My last blog of the year, maybe

This is it. This is a very sad day. No, make that a very very very sad day. yes folk, today is the last day of my vacation. I have to go back to work tonight at 11:50 pm. I usually go in earlier and set up all the lines, but I guess my temporary replacement is doing it tonight. and add to that bit od really sad news, I also have to work News Years Eve. That is what I was told anyways. So that in itself means no celebrating for me. No trying my best to stay awake long enough to bring in the new year with a glass of whatever alcoholic beverage. No, I will be working, unless I can get  decrewed. It will be triple time I'm sure, but I would rather be home.

So let me recap this fabulous vacation I had. We have had a great time with Alex and Claire. they got in a pretty good vacation as well.  As for John and myself, our spare time was spent either eating or drinking. Yes, this was a drinking vacation, one more time. I sure hope my work clothes fit me still. John still has another week left, he wont go back till the 7th. I hope he is lonely without me here to keep him drinking at a regular interval.  Actually, John has no problem keeping his drink on, it was just a joke. We had a really good Christmas, I may take down my tiny tree today, if I could remember where I put the containers the decorations came in. I am just a little tired of looking at my cute little tree, and I wont do it after I go back to work.

We have a small pile of wood outside that we bought a few years back. We don't use the fireplace much, cus it is just  ineffective. Well, last night John slid the tree over and lit our first fire in about two years. it warmed the living room and had a nice ambiance about it. When this bit of wood is all gone, I am going to hire a chimney sweep and then close it up for good.

I bet you didn't notice, but there was a break in this blog writing. I got a call, a real phone call from my best bud Amber. That was so nice, we haven't been able to actually talk for so long. I miss her voice. Anyways as we talked, I undressed my little tree and put the ornaments in a bowl. I will find the containers later. So I am going to make this the end of my blog for today. I need to go get showered and dressed. I think I will donate blood today, as it is time again.

So, from me to all of you, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Have a safe and very happy new year.

Pics are here

I transfered all my flicker photos over here. I didnt realise I could do this so easily. If you look in the folder marked Not in any folder  it starts the pics of our trip. It just seemed a little silly to add the pics to a single blog if I could do this. Let me know what you think. Im sure you will anyway.

Not in any photoset

Not in any photoset

What a wonderful Holiday

Let me start this by saying I really truly hope you all had a great holiday. Cus i know I sure did. We had our big dinner on Christmas Eve so Alex and Claire could spend Christmas dinner at her moms house. This also let us have the rest of the day to relax after the prezzies were opened. It really turned out to be in our favor.

OK, so Santa was good to me. I got my new camera, a Canon power Shot S5 IS. I still have to learn how to use it, but I am hoping for better shots. I am really tired of getting dark, blurry, and missed shots due to the many things i hated in my last camera.

I also got the 5 disk collection of the Planet Earth series. I am going to watch these one day all by myself so I wont be interrupted to get something or even look at someone else. I mean it, if you haven't seen this series, record it, rent it, dvr it, but try to spend the time to see it. It is amazing film making by genius people.

Yesterday we got up early and took the kids out to Occidental. You remember that place, where we spent our last few short vacations. Anyhow, Johns brother and sister and their families met us out there for dinner. We had arranged this previously of course. There was about fifteen of us there, and we had a blast. We had a great dinner, some drinks and lots of laughs. John got to spend time with his family, and Alex got to spend time with his cousins.

After dinner we paid the bill and went across the street to spread the wealth at the other restaurant in town. this is where we really started drinking. OMG. Everyone, even the 17 year old was drinking at one point in the night. It was so busy and there was only two bartenders, neither of them had time to walk away from the bar and check id's. I know it was wrong, but it was fun. We spent so much cash last night, it was ridiculous.

We got up this morning, had breakfast across the street,and took a drive down the coast. We stopped for pics along the way. It was freaking cold, but the sky was clear. We drove down the coast a little further, got some fresh oysters then headed out to Johns parents house for a short visit. We haven't been there for a few years, and ya know what, it still looks exactly the same as it did the last time we were there. I gave her(Johns mom) one of the quilts I made, and she loved it. I think she was a little surprised at that gesture.

OK, I have taken up enough of your time for now. I will let you go. If I think of some other really great point, I will pop back in here and write another blog. I also want to write about this past year, as recommended in Ems blog. I am mentally working on that one. When i get it organized, it will be here. So have a great day, and see ya all next time.

Christmas Eve at my house

Entry for December 24, 2007

My kids are here and I haven't taken one picture of them. We talk though and laugh, and that is good for me. Last night they were playing with my lappy. Alex asked how to turn on the cam, so I told him and he got it turned on. I left to put on my jams and say good night. When I came back in the living room to tell them one more thing, there they were, with the laptop in their lap, making faces at themselves like two little kids. I started laughing so hard I didn't even make a sound. then Alex went to a chat room. Of course, it was under my name, with that one pic of me on the day i had my hair done and put on makeup. All of a sudden he starts getting all these IM's from purvey men all over the place, Germany, India, everywhere. I was busting up, and so was Claire. they are all talking to him like it was me, and he is answering them. then he invited them to view his cam. they all said yes, thinking they would be seeing a female. As soon as they saw him, I'm sure they all gagged from what they thought they were gonna see and do, and then clicked off. I was in bed by this time, but I could still hear them in here laughing. Its stuff like this that is worth bringing them home. Alex and I have the same kind of sense of humor, and we laugh at the same stuff. Claire gets both of us and is the perfect match for Alex.

So today is Christmas eve. We are having our big dinner today so the kids can eat at both homes. We are having tri tip, and spiral cut ham with the trimmings. I will be making buttermilk biscuits to go with our dinner. I love these. I made two pumpkin pies this morning, and this time the crust will be good. they are out of the oven, and look good enough to eat right now. All they need is the whipped cream. And yes, I do whip my own cream. It doesn't come out of a tub or a can. Not with this pie. I love to bake, can you tell. I made cookies the other day, and half of them will be going home with the kids. those two are lucky. We invited Claire's mom over for dinner tonight, I hope she comes over, it should be fun.

Tomorrow morning we will open the gifts from sandy claws, then have a big ole fat breakfast. I think/know i have a new camera under the tree, along with the set of planet earth CD set. That is all i know that i have under there, only cus I wrapped them. I went yesterday and bought john a new leather jacket. I am really excited about all this. I love presents. I love shopping for presents. its is fun to get them, but shopping for them and watching them being opened is just fun.

OK, John is about to leave, so I have to wrap this up, hahahhhaha, wrap this up.........., oh sometimes I crack myself up. I have to go, got to mop the floor now that the house will be empty for a minute. the kids are off doing stuff too. OK, Merry Christmas to all of you.

Copied from 360 ON sUNDAY by me

A Long blog, but please read it

I am having a great time. Really, I wish all of you could be here with me to share in my great time, but you cant, so Iwilll have to tell you all about it.

Yesterday morning we picked up the kids at the airport. It turned out to be one of those things where we got to the airport just as the plane landed. John dropped me off to go meet the kids, he circled the airport then went and parked at the gas station just outside so hewouldnt'havaetoto pay parking.cheapskate. Just as I walked in, the kids came around the corner. We went over to get their bags, and even those came out first. Alex put strips of masking tape on the luggage so it would be easy to identify. We were out of there in fifteen minutes. I think that is a record.

After we got home and the kids got settled, they went over to seeClaires's family. This is the first time she has really been away from them, and the whole homesick thing had to be fixed. She missed her mom and family. Poor thing. I know how that is.

Later on in the day I got a call from my new friend I met from the Soldiers drive thingy. She is a very nice and generous person. She is like a walking Oprah moment, I swear. So she asks me what we are doing Saturday morning, and if we would like to go to breakfast. She explains that a group of friends from up north do this every year. they find a little cafrestrauntant, maybe a mom n pop type of place. there is usually a single mother working there. They all go together, haseperateate tabs, but leave a tip the same as the bill, if not more. Oh wow! how great is that, yes I want to go. She tells me where to meet and at what time, and I ma so excited I cahardleyly stand it. She said last year the group left a tip of 1500.00 for the lady.As it turned out, she had five kids and had no idea hosahee was gonna dochristmass for her kids.

So this morning we all meet, have a great breakfast, and paid our billsseperatlyly. We then put our tips all in one pile and my friend counted it up. We left a tip of 350.00. So we called the waitress over and gave her the tip. She tucks it away in here book and skitters off with a thank you, never looking at the amount of cash. Wdidntn't want the her to just throw the entire thing in a sharing bowl for all the staff, so we called her back over and asked if she got to keep all her tips, yes she did. Did she knhpowow much her tip was, no shdidntn't. She she looked and just about fell over. She was like, I need a hug and she hugged every one of us, even the little kids. This was her first day at threstrauntrant. We were her first customers. She has seven kids at home and this is goingsurleyrly help her out.

We left there feeling so good, and this was so easy to do. If you ever want to do something from the heart, try this. I think we will do it every year, just for fun.

OK, that is it for now. If you have gotten this far in this long blog, I thank you for taking the time to read it. Now once again, Merry Christmas.