FLASHBACK the 16th century

"oh tannenbaum...oh tannenbaum...wie grün sind deine blätter..."
so...way before christianity, evergreen plants and trees held special meaning for people in the winter. they would bring them into their homes for decoration...and hang evergreen boughs over the doors and windows. they believed evergreens would ward off witches, ghosts, evil, and illness. in the 16th century, the christmas tree tradition begins when devout german christians bring decorated trees into their homes. they are typically decorated with apples, nuts, and dates. the protestant reformer, martin luther, is credited for the addition of lights. he is walking home, one evening, in awe of the twinkling stars. to bring this brilliance home to his family, he wires candles to an evergreen tree. 
FLASH FORWARD the 19th century
americans find christmas trees strange. the first tree to be displayed, on record, is by german settlers to pennsylvania in the 1830's. as late as the 1840's, christmas trees are seen as pagan symbols and unaccepted by MOST americans. why were they so backward? new england puritans (you know, those guys responsible for the salem witch trials?) believed that christmas was sacred and that decorations, carols, and joyful celebrations mocked the event. they actually made it a penal offense to observe christmas in any way other than a church service. but...in 1846, queen victoria is sketched, with her family, in front of a beautifully decorated tree...and, just like that...the christmas tree had arrived. 
FLASH FORWARD today
tis the season...people all over the country are decorating trees in their living rooms. maybe they've cut their own. maybe they're aluminum. maybe they're plastic. people are stringing lights...we've definitely learned that it's not safe to use candles!! some will be covered in carefully selected ornaments...some in ornaments the kids have been making since kindergarten. but they will all have one thing in common...they are a sign that christmas is just around the corner...

                        

                           

FLASHBACK december 6, 1990 (i may have just made that up)

the best things in life are free...but you can give them to the birds and bees...i want money..." 

we are living in durango, colorado, on the side of a mountain. literally on the side of a mountain (the house even came with a snow plow. why is there a snow plow? "i don't know(?)." we soon found out.). trips to town are a huge deal and involve groceries for the week...videos for the week...and a special trip to mcdonald's for the play place. the video store we go to is family owned (no blockbuster existed) and the owner  follows me around (offering advice), leaving her cash drawer open. the kids are free to roam wherever. this day is no different. i pick out several movies the kids will love and off we go. at the grocery, dustin wants to get a toy out of the gum ball machines. dustin, i don't have any quarters. "i have a quarter". you're 3, where did YOU get a quarter? "from that drawer full of money at the video store". wait? WHAAAT?!!?!!
FLASH FORWARD december 6, 2012
i work retail in a major department store. people come in daily and make payments on their store credit card. most people don't have a statement on them, or even know what their balance is. the transaction goes down like this: customer swipes their card...computer tells me their minimum due and the due date...customer gives me an amount to pay and i enter it in the computer...customer swipes debit card...computer prints out receipt. done. simple. some people actually have a statement with them. they hand me their statement and a check and i have to key everything in by hand. what? this is ridiculous! get with the times, man!! this transaction ends with me handing them back their voided check and them asking me why i'm not keeping it. ummmm...because we already have your money and a scanned image of your check. duh doy! but today! today the weirdest thing happened! "i would like to pay my bill". swipe your card in the machine for me, sir. "oh, here's my statement". (ugh...i have to key it in by hand!!) thank you, sir. how much will you be paying?. "$42.00".  how will you be paying for this today? "cash" wait? what? nobody does that?!! nobody. ever. does that!! he hands me two 20's and two 1's and i hand him his receipt. i've opened the cash drawer before. we have to open the registers every morning and count the money to verify how we are starting the day. and we have to do it every night to determine how much we made. occasionally, we have to make a deposit when we close, but...most often...we are just collecting coupons and gift cards for recycling. 
more often than not, people are paying with plastic. i'll admit, i fall into this category. i never...hardly ever...have cash on me. sometimes it can be really frustrating: i want a diet dr pepper...the machine takes $1.35...i dig around and all i have is a gum wrapper and a safety pin. UGH! but, then again, there are plus sides to sticking with plastic. like? well...it's easy: the cashier tells me what i owe, i swipe my card and go. i can pay via the internet: last night, i ordered pizza online and paid online...when i walked into larosa's i signed a slip and walked out...easy peasy. and it's clean. if you pay with coins or paper money, that money is being passed between you and the cashier...if one of you has a cold or virus, you could, potentially, be passing it to the other thru the exchange of the money. however, if you pay with plastic, no contact is made...tah dah! no germs passed...the benefits for businesses? safety: with most customers paying with plastic, the amount of cash for deposit is limited making it less inviting to would be thieves. seriously? who wants to go to jail over $50? again, cleanliness, for the EXACT same reasons. and, most importantly, no need for your cash drawer to be open, tempting a 3 year old to steal a quarter.
happy spending!!

 

*thanks dad!!*

FLASHBACK 1992

"you better watch out...you better not cry...you better not pout...i'm telling you why..."
i have a crystal ball. it just sits on a shelf looking pretty...or so it would seem. but ask my boys about the crystal ball and they will tell you what it's real purpose is. it's how santa watches them and knows the answer to the age old question: naughty or nice?...
FLASH FORWARD 2005
parent's all over the country adopt an "elf on the shelf"...the elf hibernates all year and comes to life in time for the holidays. (s)he watches over the family by day and flies to the north pole, while everyone sleeps, to report their behavior to santa. these elves like to play games with their families, so, there is no telling where you will find your elf in the morning...or what kind of mischief (s)he may have been in to.
FLASH FORWARD today
we don't have little children living with us...but santa still wants to know if we're naughty or nice. he doesn't have my crystal ball to look through...and we haven't adopted an elf...so, how does santa keep track of bk and cardinal? with a smart phone app...santa naughty or nice scan~o~meter by spilling coffee media. it's a simple meter that, when pointed at the person in question, measures them on a scale of extremely naughty to very nice. it also has a "santa's watching light" which indicates if santa is watching or very busy at the moment. i just tried it on bk...turns out he has 20 days to get his act together cuz he's been extraordinarily naughty!!

other apps for the kiddos to enjoy this holiday season:

• christmas!! by gourmet pixel: this has almost all you need in one app. there is a countdown to christmas, an advent calendar with fun surprises, a christmas list, games, jokes, and wallpapers. the app is free but some features are only available with the upgrade.
• white christmas by sknetworksinternet: a fun little photo app that adds snowfall to any pictures you take with your phone...make every christmas a white christmas.
• xmas! by chase action entertainment: it offers games and a countdown...but, best of all, it has a santa tracker. tonight, it shows santa at the north pole...obviously, carefully selecting pieces of coal for bk's stocking...i can't wait to watch santa's path on christmas eve!!

happy countdown to christmas everybody!!

                             

                            

^can you guess you was nice and who was naughty?^

FLASHBACK january 2012

"i'm gonna make this place your home..."
don't judge me....i love american idol...the first few weeks anyway. i love watching shower singers, who think they can be the next big thang, fall on their face. mean. i know. but this year...this year was different. the last few minutes of the very first episode we were introduced to phillip phillips. we laughed and laughed about his name. we flipped over how much he looks like one of my kids. and, then, he opened his mouth and sang. and we never missed a single episode. 

FLASH FORWARD today
phillip phillips released his first cd on november 19 and debuted at number 4 on the billboard charts. he's reminiscent of dave matthews, which is the appeal for me and the bk. and i'm pretty sure he's breaking the streak of failure for male american idol winners.
take a listen...i think you'll like it...