Well, the countdown is on to the dreaded Office Christmas Party. Thankfully, Netscape has some tips just for me. As mentioned before: no date to the office Christmas party = not much fun.
File under "G" for "geneology" or "geek".
You too can trace the origins of your last name. I'll admit, I browsed this site way too long to find out what I already knew: almost all of my ancestors were from Ireland and northern England.
Just look what I'm missing out on by not having cable TV: Peter Brady is marrying America's Next Top Model. You can't make this stuff up, folks.
Wouldn't it be nice if I had a picture to post of our happy, Snickers Turducken-free Thanksgiving festivities? Well, guess what? I don't. I rarely think to bring my camera anywhere and even when I do bring it, I rarely take pictures. That's why I write you these lovely little posts - it's almost like being there, except you don't get to feed the ducks.
I got off work early on Wednesday with plans of driving to Shreveport (which I did), filling my shopping cart with gifts and goodies (which I did), paying for the aforementioned items (which I did NOT), and spending the rest of the evening visiting with my grandparents (which I did). No, I did not steal anything. I just embarassed myself a bit. I drove to S'port, went directly to the World Market, and with lots of toys and goodies on my sleigh, I got to the check out counter, only to realize I left my wallet - drivers license, debit card, etc. - at my office! So much for Christmas shopping.
Anyway, we had a nice Thanksgiving with the fam. I went to the duck park with Aaron, Amy and Sophie where I had fun playing on the playground, which I haven't done in a long time. I should do it more often. It's just like being a kid again except back when I was a kid, our playgrounds were made out of hot metal and splinterry wood instead of high voltage plastic.
Thanksgiving dinner was good. The jello was average. Better luck next year.
I went back to Texas with Andrew, Rachel, Luther (the dog), and my parents. There's nothing like a four-day weekend to make you not want to go back to work on Monday. We did a bit of shopping on Friday and went to see Walk the Line (which I keep referring to as Men in Black). Other than that, I did a lot of cooking, which was fun. I love to cook, but I don't usually have a reason to, so when I have a reason, I can make a day (or a weekend) of it.
Now it's officially Christmas season, with the first of many Christmas parties beginning next Sunday. Plus my sister and my sister-in-law are both great-with-child, so we are anxiously awaiting the babies.
I hope everyone else had a lovely Thanksgiving and I hope your halls are decked.
This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful that I don't always get what I ask for. I'm also thankful that I'm surrounded by people who are wiser than I am and are not afraid to tell me so. I'm thankful for people who understand me and people who bear with me even when they don't understand me. I'm thankful for the great comforts of my life and yes, even the discomforts that teach me life's lessons. I'm thankful for my wonderful family and the anticipation of meeting my new niece and nephew in just a few weeks(!). I'm thankful for the quirks and variety of life even on ordinary days as well as traditions (because turkey and dressing is good!). I'm thankful that I get off work soon and that I didn't pull my hair out today even though I came close. I'm thankful for life abundant and joy and smiles and...okay, okay, I'm getting all gooey - like I'm going to start listing puppies and rainbows and such (which I do like, by the way).
Happy Thanksgiving! Go easy on the tryptophan!
From Shannon...because I love to make lists
3 things I can't resist: M&M's, kissing babies on the head, a party
3 things I can't stand: going to the doctor, rodents, nosy people
3 things in my purse: a (fake faux) pearl bracelet, cellphone, and a tea bag.
3 things I could never throw away but probably should: my comfortable over-worn black sandals, dresses I wore in highschool, my pom-poms
3 things I regret: not working as hard as I could have in school, letting friendships devolve, not letting go of my emotions enough
3 things I wouldn't change about myself: my sense of humor (which is pretty lame sometimes, I know), my fashion sense (also lame sometimes), my fabulous...I don't know
3 things I want to do before I die: fall in love, go to Europe, have children
3 things that touch me: happy families, selfless giving, dying grace
3 things I love to hear: a good dancing song, windows rattling from thunder, "you've got mail"
3 things I hate to hear: bratty kids, smacking, ambulance sirens
3 things I think are funny that probably aren't really funny: Snickers Turducken, the one about crossing the elephant and the rhino, and that Sonic commercial about the silent chili
It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week. Of course, I've been getting into the Christmas spirit for a while now by listening to Christmas music, but the insanely hot weather has put a bit of a damper on the festive feelings. It's finally getting chilly though, so maybe I'll be ready to string some lights, wrap some presents, or at the very least, hang some mistletoe.
First things first though: Thanksgiving in Shreveport. I have been given the task of making a jello salad. If that's all I have to do, this better be the best jello salad EVER. OF ALL TIME. I was hoping to get asked to make the classic Snickers Turducken - you know: a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken stuffed with a Snickers bar, but I guess this isn't my year to shine. Better luck next year, eh?
::I love my job - my boss, my customers and my product - even when they frustrate me::
::I hate people who are too busy talking on the phone to drive::
::I love being an aunt::
::I hate that I sometimes exhibit the qualities I dislike in others::
::I love that Veteran's Day is on a Friday (Oh, and the veterans, too)::
::I hate Walmart on payday - and pretty much every other day, too::
::I love being needed::
::I hate that I'm not the person I should be::
::I love good advice from unexpected places::
::I hate insomnia::
::I love a good joke, a good cry, and a good thrill::
::I hate when I fail on disciplines I thought I had mastered::
::I love the gift of memory - for better or for worse::
::I hate the abuse of the ideas of tolerance, victims and acceptance::
::I love when I have the opportunity to be tolerant, compassionate and affirming::
::I hate disloyalty and lack of respect for authority::
::I love a good party::
::I hate when I wish my week (and my life) away::
::I love reading blogs and being encouraged by other people's victories and struggles::
::I hate that I'm so weird about personal disclosure::
::I love to see my friends when they are irresistably happy::
::I hate when people don't proofread their writing (of course, the occasional typo/misspelling is acceptable)::
::I love second chances::
::I hate that I have so many guilty pleasures::
::I love the innocence of children, charming naivete, black clothing, that other people love jobs that I would be miserable in/terrible at, the bewitching obnoxiousness of the Afflac duck, a chilly night with a stack of blankets, small doses of super-happy people, raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, etc., etc, ad infinitum::
They say you learn something new everyday. It's the second day of the week and here's what I've learned/relearned so far:
*Worrying will get you nowhere.
*Ask, and you shall receive, though you don't always receive what you thought you were asking for.
*Calorie-free pancake syrup is many things (some of which which will probably kill me), but it doesn't taste as bad as you might think.
*New Years' resolutions aren't good enough for me. I need a new resolution every day.
*No matter how hard I try, I cannot drag myself to the gym at 5 am.
*You know that grass on the other side that looks so green? It's astroturf.
*If ABBA's Dancing Queen is the first song you hear all day: beware. You'll probably be singing it all day long.
I cannot make up my mind about anything these days: small things like what to wear to work, what to blog about, what to do for the weekend when I have more than one option, if I should take a trip next weekend or stay home and relax and big things that could really effect me for years, like should I leave Monroe, if so, where should I go and why, should I branch out in other areas of my life and if so, how much is too much? I keep having random people mention to me that I should move - today, for example, my boss (not my in town boss - the big boss) was asking me why I live in Monroe and he basically said if I wanted to move, he would find me a job in our company anywhere in our 6 state area. That was one in a string of such comments that, by themselves, would be nothing, but altogether, they leave me wondering. Life just isn't as easy as it looks, is it? (Even though, I know, I lead a remarkably easy life compared to many people.)
And to top it all off, there I was getting all excited about the holidays, when someone asks me who I'm bringing to the dang Christmas party at work. You know, that's the worst part about being single. Finding a date or worse not finding a date for the work Christmas party. Dang it. I'm not usually overly self-conscious about having a date or not, but there's something about this party...