I have to go ahead and do it!

With this post I have accomplished BLOG 365. I wrote 365 days this year. The rules said you could skip on Leap Day... I wrote on Leap Day, but missed on Halloween because I fell asleep, so STILL 365. A couple of times I didn't have internet access so I hand wrote journal entries and back-dated them when I posted

I wanted to do it to develop a habit of writing every day, even if it was minimal. I feel like I have done that. My minimum goal was to at least express happiness each day for something in my life. My happy things ranged from paper clips to relationships!

So, TODAY: Happy for me! For a goal accomplished! YAY ME! I ROCK!

Must. Go. Read.

Uberlist goal to read 35 books this year and I am on number 35! I just started it today. I have to read a lot tonight so I don't have to read at Gillian's party tomorrow. I am reading Choclat - I think Joann Harris is the author. I have seen the movie (Oooh Johnny Depp!), but never read the book. It is a great read so far.

I have also made a batch of cookies and still need to make a cheese ball. Cheese ball is better made the night before so the flavors blend well.

Ummm.. Dad is in hospital - maybe another heart attack, but not too bad, I guess. Mom said he was sitting up and eating and complaining about the food, so that's a good sign.

Happy today for an extremely busy and productive day at work. I really felt like I earned my living and did good work for my company and my customers. Even though there are some bad things about my job, it is good days like today that make me appreciate it for more than the paycheck and the insurance. Also Michael cleaned out the garage so I can park in there, even though he didn't feel that well. No more scraping windows!

Ohhh.

So tired. I am blogging now because I am afraid I'll fall sleep without writing if I try to do anything else first.

I could hardly get out of bed this morning. I am so tired it is unbelievable.

I worked all day and basically sat at my desk for nine and half hours and was still totally busy.

I am going to try to read and MAYBE, just MAYBE get up and do some dishes and all that evening stuff. I still need to work on the holiday letters.

Happy today for leftovers. I may have said that one before, maybe even recently, but YAY for already cooked, yet homemade food.

Sunday...

I am tired so I probably won't write much.

I had just settled in for a long winter's nap last night around midnight and the phone rang. Heather and Emily had made a late night run to the evil empire. They hit a pothole on the way back and it burst the tire. They made it to the parking lot of the trail near our house. I wrote a note that we would come get the car in the morning to leave in the window so it wouldn't get towed and went and picked them up.

So this morning I spent my time trying to get Heather's tire changed - her lug wrench sucked so bad we couldn't do it, even with me JUMPING on it and I weigh over 200 pounds. Michael and I went home to look for better tools and while we were gone a lovely man with the right kind of tools came and did it. YAY for guys with pickup trucks with big, well-equipped aluminum tool boxes! I had inwardly wished that would happen so when I drove up I told him he was a dream come true!

Then I took Heather over to the car fixy place so they could see if she could drive it, etc. They said if they moved the donut spare to the back she would make it back to Indy so they did and she did.

I spent the rest of the day cooking a turkey dinner. Heather had really wanted turkey for Christmas but I did NOT so I offered it on an alternate day. It was supposed to be yesterday, but then we gave in to the urge for Chinese instead. Dinner was nice. I didn't get enough help in preparation. Emily did some and I appreciated that. I was a little resentful and probably passive aggressive about it. I was verbal in asking for help with cleanup, however. Michael did most of the cooking dishes and Heather picked the turkey and packed up the meat, which I don't like to do, so that was nice.

The bad thing is that I didn't get the stuff complete today that I hoped to do. I had some gifts I wanted to wrap, finish my Christmas letters, bake some cookies for hopeless crush and for Will... Now all that is not done. I did get my sheets changed and a lot of laundry done because I could work on it in fits and spurts.

I guess I will just have to take the rest as it goes. I guess first priority is to finish the Christmas letters because it was on my uberlist to mail them before the end of the year. I am going to do the final few TOMORROW and get them in the mail. After the mailed ones are done I will post on here. Then if any of my readers are some of the few for whom I have old addresses or have inadvertently left out or something can read my witty and newsy holiday epistle!

Despite all my complaining, I really am happy for some things today!

Happy today for: watching another movie with Emily. We watched the German movie "The Counterfeiters." It was good. I have a difficult time with Holocaust films sometimes, but I was okay tonight. Watching a movie is really a restful activity for me. I still insisted on a couple of breaks to switch laundry, make the bed, finish the dishes, and stuff like that, but honestly, I feel calm while I am watching. Calm for me = Good thing.

Pictures:

Victoria - our new friend.
Christmas Tree with blue & silver gifts except that PINK Victoria's Secret bag!
Ribbon bird on our tree - my friend Robin made it several years ago
Pat & Emily at the Office Lounge
Pat & Mark? (we just met him last night too)
a new ornament I bought this year - YAY for Clearance BEFORE Christmas
Mom and Dad on Christmas night
Dad and Michael on Christmas night - Michael is looking at his new bike tool.
We celebrated with gingerbread with lemon sauce, YUM!

Still no turkey...

Orderless rambling...

Suddenly last night we developed this plan that included going out to the Chinese place for lunch. Crazy - considering the amount of food in the house....

I woke up this morning and made a batch of ham salad and Mom and Dad and I had ham salad sandwiches for breakfast. It was really good! I might go have some more tonight.

Last night Heather and Emily and I went out to karaoke. Pat came later and brought a new woman with him. She was really nice and fun and I hope she liked hanging out with us so she'll come back.

Mom and Dad left mid-morning, but they haven't called yet. I am going to call and check on them when I am done typing.

We went to the Chinese and took Michael to a cello lesson and Heather and Emily did some mall shopping. I spent a little at Target because I had a $20 gift card. I bought some bows and gift tags for next Christmas... I feel almost ASHAMED because I bought blue and silver again and we will have the same theme two years in a row. We just happen to have a lot of blue and silver paper left over, PLUS the snowman gift tags I saw that I really liked were blue and silver based. Oh well.... nobody is perfect. I had Emily take some pictures of the tree with all the blue and silver gifts under it. I will probably post it later.

I think my favorite Christmas gift I received was the Jewel "Pieces of You" CD. I used to have it, but I don't know whatever happened to it. Heather picked it up used somewhere so YAY for great bargains that are also wanted items.

My favorite gift I gave was probably Michael's birthday present - a bike tool. I actually went to the bike store and the guy helped me pick it out and and Micahel was really happy for it. I NEVER spend $20 for a present, honestly, but this was well worth it.

Okay Michael just called and he's having a malfunction so I have to go get him.

Happy today for leftovers!

Mellow

No fights with anyone today. We opened our stockings and gifts and then took turns cooking, napping, talking, watching things, computer time, etc. Michael rode his bike to the store to get a couple of things and Heather and Emily went out a little later for salads from Wendy's to go with the lasagna. The lasagna wasn't the best ever - we had a big squash on hand so I sliced it thinly and used it. I think it tasted a little too squashy. I'd rather have carrots and spinach, I think. Part of what we are trying to do, however, is use in-season veggies and what we have on hand as much as possible.

Now we are getting ready to go out, Michael is practicing his cello, Mom and Dad are reading their new Christmas books. Tomorrow is the compromise turkey dinner, but I told everybody they have to eat LOTS of leftovers the rest of the day. I am not cooking until some of the leftovers are gone!

Happy today for good stocking stuffers. I got a business card portfolio and just cleaned out my purse and filed all the cards. I meet so many people at networking events, classes and women's meetings, it was really a necessary thing.

Later!