2010!

So we're counting down the final hours of 2009. This year was better than 2008, emotionally and financially.  I went back to silk painting, which I had missed tremendously.  Last July I made a website and opened up an Etsy store to sell my painted silk scarves, and in the past month I finally sold a few.  That was exciting.  :) 

I got struck by lightning (well, not me, but my computer, which feels like a limb most days).  I took pictures, whined about getting older, talked to my Mom on the phone every night (but not until after 8pm, because that's when Jeopardy's over), lost 10 pounds, gained 10 pounds, had bad dreams about bathrooms, petted my cat on her furry little forehead just the way she likes, continued to wear my favorite black shirt even though it now has a small hole in it (I don't think it's noticeable), and, every day, told my husband that I love him.

Oh, right, and I also WROTE A NOVEL!  It's not quite finished yet, I can't wait to finish it and then get started on the second draft.  One of my Christmas gifts was a teensy purple 4 gig flash drive that I keep on my keychain, so I can carry my novel around with me.  Honestly, my whole outlook on life changed in November, I feel like I've figured out a lot about who I am and what I'm supposed to be doing.   

I wish everyone a happy and healthy and fulfilling 2010!

Christmas

I had the whole week off for Christmas, which sounds awesome and vacation-y and relaxing, but it wasn't. There were definitely some lovely Christmassy moments, though.

The weekend before leaving for Georgia I bought last minute gifts for my husband, wrapped presents, listened to Christmas music, and baked peanut butter cookies with Hershey's kisses on top. They are easy and delicious -- why haven't I ever made them before? I ate approximately nine thousand.

I took my mom the Leu Gardens calendar, and she loved it. She has happy memories of going there with my Dad, so hopefully that's a special gift for her. I also took her a universal remote control for her TV, since the one that came with her TV has tiny buttons (ridiculously, offensively tiny! not much bigger than the head of a pin, seriously) that are difficult for her arthritic fingers. After reading the 12 page instruction booklet that came with the remote I was a bit concerned about the difficulty of programming it to work with her tv, but it literally took less than a minute and could not have been easier. I am not naturally talented when it comes to messing around with electronic stuff, so having it go so smoothly was a first for me, and a big giant relief.

The second day I was there, Mom lost her balance in her living room and fell. For an 88 year old, falling is a terrifying thing. She wasn't hurt, other than a little bruising and soreness for a couple of days, but it was scary. Her doctor had recommended that she get a quad cane (the kind that have little feet on the bottom, like Frasier's dad has) so I went and got her one and tried to help her learn to use it comfortably. She is not happy about using a cane. I'm not sure she's too happy about being 88 in general, although overall her health is good. We looked through old pictures and ate peanut butter/Hershey's kiss cookies, and watched Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, and had a nice visit.

Two days before Christmas my husband's grandfather passed away. He had health problems and had been in and out of the hospital for a few months, but it's always so hard, and especially during the holidays. After worrying about it for a while, I decided that my Mom needed me more than my husband did, so I stayed in Georgia as originally planned. Greg told me to stay there, and Mom told me to go home, so they weren't much help. :)

I had pumpkin pancakes for breakfast with Mom on Christmas day, then spent the next 8 hours driving from Gainesville GA to Orlando FL. Wouldn't you think there'd be no traffic on Christmas day? That's what I thought, but I was wrong. Gads. I did make it home in time for dinner, so it wasn't too bad. Greg made me a special Christmas steak dinner, and we exchanged gifts and watched the Grinch and had a nice evening.

Then the next morning we got up early for the 2 hour drive to go to Greg's grandfather's funeral. It was a really nice service, I like the new trend of having a slideshow of family photos. (Is it new? It's new to me, I've never seen it before.) Greg was a pallbearer. His grandmother seemed to be holding up well.

On Sunday, I was tired. I just laid on the couch like a worthless slug and watched stupid TV (Confessions of a Call Girl episodes on On Demand, and a marathon of LA Ink) and cuddled with my cat all day. And then all of a sudden it was Monday morning, and I was back at work.

Boy, I am really looking forward to our three-day New Year's weekend coming up!

Greg and I recently upgraded our cell phone service to include texting photos to each other, so we've been texting pics to each other frequently. Here is one I sent to him from Georgia, that I took of myself reflected in an ornament in Mom's retirement home:

I hope everyone had a happy holiday!

Flowers

I went back to Leu Gardens last week.  It's one of my favorite places, and back when Mom and Dad were here in Florida, we went together several times.  For Christmas, I'm making a calendar for my Mom with photos I've taken at Leu Gardens.  I hope she likes it.  :)

Here are a few pics from my visit last week: