I f'd up the Secret Santa.

I f’d up the Secret Santa today.  Well, actually I f’d it up last week, but I really don’t even believe that I did it, I think I was perfect and Ann was the one and, well I digress.  Here’s the poop:

Each year the staff at CPD does a Secret Santa and we have 2 or 3 days of secret gifts and then the final “reveal” is the night of the holiday dinner at a restaurant.  It is fun and during the toy drive it is about the only thing we have that is not moving at a maniacal and frantic pace.

Anyway, today was the first day of the secret phase.  When I arrived at the office this morning I had a lovely gift of a tin of Two Sisters Spiced Tea Mix (Theirs is the BEST, bar none, you will be spoiled for any other, highly recommended!).  Yea, I thought – my Secret Santa is a good one and they know what I like.  Then I went out for a meeting at 10 am and returned about 11:30.

Low and behold, I find another Secret Santa gift on my desk!  Super cute – a darling pot scrubber thing designed like a cute girl with red hair (you know that I loved that, especially if you are a regular reader of this blog) – but I was puzzled.  Why did I get 2 gifts on the same day?

Of course I immediately go to Joanna and tell her what has happened and we discuss.  I decide that my Secret Santa is Renee and she doesn’t work on Thursday and Friday, so she just decided to rush the Secret Santa season.

About an hour later the plot thickens – Joanna has found out that my Secret Santa did not give me the pot scrubber. 

Oh no – this means that I must have 2 Secret Santas which means that someone else ain’t gettin' squat.  I then send an email to find out who has done what and who has not given anyone anything, another staff member on her own goes out and buys for one person who hadn’t yet received anything, but that was in error, her Santa just had not yet delivered, well suffice to say that

I f’d up the Secret Santa.

Pray for me.

P.S.  Of course my friend Cynthia said that if I was going to give myself 2, why didn’t I just put my name on everyone’s little piece of paper so I’d get 10 gifts on day one, but my co-workers would have figured that out too quickly.

What's for lunch?

This is always a popular topic around the office.  I am always interested in what I am going to eat next, although I must admit that I am a creature of habit for breakfast.  Lately I have been having a homemade berry smoothie made with Greek Yogurt every morning – this is only on weekdays – on weekends I have steel cut oatmeal with all the fixin’s.  Got the smoothie recipe from Katie Mears’ blog (She used to work at CPD with us, but her husband made her move to Houston.  I’m still bitter.) – here’s the link, but know that I only make a half making of this:  http://isthereanywineleft.com/2011/02/13/frozen-berry-smoothies/

Anyway, I make my Katie smoothie about 8:10 am, pour it in a cup and start driving to the office.  Usually finish it about 9:30.  The food that goes into my mouth during the remainder of the day is up in the air.  I keep Wint O Green Lifesaver mints on my desk (Joanna does too – development people need mints, people!), so almost every time someone walks into my office, I take a break and open a mint.

I start thinking about lunch at about 11:00 am and usually get a read on what other people are doing (mostly Ann and Joanna are my partners in crime) and who (if anyone) needs to go get something from somewhere.

So many choices, so little time.

We have lots of great places near our office in The Meadows Foundation's Wilson Historic District:  Two Sisters, Taco Joint, and everything in the Uptown and McKinney Avenue areas too.

So many choices, so little time.

Side Note:  We also keep candy at our office at all times for the CPS Caseworkers, but a piece or two usually make it into my mouth each afternoon…

For dinner I normally cook something or just snack, and of course sometimes I go out with family or friends.  I never want for a meal.  Never.

But so many people in this great city of delicious food do want.  And many of them are children.  This morning CPD provided grocery money for 2 children (a girl age 9 and a boy age 7) who were removed from their home this week by CPS and placed with a relative.  When the police were called for a domestic disturbance at their apartment, the children and their dog were found in a filthy place with marijuana blunts on the table in reach of the kids.  Both the children and the dog were emaciated and had been searching in the trash can for food.  The kids told the police that they hadn’t eaten anything that day.  Their father was subsequently arrested for domestic violence and the children became terrified when they thought they were going to be left alone with their mother.  The mother later told CPS that she had sold their food stamps for drug money.

It makes me cry to think of all of the abundance that I enjoy and of the pitiful circumstances of these children, right here in our own community.  But because of all the generous people who support our agency, CPD is able to provide emergency food, clothing and more for these kids.

So many choices, so little time.  Thanks for choosing Community Partners of Dallas.