One Word for 2009

Over on capture.create [or more specifically the post here about it] there is a challenge to come up with a word for the new year to give focus to one's resolutions and path of journey for the year... I was inspired by many of the comments and wanted to join in...

My word is:



seize   /siz/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [seez] Show IPA Pronunciation
verb, seized, seiz⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to take hold of suddenly or forcibly; grasp: to seize a weapon.
2. to grasp mentally; understand clearly and completely: to seize an idea.
3. to take possession of by force or at will: to seize enemy ships.
4. to capture; take into custody.
5. to take advantage of promptly: to seize an opportunity.

The following also comes to mind:

Carpe Diem "Seize the Day"

[and a mental review of the movie: Dead Poets Society...]

And being a Newsies' fan, I'll share with you the lyrics of a song that ties in well with my theme for 2009:

Open the gates and seize the day
Don't be afraid and don't delay
Nothing can break us
No one can make us
Give our rights away
Arise and seize the day!

Now is the time to seize the day
(Now is the time to seize the day)
Send out the call and join the fray
(Send out the call and join the fray)

Wrongs will be righted
if we're united
Let us seize the day!

Friends of the friendless seize the day
(Friends of the friendless seize the day)
Raise up the torch and light the way
(Raise up the torch and light the way)

Proud and defiant
We'll slay the giant
Let us seize the day
Neighbor to neighbor
Father to son
One for all and all for one!

Open the gates and seize the day
(Open the gates and seize the day)
Don't be afraid and don't delay
(don't be afraid and don't delay)

Nothing can break us
No one can make us
Give our rights away
Neighbor to neighbor
Father to son!
One for all and all for one!

and one more quote from the band, Avenged Sevenfold:

Seize the day, or die regretting the time you lost
It's empty, and cold without you here, too many people to Ache over

I see my vision burn, I feel my memories fade with time
But I'm too young to worry
These streets we travel on will undergo our same lost past

I'll like to sieze each day- capturing moments with my family, myself, creating, learning, and purposely doing each day instead of just going with the flow...

House update

In very short words- we are not buying the house that I posted a short while ago. We had some concerns about some items that needed fixing and lost our trust in the seller due to lack of communication and we're walking away... We actually feel really good about it although we would love to move into a house soon. So we're back to looking at houses- wish us the best!

December 25th

So we celebrated Christmas. Had a little bit of snow that day then the "Artic Blast" storm was over when the last of the presents were unwrapped...
My darling sugar and carb addict also known as Cyrus did indulge way to much resulting in a sugar high that made things a little exciting that day and then Cyrus threw up at the end of dinner- lovely end to the day right. No worries he felt better after a bath, good night sleep, and was back to normal the next day [he seems to have learned his lesson only asking for ONE piece of chocolate the next day] but I won't hold my breath with him remembering this lesson...

Presents were very well received as you can see in the photos...




Possibly a future West Point cadet? A $8 investment has a huge reward in the happiness of one little boy.


Cyrus is a fan of all things superhero and really enjoyed this Batman cave...

The adults did pretty good too- Dan had already gotten his [our] new big plasma television and man those digital channels come in so much better than before. He also received chocolates in his stocking and lot of pairs of socks. He also gotten the mini series "Band of Brothers" on dvd. I got a hand-held electronic game of Sudoku, macadamia and other assorted nuts in my stocking, and the game Civilizations for Xbox which is very nice break to sit on the coach to play instead of the computer chair. Now I just need the new Colony version of the game for the computer...

Christmas Eve

He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!

-Narrator from Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Have yourself a very merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.

- Maya Angelou

When two kids are home bound due to snowy. cold weather- some complainin' happens and well I am looking for changes or an attitude adjuster machine to replace my parenting-hard-work of asking then removing said complainin' kid until attitude is changed- for a little while anyways...

Other negative attributes of the snow while I have this opportunity to do some of my own complainin'
1. Cabin Fever
2. Pushed our closing date on our house further away [from January 6th to January 30th] but we could still close earlier than the 30th.
3. I turned up the thermostat from 55* to 60* [I have wimpy husband and kids when it comes to the cold]
4. It has been harder to get my Christmas shopping done especially when the city stopped clearing the roads
5. I didn't buy snow boots and I really should have [I will every year from now on] so the kids can actually play in the snow for more than 10-15 minutes.
6. We only have one sled and well both boys are at that age "I want my own." "I can do it by myself" so I'll be looking for a deal on another sled.
7. "You're supposed to bake cookies" by my husband and then dealing with kids high on sugar but maybe I am supposed to feed them more sugar in hopes of sugar-induced-comas...

Honestly, I love the snow and would gladly move where it snowed every year consistently. Too bad we love living in Portland...

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten
And children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white.


-Irving Berlin "White Christmas"

Still snowing...

















And when it is 20* outside and the roads are terrible to drive on then the best thing to do is to have a cup of hot chocolate [each marshmellow is worth about a thousand "brownie points" for mom given by the kids so layer them on]:


Portland has been covered by snow for a grand total of 8 days and there is about a foot of snow outside right now so I think we'll be having a White Christmas this year...

Snow Days

Other than snowfights and the other usual fun things to do with snow- Cyrus loves to eat snow...

Counting down....

We're counting down to Christmas with our advent calendar that my Granny D made when I was a little girl [thankfully my brother let me have it]:


And we are really starting to count down until we move into our new house. Looks like we'll be moving January 15-18th! One month to go... It is getting so exciting!

Dentist

Cyrus had a dentist appointment in the first week of December and this is what happens- see that sad little boy about to cry- it is because they cancelled the appointment and I didn't check my messages and found out it was cancelled when we got there. The boys love to go to the Dentist office. Not to worry- his cute, little sad face got happier with ice cream!