101 Things in 1001 Days

101 Things in 1001 Days

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

The History: It originally started here. It's been circulating ever since. I've accepted the challenge. Goals that are accomplished shall be bolded, green and dated. In progress goal will be italicized & pink. I challenge all of you to do the same thing.


Start Date: 01/01/2007
End Date: 09/28/2009

Miscellaneous
1. Post this list. (12/28/2006)
2. Make a new list of 101 in 1001.

Reading, Movies, Writing & Music
3. Watch a DVD I own & haven't seen, at least once a week, until I've seen them all. (and list them!)
4. Beat Prophecies & Factions before Nightfall.
5. Read one new author a month.
6. Read or get rid of all of the unread books on my shelves. (make a list of the ones I read!)
7. Go to at least 2 concerts. (0/2)
8. Make a list of movies we have on VHS that I want to upgrade to DVD & replace them.
9. Go to the Greenshow at least twice. (0/2)
10. Go to the library once a month for six months. (0/6)
11. Watch every episode of Six Feet Under.
12. Read 5 books on this list. (0/5)
13. Watch 10 of the movies on this list that I've never seen before. (list of watched movies) (4/10)
14. Finish the character outline you started.
15. Write at least 6 chapters of the book that goes with #70. (0/6)
16. Make a list of Discworld books we don't own & buy them. (2/11)
17. Make a list of Xanth books we don't own & buy them. (0/14)
18. Make a list of Stephen King books we don't own & buy them. (3/36)
19. Have a movie night with Troy once a month (2/33)

Crafty
20. Learn to make all of the things in both Knifty Knitter pattern books.
21. Make new Christmas stockings for the family before December '07. (0/4)
22. Make really nice Faire garb.
23. Make at least 4 books. (0/4)
24. Make curtains for bedroom.

The Booth
25. Make at least 4 wrist cuffs (for the booth) a month until July. (0/24)
26. Decide on 10 signature soap fragrances for the booth & stick with those.
27. Make lots & lots of bath salts & think of creative ways to package them for display.
28. Design a pouch pattern for Dawn, so she can make them for the booth.
29. Learn to make Tree of Life pendants & make several for the booth.
30. Learn to make Tree Branch earrings & make several for booth.
31. Come up with a purse design that is unique to Three Witches.

Personal
32. Go on a date with Troy at least once every-other month. (2/16)
33. Design & get tattoo.
34. Change name on SS card.
35. Have at least 15 PJ days. (0/15)
36. Have one girls-night-out every three months. (1/11)
37. Buy a warm coat that you love & that fits.
38. Buy a pair of warm boots that you love & that fit.
39. Shower every day for a month. (0/30)
40. Keep the same hair color and keep it touched up for 6 months. (0/6)
41. Buy enough bras to have a different one every day of the week. (0/7)
42. Spend a day in bed, reading, napping, watching movies & eating yummy comfort foods.
43. Take Troy to Mesquite (or anywhere else he wants to go) overnight for his birthday.
44. Make 10 phone calls to people other than Mom, Troy, Dawn, Erin or Rhi (5/10)
45. Go to the park and hang out at least 12 times, not including Faire. (1/12

Family
46. Build mature, adult relationships with Garrett, Erin & Rhi.
47. Get Erin & Rhi's names legally changed.
48. Take mom out to lunch for her birthday.
49. Get a family portrait taken.
50. Do something really special for Rhi's 18th birthday. (5/7/08)
51. Do something really special for Erin's 21st birthday. (8/6/09)
52. Have a graduation party for Rhi. (5/08)

Travel
53. Start a savings account for the Ireland trip.
54. Go camping at Lake Powell.
55. Go to the Grand Canyon.

The House
56. Throw away everything that's cluttering up the kitchen & don't replace it.
57. Throw away everything that's cluttering up the living room & don't replace it.
58. Organize the big bookshelf in the living & keep it that way for 3 months. (0/3)
59. Clean out bedroom closet, toss or donate things that I don't need so I can use it as a closet.
60. Get bathroom clean, de-cluttered & keep it that way.
61. De-clutter bedroom & keep it that way.
62. Clean out storage unit & throw useless things away.
63. Set up an area to keep my in-progress crafts & supplies neat & tidy.
64. Clean off coffee table & keep it clean for 21 days. (0/21)
65. Clean bathroom once a week. (0/143)
66. Do the dishes at least once every other day. (52/500)
67. Make bed every day for at least 1 month. (0/30)
68. Replace bedroom mini-blinds.
69. Stay off computer during the week until housework is done for at least 4 weeks. (0/4)
70. Replace wallpaper in kitchen.
71. Plant the fairy garden you've been planning in your head.
72. Replace pots & pans with 1 set of nicer ones - toss the old - ALL of them (except the cast iron)
73. Replace all of the utensils with 2 sets of nicer ones & throw out the old ones - ALL of them.
74. Buy & hang artwork for the living room.
75. Hang new artwork in bedroom.
76. Buy flowers for the house every payday for 2 months. (3/4)

The Pets
77. Get Tiny leash trained.
78. Finish house-training Tiny.

Health & Wellness
79. Lose at least 130 pounds & keep it off. (19/130)
80. Start an exercise plan & stick with it.
81. Eat fast food no more than once every 2 weeks.
82. Get last 2 wisdom teeth extracted.
83. Buy a set of dumbbells.

Food & Drink
84. Cook a nice dinner every Sunday. (14/143)
85. Learn to cook wonderful tasting, but good for us meals.
86. Eat 3 things I've never tried before. (1/3)
87. Use the real dishes & not paper plates at least 5 times (5/5)
88. Make a cake from scratch.
89. Make a pot of soup from scratch.
90. Make salsa from scratch & can it.
91. Buy a nice gas grill to barbecue with.
92. Drink a martini.
93. Taste caviar.
94. Try 5 beers you've never tried before. (2/5)

Spiritual
95. Get the outside altar built.
96. Celebrate the turning of the wheel for a full year. (0/8)
97. Meditate daily for 2 weeks (0/14)

Finances
98. Find some sort of job to help pay some of these bills.
99. Pay off my smaller credit cards.
100. Buy at least 2 Christmas gifts a month until December 2007. (0/24)
101. Pay off the Dell card.

( ======== )
10.5 / 101 : 10.5%

Snow. Blows.

There's between 15-20" on the ground at the moment & its still falling very lightly. We got the car dug out & drove the XTerra out to have breakfast with Dawn, Jason & Davy at IHoP. I didn't have breakfast, I had a burger, but same difference, really. Its very icy out there & I was thankful for our 4-wheel drive.

Erin didn't go to California and I'm pretty sure the two of them aren't going at all. Not right now, at any rate. Rhi is out playing in the snow with Sean & his friend Scott, until she has to get ready for work. Erin is at his friend Jordan's house, who knows what they're doing, but at least he's out of the house & not asleep.

Troy's playing a game that Ryan got him for Christmas (he got me an awesome Guinness beanie!), or the one Erin got him. Tiny is drying off from her last romp in the snow. And me? I'm lusting after boots & shoes on piperlime.com & working on my 101 in 1001 list and thinking about fixing a cup of tea.

I need to be cleaning the living room, but I'm not.

Now We Get the Snow

We have about a foot of snow on the ground right now & its still falling. I'm just hoping that we don't lose power during the night at this point. *shiver*

Rhi & Sean are a couple again - I'm probably jinxing it by typing it out. *laugh* I guess his friends were giving him crap for going out with her the last time & he's decided to tell them to screw off & go out with her anyway. So, we'll see.

Erin & Alisha were supposed to leave for California this afternoon, but didn't because of the storm. I don't know if they're going at all now.

That's pretty much all of my news.. the tree is still up, the house is still a mess.

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas/Yule party with our friends on Saturday night was a lot of fun. Everyone enjoyed the gifts we bought for them (we draw names, plus I always buy my best friend & her kids gifts), and we liked our's very much, too. I got a book to replace one that's falling apart, an elephant purse & penguin socks, a penguin mug & towel. Troy got Reservoir Dogs, a game & a monkey. As a family we got Princess Bride (we owned it on VHS, this was DVD)

The family thing went really well at my folks' house last night. My mom & grandma both loved their scarves, the nieces both liked their gifts, too, thankfully. Mom & Dad got us a nice big ham that's baking in the oven right now.

We slept in this morning until right before Troy got home - well I did - Erin didn't actually sleep very well & was in the shower when I woke up & we woke Rhi up after Troy got here. Everyone seemed to like their gifts and were happy to have them. I know I was happy with all of mine. Everyone is sleeping right now, even the pets.

My Mood:
My Weather:

The cookies are all done, we ended up with Raisin Spice, Funfetti, Strawberry Chocolate Chip & Chocolate Cherry Chip. After I take Rhi to work this afternoon, I plan to start all of the various barks I'm making. Thursday, I do the marshmallows & pretzels, since I need them Saturday night & want them to be as fresh as possible.

I'm having a change of heart over the neck warmer I'm making.. the yarn just isn't chunky enough & it doesn't look very warm, so I may finish it, send it along, but make one that's more functional, too.

Anyway, its still very cold, but not snowing, at least. Troy's working an 8-hour shift today. I have a horrible headache & just want to sleep.

Rhi had a Christmas dinner at work last night & even got a couple of gifts - a Cushie pillow & a beautiful calendar. I think that was pretty cool & she totally wasn't expecting it.

My Mood:
My Weather: &

It snowed again last night & is supposed to keep snowing through tonight. I restarted, screwed up & frogged the neckwarmer I'm making & restarted it again this morning. Who'd have thought something like that would be so dang hard? I think its because I'm doing ribbing for the first time, and then I made it the wrong size.. so hopefully this time will be a charm.

I went out & got a bunch of stuff to bake cookies & make candy, so as soon as I get the dishes done, I'm gonna decide what I'm making for dinner, get that ready & start my baking/making. I'm really excited to do it. I think on Friday, I'll also make some fudge, since I haven't in a few years.

So, I'm making:

• 4 types of cookies from cake mixes (strawberry, devil's food, spice & funfetti)
• Chocolate covered marshmallows
• Chocolate dipped pretzel rods
• Possibly fudge
• Chocolate Mint Bark
• White Chocolate Peppermint Bark
• Chocolate Cherry Bark
  

Yay!!

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My Weather: &

I finished grandma's scarf yesterday & started one I'm making for Rhi for Christmas (so I can only work on it while she isn't here) in her school colors. I also started, screwed up & had to frog the one I'm making for the swap. Oh, and made myself a hat.

I'm supposed to make cookies for Rhi to take to work tonight, but she isn't out of bed yet & I still need to go to the store for eggs, so I think I'll do that tomorrow. (not to mention the car is covered in snow!!)

She went to a movie with Sean last night (yes, the latest ex boyfriend) and then to hang out at his house for awhile. I haven't spoken to her yet, so I don't know how that went, but she seemed to be happy when she got home. She claimed, rather emphatically, that it wasn't a date, though.

So, Christmas is a week away, are you ready? We are, for the most part. I need to get a few more things for the stockings & stuff for Tiny, but everything else is done (except the final scarf).

My Mood:
My Weather: &

Its snowing!!! We have about 6-7" on the ground right now & its still falling. We had plenty of warning that it was coming & I have zero plans to go anywhere today. My car isn't great in the snow or on slick roads like the XTerra is (Troy has that at work today).

I didn't get to stay home yesterday, I forgot the scarf I was working on at Dawn's house Friday night & had to go get that. When I got there, Dawn was at home, so I took her to finish her Christmas shopping and she took me out to lunch.

After I came home, I cooked dinner for Troy & Erin, then Rhi came home & ate too, then we took her back to Caela's house & dropped back by Dawn's to pick up some money that Roger & Morgan owed us, then we came home & relaxed awhile.

Today, I'm going to try to get some cleaning done, if my head stops hurting & I start feeling a little better (I think I have another cold) and THEN work on the scarf some more. Its a good day for staying in & getting things done.

My Mood:
My Weather: &

I let Rhi stay home from school today. There wasn't anything that important going on at school, anyway. We all needed the extra sleep. I'm so thankful that she'll be done with training by the time school starts again. I plan to finish my grandma's scarf this weekend & hopefully start on the other gift scarf I'm making (if i can find some yarn that looks enough like silver) . I'm excited, because after I finish that I can start on my Griffindor scarf!! (I got Wool-Ease yarn today for $1.62 a skein) I also need to do a hat & scarf set for a swap I'm doing, since my partner doesn't knit or crochet, and that needs to be sent before January 5 (its a D&D swap, I'm doing them in gray & calling them chain mail).

Anyhow, I need to change clothes & get ready to go, its Friday & that means gaming. Have a terrific weekend!!

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Please tell me that Christmas break starts after this week. I'm so tired. I so need to sleep in, until I'm ready to get up. I'll be able to sleep in Saturday - hopefully (Troy works that morning & sometimes I can't get back to sleep after he leaves) and Sunday.. and then no school until January 2!!! Yay!!

I don't have much to say. I'm tired & need sleep.. can't get any until I pick up Rhi.

Well, today was better, at least it didn't start out with any injuries, which is always a good sign. I got my Chritsmas cards mailed (so if you're waiting for one from me, its on the way), got Erin up to Taco Time to put in his application, went & picked up Alisha and came home. Got my bedding washed & put back on the bed, my grandma's scarf started.. so it was a pretty productive day for me. And? No fighting with Rhi (or no out of the ordinary fighting)

We have a nother snow storm on the way, its supposed to hit on Saturday, which is fine with me, I don't have to go anywhere this weekend. Tonight, I'm going to watch Friday Night Lights, finish wrapping gifts & work on grandma's scarf some more before I go to pick Rhi up. What are you up to?

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You know its not going to be a good day when you find out that you forgot to unplug the curling iron the night before. By stepping on it with a bare foot. Four of the toes on my right foot are blistered & hurting today, and no, it hasn't been a particularly great day, either. Apparently Rhi is in a bad mood or has decided that, once again, she hates me. Either way, it really hurts my feelings when she treats me badly, especially after seeming to want my company all weekend long.

Oh well. Maybe I can make it to the post office tomorrow. I tried today, but was crying after dropping her off at work & thought it was probably a bad idea to in that condition.

Anyhow.

It snowed yesterday & well into the night, but we didn't get a lot of accumulation, thankfully. It did make the roads very slick last night & this morning. By afternoon the roads were dry & the sky was clear.

My Mood:
My Weather:

Things have been super-busy the past few days, soI really haven't had much time to post. We had to get our float ready for the festival of lights parade, which took us a couple of mornings. Then we had geocery shopping & gaming yesterday.

Today, Rhi & I got up & headed for St. George so she could get her Christmas shopping done., then we had to take Erin to get his done & after that it was time to go to the parade & finish our setup & then actually walk in the parade. After that, we came home, changed clothes & I drove Rhi & Wade to a birthday party & now I'm waiting to go & pick them up.

Tomorrow, I plan to sleep as long as humanly possible. Tomorrow evening, we've been invited to a Christmas party for the company most of our friends work for. It'll be good, because I get to have coconut shrimp - yay!

Anyhow, I'm very tired & hope Rhi calls soon soI can go to bed.

Troy seems to be feeling better today, but Rhi has an upset stomach now. I keep waiting for her to text me & say she wants to come home from school. I really need to take a shower. I really need to do my laundry & finish the dishes I started yesterday. And so many other things.

I had to get Rhi out of school, her roll at lunch tasted like mold & that sent her over the edge. I hope she's feeling better soon & that Erin & I don't end up with it too, I have too many people counting on me, for too many things, to take time out to be sick.

My Mood:
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Poor Troy came home from work this morning looking & feeling terrible. I guess he threw up at around 3am & has pretty much been in bed ever since. I'm getting ready to go & get him some more juice to drink & check his temperature again.

Erin's in bed.

Rhi's at work.

Not worth cooking anything for dinner, I think I'll have soup or something.

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A Book Tag from Susan.

The Book Tag

The rules are:
-Grab the book closest to you
-Open to page 123
-Scroll down to the 5th sentence
-Post the text of next 3 sentences on your blog
-Name of the book and the author
-Tag 3 people

But most of the time, he was merely starkly perfect. And surely the strongest fledgling I had ever produced. That wasn't due only to the strength of my blood or my own trials and tribulations before I'd brought him over.

This is from Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice (book 5 in The Vampire Chronicles)


Now I will tag: Pam, Karen and Margie.

And remember you can't tag me back!!

*shiver* I've been so cold all day. We had to help my parents move my grandma out of her assisted living facility & into their house. They raised her monthly rent to $2500, so of course she couldn't afford that. I'm hoping this won't make mom as upset as it didt he last time, but grandma is doing a lot better this time around.

I got a new bed out of the deal, my grandparents' cherry wood four-poster. I've wanted this bed since I was a little girl. Its so pretty & I love it!

In other news, my cell phone is slowly killing itself. Earlier my front screen starting going out, now its gone. My inner screen is going out now. I tried to convince Troy that we needed to buy insurance on our phones, but he wouldn't do it, so now I'm screwed. :(

Rhi got up on time this morning, took her shower & then came out to the living room with wet hair asking me to see if she was running a fever or not. That's usually a pretty bad sign, since the girl loves school. She said she nearly passed out in the shower, so I told her to go back to bed & that we'd call the school & have her excused, then we all went back to bed. Troy & I woke up after 10 & I woke Rhi up at around 2 to see if she was planning to go to work.

I took Rhi to work, then I took Alisha to meet her mom & then Troy, Erin & I went to Walmart to pick up some stuff we'd run out of & some more yarn so I can make a scarf for Troy (I finished my mom's last night) & one for my grandma for Christmas. Troy's isn't a gift, he just needs something to help keep him warm at work.

Its not quite as cold today, although it started out at zero this morning. I can definitely feel the ankle I broke last spring though. It wakes me up from a dead sleep, wanting to scream - its frustrating becaues I can't do anything about it but wait for it to stop.

I'm so glad that tomorrow is Friday & I can sleep in on Saturday - Rhi's work schedule is wearing us all out.

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Why do the members of my family insist on leaving things in the microwave, after it beeps & then ignore the following reminder beeps, when they know that I cannot handle repetitive noises? Do they mistakenly believe that I'll get up & get it for them? Or that I'll go postal & kill them all?

Rhi is chatting with me on Yahoo from school. She keeps talking about how tired & miserable she's feeling. I'm pretty sure she's waiting for me to suggest calling into work sick, but that's her call, not mine - so I'm not doing it.

My car is in the shop today. A couple of weeks ago it stopped releasing the key when you'd shut the car off & I've been having to use the emergency release to get them out. We took it in last week, but a part was needed, so it had to be ordered & then we had to have a day when I would still have a car for taking Rhi to & from school & work.

Its frigidly cold today. The wind is like ice. I think I've figured out the dizziness, based on the fact that my ear was hurting like crazy last night :( I'm sooooo tired today.

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I've been dizzy since early Sunday morning & I'm getting quite tired of it. I have no idea why its happening, I just want it to stop.

Its still trying to snow & has managed a few flakes here & there, but no "big storm" like what has been forecast. Not that I'm complaining. It has, however, been bitterly cold & windy. And gray & gloomy.

I'm really making slow progress on decorating the house for Christmas, but I figure I'll have it done before the 1st, so that's all that matters. Maybe Troy will help me on his weekend.

Yeah, I know, this is a super-boring entry. Not that much is going on today. I'm making a scarf for my mom, my ankle hurts, I'm dizzy & its cold. Wow.

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The rest of my long weekend went fairly well. Dinner Saturday was good, the company was even better, especially since Kara & her brats went home early and I actually got to talk to Jason a little bit. We ended up going home early, mostly because Troy was grumpy, but I'm over it now.

Rhi was depressed again last night & cried herself to sleep. She convinces herself that she'll never have another boyfriend & then comes to me for reassurance, but she won't take it fromme. She argues her viewpoint & insists that she's right, so I never know what to say after that. She figures she's "looked for someone" for 2 months & since she hasn't found them, there's no one in the world for her. Lord, she's 16 & hasn't found her lifemate yet. In 2 whole months of looking. (of which she's spent the majority being terrified she'll get hurt again & making excuses as to why she can't like anyone that she likes) *rolls eyes*

Erin (supposedly) wants me to take him to Walmart today so he can apply. We'll see how that works out, since it involves actually dragging his ass out of bed, showering & leaving the house. I guess Alisha will probably be going with us, since he made plans with her after he forgot that he was planning to go & apply today. This means that she'll probably have a sudden need to apply too, and likely destroy Erin's prospects of getting hired, because it'll start up again (they do this thing where they insist on being hired at the same place & then start thinking they can sue if it doesn't happen).

We have a big snow storm on the way in, I'm happy that I got all of our decorations out of storage on Saturday, I just wish I didn't have to get out & drive in it as much as I'll have to.\

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Thanksgiving went surprisingly well. My brother & SIL behaved themselves. My youngest niece is as annoying as always, every holiday she seems to develop some new, even more bratty habit. This time it was tattling every time Troy or my dad looked at her and a lot of whining. But yeah. They left pretty early, they were probably wanting a beer or ten & couldn't wait any longer.

We had to go out to the store yesterday, as usual, because our payday always falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but it wasn't too terribly bad, we pretty much stuck to the grocery side. We did get a great deal on a new Hoover vacuum & some movies, though.

We hung out with Dawn & Jason last night & then Dawn & I took Rhi & Morgan to Walmart & browsed around awhile. I got some polar fleece to make some bootie-type slippers for me & Troy & Rhi bought a kimono pattern & fabric to make it. Before Rhi got there & while we were waiting for Troy & Ryan to get back with dinner, Rhi's ex stopped by, for some unknown reason. He claimed it was to see how everyone was doing, since he hadn't "seen us in awhile." So we just kind of talked about what he'd been up to, what the other high school kids had been up to & so on until he said he was going to go get coffee. Then he said he was going to go to dinner with his friends because he'd been stood up by his date or something. When he walked out, Dawn & I looked at each other & said "WTF was that?"

So that has been my holiday weekend so far. Tonight is our dinner with our friends. I'll be roasting a turkey & taking a few side dishes (most of which I've already dropped off). We're also going to put up our Christmas tree today, but I think I'll wait on the presents until I can be here to keep an eye on the animals. I'll have to train Kaji to stay out of the tree over the next few days, which will suck. (hopefully next year, we won't have a kitten & I won't have to)

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If you'd like to exchange Christmas cards with me, please leave me a comment including your email address. I'll get back to you with my address & to get yours. :)

Happy Thanksgiving! I slept really late today, because everytime I woke up my head was pounding, so I kept thinking if I slept long enough it would eventually stop (sometimes I get them if I haven't had enough sleep), but it never did. So, I'm waiting fort he ibuprofen to kick in, after that I'll get my green bean casserole ready to go in the oven. Then I guess I'll shower & get myself ready to go. I'm not really looking forward to being around my brother & his wife, but I can't avoid them forever, I guess.

I am looking forward to our dinner with our friends on Saturday, though. I REALLY hope Kara's kids are still with their dad, though. I doubt it, but, it'd sure be nice not to have to deal with them. (but at the same time, maybe she'll leave early to go home if they are back)

I'm hoping I have enough energy after we go to dinner to come back home & vacuum & such so the living room will be ready for decorating tomorrow. I'm not counting on it, I'll probably want to veg out in front of the TV or computer more than anything else.

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If you'd like to exchange Christmas cards with me this year, please a comment with your email address so that I can get back to you to share addresses.

I'm not feeling good today. I'm headachey, somewhat nauseated and just all around not good. I really wish I could, just for once, start the holiday season well. I'm guessing that isn't going to happen this year. That's ok, I'm still looking forward to it & have so much more holiday spirit than I did last year. It could be because Ryan's home, or that I've healedfrom the bad Christmas a couple of years oago, or whatever. I don't care, I'm just happy.

Today is Rhi's last day of school until Monday, and her last work day is tomorrow, so maybe we can catch up on our sleep over the weekend. She's super-excited about her first payday tomorrow. This will be the most money she's ever had at one time. Erin's getting ready to apply at Walmart, so hopefully he'll get hired there.

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We had such a good time yesterday. The kids & I went out & played Airsoft with a bunch of their friends. We were out for quite a long time & played several rounds. I fell down & broke part of my gun, though. I didn't get hurt, but my foot cramped right after I hit the ground & it made everyone think I was hurt. Then we came home, Rhi left to hang out with Wade, Erin left to go to Denny's with Jordan, Alex & Sam & I cooked some dinner for me & Troy & watched Dexter. That was pretty much my day.

1.Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I like them both, but I probably like Hot Chocolate more, with whipped cream.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Santa only fills stockings around here these days, but when he used to bring gifts, they were wrapped, in special paper.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Depends on my theme of the year.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Some years I do, some years I don't.

5. When do you put up your decorations? The weekend after Thanksgiving, usually.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Ham.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? The time Santa & his elf burst into our house on Christmas Eve & shocked all of us. Someone had hired him for a party to surprise the kids & he had the wrong address, it was pretty funny.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I was about 8 when I figured it out, but I waited until I was 10 to tell anyone I knew.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? When I was a kid we opened everthing on Christmas Eve. If there are gifts for us at my parents' house, we open them on Christmas Eve, but here, at home, we wait until Christmas.

10. What kind of decorations are on your Christmas Tree? An assortment of things we've collected over the years.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread? I hate snow, but love it on Christmas morning.

12. Can you ice skate? Why yes, I can. I took lessons for a year or so. I took roller skating lessons to - figure skating even.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? The Steiff teddy bear my brother got me when I was 10. I still have her.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with my family & friends.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Pumpkin Mousse.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? The Yule/Christmas party we have with our friends. It used to be Christmas Eve at my parents house, but something happened a couple of years ago that changed that.

17. What tops your tree? Usually an angel, sometimes a Santa.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I love them both.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Silent Night.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yummy? They're ok.

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Sorry for the lack of posts, I got busy & it just didn't seem that I had that much to say that wasn't complaining about Erin, so I just didn't post. We got into a fairly large argument with him yesterday, which ended up with him telling us that he feels like life has no meaning & he has no idea who he is on his own and so on. Today there was another one & he finally admitted he needed help & asked me to make him an appointment with a therapist. So, hopefully he can start to get his life back on track.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year, I don't know why, but I'm enjoying it. I really can't wait to get the house decorated & get the gifts under it, start my baking and all.

So.. anyway.. if any of you would like to exchange Christmas cards with me, please leave me a comment & I'll get back to you for your address & with my own.

We had a lot of fun last night. We went to eat at La Fiesta, sat around laughing & visiting and just enjoying each others' company for awhile. Then we left there & went to the convenience store that Vicki's little brother, Glen, works at & harassed him for a few minutes. Then we went to Walmart & window shopped for a couple of hours or so. We all got matching Christmas shirts (Be Naughty - Save Santa a Trip) & I got Rhi a new lanyard for her work badge. Dawn bought a really cute little Eeyore purse.

My packages from Old Navy came by UPS last night while I was out & I've spent the morning wrapping gifts. I haven't decided if I'm going to wrap my own or make Troy do it. I should at last, show him what he got me *L* Everything else has been shipped as of today, so the waiting on that starts. At least it gives me time between shipments to rest from the wrapping! I'm not 100% finished, I have to get something for my 9 year old niece (anyone have a clue what kids that age are into these days?), some games for Troy, a big gift for Erin & something for Vicki's two little ones.

Troy's working an 8 hour shift today, which is fine, overtime is always welcome, especially at this time of year. He won't get to see Rhi before she goes to work & he didn't see her before he left, either. Hopefully he'll be awake when I go pick her up tonight, so he can see her for a couple of minutes anyway. We found out yesterday that she has a 4 day weekend off of work for Thanksgiving, which I think she's really looking forward to. She gets her first paycheck the day before & I KNOW she can't wait for that. Her physiology class that she was taking in January was cancelled & she wants to take a study hall instead, so that'll give her extra time to finish homework.

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My mom decided that she would be hosting the family Thanksgiving, after all. I went out today & bought the turkey for our dinner with friends & stuff to make side dishes with for the family. We looked at pre-lit Christmas trees & considered our options. I was very tempted by the DaVinci Code gift set.. I want a cryptex so bad.

Rhi had a really good night at work, she said it didn't even seem like it'd been 8 hours when she was finished. She spoke to a boy that hurt her feelings really badly a few years ago & let the past go. She is training with someone she goes to school with & they've started talking to each other. She thinks that getting through these 6 weeks won't be too terrible. I'll probably be worn out with only getting 6 hours of sleep 5 days a week, but we'll manage.

Tonight, Dawn, Vicki & I are going out to dinner together & maybe a little window shopping, too. We all need it & are all looking forward to it. We each live very different lives: Vicki is in her mid-20's with 2 kids under 5, works as a CNA at the hospital (in the maternity ward) & goes to college full-time. Dawn is a single mom in her mid-30's with a pregnant 17 year old daughter, and 2 other teens at home, she works full-time delivering, picking up & maintaining porta-potties. And then there's me, in my early 40's with 2/3 of my kids grown & a stay-at-home mom. Those are my best girlfriends in this town, I have one more, but she lives halfway across the country.

So, that's my excitement for the day.

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Rhi had a good first day at work. She only worked until 8:30 or so, because last night was just orientation, but she said she liked all of the people she's training with & had already met & started talking to another girl that she might be friends with eventually. She was looking forward to actually beginning the training part tonight.

Erin didn't go to sleep last night, but was up when we got up. He grabbed some applications from me earlier, but I think he must have finally gone to sleep, because I haven't seen him since. It was partially my fault he overslept yesterday, I forgot that he didn't have a clock in there, so he kept waking up, thinking it was much earlier because I hadn't woken him up.

There really isn't much else going on today.

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