Sad news...

Today is winter:

I'm working on a fun little project which I hope to post in the next couple of weeks. But first, I have to make it out of this hellhole, otherwise known as 2016. I totally share Betty's sentiment:

2016 wants to make sure it knows who was the boss for the last 365 days, and has not only given me yet another round of voice loss/flu/nasty cold/crud, it has taken a beloved cousin. My cousin, Kevin Shea, passed away on December 23rd, after battling an infection for about a month. He was only 53 years old.

When we were young, my brothers and I spent a lot of time around our cousins--Kevin, Darryl, and Kelly. Kevin was my older brother's age, Darryl is s year older than me, and Kelly is a few years younger than my younger brother.

We'd usually spend a lot of time at my grandmother's house in Okeechobee. She lived on an acre or so of land, and lived on a canal, where we spent summers fishing with cane poles and bologna for bait.

I usually hung around Darryl, who was a lot like me, but I had a good relationship with Kevin too, although I was sort of intimidated by him. He was really tall, and had a fiery Irish humor he inherited from his dad. I guess even as a kid, he was a little larger than life to me.

Here's a fairly recent pic of my cousin, Darryl:

But from his mom's side (my dad's sister), he inherited juvenile diabetes, and he wasn't the best at managing it. I remember he'd sometimes purposely eat cake when he was upset with his parents. I never did understand that, lol, because a stint in the hospital miserably sick wouldn't be my first choice for revenge against a spanking.

My uncle Frank, was as Irish as can be, and exuded a laid back kind of fire and brash humor. I remember he didn't feel well much of the time, either, but when he did feel well, he was a lot of fun to be around. He passed away in 2011.

My aunt Sharon is also really cool, and easy going. Sometimes I'd spend summers at their house in Palm Beach, and just hang out with her, and she'd teach me how to cook, or how to play jacks, or jump rope. She was patient with my klutzy self. Lol. She worked a lot, though, and she always seemed tired. Today, she's doing well, and a breast cancer survivor.

But as I grew older, went to college and joined the Air Force, we fell out of touch. The last time I saw them was at my dad's funeral several years ago.

Kevin's pride and joy was his now famous pub, O'Shea's, on Clematis St in downtown West Palm Beach. He sold the pub after suffering some health problems several years back, but he laid the groundwork for the pub's success today.

Kevin's passing made me stop and realize how much I miss them, and how important family is, even extended family. Kevin lived just a couple hours south of me, and I wish we'd kept in touch.

His funeral is next Friday, and if I can get off work, I'm hoping to ride down with my brother and SIL to attend. It'll be nice to see my aunt and cousins...I just wish it was under happier circumstances.

He will definitely be missed...

Wow, y'all....

I'm working on something big. It's gonna be huge. And if you don't laugh after you see it, there's something wrong with you. Should have it done within two weeks....
I'm giving the frothing masses what they want, and it's gonna be spectacular. 😂😂😂✨❤️

Well, Shoot...

When I posted about Christmas the other day, I Googled "Dodge Challenger Hellcat Jazz Pearl Blue," which is the description of the car James wants to order, and a bunch of pics came up, and I picked the coolest looking one to post on my blog. And...it turns out that its a Charger. James, the Charger looks cooler, lol.

Thanks to Silentfly for pointing out that mistake...

Anyway, it's been a decent week, but I've got yet another cold, which just seems to travel from person to person around our office. I have no voice today, so taking x-rays on what promises to be an extremely busy day will be interesting.

I'm looking forward to getting out of work early tomorrow so I can spend some time with Callie.

Over the last couple days, my car has been slow to start, so I headed over to AutoZone after work and had them check the battery, which was so dead it probably wouldn't have lasted another day. I got the cheapie battery with the two year warranty for $106.00. The guy who installed it was really nice and chatty, and asked a lot of questions. One of his questions was what I did for fun, and I told him about the treasure hunting, which he got a kick out of. So, that was interesting and made the painful chore of investing in a new car battery less awful.

Well, that's all I have right now...I'm looking forward to summer and the next 'boree!

New Hot Spot

I didn't have time to write here, but I did post a new Hot Spot...

Wonderful Christmas

I had a wonderful Christmas this year. Nothing arrived broken, and nothing had to be returned. I felt well, and didn't almost slice a digit off while peeling potatoes or carving the turkey. The food all came out good--nothing burned or otherwise ruined.

And Terrible the Cat wasn't too bad...

Callie and James both made it on time with no hassles or bumps along the way. James arrived early on Christmas Eve, and we went straight to fight the hordes at Publix to buy a turkey and other stuff for Christmas dinner, then went to pick up Joe for a trip to the Daytona Cobb Deluxe to see Rogue One, which wasn't as good as The Force Awakens, but it was okay. Then we went to Wal Mart so James could buy the kids a gift from him. Then back home to enjoy a quiet and relaxing Christmas Eve night.

On Christmas Day, we decided to wait until Callie arrived at 6:30 pm to eat and open gifts. Aidan had to work at 4:00 pm, though, so she opened a couple small presents before she left. One thing I got all three kids was a bonsai tree that they could cultivate and trim the way they liked.

Anyway, the kids loved all their gifts. James got me a Ninja Gingerbread Set, and some nice clothes. I got him a "tactical pen" that can also be used as a weapon and some lens attachments for his iPhone camera. We really had no idea what to get each other because we don't need anything material. I didn't ask for anything, and he didn't ask for anything. We agreed that the kids should come first, and by making them come first, we all were blessed.

Anyway, as I was saying, we took it easy most of Christmas Day, sleeping in until about 10:00 am, when I had to get the turkey into the oven. Then, we let Joe open the Lego set James bought him to keep him busy until it was time to get Callie. James and I turned on the TV and curled up on the couch to watch a movie. Well, I had to choke him at least once. Lol...

Then, around 5:15, we left for Orlando to pick up Callie, which went without a hitch. It was wonderful to talk to her and catch up on the way home. She's doing so well, and I'm really proud of her. She started a writing club at school, and she's already an amazing writer. I can see her being published before she's 20. Lol.

After we ate Christmas dinner, we gathered around the tree and opened the rest of the gifts. The "big" gift this year was for the family--a piano keyboard that teaches you how to play, eliminating the need for lessons. Joe played his first song, and everyone enjoyed taking turns playing it. Especially me. James had to practically drag me away from that thing to go to bed that night. Lol.

Yesterday, we slept in a little, then got up to take the kids out. They wanted to go to Cracker Barrel and the mall. But first, we stopped by the Dodge dealer to test drive a Challenger. James wants to upgrade his old Jeep, and is "building" his own Challenger. It'll be Jazz Blue Pearl with a graphite racing stripe, leather sport seats, and a lot of other upgrades. He's going to put in the order this week, and have it delivered to the dealer down here, so I can drive it until he moves to Naples in January.

His house in Seattle is on the market, and is expected to sell for more than he's asking for it, so he'll have a really nice nest egg once it sells. We want to start a new business, but are still working out the details on it.

Then we went to Best Buy, because we wanted to look at MacBooks. One thing James and I want to do is a YouTube Channel, and the Mac has some good starter video editing software. I was amazed at how much such a small computer could cost, but it didn't seem to faze James and he bought me a MacBook Air and a wireless printer (I'm typing this on the Mac). I can't wait to get started making some videos! It'll be so fun...

Anyway, after we left Best Buy, we still had an hour before James had to be at the airport to catch his flight home, so Joe suggested we go to Barnes and Noble. That place was amazing! I hadn't been in a bookstore in years, so was surprised at how well the store had adapted to the times to stay in business in an age of digital books. They had tons of unique toys, puzzles, puppets, and a little bit of everything, along with books.

The kids used some of their Christmas money from grandparents to buy little things, and I used part of the $100 James gave me to get a few things. I bought James a notebook where you write in your Bucket List, and I bought Callie a journal she liked, and Joe wanted a book about history. I bought myself an abbreviated version of The Art of War by Sun Tzo, a little book of poetry, and Bullfinch's Mythology. I also couldn't resist these two little things:

A Ninja

And a little wooden Japanese girl whose name means "Joy."

And all that didn't even take the whole $100...Barnes and Noble is hereby declared awesome. :)

But alas, all holidays must end, and this morning, the house is quiet as I get ready to get ready for work. I'm in x-ray today, and the first day back from vacation is usually brutal, but I'm prepared.

It's really true, I s'pose...

Growing up, I've always heard older people say, "Once you hit 45, everything goes downhill fast."

And whaddya know, it's true. Lol. I am falling apart and will likely need robotic parts before too long. Yesterday, my boss commented how I must have strong teeth because I snack on low calorie Smartfood Delight popcorn throughout the day. She broke her tooth a week or so ago--I can't remember if she said it was the popcorn, but it might have been. But the thing is, if you watch me eat popcorn, which I don't recommend, you'll notice that I inspect each piece before I eat it. If it's not fully popped, or has too much of the kernel left, or just isn't fluffy enough, I don't eat it. So, I'm not exactly biting down on the hard kernels. 

But last night, I decided to try a handful of the Christmas popcorn everyone said I should have at our holiday party. I inspected each piece as I always do, and tossed out the few that looked too kernelly (yes, I know that's not a word). 

Separating popcorn looks like this. Left side = mouth. Right side = trash

On the third piece, I bit down and felt this crazy, immediate pain in my very back tooth, and sure enough, it was cracked and part of it jiggled when I wiggled it. And it hurt to touch it too. 

So, I'm looking at an emergency dentist visit today, which will likely sap up the remainder of my holiday savings, and cause me to leave my coworkers short handed on the busiest day of the week (thank goodness we only have two providers today, but a jammed packed schedule). I think I'll go to work, call the dentist to see if getting in is even a possibility, then run there, get it fixed and rush back to work. 

Despite my throbbing tooth, things are pretty good in my life right now. But I miss my mom. This will be the first Christmas ever without her. In all my life, there may have been only one or two times I wasn't able to be home for Christmas, and if you follow this blog, you know my mom lived for Christmas. It was her favorite holiday. 

My coworkers are sympathetic, and they ask me how I'm doing, because a few of them have lost their moms, too, and know that first Christmas can be tough. I tell them I'm okay, and struggle not to cry when they give me a hug. 

The other day, I decided to put on a radio station in my office that plays Christmas carols non-stop throughout the day. So, when my mom's favorite Christmas carol, Feliz Navidad, came on, I immediately and unexpectedly teared up a little. I mentioned to Karen that this was my mom's favorite Christmas song, and I had always wondered why. It's not particularly Christmas-y. Last year, I asked her what it was about that song she liked so much that she would just put it on repeat all day long. 

Her reply was, "It just makes me happy." 

And that was a good enough reason for me. :) 

I have a few favorite Christmas songs. I like Silent Night, because when Aidan was little, she'd ask me to sing it every single night when I tucked her into bed. I think it was calming for her, and helped her fall asleep. 

I also like Carol of the Bells. The Pentatonix one is pretty cool...

Trans-Siberian Orchestra's version is great, too...

But their Christmas Canon may be my favorite Christmas song this year:

I like "Little Drummer Boy," especially the version by Pentatonix. And the one by Jars of Clay, too. I loved this song ever since I was very little. I remember thinking how nice it was to realize that kindness and respect are two of the best gifts you can ever give.

And I can't conclude this post without a Christmas song from my favorite modern violinist, Lindsey Sterling. This one is beautiful...

Merry Christmas, everyone...have a very happy holiday, and don't forget why we celebrate. May we all be Little Drummer Boys...every day of the year.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Our office Christmas party was fun yesterday. My "Secret Santa" was my boss, and of course, she knew exactly what to get me--an Amazon gift card...and a Star Wars Snuggie. I love it. Lol...

And I won a huge platter of snack-type stuff in the raffle. There was a tub of popcorn left over, and everyone wanted me to have it, so I took it, too. Because popcorn is yummy,

One of the main parts of the party is when the doctor and PA's open their gifts. This year, Bob got the "gag gifts" along with a really nice decanter and set of glasses. Bob is a self-proclaimed "foodie" who loves to cook, and since he's also named Bob and loves Superman, we combined the ideas to get him:

I had picked out the "Bob's Salt" and "Bob's Pepper" shakers, and as he was opening the box, he asked if he should rip into it like a kid, and I said "Go for it," which he did, hilariously:

And then Don opened his gift. He's more laid back and easy going, and likes to make furniture and stuff for his new house, so we picked out something that had one his "sayings":

Then there's Dr. K. What do you get a surgeon who can pretty much get whatever he wants, whenever he wants? Well, pretty much anything that has to do with golf, so we got him a gift certificate to his favorite golf course, and a nice glass set with golfing terms printed on them:

Since I'm not much of a selfie person, I didn't take any pics of myself, but other coworkers did, so I'll post those when they text them to me.

Bob ordered us all giant delicious sandwiches from a well-loved restaurant in town, and I would have taken a pic of it, but I ate it too fast. Lol.

So, we all had a really nice party, and I was reminded that no matter how stressed we sometimes get in a fast paced work environment, we can still all come together as a family at the end of the day and enjoy one another's company.

Today should be a relatively easy day. I've been working hard to work ahead so that when I get back from Christmas break on Tuesday, I won't be overloaded. So, I've worked almost all the way up to February in the surgery aspect of my job. I'll probably finish that today, and then hopefully finish a computer project I've been working on here and there when I have time.

Tomorrow we only have two providers, but will probably be a little hectic. I'll be in x-ray, so I'm sure it'll be busy.

Really, there's not a lot of interesting going on right now...just getting ready for a nice Christmas, and excited to have a relaxing, stress free holiday.

Here's a pic of our little Christmas tree my mom bought last year. I just have to move the xbox and dog toys and weights out of the way. Lol...

Hopefully, I'll get some presents under there by Friday morning sometime.

Well, not much else is going on. I wish my mom was here...