Christmas Countdown - 2011

[vsuclaribnl]

(((V)))) .....I know exactly how you feel !!! ........You can say anything you want here......Your Christmas family loves you !! xo I hope thiings start looking up for you...xo

Thank you, CM3. It was just a really bad time. It will probably continue a little throughout this week, only because it's just going to be the busiest week ever, but I am feeling a little better now.

Vsuc- sorry about the abbreviation haha... But I know how you feel I feel like I'm about to have a nervous break down!

Thank you Britt, and I hope you're doing okay! ((hugs))

mama & daddy are still immobile. mama has 2 more weeks that she can't walk on her foot @ all & my daddy goes for an MRI this a.m. & then back to the doc the monday after th.giving. daddy was in alot of pain yesterday & mama's about to go stir crazy not being able to do anything. my sil has been doing all that's been done as she lives there. anyhoo this weekend she & i are going to clean their house top to bottom for the big turkey day &then do a touch up on wednesday before my sister & bil get in. they've gotta pretty big house to clean for just 1 person (& cleaning behind 5 adults that live there.) i'm doing it for mama though, when her house is clean she feels better & she's the 1 that always does it but due to circumstance. anyhoo please pray for my parents.

That is so great of you to help them out! I hope your parents are better soon.

Good morning guys,Im still not over my funk from yesterday..hope everyone has a great awesome friday!!

I hope that you are funk-free today!! ((hugs))

Sorry about this you two... V - I am not sure what is going on but take a step back, take a deep breath, and decompress for a few minutes, maybe while you are in the shower... It can help sometimes... I hope you get through this trouble

Thank you, Laurie. I am feeling a little bit better but I am still not feeling *great*. Hopefully soon though.

Sorry to hear. I hope it will cheer you up to come visit us on here!!!

It definitely has. The outpouring of support has been amazing!!

Sending big hugs....hope you get a day to just rest, sounds like you could use one...

Thank you so much, Anne! I am in the middle of a 3 day weekend, but I just really want to get through Black Friday. If I can do that, I'm golden!!

So sorry about your rought times!!((hugs)) to you hope it gets easier...I actually thought about you yesterday when I was in Kohls here in valdosta,I never go there but was trying to help my friend match up some stuff to wear to his mom's funeral...it was the first time I have ever been into a kolhs actually...Did you work at work at this one in valdosta? At any rate I hope you get a day off soon,you deserve it!

Oh Neal, thank you!!! Yes, I worked in that Kohl's for almost 2 years my last years in college...I helped open it when they opened in 2006. I started as a cashier, then promoted to customer service, then promoted to supervisor. I loved working there, but I haven't been back to visit since I graduated.

It was a steal! It was a bank foreclosure plus in my area houses are cheap plus VA loan no interest no money down..of course this means I won't be retiring in 2 years times like I have always dreamed of either!

I can't see the picture since I haven't yet updated to a platinum membership, but if you live anywhere near the base, I remember those houses - they're awesome! I'm sure it all looks great!!!

Christmas Spirit and my prayers are on the way!

Thank you, KerWa!!!

Sending hugs & Christmas cheer to you, vsuclaribnl! :smile:
Sorry you're having a tough time. I remember when I managed a store @ the mall, customers could be so nasty & brutal. It's sad, really, especially at this time of year!
All I can suggest is that you make time for yourself & time with your DH, and do things that bring you joy. I try to remind myself that if people I don't know are being rude to me, they must have some major issues in their life...not that it excuses them, there is no excuse...and then focus on what is good in your life. Hopefully that'll bring you smiles, and make you look forward to the future. Take good care, friend~ xo

Thank you so much, snowflake!! Yes, the customers are just abnormally rude this year, I'm not sure what it is. It is hard to take, especially since both of my jobs promote impeccable customer service...you have to smile and just take it and the customers know it...then there's really no outlet for the frustration and anger and then it just builds and builds...ugh. And I am not one who usually bottles up frustration and anger, so it is hard for me sometimes. These past few days I have done some happy things and am feeling better, but I will feel much better after Black Friday is over and done with!!

Sometimes it happens, best advice I can give is don't try to force the Christmas spirit, relax and try to leave work at work (I know easier said than done) when you least expect it that rush of Christmas spirit will hit you

That is great advice CJ, thanks!! I'm hoping it hits soon!!!

That house is beautiful alone without all the lights! I have to bury mine in lights to look nice.

It also looks big enough to have our MMC party at.

Uh, YES PLEASE!!! I will bring peanut blossoms and I will have DF make his delish crab soup!!

gabulldawg and vsclaribni, especially---I hope things are cheerier for you soon. I'm thinking of everyone who's stressed out, blue, and under the weather and wishing you the best.

Thank you SO MUCH, Merry!!!

I got my return address labels!! Whoever recommended Vistaprint~THANK YOU!!!

I think that was me, and you're welcome! I recommend them to everyone since they are AWESOME!!! DF and I got our Save the Dates through them and we are planning to order our invitations through them as well. You just can't beat the price!!!

i'm back from chicago and i'm totally in love with the place. those midwestern manners were impeccable, the food was great (i've gained about 28lbs in 5 days!!!) the city and the building were breathtaking and it was so child friendly. i just love america and my ambition is to travel some of the bigger cities, i also want to travel canada too. next on my list is boston, seattle, san francisco, new york (been to manhattan and wasn't overly impressed but would like to give it another try) and alaska. a girl can dream!!!

some really sad news now... i got a phone call yesterday just as i was about to travel home... my cousin was found dead in bed on wednesday. he was only 41 and has left behind 4 beautiful sons. we are a very close family and as you can imagine we are all devasted. in less than 12 month i have lost my precious grandmother, my precious auntie and now my precious cousin. he has had ill health for a while but it's still a massive shock. please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers, we can't take much more of this truly terrible year. besides all this i still plan on making christmas 2011 the best yet, i'm going to make it the perfect ending to a devastating year and hopefully 2012 will be a great year for my family and i.

OH JOHNOR, I am so sorry for your loss and all of your losses this year. My thoughts and heart go out to you during this time. I *am* glad though that you had such a great experience in Chicago! I have never been but would love to go out there and visit! I would also beg you to give New York another chance...it really is a great city with so much to offer!!!

Please say a prayer though, if you could, for DJ. He had his follow up one year PET scan to check and see if he is still Hodgkin's free. The only thing is that a couple months ago he discovered a lump in his breast. The doc does not seem overly concerned about it but I am. He will get the results back on the 22nd.....Any prayers will be so appreciated xo

Sending my best!!!! I hope it all turns out okay. ((hugs))

Good morning! Just waking up and getting going. It's cloudy outside and my leaves are still changing! I'm leaving out monday for a week for thanksgiving,Brandi is leaving then too to go to Boston to her folks,then we will both be back next sunday. I spoke with my mom and dad,I actually understood alot of what he was saying yestersay they told him that his estimated disharge date was decemeber 3rd which is great,I was terrified he would be in there at Christmas! He kind of mumbles when he talks but he is doing alot better than he was 2 weeks ago! Have a great day everyone!

I hope you have a great week off (jealous!!!). Glad to hear that your dad is doing well...hoping it continues!!! =)

Which is fine--I don't think I could handle a big Thanksgiving celebration this year. I'm doing okay, but the slightest thing gets me crying.

I know the feeling...I hope you are feeling better soon! ((hugs))

I'm sorry things are rough for you right now - I will keep you in my prayers! ((((hugs))))

Thank you very much, Meceka!!! (((hugs)))

to vsuclaribnl and merrymistletoe...

AHHHHH you have found my weakness - CANDY! lol There isn't much in that basket I WOULDN'T eat!! Thank you!! =)

The other good thing is the Colts have a bye this weekend. So they actually can't lose this weekend.

That is word-for-word what I said to DF this morning as I was setting my fantasy football rosters!!!

 

[brittd19]

Good morning everyone!!!!!!! Today is my Friday tomorrow I have to do my sisters hair for her grad pictures... Ohhh feels like yesterday when I had mine done! As I write this there is Christmas music playing over the stereo system at work they other day they had nsync on... Oh nostalgic memories, I swear they popped in their Christmas album hahahah


Tappa talk... Cuz I work too much ha-ha!!

 

[vsuclaribnl]

Hello everyone!

I am happy to say that I am feeling a bit better than I was Thursday. I'm still a little on edge because Black Friday is just a few days away and I want to get it over with!!! It's going to be a very long week starting tomorrow but I'm hoping to get through it with minimal damage. Then DF will FINALLY let me put up Christmas decorations and THAT should make everything better!!! =D

Another thing other than work that was bothering me is now DF and I have no Thanksgiving plans. I think I had mentioned here that his family was moving their celebration up to 11am so I would be able to partake...well about a week and a half ago, they decided to go to the Viking Club dinner, which starts at 1, and not say anything to the two of us. I go back and forth between being very upset and understanding why they made the decision, but why couldn't they have told us they were changing plans when they actually changed them? Why tell us a week later? But...the end result is now we have nothing to do...which I guess I'm okay with, as it will give me time to rest before the craziness that is Black Friday. But on the other hand, I am still a little irked. =(

I was also still feeling down on Friday, so I ended up skipping out on a friend's surprise 40th birthday. I know his wife (a very good friend of mine) was probably upset with me, but I just couldn't go. I know I would've been a buzzkill and DF had a bad day Friday too, so I plan on making it up to them. I still feel bad though!

But there is some good news amidst all this boo-hiss crap, I promise! I went dress shopping on Friday and I think I have found THE DRESS!!! It was one I had tried on before...it wasn't my mom's favorite and she is still not on board, but I had tears in my eyes at one point, so...yes, I think it is the one! I'm bringing my mom back with me sometime either next weekend or the next week to have her see me all blinged out and hopefully change her mind. But she still wants to see me in some more dresses, so we'll see how that goes. The dress I like is here: http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product...d-Lace-WG3121_Bridal-Gowns-Features-All-Gowns

I also hung out with my parents the other night and we shopped for my "niece"' s first birthday party, which was yesterday. We had such a great time together that night and at the party last night. It really helped bring me out of the funk and I felt stress-free for the first time in nearly two weeks. =)

Today DF and I are hanging out with our best friends, hopefully eating some Mexican and watching football. Another day to be stress-free before heading back to both jobs tomorrow!!!

Just wish I could get Sangria out of turbo-kitty mode before we left! lol

Hope all of you are having a great weekend, and thanks again for all of the support the last few days!!! <3

 

[Tickle]

WoWow thanksgiving week is upon us.i loved reading the season countdown to ring it in the season night before.

 

[Christmasstar]

But...the end result is now we have nothing to do...which I guess I'm okay with, as it will give me time to rest before the craziness that is Black Friday. But on the other hand, I am still a little irked. =(

but it is not OK, stuff like this really hurts, nothing wrong with admitting that.

Now go out and buy a small turkey and all the trimmings and have a fantastic time with just the two of you!
Have the most decadent dessert you can find and relax until you have to go to work.
:family:

 

[shellie12]

Hello everyone!

I am happy to say that I am feeling a bit better than I was Thursday. I'm still a little on edge because Black Friday is just a few days away and I want to get it over with!!! It's going to be a very long week starting tomorrow but I'm hoping to get through it with minimal damage. Then DF will FINALLY let me put up Christmas decorations and THAT should make everything better!!! =D

Another thing other than work that was bothering me is now DF and I have no Thanksgiving plans. I think I had mentioned here that his family was moving their celebration up to 11am so I would be able to partake...well about a week and a half ago, they decided to go to the Viking Club dinner, which starts at 1, and not say anything to the two of us. I go back and forth between being very upset and understanding why they made the decision, but why couldn't they have told us they were changing plans when they actually changed them? Why tell us a week later? But...the end result is now we have nothing to do...which I guess I'm okay with, as it will give me time to rest before the craziness that is Black Friday. But on the other hand, I am still a little irked. =(

I was also still feeling down on Friday, so I ended up skipping out on a friend's surprise 40th birthday. I know his wife (a very good friend of mine) was probably upset with me, but I just couldn't go. I know I would've been a buzzkill and DF had a bad day Friday too, so I plan on making it up to them. I still feel bad though!

But there is some good news amidst all this boo-hiss crap, I promise! I went dress shopping on Friday and I think I have found THE DRESS!!! It was one I had tried on before...it wasn't my mom's favorite and she is still not on board, but I had tears in my eyes at one point, so...yes, I think it is the one! I'm bringing my mom back with me sometime either next weekend or the next week to have her see me all blinged out and hopefully change her mind. But she still wants to see me in some more dresses, so we'll see how that goes. The dress I like is here: http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product...d-Lace-WG3121_Bridal-Gowns-Features-All-Gowns

I also hung out with my parents the other night and we shopped for my "niece"' s first birthday party, which was yesterday. We had such a great time together that night and at the party last night. It really helped bring me out of the funk and I felt stress-free for the first time in nearly two weeks. =)

Today DF and I are hanging out with our best friends, hopefully eating some Mexican and watching football. Another day to be stress-free before heading back to both jobs tomorrow!!!

Just wish I could get Sangria out of turbo-kitty mode before we left! lol

Hope all of you are having a great weekend, and thanks again for all of the support the last few days!!! <3

Am sorry to hear that. but it leaves you and dh time for yourselfs could you not do something just you and him? dont no why they did not tell you sooner. maybe they did not want to tell they found it hard. but they should have told you instead of you thinking it was sorted

If your friend is a true friend she will understand why and how much presure you are under and you can make it up to her

Regarding your dress. i know you want everyone to love it. but whats important is you love it.. its your day. your dress and you !! that will be wearing it

 

[Tickle]

Its amazing seeing all the decorations out in the stores

 

[merrymistletoe]

Just found out my bro in law is frying out turkey this year..I love fried turkey and it's been a while since I've had it,but I think this is the same bro in law that fed us what amounted to pork rhinds when he overcooked it in 1998. Luckily we have so many side dishes it was not a disaster.. I can tell the roads are already getting busy with holiday travel too,I noticed it around thursday! have a good day everyone!

we havr fried turkey every year & it's sooo good. hubby does THEM for us. everyone loves them so that he fries 1 spicy & 1 milder for us who can't have spicey.

to vsuclaribnl and merrymistletoe...

oh star, you are the best ever! thanks!

I am so excited about Thanksgiving! I feel slightly overwhelmed and stressed too. So not like me!!! I WANT to do it all, cooking, baking, cleaning, preparing, etc. No one is expecting me to do it all. If I up and decided to go to a cafeteria it's fine with everyone or if I wanted everyone to help that is fine with them too. In the past I did it all with no problems. The ONLY reason I feel a little stressed is I have been SO DANG TIRED and I am a little behind getting things done. I try to get things done then find myself sitting down to rest (a little more than usual). Please don't take this as me being whiny, I am actually in a fantastic mood and I am not in a cranky mood!!! Just been tired is all and struggling to get things done.

Now the good news!! I have recruited some help so all will be good. Wayne will be helping me and he is happy to do so, my daughter will come over the day before to help cook. I will have a few things for my son to do too. My full time job is babysitting the grandkids while my daughter and son-in-law work so my mom will be helping me with them this week and my son-in-law offered for one of his family members to keep them for the day if I need them. They mention many times about hiring daycare if I need it but I don't mind watching them, it's just a little hard this week is all.

I am in a very good mood about Thanksgiving and super excited! The only drawback is I have been exhausted. Nothing more than that. IT WILL be a great day!

I bet Carl has the perfect super energy blend of coffee for me!!!! :!!

cah you'll be great & good for you for recruiting some help. as superhero as we'd like to think we are it's nice to get help so we can enjoy the festivities too!

Hello, everyone---count me in with those who need some extra energy. My Friday off and this weekend have been more about spending energy than recovering it! But I think I can cross one more large item off my to-do list, then get going on cards, wrapping, and packages. We'll probably go into Brookline today to visit Mr.'s parents and Mr.'s favorite pizza place.

Looking forward to Thanksgiving, too. We have Thanksgiving dinner just for the two of us, so we can relax and kick the Christmas season off in our own way. We spend Christmas with Mr.'s family, but Thanksgiving is for us.

i hope you & mr. have a wonderful thanksgiving!

[these are pictures my daughter took on her cell phone of the front of the church with some of the operation Christmas Child boxes already collected. We are expecting some more to come in tomorrow, so hopefully on Tuesday I will have a final count.

that is so awesome. my daughter & i were just talking the other day about doing a few ourselves.

 

[merrymistletoe]

well i've finished up @ my rents. all the cleaning is done til wednesday when i touch up everything. my mama usually goes to get her hair done every week(i know a bit old fashioned but she still does it) & hasn't been able to since her accident, so anyhoo today i trimmed it up & did it for her. it makes her feel better. my daddy went fri. for mri & goes to doc the mon. after th.giving to get shots scheduled. keep them in your prayers please.
since hubby is off this week i hope to get a little bit more done around our home tomorrow before work on tues.
i'm getting super siked about thanksgiving. can't wait for everyone to be together.
i hope ya'll are having a good sunday, talk soon!

 

[sugar142286]

I never regret taking a nap. If you slept most of the afternoon it's because you needed it! Take care of yourself and listen to your body, if you need sleep, go for it!

I hope you get over your cold!

Thanks CAH! I am feeling much better!

Last night at the funeral home I cried like a baby and barely knew the lady I was more friends with her son,BUT I think it was pent up issues with my own parents mortality in the last few weeks,but the funeral home had a video playing on loop the whole time with songs and photo's of her and her family through out the years and I totally broke down and made a fool out of myself. So now I have the funeral at 2pm and then I am going to crash.....one thing it made me do was go home and call my folks and tell them I love them...The know I do,and I know they do...but we hardly say it that was the way I was brought up so I have a hard time saying it,but I am trying!!

It sounds like you have had a lot built up inside with everything that has been going on lately and there is nothing wrong with that, Neal. We all need a good cry everyonce in a while or a good destress. We're all here for you to talk to, so let it out if you need to!

Yes there is a 2. I liked it. Most don't. Its Christmas Vacation 2 : Cousin Eddies Island Adventure. For Christmas Cousin Eddie gets stuck on an island.

Was it any good? I can't imagine it was anything close to the first one!

I took this photo the other night after I got more lights to work,but still not all of them.so this is the official final product,it's also the first Christmas in my newer home,last year my decorations went alot further!!
http://mymerrychristmas.com/forum/album.php?albumid=639&pictureid=6660

Thanks for the picture! What a BEAUTIFUL house you have! Great decorations as well.

 

[sugar142286]

Just thought I would share with all of you - the programming started on ABC Family today was well! :

 

[Tickle]

I have always thought that the Wednesday evening before thanksgiving is one of the most exciting times of the year.

 

[Christmasstar]

Watching the Toronto Santa Claus parade!
http://www.thesantaclausparade.ca/

 

[Seawaters]

Just a quick hello, Christmas family. Like CAH, I am totally drained of energy. I will be glad when I am in top condition and feel like doing something! Hope all of the rest of you have a great day. TTYL.

 

[Crown 84]

Guys and Gals,

Listen to the description of this morning and tell me it isn't perfect....

Cooking for Thanksgiving
Reading our local newspaper for Black Friday ads
Drinking coffee
Eating homemade blueberry breakfast bar
Reading the Countdown

Tell me that isn't awesome!.....

Sounds great, Coach!
(Um.....Except for the coffee part, that is.)

 

[shellie12]

Just a quick hello, Christmas family. Like CAH, I am totally drained of energy. I will be glad when I am in top condition and feel like doing something! Hope all of the rest of you have a great day. TTYL.

I feel the same dont no what is wrong
i put it down to working to much
i never get a day of . but that life

 

[sugar142286]

I'm still sick, but am getting through..thanks for all of your well wishes.

Hope you're feeling better!

I've got my Kindle Fire up and running, but haven't had a chance to really play with it yet. One disappointment, though---it won't play MCR2

My Nook Tablet is currently being shipped. Hopefully it will play MCR2. Are you able to get on My Merry Christmas?

hey guys,

i'm back from chicago and i'm totally in love with the place. those midwestern manners were impeccable, the food was great (i've gained about 28lbs in 5 days!!!) the city and the building were breathtaking and it was so child friendly. i just love america and my ambition is to travel some of the bigger cities, i also want to travel canada too. next on my list is boston, seattle, san francisco, new york (been to manhattan and wasn't overly impressed but would like to give it another try) and alaska. a girl can dream!!!

some really sad news now... i got a phone call yesterday just as i was about to travel home... my cousin was found dead in bed on wednesday. he was only 41 and has left behind 4 beautiful sons. we are a very close family and as you can imagine we are all devasted. in less than 12 month i have lost my precious grandmother, my precious auntie and now my precious cousin. he has had ill health for a while but it's still a massive shock. please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers, we can't take much more of this truly terrible year. besides all this i still plan on making christmas 2011 the best yet, i'm going to make it the perfect ending to a devastating year and hopefully 2012 will be a great year for my family and i.

Glad you loved Chicago and America. I love traveling as well. There are so places I would love to go to still. I have lots of plans to travel more. As for the recent loss of cousin, I am so sorry to hear this. Your family has had a hard time this year. It sounds like you are in the Christmas spirit. I think you're on right track for a wonderful rest of the year.

Good evening,

Another long turkey filled day, my body is just buzzing from exhaustion. I did have a customer come to my associate and I and said I am looking for a big turkey, I responded to him by saying you found the 2 biggest turkeys in the store. Got a pretty good laugh from him.

have a good night!

HAHAHA LOLOL

Please say a prayer though, if you could, for DJ. He had his follow up one year PET scan to check and see if he is still Hodgkin's free. The only thing is that a couple months ago he discovered a lump in his breast. The doc does not seem overly concerned about it but I am. He will get the results back on the 22nd.....Any prayers will be so appreciated xo

Prayers being said CM3

OK, I haven't been on here in a while, had some computer issues. Well we had our Thanksgiving feast at work today. My boss deep fried a turkey, if any of you haven't tried that yet IT IS AWESOME!!!! We also had ham and mashed potatoes and green bean casserole and apple and pumpkin pies. The only bad thing was that we had to go back to work afterward.

Good to hear from, SIT!

 

[ballcoach]

Hey guys and gals! Hope everyone is enjoying their day! Been good so far here....house is cleaned and ready for company this week....food is cooking...and I'm about to make my wife some dessert for tonight...well, mostly for her...

Tomorrow will be a quick day, as well as Tuesday. I can't wait for Tuesday night...CAN'T WAIT!

 

[Tickle]

Hey guys and gals! Hope everyone is enjoying their day! Been good so far here....house is cleaned and ready for company this week....food is cooking...and I'm about to make my wife some dessert for tonight...well, mostly for her...

Tomorrow will be a quick day, as well as Tuesday. I can't wait for Tuesday night...CAN'T WAIT!

Don't.blame u coach. The excitement is building fast. Read your post from this morning and it sounds like you had the perfect morning.

 

[merrymistletoe]

cm3 i will pray for your dj. i hope all tests come back clear.
your friend:sparkle: