Happy New Year!

I probably won't be on here until next year, so might as well wish you all the happiest and safest of New Years. How were your Christmases??? Mine was fabulous. Our party was so much fun, everyone had a great time. Christmas eve was laid back. We went out and looked at Christmas houses, which is always fun and inspiring. We attended midnight Mass, which I must say I was pretty disappointed. Most of the time I don't mind the sermons, I find that some priests have a warm, welcoming message on Christmas. This one was NOT one of them. To sum it up, the intent was to make you feel guilty-good old Catholic guilt. I didn't feel guilty. He actually said something along the lines of saying Happy Holidays to one another diminishes Christmas and it's meaning. How about turning that around and saying that we wish people Happy Holidays for respect. No one walks around during Christmas exclaiming their religion. Ok, now i've gone on a tangent...my bad....

• ah New Years! a time to make new goals for yourself. I know, some people say I always make goals for myself bla bla bla...well this is different. You are actually given a starting point. I'm going to keep trying to quit smoking-the week off didn't help. I realized this morning as I was getting into the shower that if I keep trying it means that at some point I won't smoke as i did the year before. And the more I try the better it will be. I like that thought. The point is try and to do my best and not beat myself up. No guilt. 
• HELP! ok. i don't know what is going on with me, but I can SEE myself getting older. I may need botox. lol. a face lift?  i don't know. SOMETHING. I'm only 34! I'm turning 35 in a couple of months and I don't wanna. I'm scared of getting older. now if i looked like this i wouldn't mind.

• i hate my chair at work. It literally took me three days to get my hips back to normal on my days off. Now i'm back again and my hips are getting stiff alllll over again. sigh. there's just no winning with sitting 8 hours a day. 
• I have accomplished a lot this year. I've confronted some monsters. Most of them in my mind. I hit a wall trying to conceive and at the same time watched a loved one slowly pass into another world. Stood by my partner while he grieves and still does so. I learned how to put my feelings and needs on the back burner even when i needed attention.  I also confronted my pain. For 30 years I've kept the pain from not having a father on the backburner and it has eaten me alive. I finally did it. I'm not healed, per se, but it's out there in the universe floating around and not trapped inside me. Next year I'm not sure what I will do. My father who is sort of in my life again wants me to visit, but it's pretty hard when I don't have the money to go and see him. My first priority-no matter how painful it sounds to him, is my mother and grandmother. They are my family. So we'll see. But i will not stand for guilt next year. 
• I think i've done pretty well with this blog. I've tried my best to make it a monday-friday thing, but we also know that just can't happen all the time. I started out talking about random things and i think i've kept it that way. I don't always talk about me or work or dogs or etc. I want to be able to talk about anything I want; hence the random part.
• Here's some good news for all of you dog lovers. I know I shared about Snickers, but hey guess who gets to go back home. Snickers can go home! This news warmed my heart. I truly believe that some towns needs to get a grip. I am thankful for laws that supercede small town laws. They need to be held responsible for their stupidity and prejudices. Welcome home sweetie pie! i hope you and your owner give eachother lots of cuddles and you forget about the horrific experience of cages and prejudice. 
• Ok. Yahoo sometimes has news that people care about, but TODAY was the dumbest thing I have ever read. That idiot Snookie from Jersey shore apparently changed her haircolor, I am proud to admit that since I never cared to look at her before I had no idea that her hair was different. Oh the dumbing down of America......

Well my dears, i leave you because i have a lot of stuff to do. I'm a busy bee today. Have a great weekend and if you have Monday off, high five so do i! Please be safe! hugs thugs!

13 MORE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!

I can feel the excitement in my body and it just wants to RUSH out of me!!! YAHOOOO!  We're going to dinner Chistmas eve and maybe, most likely meeting up with our friends after to see the lights. As with every year, we go to late night Mass, come home, stay up late maybe open one present and go to sleep  just to wake up to PRESENTS! I CANNOT wait! hehehe. i'm such a kid at heart...

• Pole dancing lessons on Living Social in the Oakland area.....not sure if i want to go there for anything. I value my life. 
• Any food with the name Pho, does not sound appealing. I think it's because pho in spanish translates to stinky. 
• I've sent you here before cuteoverload.com the link takes you to some kittens...you have got to see these kittens...I now want kittens....gimme kittens....abra cadabra

bonus kittens and puppies..

• My AM Spanish speaking abilities are limited. Seriously tried speaking to someone in Spanish and i sounded like an idiot. UGH. I need to get a kids book or something and relearn my language. 
• And the local forecast says:am showers and rain on Thursday the rest of the week looks Sunny in the 50's. boo. I know, I know. Not trying to sound bah humbug about it, but i like change in the weather. Makes me feel normal. 
• Sent my Christmas Cards this morning. I have a package to send at lunch and it will be so much fun to stand in line at the post office.
• Thanks to a friend of mine, I got to borrow, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. So far, very good book and I got to page 100 last night at 11:20 and made myself put the damn book down. I love books I can't put down. :)
• Yesterday I made TWO soups for my lunches this week. I technically made a third soup, more of a stew but that was for dinner. People of America, if you have leftovers during the week save them. Get yourself some STOCK, broth is ok, but chicken stock sometimes helps with flavor more than broth and create a soup. It's not hard. It's the easiest thing in the world. Put stock in pot, let it boil a little, put leftovers in, let it boil. taste to see if it needs anything-Don't add salt, add salt when you're about to eat it. Add some pepper if need be. but voila you got soup. :) Oh do you want to know what kind of soups I made? One is from the leftover Rice a Roni Broccoli Au gratin and i put some of the left over chicken in there-great color soup by the way. The other was a beef rice a roni left over and to that one I added Beef Broth(didn't have stock) and lots of mixed veggies-a dab of A-1 sauce made it a little tastier.
• Looks like i'm catching up with all of you, since I neglected y'all last week.
• Any New Year's Resolutions for Next Year? I hate people who say, I don't believe in Resolutions bla bla bla...It's good to find some time in the year to focus on a change to be a better you. Maybe this day is more "trendy" but at least it give you a reason. For me? I want this year to be more spontaneous. I'd like Gerry and I to be able to go somewhere and have a weekend away. Or go camping like we used to. Drive up to Tahoe on the busiest weekend of the year and pray that we get a site! lol. that weekend was awesome AND we got to take Bella.  I want more of that next year. This year was a busy work year. Time to enjoy the life we're given with the person we love. 
• Alright funny Christmas pictures and then I'm out. Have a wonderful day and i'll check back with ya tomorrow.