Happy New Year's Eve - Day 365

I haven't been good at keeping up with my blog these last few months. I have been enjoying a good Winter Break, though. The first week was pretty busy, getting ready for Christmas. This week, we've taken down all the decorations except the outside Christmas lights...it feels good to have it down and know that I won't be scrambling to do it on Sunday. I have done 4 mystery shops - two movie theaters (one successful, one not) and two Denny's (one successful, one not). Either way, I get my food and movie ticket paid for plus a little extra. We enjoyed Sherlock...just the type of movie Nicholas was hoping to see (he wasn't excited to go see Avatar...I had to tell him I'd pay for his friend to go with us before he agreed to go...)

The boys are at Dan's tonight and tomorrow. My parents are coming over tonight for games and a movie. I'm sure Snickers and the kittens will also keep us entertained. It's been a fairly good year except for the duplex's expenses. Just when we think we're ahead money-wise, something comes up with the duplex. The well had to be redrilled and is now finished, although they need to buy a new storage tank and get that hooked up. Time to sell!

Relax was my word of the year (thanks to my friend Beth who made this for me). I certainly took time to do that, but also had stressful times. September was a month that I would like to forget and hope I never have a month like that again. With breaks in Nov. and Dec., I feel ready for the new year. I need to choose a new word for next year but hey, I have until tomorrow, right? :) Maybe there's a single word that means 'to NOT procrastinate'... Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas Morning - Day 359

We started the morning here...Santa brought the boys Guitar Hero and Band Hero 5 plus an extra guitar.
Then we all openee our stockings. Some people got some cute things!
Mama and Papa came over to watch the boys open presents. They brought some toys for the cats. This one's a hit with Zoey.
Topaz thought the bags were a lot of fun.

Snickers always prefers the paper. He loves Christmas-time.

Part two will be coming up shortly.

Merry Christmas Eve! - Day 358

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and joyful times with family and friend.
(And if you're wondering about the tree, it's a bit sparse due to some tree-climbing kittens...) :)

Unexpected Gift - Day 357

I got a great unexpected gift today waiting for me on my porch. Lesa, who is in my book group, left me an ornament and a wonderful little note thanking me for keeping our little group going. Isn't this a great ornament?

Dress Your Best - Day 352

This was spirit week for the boys and today was Dress Your Best day.



Notice that Matthew doesn't have his braces on! He got them off yesterday. He got them on about a week before Nicholas, and got them off about 9 months later. Now they both have beautiful teeth!

Yesterday's Snow - Day 348

It snowed a bit yesterday and Matthew took Zoey outside. First she walked in the snow but started shivering, so Matthew put her in his coat. I put Topaz on Snickers' old leash and walked her outside a bit (she will run and hide under a car when she gets outside...naughty little kitten). She didn't like the snow much. This morning, the boys got to sleep in for a 2 hour delay. I had to go to work on time, part of the only school district in the area without a delay (darn). The roads were just wet and it was raining so actually it was a pretty good call.

Annual Gift Exchange - Day 347

This year our yearly gift exchange was at The Old Spaghetti Factory. We had a good lunch and got sort of caught up on things that are going on in each others' lives...it's so hard for six people to talk, eat, and exchange gifts in 2 hours. Actually, I don't feel caught up. I "won" a neat gift, some battery powered wax candles. They are perfect because every time Snickers sees a candle, he tries to bat it off the shelf/window sill. I'm sure the kittens would cause problems with them as well. They came with batteries and flicker at different times so they really look like they're burning! Plus, they don't have the overwhelming smell many candles have(although they do have a subtle vanilla scent.) In the picture: Pam, Me, Carol C., Carol F., Kim, and Jenny.

Hallelujah! - Day 343

A friend shared this on Facebook this morning and it sure started my day out right. I shared it there, but thought I should put it on my blog as well.

Sick Boy - Day 339

It sure is getting hard to blog during the week!

I had Friday off (conference days...I worked late two evenings, earned a full day off). While I was home, I checked the H1N1 site for shot availability. I had called the doctor's office earlier in the week but at that time kids ages 4-18 had to have a chronic "identified" illness. Matthew's yearly pneumonia and recent mono didn't qualify him like I thought it would. Yesterday, they lifted that criteria so I got him an appointment at Fred Meyer for Monday afternoon and wouldn't you know it, he came home from school with a fever. Today the fever has been 101.7 and .8. He can't get the shot if he's sick. He's upstairs sleeping right now. He says his ribs hurt when he coughs...I've loaded him up with vitamin C and D. Hopefully he won't be sick too long.