Monday, 31 December

HAPPY NEW YEAR - or at least Pre-Happy New Year. Wow, this year has gone by so quickly. So my day started out in Kentucky, got up around 6:00 am or so, got everything packed and in the car, woke up Olivia, fed her, got her changed, cleaned up and dressed. I fed the dogs and let them outside then got them in the car followed by Olivia and we were on the road. This time, I decided to eat a little in order to hopefully prevent so many bathroom breaks. I made really good timing on my way home. It took over 7 hours to get there and I got home in about 5 1/2. I stopped three times - once for gas and bathroom break and twice to change Olivia and fed her. Even with that, I made really good time. I went directly to my parents house and dropped off Olivia, my mom was watching her for the evening until tomorrow morning. I was sad to leave her but she was in great hands with my mom. Olivia is such a wonderful little girl, I just love her so much. Anyway, dropped her off and visited with my folks for a bit then headed home. I was exhausted and so were the dogs. Fed them, let them go potty and we all crashed for a few hours. Took a quick nap, unpacked everything then did some laundry and cleaned up. The cats were mad at a me for a little bit but that didn't last long. They were both laying in my lap and purring like crazy. Around 7:00 pm, I jumped in the shower, got dressed and was picked up by Dan and Michael. Kurt was already on the road for a bit and arrived at Dan & Michael's around 8:30. We ate some appetizers and had some drinks. People started showing up around 8:30 or so, we had a great time. It was Kerrin, Barry, Troy, AJ, Jason, Austin and some other people that I didn't know. It was a lot of fun, I will be uploading the pictures soon. We were up pretty late, around 2:30 or so I started feeling very tired - no sleep in the last couple of days hit me. So we then headed out and got home around 3:00 am or so. I was so tired and was out within a few minutes. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Sunday, 30 December

So got up this morning and didn't get much sleep. Olivia was up most of the night, I think from her change in schedule (Eating later, not going to bed later) and teething she wasn't feeling that good. So got up several times during the evening and eventually just stayed up to watch a movie and rock her. After a while, she did go back to sleep so I made coffee and cleaned up the kitchen. Kurt got up a few hours later and Katie got up a few hours after that. The day consisted of projects - Kurt worked on the kitchen floor and I installed 5 New light fixtures. So I worked on that for most of the afternoon. Kurt and Katie left for a while to get more supplies at Home Depot and I stayed with Olivia and worked on the lights. After they got back, I needed to take a nap so Olivia and I laid down for about an hour - during that time, Tomo, Andrea and Zylosh arrived from Chicago. Zylosh is 14 months and it so cute - he was running around playing, a very cute little boy. I woke up, changed Olivia then came out and chatted with everyone. I played with Zylosh for a while - we rolled tape back and forth, fun stuff. It was getting late so we decided to go out to dinner - drove into town (about an hour) but the restaurant was close - We drove seperately and they were on Chicago time (hour behind) so Kurt, Olivia and I ended up just driving back home, picked up a pizza and ate dinner there. I wanted to make sure Olivia was back on her schedule. We got home around 8:30 pm so I fed Olivia, changed her and put her to bed then we ate dinner. I knew I was getting up early to leave so I went to bed around 9:30 or so. Kurt stayed up for a while longer until everyone else got home, around 10:30 or so. I then fell asleep - soundly - Olivia stayed asleep until I woke her up in the morning. Much better night then the night before.

Saturday, 29 December

Got up at 4:30 am, fed the dogs and let them out, got showered then got dressed and started packing my car up. I got Olivia up and dressed, fed and we were on the road by 6:30 am. I drank a cup of coffee before we left, filled up a travel mug, drank that and then stopped for another cup of coffee on the way. I ended up having to stop several times because I didn't eat anything but had to pee many times. I got a little lost on the way there and ended up driving an additional 50 miles. We made it to Kentucky around 1:30. Such a long drive but I was surprised how I wasn't tired at all. We got in, the dogs were so happy to be there. They ran around Katie's big yard for a while, went potty and we fed them a little while after that. They were so cute. Olivia was wide awake by then, she slept most of the way - she is such a good traveler. After unpacking, we went out for dinner and had to pick up a few things for our projects. We went to Liquor barn (duh, for Kurt), Home Depot and then dinner. We went to Checkers (it's a really good sit down restaurant, good food and really good price. After that, got back to the house, Katie watched Katie while Kurt worked on the tile in the bathroom and I hung up curtain rods and put up curtains in the great room. We got done with everything around 10:30 or so, I had already put Olivia down for the night so we stayed up till about 11:30 or so. Went to bed but didn't sleep much - Olivia was up most of the night.

Friday, 28 December

Got up this morning, pretty early - Kurt left for Kentucky so I just stayed up and had some coffee. Had some laundry to do, plus wanted to clean up a bit before Olivia woke up. Had a couple cups of coffee while cleaning and around 8:00 am - I got Olivia up, fed her, gave her a bath and then got her dressed. It's a long process, about 2 hours to get her up, feed her, bath and dress her. So did that, then we played for a while - She is just the love of my life. Always smiling and giggling. Around 10:00 - I dropped her off at Dan/Michael's so I could go to the gym. Did some cardio then picked up Olivia, we ran a few errands, went to Art Van to pick up the ottomans I bought but they were out of stock so had to wait on that, dropped off some movies at Blockbuster (really really rude woman working there...) then came home. It was time for another feeding, so did that and then put her down for a nap. I had some lunch and worked on some pictures from Christmas (working on a photo album for Olivia). After that, got Olivia up and we watched some TV together, she is so sweet and always happy. I fed her dinner and soon after that, put her down for the night. Talked to Kurt and was going to drive up to Kentucky but it was too late for the trip so instead, I packed up my bags and was going to head out in the morning. I went to bed early because my goal was to be on the road by 6:00 am.

Thursday, 27 December

So today, I decided to take down the Christmas tree - once it's over, it's over for me. I start early but as soon as the holiday is over, I'm ready for Spring. So it took me a while but I got all of the ornaments down and wrapped up, boxed and put away, the beads, ribbons, bows on top and glittery sticks came out pretty easy, the lights took a little longer but got them put away in individual bags so they won't be tangled next year, then the tree. The cats had made a field day of it - when I woke up this morning I heard a loud thump - it was Finnegan climbing the tree and ended up pulling half of the branches out (fake tree) so this just motivated me a little more to take the tree down. After that, it was time to get Olivia up. She slept so well - didn't get up once during the night. Woke her up, fed her, gave her a bath and got her dressed. We had a big day ahead of us, so we got in the car and started our errands. We had to go grocery shopping, we went to KMart to get wrapping paper, Christmas cards (next year) and a few other things. I found White painted wood cut outs of her name - so cute. We also went to Tim Horton's for some coffee (me). Got home and fed Olivia, she is really talkative, not sure exactly what she is saying but she is so happy doing it, makes me smile. Oh - I also went to Target and got Pink Boxes (to put her lotions/medicines in) and a new crib mobile. So put everything away - her room is finally done. With the painting that I just did up, it looks really cute. I'm so happy how it turned out. After Olivia's nap, we just hung out - got lots of hugging up on her, her laugh is infectious and she kept making me gigle. Kurt got home, I had made some dinner - it was okay, nothing major. So we ate then it was a night to relax, watched a movie and hung out with the baby. She fell asleep on Kurt's chest, so cute.

Wednesday, 26 December

Christmas is over. :( Such a big build up and then it ends, a little sad. Actually I'm glad to get back to a regular schedule. Kurt had to go to work today, so I got up when he did and had some coffee and checked my email. Lots of emails at work but they can wait until I get back from vacation as for personal emails - not a one. Sent an email to Kurt to make sure he got to work okay and he did. After that, I started putting away Christmas presents and cleaning up the downstairs a bit. The Christmas tree can wait til tomorrow. By 8:30, it was time to wake Olivia up - got her fed and all cleaned up. She was happy to eat, she is definitely a good eater. After that, the rest of the morning was spent with laundry and cleaning up the kitchen. Olivia sat in her chair and played while I cleaned. She is always so happy. By lunch time, I was done with the chores so I fed Olivia and ate myself. I was starving. We hung out for the rest of the afternoon and for dinner, I made something lite for us. Kurt had a headache, so he watched the baby for a bit while I met up with Michael and Dan to play Keno at Rosey O'gradys. It was fun, we came back to the house, it was time for Olivia to go to bed so I put her down and gave her a night time bottle. Kurt, Dan, Michael and I then played Wii for a while, it was fun. Not a very late evening. After they left, went to bed and got some much needed sleep.

Tuesday, 25 December

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Wow, it's here. It was a truly wonderful Christmas. Having Olivia with us was the great gift. We woke up and exchanged our gifts while sipping on some coffee. I got Olivia up a little early so she basically fell back to sleep for the whole thing. :) I got everything I wanted from Kurt, he did an excellent job. After exchanging gifts, we got showered and dressed, I brought a couple of outfits for Olivia, a casual one, pajamas and a dress for the family portrait. We got the car packed and headed out around 10:00 am, stopped for coffee and made it to Lansing by 11:30. Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, Dad, Heather and Tahya were there already. Everyone else showed up not too much later. We ate lunch and chatted then exchanged gifts. It was really nice - it was great spending time with the family. We made out like bandits - we were a little spoiled. Olivia was having more fun with the wrapping paper then the gifts, next year it should be more exciting for her. After gifts, we watched a movie, played cards and then I worked on the computer for a little bit. Mom had some issues with her PC. We played the game Shove It, that is always fun and I actually did really well this time. Then we had to head out, it was getting late. We left around 7:00 pm or so. Got home around 8:30, we stopped by Michael and Dan's to exchange gifts and watched TV for a little bit but then it was time to go home to bed. Long day but a very memorable holiday.

Monday, 24 December

Christmas Eve It snowed last night and it looked beautiful this morning. I got up and made some coffee, and we slowly woke up. The dogs were really happy about the snow, we went outside and shoveled and then had some breakfast. After that, we went up to the mall - Olivia was so cute, I put on a really cute outfit for her. We went up to the mall to get a couple of last minute things. We met up with Michael and had lunch there at Macy's with Dan. Olivia got an allergic reaction to something, not sure what but we had to leave the mall and get her home. A little bit after we got home, we had to head over to my brothers house for Christmas Eve. We got there around 4:00 and it was a great night. We had a blast, we had dinner and exchanged gifts. It was a really special Christmas with the family. Hudson was so cute with Olivia, he hugged her and kissed her and held her hand. He is going to be a wonderful big cousin to her. We stayed till about 8:30 and it was then time to take Olivia home and get her to bed. We got home and I think we were all tired. It was a great night.

Sunday, 23 December

I can't believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow. Today was a fun day, got up and picked up some Tim Horton's coffee. Got Olivia up, fed her and gave her a bath. She loves the water, I want to make sure that she learns how to swim at an early age - don't want her to be afraid of the water. So bathed her, changed her and then we headed out. We were all done shopping for the holidays but just wanted to get out and spend the afternoon together. We went out to lunch and walked around the mall. We then came home and watched a movie - later in the evening we had some friends over and we played Wii. It was just a fun day.

Saturday, 22 December

This picture just cracks me up. So my vacation is in full swing - I'm so happy to have the next 12 days off. First thing I did was get up and shower, then I headed over to pick up Olivia. It just makes me so happy to have her with us. I can't wait for us to have permanent residency - only about a month or so away for that to happen. So I picked her up, Mrs. White is so nice - such a good person. Olivia looked so cute, gave her a big hug and kiss and then had to head back home. Kurt was making breakfast, he made cinnamon rolls - they were delicious. Olivia had fallen asleep in the car ride so I let her sleep for a bit. We really didn't have much planned for the day so it was going to be a nice and relaxing one. We had a few errands to take care of and Kurt was working on a project. For me, I wanted to finish a painting I started for Olivia's room. It's a big canvas so it's going to be a bigger picture. I painted for a while, until Olivia got up. For the most part of the day, we hung out and watched a movie. In the evening time, some friends stopped by to visit. Got Olivia to bed around 9:30 and she was out like a light. She is finally sleeping straight through the night. What a doll.

Friday, 21 December

Today is really my last day at work, I just have to come in for a few hours tomorrow but just to close up stuff. Work has been busy the last few days, between having so much time off and end of year closings, it's busy busy busy. Gym, good cardio and at lunch I did shoulders - sore from that. It's been a while since I did weights... Starting back in January, dedicated gym bunny. After work, came home and fed the dogs, I had to go to the doctor to get my shots and by then Kurt had gotten home. Our plan was to go out to eat and then hang out at Pronto! for the evening. It was fun, but we ended up coming home early, Kurt was tired. Ran into a lot of people we haven't seen in a while (out of towners). It was a nice night but I guess it was good to get home at a decent time.

Thursday, 20 December

Thursday - Wow, where did this week go. I got up late, slept in, worked on some stuff on the computer then got to the gym - cardio and some more chest. Ugh, no energy. Pretty much, today is my last day for the year - woo hoo, Christmas party tomorrow and then vacation begins. Looking forward to that. After work, I work again at Macy's then I get a couple of nights off - which I need. Just to catch up on sleep. Bought some new sheets for Olivia's bed, that way I can just change them every day without having to do laundry everyday. So new favorite song, Sara Barreilles - Love Song. Check it out - http://www.sarabmusic.com/ I've found a lot of new artists that I really like, most of them have had songs on Grey's Anatomy. Whoever does the music for that show - rocks. So went to the gym at lunch and did a back/shoulder workout. It was a good one then grabbed some lunch. I'm stuffed now. After work, headed right over to Macy's again. I had to return a jacket I got yesterday, bought two of them - one last week and then the same one yesterday - reason, I had a 30% off coupon so wanted to take advantage of that. Did that then had to buy a pair of socks for work (left mine at home), so got some socks and after that worked until 10:30 or so. Long day but okay. I went right from Macy's to meet up with Kurt at Pronto!. He was already a little toasted by the time I got there, so ended up having to take him home, only out for about a half hour. It was packed too, lots of people from out of town... bummer.

Wednesday, 19 December

This just cracked me up. So funny. Anyway - Wednesday, half way through this week. Yippee. Got up a little late this morning, actually got up on time but had a few things to do before heading out to the gym. Had some clothes to fold, new load of laundry, and send out a few more cards... I missed a few people. Gym was okay, not a lot of energy but got it done. Work has been dead - it's really nice, so many people have taken off this week for vacation. At lunch time, went to the mall again, had to pick up my check and some pacakges that were on hold for me. Finished my day at Lear then went right over to Macy's to work. Really long day, worked til almost midnight. Got up at 4:45 am and didn't get home til a little after 12. Work was good, weird - busy then slow, busy then slow. Picked up an ornament that I really liked and got a new coffee maker - it's really cool. It's a drink station, you can choose what you want to drink - coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cappuchino, etc. Had to pick that up at another store on the way home (There is a Macy's that is open 24 - 7 from now until Christmas Eve, crazy). Got home, unloaded my car and pretty much went to bed. Such a long day, I was away from the house 18 hours...

Tuesday, 18 December

Back to work, it was so nice being off for 4 days again. Wasn't able to catch up on my sleep so I am tired but at least I don't have to work tonight, just during the day. Got up and fed the heard of animals, go lunches and headed out to the gym. Got just 1/2 hour of cardio in and then did an arm workout. Sore and tired but got through it. Work - okay, very slow because of end of year stuff. At lunch, went to the mall and picked up a couple of more things but not stuff that I need to get - because I am all done. After lunch, finished up my day then went home. I got a call from Kurt and he is taking me to Red Lobster for dinner, so very excited about that. I had a few things to wrap so finished that then cleaned up a bit, messy house is not good. Kurt got home and we went to dinner, so delicious and now I have left overs for lunch tomorrow. After dinner, we went to DSW, Home Goods and World Market. Got a few things, just got some "extra - just in case gifts". After that, went home and got ready for Wednesday. So glad vacation is almost here.... only 2 more days to go.

Monday, 17 December

Got up a few times during the night with Olivia but not for a very long time - I changed her diaper and pajamas and put her back to bed and she was out. She was so cute - I put a heater in her room and a humidifier and now I don't have to worry about her getting cold (She likes to kick off the blankets and her socks). She woke up so happy and that made me happy. Fed her, changed her again and then gave her a bath. She likes bath time. Dressed her and we then ran a few errands. I cleaned out my closet in her room, organized it all and got two big bags of clothes to donate to good will. So ran to Good Will and dropped that off, then went to the grocery store to buy supplies for French Onion soup - I wanted to make some for Kurt, then returned movies at blockbuster, got a few more bottles at the store and then went home to make the French Onion soup. I cut up 3 lbs. of onions and now the entire house smells like onions. After that, showered again, got dressed, had to take Olivia back then went to the gym before going to work at Macy's. It was an okay day, busy - I was folding ties and cleaning up the shirt/tie department - such a mess. People are just freaking out over last minute shopping. Worked till about 9:30 then went home. Long day and I'm tired.

Sunday, 16 December

Got up to a Winter wonderland... So much snow, there had to be at least 8 inches of snow. So we got up and shoveled the snow. It was heavy snow too... I did the back driveway and deck, Kurt snowblowed the front. After that, we got Olivia cleaned up and dressed then met up with Todd, Michael and Dan for lunch/breakfast at Pronto. Lunch was good, I got an omlette. After that, I went home for a bit, relaxed with the baby while Kurt did some more shopping. I fell asleep while watching the movie Hot Rod - silly movie. I then met up with the boys at Target, I had to get a few things there. We then split up again - Dan and I with Olivia, Michael and Kurt. After that, we went to the grocery store and picked up some squash and salad. We let the dogs out and fed the animals - then went to Michael and Dan's house for dinner. Michael made an excellent Beef Stew - it cooked all day. We had dinner and watched a movie - it was a very nice night. I was so glad that I didn't have to work in the morning. Yeah me. Olivia was so cute, she fell asleep while I rubbed her head. My little girl is so amazing. We headed home around 9, got stuff ready for the Monday and went to bed. So tired, I hope Olivia goes to sleep and stays asleep until Morning. :)

Saturday, 15 December

Got up around 8:30, fed the animals, made coffee, then cleaned up a bit. After that, I got showered and went and picked up Olivia. My little sunshine. She had a bad eczema breakout, poor little girl. So brought her home but stopped at Blockbuster on the way and got three movies. Was suppose to go shopping with Joel but he went early in the morning when the mall first opened up. Ended up going with Kurt and Michael. Bought quite a bit of stuff (all gifts - nothing for me). I thought I was done but was buying for other people on my discount. We grabbed some lunch and it was a really nice afternoon. We couldn't stay too late because we had a party to work in the evening. Was going to take Olivia to my mom's house but the weather was suppose to be bad tonight, expecting more than 7 inches of snow. So graciously, Todd said he would watch Olivia for us. Got home, changed Olivia and packed her bag and a bunch of other stuff - just in case, her pack and play, motion chair, toys, bottles, etc. We dropped her off and headed over to Ann and Lisa's house. We only do one party a year now and it's because we really like them. Lisa and Ann are such wonderful people. The party went really well, very smooth - even with the bad weather the party was very successful. We left around 11:30 and headed over to pick up Olivia. Todd did a great job watching her, she was sleeping when we got there. Brought her home, the roads were getting bad. Put Olivia to bed, she slept for a few hours then was awake for a while - I didn't get much sleep. She was finally out around 4:00 am. Slept till 8:30. I got a few hours sleep.

Friday, 14 December

Got up, but was able to sleep in - It's so nice having the day off. I thoroughly enjoyed my day off. Did some cleaning around the house, got to the stuff I've been putting off. Goal this weekend is to clean out the closet and drawers in Olivia's room and organize it all. So hopefully I can get to that. I picked up Dan and we went shopping and got lunch. Lunch was great - we ate at Macy's. Had the best sandwich. After that, we did some shopping, went through Oakland mall then went to Wallmart. I got a few things, a new game for Kurt, some DVD's and a couple of other things. Got some great deals. After that went home and finished all my wrapping. I wrapped for 6 hours, yes - 6 hours. After Kurt got home from work, we went over to Dave Krause's house for a Christmas party. There for a little bit then met up with friends at Pronto! Had a really nice time, ended up leaving around midnight, I was tired so glad to get home and go to sleep.

Thursday, 13 December

I saw this picture and it's so sweet and cute, had to share it. Tired this morning, but got up and did my cardio..... It was okay, did over an hour. Had my year end review today, it went great - I'm excited about some training I will be getting next year. Today is like my Friday, 4 days off after today. I work again tonight at Macy's so another long day. Work was good, long day but that's about it. Did a little Christmas shopping while at work, picked up a few things. After work, met up with Kurt at Pronto for a little bit, not out very late. Everytime I want to stay out late Kurt wants to go home early so it's another early night for me. Kind of bums me out since I have tomorrow off, oh well.

Wednesday, 12 December

Work was good and busy, catching up. During lunch, I went to Wallmart, got a few gifts and had to get Mocha's green beans. I swear, the animals eat more complex meals then we do. After that, got back to work - it was a really good afternoon. Finished working on some reports that I had to get done by year end. So really, my plate is clean for now - the rest of the year will just be maintenance stuff. After work, drove right over to Macy's and worked there. It was a long night, there until about 11:30 pm. It was busy but not too bad. Kurt got home from New York (he had an Interview) and it was great to see him. We had dinner at the food court and then back to work for me. It was a nice night though, I liked the people I was working with. Had one cranky customer though that was just in a bad mood and wanted to yell - it happens. So after work, got home, unloaded my car, packed my gym bag, got clothes out for Work and an outfit to wear to Macy's, got coffee ready, cleaned up the kitchen, had to write a few more Christmas cards out (forgot a few people) then pretty much went to bed. The animals were sweet, I feel like I've been neglecting them. So they all got treats and then I went to bed. Lucky me - 4 hours tonight.

Tuesday, 11 December

This is great, It's already Tuesday and I just have two more days to work this week. It's been better then I thought having that extra week of vacation. So got to the gym, did my cardio and abs - not much energy but got through it. Work was good and busy, catching up. During lunch, I went to Wallmart, got a few gifts and had to get Mocha's green beans. I swear, the animals eat more complex meals then we do. After that, got back to work - it was a really good afternoon. Finished working on some reports that I had to get done by year end. So really, my plate is clean for now - the rest of the year will just be maintenance stuff. After work, came home - fed the animals, cleaned up a bit, Kurt left for New York today so empty house for me. I picked up Dan, Michael and Todd and we all went to dinner at Red Robin and then went and saw the movie the Golden Compass. The movie, it was okay - I think they tried to jam to much in so the story jumped around too much. Very cool effects though, I did like that. It's definitely set up for a sequel. After the movie, I dropped everyone off at their homes and then headed home myself. Kurt made it safely to NY and was resting when I called. I got home, played with the dogs a bit they needed the attention then went to bed. I had all 4 animals sleeping on the bed with me. Big bed but no room for me. PS - Happy Birthday Dad!

Monday, 10 December

Today woke up, a little tired but okay - I got up again in the middle of the night and rocked Olivia for a bit, she fell back to sleep - her hands were so cold but she kept kicking off the covers so I brought her downstairs and laid down with her on the couch. She was out like a light, I fell back to sleep for a bit. After that, fed her, changed and got her dressed. We then headed out to the grocery store - got everything for lunches for the next two weeks. Olivia fell asleep so put her to bed and I cleaned out the Pantry - what a mess, it became a tiny junk closet. So cleaned and organized that, had some web work to do then got showered and dressed. Got Olivia up and we went out to breakfast with Dan at "Toast", food was okay - little expensive for what it was. After that, I had to take Olivia back to her foster parents. I hate doing that, I miss her so much when she is not with us. So after that, came back home, I ended up playing Wii for a little bit then headed out to work at Macy's. Work was a lot busier today, another sale going on. So ran around the whole night. I really like all of the managers I have worked with so far, everyone is really nice and I like that. I worked till 9 and got home around 10:00 pm. Got coffee ready for Monday, made my lunch, packed my gym bag, got my clothes ready for Tuesday and headed for bed. Oh, I did do almost 2 hours of cardio before heading into Macy's. I watched the movie - 28 Weeks later, gross and kind of stupid. Jack's birthday is Saturday, Pre-HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!

Sunday, 9 December

Woke up pretty early, Olivia was crying so brought her into bed with me, she fell right to sleep... So got up around 7:30, changed her and fed her - she loves her Sweet Potatoe breakfast. She was cracking me up, the look on her face when she was eating her food... just so cute and funny. After that, got her cleaned up - Kurt got his hair cut while I gave Olivia a bath and then got her dressed. We headed out to Charlotte around 10:30. Stopped for some breakfast, I was starving - not sure why I'm so hungry lately but I'm eating more and losing more weight. We arrived a little after noon, and had a really nice afternoon. Mom made us lunch, we played cards and I worked on the computer for a little bit. It was really nice. I even won in cards, it was the first time for that. :) We headed back home around 5:00, I was exhausted and fell asleep for a few moments on the way back. We stopped at Target on the way home, got a few more lights, a pair of boots for Olivia and a couple of other things. We got home, I fed Olivia and then got the coffee ready for Monday, cleaned up a bit and made some dinner. After that, did some laundry, got Olivia for bed and then hit the hay myself. I think I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Saturday, 8 December

Got up, feeling pretty good - a little tired. Picked up Olivia at 9:00 am then brought her home, changed her and we immediately headed out for the funeral. Got there and it started right after we arrived. It was a very nice funeral, sad but lots of people were there to show respect. Doug was a good guy, he had a big family that all loved/admired him and many friends that will truly miss him. After the funeral, we came home - we were going to go to the luncheon but Olivia was a little cranky (teething) so I finished painting her room (the thin white stripes - the room looks just like Neopolitan ice cream). After that, I spent the rest of the day with Olivia - playing with her, keeping her happy - she is teething so she is a little testy today. Poor thing plus she has allergies and is stuffy from that. Sweet little thing. The rest of the evening we had some dinner, put Olivia to bed and played a little bit of Wii. I did the Fitness test and I got the age of 27. Finally done painting....

Friday, 7 December

Got up around 6:30 or so, couldn't really sleep - tired but a little wired from the caffeine I had at dinner. I think I had like 4 or 5 diet cokes. Had a great time last night, got to hang out with Dan, Michael, Todd, Dawn, Chris Stommel, Richard and Joe, James... lots of people. Had a really nice time. So got up and went into Macy's - since I'm off at Lear, thought I would pick up the day at Macy's. So worked from 8 to 3 pm. It was fun, different then working during the evening. After work, came home and we immediately went to the funeral home for Doug. It was very sad, poor Katie, I feel so bad for her - she is such a good hearted person and doesn't deserve to have to suffer through another tragedy in her life. So went there then after that came home and got some dinner. It was a nice evening, we played Wii and got some Chicken. It was a lot of fun.

Thursday, 6 December

Today is like my Friday - since I don't have to work tomorrow and I have a 4 day weekend... So happy about that. I work again tonight at Macy's but I get to sleep in tomorrow. So this is a post - post, I did go to work at Macy's after working at Lear and it went by pretty well. Actually, it was a little slow so I was able to go home early, only worked a few hours. I came home around 6:00 pm or so, we decided to go out to dinner. We had dinner with Michael and Dan then played pool for a while. It was a lot of fun, we had a great time - stayed out till about 11:00 pm or so. It was a long night (for me) and I was tired so came home and I went right to bed. I fell asleep almost immediately. I'm attaching a picture I painted for Olivia's room.

Wednesday, 5 December

Less then 3 weeks till Christmas... Wow. I need to finish my Christmas shopping, almost done.... Lots of wrapping to do. I have 4 days left of vacation so I'm taking December 7, 10, 14 and 17th off. I have a 1/2 day on the 21st and I'm off from the 22nd to the 2nd for shut down. So really I only have 7 more days left of this month... Wow. I make myself laugh some times, I got to the gym this morning and I realized I have black pants and a blue sweater (it looked black in the dim light) so I stayed at my desk all day long and at lunch time I went and bought a new sweater that matches... I work at Macy's tonight so I have to wear all black. Was able to go the gym twice today so I feel good about that. Here is one of my favorite pictures of Doug, it's from his and Katie's wedding. We had such a great time and it was the best, most amazing wedding I've ever been too. I'm so going to miss our friend Doug. Worked last night and it went by fast... I was gone from 5:15 am to 10:00 pm last night, long day and I'm tired and hungry.....

Tuesday, 4 December

Got up and went to the gym, I hate it when I miss a day (Yesterday) - did my cardio and did a really good shoulder workout at lunch. I feel good from the workout. So just feeling blah lately, I'm sad for Katie and have been thinking about her a lot. I saw Doug's obituary in the newspaper and it just makes you think how precious life is. Anyway, it ended up being a good day. After work, came home and cleaned up a bit, messy messy... how do the animals get the house so dirty. Oh, on the way home picked up a bunch of sandwiches to take over to Katie's moms house. I wanted to do something for them. I finished up the Christmas cards too, then when Kurt got home we played Wii for a bit. It was a lot of fun, we played bowling, golf, baseball and tennis. We did the fitness test - Kurt was 29 and I was 35. :) Yeah me. We had dinner, Kurt made some macaroni and cheese, yummy. After dinner, cleaned the dishes and the kitchen then packed up my bag for Wednesday. I then went to bed, I was exhausted.... so tired.

Monday, 3 December

Monday - took the day off today. Lots to do and just been thinking a lot about Katie and what she is going through right now. To loose someone you love is such a hard thing to go through, I know she is strong but we will definitely be there for her. So got Olivia up, gave her a bath and washed her hair, she was so good in her baby tub. After that, got her dressed and fed her. She is so good at holding the bottle. After her breakfast, had to change her again (a little spit up mess), we then went to get her picture taken with Santa. She was so good, didn't cry - she gets a little serious when cameras come out so not a big smile but at least no tears. We met up with Kurt for lunch, had sandwiches that were good. Then came back home, I had to then take Olivia back to her foster parents. :( It makes me so sad to see her go, but she will be back with us on Saturday. After that, I headed into Macy's to work. Busy busy night and the time flew by. I really am having fun there. After work, came home and pretty much went to bed, long day and I was tired.

Sunday, 2 December

Olivia slept in and I got some sleep too... how great is that. So got her up around 7:30 and she had her formula and oatmeal. She is such a happy baby. After feeding her and changing her, I got her cleaned and dressed (it takes a while), she played with her floor gym while Kurt and I painted (Kurt painted the mirror and I did two paintings). Kurt decorated more of the upstairs, it looks great. He did such a nice job. So after that, we went to lunch at Ruby Tuesday's with Michael and Dan. We all ate then went to 12 Oaks to shop for a bit. I was going to take Olivia to see Santa but the line was very long. We shopped at the mall for a few hours, only bought some ornaments for the fireplace mantel. Olivia was so good the entire time. The weather started getting really bad, it went from snow to heavy rain. Got home, and put her down for a nap - I watched a movie and wrote out some more cards. Kurt finished painting the mirror frame and hung it up - it looks really nice. The rest of the evening was spent with the baby and hanging out. The Tin Man came on TV (updated version of the Wizard of Oz) watched that for a bit then put Olivia and myself to bed.

Saturday, 1 December

December already - Wow... I can't believe how fast this year has gone. I got up early - ugh, tired and got cleaned up. I picked up Olivia at 10:00 am, she is so sweet and makes me smile, I am so happy when I get to see her. So after picking her up, we came back home - she fell asleep in the car so I put her down for a little bit. I started working on the Christmas cards. I think I'm not going to send as many out as I usually do - narrowing it down to 80. So worked on that for a little bit, after Olivia woke up, I changed her and fed her. We all then headed out to do a little shopping and run some errands, went to a few stores and got a few things. We were back around 4:00 pm, it was time to feed Olivia again - so did that and she played with her floor gym. She is so alert and has such great motor skills. Around 7:00 pm, Mark/Nikki, Mark/John, Dan/Michael and Shon came over. It was so great to see Mark & Nikki (everyone else too), it was great to have my brothers around. We played Wii, ate pizza and played some cards. Mark and Nikki got to meet Olivia and Nikki was so good with her. It was a wonderful evening and I had lots of fun. I put Olivia down around 9:00 pm and she was out untill 7:30 the next morning. I was so happy.... that's a Christmas gift for me. We did get some very sad news though today, Our Friend Doug of Katie/Doug passed away. He had a massive heart attack and passed away at 45. We were in shock, we both are so saddened by this. We love Katie so much and feel horrible for her, the kids and his family. We will miss him so much.

Friday, 30 November

The last day of November, where did this month go. I worked yesterday at both jobs so not much to report on my day yesterday, I'm doing it again today - I'm only there till 9:00 pm though so planning on going out with friends after work. The day was good, busy still, at lunch went home and let the dogs out, they were so happy for me to be home for a little bit, finished my day at the first job and went directly to the second one. I really am enjoying it at Macy's. I get to work with Dan and he is a lot of fun and everything there has been so nice. My evening flew by - it was crazy busy. Holiday shoppers and all. So after work, came home and got cleaned up. I had to go get a shot during my afternoon and it always makes me a little nauseous so I wasn't hungry at all. Didn't eat all day so I had a slight headache. Took some aspirins and we headed out. Picked up Michael and we headed to Canada. We had a really good time, went to a bar there and hung out with some friends. The part that stunk was that we were stuck in the tunnel on the way home for 1 1/2 hours. We didn't get home till after 3 am. I had an early day on Saturday so I was going to be exhausted.

Thursday, 29 November

So I've been thinking about how much clutter I have around the house, well - more like too much stuff that I need to part with. Not just the physical stuff, the mental stuff as well. So I went online to try and find some ways to help "De-Clutter" my life. Here is what I found:

Exercise. This goes along the same lines as eating healthy, as it simplifies your life in the long run, but it goes even further: exercise helps burn off stress and makes you feel better. It’s great.
Declutter before organizing. Many people make the mistake of taking a cluttered desk or filing cabinet or closet or drawer, and trying to organize it. Unfortunately, that’s not only hard to do, it keeps things complicated. Simplify the process by getting rid of as much of the junk as possible, and then organizing. If you declutter enough, you won’t need to organize at all. Have a place for everything. Age-old advice, but it’s the best advice on keeping things organized.
Find inner simplicity. I’m not much of a spiritual person, but I have found that spending a little time with my inner self creates a peaceful simplicity rather than a chaotic confusion. This could be time praying or communing with God, or time spent meditating or journaling or getting to know yourself, or time spent in nature. However you do it, working on your inner self is worth the time.
Learn to decompress from stress. Every life is filled with stress — no matter how much you simplify your life, you’ll still have stress (except in the case of the ultimate simplifier, death). So after you go through stress, find ways to decompress.

Wednesday, 28 November

Happy Hump Day... don't say that often enough. It's going to be a long day today, I start my second job after work today and should be there till about 10 pm - so very long day. The day was good though, still really busy on my project and didn't realize it was time for lunch until a hour after I normally leave. Had to go home and let the animals out, I did some painting at home while I was there. I'm trying to do one wall a day and this is the last wall day. It's all stripes so lots of taping. Picked up pictures at Costco on the way back to work, then finished my day at lear. After that, I headed to Macy's. I had to do some paperwork there and log onto their computer system. Unfortunately the system was down so I waited for about an hour then had to go home until Tomorrow. Not bad though, I was home by 5:30. Got home and made some dinner, we ate and watched some TV. I finished my painting of the room, took down the tape. I think it looks pretty darn cute. So after painting the room, I cleaned it up a bit. I have some white stripes I want to paint still but it will have to wait a few days. After that, got the gym bag packed, clothes out for tomorrow and then watched some TV in bed before falling asleep.

Tuesday, 27 November

I am feeling really good again - I feel refreshed and work is keeping me so busy, it's a great feeling. Lots to do though today.... Work, gym, work then I have to head home and go grocery shopping - I just need to pick up a few things. After that, I have to pick up some paint for the Nursery - going with "It's a girl - Pink", it's going to be Pink, Brown and White. Sounds different but really cute, I picked up a new bedding set for the crib and it looks really nice. After that, I have to rake again and clean up all the leaves on the back deck. (We have no big trees in our yard but from the neighbors trees we have tons and tons of leaves). Okay - so the day went by really fast - I love keeping busy at work... So took care of all the errands and was able to watch "Samantha Who?" That is now my favorite show on TV, I love Christina Applegate and the girl from Gilmore girls on that show is cousins with Jenny McCarthy.

Monday, 26 November

New week but I feel so refreshed. Went to bed early last night so got plenty of sleep. Got to the gym and did over 70 minutes of cardio and then some Abs. Energy level is great so it should be a pretty terrific day. Got plenty to do when I get home so hopefully my work day goes by quickly. Need to paint some more - got one wall painting in the nursery - 3 more to go. I also need to go to the store with Michael to help him get a wireless router. That way we can play against each other in Wii. So after work, I did paint the second wall. Had to pull everything off of it, move everything from the room and tape it up. I put two 1/2 coats of paint on - it's a pretty pink. It's called - "It's a girl pink". After the second coat, I went to Best Buy with Michael and we got the Wireless router then went up to the mall. I am going to be working at the Mall during the holiday to earn some extra cash. I start tomorrow. After that, came back home - put on another coat (well, almost a full coat) then removed the tape. After that, got stuff ready for Tuesday and then went to bed. Oh, I did have a salad at the mall - it was delicious..... It was a really good day.

Sunday, 25 November

I slept so well, didn't get up untill about 8:00 am or so. Felt so nice to sleep in - refreshed. So had some coffee and we immediately started playing Wii. It was so much fun, we played bowling and golf. That was fun, we want to go get some new games - so goal is go shopping later on in the day for that. We played until about 11:00 am or so then we both got cleaned up and headed out for a few errands. We went to TJ Maxx then to Costco - I got some pictures developed there so had to pick them up and we got a few other things as well. After that, we went to CiCi's pizza (it's a pizza buffet) It was okay, pizza not that good but salad bar was okay and the desserts were awesome. After lunch, we headed back home and relaxed for a while. Watched some TV and a movie. After that, did some more laundry and packed up my stuff for Monday. Kurt returned our movies and I made dinner. Orange chicken...it was pretty darn good. After dinner, I was ready for bed - so I pretty much got in my pj's and went to bed. Started to watch the Simpsons but was asleep before it ended... A new week begins and Christmas is just around the corner. 30 days and counting....

Saturday, 24 November

So got up and showered, got some breakfast (they had a great continental breakfast bar at the hotel). Drank a lot of coffee then got Olivia bathed and dressed. So we were a little worried about putting her in the pack and play to sleep - 1) It was in the car all day and we were worried it would be too cold for her and 2) It is so big, was nervous about her rolling over and sufficating. So Kurt had the great idea of tipping over the night stand and we made a make shift bed for her. She fit in there perfectly and slept really well. Plus it was right next to the bed so I could be right there for her if she woke up. When she fell asleep she was holding my finger - I think she likes knowing that we are right there with her. Anyway - see picture. After getting ready, headed over to Mom's house for some more breakfast (All I did was eat this entire holiday break). Then Lisa, Katie, Heather and I went to Target for a little shopping. After that, came back to the house, played some cards, worked on the computer a bit then it was time to head home. We had a great time and I enjoyed every minute of it. We got in the car and headed home, I drove, Kurt and Olivia slept. Made really good time. We were suppose to drop Olivia off by 5:00 but we didn't get home till about 6:00 pm. Changed her and fed her one last time before taking her home. Unfortunately no one was home, so brought Olivia back home with us for a couple of more hours. After dropping her off the second time, we went out with Mark, John, Dan and Mike for a little bit. We were home within a few hours, both of us were so tired.

Friday, 23 November

Today was a very long day. Olivia woke up around 1:00 am or so, well instead of trying to put her back to bed - I decided to get up with her and head out to shop. Meijer had advertised that they will have at least 30 Wii systems in the store so I headed out in search of one. Luckily, the store is open 24/7 so I was inside and out of the cold. Got to the store around1:30 and there was already a line but luckily for me I was number 19. I immediately called Michael and got him to come in, he was 29. Thank gosh because there was only 30 game systems available. So we waited in line for over 4 hours but some people were there as of 8:00 pm the night before (I'm crazy but not that crazy). Olivia was so good, she slept through most of the time we were there. I feed her around 4:30 am and she went back to bed for another hour or so. Around 5:00 is when they brought out the Wii systems (Did I mention there was about 200 people in line but they only gave out numbers for 30 of them... some people were not too happy about that... I was though, I got my Wii). Anyway, we finally got to the register around 5:30 and was out by 6:00 am. After that, decided I was just too tired and headed home (I did stop for some delicious McDonald's coffee on the way). Got home, unpacked everything - put Olivia back to bed (Such an angel) then tried to go back to bed myself. I ended up getting out of bed around 7:00 am (I never got back to sleep) and started my day. We set up the Wii and got it hooked up to the wireless network (Now we can play against Bonnie & Michelle, Todd, Michael & Dan, Robin and Jim - they all have the systems too). After playing for a little bit, did some laundry and cleaned up a bit. After that, had to pack up the car - pack and play, bouncy chair, baby clothes, diaper bag, stroller, blankets, toys, etc.... plus pack stuff for me, the desserts and other stuff I'm forgetting to list. Got in the car and headed to Charlotte. We had a terrific day, got to hang out with the family, play with the kids, play cards, exchange gifts, eat, eat, eat & eat. It was a really great day and by 8:30 we were exhausted. We headed to the hotel room but stopped at Meijer on the way to get a 2nd Wii controller and some baby oatmeal. Got checked in, unloaded everything, changed olivia and fed her then put her to bed and I fell asleep immediately. Olivia was so good, she slept in til about 4:30, I fed her and she went back to bed until 7:30. I was really happy about that, I got some sleep as well (I really needed it - I was going on two days with only 2 hours of sleep).

Thursday, 22 November

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Wow, what a wonderful holiday this was. Got to spend time with my family and friends and had a really enjoyable long weekend. Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday - it's about spending time with people you love and it really is a time to be thankful. I am very blessed for so many things... too many to even list here. Thanksgiving day was very nice, I picked up Olivia in the morning, then started cleaning and cooking. Everyone was over by 3:30, we had appetizers to start with, people played games, we chatted and relaxed - around 5:30 we had dinner. It was so good, everything was delicious. We watched a movie while playing cards, then did some cleaning up of the dishes. Around 8:30, I put Olivia to bed and we had most of the house cleaned up. I was exhausted... didn't go to bed till about 10 pm or so. It was a pretty terrific Thanksgiving.