HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
I hope all my friends and acquaintances have a wonderful new year full of exciting surprises, pockets overfull with money and all the love you can stand!
Remember that the past is gone and tomorrow is a wonderful new adventure waiting to happen.
Make your adventure a good one!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Well, they both are giving the peace sign... right?

Merry Christmas my friends.

These two beautiful pictures were taken by my wonderful 14 year old son. He can work the camera like no one's business. Of course you know I had to buy him his own this year.

This has been a very trying holiday season. No one received a bonus at work this year because of one person deciding to embezzle money (and LOTS of it). I used cash and cash only to Christmas shop. That worked out really well. I felt a little guilty about not buying for people I usually buy for. But that's O.K. who needs stuff anyway. Stuff never really makes you happy anyway. The hubby and I had a pact that neither of us were to buy for the other, so I didn't. He did. Shame on him! Now I feel bad. He bought me a set of onion soup bowls. I don't eat it, but I do make a mean onion soup. I guess he was trying to give me a hint or something... I miss my parents today. I will see them next weekend, that's cool. We will spend the rest of the day with friends and I am looking forward to that.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

...and of course to be P.C. whatever you do and don't celebrate, I hope today is a wonderful day anyway!

Merry Christmas

Sorry folks, my computer at home is down and as soon as it is back up I will have a proper post for you.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

It has been one whole year...

The scumbag who murdered my nephew is still free and I am pissed. This article was in the paper. I can not convey in words how much it still hurts. It is still so very raw. I wish I could take the pain away from his mother. She deserves justice. She deserves to have a good night sleep. I wish I could go back in time and change things so this never happened. I was very close to my nephew as you all know. We had a special bond. (Q knows exactly what I mean.) I have said on many occasions that he is the reason I have children. When I was pregnant I only had one wish and that was,"if my kids turn out 1/2 as good and 1/2 as smart as my nephew, I've got it made." He made me realize that children really are awesome. He loved my children and always wanted to know how they were doing, what they were doing and how they were doing in school. He always knew he had an open invitation here and that our doors were always open to him no matter what. I think that gave him a different sense of belonging. Well, he knew that he was always wanted. His mother was always careful to let him know that he was loved without condition. But with us he knew that he could always count on us for anything. He never asked for anything. If he ever had to, he knew we would accommodate him. His wife must be a wonderful person because he was such an incredible person. I have never met his son. We always had plans for him to come visit with his family. I still plan on going to see them and hold on tight to them and never let them go.

My angel has his wings and I believe he is in a wonderful place but I am selfish enough to miss him. Not a day has passed that I haven't thought about him, his sister, his mother, his wife and their baby.

Luis-Fernandito I miss you so very much. When you left so suddenly you took a great part of me with you. I love you and I will miss you until we meet again...

Rest in peace my boy...

Work with me here...
I am trying really hard to get in to the spirit of things. It is one week before Christmas and I still haven't started shopping yet. I fear that the kids will be terribly disappointed this year. It will be O.K. they know we are not made of money. We did get the shopping done for our adopted family at the battered woman's shelter. Hubby and I are delivering them after work today. I keep trying to tell myself that it is not all about the gifts, but when you are 13 and 14 years old it kind of is. My daughter wanted to give something to her friends at school but we don't have the cash so I showed her how to make little felt mice with candy cane tails. She made a bunch of them last night and took them to school today. (but they have real candy canes) That is better than something she bought anyway. I made a snowball coffee cake last night so she could take it in and share it with the class. They are having a "Holiday" party. (I hate all that PC crap!) It's Christmas damn it!
Anyway, this weekend we are spending it with my family down in Florida. Just got a call from my SIL saying that my BRO2 was in a motorcycle accident Monday and spent the night in the hospital. He is O.K. and on the mend. Poor guy. Hey at least he is here and alive and that is all that counts!
Wish me luck and send lots of good karma my way so I can make this Christmas a special one for my kids.

Bah-Humbug!

This year I am having a hard time with gifts for my children. They are good kids and deserve good things. I have always had the same budget for the kids but this year the things they want are much more expensive so that money doesn't buy as much. I have one thing for my daughter so far and nothing for my son.
Yes, I know Christmas is next week.
It snuck up on me again this year. My son took some good pictures of our Christmas tree and the lights on the house. I will post them soon.
I have my last bunco game of the year on Thursday night. Looks like we have to gear up for next year.

On a side note I saw the little girl who just lost her father getting on the bus this morning. She always waves at me and I always wave back. She looked so very sad this morning. I wish I could make all her hurt go away.

ARE YOU FOR SERIOUS?


My kids and I joke around asking each other that very question...
It just sounds so stupid.
Speaking of stupid... I am finally feeling better except I still have a terrible headache that I have had since last Tuesday. I think it's my new prescription for my glasses so I am not wearing them right now. Anyway, the people downstairs from us decided to paint their office with some horribly smelly (ie: toxic) paint. Now our office is smelly, thanks a lot, that helps my head! NOT! We have an auditor coming in today. Let us hope that all is well and we don't end up closing up shop. That would really suck to lose our jobs right before Christmas.

Speaking of sucking... I called my daughter on my way home Friday afternoon and she informed me that one of her friend's father had passed away that morning. I didn't want to believe it. He was only 39. When my kids were small I worked at a daycare and this little girl was one of my babies. I have known the family for quite a while. They are such a good family and he was a very involved and devoted father. I can say that for a fact. My heart breaks for the family. Makes me really take stock in my family and makes me think about my and my husband's own mortality. I hope they had all their affairs in order. We have Wills and Living Power of Attorneys and a good bit of life insurance.
Please take a minute and hug your family and your spouses. Hug them because K can no longer hug her husband and little K can no longer sit on her father's lap.

Need I say more?

*barf*

Saturday we finally celebrated Babygirl's birthday. We went to Starcastle, the kids roller skated and laser tagged. The hubby had a headache before he got there and we both had one when we left. I swear that place is just a petri dish looking for a person to infect. I know better than to eat anything there so I just drank Sierra Mist which is always good. I don't skate so I just sat out with our stuff and chilled. I take that back, I skated there once. My sweet nephew (R.I.P.) talked me in to going out on to the "ice" once a looong time ago. For him I would have moved Heaven and earth. So of course he and I went a couple of times around. We held each other up and of course we had a good laugh about me on skates... I have not skated since then. It's O.K. my hubby skates with the kids and he is really good at it. They had fun and we ended up having 3 extra kids at the house. 2 for my daughter and 1 for my son. I started feeling a little unwell Sunday night. I was up all night with an upset stomach (greeeeaaaat...). I got up yesterday morning and went to work only to come home 2 hours later. I have had a close bond with Imodium ever since... I didn't go to work today but I am going tomorrow come Hell or high water.

Wish me luck.

*hanging head in shame...*

I am ashamed and embarrassed....
I confess....
I bought a Nintendo DS for my daughter for her 13th birthday and I have logged in far more hours on that thing than she has. She is sweet to let me play with it but she needs to take it away from me and hide it already!!! I did break away from it last night and played a round of UNO which I lost and a round of UNO Spin which I also lost. Then after putting them to bed I again played on the Nintendo DS...

MAKE IT STOP!!!
*grin*

~QUICK RECAP~

TG dinner was awesome as expected!
Tysgirl texted me and made my day.
My brother has lost a little weight and looks like he is feeling a lot better.
My parents are still sweet.
Dad seems to be slipping a little. He tries to think of a word and it won't come to him, that's new.
My nephew stayed out of my face which was a wonderful thing.
My kids behaved good, that was awesome.
My computer at the house is down right now so I can't come on here as often as need be.
Work is sucking real bad right now.
Saxby won, that's a good thing.