Tami_Hughes' Blog

I've always loved Christmas.  Always felt that sort of magical feeling in the air during the month of December.  But I have to say, as a parent, it just doesn't get much better than kids at Christmas.

My son is 10, he's not as excited about Santa (If you know what I mean)... but he still loves the cookies, wrapping presents, lights, etc.  He even told me the other night he wanted to go caroling sometime.  How cute is that?

But my daughter, she's 3 and man does she LOVE Christmas!  It's so great to hear her try and sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, or call every snowman she sees "Frosty".  We have to record every holiday show there is, and she'll sit and watch them all, she loves it!  Her favorite is definitely Shrek the Halls, but I'd say Frosty the Snowman is a close second.  And she just can't understand why she has to look at all the presents under the tree and not open them RIGHT THIS SECOND!!  She was soooo excited to see Santa this year, he asked what she wanted for Christmas and she said "a talking unicorn".  I'm not kidding- you can't make this stuff up!

So to all you "bah-humbugs" out there, I just have to say, to each their own... but it might change your mind if you look at Christmas through the eyes of a child.

Are tough financial times forcing you and your family to cut back on the Holiday shopping?  I don't know that my family is cutting back too much, but really try to be frugal during the holidays every year.  The kids get so many toys from the grandparents (and Santa, of course) that my husband and I choose not to spoil them even worse.

But there's one thing I'm NOT cutting back on-- All the sickly sweet Holiday Cheer!  I love Christmas!  So all the decorations, lights, music, cookies, etc. will definitely be everywhere.  There's just something about the season that makes me feel good, and I feel like we all could use a little more of it this year.

I can't stop eating candy!!  I NEVER buy candy, ever.  But of course, at Halloween I have to, my neighborhood is a big Trick-or-Treat spot.  Here are a few observations:  lots of people passed out little bags of chips this year.  Not sure what to make of that-- it's definitely a generous treat, but my kids really only seem to care about the candy. 

Also-Halloween reminds me how much I hate candy like Now 'n Laters (they'll rip your teeth out!:) Smarties, and Dots (my kids love them.)  But I LOVE anything Butterfinger, Twizzlers, and my new favorite is a weird one called Take 5- it's got sweet chocolate and caramel with a salty twist of a pretzel!  Love it!

 

 

Is it just me or has your school-aged child been driving you nuts lately, too?  My son is 10 and in the 4th grade.  I'm starting to think it must be a fever for the end of the school year because he can't concentrate on anything, and his brain is always somewhere else!  If I'm going nuts now, I can't imagine what it will be like when he's really home for summer!  Is your kid like this too?

As someone who's watched Idol since almost the very beginning (the last few weeks of season one), I thought it would be interesting to get your thoughts on best Idol moments ever... Here are a few that stand out to me.

Clay Aiken singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water"  I loved loved loved Clay.  Now, he's lost his mind... but when he sang the famous Simon and Garfunkel song, I got the chills.

Fantasia doing "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess... She OWNED it, awesome performance.

Carrie Underwood doing "Alone" by Heart.  Love Carrie, still do.

Katherine McPhee's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", you can't argue with that one.

And from this season, David Cook with his rocked out version of "Billie Jean"... Love him!  Gotta vote this week!

My heart is breaking for my son.  He's 10, and in 4th grade.  We moved to Menomonee Falls last year, and he was really sad, worried when we moved that he wouldn't have any friends.  Well from the very beginning, he met Jake and Josh.  My son is Jordan, so the three 'J's just made sense.  Jake and Josh moved here from England a few years ago, they had the cute English accents and everything.
Anyway, after being best buddies for two years, they are moving back to England.  Today was their last day in school and my son is just devastated.  It's hard as a parent, because I know there's nothing I can say or do to make it hurt less... his friends are leaving, and they're going far away.
IIt all reminds me of a girlfriend I had when I was little, she was my neighbor and she moved away, too.  But get this, when I was in college in Miami, Florida (I grew up in Ohio) I was at the university pool and a group of girls walk over.  Guess who was there- Jamie!  She was friends with a girl that attended Miami and we ran into each other again.  Isn't that crazy?  Maybe one day Jordan will run into Jake and Josh again.

The first time Brooke messed up her song on American Idol, it was sort of endearing... this week it was embarassing and I think too much of a mistake to keep her around.  It was weird, I guess she forgot the words, but she sang a few lines...stopped... then started over again. 

I have to say, for me, the clear favorite is David Cook.  David Archuletta is one heck of a singer... but he's like Melinda Doolittle a few year's back.. he's too nice and shy afterwards that he's annoying.  He's like, "Oh gosh, huh huh... oh gosh."  I'm like, "Oh gosh, you can sing, accept it!"  Let's move on!

I am a coffee drinker.  Coffee lover.  Coffee dreamer.  I must have it every morning as part of my daily routine and I'll take in just about any form, I really enjoy it.

Having said that, if I can choose any place to get my coffee, it's Starbucks-- here's why.   You may have noticed lately that Starbucks has been changing the way they do things a bit- a new roast of coffee, a promise to make it right every time, lots more advertising... Well, it's because their stock went down, and Howard Schultz ( the CEO)  is the kind of guy that knows how to treat his customers.  He just gets it.

Don't get me wrong, I'll go to Alterra, Stone Creek, or any place on the corner, too... But I've tried "mom and pop" chains at many cities I've lived in, and I'll get in my car, take a sip and think.... hmmmm... this tastes weird today.  Once, in Boise, I drove around for ten minutes to find a parking spot, only to go to a coffee shop that ended up being closed for an hour or two-- no idea why-- and I thought to myself, "This is why I love Starbucks.  I always know what I'm going to get, and it's always fantastic." 

FYI-- Starbucks did not pay me to say this... I'm just enjoying a Cinnamon Dulce Latte and I just had to blog about it.

In one of my many live shots on Brett Favre, I mentioned how every Sunday I could drive or walk down my street, and see almost all my neighbors watching the Packers games.  Ted Perry gave me a hard time saying "Now your neighbors know to close the blinds."  That Ted Perry, such a funny guy!  :)

Now, I don't put my face up against their windows or anything, but maybe it's because I work in TV, I like seeing people's TV's and see what they're watching.  Do you do this?  When you're walking or driving in your neighborhood?  I like seeing 'how other people live.'  So I just didn't want my neighbors to think I was a Peeping Tami or anything!!

Okay, let me preface this by saying if this applies to you... I'm sorry in advance.  But what is up with the people who still have Christmas decorations out, and lights on their homes?  It's almost February!  I know it's been cold, but we've had a few days of decent temperatures so you can go grab Frosty or Jesus and put him back in the garage.  It's not that this really upsets me or angers me, it just sortof surprises me... Christmas in February- Really?