Monday Morning (mourning)?

Good morning!
I shouldn't say mourning, except I was sort mourning the end of another weekend and not much crossed off my list of things to do. It's not like I didn't do anything, but my list is just seems so freaking long. So what did I get done....well, on Friday evening I went to a winter holiday parade in my small town. It's the one that I helped originate and organize. It was bittersweet to watch knowing that I helped start this tradition but that because of personal differences, I was no longer a part of it. Now I've talked about this parade before but for those who may be new, let me set the scene....Small town central MN. Temperature at a balmy 14 degrees, lighted and musical floats, princesses, and a wonderful fire department collecting Toys for Tots. We then decided to "warm up" with chili at the chili feed fund raiser and some ice cold Coors Lights. It was a fun night to spend with friends.

Saturday was a work day so not much accomplished except for driving all over town to find vanilla almond bark. Whew! That certainly was a struggle.

Sunday is one of my favorite activities of the season....baking with my friend. Except this year, we both were not feeling it. See here in Minnesota, when there is no snow, we have a hard time getting into the Christmas Spirit. There are parts of MN with snow, just not here in central MN. Now, I struggle with this because I'm driving 64 miles round trip to work and love that the roads are clear, but we are going to need some snow for Christmas. How about you? Are you in the Christmas spirit?

Here's what we made: Cut-outs, Oreo balls and dipped Oreos, and a candy that my mom used to make. She had gotten some other stuff done before I got there so I have to make some of those at home. This has to get done before long so I can mail it to my parents in Florida.

And that brings us to Monday morning (mourning)...I was just wishing that we could have to Sundays this week.

Enjoy your day and we will talk again soon!
Nelle

Christmas lists and the New Year!

Hi everyone!

I hope that you are all in the middle of your Christmas to-do lists and activities. Each year I think I'm going to get so much done but it looks like that isn't going to happen like I'd like it to. I decided that I need to "scale back" in order to get anything accomplished. So here are my goals for Christmas this year: 1) mail cards only to friends and family that I don't see often. This way I'm not spending time sending to people I see regularly. I will also be able to include a letter if my list is not too long. 2) Bake...I love to bake but my time is short this year. I plan to bake just enough to mail as gifts or to give out to friends and family. 3) Stick to the shopping list. How about you? What does your list look like?

At the end of December, my temporary job will be ending. What started out as an eight week gig turned into 6 months. Let me just tell you that while I love my co-workers the 64 mile round trip is starting to wear on me. What's next? Well, I have been a part-time bartender at the same bar for almost 20 years. Recently the day manager quit and beginning January 2nd, I will become a full time bartender and will assume the duties as such. I'm very excited and hope that this is something that I will like on a full time basis. This past year has lead me down some paths that I never thought that I would travel. It was in that spirit that I thought I would give this a whirl. One definite perk...3 mile round trip.

Wish me luck. At least I'll have a lot of stories to blog about. Make sure that you enjoy, not stress over, all the Christmas activities. Hopefully, I'll have my New Year's Resolutions thought out soon and will share them.

Nelle