Happy New Year! I am HOME!

 

I am home!!  I am HOME!  Not willingly, but we made it home at noon today after 20 hours on the road.  The hardest part was leaving the SUN, the BEACH, the 75 degrees of lovely WARMTH! 

My father and stepmom were so happy to have us...they have a nice home in a neighborhood in St Petersburg.  The area is where my stepmom (who by the way is only 5 years older than me, at 53, my dad is 69 ), spend every summer there while she was growing up, so she knew the area and while she had to work a couple of hours during the week she showed us around.  We also spent some nice alone time with dad.  She tends to like to stop and let we girls stop and look, dad gets impatient really easy, and boom it's time to go.

The last two days we spent on the beach, on the gulf of Mexico.  Which was pure HEAVEN to me!  I am now just a bit burned but have plenty of proof of my getaway!  Besides I tan really quickly.   Give me a week and I'd be native.

I took pictures so you all can see my good time...while my first true love is the west coast, I really, really enjoyed Florida...my "only old people live there" attitude was broken and the weather and the laidback attitude sure won me over.

So I am home still barefoot, refusing to wear real shoes until I have to go back to work on Tuesday, is that wrong???   Keeping the sunshine and relaxing thoughts in my soul...

We are staying in tonight.  Welcoming 2006 whiile watching a favorite band on TV...

Here's to 2006....it will be the best, yes the best year yet....

i am better now!

ok , ok, I am better now.  I usually don't like to over react.  I learned a long time ago that doing that only makes matters worse, raises my blood pressure, makes my cats run for cover and usually causes more harm than good.  BUT...I felt justified in my frustration which really never helps...my husband called his son who we had asked to housesit & was worried about leaving his own cats and bribed him with a $75.00 Dominicks gift card...Gotta love that boy, the way to his heart has always been through his stomach.  Here, he gets cable, a computer AND $75.00 worth of food.

He's coming to sit with the dogs...whew! 

Just talked to my dad he's still excited and so now am I.

Mark is a little miffed at his youngest two sons who not only did not come to the Thanksgiving party didn't show up today.  The youngest called but he has no car to drive here.  The other one, whom I let borrow/or I should say I gave $140.00 for  a windshield for his truck, called yesterday, but it is now at 5:30pm he is officially MIA. 

Mark's now taking a nap.  He's getting up at 10:00 pm and we will be off to sunny skies and warm beaches....

AND finally some rest for my weary soul...

 

 

Why are my children such pains!

I ask you all this question.  Why are our adult children such world class pains in the butt????  So far my son is too busy building a ping pong table for a drinking game to stay here and take care of my dogs, my stepson came over yesterday got his Christmas gift of money to keep his electricity on, & he thinks he's cats can't be without him for a few days and the other stepson is with his in-laws.  The other two are so irresponsible I wouldn't trust them to pick up my mail let alone have them take care of my pets.  My son Eric is 1/2 hour away and will be working all week.

 

HUGE :::::::::::::sigh:::::::::::::

 

So I have asked Liz to ask Mike to let the dogs out....he lives less than a mile from us and he's very very responsible PLUS he loves my daughter...

more later...

christmas eve

The bags are packed, shorts and swimsuits located, flip flops have been dug out from the back of the closet, my happy feet will be out in the warm Florida air soon!

Dog and Cat food have been bought, along with clean litter boxes.  My responsible working son, says he will let out the dogs.  The sorta responsible laid off son will stay here too. 

We are having a heat wave here, it's 40 and foggy.  Since we have so much snow it's still cold.  I changed my homepage to St Pete, it's 64 and sunny....next week it will be 70's....

Tonight we will be going to the grandkids to bring them their gifts.  I only bought a few toys, mostly clothes, but cool clothes, like mini flannel shirts, painter pants, and spiderman PJ's.  Oh! And Purdue stuff, a cute mini football outfit.  And a hooded Purdue sweatshirt for Jacob.  Sorry can't be cool like the kids and call them hoodies sounds too dumb!

I am off to finish up my house, Eric and Tim are spending the night and will wake up here for Santa's arrival tomorrow morning.  Liz is happy, she's not used to being the only child.  Afterall, she's used to a huge crowd on Christmas morning. Having 7 older brothers does that!

 

If I don't get a chance to go back online tomorrow...

to you and yours!

Rose~

3 more days!

3 more days and the fat man comes!  We will be going to Jeremy's on Christmas Eve to celebrate with the grandbabies, And on Christmas Day we hang out here, my sons come over, and we of course eat my favorite tradition...Chinese food!  I even told my monitor, Julie about it and she's doing the same.  Much easier on the cook!

We plan on leaving here at 10:00 pm and drive straight through to Florida.  We are troopers that way.  Mark will drive most of the way.  Liz and I can also drive, she needs the practice as the kid still doesn't have her license.  Mark was an over the road trucker for awhile.  We once went straight to California with 3 drivers in 34 hours, I know we are nuts. But I will be so excited to find the sun...

Families should drive more anyway so much to see of this wonderful country.  I've only been as far south as Tennessee, so this should be a real experience for me.  Mark, he was in the Navy, took many road trips as a kid, but he's excited too.

I am using some of time off to catch up on the household stuff...

bye for now

 

Yesterday was my last day of work until January 3rd.  Mark is also off until then too.  AND he will be going back to work!  They have work for him to do!  So it will be hopefully a short layoff for him this season.  We will be ok because of unemployment, but it's the him staying home all day that drives both of us nutty!  He's worked most of his life and he needs to do that to stay out of trouble! 

We spent today finishing up our Christmas gift shopping.  It wasn't painful at all.  This evening we went to my daughter in law Brandy's basketball game.  She is the one that got married last summer to Matt.  She is a math teacher at Oswego East and the assistant coach for the Varsity girls team.  Liz came too, some of her friends are on the team also.  It was weird to be at a game and not get paid to sit and watch!  Sorry bus driver in me coming out!  Speaking of that, I now know why people that deal with children all day get time off, because we have EARN IT!  I really am going to appreciate the break.

Last Saturday Dakota had his 1st birthday party.

He received every noisy toy you could think of.  We gave him a savings bond and a toy bus (of course!).  The boys get so many toys so we are going to purchase a group of bonds and then give them as birthday gifts so they all mature at the same time.  If they decided to go to college they will have something to help them out.

Then on Sunday Tracey dropped the boys off to make Christmas cookies (I have to develop the film, pictures will be displayed later).  Jacob had a great time.  The kid has finally figured out how to very clearly express himself.  He kept saying LIZZZZZZZZZZ come here we're making Christmas Ookies!  Dakota was his usual busy self only now the kid can walk very very well, he only took 2 tumbles, once into the kitchen cabinet and another time he came inches from the Christmas tree!

The next day on Monday, my phone rings and I hear breathing, I see it's my stepson's phone number on the caller ID.  I hear, "ama? I come to your house??  Where's ampa?, I want Aunt Lizzzzzzzzz!".  Seems the little stinker had such a good time with us he refused to go to his other grandma's house to be babysat while Tracey worked!  Gotta love that boy! 

We decided today that since we will be off next week we are going to head on down to Florida to see my father and stepmother.  They live in St Petersburg.  Gas is finally cheap enough so I won't feel guilty.  Plus we both need a break from the blasted cold, it's been below freezing for forever!  Most days below zero with a high of like 6!  We plan on leaving Christmas night and be back the next Saturday.  Mark was an over the road truckdriver in the past so he knows how to do a road trip.  I plan on sitting by the pool and/or beach and doing absolutely nothing but relax!  AND I think I've earned it, I haven't had a real vacation since 2002! As my hubby Mark said just this evening it's so nice to feel like everything is right in the world....

 

 

I am sooooo busy!

Been super busy, getting my shopping finished up, still have a few of Mark's kids to do, but he's off tomorrow so we will be going out then.  Kids get harder to buy for when they get older and can buy their own stuff. 

I'd rather buy for the grandkids, they are so fun and easy!

Friday night is Liz's theater groups play and Saturday I have trip, Dakota's 1st birthday party and my works party.  WHEW!  Luckily schools out next Tuesday!

Then I'll have time to bake and make cookies.  I always have Chinese for Christmas, I don't cook anymore! 

It's my gift to myself!

Today we were supposed to get a huge snowstorm, instead we got freezing rain.  Fun, fun, I only had to scrape a sheet of ice off a huge bus before I went out...

I made it though...time to hop around J-land!