Sunday, December 27, 2009

Twelve Years Ago Today...

Today is my husband and mine 12 year anniversary. It seems so hard to believe that it has been 12 years since I walked down the aisle and married my WONDERFUL husband. To celebrate we went to dinner at the Rodizio Brazilian Grill in downtown Fort Collins. It was fun to have dinner without kids for a change. We just got to sit and eat, enjoy the food and the atmosphere. I am rather fond of meat, so this was a great choice. They bring skews after skews of meat to your table for you to try. They had glazed ham and bacon wrapped chicken and tenderloin. It was VERY TASTY!! I bit expensive, but we had saved and knew that going in. They also have a salad bar that had one of the best crab salads I've tasted. After dinner we went to Barnes and Noble (our favorite store) and wandered around (again without kids). We were able to actually look at books rather than just run in and out, as the kids get a little bored just looking a books, unless it to books for them of course ;).

The general manager came over to our table and asked how our meal was and told us happy anniversary, since we had mentioned it and they had given us a dessert of our choice at 1/2 price. He asked what the secret was to a good marriage and I really didn't have an answer for him. I thought about it after we left and I guess I would say patience and understanding, because you need this to get through all the ups and downs of life and to work through the differences you may have.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are enjoying some downtime after all the hustle and bustle of the season.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

A Day of Remembrance

This past week my brother-in-law's mother Donna Francis left this earth for a better place. Today was her funeral and unfortunately since it was in Florida my family and I were unable to attend. It brings to mind just how fragile life really is. Donna was diagnosed with cancer in July and battled bravely for many months. She was only 57 and we will miss her terribly.

My sister and brother-in-law have only been married for about 2 years so I was just getting to know Donna, but I could see that she was a devoted mother and wife. I'm sure she would have been a FABULOUS grandma and although she is not physically here I know she will be a wonderful guide to her future grandchildren, as she continues to be a guide to those she loved.

As I think about the time we spent together my mind is drawn to two specific instances. The first was a shopping spree with my mother, sister and Donna. My sister and mother are "power shoppers" and were busy shopping ‘til they dropped. At the time I was 9 1/2 months pregnant with my son. Shopping is not my favorite anyway, but I was especially not enthused about tons of shopping. I remember sitting in a particular shop as my sister tried on outfit after outfit. Donna sat with me and commented on the none stop shopping power both my mother and sister possessed. Then as we sat there I started to notice different items around the store. Pretty soon my mom and Donna were running around the store providing my sister with things I picked out from my seat in the middle of the store. It was a great memory I will cherish always.

The second memory would be at my house not long after my son was born. I took a moment to call Donna on my cell phone to thank her for the things she had sent for Blaine. We ended up for talking nearly 2 hours about kids and life in general. This is another memory I will always cherish.

As I said I hardly got to know Donna, but she was a gentle wonderful person who graciously welcomed my sister into their family. She loved everyone and had a gentle spirit. We will miss you Donna. God bless and keep you! May those who you loved, know that you are with them always even though they cannot see you.

God bless all of you this holiday season. May you enjoy the time with your family this holiday season.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

...And the Stocking Were Hung.....FINALLY!

Hello all! I am SO happy because all of my Christmas decorations are FINALLY up! The tree is decorated, the little village is up and all the associated little figurines, my nativity, and the outdoor lights (this one is all thanks to my dad). I am so happy I decided to take last Wednesday off while my parents were here. They helped me get it all up and it took no time at all!! The stockings and cookies are awaiting Santa's arrival!

I just LOVE Christmas, but I must admit that I have a little trouble getting in the mood until all of my decorations are up, and since that consists of about 20 medium size Tupperware containers, and five Christmas trees (three are small and require no decorations (not sure if they count)), this is no small task. But with help I was able to get it all done and we are no longer the Bah Humbug house on the block! Yippee!!

Well I must run, I have to finish up some last minute shopping. Hope all of you are enjoying the season!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Preparing for the Holidays - Steps Three, Four and Five

Hello my very wonderful followers! I'm back! :) I finished a few of those holiday musts. First I got all my Christmas cards mailed! YIPPEE!! This takes quite some time as I send nearly 80 cards and they all include a Christmas letter, photo, and the occasional special item for a few family members. I am also advocate for writing all the address on the card. There is something impersonal about printing the address on labels. I just can't do it. So they all got stuffed, addressed, stamps and return address labels affixed and mailed!!

I also finished all my Christmas shopping. I think!?!? I say I think because inevitably I forgot something or this is just one more thing we want to get for so and so. So YIPPEE, again.

Yesterday I spent all day in a baking extravaganza (about 300 cookies) for all the people in my office. It took so long that my husband actually took over and finished them for me, because my son was not happy unless mommy was holding him. This is fairly typical when I come back from a trip and have been gone for a week. I bagged them up 6 in a bag and added a candy cane for decoration! And with that all my coworkers have a little something from me for Christmas.

So I only have a few steps left:
1. Put up the Christmas decorations (intend to do this on Wednesday)
2. Deliver all gifts to teachers, and other special peeps we won't see on Christmas
3. Wrap all Christmas gifts
4. Frost the few extra cookies left from the baking extravaganza

I think that's it! I hope you all are doing well and I will try to continue to be more inspired and continue to post! I think I was just in a funk last week because I was away from home and stuck in a hotel for several days. I don't know about you all, but when I get stuck inside my mood just goes straight down. So I am feeling much better today and looking forward to Christmas! Happy Holidays to EVERYONE!!!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Stuggling

I have to admit that I have been struggling writing my blog as of late. I have started about three or four blogs, but have ever published them. I am feeling very uninspired. I think some of that is due to stress in my life with the holidays coming and finances being tight. I hope to get back on the blogging train very soon. I hope you all can understand and will continue to follow me. Thanks to all of you! Happy Holidays!