Happy New Year 2009
Happy New Year to you all. I hope 2009 keeps everyone happy and healthy.
In a little while, the kids and I are driving down to the valley for a few days. I plan on waking them all up in just a little bit and making scrambled eggs for breakfast. It is after 9:30 and they are all still sleeping. Don’t know how late they were up. I assume they watched the ball drop and then Sam sent them to bed. I went to bed just after 11 pm and missed all the fun.
Sam is actually working today. It has been a bit slow for him lately so when he got a call yesterday to help put up some cabinets, he jumped on it. I got a pretty decent raise yesterday at work. They are now basing raises on merit and I worked my butt off this year!!
I haven’t seen the kids all year so I’m going to wake them up now.
01
Life Is Good but time sure is flying by !!
We had a white Christmas this year. I was worried that Christine, Charles and Alex wouldn’t be able to make it up here because of the snow, but they were able to get here on time. Grandma and Sherrene came too. Dinner turned out pretty well. We are still enjoying the leftovers. Grandma got snowed in here from Christmas Eve until yesterday. I did all the prep work for Christmas dinner on the 23rd, when the weather was the worse.
On the 24th, Tara, Erin and I went skiing for the first time this season. There was hardly anyone there, so we didn’t have to wait in lift lines at all. I was able to ski all day from the top of the mountain without having to rest my legs. That was my goal since January when I started working out to lose weight and get in shape. Erin complained about her legs being sore and her ears hurting too. At first, I thought her helmet was bothering her, but it turned out to be the pressure from the elevation. I went again yesterday, but it was so crowded that I only got in 2 runs. I knew I was in trouble when traffic was backed up a half mile from the parking lot. There was nowhere to turn around so I was stuck there. I was directed to turn around at a different parking lot than I usually park at but when I got there I was able to find a spot to park. The lift line was so long that I didn’t even attempt to get in it. There was no way to get out without being stuck in the traffic jam again so I decided to sit it out in my truck and wait for either the lift lines to get shorter or the traffic to clear. After about 45 mins I got in the lift line and only had to wait about 10 mins to get on the lift. I looked at the time at that point and by the time I got to the top, 19 mins had passed! I could have skied to the lift on the other mountain but people were saying that the lines there were still very long. So, 2 runs was all I got to do. I think that going on the weekends is probably a waste of time. At least until later in the season.
The kids are enjoying their Christmas vacation. I know ALL of us are enjoying the laptops that Charles and Christine got for us. Erin is making comics on hers and Jake has been playing games on his. Tara mostly goes on the internet with hers. I think the only time I will need to go on the desktop computer is to download onto my iPod. I hope Charles, Christine and Alex enjoy all the meal-sized Lasagna, Potato Soup and Chicken & Dumplings that I made them for Christmas.
We are going to the Valley the 1st through the 4th. Nothing exciting planned except to visit with everyone. I am working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and we will leave early on the Thursday.
Tonight, Grandpa Dick and Grandma Bobbi are coming for their annual after-Christmas visit and dinner. Sam is going to BBQ steaks and the wine is chillin’!!
We don’t have anything special planned for New Years’ Eve. We usually just stay home with the kids and play games. I am working that day so I don’t even know if I will even be able to stay up till midnight. I am really looking forward to 2009 as I’m sure the whole family is as well!! We will be welcoming Jenny & Jeramiah’s little baby in June!! And Christine will be turning 30 in October!! I think that I am getting old.
28
The Snow has arrived!!
Wow, I haven’t posted in quite a while. I have been really busy as usual. The new unit opened at the hospital last week and that took up a lot of my time. I even went in on my days off a few times. There were last minute things that needed to be done that noone seemed to notice but me. Thankfully, the opening went off smoothly. Now to concentrate on getting the 4th floor ready to open sometime in the next 6 months or so. It will be a relief when it’s all over.
We are in the midst of what’s supposed to be a pretty decent snowstorm. I think we are supposed to get about 12 inches. I was supposed to work tomorrow and have to drive in it, but someone needed Thursday off so I agreed to change shifts with her. So now I don’t go in until then but will have to work 4 1/2 - 12 hr shifts in a row before I will have a day off. What ticks me off is that after all the snow we are supposed to get this week, Sunrise will probably open this weekend and I will miss it because I am working! So far, there’s about 3 in. The kids are relatively confident that they will have a snow day tomorrow.
We are almost ready for Christmas. The kids decorated the tree yesterday. I am still waiting for a few items to be delivered and then I will have to wrap them. All the other wrapping is done though (thanks to Tara helping me some.)
Patrick’s visit went fast. He got to spend time with the whole family which was great. He is now in Ansbach, Germany where he is stationed with an airborne unit. His tour there is for 2 years. He said he is being shipped to Iraq next November. Hopefully, that will change. He emailed today and said he has done a lot of growing up since joining the Army. I suppose that is an understatement! We don’t have an address yet but when we do, I will pass it out to you all.
Got to cook Chicken & Dumplings for dinner now.
15
What’s been happening
Sam, Alex and his friend, Mike finished painting the house and shed last week. They look really good and I am so glad that it is finally finished!! They also cleaned the yard up some. The flower bed near the driveway still needs much work though. Sam poured cement and put up the flag pole that I’ve been wanting. We will have electricity run to it next year for a light for the flag. In the meantime, Jake has been raising and lowering the flag and has learned how to properly fold it.
Sam got his deer this year for the first time. See moblog. He used the new camper for the trip. It is now winterized and parked on the side of the house. We thought it would fit on the west side of the house but it didn’t. I suggested we (meaning Sam, Alex and Mike) knock down the ratty wood fence on the east side and park it there that way it doesn’t take up all of the driveway. It worked out real well and now we still have plenty of driveway space.
Sunrise opens on Dec. 5th. I was supposed to take a class at work that day, but I am going to un-enroll myself and go skiing instead!! I have been training hard all year for my ski legs to be ready!! My goal since last year has been to be able to ski all day from the top of the mountain. Last year I was able to ski all day but only from halfway up without my calves burning so bad that I would have to stop and rest. I have been fighting a cold since Tuesday morning so I didn’t go to the gym on Wednesday (my day off) because I was blowing my nose so much. I went Monday though and today. Sam even ventured to the gym with me for the first time today. He didn’t stay as long as I did but it’s a start!
My iPod died again. I thought it was the battery like last time. I couldn’t get it to do ANYTHING. It wouldn’t even reset. So I sent it back on the 5th to have the battery changed. It turned out to be a hardware problem that will cost at least $130 to fix. I decided that it wasn’t worth it to spend that much money and not even have a warranty. So I went to Walmart and bought a new one. I also bought their extended warranty that was only $20 for 2 yrs after the Apple warranty of 1 yr. I use my iPod so much that it really is a necessity for me to get through my workouts. I think I got the same one Jenny has, but I’m not sure. It is the Silver 120 GB iPod Classic. It is exactly the same size as my old iPod video so I won’t need to buy any new accessories. I had no problem getting all my stuff transferred from iTunes onto the new iPod. It has to charge for about 4 hours and then it will be ready to use.
Patrick will be home for a few weeks starting on Tuesday. We don’t know his exact plans yet or if he will stay in Phoenix for a few days or come up here right away. But he will be home for Thanksgiving until Dec 9th. Then he ships to Germany. We think he got a pretty sweet first tour!!
We are driving down to the Valley on Friday and staying for the weekend. I need to do some shopping for Christmas and stock up at Costco. I also need to buy ski pants and a jacket. If Patrick stays in the Valley after flying into Phoenix, then he will come home with us when we come home on Sunday.
15