Category: family and friends

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A Peaceful Christmas Eve

Here it is Christmas Eve and everything is ready for the big day tomorrow. I have been really good about planning things out and getting my shopping done early enough so that I’m not in a last minute panic like I was last year.

The grocery shopping was probably the worst. I went around 4:00 in the afternoon and the place was jam packed with people. It was so crowded I could hardly make my way up and down the aisles. I had a list with me to help speed things up, but it really didn’t help much. I was stuck in the human tide of going up and down each aisle anyway.

I wrapped the very last gifts this afternoon and have been able to enjoy a nice, quiet dinner and I’m actually heading to bed early. I hope Santa likes the chocolate chip cookies that I baked for him, and that he is good to me – and you!

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Only One Week To Christmas

Wow! Did you realize that Christmas is only one week away? I think this is about the right time to start to panic. Do I have all the gifts bought? Do I have plenty of wrapping paper and ribbons? Where are the gift tags that I bought on sale last year for 80% off? I know I put them someplace safe so I could use them this year and not have to spend top dollar on gift tags.

The dinner menu is starting to worry me. Do I have all the things I need in my pantry other than the turkey? Do I even want a turkey this year? I have been thinking about getting a Honeybaked ham instead. But it has always been a tradition at my house to have turkey on Thanksgiving and again on Christmas. Of course, that much turkey makes everyone pretty much sick of turkey and we don’t even think about having turkey again for several months – it’s just too much. So maybe it makes more sense to get a ham this year and start a new tradition?

Thankfully I got all the Christmas cards written and mailed last weekend. I don’t have that hanging over my head any longer. This year was tough to send cards – I have not been good about keeping up with everyone’s address changes. One card to my niece already came back as undeliverable because she moved and I forgot about it. So I have to call her and get her new address tonight, then find a new envelope to get that last card mailed out to her.

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Different Pizza Toppings

As a kid, we had pizza a lot. My mom probably ordered pizza for the family every Friday night through our whole childhood. She almost always would order pizza from Pizza Hut, and she would order one pepperoni every time, and a second one with different toppings depending on how adventurous she was feeling that night. I think her favorite was probably sausage and mushroom, but she also liked canadian bacon with pineapple and a vegetarian topping with extra black olives.

Nowadays we have a lot more pizza places to order from and a lot of local restaurants are in the pizza making game, with specialties like brick oven baked and hand tossed dough and toppings that can be anything from spinach and garlic to shrimp to barbecued chicken.

I still like the good old standby pepperoni pizza – especially if this is from a new pizza place and I’m trying it for the first time. If they do OK with the pepperoni, I will have more confidence trying a different topping next time I visit that place.

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The Wedding Anniversary

My parents wedding anniversary is right around the corner, May 15th to be exact. It’s a strange one it is their 51st Anniversary. Strange in a sense that the 50th was a huge celebration involving the whole family and this year not a word has been mentioned about the anniversary.

Life is kind of strange like that. We take numbers and dates and they become sacred markers to us about our lives. While the rest of the world has their own individual special dates anniversaries seem to be special only on the 1st, 10th, 25th, 50th and 75th. It’s a funny system we run. In fact over 75 years of marriage I would definitely hope for more than 5 special anniversaries.

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May 8th

There is something about the month of May and a large number of babies being born.  This is the second coworker this month who has given birth.  Two babies have arrived already with two other coworkers due in the coming months.  I tried to figure out why some months carry record breaking levels of births and some carry such few births.

One idea came to mind regarding the number of weddings that occur within the July and August time frame. You always hear about couples becoming pregnant over the honeymoon. Well that would explain a lot of May births. Another popular month is January. I think that everyone would love to have the first baby of the new year born. That might be a reason why late December and early January are also popular times to give birth. Just a thought.

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Cinco De Mayo

Have you ever noticed how Americans celebrate every holiday, even those that don’t belong to us?  Take for example Cinco De Mayo.  We go out and drink as much alcohol as possible and eat in local Mexican restaurants to celebrate this holiday that originated in South America.  It is crazy how much we like to celebrate.  I wonder if part of that has to do with the long hours and hard labor we put in all week long. Our work schedules; especially in busy metropolitan areas; can include work weeks made up of 50 or 60 hours. Not including commuting to and from work and going home to a family of kids to feed and bath.

In other parts of the world I’ve heard that certain countries will stop all labor from about 2:00-4:00 P.M. in the afternoons to rest. Life is made up of more leisure and a little work. Where as in the states it is made up of a lot of work and a little bit of leisure. We are definitely a country made up of workaholics and alcoholics when there is a reason to celebrate.

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Receiving Mail

I don’t know about you but I love receiving unexpected mail from friends and family.  It brightens up the day when a letter is stuck between all those bills. Today was one of those days when an unexpected card came in from my little Niece. The letter read something like this.
Dear Aunt Michele I love you so much. You are the best aunt in the whole world. I wanted to send you a letter to remind you that my birthday is coming up. I would really like to receive cash for my birthday and no presents. I was hoping to save up some money so I could buy myself something. Okay I have to admit it’s cute, but for a young child to want money and not a gift. This world really has changed. Sending money really does make things easier, but I remember always wanting a gift wrapped up in a box that I could open. To this day I still want gifts that I can open. Times definitely have changed.

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Saying Yes to Invitations

Why do we shy away from getting close to coworkers?  If you think about it those are the people we spend the most time with during the week.  Most people typically work a full time job which means anywhere from 40-55 hours a week.

Today at work I received an email from my boss around 10:30 A.M.  She asked me if I would be free to have lunch with her and another coworker.  At first I hesitated and thought, oh no – I would be uncomfortable doing that.  Than I reconsidered and thought how nice of her to pick me out.  I said yes, that would be great – and ended up having a good time.  

My boss is so much fun and witty and she has great stories that never end.  She also brought us to a great Sushi restaurant.  I absolutely love Sushi.  She is just that kind of person that knows what everybody likes and picks the best restaurants.   I am so thankful for such a nice work environment.

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Traveling Abroad

Today was an ordinary day although a lot of extraordinary things happened.  I met up with a friend I hadn’t seen in months.  We only live about 25 miles from each other, but we can never seem to find time to meet up.  It was so great to see her.  She filled me in on her job, her husband, and there upcoming vacation.  They normally go to the Caribbean or somewhere warm when they travel, but they decided to go overseas this year.  She said that they will be traveling to Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, and a few more countries.  It sounded like an amazing trip.

People always say that once you travel overseas you never come back the same.  The adventure is so overwhelming; not to mention the culture and a foreign way of life is something you will never forget.  I’ve heard people say after traveling overseas that you also appreciate living in the United States so much more.  The opportunities and freedom that the United States offers you can’t find anywhere else.  As life changing as it may be, I can just imagine the knowledge she will gain.  Surrounded by a different language in a strange town will either frighten you or deepen your faith.  Depending on the type of person you are an adventure like this is not for the faint hearted.

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What do you Really Want?

Have you ever noticed that there is always a little good in every bad?  And vice versa  you can always find a little bad in every good as well.  The thought crossed my mind today when I was reading about a famous movie star who is struggling with depression.  My first thought of course was what does she have to be depressed about?  The obvious things that depress me she has not a care in the world about.  But then reading further down the article and catching a glimpse of her struggles and personality I recognized something.  I recognized the fact that as humans we really are all alike in many ways.  The same emotions run through all of us and fame and fortune may make certain parts of life easier yet it doesn’t make living any easier.  That was a quote I read by Bruce Springsteen that really hit home.

Since my brain was focused on this topic of success I began reading some quotes on the topic.  One in particular stood out to me which read something along the lines of…..Behind all the fortune and fame there is a deep, dark, emptiness.  I began to see the irony in what our imaginations tell us about the famous and what reality is really like for famous people.  My point is; much of us have been protected from such a life.  Although many believe they have been cheated out of a life of luxury.  Never forget that saying be careful what you wish for you just might get it.