They seem so simple, but, they’re also a little hard to understand. I absolutely love my fiber optic Christmas decorations! My mom bought me a mini fiber optic Christmas tree about seven years ago, and it’s still working and one of my favorite decorations! I remember the first year we got it, Patrick would lie on the couch and just stare at it for hours! That is why I used to always call it our ‘psychedelic tree’! Ha! And I also never could remember the term, ‘fiber optic’! I used to know a guy whose father worked for a company that laid fiber optic cables all over the world! I was fascinated by it then, and I still am today. I wonder, though, are those cables the same as what makes my little Christmas tree so pretty? And the really confusing part, to me, is that information is actually passed along those cables! I can see, sort of, how the colored lights are shot out the end of the cable in the Christmas decorations, but, information? How on earth does that work? It’s really just amazing technology, if you ask me!

There was just way too much of it in my house last night! Way too much! See, I lost my Sammie girl to her friend, Brianna’s house - for a sleepover. And then the boys had their cousin, David, over to spend the night with us. And then Mark brought home his brother, Eric, and he was spending the night, too.

The testosterone over-abundance didn’t really hit me until Mark called us all to dinner. I walked in that room, and I was like, “Oh my gawd! There’s too much testosterone in here - even the damn dog!” They all laughed at me. I just had a little moment of panic as I walked in the room and realized how completely outnumbered my poor, little self was!

I’ve been wondering, lately, if it’s almost time for me to supplement my estrogen supply, since I have had a hysterectomy and I am approaching *eeeks* my forties. (Did I just say that?!)

Well, see, though - had I already started with a progesterone supplement, I could’ve been uber sneaky last night and rubbed a little on each of those domineering men-type folks in my house last night and evened the score a little! Ha!

That would be our house! Yep, yep, yep! Hubby went crazy for Christmas and now we have the COOLEST basement in town! All the kids will want to be here, at our house! Which is exactly our goal! Make our house the ‘cool house’ and keep the kids close by, during those tumultuous teenage years!

‘Santa’ brought Sammie a new set of drums - yes, real ones. And they are sweet! And he brought Shawn a keyboard, and he brought Patrick an electric guitar. Oh yeah, and he brought Sammie a much better karaoke machine than her little Barbie one! Now we can totally ROCK OUT down there! Mark thinks he and I should learn to play an instrument, too, then we can all play together.

It’s not just a concert hall down there, though. We also are set up for movie/TV-watching, game-playing heaven! We have a regular TV and a large flat-screen TV, an Xbox, and Xbox 360, and some other game system. Darn - I can never get those names straight. I usually call that other one a ‘gamebox’. I know that’s not right, though. Oh, I know - it’s a Gamecube, yeah, that’s it! And we have movies and games out the whazzoo - for endless hours of enjoyment!

And we, of course, have the Mack Daddy modern furniture down there, so you can get supremely comfortable while you’re hanging out at the Rockin’ Roberson house! Ha! Really - it is this uber comfortable, green leather couch, loveseat, and chair. And let me tell you - when you put the footstool in front of the chair - well, that there is a slice of heaven! It feels like you’re in a chair made just for you, it just wraps around you perfectly. It’s like sitting on a cloud. Anyone who sits in that chair does NOT want to get up out of it!

Yeah - we’re gonna have all the kids at our house, that’s for sure!

My maternal grandmother was one of my dearest friends and one of my biggest fans. She was just the coolest. It was funny, because, we were so different, but, no matter what - she loved me fiercely. No matter what whacked out, goofy ideas I came up with - she loved me. Her acceptance of me was incredible. This is hard to write. I’ve been missing her like crazy lately. It’s not just that it’s been Christmas, because, every holiday season that she’s been gone hasn’t been like this. She did visit me in a dream lately and it was so intense. She was hugging me and she just would not let go. (There’s no crying in blogging, Lisa!) Yeah, ok - pulling myself together, really - I am. I’m cool.

369-6765 That was the first phone number I ever memorized, and the first phone number I ever called by myself. 369-6765 That number will be in my head (no crying!) forever.

I keep ‘pieces of Grandmamom’ all around me at all times, often even wearing her watch. Everywhere I look in my house, there is a part of Clare Mae. In my kitchen, I have her beautiful milk glass lamp. Isn’t it pretty? (I know, a lot of people really detest these - I don’t care.)

One of my favorite things of hers that I have is her train case. Such a lovely reminder of a different time, you know? I always think it’s a Samsonite, but, it’s an American Tourister. Isn’t it so pretty?

And you know what’s super cool? I just discovered, that, apparently - train cases are coming back in fashion! A girlfriend and I went into a little boutique here in town, and they had the cutest modern, but old-fashioned, train cases! It was really cool - it was the perfect mix of old and new. And I absolutely love that they are coming back in style!

Gawd, I miss her, though! Sometimes it feels as if she died this morning, it hurts so bad. She passed away, though, on December 9, 1996. Three weeks after my daughter, Sammie Clare Mae, was born.

I just can’t wait to get to Heaven so I can hug her again. I love life, I love being alive, but, I am so looking forward to seeing her again!

(And I’m not crying! I swear! There’s no crying in blogging!)

…you’d be out with the trash, old man! Ugh!! That man of mine frustrates me to no end, but, then he comes in looking all cute and handsome and sexy, and my mind just goes blank!

Don’t you just hate that?! Ugh! I keep telling him, “You sure are cute for such a big jerk!” It seems like I’ve been saying that a lot lately. Ha! He just laughs.

And he’s got these cargo pants that someone gave him for a gift, and he looks so cute in them! I don’t know what it is about cargo pants - but, I just love guys, especially mine - in them! And do you know what the big creep went and did?! He shrunk them! He shrunk them! Agh. *shakes head* I keep telling him to quit changing the settings on the washer, but, he just won’t listen to me! He says, “Oh, it’s fine, that’s where I want it. It doesn’t shrink the clothes.” Yeah, right!

So now the only time he wears them is when he is working in the yard or in the shed or something. Dork! I found some online at volcom clothing, but, damn! Those suckers are $150! Uh, no, I don’t think so. You can look cute in your cheap Wranglers. Heh.

We weren’t really in a tree, it was more like a stall. And we weren’t sitting - we were standing. And yes - I’m still in love with him. I’m still in love with Sylvester Stallone. And I’m quite sure he is in love with me. How do I know? Well - duh! He wanted to watch a movie with me last night! That’s a sure sign of true love, right?

We were at this strange place where people watch movies, but, instead of a whole bunch of people in one big theater - just one or two or three people go in a small stall to watch the movie of their choice. And yep, you guessed it - Sly came in my stall with me to watch a movie. I’m telling you - he’s madly in love. It’s a sure thing.

I wonder - is it wrong to be in love with a man who’s just eighteen days older than my own mother? Hm, I guess not. What’s that you say? He’s got a wife? Eh! Look, I’ve been in love with him for a very long time! I’d say since about 1976, when Rocky first came out. The true depth of my love didn’t really blossom until, I think, Rocky III. But look, by 1982, when First Blood came out - that was IT! I was so hooked, there was no turning back! Has she loved him that long? Huh? Has she?

The year 1982 was probably about the point my ‘Sly wall’ began. Yes, I had a ‘Sly wall’. One whole wall in my bedroom covered with my main man. My dad used to like to tease me - I wouldn’t be surprised if the words ‘half pint’ showed up here in my comments! Yes, Daddy took on the issue of Sly’s height. Look, I can deal with it - it’s fine. He’s taller than I, isn’t he? That’s just perfect.

Ok, look how cute he is! You know that wife chick of his - well, they have three precious baby girls together. And they all have the middle name ‘Rose’. Very sweet! Anyway, he is concerned about their being able to protect themselves, and he’s teaching them all to box, and he says…

“I’m so worried about the guys coming up to them that I would love them to be able to smack a guy right off a bar stool. I would feel very confident in them going out at night if they could take all the guys in the neighborhood.”

*Swoooooon* I love him! I wish he’d come teach Sammie! Heck - I wish he’d come teach me! I’ve always wanted to be a strong, tough bitch. Some people might say I already am…but, really - I’ve only broken one of Mark’s bones. Just one. That’s nothing.

That’s right, folks - you heard it here first! That is, of course, unless you’ve been watching the Alabama news. You haven’t, have you? Well, we are under a tornado watch until 6pm. Tornado watch? A few days after Christmas? That is so weird. And it has been in effect all day. That is a long tornado watch, too. My poor little outdoor Christmas tree keeps getting knocked over on the balcony. I need some little tray doohickey to put underneath it so that I can bring it in. Or there is going to be a sailing Christmas tree pretty soon! First the kids look up and see Santa’s sleigh flying through the air, then they wait a few days and see a Christmas tree sailing through the air! Ha!

I was reading Jason Moffat’s blog, and he so generously shared (haha!) with us this video of his friend, Kyle Cease - doing stand up. I’m a little sarcastic, because, the firestorm that ensued in Jason’s comments was amazing! Let me just tell you, straight up, there is some very colorful language in Kyle’s act. And some of Jason’s subscribers were none too happy with that fact.

Kyle is darn funny, though - I enjoyed his humor. Watch the video of Kyle Cease and see what you think. And then, if you like it as much as I did, go vote for him!

I enjoyed it so much, that I visited Kyle’s MySpace page and watched some more videos there, too! I absolutely loved ‘The Real World’ - cracked me up! Especially the bloopers at the end - I was busting up right along with Kyle and his friend!

I’ve spent the last hour on a new site that is in beta and I’m having so much fun! The site is called Rankrz and it is all about user-generated rankings. Rankings on what? you ask… Rankings on all kinds of things - anything and everything! That is one of the things that is so cool about it, because, you can build a ranking list for a very focused niche, if you want to. There are other ranking-type sites out there, but, none for very focused niches. And what happens is I start a ranking list, and then others start ranking lists on the same topic (or keyword) and then those lists are aggregated. The first thought that came to my mind was that my friend, Loretta, could start some kind of cross-stitch ranking list. And then others could come in and do the same thing. And you wind up with all the separate lists, and the big, combined list.

I made a list for some of my favorite movies:

It is really helpful if you enter a description for each one of your selections. Thinking of one of the ways that it is helpful to do so, brings me to another really cool thing about Rankrz. You can make money by participating in this fun, new ranking site. You can do so through Amazon and Google Adsense. You just enter your ID’s for both of those sites in your profile, and you will be able to participate in revenue sharing on the site. And one girl’s list of stuff she liked, I noticed Amazon text links were showing up in her descriptions! So describing your entries can definitely be helpful!

So come on over, and rank stuff with me - this could be fun! I’m serious! (Or I’m just an internet nerd!)

Check out our Christmas morning and our awesome musical surprises for the kids! We’re going to be the coolest, hippest family on the block! Come on over for a jam session any time!

Part Two: