Christmas Memories

Tis the season for holiday cheer and family fun. It is a well known fact that my mother LOVES Christmas, her house rivals that of the Mistletoe Ranch (minus the clutter) and...well...that is the most Christmasy place I can think of right now. Anyways, one year, she had a record of 11 decorated Christmas trees, including a specialized one in each room of the house representing the individual that resided in that location and a forest complete with snow, bears, and a wolf. The lighting on the outside of the house is perfectly matched and laid out like nothing I have seen before. And, did I mention, the dog even had his own Christmas tree? So, the last several years (well, okay, I have only lived in my house for three Christmas', so take that how you want), I have been pretty hard-pressed to put up a Christmas tree, even after Mom donated two pre-assembled trees complete with all of the ornaments and lights needed to decorate them. One might even say I have been somewhat of a Grinch. I can't say it was intentional, maybe more lazy than anything. Really - buying lights, getting on the roof to hang them, taking them down - that is a LOT of work. Okay, not really, but that's the best excuse I have right now. THIS year though, I hung lights, in part due to the fact that they were donated by Mom, but still, I hung them (and, yes, she supervised). I also put up the trees AND decorated them. I even turned them on a few nights. Yep, no Grinch at the T-K Stadel Residence this year. In reality though, I feel kind of like I owe it to my family to decorate - not that it is a bad thing, but Mom goes to a huge effort to put everything together and have a beautiful house for the holidays, so I can probably do a little something, too. Truthfully, there are few things better than going home for Christmas and walking into her beautiful house all full of Christmas cheer. When I first see her house after the two or three weeks of decorating, it always makes me smile. We joke about it and give her a hard time, but, even though it is a lot of work for her to do, she doesn't realize how much it means to the family. Where else can you sink into a super comfy couch, find leftovers in the fridge, and get all the holiday pizzaz you need than at your parent's house? Here are some other Christmas Memories that make me smile...forever and always. 1. McDonald's on Christmas Eve. So, this tradition was more relevant when I was a kid, but there is something great about going through the drive-thru wearing a Christmas dress (yes, once upon a time I wore a dress on Christmas). 2. Opening presents on Christmas Eve and having Santa deliver his while we were at church. This year was a little bit different, I had to work on Christmas Eve. But, my wonderful family compensated and we did this on Christmas Day instead. It. Was. Weird. 3. I am the sole deliverer of Christmas presents. I get the privelaged duty of handing them out to everyone as they sit around the living room. I love trying to guess what is in each one as I hand them out. 4. Wrapping presents. This is the best part of giving presents. I don't even care what they are, I LOVE wrapping presents. And I don't mean throwing some paper on them, I mean, ribbon, perfectly sealed edges, folded over seams. Wrapping presents is the best. 5. Dinner with the family. My family meets up with my cousins, Aunt, Uncle, Grandma, and usually at least one four-legged kid. We take Christmas dinner seriously, it is the event of the season. Sweet potatoes, prime rib, turkey, stuffing, cranberries, at least three types of salad, two types of Jell-O something, mashed potatoes, and the list goes on and on. And then there is dessert. Homemade ice cream, cheesecake, brownies, apple pie, hot fudge. YUM. 6. Doing the dishes. This may be my favorite part. My cousins and I are designated dish duty. We all clear the table, stuff the dishwasher as full as we can, put the leftovers away, and clean whatever other dishes don't fit in the dishwasher. It is like a fine-tuned machine. Maybe not, but we have a great time doing it. 7. Sitting around after all the work is done. This pretty much tells it's own story. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday...365 days 'til we do it again! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Inspiration

Here we are, me, Koda, and two of our SAR team members headed to Colorado. We are going to work with some of the best search dogs and handlers in the country. Koda is relaxing in the seat next to me, watching the miles tick by, probably wondering when we get to go play. He knows, I packed up the search pack, his vest, his toy, my boots. But to him, what does it mean? He works hard for a ball, to get praise and play after he follows someone he doesn't know by anything other than smell. Usually in the dark, snow, rain, or heat. And he does it with a purpose, never complaining, never asking why, and always putting his heart and soul, and nose, into every trail. As a search dog, Koda gets spoiled more than what one would call normal, but he deserves it. He trains hundreds of hours a year and is always ready to go. He does dozens of public appearances, letting kids pull on his tail and ears and never flinching. My pup is my inspiration, the reason I train hard at the gym, study hard to learn search behavior and management, get out of bed at two am in a blizzard to go find someone. When I don't think I can do something, I think of a dog, because they don't know they can't do it, they keep going because it is what they know. A dog who does what he loves to do, and helps others not questioning his ability or the reasons why. What a novel concept, and an amazing creature. If more people were like dogs, sure, we would have an overabundance of hair, but we would also have unconditional love.

Napping and Stuff

I am addicted to being busy. I hate downtime, not having stuff to do. When I am just sitting here, doing nothing, I have this feeling that I should be doing something. This is the reason don't nap. I think it wastes time I could spend doing stuff. Whatever 'stuff' is...
I have never understood the concept of taking a nap in the middle of the day. I mean, if you're that tired, you should have gone to bed earlier. Really. Plan ahead. I use my morning shower time planning essentially every minute of my day, or, at least, roughly planning. Days I dink around and don't shower right away in the morning really mess with my planning skills, unless I have another plan and am going to kick some serious to-do list butt before my morning shower. But that is another topic.
Lately, I have broken all my rules. I have been taking naps. I have just sat around and watched TV. Wow. What have I been doing all these years? Seriously. Napping in the middle of the day - crazy! Who would have thought, when you're tired, sleep? And just sitting around, really? Huh, I didn't know you could actually watch a movie without doing something else at the same time.
After being up all night running calls last shift, then going to job number two, there was absolutely no way I was going to be able to stay awake for the hockey game. So, I embraced the power of a nap. (Of course, I did so after all of my to-do list was checked off, because who can sleep when they have a ton of stuff to do?) And I slept good, even if it was only for an hour. Then I sat around and mindlessly stared at the thing called a TV. It was like drinking a huge cup of hot chocolate. Refreshing. Totally worth it.
That all being said, I don't think I will be making it a practice to take naps every day and just "relax". Because who has time to sit around and sleep when you could be doing...stuff?

I just wanna scream!

Be the bigger person.
Just step up and walk away.
Don't say things out of rage because you might not mean them later.
Blah blah blah. Why is it always so important to do the right thing? Why do you have to "step up and be the professional person you are"? Don't call people names. Don't make faces at them. Don't post mean messages on their Facebook page...
Yea, I get it. Even when you are mad or having a bad day, sure, it is the "right thing" to do. But some days, and some people, just don't deserve it. It's probably not appropriate to put yellow sticky notes up all over the office broadcasting how your co-worker is a dirty, rotten, pen stealing, food robbing snob because he parked in your favorite parking spot. But, some days, it makes you feel so much better to call someone a pickle-footed pillow fluffer.
Yep...today is one of those days...