Knitting for the holidays

In August, my hubby and I trekked to the Knit Picks Warehouse Sale in Columbus, Ohio and bought all kinds of yarns in small amounts. There's enough yarn to make hats, scarves and mitts/gloves. (I prefer fingerless for driving and working)

Since we have the yarn, I've been working ahead this year and have been knitting holiday gifts for my family and friends. I'm trying to make enough quick knits so I can give one to each of my female relatives this Christmas. So far I have 4 or 5 done.  I need to make at least 15 for my friends & relatives and a few gifts for my kids. I'll just keep on knitting and hope to have enough by Christmas.

After I get a few more done, I'll post pictures.

"...And in the end... The love you take is equal to the love you make." ---The Beatles

Thanks for reading my Heavenly Thoughts

O Holy Night!

Our blessed Lord and Savior was born on the holiest night of all! It's so wonderful to remember this event, even if it wasn't "exactly" on 12/25. It's the symbolism and the tradition of what Christmas really means. The Christ child born to teach, lead and then sacrifice his humanity for our souls. Thank you Holy God!!

As we embark on this, the holiest holiday, I pray for peace, love and joy in all of your lives. I hope your celebrations are the most wonderful this year of all! Family & Friends are the MOST important part of this holiday, presents are just a nice addition. Of course, don't tell the kids that, they'll think you're nuts!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

"...And in the end
The love you take
is equal to the love you make."
---The Beatles

Thanks for reading my Heavenly Thoughts

Final Prep for Christmas

After work today, I'm going to start my final food preparation for Christmas Eve dinner. We have a Honey Baked Ham and a Honey Baked Turkey Breast (1st time for the turkey). Having both mashed & sweet potatoes, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, salad, applesauce, hawaiian rolls and carrot cake for dessert. Plus, some treats to snack on.

I'm making my grandmother's recipe for ham salad and will be gifting some of it to my friends. It's always a big hit and I haven't made it in 4 years! Hope I don't forget how!! (see yesterday's post about my memory - hehe!)

Making the dressing for the big family gathering on Christmas day. Will do the prep for it tomorrow, while I'm baking my cake.

Everything else is done - maybe a little swiffer action through the house to clean up!! I'm really looking forward to Christmas eve, Christmas day and even the day after, having another couple over for dinner to celebrate the season.

In case I don't write again, Merry Christmas to everyone!!

"...And in the end
The love you take
is equal to the love you make."
---The Beatles

Thanks for reading my Heavenly Thoughts

Merry Christmas to All!

Merry Christmas!!

A couple of weeks back, we attended my company Christmas party. I have to say, besides being totally elegant, it was one of the best Christmas parties I've been to. I had a chance to chit-chat with lots of folks and sing songs and we even danced!! Lovely!  

I think the preparation we well worth it too! We bought new dressy clothes, had fun with the hairdo and showing off our new duds! Thanks for the fun night!! 

We are a good couple, a partnership through and through!! I love you honey! 

"...And in the end
The love you take
is equal to the love you make."
---The Beatles

Thanks for reading my Heavenly Thoughts

The Year In Review

We've been living back in Cincinnati for a year now. Bought our house on 12/19, moved in the same day!! What a wonderful year it's been.

Jake and Michelle lived with us for about 7 months. In September, they moved to Kansas City, MO. They love it!! I'm so glad they are happy. Michelle is pregnant and expecting in March. Even more exciting!! A Grandchild in March! Awesome!

Tamara stayed behind in San Diego. It was hard to leave her, but I knew she loved living in San Diego so much, so off we went. She got a couple of roommates, has had a wonderful year working, hanging out with her friends and even fell in love. Her boyfriend is a really nice guy, is in the Navy and this last October was transferred to Rota, Spain. They have been missing each other so much that she is planning a trip to Spain in February! Maybe wedding bells are in her future.....!!

Beka moved back to Cincinnati 3 months before us. She ended up living with her dad, then her oldest brother and today is apartment hunting, ready to live on her own. She has taken some time off from school - but has had a year of growing, learning and experiencing life as a 21 year old. 

During the year, of course we've had Snicker living with us, direct from California. But later this year, we adopted Charlie. Charlie is a dachshund and has fit in really well in our family. So now, it's just the 2 of us and the 2 dogs living here.

We've thoroughly enjoyed the yard, our nice lifestyle, quiet and peaceful. We started going to Loveland United Methodist Church in October. His sister and brother-in-law attend church there, so we thought we'd give it a try. Well, turns out we really like it. We've volunteered to help out at the Turkey Dinner, bake sale, attended the Living Nativity, which I highly recommend to everyone to see. I'm going to help with the video equipment during one of the services and he's going to start playing in the Praise Band. I'm very proud of him and happy that he likes it so much.

We've decorated the house for Christmas, inside and out. We have a beautiful tree and all of our lovely decorations. I am really happy to see all the presents under the tree, all the surprises that are held there.

One thing that is different living here. We haven't spend as much time with my friends as I would have liked. Partly because we're really busy, between my working full time and doing some volunteer activities, and his dialysis treatments 3 times a week, we're not always feeling social. I could go by myself, but I really don't want to go without him. I don't mind doing things alone, but I would prefer to be with him, especially after not being with him for 30+ years.

Work is going really well. My project took a change of direction when we were entering the development cycle. We thought that we would hand off the requirements and receive status, questions and provide answers and approvals. However, that changed in an instance and suddenly we were doing Agile Method. Daily activity and involvement is required. I even became a Certified Scrum Master in July. In November, at my annual review, I received my promotion! Hard work paid off all the way around. Delivered a great project on 11/25, nearly a year to the day of starting on it. I'm really proud of the accomplishments of my team, including all the challenges and successes!

So, as we end 2008, we have so much to give thanks for:
Happy, healthy kids
Solid, Happy, Loving relationship, a true partnership. We really do help each other (even when he's a jerk !! hehe!)
Perky little dogs that love running around here.
Great old friends and new friends 
Good career, part of a company that is amazing

Goals for next year:
1. study for pmp - take the test in the April timeframe
2. wrap up my current project and move onto another challenge
3. take a trip to Florida in February
4. put in a big vegetable garden in the spring

Those things will keep us busy!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!

"...And in the end
The love you take
is equal to the love you make."
---The Beatles

Thanks for reading my Heavenly Thoughts

Happy Holidays

Wow, I totally have not written since October! I have no excuse...it only takes a few minutes to jot something down. I have had a tough time writing all year this year. I've even tried to have a "theme" to help me commit to writing. That didn't help!!

So, Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope you experience the Peace, Joy and Love of the Holy Advent Season.

"...And in the end
The love you take
is equal to the love you make."
---The Beatles

Thanks for reading my Heavenly Thoughts

Today's Heavenly Thought

Working from home....

Some people are good at it. They get so much more done at home than they do in the office. Sometimes I'm one of those people. I can concentrate more in my office, where I control the environment, the interruptions, the workflow, the information. All of those things are important, but then there are other times when I feel it's absolutely imperative to be in the office. It's easier to interface directly with others to resolve issues, gain knowledge, get information or instruction.

Today was a good day to work from home. I accomplished quite a bit and will probably work a little more over the weekend and definitely on Monday. I'm not much of a New Year's Eve person, would prefer to stay home with my honey and have our own little party, if you know what I mean!

Tonight, we're going to head out to look at Christmas lights. It's kind of rainy, but I think people will turn on their holiday lights in spite of it. We'll see. All we'll do is spend time and a little gas in the car. If the pictures will come out, I'll post them tomorrow.

Take care and have a great night!

"...And in the end
The love you take
is equal to the love you make."
---The Beatles

Thanks for reading my Heavenly Thoughts

Getting Settled In

Hard to believe - I mean everytime I drive down the street, I am amazed that I am in familiar settings. We're back in Cincinnati - permanently. It's totally awesome. We had Christmas in town with our family and friends in our new house.

The house - well, what do they say about the "best laid plans"? It's so true. Everything was set for closing on 12/14. I was just waiting for the dollar amount to get it from the bank, tick tock, God I was a wreck waiting. Then at 3:30 in the afternoon the call came and it was a disappointing phone call. The bank reviewed the appraisal at the last minute, compared it to the surrounding houses that sold and decided the house was over-priced and pulled the financing. So, literally 2 hrs before the closing it was all over, cancelled, NO HOUSE!

OMG!!!!!

The movers had already picked up our belongings, my job had already started, my daughter already had roommates to take our place in the townhome we lived in, mail was already being delivered to the new place (by accident) and here we were - no house at the last minute - and we have to come, no choice. The wheels were in motion.

So, once we got over the shock of the house - we ventured off to come to Cincinnati. We started out on Sat, 12/15 and drove for 2 days, then stopped in Austin to take a day off, visit with some friends, and just relax. Get out of the car, let the dog run and play in the backyard. What a great day! We loved every minute of it, visiting. Then back on the road - drove to Cincinnati arriving here around 7pm on Wednesday 12/19.

Worked on Thursday, closed on the house that night and the furniture arrived in the morning! What a trip! Everything down to the wire.

I'll write more later and post some of our funny pics taken on the trip.

Cincinnati Bound

All I can say is YIPPEE!! We are less than 2 weeks from closing on our house and heading out on another wonderful adventure in life. I am totally amazed at how all of this has come together. I mean, one minute, I'm spending 10-15 hrs a week commuting then next thing I know, I'm flying to Cincinnati and working a new project at Ethicon and trying to stay on top of things at my current job. I had a very challenging week, making plans for the move, staying with my friend who has no internet connection at her house, which meant I had to stop in Panera Bread on my way to and from from work every day!

It's been a crazy week, but you know what? It's totally worth it. I know that it's all changing and soon I will be a Cincinnati Girl working a Cincinnati Job and seeing my Cincinnati family and friends. I'll be home for Christmas! OMG - last year, on this date, I had my foot surgery.......what a day that was!! I have never had sooooo much pain in my life. I will never forget it. When morphine doesn't touch the pain, you know it's more pain than you can stand.

But this is a new year. 2007, Christmas, in Cincinnati with my family. I just can't believe it. We are going to be in Cincinnati. We might not have furniture, we might only have what we are bringing with us, but hey, we will be in our new house and home for the holidays.

When we get to town we need a few things: sofa, lounge chair, coffee table, end table, coffee pot, desk and office chair, a 4 drawer file cabinet and a few other items. But the living room furniture is a must. We're leaving our living room furniture here for my daughter. Plus a bunch of stuff in the kitchen. So, we are leaving a legacy here and making a new one in Cincinnati.

So, if you're in Cincinnati and you know someone that is getting new furniture for Christmas, maybe we can be the recipient of the old stuff!!

Happy Holidays! I'll see you soon!

Skyline Chili, Cincy, and B-Drive

What is it about a friend visiting? IT’S FABULOUS!!! B-Drive is here visiting for 3 days and unfortunately those days are working days, but we knew in advance that it would be like this. Regardless, I am so happy that he is here. We have been friends for 11 years now. We met at UC, became INSTANT friends, took classes together, lived next to each other, really became integrated into each other’s lives. The last time we saw each other was Dec 2005 until yesterday. Wow!!

I watched him mature into a wonderful, responsible man – well, he was always wonderful and responsible and a man, but now he is one nice package all rolled up into one. He has a great girlfriend (who I still hope to meet soon), his own computer business, a real estate endeavor which was very successful, comes from a wonderful family and great parents, has some of the funniest friends I’ve ever seen, has the most friends of anyone I know, well traveled and a seasoned, experienced man. And on top of it all, he’s kind, sensitive and loving! I’m proud to call him my friend. Overall, I would vote him to be one of the best men I have ever met.

He has watched my kids grow up and is still very involved with them. He has always cared for them and they for him. Since he still lives in Cincy and so does my son, it’s nice to know that he’s there for moral support from time to time as needed. Honestly, he could have been my little brother and in another life, we most definitely had to be connected in some way.

So this is how we are when we’re together – we laugh, talk, drink, eat and talk more. We talk on top of each other, we debate political issues – sometimes I think we should not. Sometimes we agree, but more than likely we don’t. He’s more liberal than I am – but he also remembers a time when I was more liberal. My politics changed after 9/11 and as my kids grew up. Maybe I learned some things the hard way that he hasn’t learned, maybe it’s my upbringing coming out in me – but I am more conservative now than I used to be. So, as you can well imagine, it’s a point of debate, healthy debate I might add.

Regardless of our politics, we have a deep love, caring and best interest in mind for each other. We will remain friends the rest of our lives. Funny, how that happens in our journey. Meeting people in the strangest ways, but connecting instantly. It’s undeniable that it’s fate or kismet or whatever you may want to call it. But when it happens it’s real and it lasts. So, for the next 2 days I am going to enjoy as much of his time as I can.

Oh yea, thanks for the Skyline – he brought us an entire CASE of Skyline!! I love it!!

"Here's all you need to know about men and women: Women are crazy, and men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid."

-- George Carlin

Happy New Year!!

We had a great evening!! Believe it or not, we're already done celebrating and it's only 11:27 pm!!

We went to a friend's house for a nice, intimate New Year's Celebration with a twist. First, there was quite a few people there, about 35 people accepted the invite. Her parents were visiting from Hawaii, so I finally got to meet them. Very nice, sweet couple. Lots of great "kid" stories about their daughters, both of which are my friends! I loved that!!

The food was great, which was no surprise - some wonderful spring rolls, egg rolls, rice, corn salad, and homemade desserts. Of course, I had the chocolate - I've become such a chocolate freak - I never was that much before!! But anyway, it was so homey, comfy, fun.

We donned New Year's hats, lays, noise makers, glow-in-the-dark bracelets, champagne and at 9 PM Pacific Daylight Time which is 12 AM Midnight in Cincinnati or NEW YORK - so we watched the ball drop, counted down EAST COAST TIME and had a wonderful time!!

By 9:30 PM we were on our way to our next stop - Del Mar Holiday Lights! That was pretty cool, we drove through the Del Mar Racetrack which was all decorated with Holiday Light displays. It's great, we drove through a lighted tunnel, drove all around past all of the displays - tons of lights, interesting displays, like not only the typical Santa, Reindeer, Rudolf, Snowmen, twinkling lights - no, they had all of those plus really cool displays - snowmen playing golf, volleyball game, Santa surfing, Iwo Jima, American Flag, icicles, guys fishing, ferris wheel, castle, and a bunch of other lights.

I guess you had to be there - but nevertheless - it was really good. My sweetie is such a sweetie! He thinks of everything and likes to share things with me. I love that about him. He's so fantastic!!

He made this a PERFECT New Year's Eve! Thanks!!

p.s. - I heard from my kids and they were all celebrating the new year, being safe and smart!! Thank God for that!

p.s.s. - I can't wait for Beka to get home next week! Tamara's coming with her and I can't wait to see both of them.

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

-- Colin Powell

GREAT NEWS!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS everyone that was able to contribute to Teri's family and to ALL OF YOU THAT PRAYED that her needs would be met!! It all worked out BEAUTIFULLY!!
God Bless every donation - I pray that you receive the blessings back 100 fold!!

Here's a recap!!

1. She had her paycheck and her husband was able to make a little extra money plus your contributions allowed her to pay her rent ON TIME - NO EVICTION!!!
(who on Earth would evict a family 3 days before Christmas!?! I would like to find out her name and write letters to her!! but that's another crusade!!)

2. A Christmas tree with lights/decorations was delivered and her kids went crazy!! They got it put up and decorated! The kids started getting excited - finally Christmas was arriving at their house! Thanks and God Bless you for bringing the TREE!!

3. Presents - It's been a miracle and a blessing!! Gift cards, presents in the mail PLUS a family collected enough money to go out and buy 9 presents for each of their 4 children, wrap them and they filled the underneath of the Christmas Tree!! It's amazing!! GOD IS AWESOME!! This is what Christmas Spirit is ALL About!! Thank you for parting with presents for your own children to take care of someone else's!!

4. Food - Kroger Gift Cards!! Food - people went shopping for her and she called me last night crying - her refrigerator is PACKED full of great food and they will have the most wonderful Christmas Dinner now!! You are the BEST people!!

5. A little extra cash - allowed her to get gas in the car and possibly get her Van fixed. I don't know what's wrong so I don't know how much it's going to cost. But they will be fine until the next pay period. And they will be able to pay their rent again in January out of their first paychecks.

I just can't say thank you enough. Teri sends her appreciation to each and everyone of you. I do too. This could not have happened without your kindness and love for each other! That's what is so important!!

And again, I know the blessings are with you, the giver, Teri, the receiver, but also I have been blessed not only from giving but from watching everyone else and hearing so many wonderful stories! You know I'm away from my family - even though this makes me want to be there EVEN more, it's ok - because I know that my children live among some of the kindest, most loving and generous people on EARTH!

Thanks again, and God Bless You!! Have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and the HAPPIEST OF ALL NEW YEARS!!

QUICK UPDATES

1. Am still falling a little short on money for Teri's rent. Have about $400 committed already, need another $100, would prefer $200 so we have a buffer.

2. glad my daughter traveled on Tuesday, through JFK with a delay than through Denver to become stranded. My heart goes out to approx 5K people who are stranded in Denver, plus all the others that can't get there or get their connecting flights to get home for Christmas.

3. going to see the Nurse today to get my bandages changed. Will update you later on my foot after the appointment.

4. planning a Christmas Goose Dinner this year. It's a first for both of us. I'll give it a try. Putting the dinner plans together today. Going to make an upside-down Cranberry cake to compliment the goose dinner.

Hope these last few days before Christmas are Blessings for you and your family!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

-- Colin Powell

THIS IS THE GREATEST CHRISTMAS!!

What Christmas is ALL About!!

My dear friends and family, all I can say is how wonderful all of you are. Yesterday afternoon, I received a phone call from a young mother of four who lives in Cincinnati. It's a long story, but I've known her since she was in grade school. We used to live in the same neighborhood and during jr and sr high school, she babysat Jake & Beka. As the circle of life tends to complete itself, Beka ran into her when she was in Jr. High and started babysitting for her up until we moved to California. But we talk to her all the time and Beka is extremely close to Teri's children. It's always been a wonderful relationship and I was proud of Beka to make this family part of her heart and of course ours.

The phone call was to ask me if I could help her. She didn't know what to do. She works but doesn't make a ton of money. Her husband works, is a home remodeler / construction type person and hasn't had any work for a while. They found themselves in a bit of a jam. They are being evicted from their rental, have no Christmas presents for their 4 kids, no Christmas tree up and their van broke down to boot (they have another car, but they don't need something else to be wrong!!). Well, as one person I could help out, but I couldn't take care of it all. So, after I cried hearing their plight, I thought about the best way to solve this problem.

And then I got the idea (Thank You Lord!!).

Send an email out to my friends, family & business acquaintances in Cincinnati and see what happens. I was hopeful and almost immediately I started getting responses. $100 here, $100 there, gift cards for presents, a tree, food and $$$!! It's such a blessing for Teri, she and I cried on the phone last night while we were waiting to see what happens. I'm certain that God will provide what they need and the "right" people on my list will answer the call for help. Teri's family will have the BEST Christmas ever!!

It works out because Beka is visiting Cincinnati for 3 weeks and part of her plan was to stay at Teri's through the weekend and help Teri with the kids. So now, Beka can help coordinate with everyone to get the money, etc. to Teri. So the BEST PART IS FOR BEKA AND I!! So many things have already happened. For one, I had the chance to talk to a few people and hear their stories which lead them to help this family (see below) and I get the chance to talk to some folks I haven't talked to in a while - that's VERY COOL! My daughter is blessed because she gets to help out with all of this, watch God's hand move over this situation and watch people's hearts open up! It's a very good experience for her and for me and for the people giving! WOW!!! A COMPLETE WIN-WIN FOR EVERYONE: helpers, givers, receivers!! God is awesome and watching him do his handy-work is even more awesome!!

If you are intersted in helping and I forgot to send you an email, comment me back and I'll tell you how. I'm collecting money via paypal to make it easy.

here's a couple stories which made me cry:

1. a friend of mine used to live in Cincinnati and like me, moved away about a year before I did. She has 2 children and like all couples, they have had their lean times, but have still been fortunate. Their children are 7 and 9 I think. Well, the kids received gift certificates for Christmas but they're only good at two malls - one over an hour from their house and one in Cincinnati. So, the original thought was they would spend them when they come to Cincinnati to visit family spring break or something. When their Mom told them the story, the kids immediately offered one of the cards for those kids and they would share the other card!! It's SO AWESOME - children with such BIG HEARTS!!!! They are fantastic and everyone has been crying over their generosity!!

2. another friend and I talked this morning. She shared a story about a time in her life when things were pretty lean, small children, only one person working, early baby delivery, and wondering how they would cover Christmas. Well, someone her husband worked with surprised them and went Christmas Shopping and brought tons of presents over and blessed them with a great Christmas. They knew that "one of these years" they would be in a position to pay it forward. Already a few weeks ago, they decided this was the year, but they didn't want to just give money to a charity. They really wanted to be sure that the money was going to directly help someone. And then out of the blue, my email arrived. Not only do they have the opportunity to make a difference in Teri's family by contributing a tree and other items, but some of her co-workers have offered grocery gift certificates!! Another example of God touching hearts and people listening to the call!! It's AMAZING!!

3. my own experience, my kids were little, we were broke. I had $100 to buy presents for 4 kids - wasn't going to happen, so I took the money to Goodwill and searched for toys that I could clean up and clothes on the racks that still had tags on them. I did find some, but I was crying most of the time at the store. It was so depressing to think that I was in such a mess. How could I ever get through this??? Feeling such despair. I went home with my used toys and new clothes with store tags on them, started wrapping them and crying. My step-son was a senior in high school. He came home with his friends, had no clue things were so bad. They caught me wrapping and crying, so I confessed to them how sucky Christmas was going to be - crummy presents and all. The next day, they all showed up with presents for the kids and I mean REAL presents!! I was so blessed! I will never forget their generosity. Some came directly from the kids, some came from their parents and some even came from the high school! Wow!!

4. another friend shared with me that without her family's support through the lean times, she would have been in the same position as Teri. Possibly facing eviction. Fortunately she had a good support system, went to college and has a great job now - a woman with a plan!! You gotta love it!!

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY RESPONDED AND THANKS TO THOSE THAT ARE STILL GOING TO RESPOND. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

-- Colin Powell