New Years Eve

Thank you, Darla!

One of my friends just sent me this video. I love it! It says Cynthia instead of Cyndi because we used to be co-workers and I'm always Cynthia at work--not to sound more professional or anything but because I like it and that's the only place I get called it.

Can I keep him?

While we were running errands earlier today, Kim & I stopped at a garden store. We found this little guy and fell in love! Ain't he cute? All temptation to take him home quickly dissipated when we learned that he would be about 200 pounds! I mean, I can find a more useful 200-pound pig. ;)

Julianne is becoming famous for her potatoes!

2008

in review. This is FUNNY!

Who needs a therapist?

A friend made this list at Ravelry. I thought it was cool so I stole it. I have never been to therapy but I'll have to disagree with #1. I think you could do that but it's probably counter-productive.

Top Ten Reasons Knitting is Better than Therapy:

10.) Yarn doesn’t nod and ask you how you feel about that.
9.) You don’t have to work through your issues.. you can just poke things with pointy sticks
8.) You can get more than one hour of yarn therapy for that $350
7.) You don’t blame your mother for all of your knitting mistakes
6.) It is perfectly acceptable to conduct your yarn therapy at Starbucks.. psychotherapy, not so much
5.) The only shock therapy you endure is with wool, metal needles, and a fast hand
4.) The only chemicals you put into your body are tea , coffee , martinis, or chocolate.. and you can take them DURING therapy
3.) Your insurance premiums won’t increase
2.) You can enjoy yarn therapy on vacation; in your jammies; in bed; on the train/bus/subway; in the park; or at work (secretly).

AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON KNITTING IS BETTER THAN THERAPY IS…..

1.) You can’t fondle your therapist.

Leave the guns. Take the cannoli.

We're having a mobster marathon today--all three Godfathers and Goodfellas. I can't seem to convince anyone else that we should be eating pasta. Or even pizza. Don't know about the quality of pizza in North Carolina but I would eat it. Maybe I should've cooked?


On our way here last Sunday Kim got a call from her vet telling her that her dog, Lady, has lung cancer. We have been trying to keep her comfortable as much as possible through the weekend. She died tonight in the car on the way to the emergency pet clinic. Poor baby.

New books!

YAY!!! Kim, John, Julianne, & I went to the mall this afternoon to hit the clearance racks. As I had little cash to spend and was in a crappy mood anyway (stress is piling up on me and J's dad somehow made it even worse today--how can he have a good Christmas without ALL of his kids?) I really didn't want to shop. I thought we were just going out for lunch. I looked until I finally found a bookstore. Barnes & Noble has some classic paperbacks on sale buy 2/get 1 free. Heaven! I got Wuthering Heights, Anna Karenina, and one book with a few Henry James stories in it for $15-something. I've been wanting to read Henry James for awhile. I got a drink and parked myself on a bench to wait for the others while I started Wuthering Heights. It's not gripping me so far but I'm going to finish it this weekend. I wish I could go buy more. I love books!

Our Christmas Day

We had a good Christmas. It's the first one that I've spent with my dad since 5th grade. That was nice! Everyone made a pretty good haul. I felt so guilty because I couldn't get Julianne as much as I wanted to and I only got anyone else one thing each. Maybe I can make up for it next year? J did get a ton of clothes. Good thing because the poor girl just did not have a thing to wear (lol). I got Kim & John their matching jammy bottoms. They opened them Christmas Eve when J opened her new ones. I got a lot of stuff! I think my favorite is my Smoothie Splash. My blender is broken and I miss making smoothies. I love to throw a bunch of fruit, (fresh and frozen), the filling of a green tea bag, and yogurt in there and mix them up. I always feel like I'm doing something really healthy and it tastes so good. I'm excited about my smoothie maker. It's red, too! Perfect! Linda, my step-mom, makes gorgeous jewelry. LOVE it! I have a ton of other stuff and it's too much to list but there are several dark chocolate items in there and some beautiful ornaments and soup mixes and much more! Lunch was great. John made a big prime rib and asparagus for me. He's a great cook.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!!!

Stole these

from one of Julianne's friends on Facebook. I laughed my heinie off when I saw them!

Can't believe it's Christmas Eve!

Didn't we just have one of these?!!!

Kim & John with Lady, Snoopy, Champ, Cisco, & Sugar

We're all in new jammies watching My Cousin Vinnie.

Done shopping!

It's a very lean Christmas for us. Unemployment is still held up. Today my dad & step-mom, Linda, picked Julianne, Abby, & me up. Daddy took Abby home with him & Kira to play after dropping J, Linda, and me off at the mall. We three had a lot of fun! I had forgotten how much fun Linda is to shop with! I got all of Julianne's stuff bought and something for Daddy, Linda, Kim, & John--small things for them! I wish I could've done more but I'm happy with the things I bought. Abby had a lot of fun with her grandpa! He was excited to take her home to play with Kira but Abby was much more interested in him. She's not a dog person.

Julianne's metal hair

I'm a dork.

We're in North Carolina for Christmas

Julianne, Abby, & I came home with my sister, Kim, and her husband, John, to High Point, North Carolina for Christmas. I was having a very hard time getting into the spirit anyway (getting really depressed about being unemployed and not having shopping money as something is holding up my Unemployment payments) and our decorations weren't going up very quickly! When we made the decision to come here I just stuck them back in the closet. It's about 20 degrees warmer here than it is in St. Louis. We've relaxed today. John made a big breakfast that was yummy but he outdid it for dinner. He made shrimp, crab legs, and bacon-wrapped scallops. These are some pictures I've taken.

JuJu & Cisco

Abby & me

Real nice pic. lol

Christmas

This i our extended family Christmas family shindig last Sunday. We did it at the community room at my mom's apartment building. It was fun! The old folks thought it was real cute to make these shirts for my generation. It really was pretty funny. We girls thought they were funnier on our heinies--prompting some to wonder aloud exactly what Jeannie put in those brownies! Aubrey took home my teeny hat. She wore it on her finger. Someone drew a smiley face on her finger. It was cute!

Ed serving up Jeannie's brownies.

FUN!

My mom has these fun paper glasses (sort of like 3-D glasses) that make your Christmas tree lights look like santas and snowmen. We discovered that we could take pictures through them. One shows the snowmen real well but the camera was sideways. We were bored. Sue us.

My 15-Minute Hat

It's too tiny for even Barbie. Julianne & I are at my mom's for the weekend (to help her cook for our extended family Christmas get-together) and I want to make ornaments. I think this is too small to put on the tree. It's keeping my needles warm. I'm on Julianne's laptop and can't crop or edit the pictures so they could be much better.

A very worthy cause

I copy/pasted this from Wake Up America:

Postage Needed for Packages for our Troops

Cross-posted by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Bob Williams
OurTroopsOnline

Bloggers, please feel free to cross-post

Bob Williams in Wesley Chapel, Florida sends 215 packages weekly to the military in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar and Kyrgyzstan - EVERY WEEK OF THE YEAR - 215 packages stuffed with necessities and comfort items for our men an women in uniform, fighting the War on Terror.

According to Stars and Stripes, Mr. Williams served in the Navy in the 1960's. His sons now handle the family businesses, while he works for the troops, preparing the boxes destined for approximately 200 combat-zone bases.

The short story is that donations are needed to cover the postage. Mr. Williams and OurTroopsOnline.com spends approximately $8,000.00 a week in postage, from $20.00 to $45.00 per package, depending on the contents. He always has packages ready to mail, but often lacks the necessary postage.


Much of what Williams sends are donations: baseball bats and gloves, games of all kinds, grips to put on the soles of boot, unending supplies of popcorn, and items for children in hospitals and orphanages - which the troops use to help gain the trust of the locals. All the usual foods and toiletries are either donated or purchased

He receives thousands of email requests from troops and their families and friends, and much of those requests are paid for from his own pocket. Items like Q-tips, batteries, shampoo, feminine and personal hygiene items, and deodorant are constant requests. Williams will not say how much he personally spends but the website says it is significant.

Camouflage scarves are inscribed with messages to the troops by Florida school children and church groups. "The scarves are good for keeping dust and sand out of your nose and mouth," says Williams.

There are no expenses for this volunteer group. No one gets paid, there's no rent for a warehouse, no office space rent, and while I made two telephone calls to OurTroopsOnline to verify this information (a human actually answered both times - no option for a choice of language preference, and no need to leave a message), no one gets paid to answer the telephone - everyone is a volunteer.

OurTroopsOnline accepts cash or checks for postage. Make your check payable as follows:

Postmaster
P.O. Box 7560
Wesley Chapel, FL 33545

If you live in the area and want to donate items for the boxes, call 813-991-9400 for a delivery address or contact Mr. Williams by email at sift@aol.com. If you are a business and have items the troops need or will enjoy, and can contribute once or on an ongoing basis, please contact Mr. Williams.


This is a year-round operation - it doesn't end in December. Put these people on your donation list throughout the year and know you are doing your part to make life a little more comfortable for our military in these combat zones.