Boston

Hey there!
I hope that you are all doing well.
I have been in Boston all week for our annual sales meeting.
It was a good meeting and I got some pretty big recognition that I wasn't expecting....which was nice.
I am kinda bummed tonight because I stayed an extra day to meet with some girlfriends from college.
It went from plural to singular because of a couple of things that have come up.  I am bummed because I was really looking forward to a good girls night with people.
My friend that was coming got sick yesterday.  She's feeling better today, but doesn't want to chance it, so she's coming in for a few hours but then is going to go home. I am glad that she is feeling better and glad that she's going to come in for a little while, but I hate spending the night alone in a hotel room.
But, I will get to see her for a little while, which is AWESOME because we have been trying to get together for months and haven't been able to make it happen.
It is COLD outside.  Not only are the temperatures cold but it is windy.  I think the wind chills have been in negative numbers so I didn't even get to go out and explore very much today.
While it's always nice to get away, it is equally as nice to go home and I really can't wait to see hubby. We haven't been apart for a while, so I have really missed him. It will be good to get home tomorrow.

So that's about it here.  I hope that you are all doing well. Hugs and love to you all!

Winter Wonderland

Hey!
I've missed you.
Honestly, there hasn't been a lot going on.
Hubby and I have been lazy on the weekends, enjoying each other's company, going to the movies and just trying to get organized.
Work has been work...we have our annual sales meeting next week in boston, so I will be out of town for a few days....always a good time.
I am getting together with several girlfriends from college next Friday night.  I can't wait to see them.  I can't believe how long it's been since we have all been together.
Hopefully we will be able to find a place for a nice dinner in Boston and then just hang out for the night.
Other than that, we are hunkered down and practically hibernating for the winter.  It is cold outside....we did get snow yesterday.
I don't know if I told you or not, but I got a new car right before the end of the year.  My old one was seven years old with 130K miles on it....so we decided to go see what kind of deal we could get.
Ended up with a brand new 2013 Jeep Compass.  It is a nice car, gets much better gas mileage and the payment was around what I was making before....it's nice to have a new car. It's a bit of a splurge, but we decided that it was time before the expensive repair bills started to roll in on the other one.

I have been debating on a blog post.  Some shit hit the fan over Christmas with my sister and part of me thinks that writing it might be cathartic.  Another part of me feels like if I write about it she has too much power.  Needless to say, we haven't spoken since then.  Family...gotta love them huh?

I hope that you are all well...I miss you and think of you often.  Hugs!

Expectations

Hello...anyone still out there??
I wouldn't blame you if you weren't...posts have been sporadic at best...
We traveled a lot over the holidays and it has been tough to get back into the swing of things.

The new year always brings new expectations...
The slate is wiped clean and you have the ability to make the year whatever you want...
So much is on facebook about how this is going to be "the best year ever".
Conversations are had about what we can do "differently" to make this year better.
Normally, I enter the new year with the expectation that this is going to be better than ever..
Things are going to be better..
I am going to be better.
This year, due to some residual stuff, I have decided to modify my expectations.
I have decided that it doesn't have to be "the best year ever".
My expectations for this year are that I notice more of the little moments because they are what add up to the memories of the year.
Although I don't make new year's resolutions specifically, I have made myself a few promises..
I will take an extra few minutes in the morning to fully wake up before I jump out of bed ....with the side benefit of snuggling five more minutes with my husband and kitties.
I will drive home, talk to my mother every night, and end the conversation with a smile.
I will leave work at the office...there will be no more frustration coming home with me.
I will spend time every week reconnecting with my friends...not just in hurried text messages, but actually having conversations.
I will expect things of myself and not of anyone else.
I will take long drives with my husband on the weekends with no distractions.
I will snuggle the kiddos when we get to see them.

I don't know if this will be the best  year ever---but all I do know that those little things that I have promised myself that I will do will bring me smiles through out the year.

I hope that you are all having a great start to the new year...sending hugs and love on the back of the winter air that is swirling tonight!

Happy New Year!!

well, we have finished a whirlwind of traveling, eating and lots of laughing...
holidays were great...
it is nice to be home finally...
Nice to be back in a routine
Nice to be spending time together, alone.
I hope that the holidays treated you all well...
I hope that the magic swirled around each of you and brought you the joy of the season.
More to come, once I get back into a routine...
hugs and lots of love to you all!!

From both of us...

May this holiday season be full of love, laughter and lots of smiles to all of you today..
The angels that watch over  us are closer than ever today,
I feel the presence of those who have passed, looking down on us and toasting with us.
Whether you are traveling, celebrating at home or choosing not to celebrate at all,
know that you are all in my hearts and I am sending blessings of the season to all of you.
Hugs and lots of love!

Just a few more days...

Until this holiday season is over...Bah Humbug...

Not really...
It has been a crazy week again and for some reason the world seems to be tilted on it's axis.
I don't know if I am still taking in the events of last Friday...or maybe it's been the endless news coverage.  I honestly don't know how people in that town don't just scream at the media.  It is not necessary to know every detail of the grieving process.  Only my opinion.  I am surprised on Monday when I went into work because there were a lot of people talking about it.  I remember saying that it was different than the other mass shootings out there.  When Columbine happened, I remember.  We were in college and it happened on a friend's 21st birthday.  The world shifted that day because it was the first time school didn't feel safe.  I think that Friday's murders tilted the axis of the world a bit more because of how young the children are.  Not that I am saying that any of the mass murders are okay or even explainable but this one is a whole new level of horror.

We had our new furnace installed this week.  This is very exciting.  i am sitting in the living room tonight and it is a toasty 65 degrees in here...which is really nice.  It was a process getting the thing installed.  I learned a lot about myself in the process.  Some of you may have seen my status update on facebook the other day: Some people have endless patience.  Some people let everything role off their backs.  I with my darling husband would realize that I am not some people.
It is a very true statement and there were more than a few times that I wished I had insisted that he stay home earlier and just gone to work.
I learned that I should not be the one to deal with contractors.  the men who installed the furnace were very nice.  I, however, do not generally talk in abstract and like the detail parts of things.  The guy who was in charge was not so keen on the details.  I think at one point I could have been speaking French and he would have understood me better.
I learned that you can hear everything when they take the duct work off.  Contractors have potty mouths.  Now, I am not saying that everything that comes out of my mouth is sparkling and clean but this was a lot even for me.
I also learned that if you hit something with a hammer it will eventually fit.  I heard that statement several times while I was working but never did go downstairs to investigate.

It's the end of the year....which means work is a little bit insane.  People wanting to get started January 1st means a lot of cards need to go out between now and next week.  I am not complaining at all, but it is a lot of work and the pace is picking up.  not to mention the skeleton crew that's on next week...it should be interesting.

I feel like I am forgetting something....
Oh, right.
There were presents to wrap, packages to mail, gifts to purchase, packing to do and cookies to make.
Packages got mailed thanks to my fabulous hubby.
I just finished wrapping for our Christmas here.
I still need stocking stuff for my brother and his boyfriend, a couple of little things for my dad, something (no idea what) for my mom, and a gift card for my sister.
All of the kids presents were shipped to my mom's so those will all need to be wrapped when we get there.
I scrapped the Christmas cookies simply because I couldn't find a day to make them.  Maybe we will make up a couple of batches at my mom's.
There's packing to finish, a day of work and a plane to catch.
And a whole lot of Christmas spirit that is in here somewhere that I think will show up when I finally sit down long enough to let it catch up with me.
The holidays are always a whirlwind and it's tough not to get caught up in all of it...but tonight I send love and Christmas wishes on the back of the stars to all of you...

Tragic

‎"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers -- so many caring people in this world." - Mr Rogers

Tragedy is the only word for it.
The news of today's event spread like wildfire.
Reporters reporting "news" without fact checking,
Parents waiting with tears streaming down their faces,
most who's children came running out, their innocence shattered and parents who need to put the pieces together and explain that monsters don't always live under the bed or in the closet.
Parents who, as numbers dwindled, faced a fear of never holding their child again, never kissing another skinned knee, never calming a bad dream.
Parents who are faced with the fact that their child is part of a "crime scene", who now know that they will never again hug their child.
Today is about many things.
This is about children who had their lives senselessly extinguished today.
this is about the adults whose lives ended, most in an attempt to save children who they had in their care.
This is about the places where a child should be able to feel safe.
Today's tragic events are not about the reporters who got the story out first, with many inaccuracies.
Today's tragic events are not about gun control
Today's tragic events are not about politics.
Today's events are about 27 individuals who lost their lives in a place they thought was safe.
Take a moment,
hug your kids a bit tighter,
smile at a stranger,
take a deep breath.
Say a prayer,
send thoughts,
and take a minute to remember those who were lost today,
remember those families who will remember this day as one where they lost a loved one,
those children who won't be able to feel the magic of Christmas,
Those parents whose arms are empty tonight.
Tears fall from many today,
through our tears, a sign of solidarity,
A promise to those poor young children
That we each need to make to make the world a safer place, a better place, a place where senseless violence and hatred knows no place.
A promise to hug tighter, love every day and to stand together with those around us and those far away, and to cherish each other.

Love and hugs out to each of you tonight.