Merry (day after) Christmas!!

Hey all,

Hopefully you had a wonderful Christmas out there!! Tyler and I opened gifts around 10:30am. I had the corn casserole almost all cooked by then and then shortly after, I put the ham in the oven. Tyler doesn't eat ham, so he ate the corn casserole, cranberries and rolls. He also made himself a quesadilla and then had seconds of the corn stuff. He's vegetarian these days and has been for about 3 years. We ate about 1. After we ate, I decided to go ahead and put all the Christmas stuff away. We couldn't enjoy the lights I had put up cuz the breaker would keep flicking off, if we had the tv on, so we stopped plugging in the tree and lights. While I did all that stuff in the living room (dusting and moving things around and vacuuming), Tyler cleaned his room, did laundry AND cleaned up the spare room (his old room). So, here we are...on Christmas...cleaning away together! I thought it was funny and cute! We had an awesome day! In the evening, I watched football and Tyler left and went and spent the evening with his girlfriend, Sydney. She came back from ABQ last night so he wanted to go see her.

Today, I got up a little early and had to make a couple of phone calls and then got ready to go workout. I went uptown and stopped at Smith's for a few groceries and then headed over to the gym to workout. It was really busy, so I did my run and then left. Went home and got in the shower and got ready to drive to Santa Fe. Tyler got home about 12:30 and then he got ready and went along with me!! He had gotten a sweatshirt for Christmas and wanted to exchange it and I had a few items to purchase! We made it a real quick trip and then stopped at Taco Bell and got food for the drive home. It was REALLY nice that he went along. We got some good time together this weekend and chatted. :)

Here is my list of Christmas items I received this year!!

Body lotion and hair gel, Peanuts Thanksgiving movie, couple of Packer items (toothbrush and sticker and title towel), Skullcandy headphones for working out, $350 cash, nut assortment, Eton/American Red Cross radio, Farberware kitchen knife set, stuffed puppy and sterling silver necklace (Kalyn and Sasha), wax burning pot, movie gift cards (totaling $60), Olive garden gc ($50), stuffed Christmas moose, sweatshirt, scarf, kitchen towels, Christmas towel and tweezers, calendar, mug with goodies inside and 2-$25 giftcards with which I purchased a new digital camera!! Got a lot of nice items and I'm very thankful!!

I also am attaching a new pic of the Rav that I took today. I had sent it to Gram so she could see my new car!

That's all I've got!! My fantasy team is in the running for 3rd place and I think I may have gotten it. So I did pretty well for my first year of Fantasy Football, I think. There were 10 of us playing so coming in 3rd, isn't bad!! Until next time...

More Snow!!

Hey all,

The past 3 Monday's, we have had a significant amount of snow fall upon us! Been kind of nice, I must say! We got to close the bank early today and head for home due to weather. I have been shoveling ever since I got home! Good exercise though! Here are a few pics to enjoy! The Rav did great in the snow too! I'm off from the gym, but they needed someone to cover from 6-7, so I might do that. The girl working from 7-10 has another job, but the event that is going on may get cancelled, so in that case, she would show up at 6. I may lay down now after all my hard work!

Until next time....

It's a brand...new....car!!!

Hey all,

I got my new car on Thursday evening!!! It's a 2011 Toyota Rav4!! I absolutely, positively love it!! They delivered it on a trailer so they didn't even drive it here, which I thought was really nice. Saves on the mileage for the vehicle. Then, the guy loaded up my Jeep on said trailer, and away it went. I sure will miss the Jeep, but it sure was beginning to have issues!!

I got insurance right away for the Ravy and then scheduled an appointment at "The Tint Shop" in Santa Fe, which was today, to have the windows tinted. The tint sure helps in the summer when it is hot outside! I also had them put a strip across the front windshield and boy all that tinting makes it look a lot different!!

I got really emotional thinking of how tough the past two years have been for me...the kids getting older, filing bankruptcy, the divorce, kids leaving, kids coming back...and I realized how very lucky I am and how much I deserve this new vehicle. It makes the past two years all worth it. All the hard work and persistance paid off!! I'm slowly rebuilding my credit and for it to be so good as it is to get pre-approved for the loan, is just amazing! I ended up going with Chase Bank, as they gave me a much lower interest rate than Zia was going to, with no cash down! I thank God for all of this because He is the one that makes it possible! :)

I've gone on a few dates with a very nice guy. He's 10 years younger than I am, but super guy...a little quiet...but super!! I can't really say a whole lot on here about it cuz he works for the bank, but in the Santa Fe office. I think its actually forbidden we date, so we have to keep it quiet. We've seen each other about 3 times now and it's been fun! I've known him for like 7 years or more. So, that is my news on that!

Kalyn will be alone at Xmas time at her Aunt and Uncles house so she got herself a small little tree and decorations and then I sent her those stockings so she has a cute little section of her room displaying her Xmas items! She mailed out a package to me and Ty and then a separate one for her Dad and Stephanie, with Xmas gifts, all by herself! I'm so proud of her for doing all this stuff on her own.

Tyler drove to Santa Fe a little bit ago...he is up for renewal on his cell phone, so he took his Xmas money that I gave him and is buying himself a new phone. He needs to buy himself some clothes and then he needs his car fixed, so those are his next items on his agenda! He's doing really well.

We had some good snow this past week and more to come this week! Work will be a short one this week. I work at the bank Mon -Friday, but we close at noon on Friday and the gym on Wednesday evening and then Saturday 1-5. Will be nice this weekend to be off a lot and then we have Monday the 26th off too. I'll have to take down my Xmas decorations at that time, I suppose! Good time to do that kind of stuff, I think.

I cleaned for the Courtright's on Thursday evening and then I go back tomorrow to finish up. She has company coming for Xmas so she wants it all looking good! I want to just get it done, so I offered to go over on Sunday, my day off, to finish it up. If I go during the week, then that forfeits a workout session at the gym, which I hate missing! I'm sure she will give me my Xmas bonus too, so that will be nice. Sunday evening, Catrina and I are going to go to the movie "New Year's Eve"! Should be fun! Been seeing a lot of movies lately and I love it!!

Well, have a great week!! Merry Christmas!! :) Until next time...

Stockings...

Hey all,

Here is a pic of the stockings I sent Kalyn and Sasha. I mailed the box out today, so she can enjoy them hanging in her room with plenty of time til Christmas! LOL I am convinced THAT was my last box I am mailing for the season....I hope! I'm pretty much done with shopping now. Maybe pick up a couple of small gifts, but that is it...I'm finished! AND, I have finished passing out all my baked goods too. I believe about 16 people got to enjoy the goodies!

Nicole, my loan chick over at Zia Credit Union, is working on my loan for me!! She said I will need 10% down, but my trade in should help, so I'm getting closer to my goal! Very excited! Buddy and Beth are helping me find a car. If I can't get a loan big enough for a small SUV type vehicle, I will have to go with a front wheel drive car. That's ok, as long as I get something reliable with no alterations, I'll be joyful! :)

Heading to work and it's snowing!!! Until next time...

Jeep and other items of interest.....

Hey all,

Hope this finds you all well and happy out there!! Remember how I said I would scream if anything else broke in my life?? Well....I didn't scream, but I seriously thought about screaming and here's why....

My Jeep was fixed in November...it was the 1/2 shaft problem that I told you all about. Well, now it started making a knocking noise in that same area but only as I would go uphill or accelerate. It would make the noise whether i was in 4 wheel-drive or not. I had Brian look at it again and he heard the noise and said he would replace the 1/2 shaft again in case that part was defective, but if THAT didn't work, it would be the drive shaft, which could cost a very pretty penny to replace. Well, I was just hoping and praying (alot of praying) that it was just the 1/2 shaft and nothing else. All of this is due to the lift that Shane put on the Jeep about 5 years ago. The Jeep is really not meant to be lifted so the parts are suffering under there! lol Brian finally got to changing out the shaft yesterday and said he looked at the drive shaft and it "looked" fine, which is good, but still worrisome...if anything else happens, I won't be able to afford to fix it, so I decided to trade it in!! I've got some friends helping me look for a smaller SUV type vehicle. These friends would be Beth and Buddy that own an auto shop and also sell cars out of Alamogordo, NM for a family member. They always have cars up here for sale and Reuben actually bought his Honda from them. I will keep you posted on that!! I'm hoping to have a new vehicle by the new year!!

Kalyn quit her Spencer's job at the Roseville mall and then got a promotion and raise at her job at Piercing Pagoda!! She is so excited and happy about this promotion and she will be working ALOT from what she tells me. She's kind of a manager figure now. Very proud of her! She turns 19 tomorrow!!! My baby girl!!! LOL

Tyler is doing well. Keeps plugging away at work and playing his guitar and going to practices, etc. His girlfriend Sydney is real nice. She comes over alot and they watch tv or play PS2 in the living room. Whenever I'm home, I usually hang out in the kitchen/my bedroom area so I don't disturb them! I quite enjoy having him around!

So, my computer (HP) that I bought a little over a year ago from Cliff, broke a week ago on Friday night!! LOL....I called Cliff right away and he had me drop it off to him and also my Dell computer that I had in my closet! He said the HP, motherboard, went out and was angry with me that I had this "very nice" Dell, hiding in my closet!!! So, he hooked me up big time and fixed the Dell and now I'm back in business again. He said the Dell should be just fine for a long time to come. He saved my pics and music too, so he is a godsend and only charged me $75! I gave him a $100 cuz he saved my life! lol Then, our computer modem has been acting up and I even had the Qwest guy come over and he said all the internet lines work just fine so it was my modem that I bought at Radio Shack that was broke. So, I took it back and exchanged it for another modem (same one) and it worked for a bit, but internet kept going up and down, up and down..ugh...I was frustrated, Tyler was frustrated...so finally...the other day we hooked up the free modem that the Qwest guy gave me (he's my neighbor and felt bad I was having issues...didn't charge me for the home visit either!!) and oh....my....goodness....the internet works soooo fast, and efficient and almost faster than we can handle!! Now why did I let that modem sit around for two weeks??? I have no idea...scared that it might actually work??? LOL so, now our internet is back to normal! I took the modem back to Radio Shack and the owner gave me store credit, but I know what I'm gonna buy with it...its that new radio thing for emergencies that has a USB charger, radio, flashlight stuff on it..made my the Red Cross or something?? But its a cool thing to have when the power goes out, which it does a lot here!! I'm excited to go buy it!!

Catrina and I went and saw the movie "Tower Heist" the other night. It was really good!! Then, last night, right after work, we drove down to Santa Fe for dinner and then to finish our Xmas shopping. We hit good, good deals at Kohl's and then Target and our final stop was Best Buy so she could buy a new, huge tv! She got a 46" for $750. Its a Samsung and very nice! We closed down Best Buy and went racing back and forth between there and Target to get the best deal! Quite hilarious, to be honest! We had a great time..got home about 11:30 pm, then I stayed up wrapping gifts and such. I got stocking stuffers for me, Ty and K. I got K and Sasha matching stockings and will send that box up to her here soon. I wrapped all her little stocking stuffers to she has stuff to open. I may post a pic. I got Sasha a toy and treats to put in her stocking! I'm such a good "grandma"! lol K will be alone as Dave and Heidi go to her parents house for Xmas, so I figure I better send a little love from home to her! I've sent her like 3 boxes in the past couple weeks too! I was gonna send K her stocking I have here at the house, but figured it would be better if her and Sasha had matching ones there in MN. They are huge and long. Kalyn's has a "K" and Sasha's has an "S" on the front of the stocking!

I mailed about 6-7 boxes total then of cookies and gifts to people! I think this is the most ever, that I have shipped! I truly enjoyed it all though. I love the baking and then sending the finished products for people to try! I almost had a fight here in the gym over my cookies!! Chuck, my friend, told me "thank you for the cookies, they were delicious", right in front of my other friend, Manny. Manny got all hurt and thought I "gave away HIS cookies" to Chuck! I said "no, I've got your cookies at my house still", well he was all hurt and teasing me that I "gave away his cookies"! ohman...boys!!! :)

Jobs are going well! I've been working 3 days a week at the gym again and not hardly cleaning for the Courtrights lately as Mr. C is in a rehab in ABQ now. Mrs. C has been keeping the house clean as she is hardly there now. She's gonna use me before Xmas, I'm sure. Bank is doing really well and we are having our Xmas dinner on the 22nd at DeColores! Catrina is gonna be my date as neither of us have boyfriends right now! Catrina got hired at the gym now too, so we both have two jobs, at the same places! She's a good friend. We also go to the same church so we get to see each other a lot! Our football teams play each other tomorrow, so there is a bit of rivalry going on!

I had an awesome massage today with a new lady, and it was really really good, so I plan to go back to her!

Well, i will end this now. Until next time.... :)

Christmas Time!!

Hey all,

Hope you are all well out there!! I'm working at the gym tonight, so that gives me a chance to get on here and type away!!

I'm excited about the holidays this time of year. Everyone seems to be in better moods and out and about and all in a holiday spirit!! I've got all my baking done, except for some regular sugar cookies that Tyler has requested, and all of my shopping done except for two people, Tj and Diana! I always have the toughest time trying to figure out what to get them. I'm also sending them some baked goods in their box, so they should enjoy that! I'm very glad to be done with everything, so that I can relax and watch everyone else scurry around!! Catrina and I are going down to Santa Fe next Friday night, to finish up shopping and have dinner. Should be a good time! So, I have mailed out 4 boxes and about 70-80 Christmas cards. I didn't think I was gonna do that many, but I did. I figure this is the one time of year where you should hear from everyone. With the technology we have these days, most people don't even do cards or pictures anymore. I enjoy it :)

Tyler is enjoying his new guitar and writing songs! He also keeps working away at the Coffee Booth.

Kalyn went to Wisconsin this past week since she had off from both jobs. I hear she had a great time and today she went back to work. I sent her a package with cookies, a couple small gift items for her birthday, birthday card and then a toy gingerbread man stuffie for Sasha to play with. Kalyn really appreciated her package from home!

My friend Sharon spoils me..she brought me cookies here at the gym a couple weeks back and now tonight she brought me brownies!! Not that I need em, but they were delicious!! My friend Carrie and I are going to see the movie "The Muppets" on Sunday! Should be fun. Catrina and I saw "Breaking Dawn" and then Sharon and I saw a movie a few weeks back too. It's fun to have friends!! :)

Well, I better get going. Have a good weekend!! Until next time....