So close...

Christmas is so close! Most of the gifts are wrapped and I am done shopping. Really. I am done. Really. I swear the sales out there are so good.

I do want to take my daughter to Macy's to get her a nice pea coat. She is so busy at work this week she hasn't had a chance to leave. The area she works in is expanding their workforce and they will be hiring soon. It is great to know someone will continue to have a job. She's been doing her job so long she is involved in the interview process. I just love how grown up she is.

Yesterday I met a g/f of mine for an after dinner drink. She brought a co-worker and we had a good time. We had told each other no gifts but of course we'd brought each other something. It was funny. I had already sent she and her daughter a Christmas card but I found one at Target that fit her perfectly. It had two girls facing each other on the picture. One gal said "Where is the Christmas party at?" The second gal said "Don't end a sentance with a preposition." You turn the card and the first gal says..."Where is the Christmas party at Bitch?" I laughed so hard and so did she when she read it.

My brother is an idiot. Complete idiot. Last week he came up to our mother's house to "help out". Yeah right. I said the backyard needed to be worked on. Well, it rained so he said he couldn't. So I told him what else needed to be done. Dump run, rooms to clear out. Things like that. In the meantime he called because he wants to meet up and "discuss" the finances. Okay, he is entitled to know. He wants to research where the money is in as far as where the funds go. He wants to know the monthly bills and such. Well, between work and being at mom's house once a week I really only get one day off. So I am paying the bills and keeping things going with my husband, daughter and her b/f. I haven't had a chance to really get caught up. Tentatively we set something up for the day after Christmas. Well, we went to the house last Saturday and boy was I HOT. NOTHING had been done. Nothing that I could see. Why he went into our mother's room is beyond me. He didn't clean up one thing. He didn't go to the dump or clear out the one room that needs it downstairs. What a jerk. He had sent an e-mail saying he will be back in Jan and will work on the yard. He might even hire people to help out. NOT. No way will he be bringing stangers to the house that I haven't met yet. No way. Anyway, can you tell I'm pissed at him? I cannot believe he has done this again. Says he will help out and doesn't do anything. In the beginning he did some things. Now, he is a waste of my time.

But, on a happier note. Hubby and I are going to celebrate our four year anniversary on Saturday the 27th. Yeahhh!!!! We will go to the chapel where we were married. We had forgotten to get a picture of it and need it for the scrapbook. We hope it doesn't snow. Neither of us know how to drive in snow. It will be a fun adventure. I am so blessed to have him in my life. Sometimes you realize you had gone through so much bad to reach a stage in your life where so much is good. I am extremely grateful for my life now.

hahaha I just spoke with a guy who walked by my office. He and I are the only ones left in our part of the building. Gotta love it when everyone is gone.

Take care!

Funny Cartoon

My husband sent this to me and I just laughed so hard. I am a Democrat but this last election left a lot to be desired on who to choose. I almost went with Ralph Nader (yikes).

Yesterday was a mixture of good and bad. My brother is "helping out" at our mom's house. Cleaning as needed and such. Well, turns out he went into my daughter's room to use her modem. Hmmmm...I saw it as a lack of respect for her and told him not to go in there anymore. Sometimes you gotta wonder where he learned his manners. I don't think he'd like it if I just walked into his bedroom and sat there. My daughter was really upset too.

The fun part was making bookmarks out of papercraft with my friend. She is a crafty person and we get together at least once a year to work on a project. We really enjoy the time together. I got tired and left about 10ish and she didn't leave until 3:30 a.m! Boy, talk about getting into the zone! I still haven't learned how to put the pictures in the correct order. One day I'll just sit down and play. The four bookmarks are on top of the cartoon (obviously). The one on the left my friend made. I made the other three.

It seems like the end of the work year is stressful. Most people will be gone during the holidays and everything has to be done this week. The parties are fun so that is good.

Our project, LCROSS http://www.lcross.arc.nasa.gov/ , might launch in April. It is exciting to know something that our center is working on will be leaving earth soon. The whole political dynamics is amazing. So, if you are interested in becoming an amiture astronomer check out the web site to see what is going on!

For once I went to a buffett and didn't stuff myself. Three of us went to a fantastic Indian buffett. I've learned what I can eat and what I can't as far as the heat factor goes. I can tollerate a certain amount of heat but sometimes the curry is too strong for me. It sure was yummy. This restaurant makes the best butter chicken.

This week we had a dusting of snow in the hills surrounding the valley I work in (Silicon Valley). In this part of Northern California we do not see it often and those who live up high enough have a rude awakening when driving in it. It sure brought out some cold mornings. I have to laugh because so many of us do not have heavy coats. Mostly light coats to get us from one building or vehicle to the next.

I hope everyone out there is enjoying the season. The holidays are hard on some. I am working very hard to enjoy the season. I love my husband so much and it brings me great joy to see him happy with decorations and gift wraping. If it wasn't for him I think I would have been in a funk this year.

Okay...I was so wrong

I love it when I am wrong in a good way. The other day I was wondering where the nice people were. Well, I needed to go the grocery store. A man was slightly ahead of me when we got to the carts. He was so nice. He pulled a cart out and gave it to me. Then he did it for the person behind me. Now that was a nice person!

Bowling was good yesterday. 122, 101 and 133. Yeah! My friend got a 153 and she was very happy too.

So I receive a call this morning from a super good friend of mine. Believe me...drinking in excess is not a good thing for her. All of her inhibitions go completely out the window. How she made it home I don't know and how she is making it to work this morning I don't know either. Okay...at our Christmas party this week I got a little tipsy but I was just giggly. Plus I didn't have to drive. Walking from one building to another is really easy.

Oh well...tis the season!

Pay it forward

Have you ever wondered where all the nice people are? You hear all this talk of pay it forward and I hardly ever see evidence of it. It is the concept of you do one nice thing for someone and they, in turn, will do something nice for someone else. This has been a concept for movies, commercials and even at my granddaughter's school.

Sometimes I get that nice feeling when someone does something small for me. But not often. Just a simple thing like you have toilet paper on your shoe. So you don't walk around like a dork. My husband was the one who really introduced me to this. He sees a person that needs help and he's there. Stranger or friend he is there. If I am there and it is a woman who is alone I make sure they know they are safe and he is with his wife. Nowdays you can't be too trusting which is a sad concept.

On Thanksgiving night we'd run out of booze so yes...I made a booze run. It is kind of funny when I think about it now. But I went to the only liquor store in town that was open. I paid the HUGE price for a bottle of booze, Pepsi for my daughter and a 2 liter bottle of soda. I struck up a quick conversation with the store owner. Then he said he will help me out with my purchases. My first reaction as a woman alone is no way...No way am I going to be out there in the dark with a stranger. Then I thought about it...I can still stay safe yet allow this man to do something nice. Yes, I could have taken care of those all myself but he helped me. It also made me feel good that someone cared and it allowed him to feel good about himself too. Needless to say I found a way to pay it forward in my own way.

Bowling

Bowling was good last night! My three games were all over 100. Now for me, that is good.

It was funny because the team we were playing against love to drink beer while bowling. How they bowl in their condition is beyond us. I kept teasing them this year about buying me a coconut rum shot. Well, they did. hehe I actually bowled better after having the drink. They are a lot of fun to bowl against. One guy though usually gets too drunk and has to watch his temper. He's actually gotten better at it.

Below are my stats since they have been keeping track since 2003:
League Type
Average
Center/Assoc
2008-2009
All Ames
Winter
No stats yet recorded

Homestead Lanes Santa Clara County USBC
2007-2008
All Ames
Winter
105

Homestead Lanes Santa Clara County USBC
2006-2007
All Ames
Winter
107

Homestead Lanes San Jose USBC WBA
2005-2006
All Ames Bowling League
Winter
100

Palo Alto Bowl Peninsula WBA
2004-2005
All Ames Bowling Leauge
Winter
103

Palo Alto Bowl Foothill WBA
2003-2004
All Ames Bowling Leauge
Winter
97

Past hump day

It is Thursday! We are past hump day and Friday is almost here and I'll be home tomorrow.

Tonight is bowling. Since we did not bowl last week I expect I will do horrible. That is oaky, we are only there for the fun of it all. Although I feel I am getting somewhat anti-social. Sometimes I don't feel like talking and doing all the gossip. I guess I am getting tired of people like that. This might be my last year. We shall see.

Yesterday I was talking with one of my best friends. She is like a sister to me because we've known each other since she was born. I swear I can do the sickest things around her and she can always top me. That woman can make me gag in a heartbeat. I've gotten better though through the years at dealing with the gag reflex. We talked of how I have gained half of the weight I'd lost back. I am such a stress and emotional eater. She was my cheerleader this conversation. She has some leftover meals from the plan we were both on and she will send them to me since she will not be using them. What a pal she is. I love her so much.

I work really hard at not letting the depression get to me. I miss my mother so much but yet I've still not had the chance to properly grieve. My husband and I have had to deal with so much business for her estate. It is so hard. I am glad though my brother transferred trustee over to me. Sometimes I don't think his head is in the right place. He's dealing with his own home issues and this really would have put too much onto him.

This morning a chat friend called me. We hadn't talked in a few years and he had gotten hold of me a couple of months ago. It is really nice to talk with him and re-new the friendship. He was one of the people I'd met when I did the cross country chat friend travel with DavidG. I swear that was the best trip I'd ever had. Meeting people from chat was a lot of fun.

If you are interested in what is going on with the Mars program here at NASA you should take a look at this:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/sciencefair/2008/12/nasa-grounds-ne.html
Sometimes I think I am a bad employee...I don't keep up with what is going on with the agency. I didn't even know the shuttle landed at Edwards AirForce Base, CA until I read it in the paper. Once I was in Los Angeles and I could have gone to see a landing if only I'd listened to the news earlier in the day. It would have been awesome to see that.

Bye for now!

What a wonderful Holiday

Yes, this was Tom Turkey who was the main course of our Thanksgiving dinner. My husband does an awesome job of bbqing turkeys and most anything. Included on the menu was a roast pork. The whole dinner was just yummy.

We had dinner at my mother's house to honor her. She would have loved being there if she was still with us. Hubby and I spent two nights at the house with my daughter and her family. We had a BLAST! The best part of all is two people who could have put a damper on the whole party were not there.

Above the bbqed turkey is my daughter's dog Sage. She was a handful when she was a puppy but now she is just adorable. Yes, she was part of the fun and entertainment of the holiday. A perfect lady.

Hmmm....I cannot seem to move the picture. I'll have to work on that soon.

Saturday I took my graddaughter and niece to see "Twilight". They had both seen it already but were willing to go with me to see it too. I had read the first book so I would know what my granddaughter was reading. Well, personally I thought it was a little old for an 11 year old. She is 12 now. I told her mother the contents of the book. She didn't have an issue with it. She said it is only a book. I remember being her age and reading the Summer of '42. haha I got away with so much because my mother didn't read books. Well, she mentioned it once to someone what I was reading and that person was shocked my mother would let me read it at that age. Opps...luckily my mother had the same thoughts as my daughter...it is only a book.

It was such a wonderful weekend/holiday. Hubby and I took an extra day off and loved every minute of it.

I've kind of been keeping in touch with a girlfriend that I've known since grade school. We have a mutual close friend but hadn't kept up with each other too much. Well, this friend has truely made a transformation in her life. She is two years sober and had divorced her husband. Today she and I had some really good interactions on yahoo IM. It is so wonderful to know someone who had gone through so much hard times and be able to turn their lives around for the better. I really admire her for being so strong.

I've been dealing with ear issues the past month and a half. Basically is it just water behind the ear drum and it will eventually go away on its own. I had seen the doctor two weeks ago and he perscribed some meds to help me out. My right ear kept getting worse and worse though. I was at Costco last Saturday and a gentleman and I were having a conversation about the ground beef. At one point I was looking down and he said something. All I heard was mumble, mumble. I just looked up at him and smiled. What could I do really. I couldn't hear! Monday morning hubby and I were enjoying not having to get up at 4 a.m. and relaxing in bed. At one point my "bad" ear was exposed and the "good" ear was laying on the pillow. My poor husband...he said "I love You" and I didn't hear it. I didn't even ask What? hehe My usual response when I don't hear something. That morning I made an appointment with my doctor. My ear had gotten so plugged up with wax I couldn't hear well. Well, you know something is yucky when the nurse, who was flushing out the wax, is going Ewwww! Gross! LOL It was gross

Life is too funny sometimes.