Happy Monday After Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I've been off from work since 11/16, so it seems very surreal to be back. But I just have to get through this week, and then I'm off next week to go to NYC!!!! Our Thanksgiving was....interesting. At various times throughout Thursday and Friday, I truly wanted to sell (cheaply) Mom, Dad and my brother. I truly believe that KB, Molly the Beagle and I were the only ones who maintained any semblance of sanity! I think part of the problem, if you can call it that, is that we're all so extremely close - it's a mixed blessing! We love passionately, but we fight passionately, too!!!! I won't get into the details, but I always hope for that Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving, and you'd think I would've learned by now that it doesn't exist, at least not for us!!! In reality, I think the Rockwell Thanksgiving portrait doesn't show that Mom & Dad have just had a knockdown, dragout in the kitchen, that the dog has puked under the table and that the siblings are stabbing each other with forks!!!! Seriously, I don't know why I put such high expectations on holidays, but I do. I am almost praying for January 2 right about now!!!! Other than that, it was nice being off of work. In fact, it makes me realize how badly I want to be independently wealthy!!!!! Looks like everyone's been busy. I've got a busy week here, and I'm going to try to wrap presents a little each evening. Yeah, right, we'll see if that happens!! I hope everyone has a great week! Tia

Hey Tia Welcome back!!! I've missed ya. I really truly meant to call you on Thursday while we were driving to NC, but then I was afraid it was too early .. then I was afraid that I'd interrupt your day .. and then we were there .. sooooo .. I'm sorry to hear that it wasn't the best .. I know the expectation thing so well .. been there done that with all the holidays at one time or another ... I think the 'best' Thanksgiving ever was my house 1987 ... it was the first Thanksgiving in this new house and I had the whole family here (my side of the family) and I made up my mind before hand that if M & D started I was going to tell them it was MY house and that behavior was unacceptable. .. It was the strangest thing .. I must have given off those vibes because they were on their best behavior and there were NO incidents ... Are you coming to Timonium Dinner Theater on the 17th??? Hugs, Mo

Hey Moie - Thanks, missed you, too!!! Glad you had a good, safe trip and a good time!!! Did you stock up on the souvenirs? Yeah, I'm starting to think that family holidays are a bit overrated. My fault though, since I'm such a perfectionist. I'm happy to report though, that I really had no role/fault in the fiascos!!!! But somehow, I got sucked in anyway!! Yep, Mom & I will be there on the 17th, gotta buy my tickets today. I tried while I was off, but that darn dial-up!!!!! Have a great day!!! Tia

I called to order mine. It was easier. Be sure to give Traci Lowery's name for seating so we are all in the same general area. Actually we didn't go overboard on the shopping. I got my Sam Bass Holiday (06) diecast car. Sam was there when I made my purchase so he signed it for me and Mr Mo got a display case for more diecasts, but that was it. Oh and I got a $3 tee shirt that says .... I Drove My Car on the Track at LMS I do have some cool pictures though .. I'll share when I have a few minutes to put them together. Hugs, Mo

Hi Tia. Thanksgiving was pretty good for us. I was a bit nervous for two reasons. 1. The drive. We went to Connecticut, leaving at 7:30pm Wednesday night. The last time we went up I-95 on a holiday evening. Well the ride was actually very good. We got there in 5 1/2 hours, good time considering we were bumper to bumper from our house, threw Baltimore to the NJ turnpike. But traffic moved rather smoothly so it was a good ride. 2. The sister in law. We stayed at my husbands brothers house. We have only seen he and his wife 3 times and all three times she was not very friendly. Now, I typically contribute this to being shy but with my self-esteem not always the best, I can sometimes feel that this is personal and she just doesn't like me. Well, I can now say that she is just shy. She doesn't talk much at all. I didn't at all feel like she didn't want us there or didn't like me. After spending a couple of days with her I know she is shy and takes awhile to open up to new people. I can appreciate that. She was very kind to us and I think we will only grow closer. So neither of my fears became a reality this holiday. My father-in-law has nicknamed me Slim. That felt good. Although I am far from slim, I still like the compliments. My husband was quite sweet and told me on Friday that he feels like he has a new wife. I had to pry some more out of him cuz I wanted to know for sure what he meant by that. He said that I am happier, even more than I was when we first got married. And he said that I look really good too. That really made my day. I have to admit that I am much happier than I have been in a very long time. I am feeling pretty good in my own skin these days. That feels really good. I didn't eat too bad this weekend. I allowed myself some treats and didn't make wise choices all weekend, but I never over ate and even my treats were limited. I did find on Saturday, after a little bit of an argument with my hubby, that I ran to food for comfort. I ate 4 girlscout tagalong cookies! Very bad. I knew they would make me sick but they didn't really hurt me that much. (not really a good thing) I did eat some tortillia chips with dip later that really made me sick. But for the most part, I did pretty good. I have gotten back to my exercises this week so hopefully my indulgences won't cause a gain! I am sorry you had a not so wonderful holiday, Tia. I have had so many of those. My parents live in FL so we don't spend a lot of holidays together, so it keeps things peaceful. LOL I am glad you enjoyed your time off of work. I did too. I didn't think about this place for 4 days. It was nice. I like having a job that I don't have to take home with me. Have a great day. Hugs, Robin

Hi Robin - I'm glad you had a smooth, uneventful trip to CT! And that your concerns about your SIL were unfounded. I always thought that whomever my brother married would be my sister, but alas, that wasn't to be. Here's hoping that you and she will be friends. Don't get me wrong, my Thanksgiving wasn't horrible, it was just....I don't know. But no matter what, I always love and want to be with my family. It's just that sometimes, I want them to be someone ELSE'S family!!! I'm sure they think that way of me, too!!! Oh, your hubby is just the bomb!!!! I KNOW that made you feel good, Slim!!!! I know you've lamented in the past about your hips, and that made me remember to tell you that I could see a definite difference between when we had crabs in September and when we just got together at Valley View. You do look like a different person! That snazzy new 'do was great, too!!! You know, I've often said that I wish sugar WOULD make me violently ill. My brother says, "No, you don't want that!" UM, YES, I DO!!! I bet in the past, you could've eaten more than 4 Tagalongs, so consider that a victory!!!! Plus, you got right back on track, so I'm sure there was no harm done. Don't beat yourself up!!! Yep, I didn't miss work, not one little bit. We're still waiting for the Governor to name his new cabinet secretaries to see how it might affect us. Here's hoping he does it soon!!!!! Have a great rest of the day! Tia