January was fairly sedate. A few birthday parties, some festivities, and a lot of downtime was what it had to boast.

Heavy Snow? Come at me brah!

Registering my troop for Northland Encampment this May.

Coffee Party!

My Monday Walk @ Macken

During the Impromptu Roadtrip From Hell!

Baby Brother

2013 crept in quietly by the front door early on January 1, 2013. She napped on the sofa for quite some time. (No doubt exhausted by jumping the previous year’s hurdles.) She slept late during that time, growing fat and resting well. We really thought she had settled in for the duration when she surprised us all. Flying off the couch, wailing like a banshee, with no warning nor provocation — Fists pumping and feet stamping. She bustled about, making a mess of everything, spilling glasses, dumping boxes, upsetting chairs… Reining down on everyone with problems and burdens sometimes to heavy to bear.

Overwhelming loss coupled with great joy fell from the ringlets in her hair. Rewarding endeavors, mistakes made innocently, failures, successes, and joyous exultation scuffed my floor as she danced. Eye-opening illness, fear, and disappointment alongside great love and understanding ran through every song she sang… and always love on the tip of her tongue and at her finger tips. (Love is never a problem at our house… It’s all the other day-to-days that seem to get in the way of things.)

Try as we might, she would not be fully consoled until after Christmas. At which time, she settled into a happy stupor and quickly slipped out the back door one night in late December. Her year-long tirade left me decades older, far more pensive, and slightly overwhelmed. (In fact, I think we’ll still be picking up her pieces for months to come!)

There were times I wished this year could have gone any other way, but then I realize the past can’t be changed. So we just keep moving along the road, skipping speed bumps and potholes, stepping on cracks, slipping on chat… taking one plodding step after another. With Destiny’s promises ringing in our ears we keep moving toward some ending. She’ll catch up at the next stop — Just give her a moment to gather what’s left of dreams scattered by Father Time. (That messy, old bastard.)

So, I send my respects to 2013 and wish her well. Let’s hope her sister who graced our doorstep this January 1 is a blessed visitor bringing temperate breezes and easier days than her sister gifted upon us.

Just like the snow, December came with little warning and disappeared just as quickly. In fact, this entire year has seemed to fly by. It seems only a few days ago that we were spending New Year’s Eve fixing a broken couch and watching bad films as we waited to welcome 2013… And here we are, once again, on New Year’s Eve, waiting to usher in yet another new year… And so goes the cycle.

Here are a few of my favorite December 2013 pics.

Miranda experimenting with different methods of delivering snacks. (Yes, that’s a roller skate!)

In mid-December, we travelled to my paternal grandmother’s house to take part in the traditional tree trimming.

Christmas morning, I went to wake Jas and found him alone in bed with a green M&M… Maybe there’s something to those commercials that portray her as the leggy cartoon character!

Mae after opening her present from Jas & I. I couldn’t have nailed this one any better if I’d tried!

This is the time on Christmas when we rest! ;D

Jas & the girls putting together their Visible T-Rex. I said it looked like he’d just helped a mama dino birth a skeletal baby!

Goodbye good memories. This restaurant has been a staple of the girls’ childhood as their grandmother used to take them there quite often. On this evening, we found that it had closed its doors for good. Miranda and Mae both thought of it as a favorite because of all the great times they had with their grandmother.

Have a happy new year!
~H

Christmas this year was many things, but short seems to define it most correctly! My two-day holiday felt shorter than any in the past, but that seems to follow in line with the rest of 2013. It has proven to be the shortest year in recent memory and definitely one of the busiest.

The children were very excited about the Jolly Fat Man’s impending visit and anticipated great things… So when I suggested late last week that he was concerned about the state of their room and them having enough usable space for the wonderful gifts he had planned, they were on it! Their room, which normally takes forever to straighten, took only an hour of work to make presentable. Toys put away, floor cleared and beds made!

Amongst discussions about who the mysterious gift giver was in league with and outright asking me if I, myself, was Santa Clause, the girls’ told everyone under the sun that they were going to get a Monster High School for their dolls to live and play in from the Old Man Santa. (I assured them that I was NOT Santa, but that I was a helper, as I was every year.) After hearing their father discussing arrival times and location quietly with a mysterious voice on the phone (“over Paris right now”), the children knew they’d better be on time to bed and straight to sleep or there would be no presents for them this year! (Our Santa does not mind adults so much, but gets very nervous and skiddish around human children. This means, mom and dad may stay up late and not hinder the adventure, but children are a big no-no when it comes to The Man in Red!

Christmas Day Recap:

Jason and I spent the last moments of Christmas eve watching odd horror flicks, putting together and staging a Monster High School, eating cookies and trying to not wake up sleeping children!

Santa’s Elf Putting Together Christmas Toys

The next morning, it was Mae who I heard stir first. Soon, both girls were awake and listening to me tell the that I had not heard their benefactor that night and was concerned something might have happened during his magical (and kinda creepy, if you ask me) tour of all the believer’s houses. Mae, ever The Clause’s champion, assured me that he must have come as she heard the Christmas tree ornaments shaking (probably the black cat who has some strange desire to make our Christmas tree taste her pain) and Miranda swore she heard his voice and strange clopping noises from atop our roof. (Never mind that a large man with heavy feet would not so safely traverse our rooftop… Santa is magic! He needs not abide by the rules of mortals!) ;D

The anticipation was thick as I made them wait a few moments longer for Mae to put on some pants citing the rights of motherhood as the reason… Seriously, she knew I would want to take pictures and it just would not do to have my child appearing pantless in our family album that I knew relatives & friends would be thumbing through. (Oh, don’t get me wrong. Mae has a thing for running around in various stages of undress and, try as we might, it is impossible to quell, even at this late age… Still, I do have some dignity, you know, and refused to have her parading around half dressed in all of my Christmas pics!)

They entered the darkened room with only the Christmas tree to light the way and before a single cord was pulled, Miranda declared the  presents were there and that it was, indeed, a Monster High School! (How she knew this in pitch blackness, I will never know, but Mae threw on the switch and both girls stared, slack-jawed in wonder. Mae squealed “All of our favorite dolls are in it! How did he GET them OUT OF OUR ROOM!!” (Magic, children… The jolly man has his ways.) They poked and prodded the toys, also marveling at the two giant (1/2 pound each) Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and whole pound Hershey Chocolate Bar he’d left for the whole family. Soon, Miranda discovered the Deluxe Magic Set and was intrigued with the myriad of tricks available for her to learn and demonstrate, ripping it over and asking me to explain how I was making them work… Santa definitely had their numbers! (A Little-known Fact About Me: I used to really be in to magic when I was a child. I would take books out of the public library on a regular basis learning how to design and implement tricks. I studied the masters and their plans. I watched the specials and speculated on how the tricks were being done based on my limited knowledge… In short, I was a big magic nerd, lol. So, yeah, mom is the resident dork when it comes to magic tricks on TV and otherwise at our house!)

After investigating the half eaten cookies left behind, deciding no one should eat them lest they catch Santa’s germs and be transformed into the man himself (Miranda’s brainchild: I don’t know where she gets these ideas, but I approve!) and finding his note written in his usual hand, it was time to pillage the stockings and examine the “normal” presents from Mom & Dad under the tree. (Santa had told them in his note that he’d brought mostly “together” presents this year to encourage them to get along better in 2014… Of course, being Santa’s accountant, I knew that the two gifts that were so prominently displayed on our coffee table had put Santa back quite a few pennies and those combined sleigh repairs over the past couple months had tightened his purse strings substantially.)

Advice from Santa 2013 – Our Santa is rather direct & to the point…

Miranda had some idea of what her gift was before she’d even opened it. The odd shaped box and less-than-substantial weight had her calling it “The Monster High Doll” before it was even pulled out from under the tree. However, Mae’s present, a collector Barbie in the likeness of Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games, complete with jacket, cargo pants, bow, arrows, and quiver… all in the likeness of Miss Jennifer Lawrence, herself, was unexpected and sent Mae into a fit of joy so powerful it is hard to describe. I’d bought the doll uncertain of its reception, to be honest, and I knew that either she’d love it… or she’d toss it aside. However, I had no idea she would love it this much and was so happy I’d hunted it down and purchased, even after it was sold out across town. Yay for the internet and moms everywhere!

The Joy of a Well-chosen Gift!

Of course, our Christmas morning was quickly coming to a close and we still had to make the drive to the country for Christmas dinner and family holiday time. The drive was uneventful, for the most part. My gorgeous Betty, a 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT, made the trip with few troubles despite my concerns about bottoming out on or sliding off of snow and ice-covered gravel roads, and we were soon pulling up to my grandparents farm in Northwest Missouri. We came bearing three types of cookies and homemade gifts of bracelets and Ninja Bread Christmas ornaments!

Ninjabread Men

Everyone there was in good spirits and it was great to spend time really talking with relatives I don’t get to see on a regular basis. Of course, we all honored the missing and the fallen and acknowledged their absence, whether it was due to scheduling, responsibility, or death. Everyone enjoyed the delicious food prepared for the meal. There was of course sledding and Jake Boarding… and everyone seemed almost giddy as they shared the gifts they’d brought for everyone. I received the handled mixing bowl to go along with my Kitchen Aide mixer, ever my favorite bridal gift even after these 11 years — well, that and the smoking juke-joint Jezebel incense holder which is also a grand favorite displayed with honor on my hall bookshelf, a jacket, a book safe, a handkerchief, and many, many other odds and ends that equaled up to a very generous family. The children’s big highlight of the event were the rockin’ scooters and Adventure Time themed packs they received from their great aunt and uncle, but all gifts were well received and appreciated. 

Then it was back home so that we could watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Yes, dear reader, we are Whovians at this house and The Doctor and pizza was the perfect end to a lovely day!

I am now back to work today and the girls and Jason met me for lunch then are off to Toys ‘R’ Us to spend a little of their Christmas money. (I hope there are no shenanigans!) The girls’ room is currently in a holding pattern and Santa’s note praising their effort and wishing it had been a year-long endeavor may be enough to keep this going for a couple months… Maybe… Everyone took part in the after Christmas sales and the girls had me order a few items for them off of Amazon using some of their Christmas money.

Have a happy holiday season!
~H

Run! It is upon us! ;D

November felt rushed. Too many things to do. Too much responsibility. Too few breaks… And my photos reflect that. They are uninspired, tired, and rather utilitarian. Not at all what I strive for or what I enjoy.

As an aside, I really think that I’ve bitten off a little more than I can chew on all personal fronts and I am hoping I can reorganize or delegate some of my responsibilities in the upcoming months so that I don’t feel so overwhelmed. However, since that is not what’s happening now, here are my November photos.

Fat Lip Hollie

Wetlands Workshop with the Brownies @ The KC Zoo

Miranda: Big Head, Tiny Legs

Cooking with Mae: Cheesecake Crust

Photo Bomb Mae – Ever the ham, Mae just couldn’t help herself!

October ushered in cooler weather, family travel, and a generally good time! We started the month by participating in the Gladfest Parade with the Girl Scouts, then we went on a trip to St. Louis mid-month to celebrate my cousin’s wedding. By the end, I found myself buried in burlap as I attempted to finish Miranda’s costume in time for the Trick-or-Treat festivities.

Take a peek!

Miranda as Sam from the movie Trick-or-Treat. It took me quite some time to get it this far and there’s so much more to do before she takes it to Comicon 2014!

Miranda holding the head of her alter ego

Starbucks on a very cool, very early Sunday morning!

Cupcakes in celebration of Juliette Lowe’s Birthday after our troop volunteered at a local food bank.

The annual Haunted Hollie pic.

Mae dreaming of her own wedding, many years away!

Part of my troop after they walked in the Gladfest Parade early in the month.

Thanks for looking and have a great November,

~H

September was a month of planning. Our Girl Scout troop started its new member year, the children were settling into their new school year, Halloween costumes were discussed, and fun was had!

Favs:

The cries of undead children could be heard throughout the Cracker Barrel that day… Or maybe that was just Miranda Anne’s cries of hunger!

Skeleton in my closet, or just on my back?

A day out with the girls in historic Weston. Much wine was consumed… Much fun was had.

Air Hockey Queen

And that, my friends, is all! Thanks for peering into my little world and, until next we speak, I wish you a perpetually fulfilling existence!
~H

August was a month of getting things back to normal. School started for the kids. Planning was done. Things were said. Driveways were cut in. Parties were had. Stuff, just kinda happened! We visited the Balloon Festival in early August and we also scoped out the scary, abandoned Metro North Mall. The Scouts had a workshop at one of the local groceries and we celebrated Jason’s birthday with family a little early this year. (Yes… the Big 4-0!)

So there’s no real theme to these images. Just a mismatched group, kind of like our month!

I ordered my 23&Me kit last month and it came! So, of course, I sent it back out the very same day. Results were pretty quick (3 weeks or so in total, but small pieces were coming within a week (I think) of the box’s arrival back to their facility.)

Results were interesting… Some of it wasn’t all that surprising. (Markers for MS were higher than average. Go figure!) More surprising areas were that I really didn’t have a lot of markers for anything that most people I know have. Sure, higher chance of a few autoimmune disorders (Crohn’s, MS, etc.), but no higher probability of diabetes or breast cancer or anything normal like that. So, I guess if I end up there, it’s all due to what’s been done to me or what I’ve done to myself, not my genetic inheritance!

Ancestrally, I discovered that beyond the genetic pull toward the Northern European, which was there to be sure, my maternal line also had some Asian markers! That was kind of interesting/exciting/new. Makes me wonder how that happened since no one has ever mentioned anything about such things and my gram used to be quite into genealogical study.

~

Early in the month, we went to the balloon festival. It was pretty cool. (Although the weather was hot as Hades that day!)

Jas tried to take the girls up in one, but they didn’t get in line in time. Maybe next year?

~

Being the good leader I am (or try to be is probably a more apt way of putting it!), I scheduled the girls to finalize their Brownie Snack badge at a local grocery, where a licensed dietician taught them how to make a few healthy snacks, sent them on a scavenger hunt, and quizzed them about the good and the bad in the grocery aisles.

This particular treat was a sort of chocolate-cherry smoothie that the girls thought was tops! They also made a sort of banana/honey/nut butter wrap that looked pretty alright, but I would have left that tortilla right out!

In the end, fun was had by all, learning took place, and badges were received. Yay!

~

Jason turns 40 this year. I have said in the past that if anything is going to happen, it should happen to him first and I guess that includes getting older! We have plans to celebrate with the other side of the family this weekend — It should be fun!

~

Dry ice can be so much fun! We’d used some to transport ice cream to a party, but the real fun was after… walking through clouds of fog and feeling so very mysterious. The girls thought I was suddenly the most magical person they’d ever met!

~H

I’ve labelled this last month “The Lost Month”. Starting on June 22, I have been on so many different immune suppressing medications and treatments that by July 14, I ended up with an emergency stay in the hospital due to a very nasty infection. Following, I led a semi-quarantined, work-from-home existence for the entire rest of the month. In fact, I spent so much of my time hidden away from anyone who might be a carrier of disease that I actually started relishing the life of a hermit!

So, my images are a lot of what I saw everyday: Myself, my kids, my family, my life…

With that in mind, here are a few of my favorites from July:

This is me, sans make-up,  right after I died my hair pinkish-red on July 3rd. The color has been holding surprisingly well, considering I used cheaper color than I’m used to for such bright hues. I’m thinking the fact that we left it on for 3+ hours before rinsing might be part of the reason!

These are some of the medications I was taking at the beginning of July. This is only a partial pile.. There were more that were taken later in the day. I found myself musing that there was something inherently flawed in a system that profits from your illness while simultaneously being trusted with curing you of that illness and pondering which side of morality the resulting actions would lie.

My mom and Lizzie on Independence Day. This is something my family does. They play the guitar and sing and, sometimes, I try to sing, too. That’s one thing I hate about the immunosuppressants. (Amongst the many things… There are oh, so many things I hate about them.) They make me more susceptible to everyday bugs. So my throat is sore more often than it isn’t and that pretty much destroys any chance of singing I have… and I love to sing.

This was one of the IV meds they gave me while I was in the hospital. That was the most ridiculous weekend ever. I ended up with the flu and lost over 35 lbs of water within 24 hours due to the illness. It got so bad that I started passing out and my legs kept cramping up, becoming immobile for 30+min at a time. Eventually, after passing out in the bathroom with my eyes open and Jason thinking I was dead, we decided it was time for me to go to the hospital. Where they took a look at my blood work and said “Nuh-uh — You ain’t going nowhere.” I was there overnight and went home the next afternoon, still sick, but much improved.

This is my sweet, old, dapple dachshund, Pig. He is 10 years old and getting a bit senile. In fact, most of the time, he doesn’t know what’s going on and gets confused, but then he sees me and is so happy because he always recognizes me. He’s such a sweet little boy.

These are Girl Scouts doing their Summer Service Project in a local community garden full of harvests slated for those in need.

While working from home, Bloo was the best collaborator I could have asked for! In fact, she had something to say about almost every decision I made when it came to meals, jobs, breaks, etc.

This is a creepy little chapel located outside of a local eatery. The building is old, leaky and has a door that is open to the elements, but blocked off with a heavy gate. To me, it looks like the set to some sort of horror film, only it’s real :\

This is Mae at Girl Scout Day Camp, when we came to pick her up on the last day. It was hot, she was tired… But look at all those adorable freckles and curls!

And that’s that! Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day!

~Hollie

June was marked by a major MS exacerbation and the subsequent treatment thereof. Not a lot of travel, but a lot of family time was to be had by all.

Here are a few highlights

~H

Zona Rosa’s Entrance Tower

The Blanket Monster DOES Exist!

The newest Will Smith action Flick…

No wonder they never know what to expect from me when I go in for an MRI!

Me, after 5 days of 1000mg Solumedrol treatment.