I know I've been MIA...

Sorry for taking so long to update my Blog everyone! It been insanely busy in my life with the holidays and family obligations. Then work has also been nuts since it's quarter end AND we're getting ready to shut down our warehouse for almost 2 weeks.

Ugh!

Can you say busy? Can you say high blood pressure?!?!

I am hoping to load my digital pics to my laptop tonite so I can do a proper post. Please hang tight until then guys. I'll try to think of something funny and witty to say between now and then lol

Hope everyone had a fabu Christmas and looking forward to an awesome New Year!

Talk to you guys soon!

You know it's true!

ALL I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM A SNOWMAN

** It's okay if you're a little bottom heavy **

** Hold your ground, even when the heat is on **

** Wearing white is always appropriate **

** Winter is the best of the four seasons **

** It takes a few extra rolls to make a good midsection **

** There's nothing better than a foul mouthed, er I mean, weather friend **

** We're all made up of mostly water **

** You know you've made it when they write a song about you **

** Accessorize! Accessorize! Accessorize **

** Avoid yellow snow **

** Don't get too much sun **

** It's embarrassing when you can't look down and see your feet **

** It's fun to hang out in your front yard **

** There's no stopping you once you're on a roll **

And... Last but not least...

** It's not the size of the carrot, but the placement that counts **

True Story!

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid December. Female reindeer retain their antlers til after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.

We should've known... ONLY women would be able to drag a fat-ass man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost!

We won! We won! We won!!!!

Wednesday night was J’s company Christmas party. We won the grand prize!!!!! But before I get into that and the party, let me start my story by telling you something one of my best friends said to me this past summer. She watched “The Secret” and had people talking to her left and right about it.

This was when the book and the movie came out and EVERYBODY and their husband, wife, friend, cousin, aunt, mom, dad, baby, baby mama, neighbor, mailman, and their dogs were talking about this movement. Let's call it a “movement” because it seems everywhere I turned someone was talking about it and how it had helped them in their life and how they were putting this into their lives as well. Isn't that what a movement is? When a ton of people all drink the koolaid and decide to do the same "new" thing?

Anywhore, we were at our friends house to play poker like we do every 2 weeks. A bunch of us get together, the guys and 2 of their girlfriends play poker and the rest of us ladies have a hen party in the kitchen. Laughing and joking and catching up on life together over drinks and snacks, and drinks. Lots of drinks! (Did I mention the drinks? lol) My BFF "N" tells me that she decided to "try" putting The Secret into her life one day. They had been hurting financially since her hubby's business had been sort of slow. She got home from work after thinking about it and said out loud, "In today's mail, there WILL BE money for us instead of bills!" Something to that effect. She said she repeated it a few times on her way to the mailbox at her curb. Of course at this point I was skeptical and said "phooey!" (Ok, so I didn't *REALLY* say phooey (does anyone really say that anymore?) but I'm sure I rolled my eyes on more then one occasion and shook my head a lot. It's how I roll...) Then she says she opened her mailbox and...

DUN.DUN.DUN...

Inside her mailbox was a check from her last jobs retirement plan she had forgotten all about. Because she forgot about it and didn't roll it over to her new employers plan, the retirement company had cashed it out and sent it to her.

I kind of left it at that, never thought about it again. Fast forward to this week. J and I never win anything. EVER! But the night of his company party, I said to him, "tonight, we WILL win a prize. And not just ANY prize! We WILL win the grand prize!" I am pretty sure he and B laughed at me. A lot. (I may have cried from their laughter. I'm not sure, I've tried to block it from my memory.)

We got to the party at a local Italian Spaghetti restaurant and had dinner with our friends. The raffle started and they began with the grand prize. Our ticket number was called! The very first ticket they pulled out was ours!!!!!!

This is what we won...

Can you believe it!?!? All the way home I gloated that it was my positive thinking that had won the prize. I did it! This way of thinking really does work! For the next 2 days I tried to keep it up. Breathe in, breathe out... Think positively!

Friday was my company party and they were also doing a raffle. I thought positively. Did an affirmation out loud. We didn't win. lol

I did learn something great though. The idea isn't just about winning things and getting money in the mail. It's about trying to find the better things in everything around you. It's about finding the best solution to problems life throws your way. It's about BELIEVING everything can and WILL work out in your life. I've always believed that I am a very positive person and always trying to find the brighter side in everything. But my problem is that while I don't like to speak out loud the things that I'm worried about, or talk negatively, I still THINK it in my head. So I need to try and be better about that. I do believe in the whole karmic ideals, positive thinking will equal positive rewards, negative thinking will equal negative energy. So I need to BELIEVE all the crap happening in my life is going to work out. All of it. And isn't that Christmas is all about? BELIEVING???

And that's where I'll end this post. lol

Thanksgiving was a bust!

As you know my MIL has been very ill right? If you don't know that, have you even been reading this blog??? Go read it now...

GO ON!

I'll wait!

Seriously! DO IT!!!

Ok, you done?

Now that you know what I'm talking about, I can continue. (Sheesh! Pay attention next time would ya?!?)

As I may or may not have mentioned before, my MIL is the kind of woman who has the magazine-cover-picture-perfect-home. Nothing is ever out of place! You know how you go see the tours of the brand new homes in the newly built subdivisions and they have that one perfect model home at the beginning to show you what it would look like if you lived there? And, if you had a decorator, a full time chef, a full time cleaning person, and nobody *EVER* walked on the carpets once you lived there? Yes, that would be what her house looks like. She has cream/off white carpets with NO marks on them. And they're not brand new. They just LOOK brand new! Don't ask how she does it because I don't know!

Anyways, not only is her house like that but her holiday gatherings and table settings are the same way. Everything is beautiful and shiny and perfect. Like Martha effin Stewart herself set the table! Every year she does all the cooking from start to finish. All on her own. Meaning you are not allowed to bring anything and if you do, so help you gawd, you'll be on her shit list! I made the mistake of trying to bring something when J and I first got together. Thinking like other normal families that when someone says, "no it's ok, don't bring anything", they really mean, go ahead and bring whatever. No one ever REALLY means DON'T bring anything. Right? WRONG! Everyone thinks that way except for my MIL. I think that was the first time I ever really knew the true meaning of "STINK EYE!" Wow! I'd never seen anything like it before! But I digress... Me and my MIL have never had the perfect relationship but we're on our way. We've grown very close since she's been ill and I'm extremely happy we are getting along so great these days.

Anyways, this year would be different. For one, MIL is way too sick to do all of it on her own. Actually she's been too sick to do any of it on her own. Secondly, this could very well be her last Thanksgiving we get to spend with her. So you can see where I'm going with that one. Anyways, when she was hospitalized the first time in October, I told my new sister in law and my MIL's pseudo adopted daughter that we would need to make sure to get Thanksgiving all taken care of on our end so that MIL wouldn't have to do a thing. Long story short, they planned the whole thing without me before I could bat an eyelash! So, in my procrastination daze, I was told I could make, um, the potatoes lol.

So anyways, I'd taken last Wednesday off so I could start preparing for that Thursdays dinner. Me and B were across the street with my MIL, her adopted daughter and granddaughter all day long that day, baking pies and cookies, making the jello salads she serves, the muffins, everything. We had a great time. Laughing and joking. Forgetting the muffins in the oven so they came out extra "baked." D making the raspberry jello too watery so it wouldn't set up. There was a lot of laughing and joking. It was great.

Late Wednesday afternoon, when B and I headed back to our house to start the preparations for the things we were in charge of for dinner, (READ: POTATOES lol), B started complaining of a scratchy throat. As the night wore on, he whined more and more. The more potatoes I peeled and diced, the more he complained about how he didn't feel good. We went to bed and during the night he started puking. I was hoping and praying that he had food poisoning. I know right? What kind of mother hopes and prays for food poisoning? It was better then the alternative. I knew if it was only food poisoning, then he'd be fine by dinner time the next afternoon. AND that he wasn't contagious!!!!! But, if it was the flu, we would have to skip going to my in laws since she's about to start chemo and can't be around anyone sick right now.

After a very long night, of B up every hour on the hour getting sick, he woke the next morning to even worse symptoms. We were politely told not to come to my inlaws for dinner. I was very upset. It seems like everyday there is something new, something else goes wrong. Something, or someone, keeps throwing all these obstacles in my way. Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong! It's been that way since my brother was killed a few years back but it seems the past year has been the most horrible one so far.

My family was very excited to have us for thanksgiving after all. We had told them we wouldn't be coming this year for dinner and they politely understood that because of what was happening with my MIL's health, that we wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. They've been great about all of it. When I called them Thursday so extremely upset about not being able to spend Thanksgiving with my inlaws, they asked us to come over right away. It turned out great after all. We spent the day with my sister, her boys, my mom and my neice. It was a great day all in all.

The rest of the weekend was pretty miserable though. First I caught the flu from B and then J got it too. All of us are still down with this horrid flu and can't seem to shake it. I'm hoping we get better soon. We need to be in tip top shape to be around my MIL at all so we're trying to rest up and get better quickly.

MIL was supposed to start chemo today but for some reason, the doctors have postponed it to Friday of this week. We'd appreciate any and all prayers, good wishes, healing thoughts, etc etc that you can send our way. We're going to need them to get through this!

Again, sorry it's been so long since I've posted on my little blog here. Life has been crazy and hectic but I hope to get posting more and more.

Love to all!

Andrea