Sunday, January 4, 2015

Last Round of Santamas

We've spent the last few days deconstructing Santamas, but realized when we went to put it all back up in the attic, that it no longer all fits. I bought a big bin to fit everything that had been loose or in little bins, but apparently, that made it a bit more difficult to get it all up there. So, we decided to get rid of a few things. One of those things was an incomplete set (ok, not even set; more like two partial, but coordinating, sets) of holiday dishes & glassware. My friend, AKA, recently invited me to a Wants/Needs group where everything is free... I didn't want to deal with trying to sell any of it, so I offered it up on there. Within 5 minutes, I had 6 people "Next, please". They were picked up last night.

Santamas morning, I had gotten an email from Amazon, telling me I had a gift from our son; he got me the e-book version of a new Stephen King I haven't read yet. But, no other word came until Saturday, when he couldn't make it down to my in-laws' because he was throwing up. Then, after a week of being so sick, he wasn't even answering emails, he finally made it over to our house. Pretty sure he has walking pneumonia (& hope he follows through with the trip to the doc's he mentioned), but we were able to enjoy a quick late dinner (since we had to wait for Ace to get home from work), gift opening, and visiting.

He gave Princess a Fred Meyer gift card, also gave me a huge bag of Ghirardelli chocolate squares, and gave his dad a bluetooth phone connector for the 4-Runner. We gave him much-needed (and specifically-requested) clothes, a new calendar, misc candy & personal items, and pot/pans. He also got some new books and a lot of gift cards. Princess & I went to bed by 10/1030p, and I heard his truck start up around 130a, so he & Ace must have had a good visit.

I got a bunch of decluttering done at work - had nail polish and a bunch of miscellaneous nail art supplies I didn't need anymore (still have a few things left, but a TON of it was either picked up locally - sold through a couple of local Buy/Sell/Trade groups on FB - or sent to other nail techs - sold through a couple of ProTech groups. I also spent a couple hours reorganizing, taking inventory, and cleaning my studio; I try to do that a few times per year. I need labels and a UV coating for my window (apparently the sun fades my polish remover... lol), but otherwise, I'm done. One thing we usually do before year's end is make one last run to Goodwill or Salvation Army, but that didn't happen this year; too much going on. Hoping to get that done this "weekend" (Ace's & my weekends are Sunday & Monday).

Oh, and as some of you may have noticed by my very excited status & comments on FaceBook on NYD, I watched the Oregon Ducks stomp all over the Florida State Seminoles in the Rose Bowl, 59-20, all while texting with my dad. That was a great game, and a great start to the new Championship Series. I did not watch the other Championship game that day, but I *did* see that Ohio beat #1 ranked Arizona. The National Championship Game will be on January 12th, 530p PST, on ESPN. GO DUCKS! (Yes, I still like the OSU Beavers, too, but they did not make it to the Championships). And, just in case you haven't seen this yet, here's Ohio's coach's reaction to hearing about the Duck's win. CLICK HERE

Thursday, January 1, 2015

New Year, New Goals -

As most of you know, I don't do "resolutions"; I make goals! This year's goals in my personal life are as follows:

1. Get our landscaping further along (I don't want to say completed, because we've got a lot of stuff planned).
2. Install an exterior camera system (both around our own home, and if possible, along the shared driveway).
3. Finish all those little projects around the house (like paint touch-up, interior doors need painting, interior doors need new hardware, etc).
4. Revamp Squeaks' room as a game/music space for Ace (provided *her* plan for moving out of her mom's comes to fruition; she can take what she wants and we can redo as we need).
5. Take another family vacation, and possibly take a Parent-only vacation.
6. Buy a new (to me) vehicle. I'll be ready to buy in the fall; the plan is to allow Princess limited/with-rules use of the Honda as soon as she has her driver's license, so I'll need something else for myself before that. I have at least six on the "list"; need to narrow that down.
7. Make more lunch/coffee dates with friends.
8. Delete all unnecessary files/photos from my computer (stuff having to do with my ex, mostly), and reorganize my other files/photos.
9. Add two more tattoos (one in memory of my beloved Belle, whom we lost this past February, and a dragonfly), and do a cover-up on my daughter's name to reflect her new name.
10. Continue to work with Princess on her driving skills... slowly, but surely, she will learn and she will be as safe as we can make her.

Hmm... I thought there would be more, but I just can't think of them... The past year brought one big goal to life - Princess's adoption. What a huge relief to all of us. I really feel that this is where we're supposed to be, and life is pretty good.