Nancy, the pine cone ornament is so cute. I know the parents will really enjoy them. And there were probably easy enough for the little ones to do a lot of the process themselves. Hope your storm isn't too bad. By mid morning the wind had stopped and that made all the difference. Not sure how much snow we really got as it was blowing so much. The worst was that we had rain before the snow started so the roads were slick. The sun this afternoon melted most of it but it will probably re-freeze over night And yes I did do to work today. I just took it slow and careful and gave myself plenty of time.

Lizzy, loved the pics of DH, Ruby and the grand pup! Hope the girls don't have any weather problems and all make it to your home safely.

Paula, hope the rain doesn't turn to snow/ice - that is what is so bad.

Oh, just about forgot to post this! I am watching a country Christmas special on TV and the were singing my favorite Christmas carol - Oh Holy Night - and I had to stop and listen.

Pat, how did the wrapping go?

I made some Chex mix and whole wheat snickerdoodles tonight. Want to try a couple more things tomorrow evening or this weekend. I want to have a box of goodies to send home with everyone on Monday.

Ohhh, Paula.....it sounds like your winter storm is coming in. I hope you don't lose your power, especially with coming up on the weekend. If you do venture out, do be careful!

We are having a lively political discussion here...which I hope will be the only one this vacation, but I doubt it. My older daughter and my husband often lock horns over this type of thing.

Tomorrow, we are going to take Sarah's dog to our vet as his vet in Houston said he has a heart murmur. They said a variety of other things, but then said they would not do any more testing of him for several months. She is concerned about him and we suggested she get a second opinion from out vet here who is one of the best vets in the county. (She tends to be an extreme worrier.) I also want to get the packing boxes tomorrow and then I want to do the present wrapping. Otherwise, I don't have plans. If I can get Sarah to work on her books, I'll drag the wrapping stuff upstairs and wrap gifts at the same time.

I think our weather is going to warm up and stabilize for a few days, but by Christmas, I think it's going to be cold and rainy. I love the cold and rainy....I'm really sick of the sun. I know some of you probably think I'm crazy, but really, how much sunshine can a person tolerate?

I think tomorrow evening, we'll have an enchilada casserole we bought that is frozen. We also bought some broccoli to steam which we can have to go with that.

Alright folks....take care....stay warm....drive safely!

good evening...been a long day, but that is good, because I can use all the extra hours I can get.

Paula, glad you ended up with no snow. While it is beautiful most times, not so when there are things to be done. We have had the howling winds here and they will continue through tomorrow. Cuts right through to the bone. I had to go out this morning to make a society bank deposit and mail some member pkts, as well as a personal bank deposit (different banks). There were minimal waits, so I was able to get back home quickly.
I worked on wrapping the few last gifts. Can I tell you how much I despise those molded plastic boxes for toys. So hard to wrap and I didn't the right size gift bags. I refused to buy any, because I am using up the wrapping stuff I have on hand. In fact I have enough for next year also I think. I am also making do with tags and ribbon.

Did you get all that food prepped? Seemed like a lot of kitchen time. But you do it often. Probably comes easy.

Nancy, I think it is great you are going back to school. Especially if it is for your work field. I had not realized Riley was leaving before the New Year. What a wonderful experience for him though.

Lizzy, hope your vet can come up with some answers for Sarah's pup. I saw the picture you posted of Terry and both dogs. Appears the pups get along.

Rhonda, how are things going in your neck of the woods? Did you get the baking done? I quit. We have enough food to feed a small army. And I have other things to get done. Not as much decorating as I thought I would do, but I had to draw the line. I will get rid of some things when it is time to put it all away.

I need to cut some vinyl letters before I go to bed. I am hoping to call it an early night. Lots to do tomorrow and I will have Jim to keep me focused.

Good morning all...

Paula, sorry you had to survive so long without internet and cable! Glad you made it How did the tour with the girls go?

Pat, you have been so busy. Hopefully things will slow down after the holidays are over.

I had big plans for yesterday and had some problems come up and didn't get anything I wanted to do finished. So my plan for today is to clean the floors and do some baking. Other than that I am ready for our Christmas tomorrow afternoon.

Lizzy, I hope you are enjoying time with the girls.

Carrie, hope you are feeling much better and ready for your Christmas with family.

Nancy, is DS getting excited about his upcoming trip?

Laurie - where are you? Hope you have a wonderful Christmas. Give Sadie a big hug for me.

Good evening, friends. Well, the last two days have been very emotional for me. On Thursday, I found out that a family friend's husband had just passed away. He is actually around my age, perhaps a year or two younger. We have no idea why he passed away, but the news was absolutely shocking. Kat and their daughter were good friends in Middle and High School. Today was the funeral and I am just wrung out from it.

In the meantime, we have been having generally good family time. I must explain: Sarah is a good person, but she has some aspects to her personality which can be difficult. Sometimes she is very inflexible, at times, she is intolerant, and at times she is ultra sensitive. I often think she has shades of Asperger's, especially when I take a few steps back and look at a much larger picture. On the other hand, she can be very sweet and loving and a fabulous daughter. My girls are very different from each other and sometimes, when we are together as a family, there are conflicts that invariably arise. Since there is inflexibility, intolerance, and incredibly sensitivity, they become magnified very quickly.

I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I never mailed my mother's Christmas present - major failure on my part. I also have no presents wrapped....so of course, you know what I will be doing tomorrow! YIKES!

On a good note, however, the books were packed up yesterday! NO KIDDING!! There are many boxes in the bonus room, which still need to be labeled and taken to the garage. There are some odds and ends to finish moving to other parts of the house, but generally, the major work in that room is done. I still need to pack up my sewing machine and get that desk out of there. I am hoping my neighborhood fellow can help me...if not, Terry is going to have to do the major part of the moving. No matter...it will get done. I also have a lead on another fellow who could help me out. He works at my school but is only available on Sundays, but I know he would do it.

I have determined I have a TON of kid books to get rid of. I think I'm going to see if I can put them in our school's parking lot sale and then give the proceeds to the school's PTA to use for field trips and stuff like that. I am hoping that works out. We will probably have one or maybe two more parking lot sales before the year is out. After that, I guess I will bequeath the books to someone else to sell for me.

I am eager to take over all the bookshelves for my scrapping stuff and figure out how to set up my tables. I'm just excited to get rid of the clutter around my scrapping area and hopefully have dedicated spots for things. I am thinking really hard about possibly getting rid of one of my tables (or just collapsing it for now) so I'll keep you posted on what I eventually do.

Paula and Pat, I'm glad the snow skipped both of you. And, Paula, I do understand the need for sunshine to keep away the blues/depression. I just think it's hard to fathom how many days of sunshine we actually get out here - probably edging upwards toward 325 out of 365 per year. That's just too many!

Well, Pat, you sound very ready for your family gathering! How many will you have there? I know it will go well and I bet you will feel a bit frazzled when it is all over!

Rhonda, tomorrow is your family day, too.

Everyone take care.....I'll check in tomorrow! Love to all of you!

Good morning all..

Lizzy, sorry to hear about your friend's loss. It is so hard at any time but seems a little harder at this time. Hope they family can enjoy being together and not too many squabbles. But I think that goes with families. You are making great progress in the extra room. Soon you will have your own scrap area! Just think of how productive you will become. Can't wait to see all of the fantastic creations.

Paula, good plan to work on Thursday house today so you can spend Thursday with DH. Do you have big plans for tomorrow. Guess you need to call your father and tell him about his present!

Pat, I know you are probably busy getting ready for family today. Hope you have have a great family day.

Carrie, what are you up to today? Hope you are ready for the big day tomorrow!

Laurie - where are you??

Yesterday I finished up all my to dos!!! I made the bows for all the packages and remembered to wrap Amber's birthday gift. We are having her Sweet 16 party next Saturday. I also made more Chex mix, baked snickerdoodles, coconut macaroons,and peppermint meringues. This morning I put some Crock Pot Sausage Potato soup in the crock pot and also made a pot of chili. The kids will be here shortly after lunch. We will eat, have gifts, play games, etc. Then most of us will go to Candlelight Church services this evening.

I think I am ready. Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

A very Merry and Blessed Christmas to all of you! I hope that you all have sweet dreams tonight of Sugar Plum Fairies dancing.

I have been a wrapping and cooking fool the past couple days. I kind of over did it today. And something else happened that I will share another day.

Merry Christmas! Enjoy your families!

Merry, Merry Christmas to my Challenged Friends!!

No snow here...seems a bit strange but I don't mind. So many people on the roads it's better this way.

We are going to have a laid back day. Going to make stromboli and Carrie's Tortilla Soup. I already have the chicken and veggies prepped, just need to throw it together.

Laurie, glad you popped in. Sorry you have had to work such long hours, sure hope she is better soon. Don't get run down, you need to stay healthy!!

Off to fill stockings. hehe

Good morning everyone! Merry Christmas! Today will be a laid back day here. I had to stop at WM last night on my way home. 15 min before they closed! I had nothing in the house to make for Christmas dinner or anything. I was in and out of there in 5 minutes or so. There were some people who walked in a couple minutes before 8 and were taking their sweet time. I bed those workers didn't get out of there until after 9. How rude of those people. I did thank the person at the register who waited on me. I said Thank you for being here so I could pickup dinner for tomorrow. Merry Christmas. And he gave me a very tired looking smile and said Merry Christmas too. I thanked the lady at the gas station too. I had to go so bad I couldn't wait. I didn't want to stop at a rest area because they were so desolate. Didn't want to be there by myself.

I had a wonderful time with my family again. I am so blessed to have a family that laughs so much when we are together. I'm not talking a small laugh...I'm talking big belly laughs. So hearty that you can't breath. I love them all dearly!

Well thats it for now. Later!

The snow's coming down... I'm watching it fall....

Happy Boxing day!

Now today, we are in the midst of a snow storm. He went stressing off to work and I can't shovel the driveway because of the surgery. Ugh!

But we had a very nice Christmas. One of the best in several years.

Glad to hear that everyone else had a good day too.

Pat beware this crappy weather is headed your way.

Edited by user Thursday, December 27, 2012 5:49:33 AM(UTC)  | Reason: too personal

Paula, I am sorry to hear about your Dad. Good your sis was there and recognized the signs. Have a safe trip north and I will say a prayer for everything to go well. I do have to ask what Frolfing is?

I will be back in a bit to read the rest of the posts. Just wanted to catch Paula before she left.

Hello all....

Paula, sure hope things turn out well for your father. Safe travels.

Carrie, what an emotional roller coaster for you. Will be thinking about you and praying all goes well. Glad you were able to enjoy Christmas with all the family.

Laurie, glad you checked in. Sorry you had to close early but given the weather forecast, it was probably the best option. Glad you had a great time with family. Be safe in the bad weather.

Pat, loved the photos you posted and those posted by DD. Looks like all enjoyed a great day.

Lizzy, glad you had a good day of food, gifts, naps and games. That is what the holiday is all about.

I loved everything about our family get together on Monday, but Tuesday was very hard. I talked to my brother and he and his wife continue to have troubles, that they feel may not be resolved. My heart aches for him. I also learned on Monday, that Cody will become a father in March. It came as quite a surprise to me. He seems very happy, so I want to be happy for him. But on Tuesday I realized that Heather won't be here to see her grandchild and that sent me into quite a depression. The pain came rushing back. I spent the rest of the day doing nothing. Glad I had to go back to work today. It took my mind off things. I will be glad when the holidays are over.

I also want to thank all of you for the lovely cards. I relish each and every one of them.

Carrie, I have passed along the website to my brother. Thank you. Hope you had a good doctor visit today and that the sutures are history. I wouldn't rush into vacuuming Did you get all your other errands ran?

Pat, hope you had safe travels to visit family.

Paula, how is your father doing?

Nancy, I hope DS has a fun and education trip. Safe travels!

Lizzy, what have you been up to?

Laurie, how much snow did you get in your area?

Nothing new here. Just the same things.

Good morning!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Carrie I have heard of that book but have not read it. I have heard good things about it. Glad you have your sutures out. I hope it heals quickly!

Rhonda I am sorry you had a hard time getting through Tuesday. (((HUGS))) Congrats on being a G. Grandma though!

Laurie it is good to see you! The curves here always closed whenever the local schools closed. Are you open again?

Paula I hope your dad is doing OK. That was good your dad was where he was when he showed the symptoms.

Lizzy I am glad your holiday was a good one. WHen do you go back to school?

Pat what have you been up to?

We had a wonderful holiday here.

Now we are getting everything ready for Riley's trip. We just have a few things left to pack. He has to be at he airport by 4:15 tomorrow morning. We are just glad that it is the small local airport. It is only 30 minutes away and never as hectic. He will fly into the airport that is in the cities on his way home though.
Riley has actually not been feeling well. We are not sure if it is nerves or if he picked something up. He started thinking about how far away from home he will be and he thinks that may have done it. He will be with people he knows so I know he will be OK. He was feeling better last night.

Well I better get moving!

Rhonda, I have another story for you and I hope it finds comfort for you. 21 years ago Jim and I bought our first house. We had two kids and I was pretty sure I was done. Anyway there were no plans for another child and then just before the closing on our house I went to aerobics and didn't feel well. Another nurse friend of mine dragged me to the doctor and I walked out stunned. Yup, pregnant. I was upset to say the least and I had been on a medication that was harmful to the fetus. I called my mom later that day in tears. I couldn't be pregnant right now. The next day my grandma called me and told me stories about herself and my mom and said to me "Just wait a week and see how you feel." That afternoon, she was killed in a car crash. No matter how healthy the baby turned out, I knew I had to go through with the preganancy. (I don't think I would have ended it anyway because of my faith but...) Jonathan is the child that pulls my heart strings. He is exactly like my grandmother in personality and kindness. I believe God sent him because of her. I hope that this child, gives you the peace that you need. I am sending airmail Hugs and hope that it gets easier.

Pat we are getting the same snow starting around 10 tonight. 3-4 inches on top of the 6+ we have from the other day. Stay warm and dry! Renting a house on the outer banks is one of my bucket list items. Sounds fun.