As we shed 2008 like an old skin I want to take a moment to reflect on my personal progress and accomplishments of the year. First off, I must note that this blog, in it's current state, is exactly one year old today. I started this blog on December 31, 2007 with great intentions of writing every day in 2008. However, I have to applaud my effort anyway. I wrote often in 2008 and my goal will be to keep the blog a little more active in 2009 with at least weekly posts if not more often.
It has also been almost a year since Chris and I first started playing disc golf. We have both improved immensely but even with all that improvement I still sort of suck at it. The thing about disc golf, though, is that for me it's not really a sport or a competition - I like to play. It's fun. It gets me off my ass and outdoors walking along some really beautiful courses for a couple of hours with Chris or whomever we are playing with. For me it's like a thing to do to be social and have fun. That said, it does feel so nice when I hear those chains and my frisbee sinks into the basket. I'm really looking forward to playing this weekend sometime.
The long and glorious road to electing Barak Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America began early this year for Chris and I. We caucused for him in March and became elected Delegates for the Senate Convention which was held later that month. We posted signs and got involved this year with BAND - Bay Area New Democrats. We voted, Chelsea voted for the first time, and we elected Obama. He's my hero and because of Barak Obama the world is a different place, a changed place, a better place. I have such high hopes for his presidency and for my country, now that it is in his hands.
Chris and I moved into the rent house at the end of May and have been "officially" living together for 7 months now but we were pretty much all living in the apartment at the Waterfront for about 8 months prior to that so moving here was like spreading our arms wide. I still love the amount of space we have and still can't wait to move into a more permanent home - one we buy. Chris's house that he owns in Seabrook continues to sit un-lived-in and relatively un-cared-for. For a couple of years now I've attempted to encourage Chris and offer to help him to do something about this house that isn't doing anything for anyone but I feel like I just sounded like a nag so I've given up. It isn't appealing to know that there is this massive hole in the picture of responsibility and put-together-ness that comes with my boyfriend as a package deal but you can't make people do things they don't want to do.
A few new babies were born this year - Julie & Matt's baby Caleb, Penny & Steven's second son Neil, Dawn & Jim adopted again - James' little sister Bailey, Jay & Joanne had their second daughter Jill just this month.
Hurricane Ike, September 13th, 2008. There's been enough said about the damages inflicted to this area from Ike already. Suffice to say that the hurricane was the catalyst for a multitude of things including but not limited to: my change in jobs in late November to the University of Houston which I absolutely LOVE; me hiring Kimberly at UH; many businesses being closed for good now; the island not being a great vacation spot anymore; change of plans for the annual beach house crew in April since every beach house we've ever stayed in no longer exists and there aren't any for rent on Bolivar; my brother Brian and sister-in-law Sheryl seeing wild success in their restoration business such that they have now employed my other brother Kevin and his wife Sophia who, incidentally, also graduated this year with her Bachelors from Sam Houston State University.
My dad's knee surgeries have affected us all since the staph infection and the modification needed to his life. He's not working and he hates that a lot. Between my siblings and I, we don't feel that my dad will ever get back to work so we have been having a lot of discussions about what to do and how to proceed with taking care of my parents as they age and become more frail. It's more difficult than I thought it would be and I know I'll be dealing with this more in the new year. Please send positive thoughts my way and may God grant me the strength that I will need in the trials that lie ahead in having to take more care of my parents.
Chelsea turned 18 this year and is now a legal adult. She wants to get a tattoo tomorrow. I am against tattoos as a general rule but I'm not getting one myself so my opinion is rather moot. At least she has a great idea for a tattoo and it's small - a yin yang symbol on her shoulder blade. I like the yin yang and the idea of an interconnectedness between male and female, light and dark etc. On one hand I'm excited for her. On the other just nervous that she's doing something permanent that she might not like down the road.
So there you have it - we all turned another year older; Chris and I both changed jobs this year, we moved in together for the most part, I've paid off 4 credit cards this year and am now down to only 2 credit cards and less than $4,000 in credit card debt - which is absolutely awesome and amazing to me! Chris and I are very happy and I love him as much as ever. I feel like we're stronger now than we were last year - we've been through some ups and downs and stood together through them. We survived another NaNoWriMo as the MLs last month and wrote another novel each. I'd say we're doing okay.
Looking ahead into the new year I see a lot of promise. Having to take care of my parents more this year will bring about a level of chaos unprecedented in our family from which we will emerge bonded even closer; I want to enter 2010 debt free so I'll get rid of my remaining debt; Chris and I are looking to buy a house; I'm finally going to get rid of my PC and become a mac-head; I plan to write more and blog more; get more fit; and I think I will get involved with a cause. I really liked being actively involved in the campaign but I haven't done anything for my community or the world since the election so I'll be on the lookout for something philanthropic to do.
Until next year - all my LOVE.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Holiday Cheer
Where to begin?
Well we had our holiday party with friends at our place and it was a lot of fun! I over-indulged in food and drink since it was my house and I didn't plan to get into a car at any point during the night. Chris and Lisa brought a friend with them - Noura and her little brother. She stole the party. Noura had a very intense personality and had apparently just returned from Saudi Arabia or somewhere from a marriage gone bad in the Middle East. So we were happy to have her party with us for Christmas. At our White Elephant Gift Exchange I opened a gift that contained an Electronic Yodeling Pickle. Yes, that's right - an electronic yodeling pickle and that's what it is - it looks like a pickle in every way except that it's plastic and has a place you can press it and a little speaker area where the yodeling can be heard. Once you press the button it doesn't shut up yodeling for about a minute. The gift I wrapped was a castle toy for a child aged 3+ that I was going to give to James at one point in his life but now he's too old for it so it's literally been sitting in our garage all this time. I thought this was a good time to get rid of it. Noura got stuck with it so I hope she knows a child aged 3+ to regift to.
I got paid for 246 hours of vacation and 72 hours of holiday time from my old job on Galveston Island and that has assisted me in paying off 3 whole credit cards, be the giver at Christmas, pay the balance on Chelsea's class ring that she now has, get her year book, purchase Apple Care on my new laptop computer, and left me with enough for new tires for my car, and a tune up. After this I hope to still be able to afford stuff for New Year's Eve and National Chelsea's Day. When I get my income tax refund check I'm going to pay off one more credit card and then I'll be down to one credit card! Whooo Hoooo! YAY! I can't wait to be debt free!
We did Christmas Eve with my family a day early which was Rhonda's birthday. I promised her I would take her shopping for her gift - which I haven't done yet. We should do that tomorrow! My dad came to my house for Christmas and he was in a lot of pain still. He developed a staph infection after his knee replacement surgery about a month ago and is still fighting it. He was just released from the hospital last Saturday so he probably shouldn't have been out and about on Tuesday night for Christmas Eve but he was. It was so nice getting to have everyone over here for the gift opening. My mom's house is a little crowded for that. I must say that my favorite gift from that night came from Kevin and Sophia - Thank you guys so much!!!
The next day was actual Christmas Eve - Chelsea and I shopped at the mall for the greater part of the day and then we (Chelsea, Chris & I) met Carmen and Kevin at Berryhill Taco for lunch/dinner / drinks. It was about 3pm and we didn't start out hungry due to late lunch. It was so awesome to see them again. It's been far too long. Houston and I both need Carmen and Kevin in town. ~ sigh... Oh we also ran into Waleed an old friend of Teffanie and Travis' whom I had not seen in probably 10 years. So that was kinda cool.
Christmas day we finalized our gift wrapping and waited for Colin to arrive. He gets exchanged at noon on Christmas day. In the past they've been able to work out solutions to this ridiculous rule in mutually agreeable ways but this year his mother decided that she wanted to drop him off at our house at noon with no discussion as to how that affected our plans. In the end it did not matter much but it does make things slightly difficult with Chris having an ex. I don't have that problem with Chelsea's father so I can't imagine having to put up with bullshit from another adult involved in my child's life. I'm sure it's just as difficult for her as it is for Chris. So we left our house at noon for Peter & Frances' house where Christmas dinner awaited us in style!
They had cooked roasted turkey with two kinds of stuffing - one in each end of the bird - bread sauce, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, peas, green bean casserole, broccoli, corn bread muffins, and wine. I was so full! Then we opened gifts! OMG! I felt like we didn't give half as much as we got. I was floored and overwhelmed with the quantity and quality of gifting we received and I'm so greatful! I got a couple of bottles of wine, a new wine opener that stands up and you just push this lever down and pull it back up and the wine is uncorked, a George Forman grill with removable plates that can be put into the dishwasher - it's also huge so we can cook for the whole family at once instead of two at a time, bath & body works products and a salt rub and lotion from somewhere else, a new cookbook - a huge one!, a chopper for onions or garlic or whatever, an herb mincer, money from Chris' Granny in England, a beautiful tray from Chris' Aunt Lindsay in England with a lemon print on it, a silicone pot holder - pot grabber, a set of candles, and a tote bag with an M applique stitched to it made by Penny. We had a lot of fun.
On the way home we stopped at my parents house to visit with my dad for a bit but Colin was asleep in the car - totally worn out - so we only stayed for about 30 mintues. We gave Dave his last gift that hadn't arrived in the mail until the 24th so it wasn't available during the gift exchange on the 23rd, and Chris got his first issue of Rolling Stone magazine that Dave got him a subscription to. Then we headed home.
At home we had our own little family gift exchange with the kids. That was so incredibly awesome. From Chelsea I got the Ped Egg which I've been wanting for ages - plus a box of replacement cartridges, from Colin I got some stationery, from Chris I got some really awesome gifts!!! an iPod beamer for my car that will charge and play any iPod through the speakers in my car, a chair massager that sits in a chair and has rollers that massage your back - you can try these out at places like Bed Bath & Beyond, or Sharper Image and I now own one! I also got Dance Dance Revolution for the Wii but haven't had a chance to play it yet because Chelsea got Guitar Hero for the Wii and has been rocking out in the living room ever since. She also got the entire collection of the series Roswell on DVD from me and the movie The 10th Kingdom which we love, she also got about $80 worth of iTunes gift cards from various people. Colin now has an entire arsenal of nerf weaponry - about 25 different guns. For his birthday he gets to have a sleep over and he and his friends will have a nerf battle to end all nerf battles. I have almost 2 months to boys-with-nerf-guns-proof my house. Chris got Wii disc golf/beach games, a new strap for his disc golf bag, a new wallet that we need to exchange, a new sunglasses holder for his car viser, and some little stuff. I didn't get him a huge gift this Christmas because I didn't have time to shop before Christmas.
Boxing Day, Dec 26th, has also become part of the Christmas tradition of late. On this day, the MacGregor's all get together and go out to dinner. This year (yesterday) we went to Cullen's upscale grill on Space Center blvd. The company was wonderful and the place is quite lovely, the service was definitely upscale and the bathrooms were awesome. However, the food left something to be desired. For the price I expected my tastebuds to be amazed but it was just so-so on the food. We all had a great time though. Then everyone came over here to our messy, just-had-3-parties looking house but we played guitar hero and blongo ball - Oh that's two other things I got that I forgot about - Penny sent us a Blongo Ball set - a game where you throw these balls on ropes at this goal, and a mini disc golf set from Chris. So anyway, we played games yesterday and generally sat around full from lunch.
Today we're going to see Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler in about an hour and a half and we are all in separate areas enjoying time off and our Christmas gifts. So far it's been a highly enjoyable holiday!
Merry Merry Merry
Well we had our holiday party with friends at our place and it was a lot of fun! I over-indulged in food and drink since it was my house and I didn't plan to get into a car at any point during the night. Chris and Lisa brought a friend with them - Noura and her little brother. She stole the party. Noura had a very intense personality and had apparently just returned from Saudi Arabia or somewhere from a marriage gone bad in the Middle East. So we were happy to have her party with us for Christmas. At our White Elephant Gift Exchange I opened a gift that contained an Electronic Yodeling Pickle. Yes, that's right - an electronic yodeling pickle and that's what it is - it looks like a pickle in every way except that it's plastic and has a place you can press it and a little speaker area where the yodeling can be heard. Once you press the button it doesn't shut up yodeling for about a minute. The gift I wrapped was a castle toy for a child aged 3+ that I was going to give to James at one point in his life but now he's too old for it so it's literally been sitting in our garage all this time. I thought this was a good time to get rid of it. Noura got stuck with it so I hope she knows a child aged 3+ to regift to.
I got paid for 246 hours of vacation and 72 hours of holiday time from my old job on Galveston Island and that has assisted me in paying off 3 whole credit cards, be the giver at Christmas, pay the balance on Chelsea's class ring that she now has, get her year book, purchase Apple Care on my new laptop computer, and left me with enough for new tires for my car, and a tune up. After this I hope to still be able to afford stuff for New Year's Eve and National Chelsea's Day. When I get my income tax refund check I'm going to pay off one more credit card and then I'll be down to one credit card! Whooo Hoooo! YAY! I can't wait to be debt free!
We did Christmas Eve with my family a day early which was Rhonda's birthday. I promised her I would take her shopping for her gift - which I haven't done yet. We should do that tomorrow! My dad came to my house for Christmas and he was in a lot of pain still. He developed a staph infection after his knee replacement surgery about a month ago and is still fighting it. He was just released from the hospital last Saturday so he probably shouldn't have been out and about on Tuesday night for Christmas Eve but he was. It was so nice getting to have everyone over here for the gift opening. My mom's house is a little crowded for that. I must say that my favorite gift from that night came from Kevin and Sophia - Thank you guys so much!!!
The next day was actual Christmas Eve - Chelsea and I shopped at the mall for the greater part of the day and then we (Chelsea, Chris & I) met Carmen and Kevin at Berryhill Taco for lunch/dinner / drinks. It was about 3pm and we didn't start out hungry due to late lunch. It was so awesome to see them again. It's been far too long. Houston and I both need Carmen and Kevin in town. ~ sigh... Oh we also ran into Waleed an old friend of Teffanie and Travis' whom I had not seen in probably 10 years. So that was kinda cool.
Christmas day we finalized our gift wrapping and waited for Colin to arrive. He gets exchanged at noon on Christmas day. In the past they've been able to work out solutions to this ridiculous rule in mutually agreeable ways but this year his mother decided that she wanted to drop him off at our house at noon with no discussion as to how that affected our plans. In the end it did not matter much but it does make things slightly difficult with Chris having an ex. I don't have that problem with Chelsea's father so I can't imagine having to put up with bullshit from another adult involved in my child's life. I'm sure it's just as difficult for her as it is for Chris. So we left our house at noon for Peter & Frances' house where Christmas dinner awaited us in style!
They had cooked roasted turkey with two kinds of stuffing - one in each end of the bird - bread sauce, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, peas, green bean casserole, broccoli, corn bread muffins, and wine. I was so full! Then we opened gifts! OMG! I felt like we didn't give half as much as we got. I was floored and overwhelmed with the quantity and quality of gifting we received and I'm so greatful! I got a couple of bottles of wine, a new wine opener that stands up and you just push this lever down and pull it back up and the wine is uncorked, a George Forman grill with removable plates that can be put into the dishwasher - it's also huge so we can cook for the whole family at once instead of two at a time, bath & body works products and a salt rub and lotion from somewhere else, a new cookbook - a huge one!, a chopper for onions or garlic or whatever, an herb mincer, money from Chris' Granny in England, a beautiful tray from Chris' Aunt Lindsay in England with a lemon print on it, a silicone pot holder - pot grabber, a set of candles, and a tote bag with an M applique stitched to it made by Penny. We had a lot of fun.
On the way home we stopped at my parents house to visit with my dad for a bit but Colin was asleep in the car - totally worn out - so we only stayed for about 30 mintues. We gave Dave his last gift that hadn't arrived in the mail until the 24th so it wasn't available during the gift exchange on the 23rd, and Chris got his first issue of Rolling Stone magazine that Dave got him a subscription to. Then we headed home.
At home we had our own little family gift exchange with the kids. That was so incredibly awesome. From Chelsea I got the Ped Egg which I've been wanting for ages - plus a box of replacement cartridges, from Colin I got some stationery, from Chris I got some really awesome gifts!!! an iPod beamer for my car that will charge and play any iPod through the speakers in my car, a chair massager that sits in a chair and has rollers that massage your back - you can try these out at places like Bed Bath & Beyond, or Sharper Image and I now own one! I also got Dance Dance Revolution for the Wii but haven't had a chance to play it yet because Chelsea got Guitar Hero for the Wii and has been rocking out in the living room ever since. She also got the entire collection of the series Roswell on DVD from me and the movie The 10th Kingdom which we love, she also got about $80 worth of iTunes gift cards from various people. Colin now has an entire arsenal of nerf weaponry - about 25 different guns. For his birthday he gets to have a sleep over and he and his friends will have a nerf battle to end all nerf battles. I have almost 2 months to boys-with-nerf-guns-proof my house. Chris got Wii disc golf/beach games, a new strap for his disc golf bag, a new wallet that we need to exchange, a new sunglasses holder for his car viser, and some little stuff. I didn't get him a huge gift this Christmas because I didn't have time to shop before Christmas.
Boxing Day, Dec 26th, has also become part of the Christmas tradition of late. On this day, the MacGregor's all get together and go out to dinner. This year (yesterday) we went to Cullen's upscale grill on Space Center blvd. The company was wonderful and the place is quite lovely, the service was definitely upscale and the bathrooms were awesome. However, the food left something to be desired. For the price I expected my tastebuds to be amazed but it was just so-so on the food. We all had a great time though. Then everyone came over here to our messy, just-had-3-parties looking house but we played guitar hero and blongo ball - Oh that's two other things I got that I forgot about - Penny sent us a Blongo Ball set - a game where you throw these balls on ropes at this goal, and a mini disc golf set from Chris. So anyway, we played games yesterday and generally sat around full from lunch.
Today we're going to see Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler in about an hour and a half and we are all in separate areas enjoying time off and our Christmas gifts. So far it's been a highly enjoyable holiday!
Merry Merry Merry
Saturday, December 13, 2008
The Day it Snowed in Houston in 2008
It was December 10th, 2008 and it snowed. I drove home in it. Like having your wind shield wipers going to wipe off the snow flakes that fell as heavy and thick as rain. At first it was distracting and I just wanted to watch the magic in wonderment while I realized that I should keep my eyes and mind on the road before me. Once I got home though we played in it. We built a tiny snowman. Chris made a snow angel. We got about 3 inches in our area. Though Rhonda says it didn't snow at all at her house. Odd.
I must say it was beautiful. Here is a link to some photos Chris took. The ones that look like it's daytime were shot with super long exposure times at about midnight.
So far I adore my new job! I love being back at UH. This is where I belong. I feel really comfortable with the people and the atmosphere and the location and the drive and I get to be with several of my friends who I no longer got to see on a regular basis for living and working so far from downtown Houston. Not to diminish the new friends I've made with UTMB though. And I still have them.
Last weekend was the Austin trip. What a lot of fun. I can't even tell you! The Austin NaNoWriMo party was awesome as ever. Chris read a portion of his book from his iPod, I won a raffle that Chris bought for me, we went to Disc Nation - a disc golf store with the largest selection of frisbees in the nation where I over-purchased but we played a great game of golf at Zilker Park and then bought more discs on the way home. I also purchased some praliene pecans at a store with great advertising. Anyway, we had a great time.
It's back to normal Houston, Texas winter for us with days in the 70's and nights in the 40's.
Our Christmas tree is up and absolutely gorgeous! I love Christmas trees!
LOVE
I must say it was beautiful. Here is a link to some photos Chris took. The ones that look like it's daytime were shot with super long exposure times at about midnight.
So far I adore my new job! I love being back at UH. This is where I belong. I feel really comfortable with the people and the atmosphere and the location and the drive and I get to be with several of my friends who I no longer got to see on a regular basis for living and working so far from downtown Houston. Not to diminish the new friends I've made with UTMB though. And I still have them.
Last weekend was the Austin trip. What a lot of fun. I can't even tell you! The Austin NaNoWriMo party was awesome as ever. Chris read a portion of his book from his iPod, I won a raffle that Chris bought for me, we went to Disc Nation - a disc golf store with the largest selection of frisbees in the nation where I over-purchased but we played a great game of golf at Zilker Park and then bought more discs on the way home. I also purchased some praliene pecans at a store with great advertising. Anyway, we had a great time.
It's back to normal Houston, Texas winter for us with days in the 70's and nights in the 40's.
Our Christmas tree is up and absolutely gorgeous! I love Christmas trees!
LOVE
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
