Cleaning the Attic

While I was home in Texas earlier this week. Mama, J, and I worked on cleaning out and organizing the attic. Holy crap was there a lot of old and neat things to be rediscovered. I found my old soccer jersey, old toys, baby clothes, etc. It was very fun to go back and see how little I used to be or what the fashion was back in the 80s. J doesn't understand holding on to old items. His mom doesn't have all their old baby clothes and toys...so it is very hard for him to understand why we keep what we do. I mean really what is the point to having all my old birthday cards, valentine's day cards, and any cards in general, but it was nice to see my grandparents and great grandparents signatures again. It was nice to see all the old Fisher Price toys, the farm, the picnic set, the school house, and the record player.....I hope someday I will have a little one to play with them also. I also can't wait to use some of the precious pink rosebud outfits on a little girl....or lord help the kids if I only have boys.

Charlie, aka Booger Butt

Today on Day 14, I am thankful for Charlie. Char Char or Booger butt or Boogs as we call him, is an Old English Sheep Dog with 2 blue eyes. Charlie came as a package deal with j. J rescued Charlie a year before we started dating. Poor Charlie was a stud dog in a puppy mill. He was bred a lot (due to the 2 blue eyes) and badly abused. How someone could hurt a dog is beyond me.

Charlie had a very rough first part of his life, now I can say, he is the most spoiled and lazy dog. Charlie and I have had our ups and downs. Due to being a rescue, he takes a while to warm up to people. He is very skiddish, and losing control of his bladder when scared. When they first moved him with me, I was not very happy because Charlie was forever peeing on my new not even yet fully paid for carpet. You can't scold him or he pees more. Eventually, he got used to his new house and to me. He listens to me, most of the time. He was not supposed to sleep on the bed, however you wake up in the middle of the night and have a furry guy at the base of the bed. He loves going for walks/runs with me in the park. He is such a lovable guy and thinks his 70 pounds makes him a lap dog.

Lately, Charlie has become somewhat of a Diva....he refuses to go outside to the bathroom because it is cold outside or raining. He runs and hides under the table. We hope that he will finally go out when he really really has to. I love him and all his hair.

Day 13

Today I am thankful for my new family. We celebrated the Blair family Christmas yesterday. It was a wonderful afternoon filled with yummy food, lots of presents, and lots of laughs. I made my fabulous mexicorn dip which I have kind of become known for in St. Louis. I was able to use one of my new chip and dip trays that we got for our wedding. Then came time for presents. We will not have Peyton on Christmas so we brought all of his presents to MawMaws....holy crap that kid made out like a bandit. He received a tent and fishing gear from my Mama, his Grand C and Grand P, sleeping bag, lanturn, Xbox games, and model car from us, more model cars, a remote control car, a Cardnials world series sweatshirt and more from everyone else.

J and I decided to exchange presents as well...and he did good this year. He bought me a tennis racket and tennis balls....yes we have decided to take tennis lessons in 2012. A good couple activity that is healthy and I can hit balls at his head! I also got a portible XM radio for the car and a new game to play with friends and family. J got his beloved coffee grinder. I will say, one of my favorite presents was an ornament Ellen (J's sisters) made us. She took a glass ornament and filled it with cut strips from our wedding invitation. Very neat!

I am blessed to be a part of another loving family.

Day 11

I was supposed to do this entry yesterday, but I didn't have a chance. Yesterday, I was thankful for my Mama! Yesterday was her birthday, so I had wanted to dedicate yesterday to her. So I will do so belated. I know, most everyone will say that they have the best mother....I hate to break it to everyone because mine is super best! She is just a giving woman who puts everyone else's needs before her own. She is a super prim and proper southern belle....who loves going to rock concerts. She is even too wild in music taste for my sister and me sometimes. She is always there to listen, give advice (even when not asked), and love. She loves her friends and family unconditionally.....

Day 10

Yay! Finally in the double digits! I am doubling up today because I am doubly thankful. Today I am also thankful for great customer service. Being a person in sales, I know all too well how good customer service can make all the difference. On the flip side poor customer service can be detrimental.

I have been covering the Kansas City area for almost 5 years now. I have been staying at the same Holiday Inn Express for 4.5 years. This year was a little rough however. With job #2 of 2011 (remember, i am on job #3 for 2011) I only made it to KC two times. This greatly saddened the staff of the Holiday Inn Express in Independence. They were so happy when I called 2 weeks ago to book my room (I have my own contracted personal rate!). Yesterday when I arrived, everyone came out to greet me. Stuff like that goes a long way with someone who lives a lot of their life in hotels. They are the same staff that when I had my major knee surgery left a huge get well care basket in my room when my mom drove me here for work.

I am loyal, they are loyal to me and make my time away from home entertaining and bearable.

Day 9

At this rate, when I am done with my 30 days of thanks it will be time to be thankful all over again. For Day 9, I am thankful for feel good kid movies. Sunday afternoon, J and I took Peyton to see the Muppet movie. I think I was the most excited in the bunch. I am not sure if Peyton even knows much about the Muppets, but he did like the movie. I loled...literally. I cried, happy tears during the singing of Rainbow Connection. Yes, I am a sap....however, I think it just reminded me of a simple time when you play pretend and could be whatever you wanted to be when you grew up. I miss that innocence I once had.

Growing up, I watched the Muppet show every afternoon. I don't remember a ton about the show and at the time didn't care who the celebrity host was (Who the heck was Bob Hope!) that day. I just remember the laughs and smiles the muppets gave me. And I told my mom the other day, when I think of the Muppet show, I also associate it with Guiding Light. Guiding Light was a soap opera that came on after the Muppets Show that my mother watched. I was supposed to go to my room to nap, but sometimes I got to watch with her.....what a combo the muppets and guiding light.

I am so happy the Muppets have made a come back. I'd love to see if the old shows are available on Netflix or something.

Day 8

Today I am thankful for being one credit card closer to debt free. The husband and I were doing very good in getting all the balances of credit cards and have a an emergency savings fund in case something happened...which it did in August. Losing your job is rough on the finances, especially when you are the main bread winner as I am. I was not given a severence package as I had not been with the company long enough....panic really set it. Missouri's unemployment is not a percentage of your income but a mere $320 a week. This amount was lowered for me as I make too much working 8 hours a week at Ann Taylor....so it was usually my Ann money and about 290 from the government. We had just put the remaining balance of the honeymoon on a credit card to earn miles, but was to be immediately paid off with a commission check. Well after losing my job, we were not able to do that. And with some other wedding expenses we added more to those balances. Luckily, I had saved well enough to not have to put many survival bills on the credit card. And this morning, I paid off the lower of the 2 bills! I love seeing a zero balance. My goal for 2012 is to be free of credit cards and rebuild my savings. I just need to stop shopping when I am stressed