The 25th Hour ~karenjcardoza.com~

About 15 years ago, my husband and I made a decision regarding how we wanted to spend our Christmas holiday. I had two toddlers and he was working 3rd shift at the time and Christmas Day was a rushed, stressful time for us. So, we declared that Christmas Day would be a family day and we would remain at home. We respectfully declined all invitations from family and friends and reassured them that it wasn’t that we didn’t love them or appreciate their offer but we would be staying home for a low key day. (We see Al’s family on Christmas Eve and my family on a Saturday near Christmas to exchange gifts so staying home doesn’t mean that we don’t get together at all, just not on Christmas day too.)

No longer did we have to drag our kids away from their newly opened loot, dress them up in Holiday-wear and put up with the sounds of cranky, over-tired kids. Our Christmas mornings are now leisurely affairs often involving lots of coffee and lounging in flannels all day. It’s Heavenly!! Now that the kids are older, a little has changed but not much. Instead of getting up early to play with toys, they stay up late, then sleep the morning away, getting up in time for the ham dinner that I prepare. I still get up pretty early but lounge with a book or online enjoying the early morning peace and quiet.

This year, we’ve added 2 little girls to the crew.. Bella, who joined our family in June and just today, Chloe, who is snuggled up and snoozing right beside me. Once again, I’ve got lots to be thankful for and I’m so glad to have spent the day doing things that make me happy.

Bella’s first snow

Mobile post sent by mrsb using Utterz. Replies. mp3

my girl…

Mobile post sent by mrsb using Utterz. Replies. mp3

I’m glad to say that I made it through the very busy weekend. Some people love to have lots of invites and things on their plate but the older I get the harder it is to keep going non-stop. This weekend, we had 3 great invites, which standing on their own were events to look forward to, but squished into 2 days was a bit too much.

It was a busy work week and some unexpected things foiled my plans to get my shopping done early in the week so I ended up going on Friday night and didn’t get home until late. Ernie arrived Friday and crashed at our house for the weekend as well.

Saturday night, we had our 25th high school reunion. And, while there weren’t nearly as many people that attended as our 2oth, the crew that was there had a great time. Naturally, Ernie was the star attraction as always and his travel from San Diego proved to be the furthest distance again this year. After lots of dancing, Karaoke, and laughs, our night ended in the usual manner with French Fries in the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday morning came way too early and we headed to Logan’s christening and dinner. Luckily, the game was on in the restaurant, and I got to watch at least some of it with family and an ice cold Guinness They were running behind so we had to leave before the cake and dessert and headed home to change for our third event, Danny and Laura’s wedding.

The wedding was a chance to catch up with the cops and friends that we haven’t seen in awhile and while the company and party were fun, we were running out of steam. So, closing the place was out of question. Besides, my feet had just about all they could take, so we left before the dancing really got cranking. Ernie was still making his rounds and was planning on coming home at a decent hour to catch up before he scheduled to leave this morning.

So, the back is screaming a bit from wearing heels almost non stop and I’m tired today but it’s nice to have the day off. I got up early and Bella found her favorite place to crash while I checked email and uploaded my pictures.

It was a great sports weekend for me with the Pats win and I’m happy to say that the Red Sox swept the Angels. They’re moving on the ALCS and will have the week off before playing on the 12th. Still waiting to see how the Yankees fare in this little divided household.

So, on this rainy Columbus Day Monday off, I’m totally going to enjoy hanging out at home catching up on the usual weekend stuff, drinking lots and lots of coffee, and catching some puppy kisses

Another busy week for me with another marathon tailgate update. It took mucho hours to write up, post pictures, and link everything from the Bills game but it’s done. Tonight, I did podcast prep including editing some soundseeing tour stuff from the tailgate but ran out of time to actually record since it’s after 11:00 already.

Since it’s a Monday night game @ the Bengals, I still have time, but really hoped to get it done tonight. Oh well…. can only do what I can do. The upcoming weeks shouldn’t be as bad because the games are away so it means no tailgate to post. And hopefully, I can get my Frontpage issues fixed so everything with the website is back to normal and it’s not like a federal case just to update.

This is the weekend of PNME (Podcast New Media Expo) in California and many from the community are out there putting faces to voices and meeting their colleagues. It’s sorta like the SuperBowl of podcasting, however just like the elusive SB ticket…. is likely something I’ll never, ever get to do in this lifetime …for various reasons Here’s wishing fellow podcasters and new media producers a great time.

Bella Update: Little one is doing fine and doesn’t seem to be bothered in the least by her satelite dish . She’ll get to remove it after her follow-up appointment on Oct. 5th.

Glad tomorrow is Friday… it’s been a busy week that’s for sure!

the cherry eye is gone! Bella had her surgery yesterday and made out fine. (I actually survived as well!) She’s sporting the lampshade for two weeks while she heals and was up ALL night whimpering and crying from the effects of the anesthesia but she’s doing great thus far.

I must admit I’m a bit paranoid that she’s going to get at that eye though, since despite the lampshade, she’s still flying around this house and making every effort to get it off. Last night she was dive bombing under the covers and trying to burrow in there so I’ll have to really watch that.

Right now, she’s running around, bashing into things and stopping for a bite of food so I guess things are back to normal. Ahhhh…. the pitter patter of little paws….

As a follow-up to the last post about The State of my State, I had the urge to brain dump last night while cooking for today’s game. You can listen in to my musings on Muse With Me 003 if you’re so inclined.

Another dominating performance by my boys today and it seems as though 38 is our magic number as this is the 3rd week in a row that we score 38 points in a game. We enjoyed beautiful weather and some great companionship at The Razor’s Edge today to accompany the win. Sundays at 1:00 in early fall are my most favorite game time and conditions (although today was definitely summer weather and it felt more like pre-season.)

Bella’s going in for her cherry eye surgery tomorrow and it looks like another busy week for me ahead. We’ll see what it brings so I’ll just have to do my best and accept it for what it is. Website update, tailgate, pictures, and podcast to follow (I hope!)

It’s been a long week.. and at the same time it’s been a very short week. Short because there was absolutely NO way to fit in all I had to do. I’m coming to the realization that I really don’t have time in my life for everything that I want to do right now. Here it is Friday night and I’ve yet to do a post-game podcast… I was up until 3:00am this morning just to get the tailgate done. That is not something that I’ll be able to continue doing in order to function.

The reality is… I have a puppy. The reality is… my job is taking much more time and energy this year than in the past. The reality is… I’m still having some problems with my back and am unable to sit for really long periods of time at the computer. The reality is… I Need exercise in my life to keep me sane, fit, and to help with said back but I don’t have much time to fit it in. The reality is… I’m 43 and I’m starting to feel it if I don’t get enough sleep…. Sigh…

So, apologies in advance, but I need to be spend some time soul searching and setting priorities right now. It’s obvious that there literally aren’t enough hours in my days (at least not this week) to do everything that I plan to do. Without saying, my family and Bella come first as does my need to stay healthy and keep fit and be the best teacher I can be. Following the Patriots and providing scoops for all of Patriots’ Nation is something that I take great pleasure from and totally enjoy but in the scheme of things, It is my Hobby. My family, health, and job are my reality.

Hopefully, there will be a last minute podcast tomorrow and continued tailgate updates and website updates but if not, Go Pats anyway!