Our 2012.

It was another good year. Really, I have nothing to write that was negative. I see so many people tonight writing on blogs or on Facebook how bad this year was and how they are excited to see the end of it. I don't feel the same but then somehow, even when we've had a year that had challenges, there is always something to feel good about, even if it's the smallest thing. It's how I was raised and how we've raised our kids but something I had to teach my dh. He grew up with lots of negativity and it took a while to get him to really look at life with a new perspective. I'm so glad he turned it around. Makes life that much nicer if our focus can be positive.

 

 

Flowers from a dear friend recently. Brightened a rainy, snowy day!

 

Highlights from this year:

• our oldest daughter and grandson came to live with us and we've survived this first year, a year full of learning all over again how to have a baby in the house
• our oldest son made 2 movies and 4 commercials and expanded his modeling contracts
• our 2nd son moved to a new job and then got married
• our 2nd son and daughter-in-law are now expecting their first baby, our second grandbaby
• our 2nd daughter was hired to be our preschool teacher by the board of directors
• we both received raises this year and feel fortunate to be in positions that we both love
• we enjoyed 2.5 weeks in our paradise, a secluded cottage overlooking the ocean, at our favorite spot on the West Coast - just the two of us, resting, rejuvenating and rediscovering
• we finished up some renos on our house and rebuilt our backyard that has become another living space for us
• we found the most amazing naturopath who is actively working on my health with confidence
• we gifted a name to my employer, expanded our programs, have wait lists for classes and a long time dream has now come true!

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year. May all your dreams come true and your passion for life be lit!

Cuddly!

Too tired to stay awake for the end of the year.

Beckett loves his Cars bed and goes to bed each night,

without issue, as long as McQueen and Mater are by his side.



 

Good night sweet baby.

Thank you for a fun 2012!

This boy ....

.... loves Santa Claus and gets so excited

every single time he sees the man in the plush red suit.

 

It could be a Christmas card that comes in the mail,

with old St. Nick on the front.

 

Or a tv commercial.

 

Or out shopping and the visuals are every where.

 

He talks about Santa, says his name clearly and with glee.

 

But put him on the man's knee and this is what happens ....

 

 

Think we'll skip the visit to the North Pole next year!!

Fireworks - Part ll.

We got to see the fireworks after all!!

Took a short walk down to the park

with the dog and the kids.

 

Perfect spot to see the most amazing light show,

very loud but very colorful.

 

Great way to ring in the New Year!!

Spring in our House!

We had to stop at the grocery store today to get something for dinner. The turkey is gone, just a bit of ham remains and we can't eat chocolate for the next 48 hours, so off to the store we went. Everything is closed tonight and won't open again until Wednesday morning. While we were deciding what to buy, I spotted small planted Hyacinth bulbs, in little pots, for sale.

 

Guess what ended up in our shopping basket?

 

 

A little bit of spring to welcome 2013!

 

Picture to follow tomorrow when the light is back in our world.

For now, a stock picture until then.

This ....

 

 

.... was absolutely amazing!!

 

We went to the VIP theatre on the 27th.

Tickets were tucked away in my stocking,

a special surprise.

 

The VIP theatre is a new concept in the city

and I was quite impressed.

No children or teens as the theatre is strictly over 18.

Which meant I could hear the movie and

no one kicked the back of my seat!

All seats are reserved so we got to pick online

where we wanted to sit.

Servers come to take your food and drink order,

then bring the items to your seat.

The seats are wide, comfy, reclining

and the aisles wide

so there is even "space" from any chatter that might happen.

The food was hot and delicious and the drinks refreshing.

The service was excellent.

 

Truly the way a movie experience should happen. I loved

every moment and I usually don't like going to the movies.

 

During this movie, it was quiet,

except when laughter needed to happen.

And everyone clapped at the end of the film.

 

Amazing!!

Fireworks ....

I'm sad we are missing the fireworks this year. Dh is still not feeling 100% so we're staying in. I might pop outside at 8 p.m. when they are set to go off. We can usually still see them a bit from our house if we walk across the street. It's so warm here today after last week's bitter cold, so attendance will be amazing but sadly, we'll not be there this year.

Corrie!

We are, perhaps, the world greatest Corrie Fans.

 

 

Life literally stops every night at
our house at 7:30 p.m. so we can tune in.

 

http://www.itv.com/coronationstreet/

 

Even the 2 year old stops in his tracks when the music starts playing at the top of the show. He knows it's quiet time as momma, gramma, grampa and auntie sit back to watch the lives of the families who reside on Coronation Street. I was first introduced to the show when I was just 2 years old and being cared for by a very lovely older lady, who every afternoon would tuck me in on the couch. When she thought I was sleeping, I was actually peeking out from under the blanket to watch the show, then shown in black and white. I grew up on it, my parents watched on Sunday mornings to catch up as they worked all week, I introduced my husband to it, our children have all watched and continue to tune in, and now our sweet grandson watches to.

 

Five generations - amazing!

Are you a Corrie fan?

Dinosaur Quilt.

 Our little boy loves dinosaurs. He roars all around the house, trying to scare us and using very animated gestures to show us how they moved around. Too funny to watch!

 

A few months ago,

we found this huge quilt at the charity shop.

It covers his bed and makes a

great covering while playing outside on the grass.

 

These pictures are from the day

we brought home our $2.50 find.

 

I think he likes it!

 

Excited boy!

 

"Where's Beckett?"

 

 

"Peek a boo!"

 

"My momma loves it too!"

Big Boy!

Today, we chose a date for our Open House for the preschool in the New Year. This is for families to register for the fall of 2013. Registrations happen early in our community as there are more children than spaces available. Some families are even registering children who haven't been born yet! We have been very quiet in our growth and each year we have more preschoolers join in but it looks like this coming year, we'll be full for the first time. In hearing this, my daughter joked that she was not worried as Beckett has an "in" with gramma and grampa owning the preschool. I joked back that he won't have a spot if he doesn't get registered formally.

 

So Beckett filled out his own form

when we were at the preschool!

 

Now he has a spot.

 

"This registering is hard work".

Worth the wait!

Just got off the phone with our cell phone company. I was so frustrated with the promises made when our accounts were up for renewal but did not show up our on our next bill. The first individual I got was nasty and basically said "too bad, so sad, that individual was wrong, you're stuck with what she keyed in"!

 

Ah, not, I don't think so!!

 

So I asked for Customer Retention and got the most amazing young lady who listened to my concern and fixed everything, which is truly and accurately reflected on our last bill. She then pointed out we were also supposed to get a $50 rebate on both phones, making both phones totally free +  2 x $50 credits on our accounts. But we were never given nor told about the rebates. She told us to go online and retrieve them and our January bill would be next to nothing as both our plans, completely unlimited for everything are just over $100 together for the month.

 

Great plan, good service, now we're happy and set for 3 years again.

 

But today I went on to retrieve the rebates and couldn't find them. I connected to Live Chat and basically got another rude individual who told us there was a 60 day time limit on the rebates, so another "too bad, so sad" moment.

 

Hung up on Live Chat and called directly, and within minutes, they had applied the rebates directly. I'm to go on the account within the next 24 to 48 hours to confirm but have been reassured several times that all is well and not to worry.

 

We'll see.

 

I've learned from this experience it is very helpful to be good customers with an account that is always paid on time, never late and often overpaid as we like to "even" out our bills. Good customers = keeping us happy = pushing things thru that might have been denied to others.

 

Good way to end the year!

Dollhouse Sale.

We recently went to a Dollhouse Sale and couldn't believe how crowded it was! We thought we were the only ones that had taken on this task of putting an old dollhouse back together. But we were wrong. There were hundreds of people who attended and we learned quickly to buy an item you see that is just right. Mulling it over, picking it up, putting it back down may result in someone else snatching it up. We're happy with our new items for this project and will be well prepared for next year. For just a mere $80, we are pleased with our finds at the sale.

 

Here's what we came home with:

 

 

Miniature blanket and quilt.

 

 

Tools and kitchen items.



More kitchen and decorating items.



Paving stones for the garden, baskets, bicycle,

soft grass, kite, kitty and small bench.



We'll have quite the kitchen once it's done!



All things to make this sparse house cozy!

Grouchy baby ....

.... makes for a very grouchy house tonight!

 

 

Is it bedtime yet?

 

Shopping Tools.

Christmas shopping is something we start early in the year so that we can enjoy the process instead of rushing around. Once the cold weather arrives, we usually only have bits to do but what makes it a truly "Christmacy" experience is the tools we need on hand to set the scene.

 

We need snow, which we have no shortage of in our climate.

 

We need warm coats, mitts and boots. Traipsing from store to store requires warm clothing.

 

We need our list of what still needs to be purchased, a budget, our cloth shopping bags and alternate ideas in case the items we are searching for are not available.

Finally, we need this:

 

White hot chocolate with fresh whipped cream.

 

Then we need this:

Sugary goodies to keep our strength up!

 

I hope our family appreciates the work we go to for

making sure their Christmas is amazing every year!!

Eat, Pray, Love.

Can't sleep, so I'm cozied up on our family room couch, watching "Eat, Pray, Love",  Julie Roberts is one of my favorite actresses. Loved her in "Erin Brockavitch" and "Step Mom". Dh is asleep upstairs, recovering and everyone else has gone to bed.

 

Just me, the full moon and Julia!

Treasure Hunting.

A couple of days after Christmas, while the rest of my house was sleeping, I slipped out of bed, showered and ventured outside to my car, driving a few blocks away to our local charity shop. I needed to get out of the house, having been inside for the last week with the bitter cold and our Christmas celebrations. I had a couple of dollars tucked away in my pocket and immensely enjoyed being the first one in the shop that morning, exchanging good wishes with the staff for a Happy New Year. It's fun living in a smaller community and I love shopping where the "hello, it's good to see you" greetings are genuine.

 

Here's my stash for the day:

 

 

A Land's End warm sweater, light sage in color ....

for the princely sum of .50 cents!

 

 

As we restore one large house, the appeal of this small house was to good to pass up. A smaller project while we wait for supplies for the large house to arrive. Price? $2.50.

 

Hallmark Christmas Decoration for .50 cents.

 

Bunnies By The Bay book for $3.00

The bonus is that there are quilt patterns inside

and one that I've already chosen for my next project.

 

Trio of lace doilies for .25 cents.

 

Roll of wired lilac ribbon for .25 cents.

 

 

Not a bad trip out. The weather was starting to get warmer

and I enjoyed the "alone" time.

 

When I came home, just 40 minutes later,
everyone was still asleep.
 

I wasn't even missed!



Aaaahhh!!

Woke up to a sick husband today. Feel so bad for him. And so disappointed that in our house, where illness rarely visits, we seem to be on a path of constant trips to the clinic the last few weeks.

 

I'm overdosing myself with Vitamin C and D. Staying away from the sickees and keeping my fingers crossed that everyone will be well tomorrow when our oldest son comes to celebrate Christmas with us. He lives about 3 hours away and could not come on the 25th, so we're having another celebration.

 

Fingers crossed that all is well tomorrow!

Christmas 2012 at Our House!

No words needed ....