I hope you get well from the Christmas cold soon
Nice pictures of you all. Looks like you all had a good time last night.
Your Christmas dinner looks really good.
I love your new slippers.
We were 14 people celebrating Christmas at my parents house last night. In Norway people open their gifts in the evening on the 24th December and since my niece and nephew was celebrating Christmas with us this year Santa Claus came to visit with gifts for everyone. The children was so tired after dinner at 6pm so we had to call Santa and make him come before we had dessert. After Santa came with one gift for everyone at the party we had dessert and then everyone except me and my dad goes around the Christmas tree singing Carols. My back hurts really bad if I try to go around the Christmas tree so I've stopped doing that many years ago. I sit in the sofa watching everyone else going around the Christmas tree and singing along while my dad plays the piano. My nephew who is 2 years old was so tired by now so he went to bed without opening any Christmas presents. He will open them when he wakes up in the morning.
Afterwards it was time for the rest of the Christmas presents. After all the presents were opened my niece who is 4 years old also went to bed. The rest of us (all grown ups) continued the party with cakes and chatted for a long time. Ulf always celebrate Christmas with my family and this year was no exception. At 10.45pm we went home.
Today everyone is having dinner at my grandmothers house. After today I'm done celebrating Christmas. Ulf and I are as usual invited to my parents house for Christmas Eve. They have the best view of the fireworks.
The stores are closed until Wednesday, but then I have to go to the store and get some groceries and the Christmas sale starts then and I have a few things I need that I didn't bother to go and buy before Christmas because of all the people in the stores. And one of the things I need (two new pillowcases) are on sale so they are even cheaper than they were last week.
Thank you - I am feeling much better... It was honestly a tiny cold and I truly wasn't miserable at all... Just couldn't smell or taste anything.
Thank you Lillian - we had a wonderful Christmas!
It sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas too! I love hearing about your traditions!
Merry Christmas to you and your family. Your Christmas eve dinner looks very good. I like the shirts and hats from Josh's dad.
It sounds like you got a lot of nice presents this year.
Max still doesn't loos thrilled in that picture with V.
I'm going over my daughter's later on for dinner and then coming home to watch the Doctor Who Christmas special.
Enjoy your day
Liz
Thank you - same to you Liz!
Yes - those shirts are very nice... Mine is quite big, but Josh assures me that is the style of them. LOL
I did - we are very fortunate.
LOL - MM is never thrilled when he has to wear a hat and beard. LOL
I hope you enjoyed your Christmas too! Happy New Year!
I love the Christmas shirts!!!
I know, my nieces who are like my own have all started dating, and I am skeptical of every boy they bring home lol. Is anyone ever good enough for our babies though? I am so glad Carson isn't into girls at this time and date lol, that all may change in junior high!!
Awesome gifts all around, I think I am going to start collecting Alex and Ani at WDW, I bought a few for gifts this year and really liked them for myself also lol.
My hubby, bought me a wine cooler, we love wine and live near Ohio Wine Country so we take several trips a year to restock the wine cupboard and I have been asking for a wine cooler, so he bought one, then it got credited back to his account, so he bought it again, then that one got credited back and he didn't get an online confirmation for either, so he went to the store and bought it in person, now we have 3 sitting in my garage
so he is supposed to take 2 back today "hopefully".
Thanks! They were so fun to wear! We also have some from the 4th of July from him from the same company... We have tons of matching shirts between the two of us, and I think 90% of them come from Josh's dad. LOL
Yes - it's definitely a nail biter when they are interested in a new boy... This one seems OK... And bonus, Josh tolerates him. I wouldn't go as far as "like" yet - but tolerate is a good word.
I am pretty social with everyone - so there are few people I don't enjoy. LOL
I love my AnA bracelets... My collection is quite gigantic - there is no way that I can wear them all at the same time anymore, it's just too much on my arm. I am still trying to decide which ones I want to bring down to Disney with me... Probably my Disney ones?
But I just haven't decided yet. You really have to watch them though - some of my very first ones are very tarnished, and it's very difficult to clean them - so they look pretty terrible. I hardly ever wear those for that reason - sadly they are all Disney ones that I paid a fortune for.
Hahahaha! Sounds like me with my winter coats! Hopefully the 2 extra got returned and you are enjoying the one you do have!
Merry Christmas! It looks and sounds like you had a great holiday! My grandmother always made Yorkshire pudding as she is British and it’s something she used to eat all the time when she lived in England. I love Yorkshire pudding but haven’t eaten it since she passed away. I must try to find her recipe in my mom’s recipe box and make it. Our holiday was very nice, too. Today we are doing absolutely nothing and I’m loving every minute of it!
Sorry about your car. That stinks! My car got a nice dent in it, too, a few weeks ago when it was parked in a parking lot. It was definitely hit by something - another car or a cart? I don’t know for sure but no paint came off. I’m trying to decide if I should get it fixed or not. I’d like to fix it since it’s only four years old and we plan on keeping it forever. I just don’t want to pay for it, lol.
Enjoy your time “off” this week. I know I will.
Merry Christmas to you too! I wish I could say if I liked or disliked the Yorkshire puddings... I am going to have to make them again when I can taste them. LOL I hope you find your grandmother's recipe, I wish I had some of the recipes my grandmothers made...
Well... I took my car in this last week to get the belts replaced - just maintenance stuff - and my awesome mechanic got my dent out for me!
I didn't ask, and he didn't charge me for it! There is still the tiniest ding there - but it's barely noticeable. Needless to say, we got him a nice gift for going over the top like that.
I'll have to look at it closer - but I do think I can get away with just leaving it and not having it repaired.
Hopefully your car isn't too expensive to repair.
Thanks! I am - it went by too quickly!
Lovely bracelets you got for Christmas
I'm so glad you like the calendar from my home city (you probably would call it town. We are about 59 000 inhabitants in Tromsø city). It's fun to be able to show you some pictures from Tromsø
Your Toy Story set looks great. I can't wait to see the shirt on you.
I had to go to the grocery store at the mall today to get food that can last until 2nd of January. The stores are open from today until Saturday and then they are closed until the 2nd of January. I was afraid that there would be A LOT of people at the mall since today is the big exchange day at every store. To my surprise it wasn't that bad. I got almost everything I needed at the store. I had forgot to write down what I need to be able to make homemade ice cream and they didn't have the vanilla I need for the ice cream so I will have to go to another store tomorrow. I also had a few things I need at 2 other stores that is located at the mall. I got the pillow cases I wanted and went back home. When I came home a discovered that the pillow cases I bought was too small. Clearly my had wasn't with me when I was at the store buying the pillow cases. I decided to drive back to the store to exchange the pillow cases while they still have the ones on sale left in the store. I was afraid that there would be even more people at the mall now because of the time of the day. To my surprise it wasn't that bad. I was able to exchange the pillows cases to the right size and drove back home again. I was sure that now it had to be a lot of cars on the road, but it wasn't. So it went fast to get back home again.
Today fish is on the menu for dinner. Normally I have fish for dinner 2 times a week, but now because of Christmas it has only been meat on the menu.
Ulf is going to make cured salmon. It takes 3 days until it's finished so I will have that around new year.
Thank you! I'd really like to find either a black bracelet or get a plain silver one for the charms - just so it's more neutral with what I wear most often... I wear a LOT of black/gray/red combos.
I love flipping the calendar over each month! It's so fun to read more about your town!
Thank you - I really love that shirt pattern... I have plans to make a few more shirts from it. I am so excited to wear it in Disney!
Wow! So glad you were able to exchange the pillow cases - twice. Sounds just like something I would do. LOL Glad it wasn't too busy and you were able to get it done.
Mmmmm... That sounds delicious! I love salmon! We haven't had fish in a while - I think maybe we need to have it soon.
Have a happy New Year Lillian!
Hey there Dorine! It has been a crazy few days lately and just got caught up. January is almost here for you!!!
Tyler and Ariece got in very, very late Saturday and we left almost immediately to a late showing of Star Wars. They saw various friends Sunday and went to an early afternoon church service then met us at my SIL house. Usual crazy Christmas Eve at my SIL. Then Monday was our day to open gifts and eat and eat and eat and catch up. It was wonderful. They went home at lunch time Tuesday. I am back at work today and missing them like crazy.
Your Dad looks amazing in your photos. I cannot believe how "adult" your girls look. Its like you know they are adults, but where in the world did that time go? I have seen them really change the last couple of years. They are so beautiful, inside and out. I cannot wait to hear more about Carter.
Your Christmas Eve dinner looked delish. Well done. I love the festive shirts and hats. Your bracelets are so beautiful. Your girls did good.
I have more down time now and I will be anxiously following along. I am loving all of your outfits. Good job on the packing! I am the worst of the worst at over packing.
Sending love and a huge hug.
Right!
I can't believe how quickly our trip is coming!
It sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas - with all of your babies home! Nothing better! I know you miss them so much - as would I.
Yah - Dad looks really good... but Allison and I were talking the other day - and he has changed drastically over these last couple of years.
Time is taking it's toll.
I am so proud of the girls - I maybe shouldn't brag on them as much as I do - but as a mom, my only goal was to raise good human beings - and I feel like I did that.
And they love me, so that's a bonus too.
Thank you - it was truly an amazing Christmas! We all enjoyed ourselves a lot!
Hehehe... I am going to have to rip apart my suitcase again, LOL... I feel like I have too much in there and need to weed it out a bit. Not only that, but I am seriously debating ordering new luggage...
If I do - I need to order it soon, so I can get it in time to repack for our trip.
Sending you big hugs Carol!!! And wishing you a Happy New Year!
I am going to join in on the fun. Looking forward to hearing all about your trip. Pictures aren't downloading tonight for some reason so I can't view all of your lovely Christmas gifts right now but I am sure they are awesome. Love all your bags, have checked them out on FB. I still love my Toy Story bag I purchased from you, I carry it with me to all places. One of my favorites.
Welcome! My apologies that I am unsure of who you are? LOL I am so terrible with piecing Dis names to real names.
But welcome just the same - it's great to have you here!
Hopefully the rest of the pictures show up soon.
Thank you - I am glad you are enjoying it!
Wishing you a Happy New Year!
The airbag saved him from getting injured. And since it was mostly a head on collision, the airbag cushioned it well. Thank God for airbags!
That's a good way to turn lemons into lemonade. Your dinner looks like it was delicious
Those shirts are great. Now you have a new Christmas tradition - crazy Hawaiian shirts.
Those slippers are really cute.
We had a lovely Christmas with most of the family. It is always nice to have everyone together.
Now you have something to shop for in Disney.
That shirt is adorable. I would love to see you wearing it.
Yes! Definitely thankful for airbags! I have a recall out on mine right now - and according to the letter I received the other day - they are "working on a fix" and will notify me when they can fix it... Until then, I am not supposed to let anyone ride in my passenger seat - if the airbag deploys, schards of metal come flying out with the airbag, causing great injury or death.
LOL - I tend to be a "glass half full" girl - which annoys my family sometimes.
Hehehe... They are fun! I think mine is a bit big on me, but Josh assures me that it's supposed to be that way. I love them though and they are unique and festive.
Hahhaa... Still wearing the slippers! I love them so much!
So happy to hear that you had a nice Christmas! Did you have to travel at all?
LOL - I have a LOT I can shop for in Disney... Too much sometimes. LOL
Thanks! I don't think we are meeting up that day? Though it was an option... I'll definitely have pictures of me wearing it though.
Wishing you a Happy New Year Sue!
I haven't commented in a while but I do check in every day. Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas! So nice your Dad was close by this year. We moved my mom here over 4 years ago. Yesterday I drove to her town to close out a bank account and realized how very tedious that drive was. So glad that's behind me! We had a great Christmas and so enjoyed our 1 year old grandson. He sure livens up our house! Your trip is coming up fast! We were there Dec. 2-9 and it was wonderful. Great weather, crowds more than I would have liked but very manageable. I will be anxious to read about your girls trip!
Hi! Glad to see you here and posting!
We did - thank you - it was so nice to have Dad here with us!
Oh yah - I can only imagine. I honestly haven't been back to Dad's old town since we moved him here - it's so nice to not have to do that drive anymore!
Though I do need to go there soon to have some repair work done at my jeweler.
My wedding ring keeps snagging things - so I think one of my prongs may be damaged.
So happy to hear that you had a great Christmas! I bet that having your grandson there was just icing on the cake! I can only imagine how fun it must have been for you!
I am hoping for great weather for our trip too... Believe me - I have lots of warm clothes packed. If it's nice out while we are there, I may be in trouble - or wearing the same 3 outfits for the whole trip. LOL
Wishing you a Happy New Year Rene!
I love the Santa shirts. I have to find them for next year! I like your toy story top. I have one or two dresses that I love that I wish I had in a bunch of colors and have always toyed with making my own . ahhh new years resolutions to be craftier?
Enjoy the new year and stay warm. We are single digits here for a few more days but not as cold as I saw the upper midwest was. Just think how warm the Florida sun will feel after that! Work has been swamped and home is equally crazy so I haven't stayed caught up. Safe travels if I don't get back here before you trip.
Thanks! I believe he ordered them from the Aloha Shirt Company - or something very similar to that. I know there is Aloha and Shirt in the name.
Thanks! I am so excited to wear it on our trip - and the fact that it actually looks nice AND flattering on me is a true bonus!
You should try it! I am having so much fun making a few things for myself these days - it's not often that I get to and it really helps keep me creative.
That is a great New Years resolution!
It is very cold here right now... To the point in winter where it's just SO COLD that you can't even be cold anymore. LOL I will say that my long black EB parka is getting a lot of use right now - and I LOVE it so much!
I am sure hoping that Florida is warmer while we are there.
Thank you! Happy New Year to you!
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So... I plan to do a trip update today as well for one of our days off... But let me update you on our last few days first...
Anything trip related, I tried to BOLD, so it's easier to read/find, if you don't want to read all of the other chatter.
Ok - so this week has been a little crazy! I thought, for sure, with both girls out of school and no such thing as "Christmas break" anymore - that this would be the last year I take a "Christmas break" for myself... Let's just say - I am so glad I did.
With Christmas itself being on Monday - I lost that day to the holiday.
Tuesday - I couldn't even tell you what I did, LOL... I was so exhausted from Christmas activities and getting Dad situated - I think I just did nothing.
Wednesday - I worked a really early and odd shift at Target. I am almost certain that this was my last shift there, due to all of the vacation time I had to use/lose - so I used it.
Pretty sad, our store is looking very bare... Though none of it is walled off yet - it will happen very soon, as we don't have enough product to fill the entire space anymore.
Wednesday night - Carter came for dinner... V made spaghetti... He is a very nice boy and Josh seemed to be OK with him. This is good... I wouldn't go as far to say that he "liked" him - but tolerate is a good word.
Let's just say - it could be MUCH worse.
Thursday was a big day - so this one will be long - all 3 of us girls had the day off - it was wonderful! It rarely happens.
We hit Target first and purchased all of our Disney GCs that we needed for dining for our trip. So, that is done. All we have left to "pay off" is our resort (at check in), baggage fees and town car. Then we decided to go to the MOA to do a few exchanges... Roads were terrible and we saw many, many accidents on our way there - which made Allison and I VERY nervous... My car was still in the shop (routine maintenance) - so V was driving, and she didn't have much experience in her car yet. Let's just say that Allison and I each let out a few startled noises. LOL But we made it, and it was so BUSY! Let's see... We hit the Alex and Ani store - Where V purchased the matching Star bracelet to my Moon bracelet she gave me for Christmas... She also got the 9 3/4 Harry Potter bracelet... Her collection is starting to look much like mine. LOL
From AnA, we planned to go to Pandora to exchange my too big bracelet - but they were closed... Lights off, doors locked! We assumed it was the weather - someone couldn't make it in. So, we went to The
Disney Store, where I exchanged the two shirts I purchased for V and I - they ran really small. I was happy that they had the exact same ones still - as I had purchased them back during Halloween time frame. Then we hit Box Lunch... And this is where it gets interesting... Allison found this sweater (now that I found it online, it appears to be a men's sweater - but I am not going to tell her that, as it looks really cute on her)...
http://www.boxlunch.com/product/harry-potter-potions-cardigan/10953313.html
Which in turn prompted the girls to decide to take a side trip to Universal while we are in Florida. Yes, FYI, a sweater CAN make a trip happen. LOL So, the girls are taking one of our days off to go to Universal and do Harry Potter... While they are doing that - I will be meeting Cindy to spend the day with her. I WAS going to go with them to US, but... Read below...
After Box Lunch - we hit the Apple store so Allison could get a replacement "dongle" for her Iphone. We went back to Pandora to see if they were open, but they were still closed. So we left the mall - it was so crazy!
Then we drove to another mall... I literally ran in, returned the too small Columbia fleece jacket Josh got me for Christmas (the replacement was already ordered and on it's way), and we left immediately. Both girls stayed in the car.
We stopped at Chipotle for lunch... Then we drove to my mechanic to get my car, because it was ready. I just love our mechanic - I know I've said this before... but we pulled up, my car was parked outside... no dent!
Like literally - I walked up to my car and REALLY LOOKED at it - I could see the scarcest of dings - but the dent itself was gone! He takes such great care of us. We walked into the shop, and he was on the phone, so all 3 of us stood there with smiles... he told the person on the phone "I've gotta go - I swear I am looking at triplets that just walked into the shop" LOL... he cracks me up! Anyways... Not only did I get all new belts on my car - but he fixed my dent - no charge for that part. Just an awesome guy! I went back the next morning and dropped off their Christmas gift, which I didn't have with me then... We decided weeks ago - since they really do take such great care of our cars, we would get them a GC to their favorite restaurant. I was so happy to be able to do that for them - they work hard and take very little time off.
Phew - finally we were home.
Sitting on the couch - I was bored... So, I started looking at airfare. Shame on me. And I started to formulate a plan...
Friday morning, I sent Suzi a message... I knew she was going to be in Florida in February to visit her parents... I sort of imposed on their family trip and asked if I could come down for a few days. I haven't seen Suzi (Mo or Ariana either) since November 2015... 2+ years. It's time. She asked her parents if I could come down and they graciously "invited" me... So, yesterday morning - I booked myself a flight to Florida in February (NOT Orlando, or anywhere near) - with Josh's blessing (he said I could have gone to Maine too, and he would have been more than OK with that, but who wants to go to Maine in Feb???)... I used some of my Christmas $$ to pay for the flight. And Josh gave me permission to use some of my severance pay from Target to pay for the trip itself, when the time comes. Therefore... The girls are going to Universal Studios by themselves and I get to go see a dear friend!
All of this happened before 8am Friday morning. LOL
So, then I went grocery shopping... I visited Dad, and I visited Allison on her lunch hour at work... I came home and unloaded...
Shortly after - V and I got a text from Allison... She has been waiting for a LONG time for confirmation on this one... If her vacation time wouldn't have been approved for our trip, she would have had to find replacements or call in for the entire thing - which she didn't want to do.
So, not only did she get it off - but this is her first official PAID vacation. Super proud of this girl!
Today - I have no plans... It's VERY COLD here - our forecast says "bitterly cold"... I may run into town - as I forgot one thing on my list from yesterday, but I may wait until tomorrow too???
We'll see?
I've been doing great with my eating since Christmas... I indulged a little bit during that time - but I tried VERY hard to limit it to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - and even then, it was just a few crackers and trifle.
I feel like I did very good over the holiday - I don't feel like I gained, but I don't feel like I lost either. I have not weighed. Any bloat that I had resulting from that, is gone.... I have a trip to look good for approaching quickly - so that is good motivation.
And another trip after that now - which has more swimsuit potential than the first. LOL
Looking ahead... I am back to work upstairs on Monday.
I am going to start to work on some side projects too - maybe get a start on some of that for spring? I wasn't planning to start so early - but I am losing a little time with that 2nd Florida trip.
I will be working on re-packing my suitcase again... Still looking at getting new luggage? I now have 3 trips this year, for sure. We'll see?
I will be doing one "Day off" update this morning... Those are pretty boring, but it keeps this PTR on point.
Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year!!! Be safe out there!
D~