Posts tagged holidays

Goodbye 2012!

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The last day of 2012 was spent working a few hours (while the whole time I wondered WHY I was even bothering to work as it seemed no one else was. So, I took off at 11:00 and went to Barnes & Noble where it seems all of Clearwater was. That’s more like it! I picked up my new Anne Taintor calendar for 2013. I’ve been buying her calendars for as long as I can remember. I love the retro, snarky attitude of the calendar. As it typical for me, I wait till after Christmas when it goes on clearance. The problem is, when I went to pick up my calendar, I ended up also leaving with 4 books and a weekly planner. That wasn’t my plan, but when I walked in the store I couldn’t help myself. Regardless of the $60 I spent, I did get a great deal on everything. One of the books I’ve had my eye on for awhile, three Stephen King novels on one and it was half off.

 

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After I left the book store, I finally stopped by the yoga studio I’ll be going to starting on Sunday. Back in July, I bought a deal on Living Social for 10 yoga classes for a great deal. Then my sciatica happened and then before I knew it, it expired. Not one to let $50 go to waste, I called the main studio and asked if there was a way to still use my voucher, except I didn’t want to have to drive to Tampa. She suggested I called the new owners of the new studio, Yoga365, and explain my situation and she felt they would honor it. And she was right. I am thankful to the new owners for honoring my voucher. I spoke to both of them yesterday and they were very welcoming. Since I have never taken a hot yoga class, they suggested I take their intro workshop class on Sunday. So that’s where I’ll be this Sunday!

 

Since it’s a rare occasion that hubby and I get home early on a “work” day, we decided to take advantage of it and take Blue and Ozzie to the park. It was a beautiful afternoon. There were a lot of families there with kiddos on bikes. I bet they were Christmas presents! Blue and Ozzie were ecstatic to be there. Can you tell?

 

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Dinner was the highlight of the day… We went to Kobe’s Japanese Steakhouse which is always delicious. We invited my mom, Nick, Jenna, Autumn, and our friend Rachel. Rachel plays paintball with hubby and this was actually the first time her and I met but I already thought she was a fabulous. I helped her out with a prank on another player so she gave me a beautiful ladybug wind chime. The evening was full of good food, good company, and laughter. A great end to 2012!

 

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As is typical in my world, I was asleep before the ball dropped. I can’t remember that last time I was actually awake at midnight on New Years. I was pretty happy to wake up to a new year, though. 2012 was quite challenging and I am looking to a fresh start and a clean slate. There is so much I want to do this year and right now, the first morning of 2013, it all seems possible.

 

Happy New Year!

 

I hope you all have a fabulous 2013!!!!

 

How did you spend your New Years Eve? Do you make resolutions for the new year?

Favorite posts of 2012

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happy new year 2013

 

 

As 2012 comes to an end tonight and we welcome 2013, I am thinking about this year and all the things I accomplished. 2012 has definitely been the year of stepping outside of my comfort zone. I’ve done so many things that I normally would not do. I hope that I continue to face my fears head-on in 2013.

To finish out the year, I thought I’d do a list of my favorite posts of the year. This was really tough to narrow down and I’m probably forgetting something, but these posts meant the most to me. From completing not one but TWO half-marathons, meeting the wonderful women of Tampa Bay Lady Bloggers, my first blog conference, becoming Yelp Elite, starting Jingle Bikes For Kids, wonderful family time, along with several struggles I faced - it’s been a memorable year.  I hope you enjoy this look back with me…

 

 

I love my blog and I really look forward to continuing to blog in 2013 and to see how it grows. I would like to thank each and every one of you for following and showing interest in my babbling. It helps to keep me sane.

Wishing you all a SAFE and Happy New Year!!

Christmas Day FUN!!

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After a very nice Christmas Eve, our Christmas Day was a perfect wrap-up to the long holiday weekend. Another Christmas has come and gone… It seems like I blink and it’s over. It was just Thanksgiving and now we are quickly approaching 2013. I was at Publix yesterday and they already had Valentine cards out. We all seriously need to slow down…. Like Blue! He knows how to relax….

 

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But now, I want to share our fantastic Christmas Day! After a quiet morning at home with hubby and Blue and Ozzie, we headed over to Nick & Jenna’s for the afternoon and a FANTASTIC dinner. Of course much of the afternoon was all about Autumn, as it should be. I cannot get enough of her silliness and laughter. And the older she gets, the sillier she gets. Having a bad day? Listen to Autumn for a few minutes and you will forget every single problem you are facing. I wish she could follow me everywhere.

Anyhow, little miss Autumn got a pink BB gun for Christmas after showing interest in Nick’s which he recently bought to shoot in the backyard. And before you go all “you’ll shoot your eye out” on them, you have to know that it is safety first. Not to mention Autumn is an ace shot. Water bottles and soda cans were being shot with unbelievable precision – by Autumn. No need to worry about her and boys, that’s for sure.

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Nick, Jenna, and Jenni also had fun with the BB guns. Not sure why I didn’t shoot it… Oh I know, I was too busy taking pictures! You can’t really tell in this picture, but hubby is holding Autumn’s pink gun.

 

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There was also swinging and backyard fun. Thank goodness she tolerates all my picture taking and is quite the little poser, both with me and hubby.

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Then it was time to open presents! Autumn very much loved the My Little Pony set we got her. A girl can never have too many ponies, just ask Autumn.

 

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And then there were gifts from Grandmommy and Jenni too. Silly girl asked why everyone likes to give her so many presents and we told her because we love you!!!

 

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Scarlett had to get in on the action too… After presents, it was time for Scrabble. If it’s a holiday and we have time, there is a Scrabble game. It’s genetic in this family. Unfortunately this game did not go my way and I kept trying to sell my vowels…

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For dinner, Nick made a deep fried turkey. If you haven’t had one, you should definitely try one. It is so juicy and tender. So yummy!!

 

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While we waited for dinner to be ready, Jenni and I went outside with Autumn so she could ride her new bike and wear her fabulous helmet and cute gloves.

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Autumn’s Christmas!

 

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I couldn’t let the day pass without a picture of me and my honey… The weather was nice, so we sat out on the patio while the turkey cooked and Autumn played on her swing. And because you can never watch it too much, A Christmas Story was on all day. That movie never gets old.

 

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Time to eat! Along with the fried turkey, there were also mashed potatoes, rolls, pasta salad, corn, macaroni and cheese, and broccoli casserole. I’m full again just thinking about it. Thank you for the delicious dinner Nick and Jenna!

 

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After dinner and dessert and we were all stuffed (and discussing how awesome stretchy pants are), we went outside to watch Nick and his new interest, slacklining. Every heard of it? I wanted to try it but I imagined myself throwing out my back and that just would not have been cool.

 

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It was such a wonderful day. Good company, good food, and lots of laughter. My kind of day…. On the way home, we saw a beautiful sunset. I thought of Daddy all day long, wishing he was with us, having a hard time believing that this was our third Christmas without him, and seeing this sunset reminded me that he is with us, always.

 

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How did you spend your Christmas? Do you celebrate any special traditions?

Christmas Eve Magic

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Merry Christmas everyone! As I type this, A Christmas Story is on TV, I’m drinking a hot soy latte, and thinking about the pumpkin pie bars and pasta salad I still need to make for later.

Last night, we all celebrated Christmas Eve at Joey and Devon’s house, my brother and sister-in-law, with their boys Cooper and Cole. The kiddos were in full playtime mode and the sound of laughter and giggling filled the house. There was food, fun, and presents! It was a very nice night. Funniest moment of the night – when Cole went to tell Simon (the Elf, currently perched on the tree) that Cooper wasn’t being good. Classic!

I took so many photos – and a fun video – so I better get to it!

 

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Cole (left), Cooper (right), and Autumn!

 

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Today we will have Christmas dinner at Nick and Jenna’s house and give Autumn her gift! Can’t wait to see her face when we give it to her. (hint, ponies!!!!) Today, as always, I am thankful for wonderful family times!

 

Merry Christmas to you all!

Delivering the bikes!

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By the end of last weekend, we had 11 bikes with helmets for our special holiday project that hubby and I started back in October. We were so touched by everyone who took part in this, helping to make for some very happy kiddos this Christmas.

 

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Tuesday morning, hubby loaded them up in his truck so we could delivered them to the Toys for Tots distribution warehouse. They all fit perfectly in the back of the truck.

 

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On arrival at the warehouse, we were greeted by several people who were more than happy to help us unload our goodies.

 

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Robin, the warehouse manager, took us on a tour after the bikes were unloaded. What a great guy! You could tell how important Toys for Tots was to him…

 

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It was wonderful to see all the bikes they had lined up there. My dad would have loved that sight! Our 11 bikes and helmets fit nicely in line with all the others. Do you remember the feeling of getting a bike when you were little? It’s a wonderful thing to be able to pass that on to someone else.

They had games, books, toys, stuffed animals, soccer balls, basketballs, and more. And they were sorting it all out, in preparation for the big day.

It had been our plan to volunteer on distribution day and I was very upset that we could not be a part of that yesterday because of my being sick. After delivering the bikes on Tuesday, I wanted to volunteer more than ever. The important thing, though, is that our bikes made it to their destination and are now in the hands of families in need and will make for a memorable Christmas morning.

Thank you to the following for being a part of this little project of ours – we can’t tell you enough how much your generosity means to us:

  • Karen Okabayashi
  • Angela Gordon-Somers
  • Carol & Ken Lynch
  • Nancy DeTrapani
  • Jenni DeTrapani
  • Cindy Balkema

And, thank you to Jenna and Nick DeTrapani, for purchasing a bike on Friday and dropping it off at the Toys for Tots drop in our name. That makes for 12 bikes in 2012!

 

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To learn more….

 

Do you have charities you donate to during the holidays?

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