It's been awhile!

I know I have been horrible about this blogging thing. The lack of blogging stems from the fact that I can't figure blogger out when it comes to posting pics. It posts them backwards from how I select them. So far, all the trouble-shooting I have done has not resulted in anything. If anyone knows what the heck is going on, please let me know because it is irritating the crap out of me! On that note, I am forgoing posting anymore Vancouver pics because it takes too much time and energy to get them all on here. If you really want to see them, let me know and I'll email them to you or something. They are all posted on Facebook and Myspace as well for all to enjoy.

These last few weeks have been pretty good. Thanksgiving was fun as always. This year I made Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes and then I iced half with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing, and the other half with homemade whipped cream. Either way, they were delicious. I’m excited about the upcoming holidays because I can do some baking! I’m thinking lots of divinity and Cream Cheese Sopapillas! Yum! I can’t wait.

This last week has been a little ‘eh.’ With the economy the way it has been, work has been very slow. It picked up quite a bit around Labor Day, but has since slowed down again. On Monday they told us that we were all going to have a pay cut and cut our hours down to 32 hours a week. The good thing is that I still have my job! So keep your fingers crossed that I can keep it! If something should happen, I’ll probably end up at McDonald’s or Bill Millers!

Just today I found out that Sara, the secretary at the LA Department while I was there is not doing well. She has cancer and has been in hospice care for a while now. I got an email today that there is not much time left. She is one of the nicest, most genuine people you could ever meet. I loved going to work and talking with her and Sharon, especially when we would mock one of the former secretarys!! I can do it right now! And they would love to get a laugh at my expense on the very few occasions that I would show up hungover. Man, they would get a kick out of that and not let it go! I’m so glad I was able to see her in March when I went to Lubbock for Jean’s funeral.

It still doesn’t quite feel like Christmas to me! It’s probably because I don’t have my Christmas tree up yet! But I blame that on my mom! She decided that she wanted to downsize her tree, so she gave me hers and I got her a new one. Well, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Dad came to put in our new back door to replace the crappy sliding glass door that was there. As soon as he got to the house, I started bugging him to get the tree out of his truck so I could put it up while they put the tree up. He finally obliged and I got busy unpacking it, putting all the branches in their respective color piles. I’m working away, and I get to the bottom of the box and realize that there is no tree stand!!! Yeah, what am I supposed to do now? I called mom, woke her up, and told her that she sucks at sending me trees. Well, it wasn’t quite that harsh, but I did wake her up and tell her that the tree stand was missing. I thought, ‘Ok, when the guys go to Home Depot, I’ll get them to see if they have one that I can work with.’ They make their trip to Home Depot, but they don’t have any. They have their trees in stands, but do not sell any. What the heck is that? So, I decided that after lunch I would brave the crowds of Black Friday and head out to Hobby Lobby, Target, or wherever I had to go to get a tree stand, because my tree was going up one way or another! Mom called me back right before lunch to inform me that she, Ms. Check and Doublecheck everything, went upstairs after she talked to me and lo and behold, there was the tree stand. But that’s not all folks! Oh no! She then says there was also a bag with branches in it. One full layer of branches. My hopes and dreams were dashed in 30 seconds because I realized that even if I could get a tree stand, it would have a huge gap! Ugh! The rest of the afternoon was spent plotting ways I could get the stand and limbs to SA for the least amount of money and putting up the rest of the decorations. So, I was planning on going home this weekend anyway, and it ended up as my only option to get the rest of my tree. It really sucks, but Josh has already offered to help me put it up. It’s a pretty massive tree and takes a couple of hours to do. I know what I will be doing Sunday evening when I get home!

I promise to be a little more vigilant about updating. I’ll have to get creative and figure out a way to fool blogger into letting me post pictures correctly!