Entries by TATIANA

God Jul is what we say in Sweden when we wish each other Merry Christmas.
I am sitting here somewhere in Washington, in a very small town and thinking about Christmases that passed. Since Christmas only happens once a year you kind of want to make it special, same with New Years Eve. If I had been in Sweden now I would had celebrated Christmas like many others do there. On the 24th with some risgrynsgröt for a combined breakfast/lunch then some traditional Swedish and Polish food at my Moms, my Mom is a good cook. Or we would had skipped the cooking and went out to eat traditional Julbord somewhere. Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul used to come on at 3 PM when I was growing up and that was a must for me, I had to see that, no Christmas without the cartoons. It's kind of a holiday tradition to gather in front of the TV and watch that and after Kalle we would open the gifts waiting under the tree. As soon as I was big enough I would decorate the tree and our home with Christmas stuff. Reminiscing of that made me very home sick all of a sudden.
I also have a sad Christmas memory that I think about every year around this time and sometimes throughout the year too. I was maybe nine years old, it was Christmas time, I remember we had a tree with many lights in the living room. I lived in a house, the living room had large windows and there was a lot of snow outside. The news spread that some children were missing, they had went for a walk and didn't return home. If I looked out the window I could see the large forest across the field and the highway outside my house.
The two children were somewhere in that forest, lost. I stared out the window and wondered if they were OK, hoping they would make it home. They arranges for search parties, then adults started talking in hushed tones. The two children were found, curled up somewhere in the snow frozen to death. I will never forget this. I felt sad, so sad for the children and their family. This still makes me teary eyed.
I hope you are safe and warm this Christmas/Holiday season.
God Jul from one of my favorites as a child and still until today.....Pippi Långstrump with her friends Tommy and Annika.

Merry Christmas all my friends. I hope you are safe, cozy, well and happy wherever you are. ❤ ❤ ❤

I've had a couple of very busy days so the blog had to be put aside for a bit. Me and Chhaya are traveling. We are in Washington right now.....as in state, not DC. Chhaya flew, always stressful because I don't like leaving her out of my sight. But it went well and she is curled up sleeping by my feet now. It's raining where I'm at, I'm not in a super Christmas-y mood, the lack of snow contributes a bit to that I suspect. Last year I went skiing in a snowy and cold Girdwood for Christmas and this year I'm taking a trip.

I came up with the initiative to collect money for the local spay and neuter fund a while back. Since then we have collected money at work for a local animal no kill shelter and a women's shelter (I called that collection Tati's Tampon Fund). We gave money to the spay and neuter fund on a separate occasion besides the one I am mentioning today and I sent in a check for the amount and got a thank you card back. On the card it says that since the program began in February 2012 the Peninsula Spay and Neuter Fund has helped with over 645 spays and neuters. I'm happy to say that me and everybody else that contributed will aid in spaying and neutering more cats and dogs around here. Educate yourself about the importance of being a responsible pet owner, if you have a pet. Please. Do the right thing. Here is Chhaya with the money and the thank you card.

Chuck wanted to pose too.

Me and Cricket counted the money last night, cashed in the smaller bills for larger, I put the money into my account today and I'm sending out a check to the fund tomorrow.

www.facebook.com/peninsulaspayneuterfund

I decorated the Christmas tree at work last night with these fantastic ornaments, just another of my brilliant and fun ideas! Now we can bring the guys over to the tree and ask them to pick a gift, which one do you want (out of the three). LOL! I should had embellished the "ornaments" with some rhinestones to make them more festive. I think this is a great ornament idea if you are looking for something interesting for your tree still. I guarantee your tree will be a big hit with those decorations!



And in case you are new to my blog.....you should know that I'm only JOKING. I feel I have to to point that out now and then, because I know that some people out there take everything seriously and don't get that I'm joking. I joke around a lot. So no, we do not gift men with STDs at work. In fact I think that knowingly spreading STDs around should be punishable.
I always tell confused guys that the chances for them to randomly hook up are probably higher at a local bar or regular club than with some girl they meet in a strip club. Although you know, there will always be those dancers that meet up after work. Speaking for myself, I have absolutely ZERO interest of getting to know anyone better. I guess St. Louis is topping the STD charts right now. Now you know.

Feeling a bit more motivated today and less PMS-y. Had an appointment with Chhaya at the vet today and that went well, she is 74 pounds and very healthy and very pretty they think at the vet. I know.....my Chhaya is the most beautiful. I am a typical parent, everybody thinks their own child/children are the prettiest and most talented and I feel the same way about Chhaya. Although she does get lots of compliments from strangers and plenty of breeding proposals. But Chhaya turns them all down. Just like me.
The weather has been gray and mild. So mild that if it continues like this it might be a record. Of course many parts of Alaska are freezing, like Prudhoe Bay, about -10 F right now.....but that is about 700 miles north of where I live. Still, -10 F for Prudhoe Bay for this time of year is not that cold.



I am also almost done with my Christmas presents for this year, just a couple of more cards to write and a few more things to get, then I have to wrap the boxes that I'm sending to Sweden in brown paper and fill out customs forms. A few days ago all the stuff, all the cards, stickers, paper, tape, ribbons etc were laying on the floor in a large heap. I wondered how I would even be able to finish it all but I did. As usual.