I swear, it always seems like forever has come and gone twice when I finally have a few quiet moments to either update my blog, write a post or upload a YouTube video. At any rate, if the falling cyber snow is any indicator, Christmas time is fast approaching, and with it, the opportunity to reflect our lives, our goals, what we have accomplished and have yet to do this year (and in the next), and to embrace friends and family during this festive time of year.
With that, I am wishing each of you a wonderful holiday season and reminding you that through it all, to keep CHRIST in Christmas and love in your hearts this December!
No, I’m not making epic music on my horn (although I did play the tenor sax until Junior High School…Fanny Pack Fun Fact # 128), but I am in A Sentimental Mood as I’ve been reflecting on 2011 and making preparations for a productive 2012.
Let me be the first to say that while I am blessed every single year, 2011 was honestly a time of both high highs and low lows for me. But in my planning to agressively chin-check 2012, I am not sitting down and calculating a bunch of unattainable goals just because a New Year has crested upon my horizon. What I am doing is looking back on all of my loves, losses, goals, miscues and realities and making a commitment to myself to dedicate some real and substantial time toward addressing each.
That alone makes 2012 an exciting prospect for me, and I am looking forward to all that is in store; I hope that each of you are as well!
In addition to the multiple blogs that I subscribe to and enjoy reading, as well as my moderate addiction to Social Media, I am unashamed to admit that I also have a minor love affair with YouTube.
Whether it’s fashion, hair, makeup, politics or popular culture; I LOVE watching the multitude of videos that people all over the world upload to YouTube. I’ve even drank some of the social video crazy juice and have been regularly uploading vids as well, the most fun of which has been a two part Husband Tag video that I was surprisingly able to get The Honey to voluntarily participate in.
So, if you’ve ever wondered what exactly goes through my mind when The Honey cuts a fool, or if he tolerates my special brand of foolery, then check out these amusing videos that give a little insight into our life, love and relationship.
There is certainly something both heartening and compelling to awakening to one’s own circadian rhythm. Or receiving the last of the holiday packages in the mail the first thing in the morning. Or getting up and relishing in a delicious home-cooked breakfast with a 12-cup pot of coffee brewing. Or (best of all) having an out-of –office memo activated to deter anyone from calling or emailing with any work related inquiries.
Coming off of one of the busiest schedules of my life, it is wonderful to have these next few days of Holiday Vacation to have special moments to just relax, time to enjoy family and friends and the mindfulness to reflect upon the true reason for the season.
Now, if I could only find matching Holiday Footed Pajamas for the entire family (I told The Pack that they could not open any gifts unless they all came to the tree on Christmas morn, donned in this year’s designated Pack Family Jammies) and several Extreme Holiday Sweaters for Church on Sunday, I would be totally winning!
It’s been a wonderful 4-day weekend full of blessings, family, fun, Friday Shopping Deals and food comas. Before we head back to work and our regularly scheduled programming, I just wanted to wish you all a fabulous (though belated) Thanksgiving Weekend and truly blessed holiday season.
Every single time I see this “Chronicles of Sophie Lee as told by Daniel Lee courtesy of Google Chrome”, commercial I absolutely lose it. I’m talking goosebumps, tearing up and a plethora of ooohs and aaahs. I guess a part of my emotional response to this advert for Gmail and all the awesome functions one can access through Google Chrome is because, for the early years of each of my children’s lives, it wasn’t just a baby album that I kept for them, but also a journal that I penned messages in for several years.
But of course, with the various moves, an expanding family and the regular rat-race that we have all become accustom to, those memos and notes became few(er) and far(ther) between. So, what a novel idea to re- recount the moments of their lives that made me laugh, cry and burst with pride through electronic means like this?
While in my daily walk, I aim for modesty; choosing instead to let my actions speak for me, I did admittedly tout to you all my beasty prowess when it came to Words with Friends (aka Scrabble on Steroids, per our previous discussion).
Well apparently, my nephew (The Man Child) did not heed my warnings. After proclaiming that he could whoop me and calling me out with his puberty-affected tenor voice, I had to put the no holds barred beat down on him, and rightfully set him in his place.
Suffice it to say, after I hit The Man Child with a few strategic moves, he was left with no other alternative than to throw the iPad on my bed, shut off all the lights and slam the door.
Looks like someone will be getting Anger Management CDs, a Thesaurus and a “Scrabble for Dummies” manual for Christmas!
P.S. The username’s Tiff Fanny Pack for anyone feeling experimental! 🙂
As much as I love music, I cannot believe that I am just now introducing my listening party posts. I guess in reality it is perhaps because I’ve not been overly moved by popular music as of late; to expend my energy (and my platform) to highlight yet another factory assembled, cookie cutter artist and his or her homogenous song.
But clearly such is not (nor has never been) the case when talking about Goodie-Mob-rapper-turned-soloist-turned-Gnarls-Barkley-front-man-turned-soloist again, Cee-lo Green. Whether you are like me and can clearly recall tales of Cee-lo riding around in his Acura Legend(ary), calling out self-proclaimed G-O-Ds, or whether you are just now boarding this crazy train and have only recently been introduced to the pint sized dynamo thanks to his Unrequited Lovers anthem Forget You, know that Green is the sort of artist that offers listeners his heart and soul and a pinch of funk with every rasp, falsetto and vibrato that he sings.
Stirring in some Melanie Fiona to his flavorful, musical gumbo, Cee-lo’s latest single from his Lady Killer’s album, “Fool For You” accurately depicts the feeling that we’ve all experienced at one time or another when that special someone had our heart on our sleeve, body on cloud nine and our nose wide open. Its retro sound, lyrical flair and instrumental infusions makes “Fool For You” every bit a sultry R&B instant classic, well worth a listening party Fanny Pack feature. Enjoy.
It has been a long and arduous two months of processes and procedures appraisals, liquidity assessments, reconciliations, IRS regulations research and overall financial evaluations, but as of this evening, I’ve officially completed my 2010 and stump year 2011 audit efforts!!!!!!!!!
In fact, I was SO excited when I handed over my last report to the independent auditor this evening that I blurted out a guttural, “Hallelujah!” The funny part however was when she accepted my paperwork and replied, “Hallelujah, indeed!”
And as I packed up my laptop, portfolios and bags and headed to the parking lot, I promise you that my woooh-saw, and then my praise break was exactly like this one!
Although for many moons I have so graciously shared the day of my birth with the likes of Harry Houdini and Peyton Manning, March 24th has always been a day in which to celebrate the life (and sometimes admittedly, the lunacy) of Tiffany.
And while as a part of my civic duty I should be sharing some motivational nugget with you guys on this here day of my birth, truthfully this is the one day in which I am actually unapologetically all-about-me (gasp).
That said however, I am not too self-absorbed to not be grateful for another year of life, a loving family and the ability to reflect upon all the many blessings that have been bestowed upon me (namely my Macy’s birthday gift cards, monetary endowments and my honey’s resilience and dexterity in the face of the slew of camped-out Apple groupies in order to secure my new iPad 2!!!).
But seriously, as The Pack Household prepares for the Big Boy and the Baby Child’s birthday this week as well (the three of us celebrate Birthday Week every year), today I take this opportunity to relish in just one “me” day out of the year without reproach.
Tiffany's Fanny Pack 