Ugh, that's so annoying Kat. :(

And eesh, two months for brakes?! That's what we've been doing. It's like, an hour or two job.. as long as you don't have to keep running back and forth because, even though you gave the guy the VIN number, they still gave you the wrong rotors and brake pads. And the caliper isn't in stock in store, so it needs to get mailed, and it takes longer than it's supposed to.

BUT. We got it basically put back together last night.. new caliper and brake pad is on the one side.. still need to do the other, but he was waiting until we had the new rotors. So maybe Saturday.

We're in the 8-12+ zone for the snow tonight and tomorrow so.. I'll be here :P

Oooooh heating oil just got delivered. Boooo, because it's like $700, but yayyyyy for not running out :P

We have a little snow in the UK, but obviously it's not causing any major problems because we hardly get any 😆

Hope the van get sorted Mieke! My brother is a mechanic so I never have too much trouble with my car - I feel very lucky!!

It's always tough figuring out how Christmas goes when things change - ours changed dramatically when my brother split with his wife about 10 years ago. We're in a good groove with it all now though! Sending big hugs ^_^

Yea I think it was opened at someone's house. My mailbox often has mail from at least two other addresses in it. I usually go put it in their box rather than send it back thru the post office. I don't know the people across the street, whose mail I get most often, but it's an older lady (and I dont know who else, if anyone,lives with her) and I really wouldn't THINK she'd open and take stuff but you never know. My other two neighbors I do know so I doubt they'd open and steal from my mail....but again, you do not really know what someone will do.

Ohhhh wow lots of snow for mieke!!! My phone doesn't say winter mix anymore, so no snow here anymore. At least not today.

And thanks caz. I know we will settle into new routines, but yeah....this first year will be a bit weird lol [Edit] 730 Omg guys my photos turned out sooooo good!!! I can't wait for the prints to come. I did realize I wanted one more photo I didn't order so I might have to get it too I already spent a bit more than I wanted to tho lol.

Pix

Family :)

My all grown up babies!

The cute couple <3

"Look annoyed at your sister, she got all your presents" lol

[edit] Saturday 350pm Guys. I'm so bored :P I'm about to make cookies tho, waiting on the butter to soften. Nathan wants to go hang out with a friend, at a park, after dark :/ Not too sure about that, but I guess I'll let him. Its a nice place, a decent area. I just don't like the whole after dark issue. Went to like 4 stores this morning. So annoying. Still have to go back as I didn't buy one thing I need to get for Shane - was hoping to find something else I liked better, but I didn't and of COURSE the other walmart I went to didn't have the one I sort-of-chose in the size I need. Ugh. So I get to go back again. At some point this week anyway. Maybe tomorrow morning, maybe later. Still have to go to the Sock Shoppe too - I tried today on my way home from those other 4 stores and it was sooooo crowded I noped out of there w/o parking.

And OMG guys - I called AT&T because I just got my next bill - which YAAAY they finally changed the billing cycle so its due the 2nd. But I didn't see the $30 off I was supposed to get for doing the ACP (affordable connectivity program)...so I called to ask, got connected to the right department, and by the end of the conversation the person helping me stated that 1. Thats now added and active, 2. Added Access Benefit (which reduced my payment to $0!!!!) and 3. Refunded the payment they just took out of my account ($36) to me !!! :o WHAAAT??? That is so freaking awesome. I was not expecting that, I just wanted to save the $30 monthly!! But now I have internet at NO COST??? :o Of course, I'll have to wait to verify if this went into effect and will actually be done, but she said it was!!

Oh my gosh Kat, those pictures are great!!! I love them all.

And that's terrific, about the AT&T thing. Stuff like that never happens LOL. That's so great!

Santa came to the library today. The kids dressed up as elves. Mine did, anywya :P So we decorated cookies, Lily read a story, Santa came nad read a story, then we did a craft and El read two stories. It was a good time, but also.. I'm so tired!

Last night Alex and I went shopping when he got home, I think we finished everything we need for stockings, etc. And then we went out for dinner! We haven't been out to somewhere other than like.. grabbing something while we're out and eating in the car since my birthday, so it was nice! AND his idea! shocker

Thanks :) I got a 10x13 of a different family pose, a 10x13 collage of yet another family pose AND what I call "groupings" - so like, Shane/Katie, Katie/Nathan, Shane/Nathan, Katie/Wesley for the little inserted pictures :D then I got another collage, 10x10, of each individual picture (each of us got one, so those are inserted on this cute Christmas wreath background to make the collage), I got a 8x10 of the one of just the 3 kids (NOT the one in here of the gifts with Katie -that is the one I need to go back and buy! but the one with the merry christmas sign), and 2 of the 8x10s of Katie/Wesley eskimo kissing, one for me, one for his mom. Then Katie wanted a copy of that, so we got 2 5x7s of it. And Shane wanted some smaller ones for his truck, so we got 3.5x5s of the groupings plus a family pic (yet a different one, with Shane as the center point for this one hahaha!) I will post the others when I get the prints, I didn't want to photo spam you all here all at once hahahah I wish there was a way to share the whole gallery, like there used to be. Maybe there is and I just haven't seen it yet or something.

Oooh nice, dinner out, no kids? Even better. Trying to figure out what to do for dinner now that Nathan wants to hang with his friend. He said "mom just cook YOUR steak inside, and when I get home again I'll cook mine and eat later".... and well. I guess thats what we will do, but sigh Not like he eats dinner with me anyway because he always goes off to his room. I guess I shouldn't allow that and should make him eat at the table with me, but what is the point? He would not talk to me anyway and just gobble it down so he can rush back to his room. And I like to read while I eat anyway, which I do if no one eats with me. So we are both happy(ish) with the arrangement as it is.

I saw the picture of Santa with his "elves" soooo cute!! I have some pictures like that from youth group. I love them. I should get them out for the holidays. They are just 4x6 photos so they don't take up a lot of space anyway!

Was that at Pennys? The wreath collage sounds like one we got a few years ago.

If it is, I think there is a link?

Yes, We did our pictures at JCPenny's :) I've done them there since walmart shut down their photo studio. I remember there being a link other times, but I don't recall seeing one this time. I 'll have to go look again and see.

OMG I'm about to cry. I just posted a smorgasbord of Santa pictures I found while sorting through all my old photos.

Oh and Nathan's friend bailed on him, so they didn't go to the park. So he cooked both our steaks outside on the grill. Is now working on his bike. In the dark. Strange child.

[edit] 805am Sunday Finished battling the two headed teddy with all 18 pets. So now I have 18 stickers. If anyone wants one because they don't battle, let me know, I'll sticky you! Going to go see if I can battle the next one up with each pet (doing it for the xp, tho Sheli will battle the higher ups too as much as I can) Susie beat up by 18 pets too If you need/want a let me know :)

And done battling. I barely managed to beat Scary Singer 10x so I know I won't be able to beat the next one up. I'll try, to make it to 5 at least, but I doubt I will. He starts off higher!

Oooh, they did a good job! Ours is pretty awful. :( Which sucks, because they're so much cheaper, and sometimes it's just nice to be able to do that, you know? Still super expensive, though LOL.

The photographer there has been there a LONG time. I remember her doing Shane and Katies graduation pictures, as well as my 20th anniversary pictures. She probably did some others as well, group family photos a long time ago. She's really good, which is the only reason I didn't freak out when I couldn't see the pictures on the big screen like I normally got to before. Sorry yours is awful :( I always spend over $100 so I wouldn't say they are cheap. They do offer the digital album, which would give me access & ability to print my own pictures, but I just buy prints because why pay for digital and then have to turn around and pay for prints? :P I do not have a good printer to do prints at home. But they usually have some good deals - I always end up rejoining the "smile savers" or whatever its called, club - and that gives me THREE free prints, one of which can be a collage, plus 3 $10 off discounts in the future. And often with that I get a deal that prints are only like $5-8 per sheet (This time it was $7, I know i've had prints for less). I sometimes get a specialty, like the 10x10 if its a decent price, and sometimes I get canvas. Right now they have a sale on canvas, I can get a 10x10 canvas for only $13!! So I might go back and order that other picture I want in a canvas lol If you are comparing them to say, a personal photographer, like I've seen some people do, I have no idea what that costs. I've always gone to a studio. But I can imagine a studio would be cheaper than hiring someone to come out and do photos (or going to a location to do photos). Oh and I cannot find a link to share. So :( Boo

Oh and I died too quick on even the first attempt at the next higher up battle, so I didn't bother to try again lol

Yeah, studios are MUCH cheaper. Buttttt Pennys is the only one still around here. Like, the kids Christmas pictures were $250, though that did include all the digital ones! And she did take a bunchhhh of them. But sometimes the studios are just nice. I used to love going to Sears when the kids were younger. :(

When Shane was born, I went to Olan Mills. How the heck? SOOOO PRICEY!! By the time Katie was born, I was doing walmart photos. I think she did Olan Mills ONCE (maybe twice?) as an infant. I'd already taken Shane to walmart several times by then - but they didn't have studios then, it was a "special photo event" type of thing back then LOL Then walmart got their photo studios, and gosh did I go crazy with photos, because I mean really!! $20 or less and I get 100 prints?? SURE!!!! AND I can do several poses? YESSSSSS Then they limited it to one pose, but still, I got to pick what I wanted, so I went quite often for less than $20 ? OF COURSE I did!!!! I tried Target when they went out of business at walmart, but it was further away. So when I found out JCPenny had a studio, I started going there. But it cost more, so I couldnt go as often. I regret that, because obviously I have waaaaaay more pics of Shane/Katie than I do of Nathan or Nathan with them. :( Oh well. Isn't that how it always goes tho. I have plenty of snapshots!! :P

Haha. My mom has an Olan Mills picture of me from my 1st birthday.

Had, I guess. Hmmm, I wonder where it is now? Actually, Nana has it. HAD it. Jesus. It's been a rough few years LOL.

Yessss, I loved those like, $14.99 for a ton of pictures one! I'd use them and then we'd use them to cut up for projects and such haha.

Walmart had a photo studio, but only for a few weeks when El was a newborn. We used to go to Sears for pictures when I was small, and then that's where we took the kids, until they closed. :( Then we went to portrait innovations, until THEY closed. And that was so much drama, they closed suddenly and wouldn't give people the pictures they had already paid for and such. Dramaaaaa.

And yeah, I lost the camera when Lily was small (it was in the swim bag, apparently there was a hole in the lining, I found it a few years ago :P) and so I don't have a lot of pictures when she was like, a toddler on up. Whooooops.

I have actual prints from maybe Nathan's first 6m or less. I have tons of photos. Just no prints since then!! Lol

Hahaha. I had lots of digitals, but not many prints. But now I try to keep up with printing pictures, too. Because they always need them for school, etc. And it's nice to be able to flip through a book of them!

Made corned beef, buttered noodled and green beans last night and it was actually really good, I'm proud of myself haha. Trying to get back into the swing of cooking... at least occassionally. Normally the only things I make are lasagna or ziti, or like... ham. I make ham and roast chickens. Those are my things.

Alex is just such a better cook, that everything else, he makes better than I do :P

Tonight we're having tortellini with a pesto/chicken sauce made from the stock from the cornish hens I made last week. And tomorrow is salmon with a champagne buerre blanc and quinoa/rice mixture. Thursday we're maybe having sloppy joes (lilys favorites!) if we don't go to youth group because of snow. Friday is beef stew.. and then it's Christmas time!

I keep thinking I need to start doing those little photo books and maybe then I'll get them printed. Lol

[edit] 350pm

Mmm guys, my house smells so good right now. I got two scenty things, one a spray and one a hanger - i sprayed the spray in the kitchen to smell it, and then hung the hanger (apple/cinnamin) by my desk. MMMMM I feel so spoiled right now. My "kids" and their parents gave such lovely gifts! We had a wonderful Christmas party. And I got to leave work early (15min haha but still). Of course hubby is being an ass about Katie and Christmas, and Nathan too, so that was a damper on my afternoon, but I am going to try and just MOVE ON PAST that and feel that its not my issue its his, even tho it is impacting me. Ugh. Anyway.

Dentist in the morning, then over to his house to collect all the gifts he bought the kids (yes, that is part of him being an ass), and help him load the bed he got for Shane onto the jeep so he can unload it over here. I guess I will give him his gifts as well, and he can do whatever he wants with them (open early, open on Christmas, not open, whatever).

Heeeey! MERRY YULE! I am caught up on everything here and work related so now I'm just patiently waiting for the weekend to arrive so I can sleep in. Already sent my prezzies to my daughter's house w/ my brother who had to finish the brakes on her car and I knew she's going to have a busy weekend. Won't get to celebrate w/ my youngest until she flies up on January 12th. /BIG SIGH

Sooo... other than a good ham and other food, I don't have shit planned for the holidays other than relaxing and staying warm. It will feel rather lonely, even though my bro will still be here. I'm sure he'll be happier w/ the company than I am, lol.

LOVE the pics, Kat! <3 That's really awesome that you got things worked out for your internet and cell phone service!! Talk about an unexpected gift. I have a wax melt that I just recently switched scents over from apple/cinnamon to frasier b/c I'm seasonal like that, lol.

We're on track for that crazy storm too, Mieke. I would think it will be worse for you, being in your more Northern locale. Got some things I need to do just to prepare for the winds, since my house is terrible with insulation. Candles in the rooms and extra bedding for the chickens. :D
I've never actually made corned beef.

Oh, and you're right, Kat. It's NOT your problem! Let it roll on off your shoulders.

Happy Yule !! :) What a cute outfit!! I tried pine scent or fir scent or something but Nathan didn't like it. So I will have to try something else and get rid of the pine so I don't forget he didn't like it lol I thought it was ok, but I don't like to smell things sometimes, so I don't want to make him smell something he doesn't like. Hopefully you and your brother will have a nice time. :)

I have never made corned beef (or .. most of the stuff either of you mention lol) - I'm not even sure what it looks like LOL

As for hubby - He keeps involving me (so did Katie, via text). I bluntly told him I could give him MY opinion and what I would do in this situation, but he had to decide for himself. He basically cried help. (Literally - I was talking to him, and he was like this is why I called you. I was like, so what.... I can't tell you what to do? Its not like you said "HELP", so he said "HELP") So I told him what I would do. And tried to help him. No clue if I did. sigh

Look at this cutie. [avatar=mister_ed]

Nathan seems like he does need the push, like he's more about avoiding awkward situations instead of learning how to deal with them with s/one he already knows and loves. And yeah, I think Katie should find time to see her parents but I know my oldest was like that w/ her then husband and his family so I just got used to Christmas's without her and my grandkids and it became just me and my youngest, which is why this year is harder for me without her.

I'm nervous about power outages with the high winds coming in so I'm going to see how many candles I can gather at the thrift store tonight. Still waiting on my car to return........ grrrr. Got other running to do, also. I'm tired and already fell asleep after work and just want to hang out in bed w/ my kitties, lol.

Miater_ed does always have very cute outfits too!!!

I've always wanted to be the one house where the big family gathering happened. But...I guess that won't happen. At least not anytime soon

Hopefully you guys will be all right up there with that storm. And hopefully no power outages. Do you have a generator for in case of that? We used one at the fireworks stand to run the lights, cash register and heating blankets in winter. It lasted all day most of the time. I have no idea how long it would last for space heaters or cooking things.

No generator. While I've been looking into more affordable ones, I still haven't been able to justify the cost with the little extra I get from year end taxes as I'm usually paying off other shit. I make too much to get any assistance and too little to ever get ahead. Having a car payment and high insurance payment is really putting a dent in my income.

Hopefully it doesn't rain too much during the day. I've got to wrap up the chicken coop so the wind doesn't get in from all the gaps and throw in a mixture of leaves and shredded paper for their bedding since everyone seems to be out of the affordable stuff. Only thing left was timothy hay and that is PRICY!

I'll also work on making candles throughout the day, since I have plenty of wicks now and all the wax I've been saving.

This storm is supposed to be crazy with possible flash freezing due to the temps dropping so fast and the high winds coming with it. Our area is predicted to get around 2-4in but it will all be in blowing snow which always causes chaos. That all comes in late evening, like after 7pm, so I've got time to get things outside prepared.