Looking Ahead to 2008

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. I am writing out a list of goals for 2008...not resolutions but goals. That seems to work a bit better for me. We had a great 2007 and many of our goals and wishes came true. I know 2008 is going to be even better. When Dave gets home from work, yes he had to work today, we are going to Mom and Aunt Lynn's to ring in the New Year with them. Love to all of you!!!

Christmas Highlights

My Honey at the Christmas dinner table waiting to chow down.

Mom and Aunt Lynn

Just me, waiting to open presents and to eat Christmas dinner.

My adorable husband in his Christmas hat.

Our Christmas dinner at Mom and Aunt Lynn's house...yum.



We had a terrific day at Mom and Aunt Lynn's house. Here are some of the presents they gave us before we unwrapped them.

Christmas Countdown

Hustle and Bustle

My hubby and I finally finished our Christmas shopping. We did a lot of online shopping but had some gifts to get at certain stores. Now we just have to finish wrapping. Next year our goal is to be organized and finish most of our shopping in October. It would be so nice to sit back and enjoy the month of December instead of running around and stressing. Another thing about last minute Christmas shopping is that people on the road at this time of year seem to forget how to drive. The courtsey of drivers is at all time low. So here's to Christmas shopping in October.

No Gold Star For Me

I have been a bad, bad blogger. I just noticed I haven't blogged in over a week. Shame on me. Like I have said before I'm going to try harder to post more often. We will see how that works out. I have been writing out our Christmas cards this evening. I know some people hate the task but I don't. I think of each and every person as I write out their card and about past and present memories. It helps if you have Christmas music on or a good Christmas movie on tv. That makes it feel all the more Christmasy.

Shopping and Mail

I love, love online shopping! It's so easy to sit in front of your computer and browse and buy. You can be in your jammies, all comfy and drinking a nice, hot cup of coffee. What could be better? The other great part of shopping online is when you get the boxes delivered to your door or somewhere near it, hehe. I am a mail, UPS and Fedex junkie. It gives me a natural high to get stuff in the mail. It's a thrill to order things and I also love getting surprises. Well, I'm off to do some online Christmas shopping. Ah, no standing in line.

Santa Is On His Way

Christmas Voki

Get a Voki now!


I think everyone should have their very own Voki.

Blog Dreams

I'm enjoying blogging so much. It's a cheap thrill for me. I hope to get better and better. I'm trying to learn all the things I need to know. I know it will take time because I'm such a novice. My dream is to one day have an incredibly popular blog. A blog that people can't wait to read every day and they tell all their friends about. I know for that to happen I have to up the excitement factor. I have many ideas for the direction I want this blog to go in. I may even start another blog for some of these ideas. As you can tell I love to daydream. You never know, dreams sometimes come true.

I'm Stuffed

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We ate around noon. This is a bit earlier than we usually eat but we had to this year because my husband had to go to work. The food was scrumptious as usual. Dave and I made green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. My mom and aunt made the rest. Mom makes the best stuffing in the world!!! I will post the recipe soon. It's a recipe that's been passed down generation to generation. We made it once when we lived in Iowa (Dave's home state)and his family really liked it. We ate, had dessert, talked and then we had to run out the door so Dave could make it to work in time. Whoa, it was a whirlwind Thanksgiving to say the least. I'm so happy that he is off Christmas day. I know that I said I would post pictures of our Thanksgiving but to tell you the truth it went by so fast that I didn't even take my camera out of my purse. I will try to do better with Christmas pictures. I hope everyone had a beaautiful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

Thanksgiving Wishes

Happy Thanksgiving to family & friends near and far. We are going to Mom and Aunt Lynn's for dinner and then Dave has to go to work. One of the non-perks of your husbamd working at a hospital. Thank goodness he has Friday off. We plan on eating leftovers, watching tv and writing out Christmas lists of what we want to buy for everyone. Love the holidays!!! I will post pictures from Thanksgiving in the next few days. Enjoy your Turkey Day.

Promise

For those of you reading this blog, I promise I will be updating more often. I'm going to try to post daily. Try...

Our New Car

We got a new car on Thursday. A Chevy HHR. We are in love with it!! We are giddy that we finally got a new car. We had our old baby, a 1996 Honda Civic for over 11 years. It was a wonderful and reliable car in it's day but it was time to get a new one. The weird thing is that every time we spoke of getting a new vehicle something would malfunction or happen with our old car. I know it's an inanimate object but it's like it knew. This happened many times. Strange I tell you.

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The "Cou" Story

I'm of Portuguese, Irish and English descent. Like in many American/European families, my family often lived with each other or very close by. So the whole family had a hand in raising the children. We lived with my maternal grandparents when I was young. I soaked up everything Portuguese, food, stories and almost the language. Let me explain, my grandmother wanted to teach me Portuguese because children learn a foreign language more easily when they're young but my dad didn't want me to learn because he didn't want me to know more than he did. My grandmother (Nana) still taught me words here and there. For example, she and my mom would have me say good night "boa noite" and other words and phrases. They taught me the word for rearend "cou". One day while in kindergarten I fell down and started crying, when my teacher asked me what happened, I told her I hurt my "cou". She looked at me like I was an alien from another planet. I couldn't get her to understand what I meant. I was so frustrated. When I got home I told my mom the story in my little girl way. It then hit her and she started smiling. When teaching a child words in a foreign language you have teach them the words in English also. Boy, did I feel like a giant "cou" that day. It's now a lovely family story.

A Treat Addicted Cat!

Tabby attacking a Pitr' Pat


Our cat Tabitha has a new favorite treat. They're called Pitr' Pat. She bugs us for them day and night. I jokingly told my husband the company should rename them Pitr' Crack. She has really been craving them and acts like she needs a fix throughout the day. They come in a cute little pink tin and are shaped like fish. The company, Chomp, Inc calls it candy for cats. We think she might be swallowing them whole. Charming.

A Haunted House Tale

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With Halloween just around the corner I thought I would write a spooky post. I grew up in an actual haunted house. Really!! Many freaky things happened there. Papers blowing around in the attic when not one window was opened, furniture moving by itself, bright lights shining through windows when there wasn't a soul outside. Well, maybe a soul, just not in it's earthly wrapping. There were also voices and an other-worldly humming in the middle of the night. My great-grandfather claimed he was pushed down the attic stairs. I for one believe him because I myself was pushed down the attic stairs. Not gently I might add. One night in the darkened hallway my mom saw my grandfather coming out of my room. She thought he was just checking on me but when she went downstairs minutes later, he was sound asleep on the couch and my grandmother said he had been asleep for hours. My mom ran upstairs and of course there wasn't anyone in my room, that she could see that is. *insert goosebumps here* My family said I had imaginary friends that I insisted were real and one of them was an older man. Years later when speaking to a very gifted psychic, she said that I had talked to spirits when I was a little girl. Who knew? We had blessings by priests and my grandmother spoke to a psychic friend of hers that said we had treasure buried in our basement so my family dug up a major part of the dirt cellar floor and didn't find anything. I do believe there was something there, they just weren't looking in the right place. When I was very young I didn't understand the stories and what they meant , but the last year we lived in the house I could hardly sleep at night because of a nightly knocking at my window. I was so scared that I spent most nights in the bathroom, reading, with the light on. In my opinion that house was a vortex for the unusual. I have more stories to tell about it but I will save that for another time. Boo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Cat

This fake rat is mighty tasty.

Tabitha

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

Enchanting...

I just read an enchanting book that I got from our local library. "Garden Spells" was an amusing and easy read. The author Sarah Addison Allen is from Asheville, North Carolina. NC is our new home state and we are proud of anything that comes out of here. The author has another book coming out in 2008. There isn't a title for the book yet.

Mmm, I Smell Coffee and Books

I would love to open a coffee, books, wi-fi, computer cafe someday. It would be a dream come true. There is just something that feels so right about it. I'm daydreaming about what I would like to name it. A few of the names I'm thinking of are "Imagine That" or "Flying Pigs Coffee & Books." We would have the best coffee, treats, books and magazines. We would sponsor fun events. We would decorate the walls with local photographers and artists works. Maybe have a whole wall painted with chalkboard paint so that people could use colored chalk and draw on it. I would love to work with my husband by side. We have such good times together. My mom and Aunt Lynn could fill in on occasion. I say fill in because they are retired and I want them to enjoy their lives. Another person I would love to have working with us is my cousin/our goddaughter K. I'm using the intial K because I know she wouldn't want her name all over the internet. I think she would make a great addition to our team. She loves books and coffee too, hehe. She is very smart and has a terrific personality. It doesn't hurt that she is young and that would lend a hip vibe to the place. The only problem is that she doesn't live in the same state as we do. Just dreaming at the moment...

Ouch!!!

My husband Dave hurt himself at work a week ago. He has sciatic nerve inflammation and was in agony most of the week. I'm glad that he's healing. He went back to work too soon in my opinion but he's very dedicated. He works for a major university medical center and didn't want to risk losing his job. It's very hard to see the one you love in so much pain...ouch.

My Very First Post

This is my first post and I'm feeling a little bit timid. Timid is not my style, but I'm a newbie to the blogging world. I have been reading blogs for about six years now. It's an addiction of sorts for me. I have 50 or so blogs that I read on a daily basis.I want to make this blog an interesting place to come and visit. My aim is to fill it with fantastic links, ideas, products, and chatter about my life. When I get into the swing of things, let me know what you think. I would greatly appreciate any ideas that you might have.