Christmas Countdown - 2013

[Seawaters]

Since I am playing catch up on reading the posts, I will post the winner and prize as soon as I can!

 

[Ryan]

Ryan, might I suggest the Dallas Cowboys. There are a few of us here who will gladly accept you into our family with open arms and who will judge you harshly should you decide to say no.....

I want to like Dallas. They are close to me and are pretty much the regional team around Oklahoma. The problem: Jerry Jones. If he would get out of the way, I would probably be a huge Dallas fan. Maybe I can just accept them for what they are, overbearing, wanna be manager, meddling owner and all! cheesy

 

[Bradmac]

You know, Brad, I was just going to suggest that you should have gotten a box-end wrench, but I lost the opportunity, LOL. I do hope it isn't bad.

Thanks, it's not too bad. But most of my hand is bruised owing to the blood-thinner I'm taking. It looks like I've been in a fist-fight. LOL

 

[Seawaters]

I am leaving in five minutes to drive a friend to a doctor's appointment. Then, I HOPE to catch up here. I love reading all these posts. It's like opening a Christmas gift every day!

 

[Seawaters]

Hubby and I feel the same way, Ryan! And with this post, Ryan is poster # 39,000. For his efforts, he wins a link to One Direction's recording of "What Makes You Beautiful." You can save this to your computer and listen to it any time you want! Isn't technology wonderful?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJO3ROT-A4E

I want to like Dallas. They are close to me and are pretty much the regional team around Oklahoma. The problem: Jerry Jones. If he would get out of the way, I would probably be a huge Dallas fan. Maybe I can just accept them for what they are, overbearing, wanna be manager, meddling owner and all! cheesy

 

[Ryan]

TGIF everyone. Looking forward to the 3 day weekend. We will be heading to Myrtle Beach this afternoon. It is about a 7 hour drive for us. My brother and his family are taking our parents down. It is only about a 4 hour drive for them. All of us are staying at a house we rented for the holiday weekend. My mother is really looking forward to seeing the ocean probably for her last time. It will be a bitter/sweet stay.

I've killed 2 copperhead snakes the last 2 days. They were the first adult ones I've seen near the house this year. Can't wait until cooler weather with no bugs and/or snakes.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

What an answered prayer that your mom gets to see the ocean again! I'm praying for y'all and hope you have a wonderful weekend.

I'm terrified of snakes by the way. We have copperheads in Oklahoma and I hate those things. Anytime we're at a lake or area like that, I'm constantly on the look out for them. We have rattlers too, in certain areas of the state. Hope there's no more snakes out there for you!

 

[snowflake22]

Ok an update to my Monopoly mishap. So a few days ago the company said they would send over the right version and collect the wrong one they sent me.

It came today. No it is not good news. It is the same WRONG version that they sent me earlier in the week.......ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I'm going to combust!!!

So sorry, girl. That is so frustrating!!!

((Hugs))


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[snowflake22]

I'll try but having my family around doesn't usually lead to that anymore.

xx

BIG ((hugs))

You're welcome to join us!!




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[Ryan]

Hubby and I feel the same way, Ryan! And with this post, Ryan is poster # 39,000. For his efforts, he wins a link to One Direction's recording of "What Makes You Beautiful." You can save this to your computer and listen to it any time you want! Isn't technology wonderful?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJO3ROT-A4E

Seawaters, it's just what I've always wanted!!! cheesy

 

[made582]

BIG ((hugs))

You're welcome to join us!!




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Thanks, Friend!!!!! I'll see if I can get past that Chicago traffic this time but with it being a holiday, I'm not going to hold my breath. ((Hugs))

 

[made582]

Hubby and I feel the same way, Ryan! And with this post, Ryan is poster # 39,000. For his efforts, he wins a link to One Direction's recording of "What Makes You Beautiful." You can save this to your computer and listen to it any time you want! Isn't technology wonderful?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJO3ROT-A4E

Wow, that is a good one!!!!

 

[snowflake22]

My all-time favorite is "The Twelve Crimes of Christmas," an old paperback anthology that I judge was published in the 1970s or 1980s. There's a great Ellery Queen short story in there, and a funny story with a twist ending called "Do Your Christmas Shoplifting Early." Oh, I WISH this had come out in hardcover! I'll have to locate and buy up a couple more paperback copies, because our original copy is held together with scotch tape and crumbling!

The other one is "Murder for Christmas Volume II," edited by Thomas Godfrey. This is a paperback, but the hardcover "Murder for Christmas" contains the same stories plus some more.

Gotta run!

Thanks for the info!! They sound really interesting, combining two of my favorites.. Christmas and mysteries!!


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[snowflake22]

Where I used to live in Maryland, there is a HUGE used-book store called Wonder Book and Video. Every time we go back to Maryland we go there and go nuts ... then we go to Staples for boxes and mailing tape so we can ship the books we bought, back home! I miss having all those great books practically in my backyard. That was THE place for "out of print, uncommon, or eclectic reads."

A few towns over there's a used-book shop called Bearly Read Books. I must go over there sometime and check them out.

There's also the New England Book Fair in Newton, which is a sprawling warehouse-type place full of publisher overstocks---we go nuts there, too! You can get a free t-shirt with a $50 purchase, and over the years we've collected us a few t-shirts!

That is awesome!! I could lose myself in those book stores for hours!!


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[Ryan]

Thanks for the info!! They sound really interesting, combining to of my favorites.. Christmas and mysteries!!


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I don't know...the words "murder" and "Christmas" just don't seem to go together. cheesy

 

[snowflake22]

Seawaters, it's just what I've always wanted!!! cheesy

Awesome prize!!!


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[snowflake22]

I don't know...the words "murder" and "Christmas" just don't seem to go together. cheesy

You'd be surprised!!

I've loved the few that I've read!!

And enjoyed Poirot's Christmas =}


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[Ryan]

You'd be surprised!!

I've loved the few that I've read!!

And enjoyed Poirot's Christmas =}


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I know...I like some Christmas books that aren't "warm and fuzzy" holiday reading, too. I read a western that was about a cattle drive that took place at Christmas. There were shoot-outs and all sorts of things going, but it still represented the season well, I thought. cheesy

 

[Ryan]

Friends, I'm getting sad! The last few minutes on this job are ticking away. My department took me to lunch today and folks are coming by wishing me farewell. I'm going to miss this place.

 

[made582]

Friends, I'm getting sad! The last few minutes on this job are ticking away. My department took me to lunch today and folks are coming by wishing me farewell. I'm going to miss this place.

Sorry you are feeling sad!!! Try to look to the future though and all of the excitement and challenges to come. Plus you can always stay in touch with your former co workers. So you really won't be saying goodbye. Just until I see you again.

 

[Meceka]

Penny loves that I have started to crochet!

Aw, Christmasstar, what fun you will have! Seriously!!!

First square done !

Bravo! Looking very good for your first square!

Well the party at my brothers was very nice! We had a great turnout! My cousins ended up coming & we Face-timed 1 cousin who couldn't be there. My NC aunt/uncle loved seeing everybody. The homemade ice cream turned out excellent. (not bragging...I just love HM ice cream!!) We had brownies, apple pie, rice krispie treats, scotcharoos, & sweet chex mix. Good thing I'm walking in the morning!! I think I am crashing from all the sugar, so I am going to say goodnight! I think I will try taking a Benadryl b/f I head to bed & maybe that will help my allergies in the morning!!! AND make me sleep good!!!

Good night everyone! Enjoy your night!

I'm glad you had such a fun night!

Snowflake I forgot to answer about Anna. Thank you for asking. She is better!


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I'm glad Anna is better!

Well, Meceka, some of us DO like pie, but we will wait for an invitation, hint, hint! What kind of pie is it? I laughed out loud at your description of Palmer! Also loved the rest of the description of your noisy day and your wake-up call!!!

I'm glad you are enjoying Palmer's antics - she is a hoot! I brought the pie (homemade pie crust with a filling of black cap raspberries and a streusel topping - looks yummy!!) to the Pines as per Made's request.

It is tough right now, not what I expected. School did not prepare me for the reality of being an independent contractor, in fact it teaches nothing about $. We learn about the reality of the business from our Brokers. I had no idea it called for aggressive sales tactics, my understanding was that it was a service type of sales, and that I would get more leads through my company. Therefore, we are struggling financially, and are having a tough time spending extra money on marketing my business, when there's nothing coming in. Add that to the fact that I haven't worked for 9 months.. there are monthly & annual fees that are very high.
I based my love for real estate on my experiences buying & selling, and didn't know the other side of things. I researched it, but there are laws about not discussing $, so I could only find out so much. I don't know that we can afford the fees while building my business. After I went to work for my broker, I was told that many agents are in the -$ for many years. It doesn't help that I don't know a lot of people here, much of the business is based on referrals. I am looking for supplemental income of my own right now.

Prayers would be appreciated!! =]

Thanks again for thinking of me! I'm trying to stay positive!!

Prayers are most definitely on the way!!! {{{HUGS}}}

I just noticed the Christmas Top 100 is open for voting! I've already cast my vote. Can we cast more than one?

I voted for my all time favorite song (not just Christmas song, but song, period!) "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Vince Vance and the Valiants. I've had that song stuck in my head. Can't wait to start listening to Christmas music. I start in October at some point, gradually adding it in and I just realized we are only a month out from that month!

I LOVE that song!!! It was the top song in the annual Christmas song countdown for the local radio station a few years ago.

Ryan, might I suggest the Dallas Cowboys. There are a few of us here who will gladly accept you into our family with open arms and who will judge you harshly should you decide to say no.....

:lol:

Whew....I woke up Monday morning and hit the ground running...I got home at 5:00 today and haven't been out of my chair since....

Tomorrow we have a dr. appointment...excited. Sunday we are going to go baby shopping and put the finishing touches on the room. I dreamed both nights last weekend that the baby was born tomorrow...when I walked into the buidling Monday, one of my friends ran up to me and said "I dreamed the baby was born on my birthday...my birthday is Friday." I about passed out.

The anticipation is building and it's dominating my thoughts...can someone please tell me how to handle the anticipation because it's driving me CrAzY!!!!!

{{{HUGS}}}

Been busy this week with our big Volksfest....our yearly Backfischfest. Food, drinks, rides and music.....been there yesterday with my cousin Frank, who came down from Hamburg.......I think I had one beer too much.....hahahaha....just one though, not worth be called a hangover

It was so hot I finally opened the Corona I had in the refrigerator for a few years. I'm not a beer drinker as it tastes too bitter to me, but the first third of the bottle was quite good - cold!!! The rest I poured down the drain. I'm going to have to buy some more as I want to make beer bread and beer cheese soup this fall. cheesy

Morning! It's Friday!

It's the last weekend before school reopens, I honestly do not know where the last few weeks have gone! I kind of feel a little sad that summer holidays are coming to an end. I am also thrilled that we are heading into autumn and the start of fall festivities! Mixed feelings are good though, it refreshes my spirit.

Not sure what our plans are for the weekend but hopefully quiet and layed back. I'm looking forward to the start of September. I have a couple more summer books to get through and then I will begin my autumn reading. For my birthday Mr. Festive gave me Bloomsbury first edition copies of the first two Harry Potter books to add to my collection. It 's inspired me to reread them and I always like doing so in autumn/winter. Harry Potter is an absolute favourite!

Happy Labour Day weekend to all of you celebrating! I bet you all have got some exciting and fun things planned. Have you got any Labour Day traditions? What are you looking forward to?

I really liked them, too. The first book was truly a magical read!!!

my eldest, Jeannine, is 30 years old today! wow, I do not recall getting older myself but apparently she did.

Going out to camp this evening and will enjoy some cake and a glass of wine at that time to toast this milestone celebration.

Happy Birthday to Jeannine!

Don't try to contain it. You are about to enter the greatest time of your life. I am very jealous. Our son is now a senior in HS. I have loved the entire experience of being a parent. The bad part will be when he goes off to college next fall. I encourage you to listen to the Harry Chapin song "Cats in the Cradle". It is a great song for any dad to remember. Every time my son asked me to do something with him, that song would pop into my head. Spend as much time with your child as you can and cherish those times. They will be gone before you know it.

Well said!

Thank you for the kind thoughts & advice, Sam!
I will look into an online forum, that's a great idea. The course I took was through the WI Realtors Association, and basically self-taught. You read the course materials & watch corresponding lectures on DVD, do the assignments, and take the quizzes & tests. So I missed out on the classroom experience, but it just worked out best while we were in the process of relocating from Nevada to Wisconsin. I'm sure there are good forums in general, though, regarding real estate. I am talking to some fellow agents in my company, and they are giving some tips as well. The reality, though, is that they sometimes struggle to break even, with necessary fees of the business, advertising for the client, marketing yourself, etc. It comes down to can we afford to continue to pay these bills? And will I be happy in the long term? It's a lot to figure out, but I am hopeful. In the least, I am proud of myself for taking the chance =]
Thank you again for your support xo



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We are proud of you, too, snowflake!!!

Good morning!
Oh my goodness, I miss all of you!
Its been almost a week since I last posted. My husband has been finishing the wood floors in the house. We borrowed our friends camper to stay in but I decided that wasn't going to work out. The girls and I packed up and brought the cats and dogs to my parents house. My parents went to their place in Pennsylvania so we could have the house to ourselves. They are the best, I am so thankful they did that for us. My husband told me that it would take about three or four days to finish the floors but it took longer. He probably should have planned on taking a couple of days off from work. It was a big job for him to do alone, especially when he only had the evenings to work on it. I am hoping and praying to be home tonight. I just wanted to pop in and say hello. I hope everyone is well. I will post pictures of the floors when I can. It will probably take me a couple of days to settle back in at home and get the house in order.
Take care and have a great day!

So good to hear from you, HmG! I hope you can move back in soon and that things will get back to normal. So sweet of your parents to let you have the house. {{{Hugs}}}