Merry Christmas!

Well, you can see why I don't do scrapbooking... I can't even keep up with a blog! Sorry it's been so long since the last post. And I'm only doing this one now so that I get one more in before the New Year! We are off to Memphis to my parents', and then up to Illinois as Art is in his friend Kevin's wedding on Saturday. They are getting married in Iowa City. So we'll be making a big circle this year- hope it doesn't snow!

Here is our Christmas collage this year. As years pass, I get a little less particular about holiday decorations, etc. I used to make gingerbread from scratch, then assemble the pieces, and decorate for hours until it was perfect. Now I get the kit at Michael's (with my 40% coupon, of course) and the kids go to town. What you CAN'T see on this year's house is the back side - which is decorated with a game of icing hangman. I guess the kids got tired of decorating, and decided to play a game instead. Oh well. They had fun with a bag full of royal icing...

Vincent now decorates the tree himself. I put it up, and toss on a few strands of lights, and the rest is up to him. He has a ball, and I don't have to do it, and deal with my near OCDish way of making sure all ornaments face the right direction, are evenly spaced, and are placed according to size and color. So now we just turn the lights on and say "great tree, Vincent!"

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and find your own way to simplify a bit! Please remember to keep Christ at the center of your CHRISTmas celebration!

A fond farewell to an old friend....

The neighbors are jumping for joy, but Art is still having a hard time accepting that his old blue car has gone on to a better place - the junkyard. The fact that it was 19 yrs old, (he got it BEFORE we were married!) and had well over 200,000 miles on it proved it was well loved and well used. Gina took several photos of it before it was towed away on a flatbed. I think we are the only ones left in America (well, maybe besides Paul and Christine) that actually drive a car until it just can't go another mile. We like to get our money's worth, that's all!

Wow! Harrison Ford looks GREAT for his age!

Forgive the red eyes- I corrected them once, but now they're red again! Apparently Indiana Jones has has some rough nights! Vincent LOVED cracking that whip, and I must have taken about 30 shots trying to get a decent one of him. He was making a grimace when he would crack the whip, and every picture but this one has a really goofy look. This one just has crazy eyes! :)

He loves action movies, and we didn't understand why he didn't want to see the new Indy movie at the theater. But as soon as it was out on video, we headed to the redbox to get it. After watching it with him at home, we figured it out - it is not as SCARY at home, because the lights are on, and there is other activity in the house. And it was a kind of scary movie at times!

Oh, and here is my commercial for Redbox - have you seen a big red box outside of McDonald's, Walmart, and many other places? This is the best deal ever. DVD's rent for ONE DOLLAR. And you can return them at ANY Redbox. So if you are traveling, pick one up on the way out of town, and drop it off at the McDonalds 300 miles away at your destination. Then get another one for your trip home. We love Redbox! (no, we do not get paid to say that!)

Indiana Jones and Penny Pingleton went Trick or Treating around Keith Drive! Being the thrifty mom, we waited until everything was on sale before purchasing anything. We found an Indiana Jones hat and whip set - missing the whip! Well, I couldn't get the sales clerk to give me more than 20% off (my reasoning was that 50% of the product was missing!) so we left the store with nothing but a $2.50 bag of raffia - which I braided into a pretty cool whip. We're pretty sure it was sturdier than the whip in the kit. A friend loaned us her son's "real" hat, and another friend loaned us a coat - so we were set! Gina decided to be Penny - her favorite character from our favorite movie, "Hairspray". A trip to the thrift store got a skirt and shirt for $2.50! So for $5 we had two homemade costumes. Art of course was the happiest of all...

Art, Vincent and I went to Library Park in Miamisburg - next door to Vincent's old school - to see the Moving Wall. It is a traveling model of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in D.C. The number of names of those killed in Vietnam is staggering. It was an awe-inspiring and prayer inspiring day. We met and talked with Matt Maupin's father. Matt is a local soldier who was MIA in Iraq for several years, and just this spring his remains were found and brought home. Vincent talked to a few other vets as well, and also did some rubbings of the names of local servicemen listed on the wall.

Bad perm, puffy sleeves - it HAS to be 1990!!

Yes, it's hard to believe, but Art and I are not newlyweds anymore! On Monday we celebrated our 18th Wedding Anniversary, and 27 years since our "first date". How is that possible?? Am I even 27 years OLD???

So some things change, and some things remain the same....

My bad perm, thankfully, has not lasted as long as our marriage! Puffy sleeves (think Deb in "Napoleon Dynamite" - "I like your sleeves." "Thanks, I made them myself.") are also gone. Gina told me the other night, "Mom, I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but those bridesmaids dresses were ugly."

What?? Are you kidding me? You mean those teal, lacy topped, satin bottomed tea-length dresses, with the giant bow on the butt, were not flattering? And of course, everyone could wear them again to another formal occasion, right?

And it wasn't just the ladies' hair that was big! The groomsmen all had LOTS more hair than they do now, and their eyeglasses were all huge!

I'm including a photo here that we thought was just so romantic when we got our album after the wedding. Even though we are a little older, a little heavier, and a little grayer (well, not me, but my hairdresser won't ever tattle!), Art and I are still together forever....happily ever after!

Meet Me in St. Louis...

Just back from a wonderful PC Director Retreat. It was great to get re-focused on my business, and re-energized about the trip to Paris! One of the best benefits of being with PC , as almost any consultant will tell you, is making friends that you would never have even met if you weren't in the business. This trip was as much a vacation as a business event! Dee Dee, my dear friend from Indiana, met me in Terre Haute, where we enjoyed lunch and some shopping before travelling the rest of the way to St. Louis together. Having a friend to chat with in the car made the time fly. Saturday night we were on our own, and Dee Dee, Jodi and I were excited that our friend Betty, a native St. Louisan, brought us to a terrific part of the city - the Central West Side, and we enjoyed walking the neighborhoods, people watching, and of course, DINNER!

I don't travel far without looking for a great place to eat! Betty recommended Duff's, and it was fabulous. The four of us spent a few hours just enjoying each others' company along with a delicious dinner. What a fun way to spend a Saturday night!

Ladies - if we ever get to meet in Dayton, I promise to find us another tasty spot to spend an evening! And I'll try not to monopolize the conversation, but I'm not making any promises...