Christmas Recap Ch3: Festival of Lights

Maria, Abby, Kelly, Wolfgang, Max and I went through the Festival of Lights in Tanglewood Park Monday night. I'd never been, so it was a maiden voyage for me.

I think Max was most enthralled of all of us. He sat right behind me most of the time so I enjoyed hearing his sweet little voice as he described the lighted sights.


It was difficult to capture photos that weren't completely blurred or washed out - mine are no where near perfect - but you get the gist.





Maria, Abby and Kelly roasting marshmallows. There were these ridiculous signs stating that "due to the extreme expense of maintaining the bon fire, Tanglewood must insist that all marshmallows be purchased on site." Really? Let's see. Fire pit, wood, caging, lighter fluid. Not sounding all that expensive to me, but whatever, the kids enjoyed their $5 S'mores.


Abby being goofy - tangled up in the barrier chains, all smiles with gooey S'more in-hand.



HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas Recap Ch2: Abby

Abby was VERY patient Christmas morning. Fuzzpa didn't arrive until after 10 am and Maria made her wait upstairs until then. She called down repeatedly throughout the morning, "Mom! Can I come down now?!" to which we answered, "Not yet, just one more minute!"

She didn't try to peek. She didn't cry or fuss. I was quite impressed.

Abby making her first pass through her stocking stash.



The reading of the Santa letter. Although I somewhat anticipated it, I found myself shocked when Abby started explaining the patterns of penmanship throughout the years of letters (2002-2009). With such an eye for detail, I'm surprised she hasn't realized said penmanship is none other than mine.



Abby showing off her letter alongside Maria, Zoe and me. I love Abby's "Santa letter pillow," which is going on its 8th year now. Maria is so seamstress-tastic!



For the first time in more than twenty years, we celebrated Christmas in North Carolina. When in Tennessee, the task of gift distribution has been shared by Abby and our cousin, Russell. Obviously Abby had to take over "Santa duties" all by herself this year.

Here she is trying to determine the recipient of a gift. Too bad she's looking on the wrong side!



The last chapter of the Christmas Recap - The Festival of Lights in Tanglewood - is up next.

Christmas Recap Ch1: Dogs

Arrived at Abby's house bright and early Christmas morning despite the doubters. Mom's broken ankle left her rather immobile, so Zoe set up shop on her lap stat.

Be sure to note the snappy holiday collar, courtesy of Maria.



Lounging on the leather sofa, sleepy dog style.



Bailey, mid-bark in the back yard.

Bailey hasn't lost any of his barkability in his old age - just his desire to GET UP and approach the focus of his bark. Zoe frantically and vocally pacing the fence perimeter while Bailey simultaneously barks-in-place (louder than ever) from afar is a sight to be seen.



Zoe, in her new favorite spot a la casa de Glazener, along with Casey dog, howler extraordinaire.


More Christmas recaps to follow shortly.

Pirate Bunny

I lovingly named the bunny pictured left "my ECU bunny." I didn't really grasp the school color affiliation until the little chica was completed, at which time it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Although I never attended East Carolina University, I spent a fair amount of time visiting the campus during my first semester of college.

No ill will by any means, but I'd have to say I think I'd have been better off staying away from the Pirates.

Who knew a tiny bunny ornament could bring back so many undesired memories! Purple. Yellow. Black. Not fond.

I say "not fond," but then I think that some of those mistakes taught me a great deal and allowed me to become the person I am and I like her.

Perhaps I should keep my little ECU bunny as a reminder of the person I left behind and also the person I am happy to be now!

Final note: Guess I should put more thought into my bunny/bear color combinations before the project is underway...

More tiny ornaments

I distributed tiny bear ornaments to my co-workers on Monday - almost solely to my female peers as I assumed the guys wouldn't appreciate them - and they were a hit! While definitely more impressed than they should've been, my colleagues inspired me to go ahead and try out the rabbit pattern. The only real difference is the size of the ears, but I just love my first bunny ornament. I guess the Spring colors qualify as a difference, too, as I would make the bunnies to match Easter colors.

The bears I gave as gifts were far more neatly designed than my "beta bear." After a bit of practice I got the hang of it and even added some cute embellishments to several of them. I hope my friends will hang them on their trees for years to come!

But I am looking for suggestions for the bunnies. For the Christmas bears I mostly crocheted scarves to go around their necks, and on some I sewed tiny heart-shaped buttons to the front of the "dress." But for the bunnies a scarf doesn't really work - at least if we're thinking Spring - so if anyone has a suggestion for an embellishment, I'm all ears!

On a very unrelated and completely FLASHBACK note (as I loudly announce my age), an episode of Cold Case recently aired on TNT cast me to iTunes looking for songs by Asia and Kenny Loggins. Wow.

Good Zoe news

After a week of unfortunate events, I am happy to report a bit of good news. Zoe's recent albumin level check put her in the normal range. Her last test still had her a little low, but Friday's results have her at 2.8 g/DL.

In light of those results I feel I must give props to Nutri-Vet's Healthy Liver tabs since I've been giving them to Zoe since our most recent scare and her albumin level is now 0.6 higher than it was 6 weeks ago.

However I also feel obligated to mention that the healthy liver tabs are a bit hard to find. When I purchased them from Amazon I got them for $7.99 although I think the price has gone up since then. Regular retail price (for 60 tablets) is approximately $25. Since the dosage is (1) tablet twice a day per 20 pounds of body weight, the bottle lasts a bit longer for Zoe. I've been dividing the tablets into halves or thirds.

Her weight is also back up to 7.88 lbs. When I first adopted Zoe in 2005 she was just over 8 pounds. I'd like to keep her between 7 and 8 lbs, so we're on the right track.

She and Bailey are both due for annual examinations in March. I'm hoping both of my babies will be dismissed with a clean bill of health at that time. Here's to hoping!

Late Halloween post and breaking news

On Halloween, as I was packing to drive to Todd's to spend the evening trick-or-treating with Abby, I found myself unable to locate my digital camera. So for the first time in I don't know how long, I was forced to utilize my ELPH film camera. I don't fault my ELPH at all - it is a great camera - but let's face it, digital is just so much easier.

Failure to locate said digital camera resulted in off-season development of pics of All Hallows' Eve. First there are a couple of shots of Abby and I, post-pumpkin carving.





Abby dressed up as Rainbow Magic's Lauren the Puppy Fairy. Her "glue" stitches above her right eye didn't dampen her spirits at all. She was chipper and ready to stomp door-to-door for loot for as long as we'd allow her to do so.



As for recent news, my dad called me Wednesday morning to tell me my mom fell in a parking lot and broke her ankle in three places. She had surgery and was held overnight for observation. They put two screws and a metal plate in her ankle. When I talked to her she sounded okay. A tiny positive note is that she broke her LEFT ankle - meaning driving might not be impossible for weeks and weeks.

Just another monkey wrench in the Glazener Christmas plans, but we will make it through.

Hope everyone else's holidays are going more smoothly than ours!!!

Happy Birthday Bailey!

Bailey turned 12-years-old on December 8th, 2009. I brought him home from Blacksburg, Virginia in February 1998 - at which time he only weighed about 6 pounds.

He was quite an active puppy, and he initially drove his brother Jax crazy, but he slowly worked his way into Jax's good graces. They became inseparable. The day I had to separate them broke my heart, but Bailey has made many friends since, including his newest sibling Zoe.

Bailey's age is evident most of the time, but there are still instances when he is Bailey my puppy. His crooked tail wags excitedly when I get home from work or when the treat jar is exposed. He won't jump in the back of the car anymore, but he'll bound around the living room, playfully pouncing on Zoe or engaging in keep away with mom.

He's been my roommate and faithful companion for 12 years. Here's to hoping he's with me - as long as he's healthy - for at least a few more years! I love you Bailey!

Super Stinker

Jen and I knew what we were in for when we made plans to go to the movies on Sunday (Several shirtless males - one quite buff in particular; werewolves in tennis shoes and sparkly vampires).

Wow. Lifetime movies never looked so good.

The biggest flaws are outlined below:

1. Negative chemistry: Zero between lead female and her boyfriend. Zero between lead female and "the other guy." I could've envisioned a stronger attraction between a girl and a telephone pole.

2. A lead actress incapable of making anyone feel anything. Her face hardly changed expression throughout the entire film.

In one scene she's lost the love of her life while in another she's accepting a birthday gift: expression change = NONE. Facial expression ranged between blank stare and blank stare while biting lower lip. If you've seen the Cake Eaters you might believe this actress is not completely without talent, but in this movie all I can say is what the eff?

3. The score is horrid. While in the original installment of this franchise the music was far more hip and fluent throughout the film, this movie played out like an after school special. Completely sappy background music (which didn't appear to tie in at all with any of the actual songs on the soundtrack) rendered most scenes soap opera-esque at best.

There were only two other people in the theater with us and they found the most horrifically ridiculous scenes just as hilarious as we did. (ie. the running through the woods which alone made the price of my ticket worth it; "Things could get really ugly.")

I can only hope these movies improve with the next two installments. Book #2 was my least favorite, so maybe there is still hope. The third was my favorite, so here's to hoping David Slade hasn't dashed my hopes for greatness.

And yes, I intentionally omitted all names and titles from this post. If you don't live under a rock, you know which movie I'm referring to anyway. WAIT FOR THE DVD.

Awesome Friends

I am so lucky that I share my proximal world with two of my very best friends. Caroline, Kerry and I have been celebrating birthdays together since my return to NC in 2003. (We've known each other since approximately 1984). Last night was for me and it was perfect!

We ate at Bocci Trattoria and enjoyed great service - our gracious server took the photo below.


Thanks girls! Love you TONS!

Holiday Approach

Three weeks until Christmas Eve. Seriously?

I firmly believe that time skates by at an ever increasing swift pace as we get older. Three weeks 'til this:


The Santa letter could prove to be awkward this year due to several logistical uncertainties, but I will do my best to rise to the occasion and churn out a winner. Gotta keep Abby a believer as long as we can!

Hope everyone is feeling more joy than holiday crunch. If we could get a decent break from the nasty rain here in NC I'd be a hell of a lot more jolly.
Ho Freakin' Ho.

'Tis the season!