Had another good Christmas this year. I’m thankful both my parents are still alive and healthy. I worry that they won’t be around someday and then Christmas will be sad. But for now it’s still happy and we have a really good time. Our family is small, it’s just me and my husband, my sister and her son, and my Mom and Dad. But my Mom always makes a delicious dinner and we have rice pudding and the one who finds the almond wins a prize… and then we do gifts and sit around the Christmas tree.

I don’t really believe in any particular religion, though I think anything is possible, so I don’t really celebrate Christmas because of the religious aspect that most Christians do (but not all?). I celebrate a good happy time to spend with family and enjoy the season. Love each other and be together and chat.

The gift thing isn’t my favorite. It’s work to go out and buy things, and then I never know what to get. And stopping at the cigar store isn’t as fun as it used to be. The gift thing is the least fun part… well, opening them and laughing while doing so is fun. Maybe I need to focus on that part more than dwelling on the worry of the actual shopping. Maybe I’ll have to remember that for next year.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

Okay, I just don’t. I wish that we could all just give ourselves money and pay off some bills or something like that this time of year. Maybe it’s because I don’t like to shop. Maybe it’s because we really don’t have much money at all this year. Maybe it’s just because I feel unmotivated lately for much of anything except for the dogs.

I have something for my nephew, I don’t have anything fgor my sister yet… we have something for my Dad. I need to get something for my Mom and for my husband. I actually have a really good idea for the husband but that would mean getting off my rear and going to the store. Bleh. I don’t have time for hardly anything and I really don’t like to spend any of that time in stores! And it’s too late to order online. Though I could get my husband’s thing online he wouldn’t care if it’s late.

I am not getting any baby strollers this year, and I haven’t gotten the dogs anything. But maybe they will get a special treat sometime. Hrm. Oh well. Another Christmas. I’d rather celebrate the winter solstice. Which is today, happy solstice!

I do enjoy Thanksgiving. Perhaps the meaning of Thanksgiving has kinda faded away… though I like having a day to spend with the family and be thankful of having such an amazingly wonderful family. I don’t eat Turkey… but I love the rest of the food. Even though I ate way too much. I have no self control when it comes to food in front of me. But my Mom is such a great cook and there is always plenty to eat.

I like this picture of the turkey and the pears my Mom made. And the orange in the background. I guess I can get some depth of field with that lens on my camera.

We are all healthy and happy, we have affordable health insurance and our health. We have each other and we love each other and we have a good life. I am thankful for having such a wonderful family.

When I was a kid I don’t remembering really liking Halloween. I don’t think I ever really liked my costumes. I don’t remember them now, though, because I have a rotten memory.

As an adult I love Halloween. I have an awesome Harry Potter student robes costume that I love. Didn’t wear it this year though because I’m sick and I don’t feel like doing anything much but sleeping.

Anyway, Happy Halloween!

And so here we are. The very last day of 2008. Wow, time sure flies doesn’t it?  I remember when it was still the year 2000 scare… and that was eight freakin’ years ago now. wow.

Do you have any resolutions for 2009? I don’t do New Years Resolutions. I don’t seem to keep them when I do, so I gave them up as a bad job years and years ago. When I decide to make a change or a commitment, I don’t base it on the new year.  To me, the New Year is just another day the Earth orbits around the sun, but it is pretty cool that the Earth was around this area one year ago.

We will probably even be in bed before Midnight tonight. I guess I could celebrate now… since it’s midnight somewhere in the world now. 

The last year has been fun. We got Muffit in February.  Levi got some more legs in agility. So did Chase.  We did some rescue but not too much this year, as we’ve kinda been burned out a little bit.

What will 2009 bring? I dunno, maybe someone will need engagement rings, which would be fun! And hopefully all our dogs and cats and human family members will still be alive and healthy through 2009 and beyond.

So anyway, Happy New Year to everyone.  I hope you have a good evening and please don’t drink and drive! 

Christmas Eve

I will be the first to admit about myself… I don’t really believe in the Christian God. And so celebrating Christmas, per se, isn’t really what I’m doing this time of year. But I love Christmas time, and I’ve been thinking, lately, what it is I actually am celebrating anymore.

I consider myself agnostic, which basically means I don’t think a god can be proven or disproven. And I know I know, God and proof are mutually exclusive, right? Faith and God are what go together. However, when I think of proof, I don’t really mean physical proof.. I just mean proof that I, personally, can believe.

Me and Hubby

So anyway, what do I celebrate? I celebrate my family and the wonderful life I have. I love spending the day with my family, having dinner, opening gifts… and the gift part isn’t really even that big of a deal. It’s just a fun thing we do and if there were no gifts, and no food, if there was only just our family, then that would still be a wonderful day.

Me and My Family

What do you celebrate? Do you celebrate Christmas, the winter solstice, or anything at all this time of year?  I like having a bit celebration at this time of year because it’s cold out, and it can be dreary, so having a big day to celebrate is nice and fun. After the new year, we head into the really dreary part of the winter… January and February are the worst! Cold and not much to look forward to except the spring. And here in Utah spring doesn’t usually come until well into May!

So I’ll just enjoy the long dark nights, which I love. My sister got me some way cool candles, I put them on my bookshelves, and they are flameless! I love them! They look great and are no danger to the dogs and cats. And I had to dust and vacuum too because the house was a mess and the candles didn’t look good with all the icky dust. LOL.

Today, Christmas day, our family doesn’t do much… we celebrate Christmas Eve.  My parents are european and so that is our big day.  We had a great dinner and rice pudding and hot spiced wine and egg nog.  I kinda wish we didn’t need Christmas to celebrate! Maybe we should have another holiday, sometime the beginning of Februray, or middle of February, to break the dreariness of winter.

Festivus anyone?  LOL

Well, I’m vegetarian and have been for about 17 years. So I haven’t had Turkey for that long. But I still go to my parents and feast… though my sister and I are bringing some lower calorie items to eat this year so that should be good. However, I went to the grocery store this morning and forgot to write cauliflower and brocolli on my list, so of course I forgot them. Dangit! I want to send my husband next.

We are going to have a nice relaxing evening drinking some wine and eating good food and having good family company. Nothing exciting, no snowmobile parts buying or hiking or skiing anymore. I love to relax!

What are you up to this Thanksgiving 2008? I just wish we could bring the dogs with, celebrating without them just isn’t quite the same.

Wow, so it’s 2008. 2007 sure went by fast. I went to bed at 11pm last night. Should have gone sooner but was working on the VPS. Woke up around 7:30. The dogs don’t like to sleep later than that, and I really am not able to sleep past about that anymore. Though I think after I retire my schedule will go later, I’ll start staying up later again and getting up later. I do love my 9 hours of sleep a night.

Anyway, it’s 9.5 degrees outside. Going to meet a friend from flyball at the dog park at 10am. Will be fun. I love Tanner park. Then gonna work on the VPS more while the dogs sleep from being warn out at the park.

So…

Happy New Year!

So I had a really good Christmas Eve. My family gets together on Christmas Even and we exchange gifts, have a big dinner, and rice pudding. Not necessarily in that order.

I took some pictures of the new laptop skin my sister gave me! Isn’t it cool! I love it. I’m getting more girly in my old age, and I love color. I love the bright pink. It really personalizes my laptop and makes it happy and colorful.

I also got a digital picture frame, and I’ve already loaded pictures on it. I got a gift certficate to Kirkham’s, and I want to go shopping now! I got some chairs from Ikea, which I really wanted. I also got flannel sheets for my new queen bed. I put them on the bed last night and they are very comfy and snuggly!

I got some other wonderful things, too. And I think my family liked what I got them. I hope so. I got my husband a sewing machine, so he can sew up our blankets. He’s good at sewing.

All in all it was a great day. I ate too much. But now I’m doing my Weight Watchers. I really need to lose at least 10 pounds, hopefully 15, for my cruise next year!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Eve is our big day for our family. We get together, exchange presents, eat Rice Pudding and find the almond hidden inside. The finder wins a prize.

So I’m excited for us to go over to the parent’s house and celebrate Christmas. It really is my favorite time of the year, and today is my favorite day.

Merry Christmas Everyone!