Season's Greetings

Is it the New Year yet?  C'mon!  We've now been living in Minnesota for 6 months.

'Twas the day after Christmas and work has been chaotic during the holiday season, as it always is, working in the grocery/retail business.  Americans want what they want when they want and as much as they can get and they expect to get it.  It's their right.  Needless to say this has made for some long shifts these last few weeks.  As we head into the new year and then a few quieter months I hope to enjoy the job more.

Big News!  Evie Sue turned 4 years old on this 16th of the month!  I can hardly believe it.  We threw a little shindig for friends and family and everyone had a lovely time.  The kids were running around screaming, the adults were conversing over the screams and I was drinking.  We have a ton more princess items to add to our impressive collection.  The birthday present win of the year goes to Sara, who bought a box/trunk at the local goodwill and gifted it as a dress up box.  Now all of the princess gowns, tutus, and assorted costume pieces have a home.

Christmas Eve was spent in the company of family at the Patsy home in White Bear Lake.  Grandparents, great aunts & great uncles, aunts & uncles, cousins, and kids all gathered in a cozy home to exchange gifts, stories, and Christmas Cheer.  Christmas morning we stayed home with just the four of us and opened presents.  Sara cooked her traditional Christmas Quiche; this year with pepperoni, mozzarella and green peppers.  This is something we started a few years back and we look forward to every Christmas morning.  There have been several variations over the years including Greek inspired with roasted red pepper, feta, & asparagus, and/or also tomato, mozzarella & basil sometimes it varies but it is always Red, White & Green.  Then later I made chili, and Grandma & Grandpa came over to hang out.  All in all it was a good day considering that there's a cold going around, Ronen is the latest victim, and that Evie Sue was so hopped up on Pez, chocolate, and other sugar-based snacks that she was physically incapable of following directions for the entire day.

This was my 1st Christmas away from my family in many years and we definitely missed having them to celebrate with but I was able to Skype with 2/3 of my immediate family and exchanged a few text messages with friends and family wishing them a Merry Christmas.  Christmas presents are in the mail, I promise.  I was just a day too late.  Hope everyone out there had a great holiday.  New Years is right around the corner and 2016 is coming up fast.

In other news, Ronen is still not sleeping through the night.  Sara is on a winter break, of sorts, from work and we are still a single car family after a couple of set backs in our automobile search - both involving the same prospective seller.  It's a long aggravating story, but the long and the short of it is that we are restarting our search after having two sure things all through.  We have a lead through a family member and I'll start actively combing the area for something safe and affordable.  Hopefully the new year will see us with 2 reliable cars.

I am still not even close to finishing the book I am currently reading.  I started Dean Koontz's From The Corner of His Eye during the second week of October but the work schedule, the family duties and the holidays have all conspired to keep my reading to a minimum and I am only about halfway through the 768 page thriller.  Slow and steady...  I also have not been productive with my writing.

The fantasy football season is over and what a disappointing season it was, too.  I failed to make the play offs in both leagues I was involved in this year.  It was ugly.  I picked up several players during the season whom I thought would help me do well but week in and week out I my imaginary squad did not deliver.  There were a few weeks when I, distracted as I am these days, neglected my line up, left empty slots and/or didn't pay attention to injury news.  Oh well, few things matter less and this season I just could get things going my way.  There's always next imaginary season.