I overheard a couple of co-workers talking today. One was complaining about not having enough room to put up a Christmas tree. The other said, “Put up a picture of tree on your wall, then tape pictures of gifts underneath and point them out to everyone …here’s your gift. Oh, and over here, this one is yours…”

Ha!

That made me laugh.

I asked my co-worker if he was related to the Grinch, and then I told him that I absolutely love his idea. I could already see the look on my kids’ faces as I put up my paper tree and paper gifts.

Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha…

“Run, Stacy! Go as fast as you can! Don’t let him take it away from you! Go!”

My mother pressed something into my hand and I ran. Immediately. Adrenaline pumped through my veins and I darted past him, leaped over an irrigation canal, ran through an apple orchard, and tumbled down a hill into town. I scrambled back to my feet and didn’t stop running until I reached the local warehouse and found an empty apple bin at the very back of the lot to climb inside of and hide. My lungs felt raw; burning. My sides ached. My heart thundered in my ears and I cursed it for lack of hearing. Had I run fast enough? Was he behind me all the way? I strained to listen for footsteps, for an angry voice. I fought to control the pounding of my heart. It seemed to take eons for my breathing to return to normal. It wasn’t until then before I opened my hand and stared at the car key squeezed so hard in my palm, it left an imprint on my soul.

I was nine years old.

I had accomplished my mission.

Missed out on dinner.

It was a long walk back home, hours later, alone and in the dark …uphill all the way.

That’s life.

Last night I dreamt that I was in a race to stop the Winds of Chaos from destroying the world.

I was driving super fast in my SUV, lights a-blazing.
(I don’t have an SUV in my waking life, let alone one with a blazing light on the hood. But this is a dream, so anything is possible…)

It was raining (white rain, like a sheet of wet cloud) and the wind was fierce, blowing all sorts of debris all around. Newspapers. Hats. And other stuff. I was pretty sure it’d blow me to Timbuktu if I tried to get out of my vehicle. I had no immediate plans to do that.

I stopped in front of a building that had three flagpoles in front of it, and looked to my right. There was something I needed to see over there.
(…Can’t for-the-life-of-me remember what.)

Movement caught my eye and I looked back to the flagpoles, which were in front of me, but just slightly off to the left. The Winds of Chaos were there. They were dressed in kick-ass, mid-calf, black-leather boots, black-leather mini-skirts, black leather jackets, black sunglasses, and they all had shoulder-length black hair in a 1950′s sort of ‘do. Go figure. I noticed that their hair wasn’t blowing in the wind.

That annoyed me.

A lot.

They hid behind the flagpoles …or so they thought. I mean, really. I could see them. And OOPS!

One of them saw me too.

I wasn’t supposed to let that happen.

She gave me a look that made me hold my breath. Probably because somewhere in the back of my freaked out brain, I thought if I didn’t breathe, she wouldn’t be able to see me anymore.
(…Dream logic. It’s always a crapshoot.)

It didn’t work. She leapt on to the hood of my SUV, her eyes never leaving mine. She reached down and ripped out my really cool siren/light. I saw the wires dangling, saw her satisfied smirk, and all I could think of at the moment was, Bitch. I really liked that light.

And then I realized that it wasn’t about the light, it was about saving the world.
(…how easily one forgets…)

That was when Russell Crowe showed up. It was the most amazing, heart throbbing, OMG! That’s Russell Crowe! moment of my life.
(My dream life.)

He looked like he was in dire need of new clothes, a shave, and a bath. But he was still sexy, dressed in a brown duster and stocking cap. (I imagine he had something on underneath as well.) He flew by in his beat up ol’ beige station wagon and blared his horn. For some reason, this made the Winds of Chaos forget all about me and take up chase. They gusted after him.

(Who wouldn’t?)

So I threw my gear in reverse, spun around and stepped on the gas. I had to get to {I dunno where} before the Winds of Chaos came after me again. And then I had to get the {thingmajig} and place it in the {I dunno what} before the WoC’s could stop me. If I succeeded, it would render them powerless and thusly the world would be saved.

By me.

‘Cuz I’m just that fantastic.
(…in my dreams.)

But then I woke up. Suddenly. Realized the sun was trying to shine through my ‘blackout’ curtains, which never happens at 5:30 in the morning when my alarm goes off. I normally get up before the sun. So I glared at my malfunctioning alarm clock, said a very bad word, and jumped up outta bed to get ready for work.

Actually, it was only a mildly bad word.

And I didn’t really jump.

But I did throw back the covers.

Got to work 40 minutes late.

But they didn’t mind.

I guess they like me.

If they only knew…

I was pleasantly sleepy sometime around 1:30 or so last night (or early this morning, depending upon your view). I was content. So very content. It had been a wonderful evening. I was ready to lay my head upon my pillow and drift off into dreamland.

But damn the History channel!

It grabbed my interest. I had to watch it. Had to, I tell ya. It was about aliens, a freaky acorn shaped time machine, and the connection of both in regards to Hitler, or vice-versa. Did you know that the swastika is actually a 3000 year old Sanskrit that can be translated as “to be good”? According to the History channel, the swastika also referred to an ancient Hindu belief of an alien race of supreme beings by the name of Aryans.

Interesting.

I finally fell asleep around 2:30 am, though I may have dosed off for 5 minutes here and there throughout the program.

Around 4:30 am my daughter’s cat, Nightmare, woke me by knocking things off of my book shelves, pouncing on my toes, and attacking my dog’s tail. Normally I wouldn’t let him in my room at night, but my daughter was staying the night at a friend’s house and Nightmare kept yowling something pitiful for her. Apparently he doesn’t like being left alone.

I gently shooed him out of my room, though. Couldn’t take worrying over what he was knocking down that I wouldn’t find come morning, so figured his yowling was less bothersome.

Fell back asleep.

At 5:30 am, I awoke to a horrific noise. It sounded as though something heavy came crashing to the floor, followed by a bunch of other, smaller somethings clanking and tumbling about. I sat bolt upright, terrified that Nightmare had somehow got back into my room and was now crushed beneath that ‘something heavy’. It was dark. I couldn’t see, and I couldn’t imagine what had caused the ruckus. I turned on the light, threw the covers back, got out of bed and yelled at the cat.

“Damn it, Nightmare! You better not be squashed!”

How was I going to explain that to my daughter?

But it wasn’t the cat. Oh, he was back in my room, alright. When I turned on the light and looked around, however, he was sitting on the corner of my desk, next to my laptop, as nonchalant and handsome as you please. I looked in the opposite direction to find that the heavy-wooded mirror and frame above my dresser had fallen to the floor. It had taken several knick-knacks, hair care products, and a metal and glass candle holder down along with it. Miraculously, absolutely nothing broke! Not even the mirror. The metal frame to my candle holder was bent, but the glass shade had rolled beneath my bed, undamaged.

Crazy.

Even crazier. I cannot find any reason whatsoever as to why the mirror fell in the first place. The nail in the wall was unmoved, looked perfectly fine. The metal hanger on the back of the mirror was intact.

It. Shouldn’t. Have. Gone. Boom.

But it did.

I picked everything up, shooed the cat back outta the room. Locked the door. Slid back under the covers and fell asleep.

6:30 am, I received a phone call from a very dear, and somewhat giddy friend. {lol} He was happy. I was happy for him. I fell back asleep with a smile. (It was a win for the team!)

Around 7:15 am my daughter texted me from her friend’s house. She had a belly ache and couldn’t sleep. Since I knew that I’d likely be crashed out later in the afternoon, I offered to come and pick her up early. So I got up (ha, ha) and drove out to get her.

Now, I’m wide awake. And oddly enough, I have a hankering for some lemon Jello.

Is it really Sunday already?

How’s your weekend coming along?

I first started blogging in September of 2005. More than five years ago. Dorannes.com was my home, then, my journal; it became my open invitation to all the friends and amazing people I had yet to meet. And it was a fascinating journey. It was good times, good memories. It was so much more than I could ever truly express in words. I enjoyed or otherwise learned from every single moment. But in each person’s life there comes a time for change, a time of transition. That’s where I’m at right now. I’m moving around the furniture. I’m dusting off the old (where it will sit fondly memorialized upon a shelf), while I present the new.

This is a new chapter for me, a new journal. I’m still the same ‘ol Stacy that most of you have come to know and love (and some just shake their heads at in amusement …or confusion). I’m dreaming on, here at my new digs, all prettied up in my favorite hues of blue. This is where I will (once again) share all the random and nonsensical thoughts that pop into my head. Oh, joy! Among other such delights, you’ll find snippets of my fiction here, too. And poetry (by moi, and others who are much more gifted or skilled in the art than I).

Things are still ‘under construction’, but open for perusal. I’ll be busy tweaking the template, adding more pages, honing the ones that I have, and rebuilding my blogroll. (Humbuggers. I didn’t have a backup of that!) All comments will currently be held for moderation, at least until I can find a killer program for zapping spam. Anyhoo…

Come on in!

There’s cookies in the kitchen, warm from the oven. Coffee, steaming hot in the pot. About 3 different types of Green tea, some Earl Grey, and English Breakfast as well. Cold beverage of your choice in the fridge. The remote is likely stuck under a couch cushion somewhere, but…

Make yourself at home!

Take off your shoes. Kick back. Say ‘hello’ or just have a look about.

But most importantly of all…

Welcome!

It’s SO good to see you.

Please check back again soon.

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