Meredith Carson... Across the Pond and Back Again...

How old am I again? I am old enough to be slightly less excited than my two-year-old. Lili knows she will be three on her next birthday.  Obviously I must be turning four since I am a bit older than she is.  Works for me. "Time flies like an arrow.  Fruit flies like a banana." ~ Groucho Marx

"Wake  up!  Wake up, everybody!!  It's time for fun Christmas today!!" And now a note from my ten year old: "Yes, you read that correctly.  CHRISTMAS IN JULY!  Around the Carson house things are... well, Christmasy!  You may see  holly by the door, a jolly Santa figure, and even a small, lit tree!  There may be snowmen lurking in the bathroom and all sorts of other small surprises.  There are literally candy canes hanging from the ceiling.  There will be cinnamon rolls and treats too.  Of course Santa is a little too busy to visit today, but there's still that good ole Christmas spirit!  Who would have guessed what a wonderful idea it is to have a fun Christmas day in mid-July to be precise?  Keep your Christmas spirit folks because Santa watches us all year long, even in July!" Today, for several reasons, we had a Christmas in July day.  My daughter Sophia's cooking camp was canceled at the last minut...

Things got pretty wild at our house as we rang in the new year.  As usual Emma couldn't hold her drink, and Lili wound up dancing naked on the kitchen table.  Or perhaps we just put Lili to bed and watched Pirates of the Caribbean followed by Downton Abbey until 1am. George has been, unfortunately, rather ill for the last few days.  He is finally feeling better today, so we toasted the new year with some of Meijer's best sparkling white grape juice and skipped our usual hoppin' john in favor of some turkey chili and tortilla chips. "Cheers Me, Sophia!" I'm so happy, it's a little bit scary. “Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life. The secret of success is in turning that diary into the best story you possibly can.” ~Douglas Pagels I wish you a very happy new year full of wonderful pages in the ongoing story of you. Love, Meredith

She thought it was just an ordinary day even though everyone kept wishing her a "Happy Birthday."  She merely returned the greeting.  "Happy Birthday, Daddy!" she called to my husband as he walked out the door this morning.  I suppose it was a pretty ordinary day up until this evening.  Even Mom's delicious tortilla soup was a wonderful but ordinary meal. Today's soup was "lick your fingers" good though, if I do say so myself, and the photos don't lie, friends. C'est Magnifique! Shortly after dinner, however, Lili came to the realization that something wonderful was happening.  I think this photo nicely captured the moment of glee when it all clicked. "Oh!  It's MY birthday!!" And because she is such a wonderfully fabulous and amazing TWO year old now, she managed to blow out her own candles.  I was a bit impressed apparently.  Sophia asked, "Why are you screaming, Mom?"  Sorry.  It's just wha...

Since we all were at church on Thursday evening, we were a little late in celebrating St. Pat's Day at home, and we just HAD to celebrate at home since, for some reason, the United Methodists don't serve Guinness at  youth group gatherings in the fellowship hall.  Our little celebration tonight also gave Lili a chance to dress up in her fab new green t-shirt again and gave the rest of us a chance to eat lots of good food. First a little leprechaun visited our kitchen table and delivered a rainbow fruit salad and dropped a few of his gold pieces.  That cheeky little blighter also poured a whole pint of lager into my Irish stew as it simmered on the stove, but none of us minded that a bit. Cheers! Bless your little Irish heart and every other Irish part. Of course Lili remembered last year's first and only taste of Guinness, and she decided to have another go.  Her brilliant mum did not discourage her. Don't the old hatch, Babe.* And finally, Sophie and Emma were ...

It's that time of year again, isn't it?  I didn't leave my Seasonal Affective Disorder across the pond in Wales unfortunately.  All week I have seriously struggled to drag my sorry behind up out of bed in the morning.  The fact that New Year's Eve brought us a balmy, rainy day that washed all of the sparkling white snow away hasn't helped my depressive moods, BUT it's new day and a new year, and I am choosing to fight my seasonal lethargy tooth and nail...as long as it's after 9 am. As has been the case for the past few years, we do our New Year's celebrating on New Year's Day rather that the night before.  This gives us a chance to celebrate with our traditional New Year's meal, toast with sparkling beverages and make wishes for the upcoming twelve months, and there isn't even a small part of me that misses the late night celebrating.  As Danny Glover's Sergeant Murtaugh would say, "I'm too old for that $#!*." I took ...