New Years Eve

Today is New Years Eve day and it is a gorgeous day in Orlando. Sunny and breezy with a temp of 75F. I have been sitting out on my patio reading the newspaper and enjoying a cup or two of tea with my dog Toby. He is enjoying laying in the sunshine. I will try to add a picture of him. Here he is all warm and cozy.

We do not have plans to do anything tonight as we are not partyers (is that a word?)LOL We have a hard time staying awake until midnight sometimes to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Tomorrow is the big day for us. There is a big golf tournament here where we live (we live on a golf course), called the Bloody Mary Tournament. Gallons of Bloody Mary's are given to the golfers to drink as they golf. Needless to say, by the time they are all done, many are three sheets to the wind. My husband Thadd, our son-in-law Corey, my ex-husband and his wife, their son, and a friend will all be playing.

 

We then have all of the players and other family over for New Years Day dinner which consists of corned beef, cabbage, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, black-eyed peas with hog jowl, and a relish tray with pickles, olives, sliced tomatoes, and green onions. Sort of a combination of my southern roots and Thadd's northern roots. When I was growing up my mom would put pure silver coins in the cabbage and if you got one on your plate, it meant you would be prosperous for the new year. It's hard to find pure silver coins anymore so we do not do that now.

 

I wish everyone a Happy New Years. May you all be happy and healthy in the upcoming year.xxx



Merry Christmas

I wish everyone a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am excited to see what the new year brings to me and my family. I hope you are as well. I have to run but will return!

The Holidays Are Here

Oh where to start? There has been so much going on. We have started having the interior of the house painted but still haven't managed to get it all put back together yet. We spent Thanksgiving in Arkansas with Donald, Christie and Zach which was a first for us all. They usually go to Kansas City, Kansas to Christie's relatives but decided to stay home this year. It was nice for a change and it was especially fun to see them since it has been just about a year since the last time we saw them.

Then home for more interior painting and starting the Christmas shopping which I do mostly online. I am one of the odd women that doesn't like shopping. I am much more comfortable sitting at home browsing websites and buying than going out in stores. I dislike the crowds and long lines. Some things of course, you have to buy in person, but I have found that I can buy just about anything I need online. I probably do 95% of my shopping that way. Am I weird or what?

Henry, our grandson who is local, is going to be one year old tomorrow! It's hard to believe. Time has gone by so fast. It seems like just yesterday that he was born. My daughter is due to have her second child March 30 of this next year. As before when she was pregnant, they do not want to know the gender of the baby. We have all been taking guesses as to what day the baby will actually be born, how much it will weigh, and whether we think it is a boy or a girl. All in fun of course!

My daughter is going to have Christmas at her house this year. As I have gotten older I have tried to pass traditions along. Since she now has a child of her own, it is time for her to have the festivities at her house. I had already done this with Thanksgiving and I felt it was time. I will still have our traditional New Year's Day dinner at my house along with our traditional food, but sooner or later that may get passed along as well. I only wish my son lived closer so we could all celebrate together.

I am going to join a blog site where you are given a prompt to have a write a blog and post a picture in regards to the prompt (or not). I am not quite sure how all of this works since I am new to it, but I am going to try it and I am sure I will be up for the challenge.

Well, I am going to sign off. I am sorry I am not more consistent but hopefully joining this group will help me be more regular at blogging and have more interesting subjects.

I'm not very good at this blog thing............

I don't seem to be very good at this since I can't seem to get here everyday and talk about something. To be honest, I don't always have much to say! I have my good days and bad days like everyone else I imagine. I have lots and lots of thoughts rumbling around in my head, but who wants to hear them? I don't think anyone is reading my blog.

I have some happy news. My daughter is expecting again. She is due March 30. As with her previous pregnancy, they don't want to know the gender of the child ahead of time. I think that it makes it so much more exciting! I do hope for a girl this time but of course will love another little boy just as much. They weren't planning on another one quite so soon but her biological clock is ticking. She is 36 now and the older you are, the more chances of birth defects, etc. Little Henry just turned nine months old. He is such a good baby and so cute! I think he could melt the hardest of hearts!

I am so sorry my Mom is not alive to see and enjoy all of her great grandchildren. She never got to meet Zachary or Henry. Of course my father only got to know one of his grandchildren, my son Donald. My father died over 40 years ago before any of the other grandkids were born. Life can be sad sometimes.

I got a new insulin pump (it's pink!) and also am now the proud owner of a continuous glucose monitoring system. It is all a little complicated but I am hoping it will help me to better stay in control of my sugar levels. Time will tell.

Well, I am going to sign off for today. I'll be back! LOL

I've Been Busy

I haven't posted for a while because I have been so busy between working and goings on at home. Then I was sick for about four days with a nasty stomach virus. But, I 'm am up running again and finally getting my energy back.

I grew up in Tampa and went to one of the oldest and most prestigious high schools, Hillsborough High School. It was a beautiful school with large stained glass windows. You would have thought it was a church instead of a high school. I am attaching a couple of pictures.

I was in school long ago but it was a good time. We were really proud of our school. We had excellent sports teams as well. Our football homecoming game was always played on Thanksgiving Day against Plant High School. It was a real special time where all the girls dressed up and the boys bought us big pompom corsages. After the game everyone would go out for a nice dinner or party. We didn't mind missing out on the turkey (though sometimes we ate before the game).

Enough history for today! LOL  

Happy Monday Everyone!

Here we are again, another Monday. I spent a very busy weekend doing laundry and cooking. Boy, the weekend sure does fly by. This blog is supposed to contain stories of my travels. I don't think I have put anything in writing yet. I truly love to travel. If I could do it for a living, I would. I used to be a travel agent before 9/11 but after that date, the world changed for travel agents. The agency I worked for which was just a small "mom and pop" agency, had to close its doors. We were used to doing a LOT of airline tickets and at that point, we were doing 'nothing', as everyone was afraid to fly or go anywhere. So, I had to go back to my bread and butter experience of being an administrative assistant. I loved being a travel agent and got to plan cruises, tours, and all sorts of exciting travel for others. We also had the opportunity to travel and do new and exciting things that were known as 'FAM' trips (familiarization trips). You can't sell it if you don't know about it.

Thadd (my husband, I'm sorry, I don't know all of the blog jargon that people use) and I love to take cruises. We think it is the best vacation for the money. You only have to unpack once, all of your food is included, and there is always something to do. We have taken 12 cruises so far and plan another in the future. Living in Florida, for the most part, we just do Caribbean cruises. We have been to just about every island in the Caribbean. My favorite cruise was when we went to Curacao, Grenada, Bonaire, Aruba, St. Lucia, and Barbados. These are known as the Windward Islands. There were all beautiful islands with such interesting histories as well. I would like to go back one day.

We took a Greek Isle and Adriatic cruise in 2010. That was wonderful as well but the trip there and back was a killer. It's a long flight from Florida to Venice, Italy. We did enjoy ourselves though and took some wonderful pictures. That is where we also met up with Lynne and Peter Mitchell who are from Great Britain. They are such a delightful couple. We really loved getting to know them.

I will try to post some pictures of some of our cruises tomorrow. I have to get them all in one place so they will be easier to upload. LOL

I'm Back

I haven't been on my blog for a few days. I've been busy and not feeling well to boot. I go through stages of tummy troubles but no one has been able to really tell me why. I have been to the doctor numerous times and had scads of tests done but they still can't figure out why I have these problems. Oh well, life goes on right?

I haven't told anyone I have a blog (Lynne knows) because I kind of like being anonymous. I can talk about what I want or nothing. Isn't that the way it works? One day I will get serious and start to talk about some of the deeper things that go on in this brain of mine like the death of my mother, living with cancer, and the parts of my life that haven't always been so rosy. My purpose of doing this is to get these thoughts out of my head. Is there a rule that blogs have to always be about happy things?

It has been so hot here the last few weeks. It makes it hard to even want to go outside for any reason. Here is a picture I took yesterday when I was leaving work to verify what I am saying.

Add high humidity to that and you can hardly breathe!

Well, I guess I have said enough for today. Here's wishing everyone a good day!

Thursday Already

You know time flies when you are having fun! LOL! Well, it doesn't always seem that way to me. I am taking tomorrow (Friday) off as I have a doctor's appointment and need to run some errands. When you work it is so hard to get all your running done on Saturday. You can just do so much you know? So, this will help to give me a head start.

Thadd has gotten some friends together to play golf on Saturday and then everyone (spouses, children) will come over for dinner. We planned a cookout but I am tired of hamburgers and brats so I am going to fix a nice ham instead. Everyone will bring a side dish and I will make some deviled eggs and some sort of veggie casserole as well. It is nice to get together but also a little tiring for me. I just don't have the energy I used to.

I know the Olympics has been a big topic all week but I am just not much of a sports person. I do like the diving and gymnastics but that is about it for me. My opinion is that all sports today are just not as much fun to watch as they used to be. It is all about the money and big business instead of the actual games. It's sad really. I know the Olympics are different but they used to be better when it wasn't all these pro players competing instead of your everyday Joe. My husband says nowadays that is the only way it can stay competitive because a lot of the countries that participate were using pro athletes before the U.S. ever started so we had to do the same. Oh well.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend if I don't hear from you (ha ha). Talk to you later!

Did Anyone Miss Me?

Ha Ha! I haven't blogged for a few days but I doubt I was missed since no one is probably reading my posts anyway! That's okay. My purpose is to write down my thoughts and hopefully be inspired to write more!

A rundown of my weekend went like this....Saturday errands and then off the babysit Henry. Sunday was not a good day. Our air conditioner went out and we had to wait until that afternoon for a repair man to come. He got it running again but the house was so hot by then the air conditioner never stopped running! I can imagine what our electric bill is going to look like this next month. So, it was too hot to do anything but sit in front of a fan. That is what I did, and read a book on my Kindle.

Then it was back to work on Monday and now it is Tuesday. I didn't sleep well last night. I only got about four hours of sleep before having to get up and come to work. I can't wait until it is time to leave today.

Do you ever wonder why some people seem perfectly happy to come to the same job day in and day out? I know nowadays you should be thankful that you have a job, but why do they seem so content? I know I am not challenged enough anymore in what I do. Is that why I am not happy with my position? I do feel that we have also gotten the short end of the stick with a lot of our benefits being taken away. That probably feeds my dissatisfaction as well. Why can't I be happy just to be a little worker bee like the others? They say if you have a passion for your job and love what you are doing, then it is not really work. Maybe that is my problem. I do not have a passion for what I am doing at all, nor do I love it.

Friday is Finally Here

I didn't post yesterday but since no one is probably reading my blogs but me, I guess it really doesn't matter! LOL!! Our electricity went out last night around 10:30 and didn't come back on until midnight. It was one before I was able to go to sleep so I am more tired today than normal. Just waiting for the day to be over with (yes I am at work right now). It has been a little slow today so I thought I would take advantage of the situation and go ahead and do my post.

The times that show up on these blogs is not correct but I haven't figured out how to change that yet. One post at a time and I will get this all figured out.

I really enjoy a lot of the British programs that show on our PBS and BBC stations here. I wish there were more. I have enjoyed Midsomer Murders, Inspector Lewis, Masterpiece Mystery (which some times has Inspector Morris), and Inspector George Gently. I have also watched the whole series of As Time Goes By with Judi Dench. I think I have seen the whole series of New Tricks as well since what I am seeing now I have already seen before. I am hoping as fall approaches they will put some news shows out.

We are going to babysit Henry for a while tomorrow evening but other than that really have no special plans for the weekend. It is just too hot to be out much during the day. Yesterday when I left work at 5:00 p.m. it was 99 degrees! Ugh! Put that kind of temperature with our humidity and it makes for an uncomfortable time to be outside.

I have a few more family pictures to post. Next I will post some pictures of some of the places we have been.

My son Donald and his wife Christie (Zach's parents)

My Daughter Stacey and Her Husband Corey

My Step-Daughter Traci, Her Husband Justin and My Step-Granddaughters Madi and Morgan

My Step-Grandsons Reidar and Erik (Corey's sons)

Everyone have a good weekend. I will be back by Monday (if not before) to thrill you with more exciting news about my life and family! LOL

Hump Day!

I woke up this morning with a terrible headache! What a way to start your day right? But, today is Wednesday also know as 'hump' day since the week is all downhill from here. I think at this point my blog would be boring to most people but it is a way for me to get things off my mind.

Let me tell you a little bit about what I like to do for vacations. Cruises are my favorite. Since your room, food and entertainment are all include in the price, you can hardly beat it. Thadd and I have been on 12 cruises now (I think I counted right) and have enjoyed them all. We love doing seven day cruises to the Western or Southern Caribbean the best. We mainly spend our days taking in the sites and our evenings relaxing on the balcony reading. We enjoy having room service breakfast and eating it out on the balcony as well. Our last cruise was in March of this year. Thadd is not only my husband but my best friend. We have such a good time together on these trips.

My next favorite vacation is to go stay at one of the Gulf beaches here in Florida. I grew up here so I love the beach! I have fond memories of staying at some of the small 'mom/pop' motels directly on the beach. Hearing the waves coming in at night can lull me right to sleep! There aren't as many of the small places left any more since a lot of the big hotel chains have come in, bought them and torn them down, but there are still some. My favorite is the Suncoast Motel in Treasure Island, FL.

Well, don't want to bore anyone too much so I will close for the day. I am still trying to get used to doing a blog so bear with me.

Tuesday!

Thadd plays cards on Tuesdays so we usually have a sandwich for dinner since it is easy to fix. I then get to have the evening to myself to do what I choose. This is usually my time to get on my computer to potter around different websites. I stare at a computer all day at work so for the most part don't care to even look at one after I get home.  Tuesday nights are the exception.

With the economy here in the US so bad, we have been researching different places where we might like to retire. There are quite a few countries that have very affordable living and good health care. Those are our two main priorities. Of course we also want to live somewhere that will not make it hard to fly back to the US to visit family. We must be able to feel safe as well. So far, we are interested in Belize, Ecuador, Panama, and Uraguay. If anyone is reading my blog and have any suggestions or information to share, please leave a comment.

I am going to try to put a couple of pictures on here. I hope it works. This is my husband Thadd. We will have been married 22 years in November though we have been together much longer.

 

This is my grandson Henry who is seven months old.

This is my other grandson, Zachary who is six years old.

I'll write more tomorrow and introduce you to some more family.

Oh Happy Day!

Oh happy day! It's Monday. My favorite day of the week (NOT)! It's not been quite as hot today which is nice after the smoker we had over the weekend. It is starting to cloud up for our standard afternoon thunderstorm. Thadd and I love thunderstorms. We love to sit out on our patio and watch the lightning, the downpour and the way it sounds on the patio roof which is metal. It gets quite loud but it is a comforting sound nevertheless, at least to us.

Not much happening today. Mondays can be that way. Most of my weekdays follow the same pattern. Get up, go to work, come home, fix dinner, clean up the kitchen, watch TV for a couple of hours, go to sleep and wake up again the next day to start all over again. Boring isn't it?

Sunday Already!

Went over to my daughters to visit the grand baby today ( her too of course!). He is so cute and is beginning to interact more with me now that he is seven months old. As soon as I figure out how to put a picture on here I will post one. Back to work tomorrow. Boy, the weekend sure goes by fast!

My Favorite Day

Saturday is my favorite day of the week. I get to sleep in which I love to do after a long, hard week at work. Thadd and I both had to get bloodwork done this morning then we went and had breakfast at a place called Nick's Diner. Their food is really good but the give you so much I can never eat it all. Then it was pedicure time! Ever since I talked Thadd into getting his first one, he has wanted to go with me and get his toes done too! Of course he doesn't walk out with pretty pink toes like me, but his feet look good! He has become spoiled! LOL! It is quite common here for men to get pedicures and manicures. The shooting tragedy in Colorado is still all over the news. I am so sad for all of those families. What would possess a person to do something like that? It makes you wonder sometimes what this world is coming to. I am still trying to figure all this blogging stuff out. If anyone can give me any tips on how to remove my picture or get it to a smaller size, I would appreciate it. I gaven't figured out how to post pictures yet either but I will get there (I hope).

Good News From the Doctor

Well, all doctor results were good. I am still in remission which is always good news!
Now if I could just figure out how to put my picture on here without it taking up the whole page. I don't want a huge, big picture but try as I might, I couldn't master it! I will have to try again another time. I am afraid I am not very good at this blogging yet.

It is Friday and I am looking forward to the weekend. I have to say I am tired of working and long for the day I can retire. I have heard that after you retire, Sunday evening becomes your new favorite day. Why? Because you know you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn on Monday to go to work! LOL!!

Hubby (Thadd) and I don't have any real plans for the weekend other than the normal errands and chores we can't get done during the week. I have heard the weather is going to be really hot so I would just as soon stay home in the AC! I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Day 1 - Well Here We Go!

I have decided to start a blog so I can share all the thoughts that run through my head. I will also share pictures and general things that on in me and my family's lives.