  I would really like to change that.  I have been very blessed in my life and I wish I could share a little bit of that with others.