Merry Christmas
It’s that time of year when we all gather with family and enjoy that unique bond that family provides. It is strange how it works, we don’t see each other for months, yet seem to pick right up where things left off. We have similar bonds, but nothing as strong as family. Teams bond, when we see our teammates years later there is definitely a special something that exists between teammates, coaches, and manager. Best friends bond as well, some for life, but blood is forever.
We drive hours to be with family. Fly across the country to get together for just a few days and create rituals repeated year after year. It’s funny how they change though. Little by little every year the rituals evolve, people move, superfluous stuff gets in the way, and stubbornness permeates our ego.
Family bonds are forever, so make sure to tell EVERYONE in your family, Merry Christmas.
MERRY CHRISTMAS MCBRIDE CLAN!
My Grandfather’s Grandfather Clock
I have always loved grandfather clocks. As a child I remember the one that sat in our living room. It was built by Dee-Daddy, my grandfather, in his wood shop. Every hour on the hour it would chime and ever so often we had to go in and wind it up. It had a big heavy pendulum and the effort he put into the detail showed the love he had for our family.
Today I discovered this Grandfather Clock online and it reminded me of home. My father passed just after Christmas last year so I have been thinking of him a lot lately. This clock resembles the one we had so it got me thinking of home again.
All this reminising got me thinking about how cool grandfather clocks are and I came across this blog post about shopping for grandfather clocks w/ your grandfather. It said some of the same things I felt about the subject, my grandfather had to love the things because he made one for each of his children and then a few more after that, never for sale though.
It seems that all of these sites are tied together and part of 1-800-4CLOCKS.com. It is a great site with everything clocks. Did you know that they have atomic grandfather clocks now? That’s progress! No more winding! The nicest line they had seemed to be the Howard Miller, the detailing is exquisite.
Nothing really says home to me like a grandfather clock, do you have anything that when you see it reminds you of home?
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Misc. Ramblings
That time of the Year
Went to the Festival of Lights last night and between taking picture for MyTopiaCafe.com and walking two feet before running into someone I knew, I really didn’t get much done! I did have a chance to down a couple of the Four Townes Moose Lodge’s fantastic burgers and I am pretty sure my kids had a blast.
Then on to the parade
Then today was the Christmas Parade. I do love a parade! This year we had a ton of kids marching and we had them all stop at the judge’s booth and recite the pledge. Very loud and very cool!
Did you check out the reflexes on George Bush?
Those that don’t know, the President had a pair of shoes thrown at him today during a press conference. Great reflexes! If you see it on TV you can see him laughing while it is happening! Classic!
Caylee Anthony
Isn’t it amazing that Caylee was less than 2 minutes away from the house the whole time? All the chaos, all the protesting, everything, they were right around the corner from where that poor little angel was dumped!
No gambling
No gambling in my home town. That’s what city council decided. Don’t know how I feel about that, but they better come up w/ some commerce or our taxes will be shooting through the roof!
Payroll Services
Know anyone that needs Payroll services? I am hiring Payroll Service Reps if you know anyone looking for a job. Lifetime residuals are available!
Clinics are fun
My son said he didn’t want to play on his travel team Saturday Morning. Then, after reconsidering, he went to practice to try it one more time. When he left he said, “That is the most fun I have ever had playing baseball”. Just goes to show you that while they say they don’t want to go, and they would probably rather sit in front of the TV, once they get there, they usually have fun. Make them get off the couch!
Time to reflect and enjoy those around us
Many of us don’t have the budget we have had in the past for Christmas presents. I am one that falls into that category, but I refuse to let it get me down. For the next few weeks I plan to focus my energies and my passions on enjoying how blessed I am to have a healthy, beautiful family. I don’t care how many toys we have, though we still have too many, that is not relevant over holidays. What matters is making sure everyone in my family knows how much I love them.
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Holiday Decorations from Celebrations
As the seasons wind down and the holidays approach it is a time to reflect on the year and spend time with your loved ones. Of course, Little League parents rarely have the time nor the money to do this, but these next two months are when you want too.
I always love a good Holiday Party. There are as many iterations of parties as there are days of the Holiday season, but I found some great ideas at Celebrations.
My first and favorite for Little League parents is, of course, a cupcake decorating party for the kids! Kids love Christmas, kids love cupcakes, and kids love decorating. Get a whole bunch of sprinkles, red hots, anything festive, and go to town! This can be done at home w/ friends, at school, pre-school, wherever, and don’t be embarrassed to decorate a few yourself! Go on, it’s fun!
My second favorite thing I found on the site was a post about “office games” for a holiday party. The best, in my mind, was “Guess who’s desk”. Basically, you take 10 items and set them out for people to look at. Each of the items came from someone’s desk and the object is to guess who’s desk they came from. The one that gets all 10 right, wins! I suggest you try and be as off the wall as possible on this, go for the gusto, it could be great fun.
So what is Celebrations.com? A place for expert advice and fun simple planning tools for your next party. It is an interactive community space for sharing party ideas, recipes, photos and videos and a comprehensive resource for life’s most important celebrations.
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Black Friday Savings
Those that know me well know that by day I am an advertising consultant. One of my favorite times is “Black Friday”. Black Friday, is the day after Thanksgiving that has become sport in our great country. The greatest thing about Black Friday is the sales! Offers you can’t find any other time of the year!
Why is it called Black Friday? It is the day that retailers move from the red to the black on their profit sheets. They run 11 months losing money and make about 90% of their money from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
bfads is a site dedicated to Black Friday sales. It will allow customers to purchase sale items online w/o having to wait in line at 5AM and will also send custom email alerts to let consumers know when items they are looking for come up for sale and where. Without a plan, you are dead on Black Friday, with a good plan, you can save a ton! bfads helps you put together your savings attack plan!
Here is an example of Dick’s Sporting Goods Specials. A quick check of the site shows over 50 vendors w/ thousands of products for perusal. Something for everyone.
Make the most of your Black Friday shopping with bfads
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Off to See the Family!
Image by Getty Images via Daylife Now that all the tournaments are over and we have set records in our concession stands we are off to visit family! Experienced Little League parents know to plan their vacations in late July and early August, so that is what we do. I hope to continue posting up there, but I cannot make any promises. Please don’t hate on me if I miss a day.
This trip might be a little awkward as well. It is the first time our family has gotten together since our father died around Christmas. In fact, that was the last time we were all together. It is also pretty much the first time I can remember that he won’t be there. There had to be other times when he wasn’t there, but I can’t remember them.
This is something we will skate around all weekend, but I know it will be in the forefront of everyone’s mind. We lost my sister’s husband last year as well, so neither of them will be there. Times are changing, the kids are older and some don’t attend anymore, the second generation of kids and grand kids have begun to grow up and everything is a bit different now when we get together. I guess that is how life works. Either way, I will have fun.
So, the next time I post it will likely be from the car on I-95. Waive is you see me!
What is your favorite family get together place?
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