Christmas Week
Christmas week was a blur!!! Tuesday night, I went to Pam and Rachel's and we cooked all sorts of Christmas goodies...yum! Wednesday evening I made myself stay home so that I would have laundry for the weekend....of course I had to pack as well...and of course I didn't get finished so I had to get up early Thursday. I stopped back by Pam's for cake and coffee before leaving for Tim and Tracey's.
I worked from there on Friday...which was a good thing....because I would have never finished getting ready for Christmas without that day. We wrapped presents and cooked all day long! Christmas Eve was just as bad....we went to Spartanburg to finish our Christmas shopping before coming home to cook most of Sunday's meal. We had a Christmas Eve service at 11:00 pm before coming home to help Santa out. We got to bed about 3:00 am. We awoke about 6:30 on Sunday so that we could have our showers before waking Chloe up. And then the fun began! It was soooo much fun to watch Chloe open her gifts. That was the best part of Christmas! She opened the Cinderella Tea Cart I got her, looked at her Mom, and said "Dreams really do come true!" It made my heart melt!!! We left for church, came back and had a wonderful meal, before crashing on the couch. I slept most of the rest of the day and night!
Monday, I started toward home stopping to look at the after Christmas sales and of course buying too much...it was fun other than the massive crowds of people. I really wanted Starbucks but did not feel like waiting in line for an hour....and I don't think that is much of an exaggeration!!! The best part of that day was finding a pair of pants that were a size smaller than I had been buying (I can fit in a size 30 waist again....woo hoo!!!!!) and they fit! Even with all of the eating I lost a few more pounds. I have lost 24 total!!! Only four more to go until I have met my goal....how cool is that!!!
I hope that you had a great Christmas!!!!
Good things come to those who wait...
I have more to tell but need to rest for work tomorrow...more to come....including pictures!
Christmas in Cali!
Well...maybe not Christmas....but a belated Christmas! We just found out that our Christmas party for work is going to be in California....how cool is that???? We are going Jan 9-12. We are going to have some meetings, get to meet some of our customers, and have our Christmas party. We are so excited!!!! It will be an experience though. The three ladies flying with me from Florence have never flown before....much less flown to California. I have promised to help them through it...please pray for no turbulence....lol!!!
The Radio City Rockettes
The weekend before Christmas, I surprised Rachel by taking her to see the Rockettes as her Christmas present. Pam went with us and helped me keep my secret. We had a great time! We started the evening by dining at Olive Garden and then went to the show. It was awesome! The Rockettes were amazing. I have to say though that the best part of the show was the finale....it was a living Nativity Scene. No dancers, no Santa, but a tribute to the true meaning of the season. It just gave me chills. I would never have expected such a secular show to end on that note. How wonderful is that???
Grandpa George
I got a Christmas card recently from my Grandpa George in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. I was so excited to learn that he has been reading my blog....how cool is that!!!
Hi Grandpa George!!!! Miss you and love you lots!
Merry Belated Christmas!!!
Merry Christmas!!!!!
I hope that you had a great one!! This was one of the best Christmases I can remember! You wouldn't know because of the lack of posting lately! I will try to fill you in on some of the happenings in the next few posts. I just got home from Tim and Tracey's (my cousins in Union, SC with whom I spent Christmas) and have been going through laptop withdrawals so I will get right on it!
My readers deserve an apology!!!
I am so sorry for the delay in posting as of late. Between travelling, getting ready for the holidays, working, parties, being sick, and getting some rest where I can find it...I haven't had a lot of time. I will try to update more in the next few days. I have a lot to tell...this has been a great holiday season!!!!
Merry Christmas....just a few more days until Santa Clause is coming to town...and boy have I been good this year!!!!
Family Christmas Gathering - More Fun!
Family Christmas Gathering - Dirty Santa!
Family Christmas Gathering - Thomas & Stacy chatting with Mark
All lit up!
My Christmas tree...the second time around!
Christmas vs Holiday Debate
Sitting in the airport waiting to go home for our family Christmas party for the first time since I have moved to South Carolina. I am watching showbiz tonight on CNN while waiting to board my plane from Memphis to Tulsa. They are running a story regarding the "holiday tree" versus "Christmas tree" debate.
I must say I am conflicted regarding the issue.
As a Christian, I understand the importance of the holiday and that we should not take Christ out of Christmas.
I also understand the importance of respecting others and their beliefs. I understand that Christmas cannot be forced on someone who does not believe in the Christian faith. God gave us free will and allows us to make the decision to believe on our own.
At first I was upset at President Bush regarding the holiday card issue. But then I realized that there is nothing wrong with sending well wishes during a special time of the year without offending the ones you are reaching out to.
My outlook is that if your first outreach to someone is offensive, you will have a very difficult time getting your message across to them at any other time.
Daniel's National Lampoon's Christmas!
I decided that I really missed my Christmas tree this year and that I really wanted to put it up. My roommate has his own Christmas tree and since it is his house...he put it up downstairs. Several of my friends have multiple trees up this year so I decided it would not be a problem for us. I put up my 7.5 foot tree in my room. It looks great...now....I will post pictures later...hopefully tonight.
Let me regale you with the story of putting up my tree this year. It started on Monday. Rachel and Pam had come by to help and Rachel's sister and niece came over as well. Let me begin the story with some back story. When Brian, my roommate, was putting up his tree, he was missing his tree stand and borrowed mine. No problem, I just went to Kmart and picked up a stand. They only had a stand for a real Christmas tree but I thought it would work. Well, we started to put up the tree and it was unstable in the stand but we thought once we got the branches on evenly it might be ok. Wrong. Our next thought was to use wood pieces to stabilize the base in the tree stand....and that seemed to work. We got the lights on the tree...and most of the ornaments....when.....down came the tree. I was so mad but could only laugh because there was a two year old in the room.
I went to Wal-Mart and bought a new stand. On Tuesday, I took everything....ornaments....lights....everything off of the tree and started over. It looks great!!! It even has a present waiting for me. My gift from Shannon and Jaymeson! I am trying my best not to open it before Christmas....I can't wait!!!!
The Melting Pot
Last Thursday, I took Tim and Tracey for our annual trip to The Melting Pot for their birthdays! Deb, Tim, Tracey, and I met in Columbia for our three hour meal. As always the food was wonderful!!! I ate so much that I was very, very close to being physically sick...but it was worth it!!! Yum!!!
We enjoyed our time together! We had a great waiter who was funny from the get go. If you have never been to The Melting Pot, because of the length of time you are there, you really get to know your waiter. Several exchanges were too comical!
After the main course of our meal, Timothy had said that he really should go running after eating all of that food. The waiter walked up at that point in time to hear Tracey's response that there would only be one place she would be running after eating all of that food! The waiter quickly responded that maybe that was a bit too personal!
A few minutes later after our waiter had finished making our dessert fondue, he started to leave the table. Debbie thanked him and said "I'm sure you will be able to hear our moans of pleasure from the kitchen." I really tried to keep a straight face. I looked at Timothy and he was trying to be good also. The waiter's response was "now that really is too personal!" At that point I lost it. I laughed so hard that tears were running down my cheeks a mile a minute. Timothy and Tracey were laughing almost as hard as I was...partially at the comment...and partially at me. It took me about five minutes to get myself under control and begin to eat my dessert.
Happy Birthday Tim and Tracey!!! Some of you may realize it is a bit early for their birthdays. They are so busy in December...plus they are going to have a new baby sometime between now and the first part of January so we had to go while we had the chance...and we had a great time!!!
Next Weekend
I can't wait until next weekend! I am going to Oklahoma. I haven't been home during the holidays since I moved to South Carolina. It will be a short weekend trip but I can't tell you how excited I am to see my friends and family!!!
A Milestone
This is taken from my post on August 10th...."My goal is to lose about 20 lbs before October 20th. Why October 20th...I am meeting Shan in Dallas for her birthday present...we are going to watch Wicked! I can't wait. We are also staying with Stacy....we always have a great time together. I really want to be able to wear the pants I bought early this year....so that is my goal....the goal that follows that is to keep exercising and keep the weight off....because diets suck!!I tell you this not because you care...but because if I make it public knowledge...then maybe that will give me the motivation I need to follow through."The following is taken from my post on October 21..."Ok...so now it is October 21st. I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news is that I did not reach my goal. I have only lost about 12 pounds. The good news is that I wore the pants I spoke of in the previous post down here on Thursday. I can't tell you how good that made me feel. It is great incentive to keep working! An additional incentive is that I have purchased four new pairs of pants in the last couple of weeks in the smaller size and I plan to be able to wear them for many days to come. I am pushing my goal out to have the remainder of the pounds off by Christmas....and I am uping the goal by eight pounds...28 lbs by Christmas...only 16 more to go!!!!"And today...I have officially lost 20 lbs...woo hoo! I am very excited! While I still have eight more pounds to go before I am finished....it was great to hop on the scale and see the 20 lb mark!!!
Chloe
It is almost impossible to believe how big that Chloe is getting!
On the day before Thanksgiving Debbie, Tim, Tracey, and Chloe had gone shopping. Deb and Chloe were in the toys aisle and Debbie was explaining to Chloe that they couldn't get anything that day but they needed to wait and ask Santa. Chloe thought about this for a minute and responded "I have an idea....where's Daniel????" Doesn't sound like I spoil her at all, does it?
Tracey and Chloe on Thanksgiving Day!
Chloe ready to eat Thanksgiving Dinner....if you look closely...those are Dorito's on her plate!
Labeled just in case someone got confused!
Debbie made two pies for Thanksgiving. One made correctly. And apparently one was made out of those things people use at the hospital when they can't get out of bed. My Grandpa said never to eat any pie made out of that!!
Sorry for the delay
This has probably been one of my longest posting delays! So sorry! I have been busy...and am going to busy until Christmas...but I promise I will try to do better! I am planning to post quite a bit today to give you a chance to catch up!
