Silver Bells er Balls...

I was humming "Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas" all night as I decorated the tree... I decided on all white lights with silver balls and silver beaded garland... it came out sweet!

I sat at the top of the stairs with the lights off just to watch the tree - a favorite childhood memory of mine. I love this time of year...

The cat didn't look as happy with the tree... I think he is plotting his attack and some day soon we will come home and find the tree ripped to shreds...

It's OPEN It's OPEN!!!

Finally after much anticipation they opened up Mountain High - our local ski resort. They only have 4 runs open right now but the new equipment they installed over the summer has made a tremendous difference. They were able (due to good temperature) make 12 inches of snow. It's so soft and fluffy! Usually this early in the season the coverage is very light and there is a lot of ice and obstacles - not this year. I have gone night skiing two days this week and plan on getting up there this Saturday also.

What a blast! Lisa and I are heading up to Mammoth next weekend for a fun brother and sister ski extravaganza! Hopefully they get a dump of snow before we arrive...

ahh - can you smell it? Winter is here....

Kwanza Bush? Family Shrub? Holiday Plant?

No stupid it's a Christmas tree - emphasis on the Christ... Anyhoo - Shel and I got ours at Lowe's last night - isn't she pretty! And when I went downstairs this morning the whole house smelled like delicious pine... mmm I need to decorate it now... Big Lots here I come! I think I want to do somthing classy like all white lights and silver bells...

Turkey Day!

So both of my thanksgiving celebrations came out great! I decided to set the table this year to free up space on the buffet line and we cut a few dishes from the menu which worked out super! Everyone ate till they were full and we had very little left over... well except for my disastrous stuffing. The stuffing that was inside the bird was moist and delicious but the residual that was in the pan with juices was dry and tasteless...

I was happy with the Turkey - it was very moist and delicious... Shel is going to make turkey soup out of it... sounds yummy!

Everyone said they had a good time - (there was no fighting or death) so I will chalk it up to another successful celebration - I was Happy...

Funny thing - this Sunday Pastor Rob was talking about living a life of Thanksgiving and the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness comes from happenings like a successful dinner or visiting with friends and family, where joy comes from the Lord - I really had to chew on that for a while to soak it in. Even though my family drove me crazy over the holidays and I put on a happy face for the time spent - I have true joy because of what Christ has done for me on the cross... hard to remember sometimes when we have so much going on... But I will try to be more joyful and moderately happy for the rest of this season.

SUPACLEAN!!!

The holiday crunch is really getting to me - I have two thanksgiving celebrations coming up at my house this week - one for my church group (11 people) and the big one for the family (16 people). And with the busy week I have had, the house has fallen into total disarray. It was driving me nuts! NUTS I TELL YOU!

So last night i scrubbed the house from top to bottom. I even patched, filled, and painted the holes in the wall from where I moved that sconce 6 months ago. I did an extra good job on the floors and the yard.

I had to replace the cushions on my swing in the yard because one of them was torn and the stuffing was oozing out and turning brown from the dust in the air. I found these replacements at Lowes for $12 - what a deal! The more I look at them, the more I see why they were only $12. They are ugly as sin... too late now I guess, I tore off the tags that say do not remove.

I think the house is in good shape now, well except for those cushions...

Pretty Kitty!

Mimi sent me this delightful kitten...

Old...

So I was on the train this morning and overheard this old couple fighting in Spanish about being on the right train - they had to be in their late 70's or 80's. I leaned over and explained that they were on the train to Orange County and how they could catch the correct train to LA. It dawned on me as they hobbled down the stairs to connect to the proper train that it really must suck being old. Your skin turns to leather, your hair falls out and you cant see, hear, or understand anything around you. Some day I'm sure I will read this and think "what a little jerk" but I really don't care - many people in thier 50's and 60's look like crap. I want to look like Barb when I grow up - she is still rockin -

Creepy Fog

It was so foggy this morning - you could barely see the other side of the train station...

Too Much HGTV

Wow I really watch too much HGTV (one of my many addictions)




So while watching Design on a dime one night I learned how to re-cover dining room chairs - and thought to myself - that seems easy - so I switched mine up... I think they came out nice...

Halloween!

So I was a construction worker for Halloween - Nicole (in her usual evil demeanor) said my arms looked skinny - then she tried to attack me with her nasty hand- dang her skin is gross.... (maybe lotion would help?)

After losing the costume contest I went to the church carnival where my small group organized and seamlessly executed feeding almost 500 people at the food booth! We had nachos, hot dogs, pizza, chips and soda. The system worked great and everyone came together to do a really awesome job. God has really blessed me this last few months with the growth in the small group. We went from 5 members to 11 and the sheer size and differences in personality has blessed everyone! amen and amen - who knew an evil holiday could be a blessing...

Han·ford Cal·i·for·nia

I know - I had to map quest it. Basically you leave LA and head for Fresno - once you smell cow and produce you make a left, past the rural farms of the lovely San Joaquin Valley you enter the lively town of Hanford California. I was actually surprised to find a super wal-mart, Target, and the Hanford Mall all within a few blocks of my hotel.

Ahh my hotel - now I have stayed in dumps before but I think this place takes the cake. There was two choices in town - the 30+ year old Comfort Suites (not a brand I frequent) or the independent Sequoia Inn. Yet again based on misleading pictures and reviews on the Internet I chose the Sequioia Inn; BIG MISTAKE. I have been smoke free for over 130 days now and the hotel was completely mixed smoking and non. Even though my room was non smoking, the room across from me was a smoking room and the hallway had a nice hazy looming cloud due to lack of ventilation. I figured it wasn't that bad, I would just open the slider and allow the fresh air to come in... and By fresh I am referring to the onion farm/dairy aroma that wafting in. Not to mention the lovely sound 10 perky pigeons perched on my patio. Upon further investigation of the hotel I discovered the cluster of bee hives wedged into the top of the eves - what a palace.

Now even though the town was laden with big name chain restaurants - they still had the small town feel. I wasn't sure if people realized I was "not from around here" or they generally give horrible service but I don't recall one great meal the whole time I was in town.

I was glad to be on my way out of that desolate place-

Yuk and Ugg...

So what a uneventful trip to the ugly city of Lancaster. For some reason all the decent hotels in town were booked so I had to stay at the oxford inn and suites - hmmm funny my room didn't look like a suite - More like a broom closet with a bed (hence the Yuk). To boot the Internet service was intermittent and slow. At least I was able to catch Extreme Makeover Home edition and Desperate Housewives on Sunday night.

I was super disappointed also, I did not get the chance to visit my favorite sushi restaurant in the whole wide work (hence the ugg) I worked so late every night that about all that was open was fast food. I tried to keep it healthy with El Pollo Loco most nights. After 3 nights I moved on to Hanford California (I know what your thinking where is Hanford)