Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Little Tennessee Mermaid

Can you feel the mischief in the air?

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween. It poured down rain here, which really put a damper on the trick or treating. I followed Bert© around with an umbrella trying to keep her semi-dry as we participated in a “Trunk or Treat” event at a local church. She collected her candy, thanked everyone, and promptly decided that she was ready to go home. We watched “The Proposal” with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds while Bert© was on candy patrol incase we had any treaters come to our house. She was highly disappointed as we didn’t receive even one knock at the door. However she managed to console herself by snuggling up with her mommy and eating some of her loot. We went to bed when Mr. Nascar returned home from working the Football game on Saturday night, and we all enjoyed a nice sleep in on Sunday morning.

I don’t like…

The new WordPress dashboard. I’m having the hardest time adjusting.

Can you tell I don’t like change??

We went to Dollywood yesterday to have some after Christmas fun. It was good, but reminded me too much of the time I went there with Mr. Nascar. It was tinged with a bit of sadness for me, because he wasn’t able to be part of the day. Bert© and I have season passes for both parks (Dollywood & SplashCountry) but my mom does not. I managed to win 2 free passes from work, so I invited her to go with us to see Winterfest.

We arrived at the park just after 11, and immediately headed to the Celebrity Theatre to see “Babes in Toyland”. Bert© and I had seen the production last year, but I really enjoyed it. I was surprised to see that it was not an entirely new cast. Some of my favorite cast members from last year made a reappearance this year. The little girl that plays the lead child is fantastic. I enjoyed her performance last year, and enjoyed it even more so this year. The best part was that we happened to sit next to a man who looked exactly like Santa Claus. He let Bert© sit in the seat next to him and ask him all kinds of questions. He said that he was on vacation in Gatlinburg since he was exhausted after Christmas eve. She had such a smile on her face and even gave Santa a hug before we went off to explore other attractions in the park. That man was very sweet and incredibly indulgent and I’m sure he gave my daughter a memory to last a life time.

We stopped for lunch after that, and then wandered off to wait in line for “The Polar Express 4-D experience”.  The line-up was huge. There were signs telling us that our wait time at this point was 75 mins, 60 mins, 45 mins, etc. I think it was worth the wait, but others might not have. You go into this little room and watch the very beginning of the movie, up until the train arrives outside the little boy’s house. Then a red beacon flashes it’s warning lights and another set of doors open. You file into the room and climb into these little “pods”. Each pod has 4 seats and they tell you very specifically to buckle up. You put on your 3-D glasses and the movie comes on again on a huge IMax type screen. The best part is that as you’re riding the train, your seat is attempting to replicate the feel of the train and the movements it makes as it flys uncontrollably over the tracks. Bert© was screaming her head off and mom was cracking up. I was hanging on for dear life and desperately trying not to injure my back on the ride. Unfortunately I managed to jar myself, and ended up in pain for the remainder of the day. I will be very happy to visit with my chiropractor on Monday. After it was over, Bert© was ready and raring to wait in line again to ride a 2nd time. I didn’t think I had the patience for another 90 minute wait for a 20 minute ride, so instead we went outside. At the bottom of the stairs they had a board with pictures on it, the children were encouraged before heading inside to wait for the ride, to have their picture taken with a man who looked exactly like the conductor from the movie. Bert© looked so adorable in her picture that we just couldn’t pass it up.

Next we waited in line to see the inside of Dolly Parton’s Home on Wheels. She had retired that one, and commissioned a new one to be built to the tune of 2.5 million dollars. As we stepped inside the old bus, which was still lovely and very lavish, we had our picture taken as a group (noticing a theme here?) and looked around. Now, my step-father is a retired Tennessee State Patrol Officer and he worked the main stretch of I-40 in Middle TN between Nashville and Jackson mostly. Over the years he has pulled over countless country music legends, including Miss Dolly Parton herself, in the exact bus we were touring. Unfortunately my mom felt compelled to regale that tale to everyone on the bus with us. Normally I wouldn’t have a problem with that, but with so many people willing to lie about stuff like that and name drop, I’m sure everyone on the bus was collectively rolling their eyes and thinking to themselves “Sure, lady”. So I was a little bit embarrassed at that part, but I didn’t say anything as this was mom’s special day. It’s the furthest away from home she’s been in more than a month.

Bert© had been talking all day about going to the Rockin’ Roadway. It’s a 50’s style car ride, where the children are allowed to steer a self-propelled car on a little track. Most children that we saw there were driving erratically, although they cannot get off the track so they can’t hurt themselves, but when the front of the car hits a curve in the track it does give the passengers quite a jolt. I say most children because Bert© was driving very sedately and calmly, almost like I was a doddering old lady and she was carefully taking me out for my Sunday drive. She really loves anything to do with driving, and it was so cute. Plus I was able to honk the horn from my side of the car, and I wore that sucker out!

We talked about seeing another show, but it was going to be at least 30 minutes until something was ready, so we wandered up Craftsmens Valley to have a look-see and do a little window shopping. Dollywood tries to preserve the heritage of hand-made crafts. There are live demonstrations of glass blowing, black smithing, wagon making, wood carving, candle making, and so much more. The artisans create the items not only for demonstration purposes, but also to sell in their respective shops. Some of the stuff that you can find in there is amazing and very creative. I noticed on a lot of the items that were sold at Dollywood that they said “Made in the USA”. I was very pleased to see that, as it’s not a common sight these days.

We walked up to see the Eagle Sanctuary. They are such beautiful and majestic birds. I could have sat there for hours and listened to them call to each other and watched them fly from branch to branch. Bert© though had heard a familiar sound, the steam engine whistle, and wanted to ride the train. We climbed aboard the Dollywood Express as the sun was setting over the Smoky Mountains. Darkness had fallen over Dollywood and the Christmas lights were magnificent. The engineer played Christmas Music for us over the intercom, and the whole train was singing along. There was just enough chill to the air to really make it feel like Christmas. We waved at all the other tourists in the park and wished them “Happy New Year” as we rolled by. We pulled back into the station depot about 25 minutes later with huge smiles on our faces and stopped to get some hot chocolate.

Bert©’s favorite ride is the classic Carousel. We lined up just as the lady said they had closed for the light parade to come by. Mom, Bert©, and I lined up along side the pathway and watched as lighted floats rolled past. Bert© was smiling and waving at everyone, Raggedy Ann even came up and gave her a big hug. The Tin Soldiers marched past on stilts, and there were even some elves dancing along too. Once the parade finished, we convinced mom to hop on the carousel and ride with us. It was nearly 8pm by the time all was said and done so we wandered back toward the front of the park to the exit. We took our time and browsed in all the stores. Mom bought a few things, and Bert© used the last of her spending money to buy some salt water taffy. I left mom at the exit and went to get the van so she didn’t have to walk out to the outer parking lot with us. I don’t think Bert© was in the back of the van more than 30 seconds before she was sound asleep.

We had an excellent day, and it was lovely to do something together as a family. I wish that Mr. Nascar had been able to be there with us, and I know he did too, he told me so when he called. I’ll try and scan the pictures that we had taken there, and up load them so you all can share in our fun too.

I only have to work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week and then I’m off until January 6th. Hopefully that will give me PLENTY of time to blog and get caught up on everyone elses stuff.

Easter Greetings.

Hope you all feel as blessed as I do today.

Happy Easter, everyone.

Omens, superstitions, & lotteries.

On the very last day of 2007, Hailey and I decided to go for a nice long walk after breakfast. We walked down to our local Shoney’s restaurant, across the street to the bank, down the road to Kmart, and back home. Now, I’m not one to put much stock in omens and such, but what could it possibly mean that on the last day of the year, a lovely little bird sh*t right on the top of my head?? Should I be glad that it happened at the end of 2007, perhaps signaling the end of a sh*tty year and the end to a very long run of bad luck? Should I be glad that it didn’t happen on New Years day, the first day of 2008 as it would have been a sign of things to come? Or should I just be glad I wasn’t looking up to the sky with my mouth wide open? lolOn New Years Eve, Hailey and I spent the night at my friend Beth’s house. I had planned to pay Beth’s daughter $5 for watching Hailey while I went out for a date. Yes folks, you heard that correctly. I. Had. A. Date. The date was scheduled with Tony (Mr. Nascar) and we were going to meet for dinner, and if things clicked we’d go do something else. That is until Tony called to say he wasn’t feeling well, and would have to pass on our date. You’d think that me being the one with the child, I’d be a bit unreliable. Calling to say the babysitter couldn’t make it or some such thing, but no! He’s been the one to cancel twice in a row on me. I thanked him for letting me know, and appreciated that he wasn’t taking the chance of making me sick as well and packed up to head over to Beth’s. She called on the way there and asked if I’d pick up the mixings for strawberry daiquiri’s. Yum! Hailey and I arrived for our slumber party and promptly chowed down for dinner. I love a particular brand of frozen pizza that’s not delivery! I talked the girls into putting on their pajamas, made them a couple of virgin daiquiris, made Beth and I some not so virgin ones, and sat down to a rousing 3 hour game of Monopoly. Hailey, despite being 4 and never having played the game before, managed to beat the pants off the rest of us. We took a break and Uncle Frank came over. Uncle Frank is not related to anyone, but is a close friend of Beth & her husband. He was conned into playing Candyland with the girls, who took wicked delight in stomping him back to the beginning of the path through Candyland. We wrapped everything up just before midnight and I broke out the hats and the cheap plastic horns for the girls. We counted down as the ball dropped in NY. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1….HOOT!! The girls were blowing those horns at the top of their lungs. The cat jumped up off the couch and flew from the room. I let them go outside to scream “Happy New Year” and blow their horns for the neighbors. Uncle Frank let off a few fireworks and then we all went to bed around 1am.

On New Years day, we got a late start. I think Hailey woke me up about 9am. Beth made everyone breakfast, we bummed around and watched some football. Around noon we got all bundled up and went to downtown Knoxville for some outdoor ice skating. Oh my did we have fun! Hailey was very hesitant on the ice and stayed glued to my side. I had taken lessons as a child so I’m at least able to stay upright. A few times she fell, but she just laughed and got right back up again. We had hot chocolate and a cookie before heading home. It was a fantastic day. Unfortunately spending 90 minutes hunched over to help Hailey skate has done nothing for my back. I’m one big ball of painful vertebrae right now!

We headed home to Beth’s house as she was making a “traditional” New Years dinner. This consisted of Ham, black eyed peas, mustard greens, mashed potatoes, corn & yeast rolls. I guess the superstitious people believe that black eyed peas bring good luck for the coming year, greens (usually collard) bring health, and having money in your pocket will bring wealth. I am not a superstitious person, so I just sat back and enjoyed the meal. Is anyone else superstitious enough to partake in this type of notion? Regardless, dinner was delicious and I was stuffed by the end. Beth and I sat down to watch a Christmas movie that she had recorded for me…something about a Diva with Vanessa Williams in it. I grabbed a penny and started in on the scratch tickets I had bought that afternoon. I had about $8 in cash in my wallet so I nipped to the gas station and bought 8 $1 scratch lottery tickets. I think I was on #3 or 4 when I won! $50 no less! That’s not a half bad return on my investment. I was good…instead of buying more tickets and trying to win more money, I cashed it in and bought a few groceries.

So that is how 2007 and 2008 began for me. I’m hoping that this year is relatively mellow…no moves, lay offs, relationship troubles, etc. I would like just a nice, easy, happy year.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year. I wish you all the best in 2008!

Santa Claus is coming to town

I am finally feeling better, thank you to everyone who posted to me with well wishes. It took about a week but I can finally talk again. I still feel like I could take a nap everyday, but I am back to my old cheerful self again. I have been browsing around on the web checking out blogs, but I have not felt much like posting lately.

Sleepyjane posted the other day about Christmas. Less than two months until it’s the holidays again. Where has this year gone? I am not nearly excited about Christmas as I used to be. I believe I commented in Sleepyjane’s post that Christmas was ruined for me the year my mother faked Christmas dinner. I’m sure that is part of it, as I was appalled that she would do such a thing. The other fact is, two years ago, after what I was told was the perfect Christmas, Mike walked out the door and a week later informed me that we were getting divorced.

But I digress, let me explain the details behind the Great Fake Christmas of 2006. I love to cook. What I enjoy even more is cooking for other people. So for Thanksgiving that year I invited the family over to my house and went all out. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, carrots, green beans, and a homemade pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream. It was a beautiful thing and took me the better part of two days (as I started the Wednesday before Thanksgiving) to create and probably only 30 minutes for the family to destroy. Either way, I loved every minute of it. At the end of the meal we were talking about what to do for Christmas dinner and my mom said that she would host and cook so I didn’t have to do it again. We were going to have a brown sugar, spiral cut ham. Oh my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

 Fast forward to Christmas that year. My mom’s house looked spectacular, she’d sewed a new table runner, made a flower arrangement and had made us these neat cranberry spritzers as before dinner drinks. Everything was in the oven and I was helping her set the table. We all sat down to eat, and it was pretty good. Not great, as my mom hasn’t ever been a fantastic cook, but she did the best she could. I learned to cook from my grandma Margaret, which I am thankful for every day. We sat around the table talking a little bit and letting all our food settle down before cleaning up. My brother, Steve and my step-father retired to the livingroom to watch TV while mom and I cleaned up the kitchen. I was impressed as she did quite a bit of cleaning as she made dinner so there wasn’t much to do.

I went into the laundry room to scrape some scraps into the trash when I saw a white box. “What’s this?” I called out to my mother in the kitchen as I picked up the box. “Oh it’s nothing,” she said “I got something in the mail the other day.”

I turned the box over and that’s when I saw the little scan tag. It said “1 complete spiral ham dinner.”

“Mooooooooooom” I yelled at the top of my lungs. “Did you buy a complete Christmas dinner?

“Of course dear, I bought all the ingredients.”

“No, I mean did you buy a whole, precooked dinner, the type that would come in this type of box?” I waved it accusingly under her nose.

“Umm…ahh” she didn’t know what to say.

I stormed into the livingroom with the evidence in my hand. “Look!” I demanded. All heads turned in my direction and the attention was on me. “Mom faked Christmas dinner. She reheated food that had already been made at Kroger and tried to pass it off as her own!”

My step-father gave me a patronizing smile. “We wanted to have a nice Christmas dinner without all the trouble and effort.”

I think Steve just shrugged. Food was food in his mind. I’m sure he was so full he’d cut the blood circulation off to his brain anyway.

 I’m pretty sure at this point I was hyperventilating, but thankfully had not started to cry. I was rather dramatic when I said “You have ruined Christmas dinner for me!” I stomped into the kitchen, put the box back where I found it, and sulked in the livingroom. “You weren’t meant to find the box, dear.” my mother kindly reminded me of her deception “If you weren’t snooping around you would never have known and would have enjoyed a perfectly lovely Christmas dinner.” I think I responded to that by sticking out my tongue and blowing her a raspberry.

So that’s the story. Christmas has never been the same since, and every year I remind my mother of it. I think my problem with the whole charade was that there was no effort put in. Isn’t that the point, in between the togetherness and the spirit of giving, that you put effort into your dinner because it’s a way of showing your loved ones that you care about them? Who knows, maybe I’m just upset because of the effort it took me to make Thanksgiving dinner, I felt short changed for Christmas dinner. Or maybe, deep down I’m just jealous that I didn’t think of it first!