Where are you Christmas?

Chosen by Jodi



I love this video. Not only do I enjoy Faith's voice, I also really get the message of this song. This is the 8th Christmas without my Mom. My Mom was HUGE with the holidays. I think part of the reason that I have a hard time this time of year is that I fear that I won't get everything done....gifts bought and wrapped, baking done, tree put up, decorate the house (and with my Mom that meant every room including the bathrooms!!!).


This year I am trying to pick and choose the things that really mean something to me. I'm not going to stress anymore about not doing "everything". I'm going to find the joy of the season and keep it simple. Wishing you all a stress free and meaningful holiday season!!

Stuffed Turkey aka cpgem8

I know,
I am suppose to be a Stuffed Turkey, however this is the best I could do !

When I look at, lets say Angelina Jolie, I think to myself, oh how pretty, I wonder what it is like to be her. When I see a beautiful bottle nose Dolphin, I think how beautiful, I wonder what it is like to be a Dolphin and roam at sea so freely. When I look at a Turkey, I say, yuck, never a thought crosses my mind in wonderment of what it would be like to be a Turkey.

There are so my questions, that come with being a Turkey. I have always wondered why they kinda wobble, and why their tummies are so large, that its outstretch in the front of them forming kinda a roll. Their feet are webbed and its seems they have a red thingy hanging from their chins, and their backs are stretched out with lots of feathers which gives their backside well lets say "easy access" perhaps during bathroom issues. Their necks move as they walk and they only speak in sound, such as gobble and yelp. Their food intake is constant, I have never seen a Turkey in a coop not eating something. And heck why are they all so close to each other, doesn't a Turkey need its space.

All this questions started to make sense to me on the Friday after Thanksgiving when I felt exactly like a Turkey.

So it seems, by pure accident, I know what its like to be a Turkey, "Stuffed Turkey" to be exact.

You see, I wobbled all day as I did my Christmas shopping, my feet were swollen from all the salt intake and my toes where way to close then they normally are. My tummy grew overnight in kinda a roll formation. I noticed I had food hanging from my chin, I think it was a beet, however when I tasted it, it was not tasting like beets at all, so I am stumped to what it was.
By backside was 15feet behind me, which made bumping into people a ease, everyone was so close it was hard to move. I tried on a feathery scarf which only made me sneeze a thousand times. I found myself moving my neck more than usually, however I was looking at lots of sales racks. Whenever I saw a good deal on something, I yelped with delight. And while I was shopping all the food in my tummy started to rumble, so off to the bathroom I went, I wore lose fitting sweat pants, as jeans were not gonna cut it, so going to the bathroom was "easy access". And of course while shopping I had to get one those Wetzels Pretzels, which I gobbled down in a nano second, as I did not want to share.

Now I ask you, why did it have to be the Turkey? Why could it not have been Angelina Jolie, or the beautiful bottle nose Dolphin? And as I ponder the question I just asked you. I realized, with all the Turkey, stuffing, yams, corn, artichoke's, potato's, mushrooms, beets, string beans, stuffed peppers, broccoli, escarole, along with many desserts that I consumed in a constant motion on Thanksgiving, it would only seem fitting that I would feel like a "Stuffed Turkey".

Just my luck with all my three options It would be the Turkey. Now I know why when I see a Turkey I say "yuck" because feeling like a "Stuffed Turkey" sure feels "yucky"!!!

:O)

The Gift of Life

by Jodi

As most of you know, I gave blood on Friday. This is something that I began doing with my Dad when I turned 18. I have to admit I was shocked when I looked at my card and my last donation had been in 2004!! I have been the recipient of a blood transfusion, and know all too well what a gift it is. The night my youngest son was born was an exciting night, but also one of the scariest of my life. About an hour after I gave birth I thought I was just napping, but my hubby couldn't wake me up. Long story short, I was bleeding out, and the only way my Dr. could save my life was by doing an emergency hysterectomy. Six units of blood and 2 units of frozen plasma later, I woke up in the ICU. Thank God someone had given blood, because it truly saved my life.

As we approach this holiday season, please consider giving blood. It only takes about an hour of your time. Back in the day you got maybe cheese and crackers along with a cookie afterwards, but yesterday they had pizza and you got to take home a bag of bagels from Panera Bread!!!

According to the American Red Cross every 2 seconds someone in America needs blood. The American Red Cross serves as the bridge between over 4 million generous blood donors and millions of patients in need each year. All you have to do is go to www.givelife.org to find your nearest Red Cross Chapter or a blood drive near you!!

From my family to yours.....Have a safe and fun holiday season!!!

I'm Thankful for You

by Lynn D

I'm Thankful for You
Thanksgiving is a time
for focusing on the good in our lives.
It is a time for being thankful for the people around you.
It's a time for loving and caring and giving.
You are one of those people who I care about.
You are unique in your own way.
You make me feel good when I'm around you.
So,
On Thanksgiving,
I'm thankful for you.

~Adriana~


When Carol asked me to write the blog for today I had several ideas in mind. Sometimes that is my problem trying focus on one idea, and then I came across this poem and it says it all for me.

I am thankful for each and every one of you! I may not express how I feel daily but each of you is with me in my daily life.

In the last year we have celebrated and mourned together. We have witnessed many owl meetings, weddings, birthdays and anniversaries.

We have shored each other up when faced with many of life’s challenges. Whether that was illness or mourning lost loved ones. We have rejoiced in the renewal of new life together too.

We have challenged each other in our religious beliefs and political ideals and have, I think come out stronger for it. We may not always agree but we respect each other enough to agree to disagree.

So I am taking the time to give Thanks to all of you. I may not always offer a comment, because sometimes I don’t have words adequate to express how I feel, but many times I find myself living my daily life and I can almost feel your presence beside me like a ghostly hand slipped into mine, offering comfort or a knowingness that I am with you in spirit if not physically, funny how we have met here in this place and continue to come and laugh, be silly, or share thoughts and ideas. I would say we find comfort in each other.

Some of us come and go for various reasons but I have learned something about myself from each person who has landed in this nest. In many cases it has helped me define who I am and what I believe.

So on this day of Thanksgiving take a moment to ponder the special gathering of people in this nest and wish them well because they are good and wise owls with, wisdom, light, compassion and love. Bless you all.

I Hope You All Have A Ball

By Lois Lane AKA No_Newz

Every year for too many to count, I'd race through the house screaming on Thanksgiving morning, "I call the neck!"

Most of the time, I was the early bird catching the worm so to speak. Other times, not so much. My sisters Mary and Lucy were my biggest nemeses in those days. Every once in a while they would "call the neck" before I even rolled my tired little bones out of bed.

I don't know what the fascination was, it's not that tasty, and certainly doesn't have much meat on the damn thing. Maybe, because there was only one neck to be had, and so many mouths that wanted to eat it, caused the stir. Whatever the case, I started my own Thanksgiving morning catchphrase on those years I missed out on the neck.

Sliding into the kitchen in my socks, I'd yell to my mother, "I call the balls!"

I meant the gizzards, but no one felt it necessary to correct me.

As the years progressed, my catchphrase didn't really catch on, because seriously, who wants "the balls" anyhow?

Many necks and "balls" later, I was dared by a bunch of blog friends I met through Ross, to enter The Tonight Show's "Who Wants to be a Correspondent" contest. I've never wanted to be on TV, but I take dares very seriously and went for it. Thankfully the tape never aired.

I had so many jokes in my head, but I was trying so hard to be PG since it was for TV. An unedited version of the same event may have come with an NC-17 or R rating.

Being among friends here at the nest, I thought I would share my audition tape with you. Why? Well because for my audition I chose to cover a Turkey Testicle Festival. I thought the concept would be funny, who knew I'd actually put a real turkey ball in my mouth? That's right, for the sake of comedy I ate a turkey testical.

My First Love

by Tina~in_ut

OMG!!!! I loved Shaun Cassidy when I was a teen. I had over 1000 pictures of him on my wall. I would take pictures of my pictures! I watched every episode of the Hardy Boys. My favorite was when Joe was going to marry Jamie and the day before they were to get married, there was a car accident and she died. I cried…….I felt so sorry for my Shaun! (as if it was all real!) I even found the episode on youtube while looking for this video. he-he….I’m watching it while I write this!!!! I was so sad when the show ended.

I loved Shaun’s music too. I bought every album. Well, okay…..my parents bought them….but you know what I mean! My cousin and I made up a dance routine to this song. We still remember parts of it and sometimes perform it for relatives…and no….there is no alcohol involved!!!

I bought every Tiger Beat magazine that he was in….well…..where did you think I got all those pictures? My parents gave me a Shaun Cassidy birthday one year…..Shaun cake, Shaun pin, Shaun doll (yes, for real!), and the Hardy Boys Van! Oh how I loved that!

And then there was the Shaun Cassidy concert. I thought I died and went to Heaven! Actually, I did. I screamed so much and sang every song and dreamed one day of becoming Mrs. Shaun Cassidy. (uh…for those of you who are not aware…that didn’t work out so well!)

I still keep up with his career. He has been on Broadway and writes and produces for television. I still think he’s a cutie and he still makes me smile.

Where There's Smoke.........

by Just Lin

When I was 10 or 11 years old, my dad let me try his cigarette. The smoke seared my lungs and I immediately launched into a major coughing fit. I'm sure he hoped that would dissuade me from taking up the smoking habit in spite of the fact that he and my mom both smoked. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. After 41 years of smoking, I finally stopped 2 1/2 years ago but, boy, did I love it while I did it!

Growing up in the 50's and 60's, it seemed that most adults smoked. I remember our family doctor smoking in the exam room during consultations. There was a reading room at the library with big overstuffed chairs and standing ashtrays. You could smoke in movie theaters, in grocery stores, and on airplanes. You could basically smoke anywhere and everywhere. There weren't nearly as many ads on TV then as there are now, but many of them were for cigarettes. The most memorable ones are probably the Old Gold dancing cigarette pack with a woman's dancing legs sticking out from the bottom of the pack and the little Philip Morris man. The rugged Marlboro man would come later.

Hollywood stars had glamour shots taken while holding or smoking a cigarette. Cigarettes played a prominent part in the movies of the time, adding a level of nuance to the mood. They could convey revelry and good times, mystery and intrigue, wit and sophistication, or sultry, smoldering passion. I mean, really, who wouldn't want to smoke?

I was the last one in my group of friends to start smoking. I started by bumming a cigarette now and then. Once I got serious about it and started buying my own, it was Pall Malls until I found my true love, Kools.

I remember one night in the mid 60's when some girlfriends and I were just cruising around in the car, smoking and laughing and being silly. My best friend, Alice, was the driver and she thought she was really sophisticated with her cigarette holder. Suddenly, her lit cigarette ejected out of the holder and fell to the floor board and out of sight. We all started yelling and screaming about it as she slammed on the brakes, right in the middle of this huge boulevard, and jumped out to find the cigarette. We laughed about it so many times later.

I know our nest has smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers. I would love to hear why the smokers started smoking, why the ex-smokers quit and why the non-smokers never started.