Happy New Year 2012

Happy New Year!!!  I sure hope this year is gonna be better than last.  I'm really hoping to get organized this year.  I've got to get our personal papers in order and show the kids where everything is just in case the Lord takes Donald and me.  Not saying He will anytime soon, but we should always be prepared for that.  So that's what I'm gonna work on in the coming weeks. 

We had a very good new year's eve.  Here's our pictures:

It was so nice having the kids come by this evening.  It really makes my day.  I love those treasures the Lord gave me. 

A New Year Already

Tomorrow is new year's eve.  Wow.  I just can't believe how fast the years go by these days.  It's true, the older you get the fast time flies.  I haven't bought our Sparkling Grape Juice yet, but I might make my own this year.  I'm going to try something tomorrow.  Shhh, don't tell dd. 

Christmas Eve we went to dd's church service and we had our picture taken there.

Honestly, I think my face muscles have problems.  I feel as if I'm smiling, but it looks like I'm not.  This has got me to thinking about old pictures I see of families members who don't smile.  Maybe thy thought they were smiling, but it didn't show up in the picture. LOL  Well, tomorrow the tree comes down.  I have to find space for presents we got.  I did spend today cleaning up.  I like filling up the trash can because that means the house is getting cleaned.

The night we went to the Gaylord Center at the National Harbor dh dropped his camera and it didn't work after that.  We too it back to Best Buy to see if I bought a warranty on it and thank goodness I did.  They don't make his camera anymore so we got another brand, brand new and it's and upgrade!!  Super.  I told him not to drop this one.  I hope he listens!  Hahaha. 



Here's the one he had



Here's the one he got



Awesome.  A couple of years ago dd left her camera in her hot car and the gel inside of it melted.  Thank goodness I had bought a warranty on that because they fixed it at no cost. 

Hope  everyone has a happy new year's.

Ice

What an awesome time we had at the Gaylord Center at the National Harbor tonight.  Ice has been there for a couple of weeks; we never been to it but it was really a neat, intersting thing to see.  If you haven't been to an Ice show I recommend it.  The sculpture of the ice, the colors, the 5 degrees in the room...definitely a wintery thing to do.

We took pictures with dh's camera, but then he dropped it and it sorta broke.  I'm hoping I can get the pictures off his sims card.



It's Amazing How Things Always Come Together

Here's our tree this year.  What's funny about THIS tree THIS year is that it's got decorations on it.  Normally, we do not put decorations on it anymore.  It all started when the kids were teenagers and they refused to help decorate the tree.  So I decided at that time that we'd just put the tree up (the lights were included) and plug in the tree and that would be it.  This year dh and I put the tree up together and I said don't worry about decorations.  But I was out with dd the next day and while I was out dh decorated the tree.  As I was putting presents under the tree I didn't notice at first it had ornaments on it, but started laughing when I realized what dh had done.  So, while he was on the computer I got my icicles and put those on the three.  Hahah...it was on Christmas morning that he noticed I put icicles on it. 

But it's funny how things all fall into place even when you feel you don't have it all together.  I always forget to give the present...doesn't matter if it's their birthday or Christmas and of course, I did it again this year.  I had a present for ds that I didn't give him.  I may see him on Thursday so I will give it to them then.  We had a great time opening gifts.




Dh and his new hat

 


I got a 'pier' for my beach living room

 




DD in her safety glasses and her new tool bag

 


DS's blue kilt..no...it's a towel wrap

 

We had ham, potato salad and other goodies for dinner.

It was a great day.....until dd went home.  At about 10:30pm someone started knocking on her door.  Her roommate is out of town and she was taking my advise; she wasn't answering the door.  Then, whoever it was went outside and was ringing her buzzer.  When she didn't respond to that she called me.  I was ready to get in my car.  Well, it ended up that the person knocking on her door was the home association's head man.  Unfortunately, the downstairs condo was having a water leak and it ended up being my dd's toilet that was leaking.  They had to call the plumber at midnight just to fix the problem until my dd can call the other plumber that they use tomorrow.  A terrible way to end Christmas, wouldn't you say? 

I'm tired so will close for now.



Merry Christmas

Well, I got every done except come baking that I wanted to do, but I can do it tomorrow or even his week.  No biggie.  The stocking are hung on the fireplace, the tree up, decorated with presents under it waiting to be opened.  Tomorrow (well, today now), the children will arrive and we will open gifts, then have lunch.  It's kinda sad that we don't have breakfast together anymore, but life changes from time to time, doesn't it? 

Everyone have a great Christmas!

Crochet Christmas Stocking

I just finished crocheting my first Christmas stocking.  I'm not sure I like the way it came out, but it was my first one and I was creating it as I went.  I'm really hard on myself when I make something because I see the faults with it.  Oh well, I'm learning as I go along!

How Time Flies

I think one or two days this month I have really thought about Christmas.  What I really have been reflecting on are two things:  the first has been my parents.  They made Christmas so magical for us when we were kids.  See, my mother had these plug in candles that she used to put in the windows.  She also had a read wreath she'd hang up.  When they came out of the closet the magic would begin.  It started to feel like Christmas...even though, we were not allowed to put the tree up.  Santa always put the tree up on Christmas Eve.  While everybody at school had their trees up and presents under it, we never did.  But I'll tell ya....going to bed on Christmas Eve with a plain house and then waking up the next morning to a beautiful Christmas tree, lights and tons of presents under it was just magical!  However, as the we grew older and moved out of the house, mom would tell me she wasn't putting up a tree and I would feel sad that she did not continue with the magic I remembered.  Now that my kids are gone I totally understand where my mom was coming from.  I'm just like her.  I have not decorated the house, inside or out, I really don't want to think about dragging out the tree.  It just seems so overwhelming.  There are no kids here anyway to make it magical.  No like in the old days.  And second, how much I miss my kids being young...and I miss the children I no longer have here on earth with me. 

I've got to finish shopping; still have stuff to do.  I'll get it done on time, though.  I always do.  Happy shopping.

Christmas Will be Here in no Time

I can't believe how fast the days are flying by.  It's unreal.  People are putting up their trees..speaking of which, I can't believe the price of trees this year.  Wow!  It's $30 around here.  Unreal.  Anyway, I really need to start baking some fattening goodies...at least some cookies, for sure.  I got the mix and I got the eggs...I need a fire lit under me...haha.  I've got some phone calls to make tomorrow so and a couple of errands so maybe I'll get a little baking in.  The house would smell so homey.  Back in the day my mom used to have this thing...I don't even know what it was called, but it was round like a barrell and it had about six different levels to it, each level was a tray where you could put cookies in.  Every year we'd take a weekend and bake tons of cookies and she'd have that barrell cookie thing filled up.  Yum.  Sometimes memories can be good for something. 

I have to finish shopping....it's hard this time of year.  I wish sometimes I was rich so that I could buy without having the weight of debt on my shoulders.  Somehow this year I have to get the debt down and out of my life.  Well, as much debt as I can. 

Which brings me to new resolutions.  I don't think I made any last year and if I did I forgot them.  Oh well.

Dh and I were in Bob Evans tonight with one of our chapters (we are area reps with the Christian Motorcyclists Association) and my brother and his wife were there having dinner.  Then one of our friends asked if we were twins, maternal twins because we looked exactly alike.  Say what?  My brother has a white mustache...so com'on.