Toasty warm

I've always thought it would be nice to have a fireplace in the basement but never really thought it would happen, but it did! Not a real one of course but it looks real enough and doesn't do too bad a job of warming up the downstairs. It makes the basement a little cozier and hopefully warmer for those of you who will be sleeping down there this Christmas.

Never Say Never- Part 2

As my alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. I heard the closing strain ..."Soon it will be Christmas day". It seemed fitting for the adventure I was about to enbark on...
This seems to be the year for doing things I said I would never do. The first was dying my hair earlier this year and now Black Friday! I always said people who get up at 4 a.m. to get a good deal were absolutely crazy. But this morning I did it just for the experience. And yes it will be the last time. What got me interested in the first place was the leather jackets on sale for $50. I do believe I could have gone to Penney's at 8 a.m. and still have gotten one. But Walmart was really the crazy place. You see me, not being an experienced Black Friday shopper, actually thought that Walmart would not open until 5 a.m., which probably would have been the case last year but now that we have a Super Walmart that stays open 24 hours a day, people were there standing around the item that they were there for. All the big sale items were on pallets wrapped in black plastic and were not undone until 5 a.m. And I will tell you then major traffic jams occured. If you are smart you have a helper that can get the items while you stand in the aisle with the shopping cart, blocked in by all the other shoppers. But I got what I went for and got out unscathed. No fights broke out either. K-Mart was much less congested but still had quite a mob that gathered by 6 a.m. So here I am back home by 6:30 a.m. and none the richer for the experience.

Looking Fab

Have you ever found that birthdays bring about thoughts of change? Well, for me it usually involves my hair. Always trying something to look and feel younger. As you can see by the pictures today was the day for that change. It feels good. It's called a pony-tail cut and so that's just what she did, cut my pony-tail off right above the tie and so I came home with my pony-tail for Curt and he proceeded to use it as a toupee.

We went out to the Buffalo City Grill for my birthday dinner and enjoyed delicious steak. I got a call from Jeremy and Amy yesterday and a blog letter from Angela. My sister, Jennifer, called to wish me well and I just got off the phone with my brother, Brian. If it takes a birthday to stay connected with family I'll have one everyday. It's been great! Even people at work brought pizza and cake and gifts. I have been very blessed!!

My Birthday Walk

There's nothing like getting out in the fresh air and sunshine to lift the spirits! I have been feeling a bit down of late, having a pity party is almost a daily experience. It's been a little chilly and early snowfall wasn't helping. Even our annual shopping trip with the "girls" did nothing to lift my spirits.
Today I awoke at noon and could not get back to sleep, hard as I tried. The last two nights at work have been very stressful and busy and I was not looking forward to going back again. But as I was trying to get more sleep I noticed how sunny it was out and the snow was melting, so I checked the temp on the computer and saw it was 50 degrees. Well, that did it! I was going for a walk. And a beautiful walk it was! I realized how much I had to be thankful for. Just to be able to go for a brisk walk with no aches or pains is a wonderful blessing. Knowing that my family will all be home for Christmas is what keeps me going. And I just got a call from Jeremy while I was on my walk, to wish me a happy birthday! Life is good. And I must go now to get ready for work.

Finding my path

Since the Renasaince Festival life has been back to the routine and I haven't been inspired to write about anything. For some reason work seems to keep me busy and tired. Even my work-outs have suffered of late. So as you can expect losing weight has not been going well either. The biggest event in my life so far is that I applied for the nurse manager position at work. It was totally as much a surprise to me as anyone else because this is a job I had never thought I would ever want. But I felt that God was leading me to apply for it. I prayed a lot about it and had my family praying but I didn't get the job which I don't quite understand. Now I am just trying to figure out what God intended me to learn from the whole experience. For the first time in my life I had confidence that I could really make a positive impact on the nursing dept. But I will continue to support the new manager and still make a difference in my own small way by being positive and encouraging to those I work with and continue to give the best of care to the children I care for.