TOP TEN NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

I have never been too successful with New Year's Resolutions. The other day I came across an article in a magazine listing their top ten resolutions for the new year. I decided to make their list my list.

Therefore I hereby resolve to:

SPEND MORE TIME WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS: I plan on doing just that, but it will have to wait till the weather warms up because once I get home from work, I don't leave my house for anybody or anything.

FIT IN FITNESS: This one I absolutely plan on doing , but again, I'll have to wait for spring cuz it's just too damn cold outside for a walk or a jog. Maybe if I take the clothes off the exercise bike, well that's a possibility.

TAME THE BULGE: I started my diet the day after Christmas, of course it's impossible to diet on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, but I'll get right back on it. Maybe next Monday.

QUIT SMOKING: I can cross this one off, don't smoke.

ENJOY LIFE MORE: This one is going to be hard until I can retire and move somewhere warm.

QUIT DRINKING: No Way! I must have an occasional margarita.

GET OUT OF DEBT: Not a problem, remember who I'm married to... Mr. Cash and Carry.

LEARN SOMETHING NEW: I WILL master Photoshop this year!

HELP OTHERS: You have to help yourself before you can help others.

GET ORGANIZED: I had already decided that my side of the closet will be color coordinated, with all my shirts buttoned and facing the same direction, just like my husband's.

These resolutions don't sound too bad, I'll let you know how I'm doing.

DEAR SANTA

My seven year old grandson made a gingerbread house in school. The teacher told the kids they couldn't eat them because they had used raw eggs in the icing. Trey was worried that Santa would see it, think it was his treat and eat it, so he left him this note. (click on the picture if you can't read it)

'Twas the Week Before Christmas

'Twas the week before Christmas, and all through our town
The wind was a howlin', the snow coming down.
The stockings were hung by our chimney with care,
But under our tree, it was totally bare.

I tried to get nestled all snug in my bed
But my throat was sore and I had a stuffed head.
My plan to go shopping had gone all askew,
I couldn't make Billings, what the hell would I do?

The Nyquil kicked in and I fell fast asleep,
When a loud rumbling roar woke me out of the deep.
I looked out the window to see what was the matter
The Dodge Ram was runnin' and making the clatter.

Ken yelled up to me "The truck's ready to go,
the 4-wheel drive pick-up will get through the snow".
So I grabbed the checkbook, the debit card too,
and we headed to Billings to see what damage we'd do.

After a two hour trip, we hit the first store
I was thrilled to get in there, finding bargains galore.
Checking the names off our list one by one
Before we knew it we were finally done.

Now the presents are wrapped and under the tree,
The cookies are baking, I'm really stress free.
The lights are all twinkling, it's a beautiful sight,
So to all of my loved ones, Merry Christmas, good-night.

Damn, it's cold!

This is the weather forecast from Weather Underground for our little town tonight.

Partly cloudy. Very cold. Occasional flurries. Lows around 28 below. Northwest winds 5 to 15 mph. Lowest wind chill readings 45 below to 55 below zero overnight.

I just checked the temp and it is 19 degrees below zero. Wind chills of 45 to 55 below zero!

Besides being too cold and stormy to go to Billings and do my Christmas shopping this weekend, I came down with a cold and cough so I spent most of the weekend laying around. I will never, ever, ever, wait this late to do my shopping. It is extremely stressful.

January Blah's a month early

For the most part I don't suffer from depression or even get the blues very often and if I do, it is usually in January. This week I am feeling like I sometimes feel in January. It may be because there are only two weeks until Christmas and I don't have my shopping done, really I have so few presents bought that I can't truthfully say I have even started yet. My plan was to do my shopping this coming weekend but the weather forecast is snow and temperatures below zero. Don't think I want to be making the trip to Billings in that. Which means I will be doing my shopping the following weekend ----5 days before Christmas!



The Amazing Race ended Sunday, Boston Legal aired its last episode Monday, Survivor is winding down, so I don't even have my television shows to escape the doldrums.

If only I had a winter cruise to look forward to. Warm weather, food (that I don't have to cook) available 24 hours a day, someone to make my bed daily and then leaving a towel animal to amuse me, relaxing on a lounge chair in the sun while listening to caribbean music, watching nightly shows, the beautiful blue color of the Caribbean sea, the warm, gentle trade winds blowing in my face while I take a late night walk on the Promenade deck.

ck. Yup! I think that might cure the blah's!

(Now before any of my family gets on here and blasts me...no, I am not going on another cruise, but hey, thinking about it did help for a short time)

My Cruisin' Christmas Tree

I have had "bloggers block" lately, nothing in my life seemed very blog worthy so my daughter suggested I do a post on my ornament collection. I have a lot of different collections, my kids are going to have a lot of things to fight over when I'm gone, or they can have one heck of a yard sale.



When we started cruising I bought a lot of knick knacks that I had no idea what to do with once we got home. Most of our first cruises were taken in December and the Christmas decorations were plentiful on the islands so I began buying tree ornaments. Not only were they useful when I got home, they were easy to pack in my suitcase. Now they are fun reminder of the trips we have taken.

I This dough wreath was one of my first purchases. They were being sold as ornaments made by Aruban school children. I was impressed so I bought several. Every island we stopped at that trip had the same ornament, made by their school children. I'm not nearly as gullible now.

It's hard to see in this picture, but this ball is completely covered with beads. I got it in Mexico.

My Hawaiian girls are from Maui. The one is made on some sort of a pine cone and the other in on a shell.

This old fisherman is painted on a shell. Purchased in Halifax on our last trip.

These shells weren't purchased on a cruise, I found them at a craft fair in Colorado. I have about ten of them all made from various shells.

Ken likes to snorkel and dive for shells. He found this sea urchin in Grenada.

I love palm trees and sand dollars so I had to have this one.

These three wiseman are made of dough and are on a shell. I found them in an art gallery in St. Maarten. I should have been wearing my glasses because I totally put the decimal point in the wrong place. : (

Another art gallery purchase, but definitely not as pricey as the wise men. Bought in the Cayman Islands. The garland shown on the tree is small shells on a chain.

A conch shell Ken found on the ocean floor. This was also found in Grenada.

I have a big tree in my living room that has many of the other ornaments I have collected over the years. You may see that one too, if I have another severe case of bloggers block.

Here's to 40 more!

My darling husband commented that he was hoping for 40 more years of wedded bliss which got me thinking that I'm not sure I want to be married to a 100 year old man! I would be happy with at least 30 more years though. For a couple of kids who had no business getting married at ages 20 and 18, we managed to beat the odds and stay married a lot longer than anyone would have guessed.

Happy Anniversary Honey!

Our wedding picture.

Okay, that's not really our wedding picture. Our wedding picture is even worse and I can't even find it now. This was a picture we had taken in high school at a school carnival many, many years ago.



And to those that mentioned that the 40th anniversary is the "ruby" anniversary, this is what Ken bought me on our cruise without either of us even knowing about the "ruby" thing.

(P.S. to Brenda) I got the desk after the marathon fishing trip.

A Warning to my husband

A married couple in their early 60s was celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant.

Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table.

She said, "For being such an exemplary married couple and for being loving to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish."

The wife answered, "Oh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband."

The fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! - two tickets for theQueen Mary II appeared in her hands.

The husband thought for a moment: "Well, this is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this will never come again. I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me."

The wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish. So the fairy waved her magic wand and poof!...the husband became 92 years old.

The moral of this story: Men should remember fairies are female.....

Tomorrow is our 40th wedding anniversary so I thought this was appropriate.

Grandma's Playroom

When our third child left home and we were down to only one at home I decided to turn one of the extra bedrooms into a doll room. I'm not sure where this idea came from as I was never big on playing with dolls as a young child but I thought they would be a fun thing to collect.

A very good friend of mine made this wall hanging for me when I first started the room.

None of my dolls are very expensive and I'm sure they're not collector items. Most doll collectors keep their dolls in the original box but I didn't want that. I like to have them out collecting dust and losing their value. People started buying me dolls for Christmas and my birthday so it didn't take long to fill the room.

These are the largest dolls I have. They stand about two feet tall. My mom bought them for me for Christmas.

I also like miniatures so I am always looking for things to add to the room. The blue tea set was found in Aruba, it is a dutch island and the tea set is the dutch delft pattern. It's hard to see but on the top shelf is a tiny blown glass set I found in Mexico.

Penny and Sylvia were my first two dolls. I bought them late one night while watching the shopping network. (I know I really need to get a life) Sylvia is the one in blue, my daughter Colette never liked her because she thought she looked snooty.

This is another set I bought although they are bigger than most miniatures. They were purchased from ebay just because I thought they were pretty.

This lemonade set is one of my favorites. I found it in a small antique shop in Colorado. They are not antiques but that didn't matter to me.

I used to look for dolls all the time when we were on cruises and could never find them, especially in the Caribbean. I did find this doll in Peurto Rico and she is one of my favorites and one of the most expensive. She has a really pretty face.

This Princess Diana doll was purchased at a benefit auction, otherwise I probably wouldn't have bought it. I like her dress but I don't think they captured her face well at all.

One night when I was up late, again watching the shopping channel, I saw this doll advertised as one they would be selling in the next hour. I bought her at about 2 o'clock in the morning! She is a Titanic character and she has a beautiful face. By the way, I never watch the shopping channels anymore.

My daughter Kim used to make these button babies. She sold them at craft fairs but like her mother, she got tired of doing them and has moved on to other endeavors.

My only bride doll.

A few of my favorites.

I found this rocking horse in an antique shop in North Carolina. We were flying so I had to ship it home, cost me almost as much to get it home as it did to buy it. I don't know how much of an antique it is, but I like it.

Of course, you can't have a doll collection without some Barbies. Most of these are Colette's. When I realized how much more valuable they are if you leave them in their original boxes I quit taking them out.
This room tortures my poor little grandchildren because they aren't allowed to go in without grandma. We do have an occasional tea party in there.

Final NY hours

St. Paul's Chapel was where George Washington prayed the morning of his inauguration and where he worshipped the two years that the capital of the United States was in New York City.
Pictured below is his pew.
While walking to the subway we passed Fraunces Tavern. Established in 1762, the tavern became a meeting place for leaders of the revolution. George Washington became a personal friend of the owner and it was here that he gave his "farewell to the troops" address.

After a somber morning at Ground Zero we wanted to lighten our mood so we headed over to Wall Street and the NY stock exchange. Not exactly a place thats going to cheer a person up. The week we were on our cruise was the infamous "worst week" the stock market had since the depression.

This trio of unemployed financial businessmen were performing for money outside the NY Stock Exchange.

Television cameras were set up on the steps of the Federal Building to record this historic day when the Dow Jones Industrial soared to a 936-point gain. (And we were there!)

Ken follows the stock market faithfully and was patting the bull's head for a little reassurance that things would get better.

I, on the other hand, just grabbed the bull by the balls!

Now we're talking. My mood suddenly lightened when we came upon the famous Times Square Naked Cowboy. He has been singing and playing his guitar in the middle of Times Square every day, rain or shine, for the past ten years. I knew he was famous but no one around here has ever heard of him. Have any of you?

We passed by the Ed Sullivan theater where David Letterman tapes his show. Ken and I aren't real big fans of Letterman but there was a crowd forming around the corner from the theater so we decided to see what was going on.

Ken had never heard of Rupert and the Hello Deli , but I have watched Letterman enough to recognize the deli that he frequently features on his show.

I went in to get us a drink and had my picture taken with Rupert. Does anyone know who he is? This is the only semi-famous person I have ever been pictured with.

These Orange County Choppers were parked outside the side entrance to the theater and we were told that Letterman was going to tape part of his show outside. We decided to wait around and check it out. So we waited and waited and waited... for this...a quick glance at Paul Sr. and his son Mikey from OCC. I'm not a fan so it wasn't too exciting to see them, but the choppers were nice. We also saw Sarah Silverman who was a guest on the show. I had her picture on here ready to post but it disappeared. Where do they go? It was here and now it's gone. Ken didn't know who she was but I read enough tabloids that I recognized her.

That is how we spent our last couple of hours in NYC! We did have a wonderful time on this trip and I would do it all over again, even all the walking.

NYC - World Trade Center Site

When we woke up on our final day in New York our legs and feet told us that they had done just about as much walking as they were going to do. I don't think I have ever had such aching legs. We wanted to try the subway anyway so we found the nearest station and in a matter of minutes we were in Lower Manhattan. Our first stop was at Ground Zero. There isn't a lot to see there as they are beginning the construction of new buildings on the site. We headed across the street to St. Paul's chapel which was used as a rest station for the rescue workers in the days and weeks following the attacks. The church received absolutely no damage, not even a broken window during the terrorist attacks. That is amazing when you remember that not only the World Trade Center buidlings were destroyed, but many other buildings in the area were also destroyed or severely damaged.



In the days following the attack, relatives and friends of those unaccounted for distributed flyers with their loved ones pictures on the streets around hospitals and rescue centers. Volunteers at the church began collecting them and posting them on a small altar at the church. In the weeks and months after the tragedy funeral notices and mass cards were added to the altar. The altar was eventually returned to service at the church, but this replica was built to hold the momentos honoring the victims. Looking at the pictures and reading the notices was extremely sad.

The site of the WTC taken from the church grounds.

St. Paul's Chapel is an Episcopalian church built in 1766 and is the church where George Washington worshipped. It is the oldest public building in continuous use in Manhattan.

The only thing that was destroyed was this old sycamore tree that stood in the corner of the church lot. A sculptor worked with tree experts to preserve this stump as a monument. Notice the piece of pipe imbedded in the trunk.

One of the most moving displays for me was this flag with the names of those killed on Sept. 11. Click on the picture to see the names written on each stripe.

"Healing Hearts and Minds" is what the name of this tribute. Fire and police departments from across the country sent their uniform patches in tribute to the rescue workers.

We had a busy day and I will post the rest of our day tomorrow. I thought this posting about Ground Zero should be separate.