Christmas

The week before Christmas, my Dad came up to visit. He wanted to bring up some things of Mom's. So my sister and her family came down to visit too! It was great having a little family Christmas get-together. It didn't last very long, but it was wonderful getting to see everyone again. Thanks for making that long drive, Sis, just for a couple of hours together. I love ya!

This year, I was sick on Christmas day. It all began the day before. I had to pull a double shift at work, and we ended up staying late trying to set up the store for after Christmas. I was really late to a Christmas party, and didn't feel very well. Didn't eat much, didn't talk much, was dizzy and started getting chills. I was sitting right by an open fire and still couldn't get warm. So we went home early. I had a fever of 101+... *sigh* I woke up the next morning and still had fever. Didn't make the big dinner I had planned. I was so upset! Oh well. We're going to make dinner tonight and invite our neighbor over. She's a single lady who didn't have any visitors for the holiday either. Hopefully I'll get it all done in time.

Work

I've been getting better at putting outfits together at work. Recently, I've really enjoyed getting to try out new styles and I've been experimenting with creative ways to bring in the customer. So I thought I'd take a few pics of the ones I've really been proud of. Hope you all enjoy!!

Penquin Ed's

Okay. This is the best BBQ place we've found here so far. I love it!! It's at one of those places that you have to wait for a table because they're so packed. When we finally did get a table, this is what we saw. *See sign* If any of you come and visit us and you want BBQ, then this is where we'll go! Yummy homemade goodness!

Morning

I feel like I'm living in a wind tunnel.

Sleep, anyone?

Well. The cleaning guy came. And now we've got four large, LOUD fans trying to dry out our apartment. Two in the laundry room and pantry. Two in my closet. I'm so naive. I thought it was going to be a quick thing. He comes in, does his cleaning magic, then goes home. Imagine my surprise when he said, "We'll be back every day to check on it. Don't turn the fans off. It may take 3 or 4 days to get completely dry."

Huh?! Oh boy.

When it rains, it pours...

Apartment life... isn't it great?! The good news? I don't have to worry about paying for problems in my living space. The bad news? My upstairs neighbor's washing machine flooded.

It all began when Daniel and I were on the couch relaxing after a hard day's work. He had made me dinner, which by the way was delicious and extremely appreciated! We had just finished watching the season finale of "Jericho". We had just decided to go to bed cause Daniel has to work in the morning... like most everyone else. Then all of a sudden, we hear this strange noise like a little water fountain. You know, the kind like in a spa, or a doctor's office, or a little one that you can put in your home. So we listened for where this water was coming from. We haven't quite figured out all the noises in our new home, so we weren't quite sure what it was. We opened the laundry room, and wouldn't you know, there's the source. Although, it's not coming from us. There is this pvc pipe with water streaming down it. D thinks it might be made on purpose like that. Then it starts leaking from the door frame. I'm thinking this may not be what the construction plans had in mind.

So I call the landlords. They come over. However, by this time there's water now leaking (I mean a heavy waterfall) coming from the light fixture in my closet. Huh? Yep. You heard me right. From the LIGHT FIXTURE. D says, "DON'T TURN THE LIGHT ON!" And I'm in disbelief. So my clothes are getting wet. The floor is soaked. My camera equipment is in there, so I'm frantically pulling stuff out of the closet. Clothes, camera stuff, Mom's blankets, D's Christmas presents. Sigh. I was hoping those would be a surprise.

So now we're waiting on the cleaning people to get here so they can wet-vac our apartment. I'm SO TIRED. I just want to go to bed. At least I don't have to go in to work until later in the day. Poor D. He's got a long day ahead of him!

Update

Okay friends. I know it's been quite a while since I last updated. I've been incredibly busy with work, then my dad came to visit. Let's see, where shall I begin?

Work. I officially stepped down as store manager. And we actually hired a new girl to be the store manager. But... she hasn't come in to do her paperwork. She hasn't called. I don't know what to think. So I'm still "acting" as store manager until we can get one in our store. Grrr. So I'll be a busy little girl during this wonderful holiday season pretending to know what I'm doing.

Thanksgiving. Because of work, we couldn't travel anywhere to see family. We were stuck here. But some friends of ours were having their family over, and they invited us. We had a good time. The food was yummy. The company was great. It was good. But it was still difficult not being with our own family. But it was neat seeing the families' traditions mix together. And I'll have wonderful memories of that time together. *Thanks, Amanda!*

Dad. This past week, he came to visit us. We had a great time.

Well, that's about it. OH! Except that we did get a little bit of snow! It started out as ice, which made the roads difficult to drive on. And we really didn't get that much snow. Probably only about 5 inches. But it was beautiful all the same. *Sigh*

Well, until next time. Maybe I'll post pics of our Christmas tree!