We're Fine...REALLY...

When people ask you what you are doing for the holiday season, and you tell them "just staying home and enjoying Christmas by ourselves", they always look at you as if your pet kitty just died. As if the idea of being alone with just us is a bad thing. We have a huge family as it is! 7 dogs, Vittles the garage kitty, Harley the rabbit who will never die, Miss Cleo the barn kitty and the sheep...we are our very own party house :)

OK...so the sheep, Cleo and Harley won't be in the house at all this Christmas, and Vittles WILL be for the brief moment it takes for her to get into the house by going between our legs as we open the door and makes a b-line for under the tree. Then we have to drag her out, by the tail or she will bite us...and "gently" take her to the garage. But there will be plenty of Christmas happiness to go around to make us all not be sad and alone :) I promise :)

We have an Even, Miss Party Central...who we have to still limit her tree time or she ends up eating some glittered ornament...do you have ANY idea how hard it is to get glitter off of carpeting/walls/leather couches/ANYWHERE?? I didn't...until this year.And there will be plenty of wine...wine makes everything better :) And SANTA HATS! Why do Santa hats elicit so much joy you ask!?!?

Simple...dog.torture.for.pure.entertainment...oh yes...here doggie doggie doggie! If looks could kill...and see all those white hairs?? Yeah...Crackers leaves them EVERYWHERE. And this time of year Andy and I realize people eat lots of dip, as they talk about Crackers with this and eating Crackers and dipping Crackers and stale Crackers etc etc. Which makes us giggle...and normally it is "inappropriate laughter"...oops. No wonder we don't get invited to Christmas parties... Lynn loves me...she really does...and she loves her Santa hat :) Isn't this a look of love...or, I suppose one could say she is looking at me with such sadness that her owner is REALLY THIS PATHETIC...Naw...it's love...I'm sure of it. And we get to tempt the dogs with lots of yummy food they can't have. And special ornaments that hang high on the tree so they have no access to take them off and rip them into a million pieces. And there are always the SOCK MONKEYS!!! 3 more have been born (what is the correct term or sock monkey's being brought into the world)...I have officially banned Andy from shopping at Walmart until the end of January. Seriously dude...this isn't normal.

But really...we are very happy about not having to travel south, as usual, there is a blizzard or some crappy snow "event" in Iowa (I swear that state has the WORST weather ever)...so no driving through a snow storm. No dealing with 7 dogs for a week in someone else's home (can you say STRESS INDUCING)...no traveling to 50 Christmas dinners. Just us, our dinner, our presents and we plan on going to see a movie that day :) Sounds like a lovely time to me! I like going home...we get to eat a TON of rabbit poop when we are home in Missouri! LOVE LOVE LOVE rabbit poop! Remember last year when I rolled in that giant dead...

Shut up Lynn...no one asked you.

Sure...we will miss our families, of course we will...but I know I will get calls all day from everyone wishing us a Merry Christmas, we already have boxes of cookies from the MIL here and ornaments made by the nieces and nephews :) So, in a way, they will all be with us. Um...Crackers...whatcha doin'? None of those are for you. You're EVIL, just like Vittles...

I thought it would be nice to work some sheep on Christmas...but my round pen looks like this: I guess I COULD snow blow the foot of snow out of it. But asking Andy to help me with that during Christmas is probably going to get me a big, fat NO. Can't say I blame him...so the dogs will have to settle for these sheep instead... Which are also hung very high on the tree :)

We have everything we need to make the house all festive and that is the important thing...

Like my never ending supply of Yankee Candles in 503 different scents (but I call them flavors...not sure why, you don't eat candles)...everyone buys me candles for birthday and Christmas gifts... PLEASE NOTE: Candles last FOREVER. This one is like, at least 7 years old or something...I have CABINETS of these...plus oil diffusers, mini votives, small candles, GIGANTIC candles...I am GOOD ON CANDLES...please stop. Please... Gator is excited because he is sure we will get bored and resort to playing Wii bowling...so he can sit on his designated mat and NOT attack the plasma TV. That wouldn't happen if we went home...

Speaking of TV...we never get to watch it...except in the winter, on Sundays, when a CSI or Law and Order: Special Victims Unit marathon is on (and there is always one on or around Christmas)...and we lay there...all day...taking naps and only getting up to eat or pee...we call it "Coma Sundays"...we LOVE coma Sundays... Seriously...try it...Coma Sundays ROCK :) So we will have a Coma Christmas...brilliant...

We are looking forward to our Christmas up in Minnesota this year...snow on the ground, cold outside but not horrible (could be -35 or something) and surrounded by all of our critters...Relaxing, drinking a bit too much, eating a bit too much...

Merry Christmas to all of you, whether you are with a huge group this year, or just hanging out on your own, I hope it brings you memories to cherish into the new year :)

(((HUGS))) from all of us! (cyber hugs are OK in my book :)