Friday, December 30, 2016

Happy New Year!!





Wishing you and yours a wonderful and prosperous 2017.

2016 started and ended with a black cloud--there were a lot of big deaths this year. Here's hoping that in general we're see fewer big name deaths and that we'll all have a better year than this one.

It's better already for us in a couple of ways, so here's hoping the trend continues.

Happy New Year!!

Monday, December 26, 2016

Marching Band Monday


Gosh, I love marching band music, don't you. I'm so impressed by these young people who have memorized a piece of music and who can play and march or remember complicated choreography at the same time.

In honor of Sonshine's birthday two Saturday's ago, let's watch the Beckman HS Marching Band's Fesitval of Bands Band Review program.



That was fantastic and a bit tear-jerking for me because Sonshine would have killed (okay, not actually killed) to be in a marching band like that.


Friday, December 23, 2016

Merry Christmas


I'll be celebrating with all my close in-town/in-state family (except for Sonshine) tomorrow. My Brown-Eyed Girl is bringing her roommate, so we have a new person to indoctrinate--I mean welcome into the family. This young woman has been such a blessing to my oldest daughter and I'm so glad to be able to give her a little something in appreciation.

(not this year's tree)

Merry Christmas to one and all!!

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Dallas Stars Hockey FTW!!!


Okay, well the Stars actually lost, but the adventure was a win. Last night, DD and I went to a Dallas Stars hockey game. DD had gone last year, but it was a first for me. Oh, man, oh, man!!!

My beautiful girl and me!!!

First, we took the Trinity Railway Express across the Metroplex--turns out there's a station right across the street from the American Airlines Center--which--no driving in traffic during rush hour in Dallas to attend the game. The downside was that we had to leave before the game was over to make sure we caught the last train back to our neck of the woods.

The AAC from the train station.

The facility was gorgeous, I must say. Our first stop once inside the building though? The Hangar--the Stars (and Mavericks) Fan Shop. I couldn't go to a game and not get some merch!



So...socks, a collector pin, a decal, Stars-brand "Lego" players Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, and a tee shirt... Tyler's "Lego" face even has his facial hair!


Our view from the cheap seats...
The Stars and the St. Louis Blues during warm-ups.

It looks farther away in the picture than it does when you're there. And I was pleasantly surprised. I could see the whole rink and follow the puck pretty easily. We were at the top with no one behind us, so that was a bonus too. We got lucky that there was no one in front of us either, so we could put our feet up on the seats in front of us.

The most interesting thing to me was there it was quiet, relatively speaking. I'm so used to watching on TV with the sound of commentators and the noises from the ice due to the cameras being down at ice-level. But at a game...no play by play. There's the announcement of penalties and of course the crowd in general and semi-muted sounds from the ice, but otherwise, it's quiet.

A very cool experience and one I hope to repeat soon and as often as possible.

Are you hockey fan?

Monday, December 19, 2016

Marching Band Monday


Well, because, I've had a hankering for marching bands...and because I've been so busy, I keep forgetting to post. Since finding a YouTube videos and posting is pretty painless, it seemed like a good choice.

And because it's December and Christmas, let's enjoy Christmas music.


Friday, December 16, 2016

Happy Birthday Sonshine


Twenty-one years ago tomorrow in the wee small hours, the most beautiful baby boy ever was born. Tomorrow, the boy will be a complete adult, legal for military service, gambling, car rentals, and, last but not least, alcohol. Where the heck did those twenty-one years go???














One of the best things I ever did...the other two are in the next picture up...


Monday, December 12, 2016

Blessings...


Despite some of the crap that's rained down on me/us over the last month or so, there have also been some blessings.

While I'm not thrilled with having to buy (well, lease) a new car, I can't deny that having one isn't also a treat and blessing--nothing's wrong with it, it drives like a dream, and it has several pretty cool bells and whistles.

This past Saturday was my writers group meeting. There was no program, we just had a great time visiting, playing a game, and exchanging tacky/ugly ornaments.

 (Can you find me?)

This group of ladies and one gentleman are some of my favorite people and I'm always blessed to spend several hours in their presence each month.

I've received and taken a handful of proofreading jobs, got the next book in book series I'm maintaining the series bible for, as well as updating a website...so I've got this influx of cash in order to pay for the copy/content edits and book covers for my series of books I'm working on publishing next June.

I discussed my expenses with DH several month ago and he said he'd get me the money (probably out of the profit of selling fireworks this New Years season), but you know what--it feels really nice and is definitely satisfying to be able to be as self-funding as possible. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this blessing means that modest success (at least) is in store for these books once they're out in the world.

And one last blessing to come...having all my babies home for a very short time--Sonshine will more than likely be granted leave to come for a ten-day visit.

Blessings on all of y'all as well.

Friday, December 9, 2016

So...I got a new car...


I would have rather not had to do it, but sometimes, Murphy just doesn't like you. Anyway, new vehicle is a Toyota RAV 4 LE, a small SUV. It's nice and I love it and it has some nice features...

Well, here's the car...


It had 39 miles when we took possession!


It has Bluetooth capability so it automatically connects to my phone and gets my music going. I gotta say, this tickles me to death. Also the talking on the phone, hands free, is pretty cool--not that I do that often, cuz I'm not much of a phone talker, but if someone calls me while I'm driving, there's a button on the steering wheel--no worrying about where the phone actually is.


And it has backup cameras, so I can see what's behind me as I backup. Nice!



So Merry Christmas to us for the next several years. :)


Wednesday, December 7, 2016

It's only Wednesday...?



Sorry, sorry. I had plans to write some sort of post, but the "check engine soon" light came back on in the truck and so my brain has been taken over by car repair considerations and preparations for my writers group meeting.

It's been a heck of a month, so I'm working on one day at a time as best I can, but really, I have to be looking three days ahead at least to make sure things happen on time.

On the bright side, Sonshine has submitted leave paperwork and as long as it's approved *fingers crossed*, we'll be seeing our boy in three weeks or so. If that's not cause for happy dancing, then I don't know what is.

Well, time to get my work day started... Have a great day.

Monday, December 5, 2016

Wow, I really dropped the ball last week...


It was a bit hectic. My car (truck) needs a lot of work and I don't want to drive it much, so we were trying to get the car situation figured out.

Anyway... it's getting close to Christmas time. As I mentioned last week, I put up the tree.


Then, on our shopping travels this past Saturday, DD and I found a paper chain garland kit and spent some time together linking it up. I think I'm going to hang it up in the kitchen.



I also found this Nutcracker at a ridiculous sales price and couldn't resist.


How are your Christmas preparations coming along?