jody's blog
random thoughts, ideas and chaos
8 days until Christmas…
I want to talk about ghosts, those scary, shadowy phantoms that haunt all of us. The dictionary definition of a ghost is a dead person's soul, imagined as a vague, shadowy figure. My definition is a bit different. Now maybe I watched too much Casper when I was...
9 days until Christmas…
Tick. Tick. Tick. Only 9 days now. Tick. Tick. Christmas will be here soon. I have this gut feeling... I'm forgetting something. What is it? There's no time to think about it. Tick. Time, our most valuable commodity. Time, our best friend and our worst enemy....
10 days until Christmas…
Yesterday I was pondering my favorite Bible verse, Romans 12:2. It's so applicable to the Christmas consumerism and might just be another clue in finding the Christmas spirit. Here is the verse in two popular translations. NIV - Don't copy the behavior and customs...
11 days until Christmas…
I can't believe it's only eleven more days until Christmas. There's still so much to do before then, right? Where is my Christmas to do list... wait. I didn't make one, nor do I really have many Christmas things to do. Plenty of other busyness, but not as much...
12 days until Christmas…
I'm at the hospital this morning. My friend Elizabeth is having her final surgery this morning. E has been battling breast cancer, and is fully expected to beat it. I'm at Medical City Hospital, and this is one crazy place. The cute little old man at the...
13 days until Christmas…
Bright and early yesterday morning, I got a glimpse into a new world, one I had not experienced before. The new world? Wrestling. My son has been doing this for a couple of months now, but this was the first time I had the opportunity to take him to a tournament....
14 days until Christmas…
This morning, I have to sadly report that the Christmas season is getting busier and doesn't show signs of slowing down. My blog is named 'embrace chaos', because I do just that. I'm not good at relaxing, slowing down or experiencing any type of leisurely lifestyle,...
15 days until Christmas…
I was listening to talk radio on my way to work yesterday. It was so incredibly cold I didn't want to let go of my warm coffee mug to steer the car, much less turn on the radio. The news guy was reporting on the experiences of the fake mall Santas this year,...
16 days until Christmas…
As we were driving home last, I thought about our house being one of the few without Christmas lights. I had every intention of putting lights up, but we still haven't. I have a few strands of lights on the garage, however it would look like I had a few random...
17 days until Christmas…
It was clear to me this morning at 5:30am what I needed to write about, a new and unexpected Christmas cheer. Yesterday's schedule was filled with 'tinselectomy' opportunities and I had an expectation of how each of them would play out. I was so off base, but it...
18 days until Christmas…
You know, when you look at the way we do Christmas these days, the commercialism, the chaos and the excess, it's no wonder why at some point, we have to poke fun at the ridiculousness of it. Here are some great pics of Christmas weirdness, fun and creativity. This...
19 days until Christmas…
I'm six days into writing, and pondering so many Christmas topics that have been on my mind, but more in my heart. I spend far more time in cognitive contemplation, but rarely to I visit the affliction or spirit of my heart. What is Christmas spirit and what does it...
20 days until Christmas…
I have to say, committing to write everyday until Christmas is taking a lot of time and energy, but I'm enjoying it. This blogging idea started out as a fun way to share my funny photo finds of crazy Christmas yard decor, but turned into more than that, I wanted to...
21 days until Christmas…
Anyone following my blog knows that I have an offbeat sense of humor. I enjoy being what one of my friends calls cantankerous, however, that's not fitting for today. Yesterday, I attended my cousin's funeral. My cousin Jim and I got along well. He and I had some...
22 days until Christmas…
God is awesome! He arranged some 'bonus' family time. I usually don't have my boys on Thursdays, but he knew we needed some crazy, fun, out of the ordinary time together. We ditched homework, house work and everything else we didn't really want to do. We went to...
23 days until Christmas…
This photograph, by far, disturbs me more than any of the others we took last Sunday. Study it for a moment. What do you see? The most obvious thing? It's inflatable, and the biggest 'residential' one I've ever seen. I'm surprised the Frisco Sign Nazi hasn't found...
24 days until Christmas…
We put up our Christmas tree last night. The good thing about it? I didn't get stuck in the attic this time, trying desperately to get the tree down. I spent over an hour up there last year, no cell phone and nobody in the house to save me. But the best thing...
25 days until Christmas…
Only 24 more shopping days until Christmas! Oh wait, maybe they're actually going to open stores on Christmas now. I feel awful for the retail workers. Not only is this a crazy time of year for them, but they didn't even get to enjoy Thanksgiving. I know this,...
tired of ‘stuff’
I'm at the store blogging this, waiting for bringer card proofs to be printed for tinselectomy.com. I have to say, with the 'tinselectomy' concept, I feel guilty purchasing 1000 candy candy canes and 500 feet of tinsel. Does it take all this 'stuff' to start a...
tinselectomy story
I've always tried to teach my kids about the importance of giving to others. I started this process when they were very young. I used to tell them that they had a lot of toys and would encourage them to give some away to the thrift store. I would tell them how giving...