Good Bye 2006

Hey.. I changed the look of my blog...again. Never really liked that pink...I'm not a pink kind of girl.

I've been sitting her reflecting of all that has happened to me this past year.
I lost over 50 lbs...got my mobility back...cut my smoking in half...made some new friends....got a new job. Yep, 2006 was not a bad year. I've been thinking all day of what I've done on some past New Year's Eve. In 1969-70 I was a new mommie and in a forien country, Germany, with my husband. I bought a new powder blue dress with tiny rinestones on it and we went out to dinner and dancing. After that I don't remember going out much for New Year's. I do remember that I had quite a few parties at our house for our friends over the years. Then when I started working, I almost always worked on New Years. In my early years waitressing, I worked the graveyard shift, so we did'nt need to hire a babysitter. I remember one year, someone got the bright idea to put vodka in the ornage juice machine! That was fun...
When my kids were small we always talked about the year 2000 and what we all might be doing then. My son was about 9 when he came up with the idea that no matter where we all were, they (the kids) would come to my house to bring in the millineum new year... and that's just what they did! I was in CA at the time with Laura and Jeff, Frank was still alive. Bob and Stef lived in WA.. they both flew down for Christmas and stayed for the new year. My first new years eve with Frank was so sweet. We didn't have much money at the time, so we went to the restaurant that I worked at and had dinner. We went home with a bottle of champane and enjoyed it there. It was the one and only time we danced, we danced alone in our living room... good memories.

So tonight, I will ring in the New Year alone. Laura and Jeff are out, as are the two girls. Sarah has flown back to CA. I'm here with my cat and my memories. I plan on staying up so see the ball drop in Times Square, something I've done since I was a kid. (I do remember watching that once with my dad when I was younger, but not sure if it was on the news or we saw it as it happened?)<--- senior moment.

Happy New Year Ya'll~

More Pics of Opryland

As promised, I'm adding a few more pictures that were taken at the Opryland Hotel a few days before Christmas.
This is my daughter, Laura with her hubby and the girls.




This one is of me with my three Grandaughters.






The last one is of the Dancing Fountain. It was very beautiful, the water dancing to Christmas Carols.



It was really nice to be able to all go somewhere, something we very rarely do. I was so tired from working all day, but I managed to keep up with them most of the time! We stopped at a store called "The Apple Barn" afterwards... I was in Apple Heaven! Sooooo many different kinds of "apple things"! When I had my own home, my entire kitchen was done in apples, right down to the dishes. I still needed to get a few little things for stockings and one more thing for the basket I was making for Tina. (she is the lady that works for Laura, we worked together all this past year and is a really sweet person) I was making her a basket with different flavored coffees and popcorns, something we both shared a love of. Anyway.. I found some really neat different kinds of coffees and a cool flavored popcorn as well. For Laura's stocking, I bought some apple fritter mix (her favorite). I did'nt get myself anything, no place to put all the cute things I saw and wanted.
On Christmas morning I discovered all sorts of neat little things apple flavored in my stocking from "Santa" lol I even got a jar of applesauce!(Santa Becky got me that)

I do have to tell you something I got that I just LOVE! It was from Tina. It's a coffee cup (it was filled with dark chocolate candies, again my fav's) but it's the cup that I love. It says on it "I SEE DUMB PEOPLE"...lol I had seen it in a catalog she had last September, and I found it totally amusing to the point I had tears in my eyes from laughing. When I use that cup I will remind myself that there is always someone that does dumb things just like me. Like: walk into a room and forget why..miss an exit on the hwy cause I'm yaking...misplace my keys, wallet, cell phone ect... or.. I can just call them my "senior moments"..lol
(but most of all..when I drink my coffee and my son in law comes up to ask me yet another question, I can turn to him and take a sip and let him read between the lines~ lol)

Christmas at the Opry Land Hotel

We went to the Opry Land Hotel last night to see the lights and the Dancing Fountain. Here we all are in front of a huge Christmas Tree. From L to R...Rachel 13, Laura (my daughter), Becky 16, Jeff (son in law), Sarah 18, ME...too old to tell. lol
I almost didn't go, I had worked on my feet for 9 hours and the thought of walking around a huge hotel atreium was NOT what I wanted to do. But I'm glad I went. I'll post more about this later, I'm dead tired tonight.. one more day then I'm off for FOUR whole days!! yeahhhhhhhhh.
Think SNOW!

Tis The Season....

Busy day for me today. Worked from 8am to 1PM...then off to WalMart to buy buy buy! Got all the gift cards for the families in CA. I'm got a little gift bag for each grandchild and will put the gift card plus some "goodies" from Grandma. I got some candy, lip gloss for the girls, chap stick for the boys and will bake cookies on Monday to add to them. I will make two large cookies for each of them. They all miss my baking for them at Christmas, so I thought that might be a nice little added surprise. Each one has a favorite so I'll be making 4 different kinds, the extra's I'll make some cookie gift plates for some friends here in Tennessee.
I got a few little "extras" for Stef. She is missing me so much this year, first Christmas we've ever been apart. Even the first year I moved to California, Frank and I flew her and the kids down so they could spend Christmas with us.
I'm feeling it too...she loves Christmas like I do and we usually did some baking together and always shared some special times. She is my baby and it's hard not having her and the kids here. Stef and her children will be driving to Washington for Christmas to spend it with her ex hubby and his family. (say a little prayer that they will travel safely if you would)


We had some snow flurries yesterday, hoping it's a preview of a snowy Christmas...keeping my fingers crossed! It is nippy outside... about 36 outside...brrrrrrr.

Work has kept me very busy over the past two weeks. I'm really enjoying it, even though it's hard work.
The store will open up this Thursday. I've hung clothes, stocked shelves, priced so many things that I actually dreamed about pricing stuff in my sleep a few nights ago! lol

I finally found out exactly what I'll be doing. I'm going to be a processer, that means I will work in the back unloading the gaylords (those big boxes) and pricing just about everything that comes in, except clothing, that comes to us already processed and priced. I was really very happy to be a processor because I had workd a couple of days on the cash register and did'nt enjoy it much. I get bored to easily I guess... I like to be moving around.
Imagine getting a huge box full of stuff all wraped up in paper....so you don't know what it is. You will have to unwrap it all... it's like Christmas all day, opening up gifts! lol I've found some great things that were worth some $$$ too! Goodwill actually sells on ebay (don't know what they sell under yet, but will find out) and if we find something that we think will sell we send it downtown (Nashville) and they put it on ebay. Once it sells, my manager will get a commission off of it. I don't think I get anything, but I'm sure my manager will be gratefull and will compensate me in some way. When I find something I think is old or worth more than we could sell it for in the store, I check it on ebay when I get home. My manager is going to work on getting me a computer in the processing area so I can do it there. I will be the only processer that has a computer! Don't I feel special? you bet I do!!