Christmas Countdown - 2012

[Crown 84]

Good Morning.

Onward -- every onward -- we march through the rolling year and on back to that most wonderful of Seasons. Why we are here.

And why we love this:
Days to the Season: 224
Days to Christmas Day: 266
Well!
The day after tomorrow will see us down to 3 weeks to the 1/3 Christmas Day Milestone.
Then the 200-day Season window opens on that fantastic view of the 100's.
....when things just start to really get moving.
(Is it too early to start feeling just a little bit of anticipation?)

A highly pleasant day was had yesterday with lots of sun, no rain and the temps in the low 70's.
Against the backdrop of all the blooming flowers, it was truly a rare and magnificent day.
Today, hopefully, will be similar!
We stand at 47 degrees here at this hour.

May you have the most Terrific of Tuesdays, my Friends.
'Pines Day again tomorrow, you know.
.....And that means Carl.
.....And that means fun!

 

[ballcoach]

It's Tuesday, which beat Monday...but it's kinda Wednesday, since I don't work Friday. Make sense?

Last night, I caught caught up on the posts and was just about to post and then I started talking to my wife.....next thing I knew, she is tucking me in and turning off my computer. I was zonked. She said I went to sleep at 9:00...might need to try that more often!

Have a good day!

 

[Meceka]

Storeytime, awesome post!

Merrymistletoe, I love your cheerful greetings - I hope you have a wonderful day, my friend!

Sugar, I hope you have a wonderful day, too!

 

[Meceka]

Good morning, Christmas family!

:???:

 

[sugar142286]

Love your new avatar, Sugar.

Thanks! :???:

 

[sugar142286]

Hey CM3 - I'll tell you how you can know this post is meant to be. As anybody in this section can tell you, I NEVER come to the countdown. Why I wandered in is beyond me, but I did and I saw your post.

So many of us in the US are struggling right now. It's a tough economy. But, you can't go getting down on yourself about it. Many of us are sharing in these times. Two things:

When the ancient Jews were fleeing Egypt, their backs to the Red Sea and the Egyptian army bearing down on them, all looked lost. But in a moment the sea parted and God provided a way. As we all look back and allow ourselves to see through the darkness that currently surrounds us, we know of times that this kind of miracle happened in our own lives. But, our rememberance of those small miracles get clouded by our current problems. You never know when that sea is going to part and a way is made clear where none can be seen at the time. They could have given up and gone back to slavery, and were probably pretty close to making that choice, BUT then God intervened.

This is kind of a strange person to quote for motivational purposes, but we can learn something from anyone if we keep our ears open.
Billy Ray Cyrus once said, "Failure only means it is something that you can cross off your list that you weren't supposed to do. Failure only guides us in the direction we are supposed to go. Failure doesn't mean your lost, it only means you were redirected."

Maybe you're being redirected. Hang in there!

Thanks for posting this, Storeytime. That was so heartfelt and very true. Stop by here more often!

 

[sugar142286]

Storeytime, awesome post!

Merrymistletoe, I love your cheerful greetings - I hope you have a wonderful day, my friend!

Sugar, I hope you have a wonderful day, too!

Thanks! Have a great day! Keep smiling! cheesy

 

[sugar142286]

Good morning, MMC family! Getting ready to head to bed. I only had to work until 7:30. Yahh! :???:

No plans today, except much needed sleep. DH is at work, so the kids are at daycare.

I hope you all have an awesome day. I will be back later to chat. Lots of love! :-D

 

[Snow-in-Texas]

Thank God Monday is over with! I went in at 10:00 AM and didn't get out of there until 10:40 PM. Then I will go in today and probably get the third degree on why we had to work so late, my employer hates overtime. It's to the point that I just agree with whatever they say, that gets me out of the office sooner. Then I will probably be in a bad mood the rest of the day, oh well, just 15 years until retirement.

How many of you have Good Friday off? This is the first job I ever had that doesn't have it off. They used to have it off, but because their customers changed, so did that. It is a logistics company with several clients, so we have to work with our client's schedule.

I know this post sounds like I hate my job, I really don't. I am just blowing off some steam. Overall it isn't a bad job, but like any job it has it's times that just try my patience. Not to mention that I have been waiting over a year for them to put me on first shift. But all is good, beats the heck out of being unemployed like so many are these days.

 

[MerryCarey]

Hey CM3 - I'll tell you how you can know this post is meant to be. As anybody in this section can tell you, I NEVER come to the countdown. Why I wandered in is beyond me, but I did and I saw your post.

So many of us in the US are struggling right now. It's a tough economy. But, you can't go getting down on yourself about it. Many of us are sharing in these times. Two things:

When the ancient Jews were fleeing Egypt, their backs to the Red Sea and the Egyptian army bearing down on them, all looked lost. But in a moment the sea parted and God provided a way. As we all look back and allow ourselves to see through the darkness that currently surrounds us, we know of times that this kind of miracle happened in our own lives. But, our rememberance of those small miracles get clouded by our current problems. You never know when that sea is going to part and a way is made clear where none can be seen at the time. They could have given up and gone back to slavery, and were probably pretty close to making that choice, BUT then God intervened.

This is kind of a strange person to quote for motivational purposes, but we can learn something from anyone if we keep our ears open.
Billy Ray Cyrus once said, "Failure only means it is something that you can cross off your list that you weren't supposed to do. Failure only guides us in the direction we are supposed to go. Failure doesn't mean your lost, it only means you were redirected."

Maybe you're being redirected. Hang in there!

Storeytime, your post is an inspiration for us all. Thank you.

 

[MerryCarey]

How many of you have Good Friday off? This is the first job I ever had that doesn't have it off. They used to have it off, but because their customers changed, so did that. It is a logistics company with several clients, so we have to work with our client's schedule.

I've never had Good Friday off---the places I've worked basically closed the office only on federal holidays (plus the day after Thanksgiving). Same where I'm working now. Our office has been known to occasionally close early on Good Friday, though.

We have to work with our clients' schedules, too. Our list of holidays doesn't include Columbus Day, but there's a sort of tradition here that the management makes up a funny excuse to close the office for Columbus Day, since various clients are closed that day. And even though we're not in the city of Boston, our office is closed on Patriots Day.

 

[MerryCarey]

Nothing special today, it's just Tuesday. But it's a bright, sunny Tuesday, at least! And I finally figured out a way to get our Roku to play on our main TV. It worked with the little TV and the video projector, but not on the larger TV we generally watch. I tried connecting it via the VCR auxiliary inputs (which, according to Roku's FAQs, isn't supposed to work), and bingo! So I had some fun yesterday evening exploring what is available for free viewing.

And I don't have a tall pile of jobs on my desk (yet) this morning, so I get to start my morning by checking in on you!

 

[Christmasstar]

When the ancient Jews were fleeing Egypt, their backs to the Red Sea and the Egyptian army bearing down on them, all looked lost. But in a moment the sea parted and God provided a way. As we all look back and allow ourselves to see through the darkness that currently surrounds us, we know of times that this kind of miracle happened in our own lives. But, our rememberance of those small miracles get clouded by our current problems. You never know when that sea is going to part and a way is made clear where none can be seen at the time. They could have given up and gone back to slavery, and were probably pretty close to making that choice, BUT then God intervened.

This is kind of a strange person to quote for motivational purposes, but we can learn something from anyone if we keep our ears open.
Billy Ray Cyrus once said, "Failure only means it is something that you can cross off your list that you weren't supposed to do. Failure only guides us in the direction we are supposed to go. Failure doesn't mean your lost, it only means you were redirected."

Maybe you're being redirected. Hang in there!

I know this post was meant for someone else, but it spoke loudly to me, thank you!
I have been struggling for over a year now with looking for work, I am in a job I enjoy most of the time, but only pays $100 a week,(and I put in many more hours than I get paid for) ... talk about learning to trust the Lord!
There has to be another job out there somewhere for me, I know it will come. Thanks for the reminder that through all this my needs have been met, I have a warm house and comfortable bed, food to eat and family who loves me.
The small miracles that happen every day are amazing and I have to remember that!

 

[caninemom3]

How many of you have Good Friday off? This is the first job I ever had that doesn't have it off. They used to have it off, but because their customers changed, so did that. It is a logistics company with several clients, so we have to work with our client's schedule.

I know this post sounds like I hate my job, I really don't. I am just blowing off some steam. Overall it isn't a bad job, but like any job it has it's times that just try my patience. Not to mention that I have been waiting over a year for them to put me on first shift. But all is good, beats the heck out of being unemployed like so many are these days.

I don't have Friday off anymore but I was off EVERY Friday until my company did a switcheroo with my schedule.

Good morning, Christmas family

First of all, Storeytime THANK YOU !!! I really needed to read what you wrote. You are so kind and your post was absolutely WONDERFUL. Thank you again.

Thank you to EVERYONE here who has been encouraging me. You dont know how much it means when a person is feeling so down on themselves to come to a place where there is such love. Thank you all for believing in me, something I have never done myself. I feel that since I have been doing this same thing for almost 20 years a test should not be a problem, but it is like Jennifer said about tests. I am just the type of person who does not test well. I can do the job as it should be but for some reason my ability does not show on testing.

It is not that my job is so horrible. It is that I was told this schedule is TEMPORARY and it is not. I just don't like it when someone lies to me. I am kind of playing it by ear right now. I really really REALLY want a days position that starts in the wee hours of the morning like I had once upon a time. Then I could spend more time doing other important things. Working 1-9 Monday thru Friday really eats up the day. I have tried numerous times Just like SIT to get on days and they always tell me they do not have anything right now.....

Anyway, you are all wonderful. I wish I could give you all great big (((Hugs))) right now. Your comment all brought tears to my eyes.
I will NOT give up and I WILL keep trying. The one thing that has sustained me since I failed that test is that I did pray that God not let me make a mistake and choose the wrong company. I asked that if this was a good company for all to go well but if it was not I prayed for Him to intervene. I guess the company I applied to must not be a good one......

Now about Hermione. She was absolutely TERRIFIED at puppy school on Sunday. She was so scared she would not even interact with the other puppies. She just wanted to stay with my husband and me. The teacher saw how upset she was and put us in with the little puppies (Hermione towered over all of them) thinking it would make her feel better if she was the biggest. It didn't help. All the other puppies were running around saying Hi ! to each other and poor Hermione was just so scared. You would never know that here at home. She is so outgoing and boisterous. I am not giving up on her. I love her with all my heart as I do all my furkids and we will keep going. The teacher said that even if she doesn't get it, even if she doesn't learn anything at least she will have had six weeks of socialization and will be less scared. That's good enough for me.....

Take care, dear Christmas family and again Thank you all. xoxo

 

[Christmasstar]

It's Tuesday, which beat Monday...but it's kinda Wednesday, since I don't work Friday. Make sense?

Last night, I caught caught up on the posts and was just about to post and then I started talking to my wife.....next thing I knew, she is tucking me in and turning off my computer. I was zonked. She said I went to sleep at 9:00...might need to try that more often!

Have a good day!

you were talking to your wife and fell asleep!!!???

 

[Christmasstar]

How many of you have Good Friday off? This is the first job I ever had that doesn't have it off.

I will be going to work that day. Of course, I only work 2 hours a day. Afterwards we are headed out to my brothers place for a family BBQ.

 

[Bradmac]

How many of you have Good Friday off?

This is the second year that our company has given us Good Friday off. Nice!

 

[Bradmac]

Good Tuesday morning, my Christmas friends!

I had a busy afternoon yesterday working on my side business. I had to finish up before my April City Council meeting at 7:30 (I barely made it!). I think we may try to plan a block party this fall. That should make the summer feel a little cooler, planning a fall party!

Today is first Tuesday of the month, and that means family-night supper at Bernie and Hilda's. Mrs. Hilda is a wonderful cook (as my set of scales at home can attest to), and she's used to feeding a crowd; Nancy is the youngest of six children, and Mrs. Hilda is the youngest of 12! I can't wait to see what she's cooking up tonight!

I hope y'all have a great day! cheesy

 

[Maureen]

Hey!

Today has been.........interesting. Woke up to discover that it had snowed bigtime last night. Considering I have strap marks from my tank top last week, this was a bit of a shock!!!!

Had a big meeting today in Edinburgh and came away feeling less than adequate! Don't know if I said but I've been appointed as an exam setter for our Registration qualification. Anyway, we set the exams and they sat them at the beginning of March. We marked them (THAT was an eye-opener) and today was the day we made our report to the exam board (which I was elected onto too). The first paper had a pass percentage of 78; the second paper had a pass percentage of 27 and the third had a pass percentage of 80 odd. Guess which paper was mine?! The thing is these exams are checked, double checked and triple checked before even getting as far as the candidates and were deemed fair and well rounded. They ended up dropping the pass mark and sent 2 of the borderline papers out of the room with the other setters to see if they could find more marks than I'd graded them to try and get them a pass mark. They came back with another 4 points which meant passes. I feel I've been too harsh and if they found 4 points for those, what could they have found in the other papers??? Seemingly my standards are too high. Since when did this become a bad thing??????

Oh well, back to the drawing board.........

Hope you're all having a good day!!!!!!! Oh, edited to say, my day/evening just improved - I've discovered Little House on the Prairie has started from scratch on TV. Yay!

 

[xmas365]

Thank God Monday is over with! I went in at 10:00 AM and didn't get out of there until 10:40 PM. Then I will go in today and probably get the third degree on why we had to work so late, my employer hates overtime. It's to the point that I just agree with whatever they say, that gets me out of the office sooner. Then I will probably be in a bad mood the rest of the day, oh well, just 15 years until retirement.

How many of you have Good Friday off? This is the first job I ever had that doesn't have it off. They used to have it off, but because their customers changed, so did that. It is a logistics company with several clients, so we have to work with our client's schedule.

I know this post sounds like I hate my job, I really don't. I am just blowing off some steam. Overall it isn't a bad job, but like any job it has it's times that just try my patience. Not to mention that I have been waiting over a year for them to put me on first shift. But all is good, beats the heck out of being unemployed like so many are these days.

We all need to blow off steam about our jobs from time to time, I am perpetually frustrated with mine. I work on Good Friday, it will be one of the busiest days of early 2012, I have 5 people on including myself, I rarely ever have 3 on at once. My wife's school district is the only one around here that has school on Good Friday, when I grew up in this town, we always had it off, I guess someone complained about it and they have gone to school on it as long as my wife has worked here which is 10 years now.