Friday Five!

Sounds like a 1-5 of wonderful things PB!

1. We're out for Japanese tonight and a bit of last minute (hopefully, if we find the cage we want) Christmas shopping for Joey. Dad isn't into Japanese, so he is ordering from the kids' menu and eating chicken tenders. The man makes me giggle.

2. All Christmas wrapping is done, including the 7 qt crockpot hubby bought me today but doesn't know about yet. Gosh, that was nice of him. 

3. We're celebrating 10 years on Sunday. I'm not sure what we are doing yet, but tradition is to order something to be delivered, and eat in our pjs while watching a movie. With last minute Christmas shopping madness, restaurants are generally too busy to enjoy being out, so we go for relaxing.

4. I find myself going above and beyond this Christmas, trying to fill the void left by my sister. I don't want to be a downer for anyone so I find myself being a bit brighter and cheerier than necessary.

5. Off work tomorrow! I usually work Saturdays so I am looking forward to that.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas!

1.  Christmas here in Ireland with friends new and old.  It was lovely.  My first Christmas in 8 years without my husband and I not only survived, I thrived. 

2.  Got a big snuggly bear hug from a cute German guy (new friend?) 

3.  Opened up some gifts from friends in the UK and elsewhere and my mum-in-law. 

4.  Will go hear some music at the pub either tonight or tomorrow (or both?), hoping to catch my new crush either then or Monday at one of the pubs. 

5.  My now good friend leaves on Tuesday to go to Dublin for NYE and then back home to Holland. 

6.  My big New Year's Eve gig coming up FAST! 

Hooray for thriving, Andee! It sounds like you had a pleasantly joyous Christmas! Yay!

1. I lost my little mind in the 50% off gift wrap section this morning. I do believe I have an addiction to gift wrap, and half price makes everything look so much prettier and shinier!

2. Hubs and I both worked Christmas Eve and Day,  Very easy days, with the hotel nearly empty. I spent at least half of both days sitting on my butt watching Christmas movies. What few guests we did have either appreciated us or felt sorry for us for having to work, and were giving generous tips.

3. I survived the first Christmas without my sister, There were frequent bouts of wet cheeks, but I made it. I even smiled recalling silliness of our childhood Christmases. Working instead of being at a family function helped some, even if it was the coward's way out.

4. We opened our gifts last night, other than the ones we'd gotten early (laptops each, Xbox game and Anthrax Blu-ray for him, London Underground book for me). He was pleasantly surprised by the 7 qt crockpot he bought me and didn't know about. He saw the humor in, and LOVED the single serving sized bag of Quavers in the biggest box under the tree. It was the only way to keep him from guessing what it was. Big dinner tonight with ham and all the trimmings since I am off work today.

5. Off to enjoy a Boxing Day bubble bath before going to get the cheese for our Wallace & Grommit cheese day on Sunday, which ended up being after Christmas this year. The tree is still up and we haven't hit New Year's Eve yet, so technically it is still the Christmas season.

1.  Having a wonderful stay at my mom's house - we are down in PA for a week since it will be our last stay before moving back to the UK

2.  My three year old had a blast on a steam train ride today

3.  Taking a break baking cookies with my mom for our "farewell party" tomorrow

4.  Going to accompany my mother to her first yoga class in the morning (my Xmas gift to her) - very excited!

5.  Overwhelmed with emotions as I see various family and friends...it really hasn't sunk in yet that we are moving....

A tangent - it's still the Christmas season until January 5th, Tamamoo.  You've got loads of time yet!

M.

A tangent - it's still the Christmas season until January 5th, Tamamoo.  You've got loads of time yet!

M.

True.  I'd leave the tree up and enjoy the Christmas season until Valentine's Day if the other human in the house wouldn't grumble. 

1. Today was supposed to be a fun day of lunch and shopping with mom and dad in Evansville. It is now going to be lunch, shopping and keeping mom distracted for a bit and pretend we are cheering her up because her youngest brother passed away.

2. From above, mom's brother passed away New Year's Eve. My heart aches for her, losing her youngest child and now her brother, in six months' time. He was in a lot of pain for a lot of years, having as much steel and titanium in his spine as he did bone. Still, although you can think of it as 'at least he isn't hurting', the human heart still misses people. He was 11 years older than me, and always acted more like an older brother to us than uncle.

3. Since our New Year's Eve plans were to sit home with beer and pizza, in front of the tv, we more or less carried on with them, just not as joyously as before.

4. We're going to visit friends tomorrow. They are pregnant (with a girl) after 9 years of trying. I am so happy for them I have to force myself to not buy lots of baby toys and clothes to take with me, and instead wait for the baby shower. The urge to buy everything pink, purple and adorable is almost overwhelming when I get near the baby section of a store.

5. Happy 2015 UKY! May everyone's hopes and dreams come true, your health be amazing, and your days be filled with love and joy.

1. One closet cleaned and organized, one to go. Next Friday seems a good day for it, since I want to go through all the boxes, decide what I want and clear out the rest. I already have a couple boxes from today's project that I am taking to Goodwill on the way to get hubs from work.

2. I just found out I am going to be a great aunt again (again)! My niece Shanna told me today. She is the twin of Shelby, who just announced her second is on the way. Exciting times!

3. Our poor little car was a little more sick than we wanted to pay doctor bills for, given the age (1999), so we went car shopping Tuesday. What we have now is an 04, but is well maintained and looks great. The other wasn't in the best shape when we bought it, but we needed something cheap when we first moved back and had spent all our money on his green card and shipping everything back here.

4. Other than me working tomorrow, we're planning a quiet weekend at home, and plan to work on some of the beer we amassed over the festive season and didn't quite get around to. I'm sure it is going to take a few sessions to get through it all, but it will be enjoyable.

5. I'm currently stuck in, and have been most of the day waiting for maintenance to change our door lock. It was wearing out anyway, but these frigid temps have done it in. I'd go ahead and be out and about, but Joey is all about stranger danger and doesn't like unknowns in his house. I'd have thought he'd get used to maintenance guys, because there are only two that come. Suppose since they don't come very often he forgets about them. I hate being stuck in.

My sympathies, TamaMoo, I just saw that your mom's brother passed away. 

Thanks, Andee. He was one of the good ones of the world. Had his faults, and could be a pain in the ars* just like the rest of us, but had a heart of gold and would do anything he could for anyone.

Thanks, Andee. He was one of the good ones of the world. Had his faults, and could be a pain in the ars* just like the rest of us, but had a heart of gold and would do anything he could for anyone.

Aww, hugs.

1.  Eagerly anticipating the current group's leaving us!  They are all nice and good people but it's been really disruptive and chaotic here since Saturday last week.  They leave tomorrow. 

2.  Haven't seen my crush in ages now due to him being out of town and me having no transport.  Roll on Monday.....will most likely see him then! 

3.  A bit of post New Year's malaise.  I need to find a way to keep my spirits up and generate gigs for myself.  Otherwise I fall back into sad mode.   

4.  My father-in-law called me two days after Christmas to see how I was doing.  It was pretty monumental as he rarely speaks on the phone.  He said if there was ever anything I ever needed I was to let him know.  And he said I was the daughter he never had.   

5.  My New Year's Eve gig went great and I wasn't even very nervous at all.  The other musicians made me feel very welcome and were extremely supportive and had nice things to say about my music and playing.   

That's very sweet of your father-in-law, Andee!

1. I didn't get to my closet project as planned. Seems the whole day was spent on errands and housework, but not what I planned.

2. I split up with Flo today (the spokesperson for Progressive insurance). When we got the 'new' car, Progressive upped our insurance from $43 a month to $81. Everywhere else quoted $43 or less for full coverage. I am getting the same coverage for $41. I should have shopped around years ago.

3. Tomorrow is uncle Lee's memorial. I dread it and look forward to it at the same time. Somehow the funeral or memorial makes it all seem real, but at the same time, it seems healing doesn't start to begin until that moment. I hate the limbo feeling that leads up to it.

4. We're in the 40s (f) today and the next couple days. If I can't have snow, it may as well be a bit warmer. Last week was so bitterly cold it was miserable.

5. We have a friend of a co-worker coming to look at the old car today. If he doesn't want it, we are selling it for scrap. Either way, we figure we'll get about $200 for it. I'd feel better selling it for scrap although the co-worker has been told what is wrong with it and was able to pass the info along. It is fixable, and can be driven as is, for shorter trips, but without knowing how much it will cost him to fix it, I think I would sleep easier if he declined it.

Hugs TamaMoo, I know that feeling of non-closure before the funeral.  When my dad passed away two years ago it was such a weird feeling leading up to the funeral.  I dreaded it but at the same time wanted it to happen so we could mourn properly.

1.  Not been out to a pub or heard any live music since New Year's Eve!  Will I brave the pitch dark and icy cold and walk in to town to hear some music tonight?  I keep saying I will do it but then I don't, but I really think I'll be glad if I do it! 

2.  My crush (and no, Mrs. Robinson, I'm not getting obsessed!  heehee ) is still out of town.  But anyway, I've really been focusing on me these past few weeks.  Practicing music and dreaming my dreams for the future. 

3.  Was a baking maniac these past couple of days and made about 5 different kinds of cookies in big batches to be frozen for future use. 

4.  I had my first driving lesson (not a professional one) and it went well! 

5.  To be continued.....

Thanks, Andee. It seems odd a ceremony frees us, but it is true.