Happy New Year!

Surrounded by a bunch of kids and scrapbooking stuff. Yeah!

We take our Survivor games pretty seriously at the office. Here's my reward for leading the pack on picking "bootees". (What a skill set, eh?)

Red Hat stuff always makes me think of WittBitts.

I Hereby Resolve:

New Year Parties going on at:

Mandarin Design.
Third Daughter.
Poll at Adventure Journalist.

Granny-to-be here.
Bride-to-be here.

more coming? . . . .

Ending the Year with Something New

*sigh*
I took my first blood pressure medication this morning.

Note from Cyber-bro Jeeem's blog: a friend has an email from him and he is okay. (He's in Thailand.)

Hump Day!

The joys of a 4-day week (Friday is our holiday). I could get used to this!

Jeeem, please post so that we know you are okay.

Checking into World Vision and Red Cross aide for the disaster victims.

How heartbreaking.

End of Year Lists.

Everyone is doing it, so how about us?

1. Most Overdone.
   
2. Best Comeback.
3. Treasured Read.
4. Picture that says a thousand words.
5. Movie Soundtrack.

Good Monday Morning!

Light blogging still this week, as I'm still at Mom's (slo-mo connection) and back to work. Here we go. See ya!

Pretty cold-looking up at Glacier National Park.

Unconscious Mutterings:

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. holiday::family
2. fault::no
3. beep::horn
4. bubble::confetti
5. needle::in the haystack
6. fare::bus
7. treat::sweets
8. express::lane
9. webcam::a curiousity
10. capital::Lansing!

And so it was Christmas!

And a lovely one it was. It started leisurely, with the final wrapping of gifts while Mom made the monkey-bread. A short stroll in the backyard to say hi and leave chocolate and nuts for the squirrel chattering in the tree. (It must not have been our regular squirrel, he didn't come when he smelled the chocolate.) Back inside to peel potatoes, and to be delighfully surprised when 2nd niece and her boyfriend were the first to show up. (We had heard they weren't coming.) BooBoo and girls arrived next, followed by Crits and friend, then sister and her boys, then sister-in-law with her mother and nephew 1. The pile under the tree grew and mounded and then . . . was gone in a flash! Great gifts from all. Special gift this year: an ornament from Ludington, that Ruby had bought and saved for me back on our family vacation.

Then on to the ham dinner (sorry, we only do turkey at Thanksgiving) with Auntie N. joining us. To gather everyone for the meal, the call goes out: "thumbs up!" Supposedly the last person with thumbs up has to say the blessing, but we usually say a group grace, so it's more an attention getter. A special ending was added to the prayer this year. Niece #1's husband is heading to Baghdad next week. Last year my brothers insulated the garage for family events, and it was a toasty 72 degrees for the meal.

Then back into the house for The Night Before Christmas Game and a few carols. Then, and this made me happy, as I've been too dragged out for games this holiday season, we had a great game of Apples to Apples.

Now we're slowly cleaning up, winding down.

And so it was Christmas.

Collecting Memories . . .

Anyone want to share what holiday memories strike a chord? What piece of candy, what scent, what gift from the past speaks to you?

Collecting Memories . . .

Anyone want to share what holiday memories strike a chord? What piece of candy, what scent, what gift from the past speaks to you?

'Twas the day before Christmas!

Feeling better here in mid-Michigan, and hope you all are doing well! Apparently infections that go a little long can cause some secondary temporary conditions. I have drugs to help and yes, dear Bryn, I've got cranberries all over the place!

Emerging research shows that cranberries may actually be better for you than you think. That's because they contain health-enhancing substances called anthocyanins. These naturally occurring red-colour compounds are also found in blueberries, strawberries, cherries, blackberries, raspberries and red grapes. Studies show that they help prevent heart disease and cancer, act as natural antibiotics and may even stall the aging process.

I cannot express how much the kind wishes from you all have meant. {{{hugs}}}

A quick post from Mom's!

Hi everyone, and thank you so much for the well wishes. I'm at my mom's right now, taking antibiotics for an infection and awaiting a few more test results today. Sorry I wasn't able to get on-line earlier . . . boy, you shirley made me feel better with all the well wishes.

If I don't get on again soon (limited access here) . . . Merry Christmas to all who are observing the holiday! And {{{HUGS}}} to all of you!!

Oh shoot! Can't get into my hotmail account here for some reason. I can get into mtdream50@aol.com though. See ya!

Sunday's Unconscious Mutterings:

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Perfect Gift::True Love
2. Santa::Dan
3. Lucy::Charlie Brown
4. Buckets::Water
5. Recital::Dance
6. Stamp::Christmas Card
7. Teacher::Great career
8. Matchbox::Cars
9. Spit::and Polish
10. Feeling::Tenderness

Sometimes an "unidentified virus" is something else.

I've been struggling for about five weeks with achy weak legs and arms. Because I also had some head congestion it was felt that it was perhaps an "unidentified virus". Several of my relatives had the same achiness, though theirs went away after about a week.

Yesterday I gave up. I walked about four blocks and really hurt, especially across the arms, shoulders, and chest. I went to emergency. Good news: ticker is just fine. (It's what I tend to worry about first due to family history.) Not so good news: sed rate is elevated meaning there's inflammation somewhere. But at least we're going forward, I go to the doctor's on Monday and we can see what is happening. Argh.

Remind me not to ask Patti a question until I've at least viewed this.

Congratulations to Paul & Debbie at Snowbabies on their wedding! Looking forward to pictures soon!

The truth comes out: Swiped from J. Mo.

You Are a Losing Lottery Ticket!

Full of hope and promise. But in the end, a cheap letdown.

What Crappy Gift Are You?