Looking back...

Okay, so I've been reading a lot of other blogs today and figure I needed to make an entry myself. I knew it would be slow today, almost half the department took the day off, this afternoon will be even worse. It's only 10:47 and I'm very, very bored. My brother and a lot of other people reading this may say that it's cause I am a state worker, aka cardboard cutout, but it's not usually like this. I know my job title sounds very prestigous and I actually know a lot more than you may think, but since this consolidation the duties are not finalized between everyone yet. So add that to the fact that it's a slow time of the year, I haven't got anything to keep me busy except IM'ing with my sister, blogging, and the food that's leftover from the festivities (I sure don't need more of that). Why didn't I take the day off I tell myself? Cause I'm stupid. I could be at home playing the "chase the naked baby around the house" game right now. (Savannah thinks it's a game to get out of the tub and have me chase her to put her diaper on! She just loves the fact that I need to catch her before she piddles on the floor so it's become a game to her!) I could also be cleaning my house and taking our tree down or watching daytime television. But I chose to come here. I guess with a new boss I've kind of set a standard for myself to not miss any work unless I absolutely needed it. (I really want to be able to say to someone that I have to use or lose my vacation within the next couple of years!)

But enough about that boring stuff! I've got an idea from you fellow blog members to reminisce about the top ten or so things that happened for me and my family in 2005. I think it's a good way to sum up some of life's milestone events. So let's see, in 2005...

1. Savannah turned 1 and accomplished all the normal baby milestones for her age (she still has yet to talk in sentences though...oh and she's back on the binkie for bedtime BTW)
2. Michael turned 16 (still no license, but has brought up his grades for two semesters now! - in case you didn't know that was part of the deal before he can get his license)
3. We got a pet dog
4. We put our lawn and sprinkler system in!
5. I work in a new office
6. No one died in my family this year
7. Michael got his wisdom teeth pulled
8. My little brother had another baby in July
9. Michael worked on a farm for the summer
10. I was awarded 5 years of service through the State of Utah
11. I got my first speeding ticket
12. We refinanced our house

That sums up some things for now. I'm sure I'll think of more as time goes by.

After all is said and done...

I look back on our holiday weekend and, well, everything went as planned and the kids were very excited. It was a wonderful Christmas this year. Mom's party was fun too. We played the gift trading game and no one wanted to trade which is very unusual. We also had white elephants and visted my Dad and Grandparent's at the gravesite. It was a beautiful day to do so and even though I know mom wasn't up for company, I think it makes her feel better at least while we're there. (I hope) I usually get very depressed after Christmas is over, but it seems to not be so bad this year. All I have to do is look at our photos and they bring smiles to my face. See for yourself! Anyway, not going to spend much more time on the PC, I've got legos and dolly's to play with!

It's just my preference

I've been listening to the free radio on MSN today at work where they play a variety of music and I swear I hit the button that was not "country" style Christmas music, but some song by the Dixie Chicks that is supposed to be Christmas themed came on anyway. I'm sorry but I hate country versions of Christmas music. (That's probably cause I don't like country music anymore - yes I once did, back in the early 90's.) So no offense to you all that do, but I just like the traditional ones that really feel like Christmas. Just had to get that off my chest...

It's getting close!

Christmas is almost here, can you believe it? As I've been wrapping and buying the last of our gifts this weekend it makes me so excited. I know Christmas isn't about gifts but it seems to put me in the spirit. And the snow! Last night it snowed and was so beautiful and white....dang, I should have taken a picture. Anyway, I'm excited and I think the kids will be very excited this year too!

I am bored again

As my blog's tagline says, "When in boredome, blog something!" so here I am. No need to rant and rave about why I'm bored and the current situation about my work's lack of job duties. I'll just dive right into this.

So I have a lot of thoughts running through my mind this morning. Here are the current top ten:

1. I wonder what my mom and sisters are doing right this minute. I hope they are warm in the sunny air out there on their cruise and are relaxing, Lord knows all four of them need it.

2. I wonder if we are being too mean to encourage the boys to keep their grades at a C average or some of their Christmas presents will be at stake.

3. I wonder if I'll get used to this new theme on my blog. I've had the other since the inception of my creation.

4. I think I'm finally getting excited for Christmas. Why is it that gift giving (buying and wrapping gifts) puts me in the mood more than anything? Ah, I suppose...we haven't had our family party yet so that is another thing that usually helps.

5. I wonder when the mail will get here so I can maybe have something to do.

6. I think I'm so bored I want to instant message old friends that aren't really my friends any more just because they are online and my real friends aren't.

7. I'm getting really hungry.

8. I'm really, really, bored.

9. I wonder how long it will take Savannah to finally be rid of the beloved binkie. (We are working with her right now on not using it. She has been using it only for bedtime these last few months, but now it's time to break the habit so we can go on forward with potty training. I don't want to let her grow up!!!)

Go figure once again!

Let me tell you another quick story about Savannah and her playing with my wallet. If you read this blog on a regular basis, you would know that last week she lost my wallet the same day I got pulled over for my very first speeding ticket. Well this time she was playing with my wallet, she took my debit card and put it in a pocket I never use nor knew even existed! I've been without it for a week - searching high and low for it, calling the grocery store countless times just knowing they were hiding it from me, and finally today I decided to declare it lost and request a new one to replace it. in the meantime my account can't be accessed online nor can my husband or I use our ATM cards as they will be issuing new ones. And of course I found it just 5 minutes ago after catching that little bugger playing with my wallet again! All that trouble and go figure once again...you always find what you are looking for when you are not looking. I need to start keeping my purse up!!!

Am I a whimp or what?

So my mom and my three sisters are probably in Mazatlan sipping on the good stuff aboard their cruise right now while I'm tending to laundry and a sleeping pill hangover from last night. My mom invited all the daughters on a cruise as our Christmas gift but I knew I wouldn't want to leave Savannah for a week without any contact so I stayed behind. All their kids are grown up and well over 10 now so no biggee to them to get away. Anyway, I can't wait to hear their adventures and see their pictures when they come home.

I miss my Grandma

As I hear the old time Christmas music I miss my Grandma Johnson and am sad to be reminded that I'm no longer a kid. My missing her always starts with Halloween and ends through Christmas. I miss her all the time but the seasons of fall and winter I miss her the most. I hope she knows I am missing her and I hope she knows that I feel bad I didn't spend more time with her when I should have. I was always so bashful as a kid I never talked to her or got to know her then and when I was grown up I never made the time to see her as often as I could have. Why is it that I think of her more now than when she was here just two cities away for me to visit? She could have used the company too, she was so lonely that she even called me once to see if I still had her Titanic movie I borrowed and returned the week before just as a means to have a reason to call and strike up a conversation. So I feel guilty that I miss her now. She was a perfect person in my mind and I think I felt awkward being around her cause of all the things I did or didn't do in my life. She is an angel and I miss her. If you could see all the wonderful things she made with her hands for each of her kids, grand kids, and great grand kids you would be astonished! Afghans, quilts, dresses, Barbie clothes, ceramics, cross-stitch, you name it! I wish I would have kept those things she made from when I was little. At least I still have my afghan and dish towels she hand crafted. Those things are and will always be irreplaceable. Christmas when I was little was so magical and she made it that much more special. What's even more magical is something that happened after my Grandpa passed on seven months after my Grandma did. My aunt had called us grandkids up to let everyone know they were free to look in the house to see if there was anything we wanted to keep. I had my eye on something back when Grandma and Grandpa were still alive so naturally I would look for it. You see, Grandma had started putting grandkid's names on different knick knacks of hers in the later years as she had them in mind for when she passed on for them to keep to remember her. I knew she hadn't picked anything out for me yet and so every time I went over to visit them I would look at the little stuffed Bambi on on the shelf amongst the hundreds of other things she had and tought to myself, "I wonder if Grandma would mind me asking for that." I only wanted it cause it always made me think of her. I don't know if it's because her name was Fawn or if just watching the old movie with the old music reminded me of her or what, but I never got up the nerve to ask and just kept checking back when visiting to see if it was still in its place. So after Grandpa died, I was rummaging through the pile that was left on the floor of their living room to see if anything caught my attention that I would want to keep that would remind me of them. (I couldn't believe that someone just threw everything off the shelves and dumped it on the floor!) After a while I found on the very bottom the little stuffed Bambi. I was so excited, I thought, "Wow, no one wanted her stuffed Disney characters?" (She had ALL of them!) But then I looked around at the pile and actually they were all gone except for that Bambi. I knew right then and there someone had listened to my wish and now I have the Bambi adding to the magic she created holding my her memory of her dear to my heart - thoughtful, loving, and always unselfish.



One of the best pics of my Grandma's smile!

She did it!

Savannah went potty in her training toilet for the very first time!!!! YAY! She is constantly surprising me every day now. The other day she said, "Brush teeth," and she carried on a baby-talk conversation with me on the phone when we were stuck in the snowy traffic for 2 hours last night. Only one problem lately. She has been obsessed with jumping. She can't fully do it on her own yet, so she requires assistance. Talk about wearing me out! I finally took some online advice and let her use the cushion to the couch for practice and it works very well. Anyway, I just had to share this milestone with you all before I get to my check book.

I got my weekly coupon from Osh Kosh in my email this morning and its doing its job alright. Makes me want to stop on my way home and pick out a few things for Savannah. Why is it so intriguing to shop for clothes for little girls? I'm afraid if I were to win a shopping spree in a contest and had my choice where to shop, it would be anywhere that I can buy outfits for Savannah. Even when we visit Target, Shopko, or Walmart for other things outside of clothes, I still find myself drawn in the toddler section looking at all the little girl clothes even if I was just there looking at them the day before. I'ts bad I know, but I just love it. Am I obsessed or what? Probably a mommy-daughter thing.

I hate to say it...

...but I wish I worked in an office with a bunch of men - this sounds different than what you think. You see, with women, this time of year it's all about giving cutsie little Christmas gifts given to EVERYONE at work. I don't have that kind of money or time this year so I am "bah humbugging" the idea. If I worked with a bunch of men, none of this would matter. So what am I going to do for 8 ladies and one guy for gifts in my team at the office? I have no idea. I thought about getting each one of those large Symphony candy bars, wrapping it up with a cute little note and calling it good, but is that too cheesy? I guess since this is my first Christmas with this team and I don't know them very well, I'm not apt to make the effort too personal but in light of the season of giving I still want to let them know I care with some kind gesture. What do you think? Any ideas? (Think cheap!)

Christmas Carols

My husband and I were talking about the holiday songs playing on the radio and he's right, the songs are ruined with new versions. Granted some of them are the oldies and goodies but then you get this mixture with today's stars singing the carols and it just ruins the whole experience. By the sounds of different collections from the free radio I've been listening to online, they have been doing this for some time, not just now. I'm sorry but I like my Christmas songs to be nostalgic and simple, there is no need for a twisty edge of vocals by Jessica Simpson or Faith Hill added to the old fashioned song as if they are trying to make the top hit list. (Yet I like Barbara Streisand's wild version of "Jingle Bells," but that's probably cause it reminds me of when I was little and my mom would play the LP vinyl record while she was baking, and how can you go wrong with Barb?) Maybe I'm just getting to be old fashioned or something.

Go figure

Okay, okay....I've had it! This morning Savannah got my wallet out of my purse and was playing with it. When we left to go to the grocery store I couldn't find it after I swear I took it from her and put it in safe keeping. So after looking for a half an hour, I decided to just go without it. Well needless to say on the way home from the store, guess who got pulled over for speeding? I did. I can't believe it. I have never NEVER had a speeding ticket in my life. I usually always drive the speed limit and I ALWAYS have my license with me. But of course not today. I don't get it. I guess there is a first time for everything. Two weeks before Christmas I have to pay a speeding ticket. And the cop said he would give me a warning on not having my license...how nice of him. First of all the road I am talking about is a 5 mile stretch with NOTHING on it. NOTHING! They had the speed limit set at 45 when they first built it. A few months later they put it down to 40. Why? I have no idea. There are no houses, no turning lanes, hardly any traffic, and no intersections at all! Just because there will be doesn't mean they need to have the speed limit so low now. The drive is long enough and sometimes it's hard to not space off and go faster than you realize (kind of like being on a long road trip out in the plain fields). I hate small towns for that reason. I sped all the time when I lived in a bigger city and no one ever noticed then.

At least the rest of the day wasn't a total loss. Savannah played with the snow for the first time (only for a second cause it was soooo cold) and the boys made a gingerbread house together.

Chistmas Shopping Bah Humbugs!

I'm sorry to say but either it's because we're done with our Christmas shopping or because I'm tight for the rest of this year because of Christmas or that I'm really not about the whole commercial way of thinking for the holidays for once. I'm sick of all the radio stations and TV commercials talking about shopping and this and that is for sale. This isn't what Christmas is about! It's about making gingerbread houses and getting together with family and lights and caroling and remembering Christ. Anyway, it's been bugging me all week so I had to get it off my chest.

Talking about People will eat anything at the Office

This is soooo true. I was visiting Three Blog Night today and read this entry and just realized how much people do eat at the office. And he is right that it's not just regular food, it's the ick food too. Even I am to blame for doing this. Just yesterday I had a coworker offer me some shelled pumpkin seeds that were green and she had so many that they looked she was carrying around a Ziploc bag full of hopps for home brew. So after I told her, "No thanks," she proceeded to talk me into trying some anyway and of course I did. Needless to say they were okay, but in a cow manure tasting kind of way. I think they were supposed to be used for roasting in the oven with a little oil and seasoning salt, but they were raw. I ended up eating half of them while sitting at my computer working away and still have the rest sitting on my desk. I'm sure that as long as they are sitting there I will pick them up in handfuls and finish eating them without even realizing it.

And then you have the office potluck. If people only knew who made what they surely wouldn't try everything. Or is it that they feel obligated to? I took all the stuff from a potluck once just to be nice. I didn't eat most of it after I found out who made what, but they didn't need to know about it. That's why it's good to eat at your desk in private. Knowing what I knew from visiting the ladies restroom at work, you wouldn't have touched that lady's pomegranate salad either!

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People will eat anything at the Office

It never ceases to amaze me the garbage people will eat here at the office. Just the other day we had some extra "blah" tasting corn on the cob. I bring it to work, two hours later...GONE...and this was 12 ears. No small feet for even a big office. But today...today took the cake. A recipe gone bad as far as I was concerned was sitting in my little playmate cooler festering for a few days when I decided,,,,screw it I'm going to see if anybody here will eat this. A Little social experiment so to speak. So I put the suicide supper in the break room freezer with a note sure to tempt people....."Jim's Food". Four hours later....GONE, including the cool whip container it was in (kind of wanted that back). And this stuff was bad, I mean it even looked bad. Imagine something offwhite with ham chucks in it....that's what this was. And I don't even know what that green stuff was. Anyway, I'm watching the bathroom door for any sudden movements.....this could be bad. Stay tuned till next week when I bring a dead animal to work.

Damn, I really miss the cool whip container.