I can't believe it has been so long since I posted.  Christmas was a wonderful blur.  I was blessed to host my family.  Scott made prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes & gravy.  I made green bean casserole (dad's favorite).  Mom brought deviled eggs, macaroni and cheese.  Oh, and bread.  Mom brought the bread because I realized the night before that I had forgotten to buy any!  Rana brought grape leaves & salad.  

Sadly, my pictures came out too dark. 

Facing Your Fears

Today I went to Cat's annual Christmas Party.  Cat is a sweet friend of mine who just happens to have Down Syndrome.  Cat's sister, Allison, hosted the party in her beautiful new home this year.  The only problem is that Allison's new home is across town and requires me to take the interstate.  Those of you who know me, know I haven't driven on an interstate in quite a while.  

Picture it:  Snow in North Carolina (I watch too much Golden Girls)

We rarely get snow in my part of North Carolina but, it sure was coming down hard today.  Luckily, it was a balmy 35 degrees so none of the snow was sticking, nonetheless, it was snowing hard enough for everyone to drive cautiously.  

December

December is here and I'm getting excited about Christmas.  If there is one thing I have learned in 2017, it is how to appreciate every single day.  

Last Sunday, Scott and I went to visit his Grandmother.  She LOVES to play cards.  We barely got in the door before she was asking to play.  Nell is 89 and a card shark.  This time we played Skip-Bo and, of course, she won both games.  She ALWAYS wins.

Turkey Weekend

Happy Thanksgiving long weekend!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Scott and I hosted the family at our house this year.  Guess what?  I found out that, for the first time ever, I actually liked cooking for other people!!!  I don't have a lot of confidence in my cooking abilities but, it was fun!

The Very First Tuesday

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tu-Tu-Tu Tuesday...the very first Tuesday!

For any of my North Carolina readers, you know what that is from.  That is part of the Lottery Scratch Off song that we hear NUMEROUS times around the first of the month.  I don't even play the lottery but, thanks to those catchy commercials, I always know when it is scratch off time.  

Today I went for my annual mammogram.  

I'm proud of myself for going on my own.  Now...I just need to go to the eye doctor.  It has been over 2 years.  There's something I don't like about going to the eye doctor.  I think it is because I feel like he is invading my personal space.  I don't like strangers all up in my face.  My eye doctor is kind of handsome.  Handsome people make me nervous.  Doctors should be ugly.  Ugly people don't make me nervous.  Unless they are mean.  Mean people make me nervous.  

I thought it would be fun for the kids if I fingerpainted with them.  So, I went to Michael's and bought some fingerpaint and brought it to their house on Sunday.  Things did not go as I had planned.  Laura thought the paint was lotion.  

I should have taken a picture of their clothes after we finished.  Daniel's pants kept falling down and he used his hands to pull them up.  Thankfully, I was able to get all of the paint off of their clothes.  You have no idea how much paint they both had on their clothes.  Next time, I'm going to make them put on their bathing suits to fingerpaint.  

Daniel did say, "Aunt Julie is fun!"  Ha! I told him "Aunt Julie IS fun!"  

Mom bought a new outfit.  Look how cute she is!  

Well, that is all I have for the very first Tuesday of the month.  Maybe I should have bought some scratch offs after all.  

November, Already?

This year has been a blur.  I can't believe it is already November.  Is there a way to stop time?  As I type this, there is an episode of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on from November 1, 1983.  I wonder what I was doing on November 1, 1983.  Whatever it was, I'm sure it involved eating Halloween candy.  I would have been in the 5th grade.  Hmm...I wonder what I dressed up as that year.  

I've been pet sitting this week for my new neighbors.  Meet Kacey:

And Ty:

Blossom saw me outside with Kacey and had a lot to say about it.

I don't know if you can see her or but she is barking at me.  Here she is keeping an eye on our yard.

In other news, I can't remember if I told you about the cat that keeps showing up at my brother's house and also at my parents' house.  Well, here it is...Daniel has named the cat "Fuzzy".

When I was growing up, animals were NOT allowed in our house.  Fast forward to now...Mom and Dad have been letting Fuzzy come in for visits.

The cat is on their bed....(Dad does not know about this).

Fuzzy really is the sweetest cat.  I have no idea who he/she belongs to.  He/she shows up every few days and gets a nice meal and hangs around inside the house for a while.  

Several weeks ago, Mom and I were sitting at her kitchen table when we heard a knock at the door.  It was late at night so I wondered who it could be.  When I turned around to look, Fuzzy was peeping through the glass.  

Daniel was a Firefighter for Halloween this year (again).  He told me it is good to use your Halloween costumes for several years in a row because it saves money.  

Johnny (Carson) is reading lists from 5th graders about the "10 Strange Things That I Hate".  Hmmm...I'm going to try to come up with a list for you. 

1.  Hearing anything about the Kardashians.

2.  Getting stuck behind the same exact cars in traffic every day.

3.  Having my blood pressure taken at the doctor's office (I get white coat syndrome). 

4.  Chit Chatting with people in the bathroom at work.  

5.  That the same person parks beside me every day at work.  I don't know why this bothers me but, it does.  I groan every time I see his car beside mine.  

6.  That they rarely make family friendly TV shows anymore.  

7.  That processed food is bad for you.

8.  TV Personalities that talk too loud.  (I'm looking at you Steve Harvey etc.)

9.  The News.

10. That no matter how much I clean, the dirt keeps coming back.  

Maybe next time I'll post 10 Strange Things That I Love.  I'm not one to dwell on the negatives so posting 10 things that I don't like feels very uncomfortable to me.