The Native North Carolinian

So, what do you think of when you think of Christmas? I’m just beginning to think about beginning to think about Christmas, and do you know what I did today? Called the caterer, LOL. Not for myself, but for another party I am organizing. For me, and for many people here (at least in my family), it’s about the food. Will Aunt B make her banana pudding this year? Oh, I hope Aunt J makes potato salad! Yumm, Granny will have pastry, she always does. I wonder when Aunt N will lighten up and ditch that sugar free fat free pudding in her éclair dessert. Ooh, and dressing; my mama makes the best dressing. My kids have already asked for roasted pecans and seasoned oyster crackers. See, it’s the food of Christmas that stands out in my mind.

I’ll be sharing some of my tips and recipes on another blog, and I’ll be sure to share the links with you when you do. Just be sure to pull out your “fat jeans”, and maybe the plus size lingerie. I’ve got mine on stand-by already.

So we are back. I was sending mobile posts to Mothering Many while I was gone. You can go there and check it out if you’d like, but I am going to cut to the chase and tell you that we aren’t going to Florida. The girls performed their routine flawlessly. They had been using the tumbling mats at one of the local schools for this last month of practice and it really showed on Friday, but other teams had more difficult routines, and those teams will be advancing instead. I guess it just goes to show that even the best exercise equipment money can buy won’t make up for slacking off in the difficulty department.

Ok. Done. I’ll quit talking about my kids now, and get back to talking about North Carolina.

That would be me. Talking to me. I am trying to focus here, but I find myself unable to do so. So much is going on right now in a thousand other areas of my life that I am having a hard time pulling my head together to write. Look grab your Nike golf clubs, play nine, and then come back. Hopefully, I won’t be quite as giddy when we get back from Charlotte.

Off to Charlotte we will go. I mentioned that I was going to Vegas, and I wanted to let you know that I have posted quite a few pictures in my Vegas pictures folder on flickr. I should totally organize them better, but if I wait to tell you about them until they are all pretty, one or both of us will grow cobwebs before you ever get to see them. So that’s that.

Next week, while most of you are dreaming of Tom Turkey, I’ll be dreaming of stunts and tumbling passes. Yeppers, on Thanksgiving Day, we are headed to Charlotte for Regionals on Friday. I know I have mentioned it before. I am a little excited. The girls are, too, and they have been working hard. If you think a few reps on the elliptical will wear you out, try lifting a cheerleader over your head. Several times. Feel that burn, baby.

Just two more practices and a road trip. Secretly, I am hoping we get the nod for Nationals. Shhhhhhhhh, don’t tell anybody.

So, for all the times I whined about it still being warm, and how fall would never, ever, arrive, I am finally pleased to announce that last night, in the middle of the night, I smelled the fine fine smell of dust burning off the heating coils of the furnace. Unlike previous years, we did not set off the fire alarm. This is a good thing.

And now I have another whine: my bedroom is cold, and my bathroom is icy. The blower is just not getting the air pushed to that corner of the house. Dh will check the duct work again tomorrow, as he does every season change, and he’ll assure me that it’s all together, we’ll have brief visions of fire glass, and then we’ll continue to freeze. Except, maybe things will be different this year. I’m not currently expecting, nor is there a baby in my bed, so I think this year, I will get myself an electric blanket. Because cold?? It should totally be an outside treat.

See ya on the flip side, ya’ll. I’m going to Vegas for a few days!

Does the smell of the air change where you live according to the season? Do you notice it? I walked outside the other night, and it just smelled…different. Nothing I could name, just different, and so fine. Of course, we’ll be using more energy lighting and heating our homes now, but that smell is almost worth it, isn’t it? Maybe especially so if you have attractive lights, ykwim? Maybe something like this quoizel lighting for inside and luminaries for outside?? It would look like a party all the time. Or at least until we spring forward, LOL!

Did you know that several television shows have been filmed here in coastal North Carolina? We’ve had a few movies, too. Umm, the fact that I am not giving you any names should indicate the need for shows filmed here to get a life insurance quote before filming begins. It’s almost as if coming here sounds death knell for any projects that do it, and I am not quite sure why that is. We’ve got great weather, awesome scenery, and a booming economy. I’m not sure what else they’d need, yk?