MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE
This is for all my friends in the USA.Sorry I am posting so late . I haven't been feeling to well and this day took all my strength to get through it , but I did , we had a wonderful day and Christmas dinner, together.I received some beautiful gifts from my children .I hope that every one had an equally wonderful day with families and friends.Jane I am so happy you received your card in time for Christmas,and that your day was so wonderful , It sounds like Gina is a dream come true for your family and hers and I am very happy for you all. I hope everyone else recieved their cards in time for Christmas as well.You wonderful ladies have made this holiday season extra special for me, sharing all my thoughts and feelings. and and having your kind responses and thoughtfulness. I also enjoyed sharing your lives learning more about your families and traditions and sharing in your happy times and not so happy times.Each and everyone of you have enriched my life and I am very thankful. I am looking forward to sharing another new year with you all and I thank you for the kindness you have shown to me these past months.I just had to pop in to say that I wished you all a Blessed Christmas Day, I;m sorry though its so late in coming. I am very tired and worn out so I will say goodnight for now and I will look forward to catching up with everyone over the next few days,as I imagine that everyone is very busy.Merry Christmas all and goodnight

Morning everyone.

I sure hope everyone had an absolutely magical Christmas. I know I had a great one. James & I got up earlier than we usually do (we were excited) and found Jhanai waiting for us on the couch. She had just got up too!

Christmas Eve at grandpa's was fun. Santa came to visit the little ones and it was a great turn out. My brothers were both here so that was also a great surprise...especially the youngest one since he lives in Florida.

I took some photos and I will post them sometime tomorrow to share.

I need to get some sleep. I just wanted to come in real quick and say hi and I hope that you all had a Wonderful Christmas.

Good Night!

PS.....Ellen...LOVE the photos of the two girls on the stair way! I may have to print it out for a Christmas Scrapbook page!!

Just popping in for a quick "hi" and "Merry Christmas!" Hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your families. I am so glad that this year Christmas was on a Saturday so we have today off with our families as well.

I think my oldest son is back in the states now, but doesn't have a phone yet...he is supposed to be coming to visit in January.

Ack, my kitchen is a disaster, so I guess I'd better get working. Hugs to all the JL's, and hope you have a wonderful day

Happy Day after Christmas ladies~

Well, I am happy to say I am glad that Christmas is over! Am also glad that we have our dinner on Christmas eve as it wouldn't have happened on Christmas Day. Got up in a good mood even tho didn't feel good. Everyone opened their gifts and about 1 pm I went to bed-slept till about 6 and then warmed up the leftovers and made some bread. Ate a little and went back to bed. Slept the rest of the night but feel okay today. Did make it to Mass on Christmas Eve, it was nice even tho I could barely stay awake. Then watched Jingle All The Way and a Christmas Story. Anyway...have a mess in the kitchen to get cleaned, lots of laundry and working on getting all the Christmas stuff down, the inside stuff. We will leave the outside lights up till Jan. 1. Just want my house back to normal. Of course it won't be for a few days. Once I get the Christmas stuff put away then we have to take stuff off the walls and get everything taped off to paint. Went and got some paint Friday-hoping it is nice. V put a big square on the wall so I could see if it is the shade I want-can't really tell tho. Anyway...just popping in for a quick HI to everyone!

Jane~aaaaahhhhh, the proposal story brought a tear to my eye. I am so happy for your entire family and glad Gina said yes!

Hiya ladies, and happy boxing day to the Canadians,

Let's see... who's checked in since I was here last?

Ellen - hope you're feeling stronger by the time you read this. Thank you for all the kind words to the JLs... we're glad you're a part of our little family.

Marti - how great you got to see your brothers! Looking forward to seeing your Christmas photos. Loved the picture of Jhanai and card you sent!! What a cutie she is!

Cristi - glad you're on your way to getting the room painted... it will make such a difference!

Katiecat - hope you get to talk to and see your son asap!!

To the others - hope your Christmas was a good one!

We had such a wonderful Christmas Day! In some ways, I'm sorry to see it gone... Then today we made it to church, and had the candlelight service that got cancelled on Christmas Eve due to the snow. Our nephew Zane from Evansville is here to stay until Friday. He loves it out here, and we love having him.

I posted a link to some photos on the Christmas Talk thread, for anyone who wants to see them.

See you tomorrow....

Good evening. Today was a lazy day for myself and my husband. It just felt good to sit at home, nice and cozy. Yesterday we were up and out of here by 9 to go to SIL's for a family get together. Ate too much and had way too much fun. My in laws are all the very best people. We have a blast.

Christmas Eve day my DD and family were here by 10 or so. We finished up food prep and laid out a lunch spread. Just the 7 of us, but we ate, played pool, exchanged gifts, ate, talked, and ate some more until almost 8.

All in all 2 very nice days capped off by a cozy, lazy one. Tomorrow it is back to the real world, but we have lots to do.

Good Monday Morning Chickies~

Where is everyone?

Jane~hope Zane is having a nice time with Auntie Jane. Refresh my memory again...what is his age? Glad you guys had a nice Christmas. Your pics are great! Except there was someone missing from the group

Sue~glad you have the best in-laws. Glad you and your family had a nice holiday. When do you guys go back to Vegas?

Well...V was up bright and early this morning to get started on the painting. I think I am going to like the green. I did manage to get the Christmas stuff put away, all 10 tubs! Got a late start on it but was determined to get it put away to make way for the next mess. But it will only be messy for today and tomorrow. Wednesday we should be done and have everything back in order. A new year for new starts and what better way to start off the new year than with a new look in the house. Like the green so much we are going to paint the front door also. We have a dull beige house and a lot of people around have different color doors-why we got stuck with a boring beige one I don't know. Anyway...DD and I are off to the library and Target to pick up a couple of things-hope they are not busy.

HI to every one and take care ladies and have a wonderful day!

Tata for now...

Hey Ladies

Hope you all had a wonderful xmas, it was so hectic I had no chances to get on the computer and post to you all!!! We got lots of nice gift cards out to eat and for shopping, and yesterday I went and bought an elliptical workout machine, they were on sale at walmart for 160.00, so I figured what better way to start out the new year motivated, than with a new piece of equipment!!!... I was also back at the doc's for bloodwork, after my last ultrasound they think I may have polycystic ovary syndrome...so Im going for testing and hope to hear something next week... Apparently the giant cyst on my right ovary is gone and now theres one on my left ovary...I guess this is a symptom that my body is producing way too many hormones, so if I have this syndrome, Ill have to go on special meds, so this doesnt really help our BABY situation!!!!
WOKE UP THIS MORNING TO A FOOT OF SNOW HER IN NEW ENGLAND!!!!
Was outside shoveling at 4:30am to get my car out for work, Im pooped!!
On the flip side to all of this DBF decided to call his mom who he hasnt contacted in 2 years yesterday, he has alot of problems with his brothers and sisters, he just doesnt get along with any of them, and his mom always sticks up for their wrong doing ...She never rewards DBF for his successes in life, but instead makes him feel rotten that his life is so much better than theirs....His brothers have stealing issues and all kinds of probs...so we choose to stay away from them...Anyhow, now she wants to see him, so he wants her to come up next weekend and stay with us so she can see our house and stuff....the problem with this is that if the family finds out shes coming, they'll all swarm over and we dont want them knowing where we live....so kind of stressed over this right now, cause for some reason she doesnt like me cause she thinks my family is too good for DBF....shes a real piece of work, but still his mom so I cant deny him the right to see her.. The whole situation is just one big mess with them......And everytime he tries to get along, something blows up so its just a matter of time, sad to say!!!
Anyway gotta get back to work, just wanted to say hello and catch up with everyone

Julie

Good Morning Everyone....

Hmmm....how could this year have ended???
Let's see. Last night I was getting ready for bed and went into the kitchen to fill up my water bottle from the fridge....when a smell of burning plastic got my attention. So I'm checking the stove to make sure no burners were on (we didn't even use the stove yesterday) and then looked in my laundry room and saw smoke! So I woke up James who went to bed before me, and told him we have smoke billowing out of the laundry room somewhere,,,,,we called 911 and they had the police and firemen out here and so our neighborhood was lit up with siren lights!! (this was around 1:30 almost 2:00)

I waited and waited...hoping it wasn't something that was going to be horrible and take the house......and was relieved to know that the waterheater had been leaking...and so it over heated and burned itself out, which made it burn all the electrical wiring or something like that and that is where all the awful smoke was coming from.....so they cut everything up and diconnected it all. We told them that we would have done that if we could see what the problem was (so much smoke) and he told us "Oh no, that's what we're here for, you did the right thing"

So now my house still smells like burning plastic, we have no hot water (we did call the landlord and it will be replaced) a perfect way to add to all the other things that have gone on this month!

Thank god it wasn't anything more serious!!

I didn't get much sleep last night, our dog Cocoa cried and cried and so James had her sleep w/us last night (on his side of the bed!) I really don't want to go to work today but.......must just carry on!

I'll come back later and chat about something else. I want to know what everyone got for Christmas!! Anyone want to share???? I need happy news!

BBL

Hi Everyone
Just popping in quickly, Well Jane I finally got them grandbabies My kitten had kittens,does that qualify me as a Grandma for now.I,m somewhat thankful she waited till after Christmas but I sure could have used a few more days .I am running on i'm guessing fat because its the only thing left.Did anyone try my pumpkin cheesecake , does anyone want to try it ,I still have some ,staring me in the face everyday , its so good I can't leave it alone ,so please if there are any takers. Maybe the kids will finish it up tonight.along with the rest of the Christmas goodies. The kitties are sure enjoying the turkey, problem is they probably won't be to thrilled with their regular food when its gone.Tommorow I start the weight loss program again I am afraid to get on the scale after the last few days probably gained back everything I lost. My kids said after going out for different turkey dinners at BF and GF's houses that they never realized how much they appreciated coming home for their Christmas Dinner,I thought wow they really do notice , I thought it was a wonderful compliment.Cristi you work really fast , didn't waste any time did you, I'm still cleaning up after Christmas between not feeling well ,the newborn kittens,Kobi's having seizures last night and today and pure exhaustion, I have been useless. i did get some help, but everyone is working and off doing things.Its just taking longer than usual,what can I do.I must admit though that like Cristi I am getting anxious to get things back to normal for another year.Tired of picking up needles from Christmas boughs,I'm just tired in general I am so happy to hear everyone had a wonderful Christmas now just one more hurdle New Years Eve ,not my favourite , actually I try very hard to sleep through it , I watch a movie so I don't have to hear all the New Years programming, I hate watching the ball drop, Maybe I would feel different if I wasn't in my situation. Hows that for depressing , but I hope that everyone else has a wonderful New Years Eve and Day, me, well, I will start my new year as quietly as possible.Sue it sounds like you did have a very nice time ,and its wonderful that you enjoy your inlaws.Glad your feeling a bit better.Julie its to bad about the family situation , maybe your DBF's mother will surprize you, and realize how much better things would be with her son if everyone compromised. I hope it works out for the better.Katie glad to hear you had a nicetime with family on Christmas I hope you get to see your son soon.Hi Marti so glad to hear you had a wonderful Christmas with your family and that you got to see your brothers. I am also happy to hear that you had a such a good time at Grandpa's it must have helped him tremendously,Hi Mindee Brandon's pictures are so cute, glad you all had a nice Christmas.Hi Susan, how was your Christmas ,did you and the girls have a nice day,I hope that you all had a wonderful day. Angie, now where are you, building ice castles an ice hotel , or are you just busy being you, which is tiring enough, How are the boys enjoying their holidays.Did you get good presents?? Katy how was your roast and lemon shortbread, I bet everyone really enjoyed that it sounded so yummy,I hope leigh and James got lots of goodies from Santa, do they still believe in Santa?? I do I must go back to the kittens and make sure their eating they need a little help latching on so thats my job to quide them ,they are so small and cute. They only cry when Amelie their mommy sits on them ,she 's still learning, but she's doing so much better today.I will check in later and see what everyones doing sorry if I missed anyone I'm lucky if I remember my own name the last few days. Have a great day everyone, and Jane bundle up if your out making snow angels and how come there was no you in those pictures ????Wow Marti thank God it wasn't more serious and everyone and the house is fine. Its always better to call for help better to find out its not to serious than something to late to turn around . So sorry that happened but so happy everything is fine.(((HUGS)))

I'm baaack...

Marti~thank goodnes it wasn't a fire that put you out and no one was hurt. It still is bad enough, nothing like the smell of smoke and not having any hot water, but it could have been worse and thank god it wasn't. Of course it would scare the heck out of me to wake up to smoke. We did have that happen once when we first moved to KS. We were living in V's grandmas house and I swear it was like she didn't want us there. First the hot water heater burned-melted. Then a tree outside caught fire from lightning, there were a couple of other things that happend also all in a four month period-weird. Hugs to you and James and I hope it gets fixed soon.

Ellen~wish I was there to cheer you up and make you feel better. (((((HUGS))))) to you! And yes I think having kittens qualifies you as a grandma.

Julie~(((((HUGS))))) to you also! Hope everything with the in-laws and baby issue work out for the best.

Well, did get to Target, the library, Hallmark (little pit stop on the way) and picked up an application at the Goodwill. Would be an easy job and it's just around the corner-could walk to work. V has done quite a bit of the painting and it looks gooood! I am really liking the green-should have gone with that to begin with. It goes better with everything, much better. Anyway...

Have a good one ladies!

Well, I'm back again.... This doesn't seem like Monday, does it?

Sue - glad you had a good Christmas!

Cristi - Zane is 9.. an immature 9, but that's ok with me. His mom is engaged and he's having a hard time letting he new man in his life. Hopefully it will all work out. Glad you got your errands done and that you like the green paint.

Julie - there is a support board here at 3FC for those with PCOS, in case you didn't already know. Can they remove the cyst? Yay for the exercise machine!

Ellen (grandma) - no cheesecake for me, thanks anyway. Just a little while ago I tossed what was left of the pumpkin pie and cherry delight down the garbage disposal. The family had fair warning that this was about to happen and got what they wanted first. We had already ran out of cookies and other goodies yesterday since I made so few of them. Hope you're feeling better.

Marti - glad your water heater will be replaced by someone else, lol. They're expensive! Also very glad you didn't have a fire or anything. I was very blessed in what I got for Christmas - Neal and the kids are always too generous. I won't list it all, but my big present from Neal was a white gold and tanzanite bracelet. Stunning! What I liked most, though, was that they were all able to get here and how nice everything went Christmas Eve.

Well, we got all the decorations from the inside of the house taken down and put away. The outside stuff will have to wait til the snow melts, which should be later this week.

BBL,

Hello again.........

My house is a mess right now. James & my grandpa are working on replacing the water heater. House smells horrible!! May have to light up some scented candles before too long.

Sounds like everyone had a wonderful Christmas. That is so good to hear. Ours was a nice one too. I was spoiled w/scrapbooking supplies. And I was thrilled with that. Got all kinds of paper and a carrying case to haul it all into! I think my favorite gadget was the sticker maker! So cool. James was making anything into a sticker.

I was very happy to see my brothers on Christmas Eve. My one brother who just lives along the coast has me very worried though. He's an alcoholic (although he doesn't fit the look of one....always clean and very polite and all) BUT----it truly has taken a toll on his body. He had a seizure last week and so when he got to my house....I was looking at how he walked. He walked like a 100yr old man. He was having a hard time talking and walking at the same time. So sad. I truly would be surprised if he made it to 35 and he's only 32. Very sad.
His ex-wife brought over his kids and he was so excited about that. I guess he doesn't get to see them much. I got to meet my neice for the first time. She is such a sweetie. My nephew I haven't seen since he was a baby! And they are 8 and 7 yrs old! (or is it 9 & 7??) Anyway...had a very nice get together.

I must say that this was a very good Christmas this year, despite all that has happened to us this month. But, we are all healthy, alive and still have each other and that is more than I could ever ask for.

And also...being able to come here and talk about it all and have my "shoulder" to cry on is just such a comforting feeling. I am blessed to have you all as my extended family!!!

So thank you all for being here for me!!!

Ohhhhh, I so did not want to go to work today! But I did, and I am home now. Mike is watching "Spiderman 2" (Tim got it for Christmas), and Tim is playing "Jedi Academy" on the computer to my right, and I am here saying hi to all of you, and all is right with the world.

Mike passed his driver's test, yay! Finally, I am no longer taxi driver/chauffeur. He got insurance, too, so now he can drive himself. Oh, but I worry anyway. 18 years you are responsible for them, I think it's hard to let go.

Erik is supposed to be back in the states, but we haven't heard from him yet. I know he doesn't have a phone or internet connection, but he could get a phone card or call me collect, or use the library computer to email. I'm about to call his commanding officer and tell him to have Erik call me. He was at Diego Garcia, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, where they just had that terrible earthquake and those tidal waves that killed all those people -- how horrible! But a news report Tim found in the Washington Post said that Diego Garcia was unharmed, even though everything else around there seemed to be hit...

Jane the pics of the snow are beautiful, but look soooo cold. brrrrrrrrrr! It's bad enough here in Northern CA, and it only usually gets down to the low 30's. It's sure pretty there in IN, though

Marti, I am so glad that you guys are all safe! It's not pleasant having your house smell like burning plastic, but I'm just so glad that's all that burned. What a good thing that you happened to go get water right before bed.

Cristi, I envy your organization. Wish I had all my Christmas stuff put up so quickly! Well, we usually take the tree and other decorations down on New Year's Day. I'm really looking forward to another 3 day weekend -- wish I had a whole week -- no, a whole month -- with no other obligations, so I could just sort and organize and get some things around here in order.

Ellen, sending a hug across the miles to cheer you up Did you make the pumpkin cheesecake yourself? Is it a "virtuous" recipe, or does it need a makeover? Pumpkin is actually very good for you, very nutritious -- I bet you could make a healthy pumpkin cheesecake that you wouldn't have to feel guilty about eating. How many new kittens? Are there any calicoes? I love calico cats

Julie, I just read what you wrote about maybe having polycystic ovaries. I had a friend with that condition, and the doctor told her it was closely related to her weight problem -- don't know if the condition caused weight problems or if having a weight problem contributed to the condition. But at any rate, might be something worth discussing with your doctor.

Hi to everyone else -- Mike is bugging me to go play cards with him, so goodnight for now, ladies

Good Tuesday morning ladies,

Marti - so sad about your brother's health, and I'm glad he got to see his kids, and you too. We're blessed to have you as a Jaded Lady, Marti. The group sure wouldn't be the same without you!

Katiecat - lots of movie watching going on in my house, too, lol. Katie and Zane did get out some board games last night for something different to do. The temps are supposed to be better today, so I think they'll build a snowman. Oh my, I hope you hear from Erik soon, although I'm sure he's safe. I know I'd be calling the CO today.

Cristi - how's the living room coming along? But it's so pretty. As you know, I've been wanting to change something around here but don't know what. I think if we do move back to the old house, it will be quite a while before we do. Mary and Dale aren't on very sound financial footing right now since he is facing surgery again for his neck. Hope your son gets the job at Goodwill!

Katy - you said you'd be busy for a couple of days, but we miss you! Hope you're having lots of fun with your family during this holiday time.

Angie - ditto what I said to Katy, lol. It was so sweet to hear how Brandon helped around the house even tho he is on crutches!! You've got some real considerate boys there, Ang.

Susan - boo hoo, I've left you countless messages but you don't answer...

Ellen - how are the new babies? Can you post a photo? You're welcome to put it right here in the chit chat thread, or wherever you'd like, ok?

Hello again to Julie, Mindee, Ann, Sheila, Pam and all who read this.

Well, it's that time of year again... time for me to start thinking about Spring cleaning! It's not Spring yet, but those who know me, know I don't wait til then to begin. Because when Spring really gets here, I'll be outside every day.... not stuck in the house with Mr. Clean, lol.

I'm going to try to get a decent photo of me to scale down for an avatar. Gotta get Santa Molly out of here, lol.

What's on your agenda for today?