Friday Fill-in

1. My blueprint for success includes being loved by those who surround me 2. A mini-Snickers bar from the basket on the counter in our office was the last candy I ate. 3. The best facial moisturizer I've ever used is Bath and Bodyworks Raspberry face lotion. 4. Discussing problems (actually, ranting about my day) with my Hubby can be good therapy. 5. I'd like to tell you about my Grandchildren! 6. Showing my family how much I love them is my strongest characteristic. 7. And as for the weekend, tonight (which was actually last night, Friday) Hubby and I will watch "The Pink Panther" DVD that my friend let us borrow, tomorrow my plans include working in the morning, grocery shopping in the afternoon for our dinner with my brother on Sunday, and going out to an Open Mic at night, and Sunday, I want to go to my brother's house for the football game.

Already Christmas Shopping!

I really detest Christmas shopping. Not because of spending money. I'm fine with that. What I hate is going into the stores and the traffic. We live in Salem, NH which is the shopping capitol of the world ..... or at least of New Hampshire. We have every store imaginable and many that I don't think we really need. Starting NOW it gets crazy. People are out shopping already and from the week of Thanksgiving on, the traffic is so bad we can't get out of our driveway. So a few years ago I found the wonder and joy of Internet Shopping!! It's a Godsend. I absolutely love it. Sit at the computer, often with my jammies on and visit store after store, comparison shopping, finding the best bargains, picking out exactly the size and color I need. Without having to drive through traffic, put up with rude drivers, fight shoulder to shoulder with other shoppers only to find out that the item I wanted is sold out, or they don't have the right color or size. Most sites have extremely low or free shipping at this time of the year. Internet shopping is a miracle! So yesterday I started shopping, and I've already bought 5 or 6 gifts and gotten some really great ideas for some others. I learned the hard way (see the UPS rant blog entry) not to have stuff shipped to my house unless it's small enough to fit in the mailbox and I am SURE it is being sent through the post office. Otherwise it gets sent to my husband's work where I know someone will be there to sign for/receive it. My favorite sites are; Deepdiscount.com, Overstock.com and Amazon.com Check them out! My 5 things to be Thankful for: 1. That the rain that is currenly pouring down right now is not snow. 2. That I worked today....and will be working permanently.....in Salem which is a 3 minute commute and I can go home and eat lunch. 3. That the elections are over, the signs are coming down, and the commercials that are on the air are not political ones. 4. That we have a VCR and can tape shows so as to avoid commercials altogether. 5. That tonight is Survivor night and I can sit decadently on the couch and veg while I watch it....followed by ER!

I'm Thankful for.......

My five things I'm thankful for today: 1. Having the opportunity to babysit my grand-daughter.....she's so much fun! 2. Being able to shop for Christmas online....I hate shopping in stores! 3. that I'm becoming more comfortable in my job. I felt very efficient today. 4. That my new shoes are comfortable and don't hurt my feet. 5. Even though the economy is lousy, we have enough to put food on the table and to pay our bills.

Did You Vote????

Hubby and I just went to the polling place and cast our vote for President. It really is an awesome experience to have the freedom to do that. I felt very "American". The FOX news truck was there and the guy was doing a spot when we walked in but we didn't get a chance to be on TV. Oh well. My five things to be thankful for today: 1. That it was a gorgeous fall evening and Hubby and I could walk hand-in-hand to vote. 2. That I got to have lunch with my Mom, whom I've been missing. 3. That I'm feeling more comfortable in my job and not like such a dolt who makes mistakes every time she turns around. 4. That the new shoes I bought turned out to be comfortable. 5. That I thought to put some money away every paycheck for a "Christmas Club" and now I don't feel bad spending it.

Challenges

I received two challenges today....one was from Heidi Lou http://heidilou.wordpress.com/ who challenged me to tell her seven things about myself that people probably don't know. So....

1. I was best man at my brother's wedding.

2. I have 25 first cousins on my mother's side of the family.

3. I love to go white water rafting but I'm too scared to go downhill skiing.

4. I can cross-stitch but can't knit.

5. My first and only plane ride was when I was 40 years old.

6. My first time out of the USA was when I was 47 years old.

7. I've written a full-length novel but haven't been able to get it published.......yet.

The other challenge was from Joan http://joanoh2.blogspot.com/ who challenged me to say five things I'm thankful for EVERY DAY between now and Thanksgiving! So I am thankful for......

1. Getting a second chance at marriage and finding the love of my life.

2. Having children who are smart, responsible and are leading the lives of fine, upstanding young adults.

3. My parents who are healthy and active.

4. Two adorable grandchildren.

5. Siblings with whom I'm close and have a lot of fun with.

Speaking of having fun with my siblings reminded me of this picture I have to share with you. It was at my brother's wedding a couple of years ago. My mom wanted a nice picture of just her "children" and we weren't in the mood to cooperate.

On the left is my "baby" brother John, my sister Chris, myself and my brother Steve.

My mom loved the picture so much she had a copy framed for each of us and gave it to us for Christmas.

Manchester Animal Shelter

Son Nicholas has gotten involved in the animal shelter where he lives in Manchester, NH. http://www.manchesteranimalshelter.org/ He volunteers his time two nights a week to go and care for the dogs and cats and walk the dogs. He also sometimes spends extra time there when they're holding a special event. This weekend they had an "Adopt-a-thon". They reduced the cost of adopting a pet in order to try and adopt out more animals.

The shelter is a "no-kill" shelter which means that once they get an animal they keep it there until it's adopted. Some of the animals have been there for months. They also take in animals through the police department. These animals were the pets of people who were arrested and they have nowhere else to go. The shelter houses these animals until the person's court case it finished.....again, sometimes for months.

We went up there yesterday to see the place where Nick spends a lot of his time. It's a very tiny place, jammed packed with cages full of cats. I didn't count, but there were a lot, mostly grown cats, which are harder to adopt out than kittens. There were a dozen dogs as well. Despite the cramped quarters, the place was very clean and the animals were very well taken care of.

I was very impressed with the whole situation and very impressed with my son. He puts a lot of time, effort and passion into his volunteer work. If it wasn't for people like him, these poor animals wouldn't have any place to go. Kudos to Nick.

Halloween

This year for Halloween we got to go out with baby Emily. Doug and Kara had made arrangements to go to her parents' house and walk around their neighborhood because they live in a cul-de-sac and it would be safer. We laughed at the fact that usually, there's four or five kids and one parent. We had five adults (me, hubby, Doug, Kara and Kara's dad) with just Emily! Kara's aunt had bought Emily a costume last year right after Halloween for pennies on the dollar. (smart woman!) The costume was a skunk!! Doug got a huge kick out of the fact that other little girls were dressed as princesses, and his daughter was a skunk!!

Emily got her first fright as we gathered outside the house to leave. They have a little mechanical skeleton on the front porch that is voice-activated. Emily walked up all friendly-like and said "Hi" and when it moved it scared the be-jeesus out of her!

She wasn't scared at all about being outside in the dark, and she wasnt' scared by all the kids in costumes. Although no one in a really scary outfit came right up to her. It was a gorgeous night....about 50 degrees and perfect New England Autumn weather. We went to three or four houses and everyone thought Emily was adorable. The funniest thing - the thing that made us laugh all night long - was that the costume was big and fat, and made her waddle when she walked just like a real skunk!!