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December 30, 2009

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under God, holiday, Love, Uncategorized
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Ahhhh, Christmas. I love it. Celebrating the birth of Jesus, singing worship songs in church to candlelight, being with my family—it’s such a wonderful time—hard to really express in words. I also love all the neat secular things that surround the holiday—decorations, snow, giving gifts, fires, wrapping, candles, cards, etc.

So let me share the highlights of the Crowe family Christmas. I hope yours was just as joyous.

Thursday, December 24

8:30 a.m.

Got up early and began preparations for dinner that night.

10 a.m.

Assisted my dad as he fixed an outlet and my jet tub. (I can’t tell you how happy I am that the tub works now. Did I mention it was the primary reason I bought my house?)

1:30 p.m.

More preparations for dinner.

2:15 p.m.

Went to church and met my brother and his family. I got a little choked up during the service, which I have done every year for the past several years. You see, my dear friend Jeff passed away from a battle with cancer on a Christmas Eve a few years ago and it’s hard not to think about him on this day. He was a beautiful person and I miss him a lot. But he would want us to celebrate and be joyful—and I am thankful for the time we had with him.

4:30 p.m.

We arrive back at my house and I begin delegating tasks. It never fails that in the mad rush to get dinner cooked and ready, the kids need me to set up the Wii, put in a movie, or show them something or answer some question about my house.

5:30 p.m.

Family sits down for a dinner of meat and cheese fondue. I get up a dozen times and am always the last one to finish eating. It’s okay though, I love to host this special night.

6:30 p.m.

I hang out downstairs and have some bonding time with my nephews while we watch Star Wars. My nephew, Harmon, who as a little tyke was famous for talking loudly in movie theaters says all natural like, “Ya know what I don’t like? I don’t like when people talk during the movie.” Really Harmon? That’s new. I send Tyler up for cookies and we snuggle in while Harmon explains the significance of each scene.

8:30 p.m.

As I settle down with my parents, and Greg and his family head back to MD, I notice that the present I have for Harmon that was under my tree was suspiciously moved to a central location.

Friday, December 25

9 a.m.

I come downstairs and notice an empty bottle of vegetable oil on the carpet. Last night it was full of oil that was used in the meat fondue pot. I call the doctor and ask if Grendel will die or not and am relieved to hear that my only worries are of the gross stuff that comes out both ends. I am thankful it will not be another Advil overdose situation. That is a story for another day.

11 a.m.

Arrive at Greg’s house. I make the traditional Christmas morning monkey bread and then meet Zenia’s new puppy, Scooby. What a cutie pie—until he started chewing my hair and then I had flashbacks of Grendel’s youth.

11:30 a.m.

Kids start tearing through the presents. I have to admit, I love seeing them smile when they open something they like. Their faces light up with such joy. Harmon admitted he saw his present at my house and after opening it exclaimed, “This is my favorite present of all time. I’ve wanted this my whole life.” It was a Legos Star Wars Wii game. He didn’t let it out of his clutches for several hours.

12 noon–7 p.m.

Played with the kids and Scooby, ate lots of cookies and yummy food, boxed with the kids, watched them wrestle, and played Wii. Zenia messed with my iPod by putting country and rap stations on my favorite lists, recording weird messages and videos, and laughing at my lack of knowledge about how to program it. After I rested a bit and came down from my sugar cookie high, I went home. Grendel survived with no problems.

A day with my family at Christmas is precious indeed. I’m going to keep my tree up for awhile just so the mood lingers a bit longer. Happy Holidays.

Round one of the Crowe boxing tournament

The best present ever.

Reading the letter to Santa. “Here’s some milk at no cost.”

 

 

November 25, 2009

There will come a day.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under God, unemployment
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I started this blog after I was laid off from my job so that I could practice writing and get familiar with social media. And since then I’ve been patiently waiting. Waiting to find just the perfect fit. The job that was right for me. A company that was right for me and I for it. Okay, I lied before. I wasn’t being patient at all. I’ve had a few moments of contentment here and there but in general it has pretty much stunk.

I’ve been praying over and over and trying hard to wait on God. “Trying” being the key culprit. I’ve had amazing support from family and friends who encouraged and consoled me. And a few signs from Him here and there that things were going to work out just right.

I love when I see things around me that seem to be perfect timing for what’s going on in my life. For example, last weekend my pastor started a new series. Guess what it’s called. Waiting. Yup, finally he gives this sermon after months of stress. And the other week I went to the Army’s version of American Idol—Operation Rising Star—and this amazing singer belted out a tune that was so beautiful. It was a Faith Hill song and it’s titled, “There Will Come a Day.”

The video and the lyrics are below. The song title is ringing very true to me today because yesterday I accepted a job offer from an amazing company. I’m excited that I’ll be working with some talented and creative people in a really nice environment. The waiting is over. I’ve learned a lot on the unemployment line but am ready to get back to work. If you are waiting for something and running out of patience, take a deep breath and sing this tune. It may help.  

There Will Come a Day

It’s not easy trying to understand
How the world can be so cruel
Stealing the souls of man
Cloudy skies rain down over all your dreams
You wrestle with the fear and doubts
Sometimes it’s hard, but you gotta believe

(Chorus)
There’s a better place
Where our Father waits
And every tear He’ll wipe away
The darkness will be gone
The weak shall be strong
Hold on to your faith
There will come a day
There will come a day

Wars are raging
Lives are scattered
Innocence is lost
And hopes are shattered
The old are forgotten
The children are forsaken
In this world we’re living in
Is there anything sacred

(Chorus)
There’s a better place
Where our Father waits
And every tear He’ll wipe away
The darkness will be gone
The weak shall be strong
Hold on to your faith
There will come a day
There will come a day

The song will ring out
Down those golden streets
The voices of Earth and the angels will sing
(Hallelujah)
Every knee will bow
Sin will have no trace
In the glory of His amazing grace
Every knee will bow
Sin will have no trace
In the glory of His amazing grace

There will come a day
There will come a day
Oh, there will come a day
There will come a day
I know there’s coming a day, coming a day

 

 

November 21, 2009

People all over the world, join hands.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under God, kindness, Love, marketing
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I have a topic today that’s really kind of an amalgam of several observations that come together in a theme. It’s what I like to do—see patterns and try to make sense of them. So the other day I saw the latest Gap commercial on TV and I thought back to my grad school days when I (and my group) wrote a paper and gave a presentation on the GAP commercials for our advertising class. I really do love seeing the new commercials GAP comes up with each year. They are so creative and fun and I think they do a fantastic job of creating positive awareness of the brand. And I’m sure they have helped increase revenue.

This year’s commercial is about cheer—and the commercial is kind of like a cheerleading song and dance. There have been a few favorites over the years. I loved the Gap Khaki Country and the one that initiated a revival of swing dancing. But I think my favorite is the one that uses the Love Train song. You can see the commercial below.

So the Love Train thing led me to think about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. My friend posted a challenge on Facebook which I then forwarded to my friends whom I am sure forwarded on to their friends. The challenge was to update your status every day with something you are thankful for. It’s a beautiful way to live, really. It’s easy to get caught up in misery or the stressful parts of our life, especially now. To make it a point to think about the wonderful gifts God gives us and to praise Him for it makes you think about how good our lives are.

This also got me thinking about how wonderful these social media sites are and how much good we can accomplish through them. We can spread positive messages, help people in need, educate people about important issues, and share our love for each other all through the social media love trains.

See, I told you I was going to pull a bunch of things out of the air and come up with a theme. Spreading love, gratitude, happiness, and goodwill. That’s a pretty good theme. Today I am thankful that all of you are reading this and that I can voice my opinion without the fear of oppression.

 

 

 

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