The week ahead....

We are entering into the busiest week of the year at work, so I'm not going to have a lot of spare time. I do have a few more Christmas gifts to pick up and then I need to decide what to bake for Christmas goodies. I only have 2 days off this week and not back to back to get everything done before Christmas eve.

But I can do it. I freak out about this time every year but still end up getting it all done in time. I have some friends who love baked goods but don't bake so I will be doing up some cookies and small loaf cakes for gifts. I have been checking out ways to package them.

I think I like the bags and Baker's Twine or maybe the Parchment paper and twine. The clear bags and the paper are at Dollar Tree. And I already have the twine from a craft project. 

I also want to try some "chocolate-dipped" goodies this year.

Well, I have a short window of time to figure this out so I better get started. Have a great weekend.

What an amazing day....

I didn't post anything yesterday because I was too busy having a birthday. I had so many wonderful birthday wishes and birthday moments. I had a lot of people tell me in person, a lot on Facebook, a lot texted me, I got cards in the mail and I even had several call me on the phone. I appreciated every single happy birthday wish.

Even found some old pics of me in the beginning of life. Above I was just two weeks old. Below was my 1st Birthday.

I have been getting little gifts from my work friends all week. One was this sign that I fell in love with.

One was the beautiful warm blanket for my bed. I put it on the day I got it and slept like a baby all night. Just the right weight and just the right warmth.

I came in one day to find a friend had put a Christmas tree on my desk that is fiber-optic and the star lights up and changes colors. She know my love of Christmas and said I needed a tree for my desk.

I did some shopping yesterday and knocked some more items off my Christmas gift list. Later, I ended up attending the Stampede show. After the show, my arena friends kept telling me to hang around after the show to see a co-worker who has health issues and we hadn't seen in a long time. I went and sat and visited with him after the show. Then as I was leaving they told me the arena manager wanted to see me and even helped me find her. Then she told me not to go nowhere, to go back and visit the co-worker with everybody else. She needed me for something. So I did. Imagine my surprise when she came through the door while I was gathered with all my arena pals and she was carrying a birthday cake and they all started singing to me. One really special friend told me he had bought the cake and got chocolate and coconut. He sure knows me well. He is also the one who keep telling everybody I am only 26. I am not arguing with that logic.

I came home and had a big piece. It was too die for. 

So you can see that I had a very special day. As a matter of fact, I have had a very special week that kicked off when dinner with my children on Sunday. I am truly blessed. Now, to go have another piece of the wonderful cake before I head out to work this morning. 

I have come to realize.....

This came from one of those Facebook posts that you click on it and it tells you something about yourself. In this case, it is absolutely true. I have people in my life who are good friends, people who are friends when it is convenient for them and some who show me daily how much I mean to them. And I have learned not to care. I simply accept them for who they are and go through life doing my thing. 

Sometimes friends come from the oddest places. I work in guest services on my job and I work with an amazing group of people. I love my job and my co-workers are not the drama type. We are there, we do a job, we get along and we go home. It is very refreshing. But I don't spent a lot of time in my actual department because my job descriptions require me to be in the arena a lot. 

Over the years I have made a lot of friends in the arena and some of them having ended up being my best friends. We can talk about anything. We get along great. They show me in tons of ways that they love me and they value me for who I am, not who they want me to be. The thing I find the funniest is that the majority of my friends nowadays are between 25 and 40. Since I am 61, it is funny to me that I get along so well with people in that age group. One person told me it is because I still have a young heart and an open mind. I like that idea. I hope I always stay that way. They are a great group of guys and gals and I thank God all the time for bringing them into my path and making my work day so much fun.

I had a boss that used to say you should be in a job where you are so happy to be there you should want to come in and kiss your desk every day. I finally understand what he meant by that. I have those days when my body just says UGH I gotta go to work today but it's because I have other things I want to do, not because of the job. I honestly love what I do more than any job in my entire life. 

I will be 62 this year and people find out and ask me if I am going to retire. My answer is always the same...yes when I about 70. As long as I can keep doing this I will because it brings me great satisfaction and happiness.

Weekend Wrap Up

I had an amazing weekend. It started out by getting the three youngest grandbabies. Although at 14, 10 and 8 they are no longer babies. The two youngest ones piled on the couch with me. They wanted me to take a picture but they were going to "fake" sleep in it. As you can see Colby got the giggles and couldn't quite pull it off. Of course I had the giggles because the little squirt kept tickling my feet. He's a hoot. Alexis was vegged out on the other couch with some sweet tea.

The next morning we had our children's Christmas program at church. The 3rd from the left is my granddaughter, Shelby. She has always been in the programs singing with all the kids. But this was the first year she actually had a speaking part. She's used to be really shy and still is sometimes, so we were proud of her for actually deciding to do this. I think a lot is because of her BFF Megan to the right of her.  

Shelby played the part of an angel named Joy. While she is a joy to be around, we weren't real sure about the angel part since she can sometimes be a wild card and you don't know what to expect. But she did an amazing job and showed no fear of speaking at all. 

After church, we came home and got back into our pajama's and had a popcorn/Hershey bar party and watched The Christmas Chronicles. They were spellbound. So was I. I love Kurt Russell in anything and he makes a great Santa.

After the movie is was time to get dressed again and go out to dinner with the whole family to celebrate birthdays. My twins had there birthday yesterday and mine is coming up on Thursday.

I woke up Monday morning to a small amount of snow which really puts me in the Christmas spirit.

I love the frosty look on the trees in the field across the road.

So I turned on the tree lights and a small lamp. I turned on the fireplace and that really got me all Christmas-y feeling.

I turned on Netflix to watch The Star. I just love that movie.

Then I addressed my Christmas cards while watching it. 

I wrapped some presents for the family and slipped them under the tree.

Then I got out my planner and my list book. I planned the next two weeks of events. I updated my Christmas gift list and made my menu and grocery list for Christmas eve and Christmas day. I am so ahead of the game this year. I love it. But I work some 10 - 13 hour days between now and Christmas so I'm cramming what I can into all my down time. 

Then I headed out to work. We didn't get any snow on the roads in my area so that was a blessing.

I just like enough of it to look at and enjoy but not so much that the roads are dangerous. This was just the perfect amount.

Once I got to work, I had a great day. Even got an early birthday present from my friend Jessica. I am so in love with this. It is perfect for me. 

Since I am a group greeter, part of my job is passing out the surveys. Because of the timing on when we do surveys, I get to the see the nativity part of the program every single show that I am working. It is so beautiful and I never get tired of seeing it....even after three years of working it. the camels and the angel is my favorite part.

Since it was just one show, I got off work at 8:00 last night. I love our Christmas lights. The snow was gone by the time I got off work, but the Christmas feeling is still in the air.

People can say what they want about me and it doesn't bother me. But one thing I think everybody can say is that I sure know how to have a lot of fun in my life.

A special birthday....

Growing up, I always said when I had children that I wanted one boy and one girl. Never dreaming that God would answer my wish by giving me both at once. Twins. It was the best gift and the best surprise of my life. Today, I want to wish my babies a very, very happy birthday. They have been such a blessing and I love them with all my heart. I can't begin to express the joy they have brought to my life over the years. 

Have a happy birthday Diana and Chris.

Christmas Songs

Some good plans.....

Since Thanksgiving, I have been working some really long days, especially on Saturday. When I say long, I mean long. Like 14 1/2 hours long. That's like doing two days in one. Welcome to the world of tourism in the Great Smoky Mountains at Christmas time. But I am super excited about today. I am only scheduled for about 8 hours. As I sit here and make out the schedule for my greeters and assign the 'who's doing what' tasks for the day, I want to do a happy dance. I have enough staff that my 8 hours should fly by. But I'll still be counting the minutes till I am leaving.

When I get off work, I am going to pick up Alexis and Colby and they are going to spend the night and the day tomorrow. 

Tomorrow morning, we will go to Sunday School and church. The children's Christmas play, Angels Say What?, will be during church in the morning.

Shelby has always sang in the Children's Choir on any performances. But this is the first time she will have a speaking part. She surprised us all for asking for a part. But she has come out of her shell over the years. She plays the part of the angel Joy. She ran into a lady recently whose name was Joy and she told her all about playing Joy in a play. She never talks to people she doesn't know so that tells me how excited she is. 

Sunday afternoon will be about vegging out at the house until evening. Then it will be time to meet up with the rest of the family at a yet-to-be-determined restaurant. We have three birthdays to celebrate in upcoming week so we always combine them all into one birthday dinner. My twins, Chris and Diana, have a birthday Monday and mine is Thursday.

It promises to be a great weekend.