From the Inside Out

Gone are the days when I wake up at the crack of dawn eager to open presents. The excitement is still there, but it’s tempered by the desire to sleep. Of course, when you go to bed at 5 am, it’s hard to get up early — presents or no presents. The anticipation of Christmas morning and curiosity of what was inside the wrapped boxes under the tree did help me wake up by mid-morning, though.

Gary waited patiently for me, and when I awoke we celebrated our 15th Christmas together as a married couple by ripping into our brightly decorated packages. Sharing gifts is one of the things I love about Christmas. It never gets old.

We played with our new “toys” and then got ready for the lunchtime arrival of my family. My parents, sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephews all convened at our house to continue the celebration. We had a nice lunch and then got down to the exciting stuff — exchanging presents. Watching the kids open gifts is a blast. It’s a special treat to see Christmas through the eyes of a child.

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the kids’ new toys, listening to Gary and Nick playing the Wii Guitar Hero, and simply hanging out enjoying each other’s company. I am truly blessed and thankful to have such a great family.

It was early evening by the time we said our goodbyes and the family returned to their homes. Gary and I settled down for a quiet evening together, but soon hunger began to rear its ugly head. We didn’t collect enough leftovers for a full meal and hadn’t stocked up our pantry with food for the holiday. We eat a lot of takeout so we don’t keep much food at home. Normally it’s not a problem, but it’s not normally Christmas.

We called our regular restaurants hoping that one of them would be open for business. They weren’t. We thought maybe one of the pizza joints would be open. They weren’t either. Finally we decided to jump in the car and drive around to see what we could find. After all, this is Dallas…there had to be something open, even if it was only fast food.

As we approached the first major shopping area near our house, I started to get a bad feeling. It’s usually packed with cars and activity, but tonight it was dead. All restaurants were locked up tight. I still had hope that the 24-hour fast food joints would be open — they couldn’t let the hungry people down on Christmas, could they? To answer the question…yes, they could. Everything was closed. It was a ghost town.

Undaunted we headed towards Frisco. Finally, we saw a Jack-in-the-Box with all its lights turned on. It had a long line of cars in the drive-thru, and since it happens to be one of my most hated fast food joints, we kept going. We turned the corner. IHOP was open — Yay!

Encouraged, we kept going — there had to be others. We continued to drive, but nothing else seemed to be open so we decided to turn around. When we did, we caught sight of an open sign glowing in the window of Snookie’s, a local grill and burger joint.

Aha, instant success! We would not go hungry tonight. Thank God for little Christmas miracles…hehe!

With a full belly, I reflect back on the day. Exchanging gifts and spending time with family is fun, but during this time of year, I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize the real reason for our celebration today. God gave us the most unselfish, perfect gift ever given. I find it amazing that He would be willing to wrap Himself in flesh, live on this earth, and give His life so I could be saved from my sins. The depth of His love is unfathomable. I don’t deserve the gift He gave to me, but He gave it anyway. That’s the true miracle of Christmas.

Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house,

Something was stirring, but it wasn’t a mouse.

The presents were placed under the tree with care.

A sense of excitement hung in the air.

The coming day would bring smiles and cheer.

Families would be reunited with those they hold dear.

Gary was nestled all snug in our bed,

While I crafted this blog poem from thoughts dancing around in my head.

I had just settled down to reflect on the day.

The cares of this life seemed so far away.

I knew in a moment His presence had drawn near,

as I remembered why Christmas is my favorite time of year.

I shut my ears to the noises on tv and the laughter;

There was only one thing to do before I closed this chapter.

With a grateful heart, I began to celebrate my Lord and Savior,

Who came to earth and changed the world forever.

The birth of this babe brought peace, joy and light.

It is because of Jesus I can say, “merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.”

I love vacations and holidays. They offer the perfect opportunity for my sleep-deprived body to catch up on the z’s. Now I have another reason to sleep in during my holiday break…it’s good for my heart.

Yes, that’s right. Even one extra hour of sleep appears to lower the risk of developing calcium deposits in the coronary arteries. These deposits are linked to heart disease, and according to Diane Lauderdale whose study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “It’s a very early marker of future risk.”

Lauderdale’s study included 495 people aged 35 to 47. They wore sophisticated wrist bands that ultimately allowed the researchers to detect individual sleep patterns. Before and after the study, CT scans were used to assess the build-up of calcium inside the arteries. After the five year period, they discovered that:

• 27 percent of those sleeping less than five hours a night developed artery calcification
• 11 percent of those sleeping five to seven hours developed artery calcification
• Only 6 percent of those sleeping more than seven hours a night developed artery calcification

The benefits of sleep even extend beyond the build-up of calcium deposits. Not getting enough sleep has been linked to weight gain, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Sleep isn’t a miracle cure, but it does appear to lower your risk of developing these health conditions.

Researchers aren’t certain why sleep lowers your risk of heart disease. It could be related to the fact that blood pressure tends to drop during sleep, so those who sleep longer could have lower blood pressure. It may also be related to reduced exposure to the stress hormone, cortisol, which is decreased during sleep.

Regardless of the reason, the benefits are clear. Don’t feel guilty…go ahead, sleep in.

Sleep: it does a body good.

Gary and I were lucky enough to get two complimentary tickets to the final Cowboys game in Texas Stadium. The team will be moving into their new home next season, ending a 37-year run in Texas Stadium in Irving. Saturday’s game was an emotional event for many fans, players, and former players who hold fond memories of the time they spent in that facility. The night was more than just a game; it was the end of an era.

With that in mind, we were really excited about the opportunity to be part of that historic moment. We drove to the stadium area early and had dinner at Pappasitos. The restaurant was filled with lots of other Cowboys fans getting ready to enjoy the game. At a table nearby, we met a few fans who had an extra parking pass for the Blue lots. We jumped on the opportunity to bypass the long walk from general parking — the Blue lots are right next to the stadium.

Delighted, we finished dinner at 5:30 pm and headed to the stadium which, during normal traffic, would be about 10 minutes away. Thirty minutes later, we were pulling in next to the Blue parking lots. We thought we were making good time, but little did we know that parking there would be the “kiss of death.”

The two lane road that leads to the Blue lots was packed full of cars — cars that weren’t moving. Forty minutes later, we had only moved forward a few feet. The parking attendants told us it would be at least another hour before we could get parked.

We continued to sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic, baffled that it was completely stopped. I can’t believe how poorly managed traffic was. I’ve been to games before, and I’ve never experienced anything like it. I know the stadium was packed, but it was ridiculous. Tons of people were bailing out of their cars and walking to the stadium leaving only the driver behind. At 6:50 pm, I finally convinced Gary to leave and meet up with the rest of our group. It didn’t make sense for both of us to miss the game.

After he left, I sat for another 30 minutes barely moving at all. The one highlight of my parking nightmare was that I got to witness the balloon release that happened after the national anthem. Hundreds of blue and grey balloons rose through the open roof of the stadium and were eventually carried away by the wind. It was a neat sight to behold from outside the stadium.

An hour later, after circling the entire stadium in traffic, I ended up at Lot 5 (back where I had started 2 1/2 hours earlier). I knew it was going to be a historic night, but I had no idea that the historic moment I would experience would be a whopping 3 hours of gridlock.

Finally parked, I quickly made my way to the stadium — just in time for half-time. Neat.

Once inside, I was able to relax and have some fun. It was great to see the Cowboys play. And between plays, they would bring former Cowboys “greats” onto the field and interview them about their time playing for the Cowboys — very cool. Unfortunately, the night didn’t end with a win, but it was still fun to be a part of the last game played in Texas Stadium.

After the game, there was a closing ceremony including many of the Cowboys’ famous players and tributes to those who are no longer with us. We stayed for most of the celebration, until the brutal cold caught up with us (it was below freezing and the wind chill was even worse), then we called it a night and walked out of the stadium for the last time ever.

Farewell Texas Stadium!!

Below are a few pictures from the historic evening.

My view for 2 1/2 hours — so close, yet so far

Punting the ball after half-time

The stadium was packed!

So happy to be INSIDE the stadium!

Players and staff on the field as the game ends

Post-game celebration — introducing the Cowboys legends

More post-game celebration

We gathered with friends tonight for a carriage ride through the Christmas light displays in the Deerfield neighborhood of Plano. The one-hour tour takes you through the most decorated streets in the neighborhood, including all of the award-winning homes.

During Christmas, Deerfield is packed with people wanting to get a glimpse of the Christmas spectacle — in limos, on foot, in cars, and on horse-drawn carriages. We opted for the carriage which provides the best view of the decorated houses. And we got lucky with the weather because it was a beautiful evening. I’m so glad the cold front held off until tomorrow!

In addition to the lights, the homeowners of Deerfield like to provide additional surprises for those strolling through the neighborhood. One house featured a live brass trio playing Christmas carols. Other homes had people standing outside welcoming visitors to the neighborhood, and Santa even showed up to take pictures with the kids.

Deerfield provides a festive atmosphere. If you’re searching for a place to visit this year, I recommend it. The carriage ride is fun for all ages.

Pictures of the gang before our tour

Live Christmas Music Serenade

A few of the houses in the neighborhood

(excuse the bad photos; I had my camera on the wrong settings..argh!)