Tamssmat

1. You pride yourself on learning a long time ago to put mascara on with your mouth closed.
2. The show ‘Lost’ has taken up too much of your spare brain space.
3. Several life habits are recently being adapted to fit your ever changing style.
4. You haven’t been knitting very much lately.
5. Yarn doesn’t fit into your budget.
6. The next book in the Sookie Stackhouse series doesn’t come out until May and that is sad to you.
7. Walking has been fun lately because you go further and have a walking buddy.
8. You haven’t had a cigarette in over 3 weeks.
9. You’re looking for a VERY cheap easy chair for your living room so you can re-arrange the furniture.
10. CraigsList hates you.

 1. My Dad made it about 28 years ago and just never finished putting the pieces together.
2. It has a snowflake pattern.
3. The pattern is not complete and I see no reason to finish it.
4. It’s bulky and somewhat shapeless which suits my too-big-belly just fine.
5. It’s warm and snuggly.
6. It gets comments and compliments which gives me a reason to brag about my Father.
7. It’s encouragement for me to finish my first sweater, a terrifying project of which I’ve finally started.
8. How many people do you know that get to wear something their parent made?
9. I can say I did it because I did put the pieces together.  No one has to know that I didn’t do very much of it.
10. I gives me one more reason to pity the people that think I’m the loser because I knit.

1. The fire place
2. Solitary confinement
3. Lots and lots and lots of books.  Lots.
4. It has a name.  How many rooms in your house have a name?
5. The couch from Greg’s office - FREE
6. Pictures of my loved ones on every wall
7. Invisible book shelves
8. It’s tiny and cozy and homey
9. The dog tends to stay out when I’m in here
10. The boy can take over the rest of the house, this is MY ROOM.

1. Animals have thoughts too, you just need April to express them for you.

2. It doesn’t matter if anyone else thinks it’s funny, you’re making yourself laugh and that’s all that matters.

3. Bill Miller is one of the best men I know.

4. How to make the best carrot cake EVER! Ok, so I haven’t learned this one yet and that’s because I’d eat nothing but the carrot cake and become enormous.

5. Dropping by Mom and Dad’s house and hanging out for a while is actually fun.

6. Working with everyone you are related to at one time or another can actually be done.

7. No other friend will ever be as strong of a supporter.

8. My bad qualities are actually rather funny if you look at them the right way!

9. How to drive.

10. Sister Time is vital to ones sanity.

1. I get tons more work done than others

2. My house gets cleaned of dog hair

3. It has provided me with a reason to sit and read somewhere other than home

4. People know how much I love it and therefore give me gift cards

5. It smells wonderful, I don’t care what you say

6. It’s the best part of waking up

7. Nothing goes better with a cigarette

8. There’s a kind called Velvet Hammer and it more than lives up to its name

9. The Todd knows what I’m talking about

10. There’s even a rare kind that comes out of a monkey’s butt (no, I’ve never tried it and never will but it exists!!)

1. Forget about having nice things. Boys break them. Through no fault of their own quite obviously as these things must certainly happen to EVERYONE.

2. Football plays made on the XBox 360 must be replayed and must be watched by me. I’m not sure what purpose this serves other than the ensuing “Wow!! That really WAS a good play!!”.

3. Weapons are really just toys to be swung around. Knives included. They can’t really harm the one wielding them, just whomever he decides to take down with them.

4. Making sure clothes match is not only unnecessary, it’s just plain silly. “I really don’t see what is wrong with these blue pants with this red shirt mom” “could it maybe have something to do with the burgundy in the pants??”.

5. Sing in the shower, no matter how old you get. This seems to be the trend anyway…we’re only at 12 but still.

6. Why would you clean the house when he’s just going to let the dogs in muddy and wet and get it dirty again?? This seems like a logical train of thought to him.

7. When you’re outside, you must run somewhere. It does not matter where or why. There’s always something just…….over……..there that needs to be gotten to in a hurry.

8. Gym clothes can be worn over and over and over and over again in between washings. I can’t say as I’ve really learned this one because I cannot force myself to follow it but it seems to be no big deal to boys.

9. Good movies are to be watched time and again until all of the lines can be repeated at any given time to your mother who is usually very uninterested. “Yes dear, I’ve seen that movie.” “Yeah, I did think it was funny when they did that. And it was funny then when you did it too. Mhm.”

10. Bones will break. Blood will flow. Scars will form. These are things of manhood and should be cried about at first but then looked upon as proud moments in life. There’s a story behind each one that will be told to friends and loved ones as they fade in and out of our lives from the day they happen until we have completely remade the story altogether.

1. The weather.  What is better I ask you, than being all tucked in at home with the cold wind blowing snow around outside the windows, a nice fire going in the fire place??  Spending qualiy time driving home through the muck after an emotionally and physically exhausting day amongst all of the idiots that make the roads a dangerous place, to finally arrive at your nice cozy, warm home.

2. Time with my family.  We have several traditions that we tease Mom about because she won’t let us break even the smallest of them.  But this is what I love about her, one of the things.  Over the years, I have given her a hard time on some of the traditions, throwing my Tammi tantrum and refusing to participate.  She has always very lovingly allowed me my space and moved on with as many as she could pull off without me.  That makes them somehow more important to me now.  There was one year that my Grandpa was dying that we were unable to gather at Mom and Dad’s house first thing on Christmas morning to open presents and have breakfast together because Mom was down home with Grandpa.  No one would have changed that for the world.  The only other time that I can remember that we have strayed from our norm is this year where we will all be spending the night at Bill and April’s house and waking up there.  The occasional veer from tradition is OK, so long as we don’t do it very often, and we go straight back to normal the next year.

3. Surprise gifts from friends.  I love and hate this at the same time.  I got the most snuggly robe and socks and faux fur pillow and throw (all pink mind you) from my wonderful friend Amy and all I got her was a new bed buddy.  As I blog to you my dear readers, I am snuggled on my couch in said items and enjoying them immensly.  I may never take this robe off.

4. The music.  Yeah, I haven’t really been listening to very many Christmas tunes yet this year, and my time is almost up.  But I do so love a good spell of listening and singing along in the car or when I’m cleaning (much to the boy’s chagrin in either instance).  They’re so light and cheery!!  How can anyone sing one and be down??

5. Office party.  Greg throws one hell of a party.  Last year, Tara’s husband was out of town so she took my sister as her date so it just made perfect sense that she be my date to this year’s festivities.  I came home with sore feet, starting to lose my voice, a little bit tipsy and well fed!!  We get off work early every year to go home and get all dolled up and get to the City Tavern for drinks and dinner.  There’s a gift exchange, always fun, especially when half of the office and their spouses are drunk by then.

6. Christmas movies with my family.  This technically can fall under #2 but deserves it’s own.  Every year we watch either “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “White Christmas” or both.  Jammies, cramming more of us onto Mom and Dad’s couch than should really fit, switching places, falling asleep, making fun of April when she snores, knitting, making fun of Dad when he snores, hot chocolate, making fun of the Cindy dog when she snores…AH Christmas!!

7. Scented candles and fresh Christmas trees.  Oh the glorious smells of Christmas.  The ones that you can really only pull off once a year like, pine or pumpkin pie or autumn wreath.  Yes, the dogs AND the cats think that they are put on earth to drink all of the water I’m trying to provide for the tree and yes, the tree dries out and the needles are near impossible to clean up but OH THE SMELLS!!!

8. Cookies made by the boy.  Since he was about two (and I have pictures of a tiny version of him in my mother’s apron as proof), he has been assisting my Mom in the kitchen making up all of her holiday goodies that she distributes as gifts and takes to parties.  He does this to earn money for the gifts he wants to buy.  He has various other tasks that he does over at their house to earn said money but the cookies for some reason are always something that I look forward to.  I’ll be sad when he decides he’s too old for such things.

9.  Time off from work.  I have taken tomorrow (Friday) off from work and Christmas falls on Tuesday, the office is closed on Monday so I get 5 WHOLE days away from the chaos of my office!!  Don’t get me wrong, I tend to thrive on this chaos, work-a-holic that I seem to be.  This is also why it’s necessary to have time away from it.  I tidied up my desk (a clean desk is a happy desk!!) and wrapped up what loose ends there were and booked out of there with a certain glee in my heart that only comes every so often.

10. PRESENTS!!!  I know, I know.  I really do.  This holiday is about Jesus being born for us.  I thank God as often as I think about it (which isn’t near often enough) that He did what He did for me.  But still!!  There are presents!!!  GREAT PRESENTS TO BE UNWRAPPED!!  Wrapping paper balls to throw at my Dad so he can stuff them in the trash bag and make room for more!!  The boy opening what he “knew” he was going to get but still didn’t quite know and the look on his face when he sees what he’s gotten!!  PRESENTS!!!!

1. Don’t be afraid of the others. Just because they are a completely different breed than you are, doesn’t make them entirely avoidable. (Baby Mow Mow)

2. Bounce when you see someone you love. Because they can never be shown enough how much they matter. (James)

3. Sit like a lady. (Metallica)

4. Nap as much as possible, it’s good for the soul. (All of them)

5. When the door is left open too long, it means you should run. There isn’t always going to be that opportunity, take it. (Kirk)

6. Exercise keeps us all balanced. (I really learned this one from a lot of people, but in relation to the pets, it was Cesar Milan and Kirk and James.)

7. Even dogs that are set in their ways can learn to be calm and submissive. (James, he’s really trying to get there God love him.)

8. Get yourself shut in the closet repeatedly and then cry about it. Because we can’t all learn everything the first time we’re shown. (Baby Mow Mow)

9. Hissing is acceptable from time to time. It’s a form of release and it shows the world that you won’t go down without a fight. (Metallica.)

10. Hide your food. Because you never know who’s gonna find it and eat it and you never know when your house is going to be cleaned out completely while you’re innocently running around in your little plastic yellow ball just having the time of your life and pooping all over the floor. (Sweet “Black Eyed” Pea Burlison)

1. Be accountable. If you muck something up, find out quick how to fix it and get it done. Don’t ever try to hide it or pretend you didn’t do it. The truth will come out and at that point, it ain’t pretty. Growing up, if dad found out that I had been hiding my D- in Social Studies, I was spending the next couple of weeks indoors studying and doing random chores.
2. Manage your clients expectations. My clients, as part of the Operations department, are the staffers. They can be at times both easy and difficult to please but overall, I enjoy working with them. This goes along with being accountable. If my dad didn’t already know that I could get good grades, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have been so outraged when he found out that I’d done poorly. Nevermind the fact that I knew my grade 2 weeks before he did and didn’t bother to warn him.
3.Work hard and play hard. There are days when I come home from work and all I can muster the energy to do is crawl into my jammies and colapse on the couch. But we make up for it. There are also those days that I stumble in to work right at 8:30 and try to work off a hangover.
4. Deliver when promised. No one likes to have to ask where something is. If you promised it, deliver it. No excuses. If you aren’t going to meet your deadline, work harder or go to them immediately and let them know. If I tell my son that I’ll buy him Halo 3 by November 1st, there’s no way he’s going to let me get away with getting it on the 2nd.
5. Not many people are cut out for the Advertising world. Ours is a beast of it’s own. I cannot necessarily relate this one to the outside world, but it has taugh me a lot about myself. I’m more of a work-a-holic than I thought I was. I’m a perfectionist. I don’t like people that spend a lot of time chatting when they should be working. We all have to stop some times and visit, it’s a needed break in a high pace environment. I spend quality time wandering the office getting to know the staff and signing them up to bring food they don’t really want to have to cook. But this is also why I don’t get all of my stuff done like I’d like to.
6. Working more than 13 hours in one day makes you lose your mind. A conversation I just had with a coworker?? Me: Gar He: Yar Me: Ha! He: Ba! He needs to go home. I’m getting worried. Remind me to buy him booze some time.
7. 80% Business, 20% Heart. At home it should be the opposite. 80% Heart, 20% Business.
8. When in doubt, talk to Darryl. The man has all the answers. What can I say. In my personal life?? Yeah, I have a Darryl, it’s just not the same one. And he has a different name….but you know what I mean. (Do I even know what I mean?? Not sure. I may have to explore this one more at a later date.)
9. Get up and go talk about it. Email and texting are my preferred methods of contact with humans. I just don’t do well with people expecting me to drop what I’m doing to talk. Its so much easier to answer all questions at once when I get to it. These things can be misread though, so sometimes, you just have to walk all the way upstairs and talk to people. It really does work wonders is all I’m sayin’.
10. Booze is a gift from God.
11. YES!! Thank you Greg. #11. Believe or leave.