***2009***

Here I am, finally posting in 2009... I should be happy, I'm on vacation, but my hormones have chosen to throw me in a bit of a funk... and no sun for a week is not helping... plus the end of the holidays and a start of a new year and too many yummy treats to eat causing me to eat too much... not to mention the fact that Chuck has not been here since Thanksgiving, you may know Chuck as Aunt Flo.... and so my hormones are just having a fit causing me to be grumpy and sluggish and whatever... So let's see, today is Saturday... New Year's day we were all home but by time we ate breakfast and got dressed and discussed what we wanted to do for the day, the day was over... So hubby brought the antenna's back to Best Buy and took in the Christmas decorations from the front yard and raked all the leaves... I looked for hotels to stay in next week to visit the snow, but can't decide whether we should just go for the day or stay over night... We have been having the black eyed peas and ham all week, so good... We supplemented some chicken soup yesterday to go with it... Friday hubby worked late... Son2 and I cleaned and organized all the boys VHS movies in the hall bookcase... And I organized all my pictures on the computer so I can copy them all to Cd's for the past year... Today hubby was back to work again and son2 and I cleaned out and organized all the boy's books in the hall bookcase, we even have several bags for Goodwill and still have one more pile to go through... I am making room for my book's that I got for Christmas, lol, by condensing the boy's books from my bookcases that are in the hallway... I've also cleaned out all the magazines for 2008 and recycled them... I am not renewing any of my magazines this year, as it has become a chore to read them instead of something fun... I need to spend more time cleaning and organizing my house instead of just reading how I should do it, lol... I also paid the bills, made out the bday cards for the month and did all the laundry and just have today's dishes to do... Son3 of course has been video game boy, with his new TV for Christmas he is now able to hook up his PlayStation in his room, so he has been going back and forth between that and computer games... I am lucky the boys have showered every other day... and son2 wants to know where his friends are as no one has answered any of his texts, lol...




Hubby did find out that he has Sunday-Wednesday off and I found out that I work Sunday from 6-2:30pm... So I'll go in tomorrow just to see what has been going on while I've been gone, set up the ad, probably have a bit of boxes to open, I'm sure they expect me to fix everything that hasn't been done since I've been gone for the last four days and then I'm off again til next Sunday.... Now we just need to decide what to do on Monday-Wednesday... At least go for a day trip to the snow and then what else... Lots to do around the house for sure and we still have all the Christmas to take down and put away... The boys both need dentist appointments and hubby and son3 both need appointments for eye check ups.... Son2 and I still haven't watched any Gone with the Wind yet but we did watch Serendipity, such a cute and fun movie... And I've been all caught up with blog reading since I've been off, feels so good.... Still lots to do on my list but the day is almost over already and hubby will be home soon... The boys are saying they are hungry again, didn't we just eat lunch.... I've got a chicken roasting in the oven for tomorrow's dinner... So I'm off to finish the last of the books back into the bookcase... Next will be reorganizing my books and I want to list them all in Shelfari, that should take awhile, lol... But first have to wrangle son3 to the shower...
Happy Journaling...

New Years Eve...

It is 44 degrees and wet and foggy on this last day of 2008... I have the Christmas lights on for one more day... The black-eyed peas and ham bone are simmering on the stove... Will make some corn bread in a bit to go with them... I was up at 7 this morning and started my day on the computer... Hubby was ready for work and we were playing with Holly... We are learning her personality now and she is quite funny... She sleeps most of the day but in the morning she likes to play... I've learned that when she grabs at our ankles it is not cause she is mad but just wanting to play... I have separate bowls set up for her and Raisin but they are worried the other is getting something better so they raid each others bowls hissing all the way... When she is done eating she will pull up/ scratch at the towel I have her bowls on... Don't know what she is looking for... She also likes to pull over my throw rugs too.... She also will not go out to do her business unless someone goes with her, lol... I will pick her up and put her out and close the door... She is usually right back as it is cold out there...


After getting hubby off to work I spent most of the morning and some of the afternoon on the computer just catching up on some blogs and finally deleting the rest of the folders off of Picasa that had come over when I tried to migrate the AOL journal... There were over 150 in October and today I deleted the last 40... Each folder contained 500 pictures... So now I have just the four folders for my blogs and only at 55% storage space.... I couldn't believe the boys slept in til 10:30... and they are still in their jammies now... I on the other hand did shower and get dressed today... I even made son2 a list of chores and gave him all of 2008 to complete them... has he started yet, of course not... he has been working on his paint by numbers he got for Christmas, had a turn on the Internet, been bugging son3 and texting in between... Son3 has been going back and forth between his PBS shows and computer games...

I discovered a real cool feature that Cricket has for the cell phone... I can go to the Cricket web site and text son2 from the computer... I have already used it a couple of times today... lol... For example I reminded him to do his chores... but if he is out and about and I just need to remind him of something, I can just text him instead of calling him... too cool... Just now I texted him to check the mailbox that I already asked him in person twice to do... guess what there he goes, regretting that I found this feature, (insert evil laugh)....

I have made a list of all that I hope to accomplish on vacation and during the month of January... Today I have filled the bird feeders, vacuumed, put away the Christmas movies, cleaned off the island, hung up my new calendar but still need to fill it out, ran the dishwasher and have just looked at my list and that didn't even make a dent, lol... Son2 is now working on his list cause we got Netflix movies and I said he couldn't watch them til his list was done... We got Hancock, the new X Files and a Dinosaur documentary... On his list to do: take out garbage/recycables, check the mail, finish cleaning the top of the dresser and entertainment center in his room, organize the computer games on the shelves, put away his Christmas gifts and watch the first hour of Gone With the Wind, I'm gonna have him watch it with me while he is on break...

Last night we ended up getting Carl's Jr for dinner... I was still on the computer when hubby came home although we just had to heat up our plates of leftovers, but hubby is the one who kept saying should we have a special treat, so thinking he wanted one... So of course Carl's Jr was way yummy and we watched The Game Plan with The Rock... That movie is so cute and hilarious, we all love it....

Some pictures of Holly playing this morning...









































































Son3's breakfast this morning...














Son2's paint by number...










The mini roses are still blooming... To see more from today visit my photo blog: Not Just Roses...








Our gray foggy day...










I'm off to make cornbread....
Happy New Year!!
Happy Journaling...

Vacation!!

I am officially on vacation now... I am so glad to be done with work for a little while... actually to the 11th of January... I'm supposed to work on the 4th to set the ad but now I'm wondering what will happen... I worked all day Sunday, we were so busy... Then I worked four hours yesterday and today four hours again, we are still busy... Customers are not understanding that we are running out of winter boots, sandals are coming now... Anyway I got to work today to a revised schedule and the supervisor not on it... She is going to another store for the rest of the week and staying in a hotel even, with lots of others who are helping this store get ready for a big visit... We too are having a visit on the 9th but I guess not as big... Anyway that means her boss will make the schedule for next week and I don't know if he will put me on the schedule for Sunday to set the ad in the middle of my vacation... So we shall see... I'm thinking if he hasn't figured out by now that I'm the only one that sets the ad then I'm not gonna tell him... My new year's resolution for work is not to tell the managers how to do their jobs any more... I had all kinds of grumbly things to write about work today but now that I am on vacation, I don't want to go there anymore...

I have been quietly letting the rest of the year end... Just going to work, watching movies with the boys and eating Christmas candy... Son3 has already announced he is bored... That's OK mom is on vacation now and we can work on the practice book for school... Right now he is playing Zoo Tycoon and son2 is playing The Hulk video game... But tonight I am just waiting for hubby to come home... I'll heat up ham leftovers one more time and we'll watch movies again tonight... We have seen Horton Hears a Who and HellBoy 2... We did order a pizza Sunday night to take a break from ham... Tomorrow I am going to make black eyed peas with the ham bone for New Years...

Son2 has been texting away all week... His friend that is a girl is spending vacation with her family at their cabin in the snow and wants son2 to come up for a day... At first it was today and so it was easy, um no we have to work... so she changed it to New Years when we are all off, lol... Of course no reason I give son2 of why he can't go is acceptable in his teenage mind... Not, that I don't want to drive three hours up and down a mountain to drop him off and pick him up... but mom you and dad can stay too, um I don't know her parents and we have been trying to plan a day for just us to go to the snow... Finally after all my reasoning of yes I could work it out so he could go but these are the reasons why you are not going, I finally said, wait a minute, you are 15yrs old and you want me to drop you off at a cabin in the mountains to hang out with a girl and her girl friend, lol... one of his boy friends was invited too but he can't go either, ya think.........

We got the boys new digital TVs hooked up and they now are receiving less channels than with the old TVs... even with the converter boxes we are losing channels off and on with the other TVs too... So I told hubby lets get some new antennas since our antennas are for the old analog TVs... so hubby spent $100 on three new antennas specifically for the new digital and we lost half the channels we were getting with the old antennas... So two of the antennas are going back, the one for son3's TV actually helped him get more channels but a lot are still missing since we plugged in their new digital TVs.... Told hubby we will just wait til after February when they turn off the analog signals and are just sending the digital signals... I was researching online and one thing I read said some of the stations are using their lowest signals at the moment.... I'm just afraid come February we won't receive any channels and this whole digital thing will be just like trying to keep our Internet going, lol.... It's not funny..... Scary even...

I have lots of projects planned around the house while on vacation... And getting all organized for the new year.... Hubby is trying to get a couple of days off next week so maybe we can go on some day trips or go to the snow.... We'll see....

Meanwhile he will be home in just a couple of minutes so I should go heat up dinner and clean up the kitchen....

Happy Journaling....