Sunday, December 28, 2008

Christmas Wrapup

I don't want to go to work!
Well, I don't.
It has been a nice break being home most of the past week.  Luckily, I'll be able to do the same this week, only having to work Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday.  But, come the end of this week it will be hell month again.
Yes, it's reporting month AGAIN already.  I'm ignoring that for now.
We really didn't do much the rest of the weekend.  Christmas day was good, even if Boo was a bit cranky off and on all day down at GrammaSue and PopPop's.  We all got some very nice things and enjoyed each other's company.  Jon liked the game we bought him and Becca loved the scarf I made.  It looked really good on the black sweater she was wearing.  Hanuka dinner was yummy and everyone ate too much as always.  We didn't stay long after that because Boo was getting very, very cranky.  He did fall asleep before we even hit 202.  He woke up long enough when we got home for me to get him into bed.  He really is a sweet little boy.  I miss him so much when I have to go to work.
I do have more pictures.  I just hate trying to post them here.  Blogger isn't very picture friendly when you have multiple pictures to put in a post.  Oh well.  I guess that's one of the drawbacks of a free site.  I really don't mind though, because most of the time I'm just posting one or two.  I'll just have to point you in the direction of my Flickr.  There are many, many more there.  And if you want to see all the crocheted gifts I made this year, just click on the "Crochet" set.  (You may have to go back a page or so to find it...)
Anyhow, other than the family gathering Thursday, the last several days have been nice and low key.  Boo has enjoyed spending more time sitting on the floor playing with his toys lately.  He's sitting very well.  He'll even ease himself to the floor from time to time to grab something.  He can't get back up yet (or maybe it's won't, I'm not sure...) and hasn't quite gotten to the crawl stage.  You can tell he's thinking about it though.  
Of course, knowing him, he'll crawl a time or two and then just stop.  It's like his rolling over.  I caught him once rolling from his back to his front, and never again.  I didn't even know he could go front to back until GrammaSue asked me the other day if he could go back to front because he'd gotten himself onto his back and looked confused.  I think he'll be that stinker in school that just because he can get good grades, doesn't mean he will.  Sometimes the apple doesn't fall far enough from the tree.
Anyhow, just a quick little update to let you know we're still here and doing just fine.  Aunt Michelle is winging her way to Singapore as I type.  It so won't be New Year's without her, but she'll be having a good time over there.  Even though we haven't gotten together all that much over the past year or so, I'll still miss her like crazy.  I mean, before it was just that we didn't get a chance to get together, now with her in Singapore until the end of February and then in June going up to Canada for most of the next two years, it will be much harder.  At least Canada is "local".  Or at least more local than Singapore.
I wish her the best of luck and all the fun adventures she can have.
I'm off to read for a bit before bed.
I don't wanna go to work tomorrow....

Peace to all and may your family gatherings be good and your friends close.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas!

Merry Merry!  Today is a good day.  This morning everyone woke up nice and early, including Boo.  We exchanged a few family gifts and saved the rest to pack up to go Over the River and Through the Snow to Gramma(Sue)'s House!  (The only thing that could possibly make this a better day would be for Gram to be here in person, but I know she's smiling down enjoying the gatherings._
I got Gak's present almost right, the size was just a little small.  (The new Army Navy store here in town has Navy Pea Coats and he's been lamenting the fact he doesn't have one any more since he moved up to the Frigid North.)
Gak and Boo got me lots of neat things.  I got a new book, a new movie, some shirts and two really cool tech toys.  Gak got a fab deal (he won't tell me how good) on eBay for a refurbished Magellan.  So now, we won't get lost going on adventures with Boo!  He also got me a beautiful lilac iPod Shuffle.  My Nano has all but permanently moved into Boo's room, except for trips.  Now I can put books or music on the Shuffle and have something to listen to wherever.  It's so little and cute!
Boo had lots of fun trying to eat everything.  He would pull on things (to his mouth) if we gave them to him.  He got some really cute clothes from his Aunt Michelle and a fabulous bead-popper toy from his Nana!  He's even tried to push the button to make it go himself!
Anyway, we've got a little to do around here and then we're heading to Christmas and Hanukkah down at my parent's.  I'll write more about the wonderful time we had last night later.  I just wanted to share this really cute picture from this morning.

Peace to all and may your holidays be joyous and bright.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Holiday Happenings

Well, Christmas is almost upon us.  I'm so excited.
My brother, Becca and mother are on their way up.  We're having a "make your own Pizza" party.  I'm excited.  I haven't done this since we were kids.  I used to beg mom to let me do this for my birthday every year for about 3 or 4 years straight.  I'm also excited because Jon and Becca haven't met Boo yet.
After an early-ish dinner, we're going to head over to Kat's house for the annual Christmas Eve Open House.  It's an open door policy and people come and go all evening.  It should be fun.
I hope Boo continues to be in a good mood, but I'm not sure.  He's currently fighting the nap monster again.  It had won for a little while, but he's beginning to fight back again.  I'll give him another few minutes to see if he settles back down.  He may actually be hungry, I'll see.  (Therefore, I've got to keep this post short.)

I did want to rant a bit about ice.  Can I tell you how much I hate ice, sleet and freezing rain.  Sure, it let me get out of work a little early on Friday, but it still stinks.  You can't drive on it.  It causes trees and wires to come down which causes all kinds of havoc.  It does look pretty, but it's a mess.  I just hope this year doesn't go like last winter where every storm would start out as snow and then turn to ice and yuck by the end.  I'm not holding my breath though, because it's done that three times in the last week.  (Of course, it'll be 50 by Friday I think.)

Anyhow, just a quick check in to let everyone know to be on the lookout for some fun pictures in the next few days.  I can't wait to see what Boo does with the wrappings.  I have figured out though, that he has to be interested in the first place.  If you put something wrapped in front of him and he already has something in his hand that is more interesting, forget it.  I'm sure it'll take most of the day tomorrow for him to open things.  That's OK.  It just means more photo opportunities for me.

Boo fell back asleep again, but I'm going to take this opportunity to pick up a few last minute things around the house.  (It'll never be spotless, but I can make it a little better....)

Peace to all and may your holidays be bright!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Flickr Update

Yes, I finally got the pictures off of my camera and up to Flickr.  No, I didn't get any of the ones GrammaSue has taken up there.  I know she doesn't mind me posting them there, but I always feel I need to add a disclaimer to them so that others know they are hers not mine.  I don't want to take credit for her great shots.
Anyhow, we had more ick from the sky today.  But not too much, it was just about all done by 11 am and hadn't really started until 7 or 8 to begin with.  Just enough to be annoying.
We did have a good morning though.  We had breakfast at the dinner.  Then we went up to the big book store for some last minute things.  (I can now say that I do not need to buy another present for anyone... at least until birthdays start rolling around again.... or I feel like it, which is probably more like it...)  We then stopped at Gak's work and the grocery store.  I've been fighting a bit of a bug or something since Friday.  My guts haven't been to happy with me.  (TMI, but I tend to get like this if I haven't had any yogurt in my diet in a while... and well... it's been a while.... so tomorrow I start eating it again and hope that helps...)  So, Boo and I stayed home while Daddy went to the Q-mart on his weekly prowl.  I almost got a nap in, but was just about to fall asleep when Gak got home.  Oh well.
I have no idea what the boys got me for Christmas.  Gak wrapped things this morning while I nursed the boy.  Or I should say, he wrapped one thing and boxed up everything else and got me to wrap the box.  Somehow, I'm not sure that's fair.  Anyhow, despite the crowds, Boo did very well yesterday.  He didn't get fussy until they got home, and by that time he was hungry.  Apparently, if I don't like the color of one thing, I can blame Boo because he chose it.  We've been giving Boo the chance to decide between two shirts when getting dressed.  Gak continued this when shopping yesterday.  He said he got lots of strange looks.  I think it's great.
Anyhow, just wanted to quickly post that there are new pics up and to take a look.
Peace to all and may your weekends be good.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Almost There!

Well, this work week is over and I still haven't uploaded pictures to Flickr.  I do have a few new ones on the camera though, and GrammaSue has sent some cute ones as well.  I'll get there, I promise.  It's mean of me to make you go a whole month without new Boo pictures.
Speaking of Boo, he and Gak are off on an adventure.  Gak has gone shopping for my Christmas present.  I have no idea what he's going to get.... and neither does he.  I'm sorry I'm so hard to shop for.  I don't mean to make life impossible....
Anyhow, this is the first time Gak's driven anywhere with Boo since I was allowed to drive again, and the first time it's just been the two of them on a shopping expedition.  I hope Boo behaves himself for his daddy.
I'm so looking forward to the next few weeks, although New Year's won't be the same.  Michelle was supposed to come up.  She won't be able to make it.  She'll be in Singapore.  Yep, that's right, Singapore.  She leaves here on the 28th and will be back at the end of February.  So, needless to say, she's a bit time crunched and won't be able to make it up here before she's got to head out.  It won't be the same without her, but I'm so excited for her.
Anyhow, I've got work Monday and Tuesday and then off for the rest of the week.  Jon, Becca and Mom will be up Wednesday for dinner (we're doing "make your own pizza" night) and then we'll head over to Kat's for a bit.  Thursday will be Christmas in the morning and Hanukkah in the evening at Mom and Dad's.  It'll be a great two days.  I so can't wait for Jon and Becca to meet Boo.  I know they're looking forward to it too.
I only work Monday, Tuesday and half of Wednesday on New Year's week.  So, it'll be a nice chance to spend a lot of time with my boy.  I don't get enough time to spend with either one of them.  I love them so much.
Anyhow, I'd better take advantage of the empty house to wrap Gak's present and to try and clean the kitchen.
Peace to all and may your holidays be bright!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Uh... where whas I?

It's been a busy week around here.  Unfortunately, I have no idea why it's been busy or what we've done.
It feels like it should be Friday already, but it's not.  Gak's been working extra hours this week, which is nice and will make up for the fact that he's got some extra days off and some reduced hours the next two weeks.  Unfortunately, it won't really make up for having Boo in day care all this week.  Me having off most of the next two weeks will though.  He'll only be in 2 half-days the next two weeks.  We won't know what to do with ourselves.
I must say, I'm really, really looking forward to Jon and Becca being here.  It's been a year since I've seen them and they haven't had a chance to meet Boo yet.  He's gonna knock their socks off!  They'll be up here for dinner Christmas Eve and then we'll all be down at Mom and Dad's for Christmas Day and Hannakuah night.  (It's very cool that they overlap this year.)  Mostly we're doing it this way because that'll be the only night we're all home together and also because my dear husband wants latkes.  He says they taste almost like the way his dad did hashbrowns.  I don't care, they're yummy.  It'll just be good to have everyone together.
Work's been long and ardous the last few days.  I keep feeling like I'm chasing my own tail.  I think I get one thing fixed, and nope, it's still broke or something else isn't right.  Of course, it helps if the guy you're talking to actually listens to what you're trying to tell him to do and does what you say.  Oh well.
I did a quick check of assigned call numbers yesterday.  As of 5:00 yesterday, the only person who had more assigned to them than me was Bill.  And I'm the training manager and training is supposed to be my main focus.  To be blunt... WTH??  I don't understand.  Oh, wait, I do understand.  It seems that these days there aren't too many of us who have a clue of how to actually do anything.  I mean, Dom's good with the hardware/computer support end, but hasn't really bothered to learn a whole lot about the rest.  (Of course, I'm really good at the reg stuff, but not so good at the code any more... but I can still do it... just don't make me do hardware/network stuff, I've never been good at that...)  Right now; George, Bill and myself seem to be the most knowledgable people.  And George hasn't been here a year yet, but he's been busting tail to understand the reg stuff as well as show off his hardware/general IT mad skills.  If they don't hire him in at the end of the contract, I'm going to kick someone.  We can't loose this guy.
OK.  I've got to wrap this up.  I didn't want to turn this into a work rant.  I just wanted to say that we're still here.  Life's been good but busy and hopefully I'll have tons of pictures and things to post over the next few weeks.  Sorry I haven't updated the Flickr since Thanksgiving... I don't have too many pics to put up there in the first place and I've been too lazy too in the second.
I'm off to find the shower...
Peace to all and may your lives be full.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Check-up Check-in

Just a quick little post before I head off to bed.  Today was a morning of doctors' appointments.
First I had my yearly exam.  I am so done with being poked and prodded.  Oh well, at least this year it'll be an entire 12 months before I go back.  This spring it almost felt like I was living there.  That went as well as those kinds of appointments ever go.  And yes, if any of you haven't had a yearly exam, woman or man, do it!  If you don't take care of yourself, no one else will.
Ok, off my soap box that I didn't mean to stand on.  I must be tired....
The second appointment of the morning was Boo's 6.5 month check-up.  My boy now weighs in at 7 lb, 4 oz.  That's a gain of just shy of 1 lb.  To put it in perspective, it took him the 2 months prior to that to gain about 1.5 lb (I think....)  He's also 26.75" tall.  I honestly think he's an even 27, but he just wasn't stretching out to his fullest.  Tonight I had to move his bouncer up a notch because he was flat footed in it.  He's supposed to be on the balls of his feet.  Oops.  His height/weight ratio is hovering right around the 50% mark, which is excellent.  That means he isn't too tall for his weight or too heavy for his height.  He's also hovering just above the 50% mark for both height and weight for age.  Yep, my boy is growing well.  We're supposed to start trying to feed him thee "meals" a day and then nurse/give him a bottle after.  We'll see how this transition goes.  We're also allowed to feed him whatever foods (i.e. veggies, fruits, cereals, meats) that we want.  I'll probably try him on oatmeal instead of rice this weekend.  I still plan on introducing food one at a time.  We've added butternut squash to the good list.  Peas were a disaster (but then again, neither Gak nor I like them ourselves... or many green things for that matter...).  The jury is out on carrots at the moment.  I'm thinking they'll be in the "acceptable but not a favorite" category.  That's OK.  Just so long as he's got some variety, life will be good.  Dr. C was very pleased with his physical development.  So, overall it was a good checkup.
Of course, I forgot the form for day care, so now it'll cost me $5 to get it filled in.  Oh well.  That's the price I pay for ignoring the big piece of paper stuck to the fridge.
Oh! Yeah!  I almost forgot.  I think I mentioned Boo's cough yesterday.  Well, Dr. C said Boo's chest sounds clear and that it's a "good cough" and not to worry.  I'll still worry, but that comes from being someone who gets too many chest colds herself, not just paranoid Momma.

On another note, I have only one holiday present to buy.  I have to figure out what to get my father.  He's hard to shop for.  I know I could just get him an B&N gift card and he'd really appreciate it, but I always get him that.  Of course, he tends to buy us books and give us homework to go with it.  I never did finish last year's book.  Michael Chrichton definitely lost his edge.  I'm sure the book got better, but I was half way through and still had no idea what the plot was really about.  Oh well, I'm sure I'll pick it up again some time.

I'm beginning to ramble, so I'd better go to bed before I end up with the impression of the space bar in my forehead.
Peace to all and may your health be good and your hearts happy.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Revealing Week

Well, I've been a bad blogger this past week or so.  I've also been a bad Flickr-er(?).  I haven't uploaded any pictures to there since Thanksgiving.  Of course, other than the dragon photos two weeks ago now, I haven't really taken any of my boy.  Yes, I've been a bad photo momma.  It's not that there haven't been a hundred little moments that I'd love to have on film... er... digital image (that doesn't sound as nice..)  It just so happens that for the past few weeks any time that Boo was being cuter than usual, the camera was elsewhere.  Oh well.
I'd love to say I've been busy and swept up in the holiday spirit, but it's more like I've been busy at work and tired.  That and I just couldn't come up with anything interesting to say.  I'll probably make up for that today though...
Let's see... last week was somewhat interesting.  My friend Bill and my boss were out at a customer site all week; well, they left Monday afternoon actually.  That was both good and bad.  I hear lots of good did come out of their meetings, but bad because we could really have used them in the office.
Our biggest competitor is apparently not content to steal a lot of our talent; they want our customers as well.  They set up a call with our steering committee members.  (Gee... I wonder how they got that list of people...)  A lot of them are now regretting that they attended the call.  It's just a slimy thing they're doing and it only gets worse.  Well, the competitor sent out something about a thing they're holding just for our customers.  And they made it sound like we were in on it and approved.  To be blunt, there's no way in hell that we'd ever even consider such a thing.  That's OK.  We're hoping this costs them an arm and a leg.  I mean, in this market, I don't know of too many big customers that have a couple million to rip out their existing software and replace it before April.  Sure, we may loose a few people, but they're probably our problem children and we'd loose them sooner or later anyhow.  So, yes, we're seeing this as a huge opportunity to call them to the carpet and call them on what they're doing.  Lawyers are already involved and no, you're not going to get any more information out of me.  The one person who I know occasionally reads this blog that will know what I'm talking about will already have all the information.  It's just heartening to see the business leadership playing hardball with this, not rolling over and taking it and moaning and whining that this happened.
Anyhow, enough about that little interesting bit.  Well, the one big interesting thing to come out of the drama other than the drama itself is the fact that the business manager himself told me that training is my priority, service tickets are secondary.  Now, I just have to make sure I keep my butt in gear and make sure that the training really is the best that it can be, not play at it.  I've been neglecting it way too much the past 6 months and it needs a major dose of elbow grease and a nose firmly planted against the grind stone (ow!).  I've got to get it back in the best shape that it's ever been.  I can't let this guy down.  That goes above and beyond just letting the customers down.  This guy has put a lot of faith and trust in me to do it and do it right.  Therefore, I've got to; I have no choice.  I just hope I can get my boss to agree and get a few of the things assigned to me assigned elsewhere before the customers get too cranky...
Like I've said before, the whole attitude of this office has changed a lot over the course of the year.  At the beginning of the year when we were between business managers, it really felt like rats leaving a sinking ship.  This summer and the chaos that it held put a lot of people on edge.  But now, the service department, or at least those of us who work on reporting requests, is really feeling like a team again.  Of course, it helps that we've got people who like each other and will all pull their weight involved.  The rest of the building is coming together as a team again too.  It's quite refreshing.
Another neat thing is how involved the activities committee is now.  It doesn't hurt that our business leader is on the committee.  We had a really good picnic.  Dave thought it wasn't so good, but that was completely out of his con troll.  He did everything he could to have a great picnic, even if the weather didn't cooperate.  The dinner cruise holiday party seemed to be a hit as well.  And, for the first time in the 8 years I've been there, we had a holiday family for the kids.  Yep, that's right.  There was a holiday party held for the kids.  It was Saturday at a local bowling alley.  It started around noon.  Boo and I got there around 12:30.  The business leader dressed up as Santa and there were presents for every single child there, including Boo.  There were about 24 kids there all told.  Yes, this is another case of the camera not being where I was.  I'd even put it in my jacket pocket so I wouldn't forget, but I wore the other jacket.  At first I wasn't going to take Boo, since he's only 6-months old after all.  But then, I decided it would be fun to hang out with some of the other people from work and their families.  I was right.  It was a good time and a lot of fun was had by all involved.  It was a well planned and fun activity.  I hope we do more family friendly things in the future.  Maybe on a Saturday afternoon instead of noon time.
Friday was Zoe's Christmas Program at School.  Gak and Boo didn't go because Boo has come down with a bit of a chest cold or something and has an icky chest cough.  (He's got a doctor's appointment tomorrow and he's not running a fever so I wasn't too worried...)  It was cute.  I do have a picture but it's bad.  I was too far away and there are too many heads in the way.  Oh well.
Today was spent with me taking Boo on a BJ's run.  I spent more than I planned, but when I think about how much I won't be spending at the local grocery store on things for the next month or more, it isn't that bad.  I think it's just the spending it all at once thing that's a little painful.  While I was out doing that, Gak was waging war against the slime in the shower.  It seems like overnight (although it was much longer *blush*) the black slime that tends to appear in the one corner of the shower went from just barely a stain to "it's trying to take over the world" huge.  After 45 minutes of scrubbing, the shower is again presentable.  I am so indebted to that man.  (Especially when you figure how big he is and how small the shower is....)

Anyhow, that was the excitement of the weekend.  I know some other people got pictures from the bowling party.  I'll try and steal one to post.  I also promised you one of the pictures that Josi sent me the other week.  Well, here you go.  

This was taken on the playground at our elementary school, Earhart Environmental Complex or EEC for short (yes, I've been a liberal tree-hugger from the start I guess... or at least a tree-hugger...)  I'm trying to remember the name of the girl on the left, but it escapes me.  She looks familiar though.  I'm the little wisp of a girl in the middle and Josi is on the right.  No, that's not a real fur coat.  That's a faux-fur that Mom made for me.  It made her swear off fake fur even more than real fur.  Of course, she's helped me make several fleece/fuzzy animals for the kids of the "family" since then.  I'm not sure she (or I) liked some of the fleece that we've chosen over the years... a raspberry cat comes to mind....
Well, I've got to finish weaving in ends of my second to last (I think) Christmas project.  Aww, who am I kidding... I'll probably try and get 7 more things done in the next 10 days...
Peace to all and may your weeks be good and your parties fun.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Quickie

I'm still here.  We haven't gone anywhere, I've just been up to my eyeballs in work and too lazy to blog again.  Just a quick note, Boo is trying to wake up.
I've received some really interesting and cool email from Josi.  She sent some pictures of us from when we were kids in elementary school.  Too cute!  I'll have to post one later.
Monday GrammaSue and I put up the tree.  Boo wasn't too sure what to make of the deal and was a bit cranky, but Monday was a "sleep" day.  Can we say growth spurt?  (We'll find out Monday, as that's his next appointment... and I've got one too... ugh!)  GrammaSue also sent some really cute pictures she too.  We were all standing around in Boo's room while I changed him.  I got distracted and with his diaper half on, noticed that he was chewing on his foot.  He had his left foot in his hand and his right in his mouth.  That's the first I'd seen him do that!
Anyhow, work is a bear.  I've been trying to decide which customers to make grumpy by paying attention to which half of my job.  I've got to have a sit-down with my boss about this.  I feel bad about not getting the training stuff done, but I've got over 30 work orders that are waiting for my attention, some of which are getting quite old.  I just can't seem to find the balance.  Aargh!
Well, that wraps up the Cliff Notes version of what's been going on.  Hopefully later today or tomorrow I'll be able to post pictures and write a little more.  But now, Boo is awake and is probably hungry.
Peace to all and may you brain not be scattered to the four winds.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Holiday Musings

I've had lots of things bouncing around in my head since Thursday.  Unfortunately, none of them have made it int electronic form.  For that matter, they haven't been staying in my own head that long.  Oh well.
Let's see... Friday I got a note back from Josi.  She does remember me and was wondering what had happened to me.  We've begun getting to know eachother again and learning what the other has been up to since we lived in Kansas together so many years ago now.  I'm just glad she remembers me and that I've been given the chance to get to know her again.  I've given her the basics of what I've been up to, but 20+ years is a long time to catch up on in one note!

Anyhow, on to the rest of the weekend.  Yesterday was sort of one of those days.  The morning started off well enough.  We got out of the house on time and laundry didn't go wrong.  What was really impressive was the fact that Boo took a nap that was just about 1.5 hours.  I didn't manage to get anything done really, but hey, it was nice for Boo.
Yesterday Gak did have one of those days at work.  And he's fighting off some kind of bug he thinks.  Joy.  He wasn't exactly the happiest camper when Boo and I went to pick him up.  That and there were some last minute people who were about to push him over the edge.  I didn't care, I made him go with me to the grocery store before going back home.
It was supposed to be a "guys night out" for Gak, Scott and possibly some others while Kat, Joan, I and the kids went to Hershey in the evening for the Hershey Christmas thing.  Well, because of the thread of snow, Scott got called in to work for midnight, so that canceled the guys night.  (That and Gak wasn't in a happy mood and just wanted to crawl under a rock and ignore the world for a while...) I still was taking Boo out to Hershey.
We were to meet at Kat's at 5.  Well, of course Joan was running late.  We eventually get our act together and out the door by about 6.  I'm getting a little frustrated because it's pretty close to Boo's eating time and I knew we would be on the road for well over an hour.  It was also beginning to snow.  Not much, some real fine stuff.  Anyhow, I had Joan, Ant, Zoe and Boo in the Durango.  Kat and Andy were in the Jeep.  (Unfortunately, we couldn't all fit in one car because I don't have the 3rd row of seats in the Durango...)  We take the back roads out for a bit and stop for gas and a bite for those that wanted it at WaWa.  It was getting icky out, so we'd been taking it slow.  We figured it would get better because we were about to get onto the highway.
Well, that didn't happen.  The highway was a sheet of ice and it goes up and down hill.  So, we decide to get off at the next exit and take the back way home.  In this case, the back way was actually safer than the highway.  Well, Kat's Jeep skidded at the end of the off ramp at the stop sign.  Fortunately, I was going a good bit slower and was able to stop.  Unfortunately, the man behind me wasn't able to stop.  Yep, he tried to put his little VW under the bumper of my Durango.  *sigh*  I've already had that bumper replaced once!  And I've only owned the truck just shy of four years now!  Oh well.  Such is life.  Everyone was OK and both cars were drivable.  Progressive takes care of these things quickly, so it shouldn't be too bad.  With any luck, it won't cost me anything.  Because the accident was either no-fault or the other guy's fault.  We shall see.  Of course, it didn't help that Boo was not being a happy camper even before the crunch.  Happily he fell back asleep about 15 minutes into the trek home.  Little harm, no foul.
Today was a good day over all.  Boo slept well all night, even with all the excitement and messed up schedule of the night before.  He even took a nice long nap again this morning.  Gak and I managed to get most of the Christmas shopping done as well.  This is probably the only year we'll be able to take Boo shopping with us for his presents.  We went to Target for most of the shopping.  Boo was able to give us approval of the things we were going to get him, and won't remember about them until he sees them again.  We also managed to pick up a gift for Gak's brother, who was one of the people we had no clue what to get them.  We also went over to the Q-mart to pick up some things for Zoe.  We managed to find a few things for Ant and a gift for my brother as well.  He was another of the "what do I get him" people.  So, there are a few odds and ends to pick up.  I've got a lot of crocheting to finish as well.  (Most people are getting something hand made this year.  Amazingly enough, I was able to get most things out of stash I already had!)

I must say, this is the first year in many years that I've been downright happy about Christmas.  It seems good this year.  It seems like a happy time.  Even though I'm all but broke.  Even though the economy in general is in the toilet.  Even though there are a lot of troubling things going on in the world.  I actually feel happy about the holiday season.
I think it's because I have a sweet, innocent little boy who doesn't see all the bad things, doesn't see the materialistic greed, doesn't know the hurt that can happen.  He just smiles and giggles and loves and grows.  He's not old enough yet to fully experience this time of year, or even really realize what's going on.  But, he can, and does, make me very happy.  I'm looking forward to sharing so many traditions and family things with him now and in the coming years.  He's really put the joy back into this season for me.
I must admit, and those that have known me for a while already know this, that I haven't been a Christmas person in a long time.  At least, not with the joy that the holiday deserves.  I looked forward to seeing the family and to some extent the giving and receiving of presents, but for the most part, all I could see was the commercialized monstrosity that this has become.  I let the marketing, and my dislike of it all, overshadow the good of the season.  I don't care what religion you are, what holidays you personally celebrate, any holiday season dealing with birth, rebrith or rededication is a happy, joyous time.  And for many years, that joy just didn't touch my heart.
This year it has, and I'm happy about it.  Everything is so much brighter and more beautiful.
And on that note, I'm going to wrap this up.  
No new pictures.  I didn't take too many this week and the camera is still in the car.

Peace to all and may the joy of the Thanksgiving and Holiday season bring joy to your heart.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Wow!

Yesterday we had family pictures done.  We went to the same place as we did for Boo's 7-week photos.  It was a good session.  Of course, even though I knew how many pictures I needed, I still ended up getting more.  Oh well.  The poses were just too hard to choose from.  I'm sure I could have narrowed it down a little bit more, but that's OK.  He'll only be 6-months old once and I got mostly wallet sized pictures to include in my new year's letters.  (If you don't think you're on my snail mail list and want to be, email me with your address and I just might add you...)  We got several good family pictures as well as a ton of boy pictures.  Boo is just too cute and takes way too good of a picture.

The real exciting new is... I found Josi!!!  Or, more specifically, I found Jori her little sister.  I have a facebook account....
Wait, let me back up, I should tell you who Josi is first, and why this is so monumental.
Josi was my best, best, bestest friend ever from Kindergarten through the middle of fourth grade when we moved away from Kansas and moved to Pennsylvania.  Her mom was my Girl Scout leader and one of my favorite people.  Josi and I were inseparable.  I spent a ton of time over at her house.  I miss her tri-colored collie Kelly.  He was so big and lovable.  I think he's the one who started my love affair with collie dogs.  Anyhow, she has a younger brother named Josh who is the same age as my brother Jon and a younger sister Jori.  At the end of 4th grade, Josi and her family moved out to Colorado.  They moved around Colorado a couple of times, and we eventually lost touch some time around the 7th grade.  I miss her a lot.  I have no idea how much we have in common any more, but like I said before, we were inseparable in elementary school.
So, how did I find her?  Like I said, I have a facebook account.  I've started playing with it a bit more now that I know Flauta has a page there as well as a few others I know.  I'd recently been in contact with a guy I went to high school with, but didn't know very well.  (If you didn't know me then, I was definitely the loner, outcast weird type... wait... I still am to some degree....)  It's been nice getting to know this guy and he's come to wish he'd gotten to know me in school.  (Somehow, I doubt that would have ever happened...but hey...)  So, out of curiosity, I tried to find one of my high school buddies that I'd lost touch with as well.  Yep, he's got a Facebook profile too.  (Although he doesn't keep it very up to date....)  Well, for grins and giggles the other day, I decided to type Josi (lastname) into the search.  It didn't come up with her, but one of the people it found was Jori (lastname).  Well, the picture looked like she should be about the right age to be my friend's little sister.  And Jori isn't exactly the most popular name like John or Bill or Jennifer or something like that.  So, taking a chance I sent her a note through Facebook.  It turns out I was right, she is my friend's sister.  I didn't find my friend because she's married now and her last name begins with a K instead of an S.  So, I promptly sent her off a note just now.
Here's hoping she remembers who I am.
I'm so excited.  I'm almost as excited as when Abi found me last year.
Isn't technology grand?
Anyhow, I'm off to go read for a little bit and try and settle down before I have to go to bed.  One more day of work this week and then the weekend.  I'll probably be escaping work early tomorrow.  It's the company holiday party and since it's a "dinner cruise" down in Philly, and Gak has a hard time getting off work this time of year and the logistics of trying to get someone to take care of Boo and be able to pick him up from daycare and all that jazz was just too much.  I kinda wish we were going, but in the long run I think I'm glad we're not going.  Anyhow, everyone who's going is leaving at 3 (I think), so I'll probably leave around 3:30 or so instead of 5.  Shhhh... don't tell.  (Although, I really should stay, it's been an unproductive week due to technology issues....)

Anyhow, peace to all and may you find happy surprises.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

6 Months!!!

I can't begin to tell you how fast the last 6 months have just flown by.  Is it just me, or was I just in the hospital yesterday?
Yes, Boo turned 6 months old yesterday.
Yes, he's sitting, almost standing, all by himself on his dragon.
No, I'm not ready for him to be this old yet.
Let's see just a fraction of what Boo has learned to do over the last 6 months.  He's learned how to nurse, and how to drink from a bottle.  He's even learning to eat solid food as well.  He's learned how to sleep through the night.  Boo is very good at grabbing things and getting better at it all the time.  He can track both sounds and sights and can recognize people he likes and will look for them.  He's learned how to sit, how to bounce and is trying to roll over.  He's discovered feet and fingers and plays or sucks on them whenever he can.  He's learned how to hold his head up too.  He's also learned about books and stories.
Yep, that's only a fraction of what he can do now that he couldn't do 6 months ago.  And he keeps growing by the moment!  He can do so many things and is going to learn so much more, just within the next few months.  I'm amazed every time I look at him.
Anyhow, I think Boo is trying to wake up, so I'd better hop in the shower quick before he decides that he wants breakfast now
Peace to all and may time not move quite so quickly.