Yet another year has gone by, and a new year has begun. I remember as a child thinking that when the year 2000 arrived, I’d be 51 years old - impossibly old to my childish mind. Now 2000 has come and gone, and 51 seems wishfully young to my mind today.

Ever since our daughter was born on New Year’s Eve 32 years ago, we have never been much for celebrating New Year’s Eve because we’ve been too busy celebrating her birthday. This year is no exception. We are babysitting the grandgirls this weekend, and we remembered we had some leftover fireworks from earlier this year, and so we set those off in the backyard - much to the girls’ delight.

We watched “Mary Poppins” and now the girls are sound asleep - worn out from a full day of church, arts and crafts projects, cleaning the house, putting up Christmas decorations, playing with Jake, making homemade pizza and being together.

I refuse to make any resolutions this year. I tend to stick to them really well for awhile, and then life intrudes and the resolutions fall by the wayside.

In thinking about 2006, I thought I would write about each month of the past year - what I did, what I accomplished, what went on in my life. And, guess what? I can’t think of something specific for each month. Entire months with nothing to set them aside as “special” in my memory. I could go back through my blog and read about the things I did the past year. Since I averaged a couple posts each day of the last year, there should be plenty of material. However, is it significant if I can’t recall it without referring back to my blog?

So that’s my goal for this year. I will do something SIGNIFICANT each month this year - reach some milestone, do some kindness, make a difference, make a friend, make a change. On December 31, 2007, I want to look back on the year and know that I was worth it - that I made the world a better place and that the sacrifices people have made in order for me to have the life I live were not made in vain.

Today is my daughter’s birthday.  Larisa was born on December 31, 1974.  It’s hard to believe she is 32 years old.  Click HERE to read last year’s birthday post for her and see some photos.  Larisa is the absolutely best daughter imaginable - the best mother, the best friend, the best everything.

Happy birthday, Larisa!  You’re more precious to me than I could ever express!

This evening, RT, Sunshine, Sweet Stuff and I decided to watch “Because of Winn Dixie” after dinner.  Both the girls sat in my lap - one on each side with a blanket over us - snuggling together.  Sunshine started getting drowsy and put her head against my shoulder.  Within a few minutes she was sound asleep - cuddled up against my left side, her soft hair next to my face.  Sweet Stuff, cuddled on my right, looked at her younger sister.  She reached over with a smile, and smoothed her hand across Sunshine’s face - carressing her with love and big sisterly care.

And there I was - in the middle of one of the most tender moments I’ve ever witnessed.

Got this via email from Ruth awhile ago.  Now THIS is a Christmas Gift that would be at the top of MY list!

If I Were Santa, I’d . . .

If I were ol’ Santa, you know what I’d do;

I’d dump silly gifts that are given to you,

And deliver some things just inside your front door,

Things you have lost but treasured before.

I’d give you back all your maidenly vigor,

And to go along with it, a neat tiny figure.

Then restore the old color that once graced your hair,

Before rinses and bleaches took residence there.

I’d bring back the shape with which you were gifted,

So things now suspended need not be uplifted.

I’d draw in your tummy and smooth down your back

Until you’d be a dream in those tight-fitting slacks.

I’d remove all your wrinkles and leave only one chin,

So you wouldn’t spend hours rubbing grease on your skin.

You’d never have flashes or queer dizzy spells

And you wouldn’t hear noises like ringing of bells.

No sore aching feet and no corns on your toes;

No searching for spectacles when they’re right on your nose.

Not a shot would you take in your arm, hip or fanny

From a doctor who thinks you’re a nervous old granny.

You’d never have a headache, so no pills would you take

And no heating pad needed since your muscles won’t ache.

Yes, if I were Santa, you’d never look stupid.

You’d be a cute little chick with the romance of Cupid.

I’d give a lift to your heart when those wolves start to whistle

And the joys of your heart would be light as a thistle.

Even though we’ve grown older, this wish is sincere:

Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year!

Saddam Hussein has been executed.  No humane, painless lethal injection for this cruel monster/dictator.  He was hanged - which means he at least suffered for a few minutes before dying.  He received a fair trial, he had the opportunity to say good-bye to his loved ones (if he had any), and he was given the courtesy of speaking some final words.  Those are all things he denied the thousands that he was responsible for butchering unmercifully.  There is no pleasure in this death - only the satisfaction that justice was served and that this man will never be able to murder again.

 BAGHDAD, Iraq  (Dec. 30) - Saddam Hussein struggled briefly after American military guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners. But as his final moments approached, he grew calm. He clutched a Quran as he was led to the gallows, and in one final moment of defiance, refused to have a hood pulled over his head before facing the same fate he was accused of inflicting on countless thousands during a quarter-century of ruthless power.

A man whose testimony helped lead to Saddam’s conviction and execution before sunrise Saturday said he was shown the body because “everybody wanted to make sure that he was really executed.”

“Now, he is in the garbage of history,” said Jawad Abdul-Aziz, who lost his father, three brothers and 22 cousins in the reprisal killings that followed a botched 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail.

In Baghdad’s Shiite enclave of Sadr City, hundreds of people danced in the streets while others fired guns in the air to celebrate his death. The government did not impose a round-the-clock curfew as it did last month when Saddam was convicted to thwart any surge in retaliatory violence.

It was a grim end for the 69-year-old leader who had vexed three U.S. presidents. Despite his ouster, Washington, its allies and the new Iraqi leaders remain mired in a fight to quell a stubborn insurgency by Saddam loyalists and a vicious sectarian conflict.

Sami al-Askari, the political adviser of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, told The Associated Press that Saddam initially resisted when he was taken by Iraqi guards but was composed in his final moments.

He said Saddam was clad in a black suit, hat and shoes, rather than prison garb. His hat was removed shortly before the noose was slipped around his neck.

Shortly before the execution, Saddam was asked if he wanted to say something.

“No I don’t want to,” al-Askari, who was present at the execution, quoted Saddam as saying. Saddam repeated a prayer after a Sunni Muslim cleric who was present.

“Saddam later was taken to the gallows and refused to have his head covered with a hood,” al-Askari said. “Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted: ‘God is great. The nation will be victorious and Palestine is Arab.’”

Iraqi state television showed footage of guards in ski masks placing a noose around Saddam’s neck. Saddam appeared calm as he stood on the metal framework of the gallows. The footage cuts off just before the execution.

Saddam was executed at a former military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad’s Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah, al-Askari said. During his regime, Saddam had numerous dissidents executed in the facility, located in a neighborhood that is home to the Iraqi capital’s most important Shiite shine _ the Imam Kazim shrine.

Al-Askari said the government had not decided what to do with Saddam’s body.

The Iraqi prime minister’s office released a statement that said Saddam’s execution was a “strong lesson” to ruthless leaders who commit crimes against their own people.

“We strongly reject considering Saddam as a representative of any sect in Iraq because the tyrant only represented his evil soul,” the statement said. “The door is still open for those whose hands are not tainted with the blood of innocent people to take part in the political process and work on rebuilding Iraq.”

The execution came 56 days after a court convicted Saddam and sentenced him to death for his role in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims from Dujail. Iraq’s highest court rejected Saddam’s appeal Monday and ordered him executed within 30 days.

Others writing on the topic:

Alone on a Limb - Justice, Not Revenge

Michelle Malkin - Report: Saddam is Dead

MVRWC - Saddam: Swinging from the Gallows Pole

Little Green Footballs - Breaking: Saddam an ex-Dictator

When I was born, my parents named me Mary Carol and decided to call me Carol. That decision has been a thorn in my side my entire life.

Let’s say my last name is Smith. Teachers, doctors, interviewers, bank tellers, anyone looking at my name on an application, roster or other form would call me “Mary Smith” and I’d have to say, “No, I go by Carol.”  That happened no matter how many times I’d circle “Carol” or highlight it or write “I GO BY CAROL” in the margins.  And often people don’t care what name you go by - they’re going to call you by your first name regardless.  There would be no way to count all the pre-printed nametags I’ve had to change over the years.  In recent years I’ve sidestepped the issue by writing “Mary Carol” as my first name and leaving the middle name space blank on any form I had to complete.

Since I’ve recently married (and I won’t even go into how utterly stupid it is for women to be expected to change their names/identities when they get married), I spent the better part of yesterday morning at the drivers license station getting my last name changed on my drivers license.  Previously when I was married, I dropped the “Mary” entirely and had my maiden name as my middle name and my married name as my last - I’d be Carol Smith Jones, for example.  That worked out well.  At least when people saw my name on a roster or list, they’d call me “Carol.”  No correction or clarification needed.

Last week when I changed my name with the Social Security Department, they had no problem changing my Social Security card to Carol Smith Jones.  But the drivers license people?  Oh no, that would make entirely too much sense.

The TDOS clerk informed me that it was AGAINST THE LAW to drop the first name - unless I get a court order to change my name.  You can drop your middle name, you can change your last name, but apparently “Mary” is the only name that is protected forever (except via court order) by Tennessee LAW.  I  would never drop “Carol” or “Smith” since those are the names I’ve gone by for 57 years.  “Carol Smith” is who I am.  Thus, my drivers license now reads ”Mary Carol Smith Jones.” Notice that the first and last names are what people will use when looking at the drivers license - and neither of those names is ME.  The clerk informed me, though, that I could sign it however I wished.  So I signed “Carol Smith Jones.” 

Yes, it is an issue that pales into nonexistence when compared with major issues such as war and famine and disease.  It’s merely one of those little annoyances that I wish parents would consider when naming their children.  It’s an annoyance that has particularly annoyed me my entire life.  Even after ranting about it with my siblings, a couple of them still called their kids by the middle name. 

When my newly printed and laminated license was ready to be picked up yesterday, the clerk glanced at it and called out, “Mary Jones?”  I will be getting that court order soon.

They’ll be here soon - sometime around 9:00 a.m.  We will babysit the grandgirls until sometime mid-day on Monday.  It’s their mom’s birthday (our daughter).  My baby will be 32 years old.  She and our son-in-law are going to spend the weekend with some friends and celebrate her birthday.  RT and I will take care of Sweet Stuff (5 years old) and Sunshine (3 years old).  I’m looking forward to it.

In preparation, I went to Michael’s yesterday and picked up some arts and crafts items.  I had given the girls digital cameras for Christmas (VERY inexpensive children’s cameras.  They were only $19.95 each - so I’m not expecting any great photos).  I thought we might try printing some of their pictures and making a small photo album OR just framing a photo from each of their cameras.  We’ll have to see what quality photos they’ve taken.

Since they enjoy helping me cook so much, I bought aprons for all of us, and we’ll paint and decorate those aprons and then keep them here for them to use whenever they visit and we cook. 

Blogging might be extra light this weekend because I will be quite busy!

  BEAUTY PRODUCTS I LIKE

I was sad to hear this morning that Gerald Ford died yesterday.  It turns out that he was the longest living former president - outliving Ronald Reagan by a month. 

Soon after becoming president he said:

“I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots. So I ask you to confirm me with your prayers.”

Being forthright and open seems to run in his family.  In reading about Ford’s death, I came across this information that I don’t recall hearing before, although I’m sure it was in the news when he was President.

He was born Leslie King on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Neb. His parents were divorced when he was less than a year old, and his mother returned to her parents in Grand Rapids, where she later married Gerald R. Ford Sr. He adopted the boy and renamed him.

Ford was a high school senior when he met his biological father. He was working in a Greek restaurant, he recalled, when a man came in and stood watching.

“Finally, he walked over and said, ‘I’m your father,’” Ford said. “Well, that was quite a shock.” But he wrote in his memoir that he broke down and cried that night and he was left with the image of “a carefree, well-to-do man who didn’t really give a damn about the hopes and dreams of his firstborn son.”

I believe Gerald Ford will be remembered primarily for three things:

(1) Pardoning Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandals

(2) Being the only president who was never elected to the vice presidency or presidency

(3) Being married to Betty Ford

And that’s not a bad legacy. 

Regardless of what you call it, winter break (or the Christmas holiday) is a wonderful time!  Right now, the two weeks out of school stretch before me like an empty canvas.  How will I spend my remaining days out of school?  I’m obsessive/compulsive. So I have a list:

(1) Get my name changed.  Since I got married in September, I’ve put off changing my name.  It is such a hassle.  However, I want to have the same last name as R.T.  So I will go through the required rigamarole.  It is a tedious and long process.  Last Friday I took care of my social security card.  Later this week I will handle my drivers license.  Then I will have a marathon letter-writing session and send notices to everyone else (banks, credit cards, my employer, etc.) who must change my name on their records.  Of course then I must notify my friends and make the announcement when I return to school in January.  Children and co-workers will have to change what they call me.  (Yes, I can think of some jokes with that last , but I won’t go there.)

(2) Get my old clunker car inspected and get a new tag for it.  However, before doing that I will have to get it started.  As of this moment, the battery is dead - deader’n a doornail.  Then once that is done, I will either sell it or give it away. It’s worth a few hundred dollars - at most.

(3) Get repairs done to my not-as-old car.  The trunk latch doesn’t work, the back taillight is out, and the CD-changer stopped working.

(4) Visit my mother for a couple days.

(5) De-clutter RT’s and my house. . . or at least one or two rooms. . . or at least a closet or maybe a drawer - something will be de-cluttered before school starts again.

Those things will get done.  I’ll also have a chance to sleep late in the mornings and generally feel renewed and ready to face the challenges of teaching by January 8th when school starts again.  It’s a good thing to have a few weekdays in which to take care of personal business and to rejuvenate.

And thinking about all that made me think about a “balanced calendar.”  A balanced calendar is when students attend school for nine weeks, then school is out for two or three weeks, then another nine weeks of school, then another two or three break, etc.  That makes so much sense to me.  Children and teachers would still attend school the same amount of days/time.  However, there wouldn’t be that long, long break during the summer.  Instead, the breaks would be spread throughout the year.  Summer break is nice, but it’s too long and it’s too hot.

Our school system considered going to a balanced calendar recently, and groups of parents basically shot down the idea.  I think their objections had to do mostly with high school sports programming.  I was disappointed that we didn’t give it a try. 

Having these two weeks off - even with all the Christmas activities packed in them - make me realize anew how wonderful it is to have time off to recharge.