Hello 2013...

Goodbye 2012 and Hello to 2013, another year gone.  It is crazy how fast this last year flew by.  I am at home alone tonight, my girls are with my Dad and Anna and Steve is at work.   The girls would have been home with me but Steve and I are heading out-of-town on a little road trip at like 5 am or maybe earlier.  We are going to Carmel.  I LOVE Carmel.  We are going for an event for the business but still get to go to the beach for a while.    So I get to spend New Years alone,  I am not really ok with it but I have no choice.  I could go out, but I do not want to be out with all the crazies and drunks.  I would much rather sit where I am next to the warm fire and listen to the scanner at all the chaos that Fire, EMS, and police have to deal with.  It is already going crazy out there.  I am safe and sound,  that's where I plan to stay.  I hope all my friends and family have a safe and Happy New Year. 

I do not do New Years Resolutions,  I find them silly.  I usually set mini goals and I don't think I will do that this year either.  Both my husband and I are going to focus on getting healthier and losing weight and by this we are going to MAJORLY change our diet and I mean majorly.  Hubby and I are going to wean ourselves to become vegetarians.  I do not see this being to difficult because I already eat a lot of salad and veggies,  I tend to eat a lot of chicken but I can live without it.  I have been doing ALOT of research and I think that doing vegetarian is the right choice for my husband and I.  We will go to Farmers Market in our town and get fresh fruits and veggies and I will be in heaven.  I love fresh fruits and veggies.  I got a new workout DVD and will be starting an exercise routine.  30 minutes on my treadmill and the 30 minute workout video.  We are excited and ready to make 2013 our year to get healthy again.  

Here is to a new year and new beginnings!  Happy New Year everyone.  Please be responsible and don't drink and drive.

Girls...Girls...Girls!

We have my stepdaughter Genna every Friday.   My girls are out of school on Christmas break, so all 4 girls were here today.  They play very good together. Genna is staying the night so we are having a girls night of fun.  We made popcorn,  watched Mulan 1 and Mulan 2, girls took a bath in our big sunken bathtub and had a blast. They played Candy Land and Bingo,  we had dinner and now the girls are relaxing by the warm fire watching Cinderella.   They are finally winding down. 

Genna got to open her Christmas present today too.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="230"] All smiles[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="346"] Playing CandyLand[/caption]

Kool-aid

So my girls came home one day telling me about how you can "temporarily" dye your hair with kool-aid. So they had wacky Wednesday that week so I agreed to dip the ends of their hair in the Kool-aid for wacky Wednesday.  Well that was a mistake because now I can't get it out of Emily's hair.  I have tried everything that everyone has told me. Now I have to cut her hair VERY short and I am sad :(  I dont want to cut her hair that short.  But that is the only way we can get this out of her hair.  :( She is not to thrilled either but we will find her a cute hairstyle and maybe she will be ok with it. Lesson learned that is for sure.

I will update after we get her hair cut...

New year = Changes!

We will soon be saying goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013.  I am not one for New Years Resolutions so I will make mini goals like I do every year.  It is much more realistic for me to do mini goals and try and reach those mini goals.   So here is to a new year and a great year.  :)

{Christmas Day}

Our Christmas was spent with family, had lots of fun and laughter.   We had Christmas at our house this year.  My Dad and Anna came over and we exchanged gifts and I made dinner.   The last 5 years or so we have always had to work so we were rushed.   This year Steve didn't have to work,  it was nice to not have to rush.   In the years before we had Christmas morning at our house, then rushed to my Dad and Anna's to open gifts at their house then have an early dinner then rush off to work.  That was no fun.  But this year was MUCH different.  We got to enjoy the day and enjoy each others company and not rush at all.  It was fantastic. 

Christmas morning we got up and the girls opened their gifts and we relaxed as they played with their new toys.  My Dad and Anna came over about noon and we chatted for a while then opened gifts from them.  Then I got dinner started.  We had a BIG ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, stuffing and dinner rolls.  YUM!  My stepmom brought over dessert,  she got cheesecake.  After dinner we all sat around chatting and enjoying company.

Girls got all the wanted and then some.  I LOVE my family.  Here are a few pictures from our day. 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="269"] Natalie excited about her air hog Santa brought her[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="230"] Hannah excited about her nail decoration kit[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="269"] The girls got a telescope. WAY cool[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="269"] My stepmom with one of her gifts[/caption]

Well I have many many more photos but I can't post them all. LOL   Hope everyone else had a fantastic Christmas.

T'was the night before Christmas

and all through the house...not a creature was stirring...not even a mouse!!

 I am so excited for Christmas in the morning, can't wait to see my little girls faces when they open their gifts.  I by no means got them everything on their Christmas list, but I did get them some things they want and I know they will be exremely happy.  Tonight the girls and I did some baking (made the doggies some homemade bones for Christmas) no they are not spoiled lol.  Emily enjoyed making the dog bisquits the most.   We did our yearly tradition of reading Christmas books before I tucked the girls into bed.  We put Santa's milk (green milk thanks to Jingle) and cookies out with carrots for the reindeer.   Then off to bed my girls went,  they were fast asleep very quickly, been a busy day.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="302"] Girls ready for bed and ready for Santa[/caption]

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="403"] Santa's green milk and cookies :)[/caption]

Steve will be off work tomorrow YAY!  First Christmas off together in 5 years.  I am so happy he will be home for dinner and all the fun we are going to have as a family.   My Dad and Anna will be here about noon and will have gifts for the kiddos to open and I will start dinner.  I am making dinner again,  I think my Dad likes my cooking.  :)  He said I did a wonderful job on dinner at Thanksgiving, that was a huge compliment for me :)  I was so happy both my Dad and Anna loved my cooking.   We will have a nice big ham dinner and all the fixings, and dessert then enjoy each others company.  After dinner if the weather holds out we might go out and go for a walk.  I love our home in the country.   I am feeling very blessed to have the most wonderful husband, kids, dad and stepmom.  While I do miss my mom, gma and sisters and the traditions we once had.  I still love the family I have here and our traditions. 

Well I better sign off,  I still have some presents to wrap.  :/   I have been slacking because I really dislike wrapping presents.  LOL 

Merry Christmas to all,  from our family to yours!  Hope you enjoy your family and have a great day.

Doing our part..

Over 2900 miles away from Newtown, CT.  I organized and put together a candlelight vigil for the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary school.  It was a last-minute thing and it turned out great.  A huge thank you to Raleys in Lincoln for donating the 27 balloons that we released one at a time in honor of each victim.   Thank you to my wonderful husband for doing the speaking,  I am NOT good at speaking in front of crowds.   Thank you to those that showed up and paid your respects as well.  It was small but perfect. 

We lit a candle for each victim and placed it in a heart shape.  It was beautiful and brought a tear to my eye. 

We sang along to Amazing Grace, sang by Rhemia a 7-year-old little girl with an amazing voice.  We stood for a moment of silence and then the girls read off the names of each victim as my friend Krystal set the balloons free as the names were read.  I got it all on video and it turned out amazing.  I was so glad the girls were involved.  It teaches them compassion, respect and to care for others even though we never met them.   It was a sad moment and I was in tears for these victims.  Still to this day my heart is heavy for those family members that will never see their babies again or their loved ones.  :(  Sooooo heart breaking.  My girls have also made a card for each kid and adult that was a victim and we mailed them to the school. 

The balloons we chose were white balloons,  white signifies "innocence" and "purity"

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="403"] A white balloon for each victim[/caption]

I bought some white candles and Dixie cups to catch the wax, and gave one to everyone that showed up without a candle one to hold and pay their respects to the victims as well.



My prayers and thoughts will continue to go out the families, friends, co-workers, police officers,  firefighters, EMS crews and all involved.  May you angels RIP! 

3 days till Christmas

So hard to believe it is so close to Christmas.   But I am done shopping, finished today.  Yay! I really hate shopping. I hate crowds, lines, traffic and rude people.  Tonight was horrible trying to finish up the last minute things.  People were ruthless and rude, I never understood why people act like idiots during the holidays.  Still don't understand lol.

My girls are ready, I mean beyond ready for Christmas so they can open presents. I am ready to get rid of this Christmas tree that is causing me headaches, stuffy nose and itchy eyes. I love the real trees but not the allergies that come with it.

Last night we had a cookie baking party.  We baked sugar cookies and decorated them. Had a great time and made some great memories.  With great friends, had a nice warm fire going. Made some snacks and had some sparkling cider and egg nog. I love my friends. We are going to make this a yearly tradition.

I an signing off to go finish wrapping presents.  Goodnight!

7 days till Christmas

It's hard to believe it is only 7 days till Christmas. I have not even finished my Christmas shopping.  Tomorrow we are going to go shopping and get things done and ready for Christmas.  We will be having my Dad and Stepmom over. 

Tonight my girls had their Christmas winter performance. They sang so well and had a great time. After their performance they got cookies and juice. 

This weekend we are going to bake cookies and I will make fudge.  Of course my girls are going to help make the goodies for our get together on Christmas day.  I cant wait. 

Well nothing else for now to report.  No news means good news sometimes. Other than our candlelight vigil went well. I will be doing a blog on this tomorrow when I can upload photos.  :)

Goodnight!

Annual road trip

Today we went and met my Mom, Gma, niece Ashley and my niece Jade for our annual Christmas meet up to visit,  have lunch and exchange gives. My sisters couldnt make it, Jami was on-call at her work and Jodi is due to have her baby anyday now.

It was a very nice brunch and visit.  Love being able to see them especially my Gma..she is 90 years old. But still doing very well for her age.  I love her VERY dearly.  I miss them so much. We went to lunch then went and walked around Pea Soup Andersons and looked at all their great gifts and did some more visiting.

Way to short of a visit but its better than nothing. Ok way to short of a visit and I am just selfish and want to see them more and spend time with them and do fun stuff.  :)

After we got back into town we went and bought candles at the dollar store and lighters for the candlelight vigil tomorrow night and now I am snuggled up with my hubby by the fire and we are going to watch a movie. .

Hope you all had as wonderful of a day as me!!

Candlelight vigil

I am organizing a candlelight vigil for the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary school.   I want to bring our community together and show our respect to those that lost their lives and those that have had their lives affected by this tragedy.   A very heartfelt thank you to Raleys here in Lincoln for donating 27 balloons to release in honor of each victim that lost their lives.  I have two DJ's that want to be involved and bring their gear to do the announcing, and I have an email into the girls choir teacher to see if she wants to sing at the event. 

So far we have quite a few people responding and wanting to help.  Thank you to Krystal, my great friend who would stop and drop anything for me.  Krystal I appreciate all your help.  Thank you to my Dad and Anna for all the advice and who I can call and all the information you have given me about people to get in touch with.  I am very happy to put this event on and proud that our community is coming together in such a tragic time. 

May the 27 victims R.I.P.. fly beautiful angels!

{When tragedy strikes}

This world is full of cruel cruel mean ugly people.  It amazes me that someone can do what they did today and kill innocent children let alone adults.  I just keep wondering what or why or how things in his life were like that would make him soooo mad and angry enough to kill these kids and adults.  I just will never EVER be able to wrap my mind around this tragedy.  It is sickening.

After hearing this tragic news I could NOT wait to go pick up my girls from school and hug them ever so tightly.  Once I saw their smiling faces walking up to my car,  my eyes started welling up with tears.  My heart aches so badly for the parents of those innocent children.  On the way home the news was on briefly and Hannah heard the news and asked if someone really did that?  I told her yes and she started to cry.  :(   We got home and Hannah asked if she and her sisters could make cards for those that were involved in this tragedy.  This girl has a heart of gold and always is thinking of others.  I LOVE HER!!! So her and her sisters made beautiful cards for the families involved in this shooting.

Love your family, husband/wife, kids, parents, friends and all the ones you love deeper and stronger.  Never go a day without telling them how much they mean to you.   Forgive people and let things go that are petty.  

 

 

12 days till Christmas

Seems so crazy to think that there is only 12 days till Christmas.  I am half done with my Christmas shopping and will finish up the rest in a few days.  I am so excited about the holidays this year.  Besides being with my family that I love dearly,  I have a very important thing in my life taking place the beginning of the new year.  I cannot wait to get this started and things are falling into place so very nicely. I have to thank my wonderful husband for this.  His support to get this up and going has been amazing and I have people already sending me emails about it and when I will be up and running.  One day at a time is my motto and I won't let one bad day keep me down.  :)   Some things are out of my control but I will remain positive.

On another note Sunday we are going to be driving down to Santa Nella to meet my mom, sister, grandma, and neice for our annual Christmas lunch and present exchange.  We do it every year and I really look forward to it since I do not see my family that often.  It is a nice little getaway and a good time.  Girls are really looking forward to it and have made Christmas presents for everyone and are very excited about that as well.

We are going to be very busy up until the new year and that is the way I like it,  I have alot of fun things planned for me  the girls and some friends of ours.  We are going to be having a crafting party put on by me at my place and will have snacks, beverages and a nice hot fire in the fire place.  I can't wait to have a great night with great friends and their kids.  We are going to be making salt dough figurines, will be making salt dough bowls and some other craft paper projects.  My girls have already been on the countdown till this day.  :)

I love my life, my kids, my husband, my friends (who are few, I know who my true friends are), and my family.  My life has never been so peaceful and easy going.  I live my life for today and regret only ONE damn thing and wish it never happened because I was put in a horrible situation and will NEVER let this kind of thing happen again EVER!  But this thing I regret doing will never pull me down and make me upset, unhappy or anything else.  It was just a life lesson and a lesson well learned.  :)    I will be the best person I can for my husband and my kids.   Some things I know that I have kept to myself would really piss people off and one day if I get upset enough I will tel them things that happened in the past that they were not ever aware of.

Ok ok so  got off subject a little .. hehe  But this is what was on my mind at the time of blogging and well that is that.