Happy Valentines Day!

My day started off wonderful. I slept a good 10 hours! Grant got up with the dogs, and I got a few extra hours of beauty sleep. I guess I got my Valentines wish eh? LOL

We than exchanged our first Husband and Wife Valentines Day Cards. Awww, I love my husband. He picks out the sweetest, most perfect cards ever! Married life is wonderful!

Grant went to run some errands, so I went and got my run out of the way. Today on the training plan was 4 miles. I was a little worried about how the run would go because of how bad my knees have been aching. But I wore some nice cushion socks, and took my pace down a bit. Not the best time, but Im not so worried about time right now. More like just getting through the runs! My first week of half marathon training went pretty good. It feels great to be in a routine again. Something about training for an event really changes your outlooks on your workouts. I know there were a few days when I would of skipped the workout...but since Im training now it wasnt even a possibility to me. I cant believe Im in training again...and that Im going to run a half again. Exciting, and nerve wrecking at the same time! When I got back home I decided I would head out to the grocery store and pick up something to make for desert. Grant is cooking dinner and its half a surprise. So I wanted to make our desert a surprise to. We thought we would see if there was a movie we could rent while out, so stopped at the video store. But there wasnt anything we saw at the video store, so decided to come home and download a few episodes of Big Love. We only got through one episode since we lost track of time...so looking forward to catching up on more Big Love this week! Grant was on dinner duty, and boy did he bring it! I think he really outdid himself this time. It was absolutely delicious. We had steaks, redskin mashed potatoes, green beans w/ ham and garlic, and a very yummie arugla salad.
See Bandito trying to get my meal? Sneaky bastard! My belly is VERY full! Will we have room for my desert? Im sure we can make room for a small piece. I made peanut butter cheesecake...hope it turned out good!

Our first married Valentines has been fabulous! I hope your enjoying yours as well!

Happy Valentines Day!

I Heart Christmas

Christmas is my favorite holiday. It always has been. Its still the one holiday that I havent changed my feelings on even with all the things that have happened with my family in the last couple years. It just makes me happy. The decorations, the lights, the music, the first snowfall (yes I said snow!), the hustle and bustle of the season, the traditions, finding the perfect gift, the food! especially peppermint hot chocolate....just the whole spirit of it. It gives me the warm fuzzies!

Especially Christmas music. It just fills me with joy. I know I sound so cheesy. No matter whats going on in my life, or what kind of day Im having...I can put on some Christmas music and it puts me in a great mood :)

So today I prepped the living room for Christmas decorating. We put up the tree and did some decorating in the living room. I love having the Christmas lights up. Of course we put on Christmas music, and Im just so happy right now. Bandito loves Christmas decorating. He sits and watches us, while the other two look depressed. Not sure what thats all about...I wonder if it makes them think of things from the past. Rusty - my parents, and makes Vinyl think about Sadie. :(

Last night I caught the movie Family Stone. I never saw it before, and really enjoyed it. I really love all the cheesy Christmas movies to. Always a happy ending. :) I think Ill try to watch more Christmas movies this season than I usually do. I definitely want to go see the one with whats his name from Meet the Faulkner's. The dad.....its on the tip of my tongue! It has him and Drew Barrymoore in it. It looks good. I love the movies. I just wish it was a little bit cheaper to go these days!

Id like to make a few Christmas gifts this year. We dont really have to buy for many people, which is a great thing because we are so broke from the wedding. But my crafty side has kicked in and Im itching to make some things...we shall see what I come up with :)

LOVE this time of the year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already here. Time sure does fly by, doesnt it?

I am happy to say that I have had a really nice Thanksgiving. I was dreading it last week. Ive been in a huge funk, and quite the Negative Nancy. I keep focusing on the things that are horrible in my life, and I should focus on the good things. Who wants to live their life in such a miserable state? My original plan for Thanksgiving was to feel sorry for myself and stay in my pj's and veg on the couch. Now I know that was a bad idea, but its what I wanted to do. Grant said whatever I want to do is what he will do. Bless that boy, he has been through my extreme ups and downs, and still stands there and supports me. That would be one of the many reasons I love him so much.

So after a session with my therapist, I did come to my senses and agree to spend the holiday with family. Just because my immediate family isnt ideal to spend the holiday with...doesnt mean I should spend it alone. We went to Grants aunts for Thanksgiving. Its his aunts (stepmoms sister) family, Grants parents, and than Grants uncles (or aunts inlaws) family. Everyone wanted to hear about the wedding, so we got to relive that best day of our lives again :) We brought the laptop so were able to show some pictures to everyone. Oh how Id love to go back there right now! Delicious food as usual. This family is italian and are great cooks! And of course even more delicious deserts, my favorite part!

I had a tradition with my parents that we would go to the movies on holidays, specifically Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have done it as long as I can remember. Last year Grant and I tried to attempt that, but Grant got food comatose so we missed out. Grant made sure to not stuff himself this year, so we were able to go :) We went and seen Pirate Radio. I LOVED it! It had a few cheesy parts, but I really enjoyed it. Music is such an amazing thing, and such a huge part of both Grant and my life. I love that about our relationship. So it was a great movie to relate to :)

Now we are at home watching late night shows. Pee-Wee Herman was just on Conan, and he looks exactly like he did when I watched Pee Wee's Playhouse! Kinda creepy. LOL Apparently he is doing some sort of Pee-Wee Playhouse play....

So I thought with it being Thanksgiving, I should post what I am thankful for :) I really am trying to focus on being more positive, and being thankful for what I have. Because really it could be worse, it really could. So here comes my list...

• I am so thankful that I have a job that feels secure at the moment.
• Im also thankful that I have been recommended for a promotion at work. It feels great that my managers have that confidence in me.
  
• Im thankful I have 3 of the cutest, most sweetest dogs ever. No matter what happens, those 3 shower me with unconditional love!
  
• Even though my health isnt the greatest, I am thankful that I know what my health problems are and continue to work on getting healthier.
  
• Im so thankful I was able to live out such an amazing dream wedding!
• Im also super thankful that Grant and I both were able to take a 19 day vacation for our wedding moon!
  
• Im thankful for the friends and family that have really been such a great support system during this very difficult year!
  
• While the loss of my parents has been hard, I am thankful for the 17 holidays I did have with them.
  
• Last but not least, Im super, uber thankful for my amazing husband. My life is complete with him, I realize this more and more each day. I feel very blessed to have my soul mate and best friend by my side through this journey we call life.

Happy Thanksgiving - lots to be thankful for. :) And on that note, its time for bed. Night Bloggers!

Late Night Ramblings

I have so many things running through my mind tonight that I couldnt pick just one thing, so will blog about them all! First of all I feel a little bit guilty that I sort of steal random pictures such as the one above and put them on my blog. Sorry to those of you who I steal your pictures....at least I dont steal your bandwidth to! lol

So tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I really need to color my hair. Ive been super lazy and been watching TV and surfing the web all night...so I guess Ill have to do it in the AM. I hate coloring my hair the same day I go places because it smells that first day and is always hard to style! Speaking of styling....my flat iron broke while we were in Florida so that is another challenge to. I finally ordered a new one today from www.folica.com. I love that site. I got $20 off and free shipping. Score! I sat here for a good hour debating between a 1" plate and a 1.5" plate. The things I agonize over! I ended up with the 1.5" so I could cut some time off my getting ready time. Im not sure if Ill be able to curl my hair with that big of a plate though. Im sure I can find a demo on you tube on how to use that size to curl. Dont you love you tube?

I really would like to organize my "home" office space this weekend. I keep saying that but it never happens. Its a scrapbook room/lia sophia office/school crap space. Yeah way to much going on eh? LOL If I got it organized it would assist in making some projects as Christmas gifts. I have these ideas but until I get a clean space I wont be able to start them!

Today I went to see my holistic doctor/nutritionist...and I think I may be convinced hes a little hoxy. I forgot my supplements while we were on our weddingmoon, so only been taking my supplements for about 1.5 weeks now. And I ran out of one of them, so havent even been taking everything. Well I go back today, and he starts doing his acupressure thing, and hes like wow this last dose of supplements really worked! You dont need to take two of the five supplements anymore, and you went from a qty of 5 hypothalmax a day to just 1! And now Im in maintenance mode, and only need to come every quarter. Um...I still feel like crap, and I havent been taking my supplements...so how did I end up there?

I didnt make anything to take to Thanksgiving tomorrow, and dont really feel bad about it. We go to Grants aunts house, and her in laws are all there. They are this big Italian family, and lets be real....they have so much food already, and why would they want to eat something I make? LOL

See now wasnt this a bunch of late night ramblings? I guess Ill go to bed now..I can barely keep my eyes open. The weather has been so nice...this would have been a PERFECT year to run in the turkey trot! Coulda Shoulda Woulda, right?

Some Holidays Will Just Be Sad

So this will be the second Fathers Day without my dad, and while life does seem a bit more manageable now....I don't think holidays like this will ever get easier. When I woke up this morning I was feeling okay, but than shortly after a dark cloud sort of hoovered over me. Grant was going to his aunts for a Fathers Day BBQ, but I decided I kind of just wanted to stay home and let today be a depressed day. Sad I know. But sometimes I just need those kind of days. As long as its just for the day, or a short period of time, and I don't let it turn into weeks. That is when it becomes unhealthy.

I also feel a lot of guilt. I do have one parent still alive, one that does want a relationship with me. And I push that away. For my own sanity. But still part of that makes me feel guilty. I know Im making the right decision, but I think its probably only normal to have these feelings. Still doesnt make it any easier. Ive been trying to talk about this with some friends, but these friends have really good relationships with their moms or daughters...so it doesnt always go so well. Which causes more regret in the end.

I was able to buy Grant a few Fathers day cards yesterday which I wasnt sure how that would go. I handle the trip pretty good for the most part. I was able to move past the daughter father day cards, over to the husband and from the dog cards. Than a few minutes later someone opened one of those musical cards that was playing a Johnny Cash song. My dad loved Johnny Cash. And even use to sing this song when ever we would be four wheeling when I was a kid. A few tears fell, but than I was able to pull it back together. I guess I am healing, although sometimes it doesnt feel like it.

Im glad tomorrow is a new day. And Im back to work, so making money and getting into a schedule is definitely a good thing.

Happy Valentines Day!

Phew, time is flying by! Valentines Day already? It will be October before I know it. :)

Ive had a nice Valentines Day. I got to sleep in till 11am, which is the first time Ive slept in on a Saturday in months! Due to the TV repair man always coming. No the TV still isnt fixed, but he will be back on February 28th to try to fix it, for hopefully the last time! When I woke up I had two cute cards sitting on my laptop, one from the dogs and one from Grant. I also had 4 roses sitting in a glass. 2 yellow and 2 red crepe paper roses. Grant made them! How cute is that. It made my heart melt. He said, when I was home sick all last week I learned how to make them on Martha Stewart. Hes to cute. I love this man!


Most of the day we were just being lazy, and caught up on some tivo for a few hours. Big Love and Greys Anatomy episodes. Oh how Ive missed Big Love, soooo happy its on again! After that I went to go cuddle with the doggies in the bed, and ended up taking a 2 hour nap. Guess I needed a lot of sleep eh? LOL

Grant was cooking dinner tonight, his steak dinners that I LOVE so much. He made steaks, green beans, and redskin potatoes. A man after my own heart. tee hee It was delicious. Probably one of the best steaks he has made. It was so good I almost didnt save any for the dogs. I dont do well with sharing, I did grow up as the only child in the house. :p But I saved a few bites for the 3 of them, and they enjoyed it very much to!


Its been a nice day :) Now time for some more TV time and cuddling, and hope that my weigh in tomorrow doesnt go off the charts! Its been a challenging week for me eating and exercise wise.

Hope your having a great Valentines Day! XO

Every Day Is A New Beginning

On my desk at work I have a plaque that reads, Every Day Is A New Beginning. It has flowers on it, with a small sun. I start my workday off looking at this plaque, and sometimes it makes me smile, and other times it makes me think let this be a good day .

Today I needed to remember that plaque quite a few times. Probably about mid afternoon I started to feel sad. Than I felt the grief coming on. I tried to ignore it, but that is never a good idea. I went home for a bit before I headed out to Christmas shop. Im super stressed about my Christmas shopping. Unfortunately I had to wait for a check to come through, 3 days before Christmas. And only half of it cleared, and I have to wait till the rest clears on Christmas Eve. Joy right? Not quite. I knew it was going to be a mad house. But thought trying to get some shopping done today vs Christmas eve might be a good idea.

I had to stop by my old endo doc to pick up my records on the way out. I have an appt tomorrow with a new doc that I was put on a 5 month waiting list. So wanted to make sure I brought the records in hand, in case they didnt get faxed. Like my old office has a reputation of not doing. On the drive there the grief got deeper and deeper. I found tears filling my eyes. I stopped them shortly.

I picked up the records, free of cost, which was great. This office has given me a hard time about getting my records, wanting to not give them to me at all or charge me $1 a page. So when they were handed over free of charge, that was a pleasant surprise. Than off I headed to go shopping. I started my trip towards the mall. BIG mistake. Once I got in the vincinity of the mall, it took me 15 minutes to get a half mile. The traffic was horrendous. I drove through two parking lots and decided I would just hit up Target. I parked about a quarter mile away from Target and headed on in. My first mistake was not mapping out what I needed from what store. So I was sort of lolly gallying (is that how you say it?) which was not what everyone else was doing. LOL So I got bumped, shoved, cut off, and all those good things. I started to get a headache from being hungry, and I was very cranky. I found one item, and thought one is better than none. Than I turned the corner and noticed the lines and put my item down. And left. 15 minutes to get out of that parking lot, and I headed back towards my neighborhood. I was already done at that point. But I stopped at Walmart on the way home. I found a close parking spot and snuck in through the garden area. Worlds best kept secret ;) I found a few things, but felt I could find them cheaper somewhere else. Cheaper than walmart, is that possible? I seem to think so. My headache had increased tenfold now. Im sure these two eposides didnt help it...a rude kid that told me to go around him when I said excuse me. And the other two boys that were playing basketball in the middle of the toy isle and hit me with the ball in the head. :rolls eyes: Than I saw something that my dad would love. I picked it up, than remembered I didnt need to buy it. Tears filled my eyes again.

*sigh*

I decided this isnt working. Im not in the right mind frame. Im sad. Im depressed. Im hungry. Lets call it a night, and try again tomorrow. Unfortunately I dont have time for all of that since I only have two days left to shop! But two days is better than none. I stopped by and picked up some comfort food, Buffalo Wild Wings, on the way home. And the cashier gave me a free pop. That made me smile. Went home, enjoyed my food, and tried to relax. Yes I resorted to emotional eating, sue me. And it was damn good.

Tomorrow is a new beginning. A fresh day. I have this appt that Ive been anxiously waiting for, and am really optimistic about it. Im off work at 1:30 for that appt, and than have two days off work. Ive planned out what stores Ill need to hit up for gifts tomorrow, and will rise and shine early Christmas Eve to hit up the other stores.

So I sit here and remember that plaque I glance at every morning. Every Day Is A New Beginning. Please I need a good new beginning. Even if it is for one day, I could use one so bad right now. Im heading to bed early, and hoping to feel well rested in the morning. And tomorrow I will try again. I know the pain of grief, and life in general will still be there, but hopefully the pain will not be so sharp tomorrow. Ill think Ill wear my favorite necklace to brighten my day. And I can wear jeans to work, and thats always something to make me smile :) Its the small things right now that keep me going.

Holiday Savings

As I know how it feels to be strapped for cash this holiday season, I decided to help out. Running my own business means I can run my own specials. So I held a lia sophia open house a few weeks ago. I ran some great December holiday specials, and even offered a chance to win the hostess benefits.

The special I ran was Buy 1 item at regular price, and get up to your next 4 items 50% off. (most expensive pieces always half off of course) If they bought all 5 items, than they got any item out of the catalog valued up to $25 for FREE!

On top of the very great Holiday special I also did a mystery hostess raffle. That is an event where the guests have a chance to win part of the hostess benefits. So I gave out raffle tickets out for certain things done before, during, and after the show. Than at the end of the night did a drawing. There were 4 great prizes...

Grand Prize: 20% of show sales in FREE jewelry!

1st Runner up: 3 pieces at Hostess Bonus Pricing!

2nd Runner Up: 1 piece at Hostess Bonus Pricing, and a FREE retired piece of jewelry

3rd Runner Up: A FREE retired piece of jewelry

Unfortunately there weren't many in attendance at the party, only 4 people in attendance. But those 4 really saved some mega bucks! And all one one of the prizes. Double bonus for them! I left the show open for an additional week for anyone else who might want to save some cash. Who doesn't like getting jewelry for Christmas?! And quite a few people took me up on that offer. :)

The party was such a great time! With a smaller crowd you really got to have more of an intimate time. We all got to get to know each other a little bit better, and had some great conversations flowing! Before we knew it, hours had flown by. I love having a great night out like that :)

So the GRAND TOTAL of savings of all the customers of this show was, $1,405.00!!! How awesome is that? Seriously! The best savings of the night was one guest who saved, $514! That is just awesome.

I know its probably not a lot, but I'm glad I could offer some great sales and help a few people save a little bit more cash during this holiday season. When I delivered the jewelry today everyone was so excited to see the jewelry and, even more geeked when they heard how much they saved. That put a smile on my face :)

Happy Holidays!

White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

So tonight Im going to the Pink Ladies 1st annual Christmas Party :) Im looking forward to it! I volunteered to bring a desert. White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake. Grant and I made this last year and it went over really well, and was so yummie. So last night I attempted to make the cheesecake. What exactly was I thinking? LOL You should of seen the kitchen when I was done. Im so baking/cooking challenged!

What You Need:

1-1/2 cups HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs

3 Tbsp. sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

4 squares BAKER'S White Chocolate, melted

4 eggs

1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

16 miniature candy canes

Make It

HEAT oven to 325°F. Line 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends extending over sides of pan. Mix graham crumbs, 3 Tbsp. sugar and butter; press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 min.

BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and extract in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add sour cream and chocolate; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.

BAKE 40 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 4 hours. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve. Top each piece with a dollop of COOL WHIP and candy cane just before serving.

So what the cheesecake should look like is posted above. Mine didnt look so great, but Im sure it will taste just as great. At least the batter did. :p When I took it out of the oven I noticed that it looked a little burnt....not sure if it was the cheesecake that was burnt or the grahm cracker layer on the bottom....I was pretty bummed. Its not the prettiest cheesecake, but its the thought that counts right?

Of course that is without the cool whip and candy canes, which is topped once its cut. I hope it tastes good. lol I seem to have come down with a really bad sore throat, and am feeling a bit under the weather. Which kind of sucks. Im letting it get me down though :)

Now time to go find my white elephant gift exchange item.....

Its that dreaded day of the month again...

That would be the anniversary of my dads passing. 7 months today. I wonder at what point this day of the month gets easier? Or when I wont be like its the X month anniversary of my dads passing. After the one year mark? Its not like I wake up thinking...uhoh its that day. Usually I feel grief get heavier on this day, and than I think oh yeah its that day. This week has pretty much felt like that to me. Heavy, heavy, grief. I find myself irritable, snapping at people, and just being downright mean. If Im around negative people its even worse. Which is weird since Im being negative myself. But it feels like the added negativity is so emotionally draining.

Ive felt like Ive wanted to cry for a few weeks now, but the tears just wouldnt come out. And finally it happened. I was driving home and a song on the radio did it. Its weird what songs really trigger these things. It was Keane, Somewhere Only We Know. I think it was the chorus part that got me, Oh simple thing, where have you gone? The tears filled my eyes. I was glad I was almost home because I thought I might have to pull over due to blurry vision. I arrived home shortly after that. I sat down and fell into Grants arms and sobbed. It felt good to get it out. The pain doesnt seem to be letting up. It stays the same or gets a little harder. Never easier. I just miss him so much. It literally hurts my heart. :(

Everything at this time of year reminds me of him. I was in Hallmark and seen that Christmas Story lamp. He had one of those and loved it! That was a happy yet sad memory. Than I keep seeing advertisements for the movie, Marley and Me. It opens on Christmas day. One of our traditions was to go see a movie on Christmas day, and he would love to see that one. And we would cry together, because he was always so emotional in movies like that, and wasnt afraid to show it. One of the things I loved about him :) Than I saw this Motown dvd/cd collection came out, he loved Motown/Doo Wop. It would of been the perfect gift. I almost want to buy it and listen to it for him.

Ill be glad once I make it through the holidays. I will get through this. Its going to make me stronger. I have to. I keep telling myself that. I do have to admit that losing my dad has really opened my eyes to the whole life is short motto. So many people forget how blessed they are to have the things and people they do in their life. When I hear them complain about some of the tedious things, I try not to be bitter about it. Its hard to not gringe a little bit inside. I really would like to scream, Appreciate what you have! You never know when it may be gone! But I keep my thoughts to myself. I dont want to be that girl that went off the deep end when her dad died. I think we all can be reminded from time to time, lets appreciate what we have right now...in this moment. Not bitch about what we dont have.

Life is short people. Live without regrets. Tell the people you care about that you love them. And enjoy every moment like its your last.

Adopt A Family - One Way To Give Back This Holiday Season

The Pink Ladies adopted a family this Christmas Season. The family was a single mother of four children. 3 boys (ages 12, 10, 9) and a 2 year old girl. We were able to provide 6 gifts for each child. There were so many presents :)

So today we went to deliver the gifts to the family. There were 9 Pink Ladies that made the trip out. As we got to the townhouse, and we all carried in the gifts, the children's faces lit up like a Christmas tree. Seeing their faces really just made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. They were so excited, which made me excited!

Ive always wanted to get involved in helping a family, but shamefully never looked into it. Or never thought we would be able to help out an entire family. (Now I realize I could help out single kids through different programs, and it doesnt have to be an entire family). While money is still strapped this holiday season, participating as a group was the perfect way to give back. Being able to help out a family with the Pink Ladies was such an amazing feeling. I'm so glad Wendi organized this for us. It was such a great feeling to know even though this family may be having hard times, they can still experience joy on Christmas morning.

The family gave us a thank you card, and all thanked us again. I hope the kids enjoy their gifts, and the mother stress will be eased for Christmas day. I can only imagine how it must feel to not be able to give your children the Christmas you would want them to have. Im so glad that we could help this family out. This is something I defintely will be doing every year. :)

Tonight as I watched Grant wrap a gift he bought for a child that his work is helping out, I got that warm and fuzzy feeling all over again. It brings an overwhelming joy to know that we can help out where we can. Pay it forward, a motto everyone should live by..dont you think? Tis the season!

Christmas Music - Can I Handle It?

My favorite holiday hands down is Christmas. Crazy eh? I have always loved everything about it. I love the holiday season. I love the brisk cold air, the snow falling, the decorations, hot chocolate, decorating the tree, finding that perfect gift, and of course Christmas music.

So every year I look forward to the day that they start to play the Christmas music. Usually right after Halloween. I love it. Call me a weirdo if you like, but it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It makes me happy. I can listen to it all the way through the end of December, and not get sick of it either. Over and Over. Im sure it drives Grant bonkers.

Ironically I have met my soul mate in the Christmas spirit/music loving area. A friend of mine, D, also loves it. I love this girl, and the more I get to know her the more I am like...where has this friend been all my life?! Crazy enough shes been down the street for the last 8 years but we never knew it! lol

But Christmas music is a little different this year. I still got that excited feeling I always get when I hear it for the first time of the season. But as I listen to it, tears welled up in my eyes. It reminds me of my dad. A lot. I remember him always playing it in the car, and singing along. Not only is it just the music, but now the words are so much more intense to me. The meaning behind them is so different than they use to be. Sometimes it sounds like my dad is singing to me. I honestly dont know if I can handle listening to the Christmas music for another 1.5 months. It reminds me of the holidays, and how he wont be around. (Or any of my family for that matter.) But it also makes me smile remembering the Christmases me had together. I guess you have to take the good with the bad sometimes.

Thats my dad with one of his favorite gifts last year. Love how it has a pocket for his remote? :-)

One memory that has been sticking out is riding in the jeep, listening to Christmas music, and driving around to check out everyones Christmas lights. We havent done it together in years...but I remember it like it was yesterday. I wish I had one more season of that.

Its defintely going to be a tough holiday season. But if I keep remembering the good memories, hopefully it will ease the sadness of my dad physically not being here. Ill embrace the Christmas music, and imagine my dad is right there listening to it with me. Because in spirit he really is.

I miss you so much dad!

Not as great as a web surfer as I thought!

So I like to consider myself a pretty good web surfer. I have found some pretty hard to find things before, and found tons of cool stuff along the way. But tonight I seem to be at a loss. Ive been searching all night, as well as a little bit earlier today. I have had no luck, and Im getting frustrated!

My search you ask? Im looking for a venue. Preferably a free venue. I want to hold an open house home party show. Im a lia sophia advisor and I would like to host a show right around the beginning of next month. A great time to pick up Christmas gifts at a great discounted price. My house is not a central location so to speak, its to small, and its a little on the ghetto side. :p So I wanted to have it at a venue. It will be open house, and people can come and go as they please.

So I figured maybe a community center would have a room I could rent for a minimal fee. But no cant find that. Than I thought maybe a restaurant would have something and I could buy appetizers for trade of a room, but not finding much luck there either. I do fundraisers all the time...I should know of something! Usually its not this type of setting though....

So I turned to the old trusty resource of the Internet. And it has depressingly let me down. So if you have any suggestions, Im all ears! Im really excited about the specials in December, and have some great ideas for giveaways. I think it will really help out some people this holiday season. Now if I can only find that location....

Trick Or Treat At Work

So tomorrow is Halloween. At work we are trick or treating. How fun is that? We were given these "porch lights" to hang outside our cubes. Its a picture of a porch light printed on a piece of paper. So when we want visitors to come by, we put the porch light on the outside of our cube. And everyone can walk around and trick or treat.

So we can bring in whatever treats we want. So Im sure there will be some great baked goods. But me? Yeah Im lame, I just bought candy. And speaking of candy...I cant believe how expensive it is! I spent $15 on 3 bags of candy. Thats insane. How can people afford to pass out candy at that price?! Im sure I could of picked up some tasty treats at the bakery for that much!

So while I would of liked to have some cute Halloween themed baked treats. Im just not that talented. I want people to at least eat the treats I bring. LOL I got Reese's (my favorite), skittles, starbursts, and rice crispie treats. I ran short on time tonight to. Spent 2 hours at the vet with Rusty (and still not sure what is wrong with him), and Im pretty sure Im coming down with a cold. The sinus thing is going on, achey body, and a cough is coming on. Not fun.

So do you think a lot of work will get done tomorrow as we all are dozing off at our desks while in a sugar comas?