We're in the Big D

Marc and I left early yesterday morning on our way to Texas. We're spending Thanksgiving with Marc's dad and stepmom. It's our yearly tradition to go to the Dallas Cowboys game on Thanksgiving Day, then eat dinner after the game. I can't wait for tomorrow!

As I mentioned in this post, the drive here was quite an adventure! It still amazes me that people will drive all the way to their destination in the left lane. It's crazy, and I had to work really hard to control my road rage!

We also had to sit for over 45 minutes in a work zone, because people don't know how to merge. I don't know if I mentioned it in the other post, but we also had many, many cars that would fly by us in the left lane to try to get around the traffic. What idiots! I mean really, what makes them more important than the rest of the drivers? 

So, what should have taken us about 12 hours with stops, ended up taking us 13 and a half hours. Here's to Louisiana and Texas drivers! 

Obsess Much?

I don't know who's more excited about our next trip to Disney World...Marc or me? We've both become obsessed with reading everything we can possible find about the wonderful world of Disney.

Marc is more of the book reader. We bought The 2009 Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World a couple of weeks ago. Part of the reason we bought that particular book was because it came with a free one-year subscription to their online park planner. Then last week, we bought the Birnbaum's 2009 Guide t0 Walt Disney World. He wanted that book because it contained a lot of information about the behind-the-scenes tours. Both are great books, but I personally prefer the Birnbaum's Guide.

I also read the DisBoards a lot...well, many times a day. It's my little obsession. I've learned so much from the boards, and I get so excited reading them. I then begin daydreaming about future trips. What can I say...I want to experience everything Disney has to offer!

So, our next Disney trip is coming up in March. I've already made all of our dinner reservations, but I'm sure there will probably be some changes in the works. After all, planning is part of the fun!

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

Marc and I live in an area of Huntsville that requires us to drive up and down Cecil Ashburn Drive several times a week. (Marc goes that way to work, so he actually crosses the mountain twice a day...) The views are breathtaking, and you could really say the traffic is too. People drive like crazy up there, myself included.

Each year, we look forward to seeing the many trees decorated for Christmas. A few years ago, this tradition started with a few trees, I'd say less than 20. Marc and I even decorated one ourselves. Then, the tradition grew to more and more trees each year. Let's see, there's been your average Christmas decorations, an Auburn tree, an Alabama tree, an underwear tree, a CD tree, a blue wine bottle tree, a beer can tree...You get the picture. People get pretty creative with their decorations. It's all in fun, and it makes the drive across the mountain much more pleasant. Heck, there are even a few trees already decorated this year. Which in turn prompted this article in today's Huntsville Times:

Displays illegal, city says; trimmers are sad

"O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,

"How lovely are your branches!"

Unless those branches are along Cecil Ashburn Drive, in which case they're illegal.

So says City Hall this week as it tries to nip Huntsville's newest holiday tradition: decorating wild trees alongside the mountain road that winds between Jones Valley and the Big Cove area.

Two trees have already been trimmed in the spontaneous display that has grown from a few trees in 2005 to more than 400 last year.

The trees, which can be elaborately turned out or simply topped with a 12-pack of empty beer cans, have delighted and angered motorists from the start.

They've been allowed, banned and winked at by local government, and now it's new Mayor Tommy Battle's turn.

"The tree displays on Cecil Ashburn Drive are technically illegal and are considered littering," said a prepared statement issued Tuesday by Joy McKee, the city's director of landscape management and Operation Green Team.

"The pull-off area is for emergency use only and is meant specifically for that purpose," the statement continued. "The city hopes its citizens will respect the law when it comes to this matter.

"I'm sad to hear that," said resident Kathy Ludwig of Huntsville, "but if they say it's illegal, I'm not going to do it."

"It's sad," agreed Cookie Keller, repeating the public's reaction of the day: "sad."

City officials declined to elaborate. Trent Willis, chief of staff and communications for Battle, said the city would have no further comment.

The tree issue went toxic last year when the city faced cleaning up all that blowing and drooping tinsel. The city said then if its crews had to clean up, the practice would be banned this year.

Garden clubs and other volunteers hit the roadside and cleaned up the trees. All of the trees. They hoped that spruce-up would keep the tradition legal, but it didn't.

"My kids did it with their car pools," Ludwig said. "They had already picked out their tree this year."

"My grandchildren loved it," Keller said. "They would say, 'There's our tree.' "

Keller's husband actually took a weed whacker out to trim grass around trees so they'd be more visible. Oops, she said Tuesday. Guess he shouldn't have done that.

Keller understands the goal here. City officials "don't want people hurt."

She knows some people didn't like the displays, either. One man stopped last year and yelled so strongly she was actually scared, Keller said.

"You're breaking the law and it's all trash," he said.

But it made children happy, Keller said, and it brought families together. People would claim their trees with Santa hats and think long and hard about their themes.

"Anything that brings a smile to somebody's face makes life worthwhile," Keller said. "What sad people that can't enjoy something for a month."

Of course, just because she and Ludwig will follow the law, Keller admitted, that doesn't mean everyone will. She was one of several people contacted Tuesday who mentioned that two trees are already decorated.

"There's people that are going to do it no matter what," Keller said.

While I understand the city's need to control litter and avoid dangerous traffic situations, I just don't get why our city leaders felt the need to become the Grinch. Each year, people have cleaned up their messes. I have never, I repeat never, seen a city crew up on the mountain cleaning debris. What I have witnessed is families, young and old, gathered around trees decorating them with their cars pulled off the road into safe areas. There's even a hikers' parking lot up there for goodness sake. And traffic certainly drives slower, because everyone is trying to check out all the neat trees. I just don't get it.

I hope everyone turns out in masses this year to decorate trees. I don't care if they have to sneak around and do it at night or if they do it in broad daylight. I just want to see a mountain-full of Christmas trees, just like always!  It's a tradition, and it's one the Grinch just can't steal from us!

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store."

"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

Huh? Jonas Brothers?

Marc and I have been going to the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day football game with Marc's dad and stepmom for several years. It's our annual tradition to go out to breakfast, head to the stadium, watch the game, and then have Turkey Day dinner when we get home. While I miss being away from my family, I really enjoy spending time with Marc's family in Fort Worth.

Each year, the Cowboys put on an awesome half-time show. I've seen Beyonce, Sheryl Crow, Carrie Underwood, and Kelly Clarkson to name a few. So, I was really excited to see who was going to perform at this year's show. Then the excitement went away...The Jonas Brothers? What? How could that be? Surely I read that wrong. Nope, it's The Jonas Brothers.

Now, I have eight girls this year in my second grade class. I had 10 girls last year. So, it's pretty safe to say that I have heard of The Jonas Brothers. In fact, I hear one of their names on a daily basis. They're right up there with Hannah Montana. However, I can't name one song that they sing. I can't name one of Hannah Montana's either. Maybe it's just selective memory.

So, today during class, I told my girls that they were going to be so jealous of me. Then I had them guess who I was going to be seeing at the game. First guess...Hannah Montana. Second guess...The Jonas Brothers. Then the blood-curdling screams began! I was right, they were jealous. So, I promised to take lots of pictures to show them.

 

I wouldn't be honest if I said I wasn't bummed when I found out who was performing. For some reason, I have a funny feeling that the game is going to be crawling with tween girls waiting to catch a glimpse of one of the brothers. I'm sure they're thrilled about The Jonas Brothers. Me...not so much!

Two Weeks

It's been two weeks ago that we had to put Guiedo to sleep. Every day gets a little better, although I still cry every now and then when I think about him. I still tell him good morning every day as I'm looking out the window. That was my little routine when he was still alive, so I still do it. As I said earlier, it makes me feel like a part of Guied is still with us.

Salvie (Also called Nubbin' or Nubbers...) has gotten really spoiled in the last couple of weeks. He has pretty much moved into our bedroom and taken over our big chair. It's funny because Marc will sit in the chair to watch TV or check his email, and if he ever gets up, Sal will immediately hop up there and try to claim the seat. He knows exactly what he's doing, because he gives Marc a pitiful look. Thank goodness he doesn't really try to get on the bed anymore. I think it's because he is getting older, and our bed is really high off the floor. When he was a puppy, he jumped up there all the time, and it drove me nuts! 

Sal is a boxer mix and has really short hair. He's always had some degree of cold intolerance, but lately he pretty much refuses to go out into the backyard. He will go out with me when I put him on a leash, so I'm not sure what's going on. I'm hoping it's just because it's getting colder outside.

So, we're adjusting to life without Guiedo and showering Salvie with lots of love and attention. And he's lovin' every minute of it!

Sniff...Sniff

I have a cold!  I really thought it was just allergies, but I had three students out today, so I'm betting I caught it from one of them!

I forgot to take my decongestant this morning before I left for work, so I was miserable all day long. I left as soon as school was out and went home to get some rest. I hate being sick! At least we're off tomorrow, so I don't have to take a sick day. Can't complain about that!

We're Doing Our Part...

To stimulate the economy, that is! 

Yesterday, our Disney friend, Chris, emailed us about this rumor that was going around:

Free Nights Package Offer for January-June 2009

Disney is offering a fantastic "free nights" vacation package offer. This is probably the best offer I've seen since 2003. It is valid for stays January 4 through June 27, 2009 (with April 5-18 blacked out).

Here are the details:

• Buy a 4-night/4 day vacation package, get a 7-night/7-day package. That's 3 FREE hotel nights and 3 extra days on your theme park admission tickets!

• Travel between January 4 and March 29 with this "free nights" package and you will also get a $200 Disney Gift Card, redeemable for dining, souvenirs and more at Walt Disney World! (Travel after March 29 does not include the Gift Card.)

It was set to be released last night at 5:00pm ET. So, of course I started running numbers. Once I had them figured out, I ran it by Marc to see what he thought. My dear, sweet husband told me that if I thought it was a good deal, I could go ahead and book.  

Then the waiting began! I got home by 3:00, so I would have all my ducks in a row before making the big call. Then, I began to have second thoughts. Should we wait until the end of next year? What would the economy be like after Obama takes office? Were there better things to spend the money on? Nah...We were going to Disney!

I booked an 8 day/7 night trip for Spring Break! Since we're getting out so early this year, we were able to get the $200 gift card on top of a really, really, really good package price! I'm so excited!

One Week

Well, it's been one week since we had to put Guiedo to sleep. It's been a hard week, but each day is getting better. Thank goodness I had the diversion of jury duty to keep my mind occupied!

I still miss Guiedo every day. I still haven't broken the habit of checking his food bowl before I feed the other two. I've always heard that it takes about 30 days to break a habit, so I figure that I have about 23 more days. At least I'm not crying now every time I feed the dogs. It was so bad at one point that Marc offered to take over that duty. (He usually feeds them in the morning, and I feed them at night.) But I figured that I needed to work though it.

When Marc buried Guiedo, he put him toward the back of our property under some trees. I can look out the bathroom window every morning and see his little area. Marc covered it with some really nice pavers, so I think it will be permanent. It may sound silly, but it brings me some comfort to know that I can still talk to him every morning like I always did. He'll always be a part of my heart, but now I know he'll always be in our backyard as well.

Like I said, each day gets easier. But, I don't think there will ever come a day when I don't miss Guiedo. 

Cussin' and Crotch-Grabbin'

Well, I just got home from serving on a jury, and I can now discuss the case. Let me just say that I've heard enough cussin' and seen enough crotch-grabbing in the past three days to last me a lifetime!

As I said earlier, I reported for jury duty on Monday. I was among the first group of people to be interviewed by the attorneys that were trying a civil case. By about 10:00 or so that morning, I was chosen to be on that jury. I was really excited to hear my name called! We were chosen to hear a civil case about property lines, negligence, harassment, and invasion of privacy. So it was going to be an interesting case.

We heard the opening arguments from each attorney, then we recessed for lunch. When we got back from lunch, we listened to testimony until about 5:00 and then were allowed to go home. The judge let us arrive late yesterday morning, and he let us leave early so that we would have a chance to vote. In between those times, though, we listened to more testimony and watched about 45 minutes of videos. We then listened to the closing arguments and recessed for the day.

This morning, we reconvened to listen to the charges and the laws related to those charges. Then we went into deliberations for over two hours! We broke for lunch, then came back to read our verdicts to the judge.

Now during the trial, we heard a lot of cursing from one of the defendants and had to watch several vulgar crotch-grabbing scenes on video. So, we kind of had an idea that the same defendant was a hot-head. Then yesterday, while he was being cross-examined, he had a meltdown on the stand and accused the prosecuting attorney of using his power to have him arrested on false charges due to a scheme with the city to make more money. I was like "Huh?" He was also reprimanded by the judge on several occasions, so it made for an interesting trial.

While the verdicts were being read, you could tell that the hot-headed defendant was getting pretty steamed. It was a little scary, but I had to keep reminding myself that the courthouse is loaded with deputies. Anyway, as I was leaving the courthouse, the defendant was standing outside smoking a cigarette and talking on his cellphone. He made it a point to announce very loudly that he thought that we were crazy for awarding the plaintiffs that "B.S. money." (We awarded damages in the amount of $2300...He got off pretty light if you ask me.) I walked away as quickly as I could. I figure he'll probably be steaming for a few days.

So, I've had my excitement for the week. Tomorrow, it's back to work!

Patriotism and Diversion

Today I got to fulfill my civic duty not once, but twice. I got to vote, and I'm serving on a jury.

Last night, Marc told me that he would be getting up early to stand in line to vote. He encouraged me to join him, and I half-heartedly agreed. When 6:00 came this morning, I decided to sleep in and take my chances. Marc was gone for about 45 minutes because there was a short line. I, however, left the house at 8:30 and was able to walk right in. I was in and out in less than 10 minutes! 

Yesterday I reported for Jury Duty. I was picked among the first group to be interviewed by attorneys. After about 45 minutes of questioning, I was chosen to serve on a jury. I was so excited! The judge on the case allowed us to come in late this morning and leave early this afternoon, so we could vote. I still have to go back tomorrow for deliberations. Then, I will go back into the jury pool with a chance of being chosen for another case. This is a special sessions week, so they're trying as many cases as time will allow.

I have to admit that this has been a welcomed diversion from my daily life. I haven't had a lot of time to dwell on Guiedo's illness and death. My attention has been so focused on listening to details from the case that I've only thought about him a few times...mostly at night when I'm feeding the other dogs. I also have to admit that we've been showering Salvie with lots of love and attention, and he always makes me laugh. He's so goofy!