Should Old Aquaintance Be Forgot...

I have a theory that applies only to me - every odd numbered year is generally not very good, even year's bring much more joy.

Starting in 1989, I can prove my odd year theory...
1989: New boss at work - the worse I've ever had; prompted me to hand in my resignation the end of the following year
1991: Bad leading to good - leave my home, my best-friends, my family; and move to the other side of the country. Meet John two weeks after I arrive :)
1993: John loses his first job; My Mom died
1995: John loses his next job
1997: My company refuses to compromise on my return after maternity leave, I quit and go freelance
1999: Stuff in our marriage - won't go into details
2001: REALLY bad stuff in our marriage (briefly break-up), and of course, 9/11
2003: John without work, forced to leave California for Ohio
2005: John still without permanent work, takes job in Wisconsin, we see him 4 days a month for almost two years; I take a new job at the university that I HATE!
2007: John has two jobs, second one ends unexpectedly; I quit my job earlier than planned - go deeper into debt

And the even year's:
1990: Tour with the Molson Indy circuit (a blast!), go to Vancouver, decide to quit my job and move!
1992: Marry John
1994: Cameron is born
1996: Jackson is born
1998: Caeden is born
2000: Buy new house in California; elected PTA President
2002: Marriage is GREAT; 10th Anniversary; lose lots of weight, look great!
2004: Start new job in advertising, start to settle into living in Ohio, Cameron makes first All-Star baseball team
2006: Back with advertising company, get lots of new clients, start making really good friends in Ohio
2008: My company is starting to take off, John has a new PERMANENT job he loves, boys are all very healthy, I will lose 40 pounds...(had to throw in a resolution somewhere...)

...THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

The Jersey

Jackson got a new football jersey for Christmas. Actually, he got it yesterday because Santa and the United States Postal Service had trouble communicating our address!

So Santa had to write a note explaining why the prized Devin Hester Chicago Bears #23 home jersey was not under the tree.

The USPS elf dropped the box in the middle of our garage floor sometime Thursday -- I only discovered it as I was leaving to go to the post office yesterday to find out where the heck it was!

I've written about Jackson's obsession with his jersey's before. He sees holes and threads, some imaginary, some created by the constant picking; his obsessiveness has relegated some jerseys to the closet, never to be worn again! (Not such a bad fate for the Troy Smith Ohio State jersey!)

Devin Hester arrived pristine in its package from the NFL Shop. He carefully put it over his head...and started examining the you-know-what out of it until...yep - there was actually a flaw on the sleeve!


I had visions of a major meltdown -- the wailing and tears -- the insistence on getting another jersey...

Instead I got - "You know, I'm getting okay with this..."

Christmas miracles...

The Power of Blogging

We had friends over for dinner last night. During the conversation Vickie asked, "have you updated that blog yet?!" I didn't even know she had been reading it!

While in Canada, my mother, John's brother, and several friends asked me the same thing, "When are you going to post again"? My mother was particularly vocal, "I've told all my friends to read it and now you stopped posting!"

Frankly, my initial reason for starting this blog was to make money. I had been working with a friend on his charity website, www.puzzleofhope.org; and we had been discussing ways we could generate hits to his site. We started researching blogging and I saw how people were making hundreds, and sometimes thousands of dollars a month by simply writing about their lives!

Why couldn't I do the same thing? I had the subject matter...kids and sports...who wouldn't want to read about that? Seemed simple.

And it was simple...I set up the blog on my own and started writing. After a few posts, I was able to sign up for Google AdSense -- this was the money side. There were various ways I could generate income, the easiest was allowing Google Ads to be placed in my site. Again, simple.

What I didn't realize is that you need THOUSANDS of hits PER DAY to actually make money, unless someone clicks on the ads; then I could earn a couple of dollars here and there. There are millions of blogs, and unless you work the web everyday, it's really hard to get readers to find you!

After three months I have had a total of 2,688 hits and earned $57.13. So much for hundreds and/or thousands of dollars per month!

But I discovered something along the way...I really didn't care about making money. I was really enjoying the opportunity to write and even more, I enjoyed writing about my family. It became my journal, with the added bonus of having others share in our experiences.

So for all those who have become loyal readers; I thank you. Now, if you just take a look at the ads across the top...:)

Ohhh...Christmas Tree!

A couple of days after Thanksgiving we found the PERFECT Christmas Tree...you may recall that my parents participated and greatly contributed to the discovery of this treasure.
You may also recall how beautiful it looked once home and decorated. The perfect size; the angel almost touching the ceiling.

But our beautiful tree did not react well to being chopped down and brought into our home. She started to lose her needles. Of course, all trees lose needles but not like this...

We knew she was in trouble when we left for Canada but we had hope that the copious amount of water we were putting in her pot would prolong her life until after New Years (our traditional schedule for taking down the tree). We even had our neighbor, Ken, attend to her needs in our absence.

On our return Christmas Eve, I went over to say hello, touched her delicate branches...and heard the sound of thousands of needles falling to the floor.

Alas, our beautiful tree was gone...

Yesterday was her funeral...as we carried her gently outside, she left a trail of needles through the entire processional route.

Our neighbors will be able to continue to call on her at her final resting place at the curb...until Tuesday when she turns to dust in the back of the garbage truck!