I'm almost not ready for Christmas

     Ho!  Ho!  Ho!  Christmas is coming an' I am soooo ready for the fun.  Oh... what?  No, no; I'm not Santa Claus.  Sorry; I didn't mean to confuse you.  I'm just in a jolly holiday spirit an' thought I'd borrow Santa's famous line.  Is my voice getting that deep?  hahahaha.  I guess you couldn't see me when I called out, "Ho!  Ho!  Ho!"  I can un'erstan' how you might've gotten me mixed up with Ol' Saint Nick, but no... it's jus' me... Yaya.

     Are you ready for Christmas?  Am I ready?  Nah!  Well, I guess I am an' I'm not.  I'm as anxious as a kid an' pro'lly twice as annoying in my anticipation.  But there are still so many things to take care of.  We don't even have our tree up, yet.  No decorations.  Hardly any 'uh the shopping is done.  I haven't been blogging as much as I'd like to.  An' on top 'uh alla' that, I dunno' where to start in my efforts to get ready.

     Oh!  My!  Goodness!  Lookie there.  Your house looks so fine, all decorated up for the holidays.  Don'tcha' wanna' come on over here an' give me some pointers?  On the plus side, I do think we will be warm this winter.  Last year, we hadda' deal with an Attitude from the forces of nature, so you might say we were climate-ally challenged.  However, I married the right dude 'cause my good hubby-buddy has been a reg'lar 'Mr. Fix-it' an' I think Ol' Man Winter is gonna' have a hard time pushing snow into our house, this year.  In fact, I think even the cold is gonna' have a hard time finding a path into our house, this year.

     Now, about that request for you to come on over an' help me decorate... how soon do ya' think I can expect you to be here?  Shall I make us some hot cocoa an' store-bought homemade cookies?  I'm really good at making those.  At least, I know how to put 'em on my own plate or in my cookie jar.  I tell the grandies they're homemade oreos.  I'm not sure they still b'lieve me, but they've learned to keep it to themselves so as not to hurt my feelings.


     Now, as they say in that one commercial... I'll leave the light on for you.

     Until the next time, keep a hug on.

~ Yaya

Who is your best friend?

     Who is your best friend?  Do you have a best friend?  I do.  I used to think I was like the third thumb in most groups; never quite fit in with anyone else, ya' know?  There were times when I felt so lonely 'cause I truly felt like a nut in a world full of hammers an' nails.  Not much worth there.

     For awhile, I convinced myself that my best friend was my good hubby-buddy.  An' he certainly is my dearest an' closest companion.  I was even s'prised when I realized that he is not the very best friend I ever had.  Now, you may be thinking that I'm gonna' go off on some kinda' preaching thing an' tell you that my best friend is Jesus, but you'd be wrong.

     Don't get me wrong.  I am a Christian an' I do love my Heavenly Father an' Jesus very much.  In fact, it was through that closeness with my Heavenly Father that I began to know the importance of knowing who your best friend is an' truly an' sincerely knowing your best friend's heart.

      I've learned in my long life that having a best friend begins at home.  If you can't be friends with yourself an' appreciate your own fine qualities you'll find that all other friendships fall short of feeling complete.  My personal feeling is that you must first make friends with yourself before you can truly embrace the love an' friendship that anyone else can offer.  I really hope that we can all learn to love ourselves so's we can sincerely love each other.

     Until the next time, keep a hug on.

 ~ Yaya