Christmas Vacation!

We got up early Tuesday morning to head off for big After Christmas sales. Actually, Tom and Scott went off to look for great Holiday sales at Home Depot. Tom usually picks up a year's supply of  LED flashlights since they are usually 1/2 off. Also he loves looking for Christmas lights on sale. When they arrived, they found everything on sale with prices marked down, however, the Home Depot staff was not ready for the sale. They did not put the prices into the register, therefore, they could not sell any of the items for the sale prices. And no one could find the manager to approve the sales, so Tom and Scott left.

Meanwhile, I was busy packing the van and we were off to Indy. I do like mixing post Christmas shopping with traveling. You never know what you are going to find in other states and other stores. I was very excited to stop into a Hallmark along the way and stock up on Star Wars ornaments for Tom's tree for next year. All 1/2 off. And Tom found some Christmas lights at Lowes while I was shopping. He was even more excited to visit the huge Cabelas to shop for a rain jacket in W Virginia.  I had picked him up a jacket for Christmas since he really needed one especially for traveling, but he wanted the more expensive Gortex coat. So we stopped in and while he was shopping the kids and I had a great time checking out all the stuffed animals on display. This store is like a wildlife museum with a huge room full of deer, mostly with abnormal antlers, then a large central display of mammals and birds, as well as a huge fish tank of North American fish and turtles, and a shooting range. Lots of fun. We just did not realize we could have brought Cookie in with us. We also stopped along the way outside Columbus, Ohio to our favorite outlet store, The JCPenney Outlet. We have shopped there for many years ever since Tom and I were married. We were looking forward to stretching our legs and stopping for a bathroom break for us and Cookie,  as well as getting some dinner. Sadly, we discovered that the Outlet store has gone the way of many of the Retail stores and it was closed down. Along with most of the stores and restaurants in the entire area. Instead, we pressed on and did not see much in the way of eateries between Columbus and Indy. We were forced to stop in for dinner at a lousy Hardees that managed to screw up our entire order(and we were the only ones in the restaurant).

Finally we made it to our destination-Mark and Linda Seitz Household. We were excited to visit their new house. We all took a tour of the house before settling into our own rooms. And Cookie and their dog, Teddy got to know each other.

On Tuesday we woke up with hopes of venturing outside for a few Holiday activities, like visiting the local German Christmas village and ice skating rink or touring the Indy Zoo Lights. However, the temperatures had dropped to the single digits and the wind chill brought everything down below zero. So we opted for the indoor activities. First we had a wonderful visit with Sarah and Eric. The two had driven down from Fort Wayne for a day visit. We are so excited about their upcoming expected baby girl's delivery in February. I had brought along a small gift for Baby Claire's room-some pictures to match their decor, so we swapped gifts. Eric presented us with a lovely photo album of a collage of Seitz Family vacations. Thanks again Eric and Sarah! After an egg and sausage crock pot breakfast, as well as some tasty cinnamon rolls, we were ready to start our day. The whole family decided to catch the Jumanji  movie and we really loved it.  And we enjoyed a huge bucket of popcorn and cup of soda with a Star WArs theme(we are still trying to get to that movie!).

After our movie, we headed over to Bubs for their Burgers. They serve a Big Ugly 1 pound burger for the brave. We were not that hungry, so we opted for soup and sandwiches. And while we waited for dinner we enjoyed playing a card game called Spot It. (I liked it so much, I bought a game for us and one for my workplace on the way home at Meijers!). After dinner we all went our own way. Eric and Sarah had a pit stop at their Grandpas for some computer work and then were driving back to Ft Wayne. Sarah will be heading back to Mark and Linda's in January to celebrate her Baby Shower. We enjoyed our driving tour around Carmel and Woodfield, looking at all the shops and Christmas lights and closed ice skating rink and German Christmas village(cause it was so cold!)

On Thursday we decided it was still too cold to venture outside, so we opted for a visit to the Indy Car Show in the downtown Convention Center. Mark dropped us all off at the door and before he could park and join us, we obtained free tickets into the show from one of the employees. Sweet! This was not a huge car show, but we had plenty to keep us busy. We all went in different directions. I was mostly interested in any new options in car styles as well as technology in the  Ford and Toyota models. We also stopped at the Ford display and picked up a credit for  $50 Gift Cards when we stop into a Ford dealership for a test drive. Allison and I will be off driving Ford products soon!  We also enjoyed the Ford robot presentation, although it was a bit corny! We spent a few hours checking out the cars and then walked through the downtown Indy indoor mall. All the buildings are connected by elevated walkways, so we stayed nice and warm. We enjoyed some after Holiday shopping, and then headed over for dinner at Buca De Beppo's Italian restaurant. I really enjoy this place. The food is served family style and they decorate the entire restaurant in crazy Italian photos and knick knacks(including the Pope Table) which was already reserved. But we sat and enjoyed our pasta, antipasta appetizer and bread with a little difficulty managing the tongs and the large salad. After cleaning up salad from the table with a lot of laughs, we packed up our leftovers and headed home. Mark gave us a wonderful driving tour of Downtown Indy and the Christmas lights on the way home.

We also entertained ourselves at Mark and Linda's with a puzzle and a few games of large Jenga. And before we left, the guys went off to one of Tom's other favorite stores, Fry's electronics. Again, another unfortunate shut down. Actually, the store was open, but instead of all the wonderful tech stuff, it was filled with "As Seen On TV" paraphenalia. Too sad. But it was time to head back to Maryland. The weather was turning for the worst, and Mark and Linda had more guests on the way. On Friday we packed up and headed to Dayton Ohio for a little tour of the Air and Space Museum. We stopped into a few Costco Warehouses since I was on the hunt for another pair of wonderful boots for Allison and I, as well as my Walking Dead comic books. I bombed out at both stores on the way home. And we got hung up at Buffalo Wild Things since the service was incredibly slow. So w

e only had an hour left before it closed, which was plenty of time to visit Tom's B2 Northrop Grumman bomber. The facility has a 4 hangars full of aircraft and rockets and they just added another whole hangar. We walked through a Presidential Air Force One from the Kennedy era as well as a mock up of the space shuttle. I could not believe how huge the space shuttle is, but the living quarters are just at the very front of the ship and not too big. Enough room to sit and operate the ship, some storage space and a bathroom and some hammocks for sleeping quarters. The rest of the ship is all for cargo. Although our visit was short, it was very exciting and we saw quite a bit, but the place was closing and we discovered it had started snowing. Right on time and pretty hard.

According to the weather radar, it looked like we could out run it, somewhere past Columbus. Unfortunately, the storm was moving faster than us. We could no longer see the freeway, and there were lots of trucks and cars on the road(all over the road). So Tom thought it would be better if we stopped for the night. Allison found us a Home 2 Suites hotel room with 2 queen beds that took dogs. Perfect. It was just north of Columbus in a town called Dublin. And a great price! Just $93 for the night. We have stayed at the Home Suites before and really like the modern look and large area. It actually feels like staying at an IKEA. The only down side was that we had to pay $100 for Cookie! We figured it would have cost us more than that if we had boarded Cookie, but we also felt like we deserved another room! Well, at least we were warm and dry and not out on the road. For a very short time. Tom was adamant that we were going to go see the new Star Wars movie. And we had all evening open. So we headed out in the snowstorm after settling into our room, as well as giving Cookie a quick walk and her dinner. We also were interested in dinner, but did not have a lot of time to eat and get to the nearest movie theater. We found a theater with food and reclining seats and the show was already sold out! In a snow storm!  So we drove to another movie theater, less crowded and with reclining seats, less exciting food, but something to eat and settled in for the 2.5 hr long movie. At least we had popcorn. And we loved the movie. But there was a lot to take in, so we may have to go out and see it again before it leaves the theaters. We headed back to our hotel and drove through the adorable town of Dublin, Ohio, all dressed up in Christmas lights and fluffy snow on a large river and no humans. We decided we would have to give it a quick visit on Saturday morning on our way home.

So on Saturday morning we were up, packed, cleaned the snow and ice off the van and headed over to the Starbucks in Dublin after the snow plows came through and salted the streets. Dublin has a cute statue of a large frog-apparently they put on a yearly frog jumping contest in Dublin(when it is much warmer I'm sure!). Then we dropped into one of my favorite stores, Meijers. We loaded up on 2 liter bottles of Diet Vernors and Diet Squirt(we don't have those large sizes in Maryland and it was on sale!), looked over the post Christmas items on sale and picked up a few things and then were back on the road. We also stopped back into Cabelas on the way home and this time took Cookie in for a walk about. Everyone in the store had to stop and pet her. We decided we should pick up some winter boots for Scott in preparation for going off to Western next Fall. We also stopped into Hagerstown, MD on the way home to pick up a few pizzas from Papa Murphy's so we would have something for dinner after unpacking the car.

Overall it was a rather short trip, but very enjoyable and we loved visiting with the Seitz Family. Thank you so much for hosting us at your beautiful new home Mark and Linda!

Christmas Day 2017 at the Seitz Household

We all slept in on Christmas Day! I love having older kids. We spent the morning drinking coffee and opening Christmas presents with the kids. This year was a mix of gifts-Tom usually buys all the high tech gifts and I get everyone practical items like underwear, socks and warm clothes. I especially stocked up on flannel as well as a Western Michigan hooded sweatshirt for Scott in preparation for the Fall when he heads off to Kalamazoo. Turns out he has been able to use all his very warm clothes now! Allison got a new dress and scarves for interviewing. I hope she gets to wear that soon!  I outfitted Tom with all his favorite characters like Dr Who, Star Wars, Capitals and even got him a Western Michigan Hockey jersey(so he will be prepared as well when Scott goes off to school). Allison loves her new computer drawing pad. Scott is still enjoying his new Jeep(when it is home!). Of course the kids got new video games. I was not as interested in the high tech gifts that Tom thought I needed. I have been trying to get a cable hook up in the kitchen from him since we remodeled and Tom has not been interested. Instead, he bought me a Fire Tablet, but it only streams recorded shows. Not interested. I would prefer live shows, like the News when I am cooking or doing dishes. He also tried to locate a speaker system for my SiriusXM radio insert from my car(because my car radio is dying). I had hoped the speakers would be small enough to bring the system into work. They were huge and heavy. So that went back. I actually got brave and bought Tom a high tech toy at Home Depot. I picked up a security camera and flood light system for over the garage. It goes with our front door RING security system. He loved it and actually braved the cold and wind on Christmas day to install it over the lower garage. We have been having fun peaking in at the door and the driveway. A little freaky when the house talks to you though(it has a speaker system). Comes in handy though especially when we travel. Which is next on our schedule.

After all the gift opening and clean up, we started on dinner preparations. We also had to finish laundry and packing as we were headed off to Indy to visit Tom's brother Mark and wife Linda at their new house. Plus I decided to continue making cookies so I could drop some off to our neighbors. I had planned on bringing my mom over for opening her gifts and dinner, however, the staff at her apt did not recommend that. The stomach bug had been going around her building and they were on shut down. It was suggested that we not risk having Mom over in case she still had symptoms and to avoid spreading anything to Tom and the kids. I also did not have to catch it again!  We also decided not to invite friends or neighbors over since we had too many preparations to complete before our trip.

And I am glad we did not. Turns out our dinner ran a bit late since Tom bought a huge roast which took extra time to cook. So we had a late dinner and then packaged up all our Christmas cookies and cards for the neighbors and hit the road. I took the kids and Cookie and we drove to our farthest neighbor's house, the Plunketts. The family was all up and excited to have us visit, including their dog Ripley. She and Cookie had a great visit, and so did we, complete with hot cocoa. I felt like a caroling group. We did a quick drive by and mailbox drop for several other neighbors, and then we stopped into the Zarlenga household. I had to make sure they had our house key so they could take care of Pika while we were gone. We had decided to take Cookie with us on the road trip to Indy to meet her cousins.  Dan was the only one up-Gloria had started a new Nurse Management job and was already ill and in bed. She even had to start on blood pressure medication. What fun(been there, done that). 

So we headed home and to bed with our suitcases packed and ready to get up early in the morning for our road trip to Indy.

December 2017 catch up continues!

So I woke up with the stomach bug that was going around my workplace. About half of our residents and patients all had stomach issues. I had my flu shot two weeks before, but this was not the flu. I could not get out of bed on Monday and just slept all day and night. Thank goodness for Vernors ginger ale. That was all I could handle. On Tuesday I was feeling a bit better, but not enough to go to work. Instead I stayed in bed and finished my Christmas cards.

Since I was home with Allison, I talked her into pulling out her old Barbie doll collection, brushing their hair, snapping some photos, and posting them on our neighborhood web page. She was not interested in keeping the dolls, all 20, and thought Christmas would be a good time to do some spring cleaning. We got the idea when we saw someone else requesting Barbie dolls for a Christmas gift. No sooner did Allison post the dolls, we received 3 immediate requests and the next door neighbor ran over and rang the doorbell! Allison sold the whole bag to her for her granddaughter for $30. Good Christmas spending money!  And the neighbors all thought it seemed just like The Toy Story movie-a college kid selling their toys so someone else can play with them. The neighborhood loved it! Now we just have a few more piles of toys to go through and post on the neighborhood website! I am mentally getting ready to become an empty nester next year!

Allison also finished up with her dentist appointment, as well as Scott. Looks like both kids need to have their wisdom teeth out this summer. Allison then had her blood drawn to check her iron levels. We won't find out the results for another week.

So I was back to work on Weds but still feeling a bit off. Fortunately I was off on Friday. I spent my day finishing up my Christmas shopping. I also had a morning meeting with the Care Coordinator at my Mom's facility. Looks like she is doing well(except she keeps on taking the community tv remotes up to her room!). We actually discontinued her cable since she wasn't spending time watching tv in the apt. She sure could have used the cable service after being stuck in the apt for a week. Mostly she kept herself busy reading. After stopping in to check on Mom,  I met with her financial advisor for a year end review. Peter actually forgot about our appointment and was out on a lunch meeting, but able to hurry back to  meet with me. In the meantime I chatted with his secretary, swapping alcohol recipes! She makes her own Apple Cider Moonshine and gave me an extra bottle.  I was dropping off Tom's homemade gin as a small Christmas gift to Peter, but she got the GS cookies. Not sure who got the better deal!

On Saturday I volunteered to go into work. Big mistake. I was the only OT scheduled and my boss made sure my day was very busy. I had 12 patients to see and put in a 12 hr day. I think they were trying to play catch up since Monday was Christmas and no one planned on working that day. I was pretty pooped out when I got home! On Sunday, Christmas Eve, I spent the day wrapping all the gifts I bought on Friday.  In the evening, I picked up my Mom and we all went out for Chinese food on Christmas Eve. Afterwards we went to Christmas mass at the Chapel at the Charlestown Retirement Community Center. I was going to bring her home on Sunday and have a big dinner and open her Christmas gifts, but her facility was having the outbreak of the stomach bug as well. Turns out Mom had stomach issues that week as well as the rest of the residents throughout the building with the same symptoms. They put everyone on isolation during the week

and had them remain in their rooms. The staff had to bring their food up to all the apartments(quite a chore-3x/day). But they did not want the residents spreading any more germs in the dining room or while participating in activities in the community rooms. So instead everyone was confined to their apartments. Not an easy concept for my mom to understand, especially since she was feeling better. They also did not recommend bringing family home in case they were still contagious. I certainly did not want to see the kids or Tom catch the bug(it was not fun), so I did not risk bringing mom to our house. So instead we had a little Christmas the night before with dinner out and church. Surprisingly, they let her go to the Sr Center on Thursday for her weekly program. But again, I did not want to take the risk and see anyone else in the family catching the bug.

After Christmas mass we drove around in the rain looking at Christmas lights on the way back to mom's apartment. Unfortunately our tour was cut short when my newly installed windshield wiper flew off the car! Tom tried installing an off brand windshield wiper. Needless to say, he got me some high quality wipers instead for Christmas! Just in time for our upcoming trip to Indiana!

After we dropped Mom off, we headed home to enjoy watching "Christmas Story" and opened a few gifts from friends and relatives. Scott was especially excited to get a new Western Mich. coat from his Aunt Susan and Uncle John! He is definitely going to need it too!

I think mostly Scott was just happy to be done with school for awhile. He has been working so hard the past few weeks and all the tests, papers and projects were due this week. He had multiple tests in Physics and Math, wrote a paper after reading the 'Fences' book(movie came out last year), and had to turn in his toothpick bridge for the upcoming strength test in Physics. Allison built a winning design when she was in high school, so Scott is trying to follow in her footsteps. He got a small break from school on Friday when he spent the day delivering his food and gift donations to a needy family in our county along with a few other high school students. Scott got to drive and after they were done, the students were allowed to spend the rest of the day at the mall. Scott used his time to get lunch and do some shopping but then had to return to school before the last bell for dismissal.

When he got home, he and Allison took his Jeep into the auto dealership to see if another service station could tweak some of the issues we were still having including the buzzing in the back speaker and the malfunction in the sensor for blind spots. And Tom thinks the transmission needs an adjustment since the drive is a bit choppy for city streets. So the two took the car over before coming home and making dinner. It's nice to have the kids home!

Meanwhile, Tom was hoping for a few extra days off work before the Holiday week. Instead, he was called out to California on Thursday and returned late Friday night. Fortunately he had a good flight and a very successful visit.

Just trying to catch up on the end of 2017.

December is flying by and we just keep getting busier and busier! A Big Shout out and Happy Birthday to Linda Seitz who celebrated her Birthday on Dec. 12th with a Holiday concert. How fun. Cookie also celebrated her 8th Birthday on Dec 13th!   We planned on taking my mom down to Busch Gardens for Christmas Town in Williamsburg, VA before Christmas. We figured we were going to be out of town for the holiday season and that it would be nice to spend some time celebrating with Mom B before we leave.

Allison was home and done with her finals. She did a fabulous job with her classes this semester and is currently a 4.0 student. She is really looking forward to having a break though. I continue to keep her busy with chores around the house, but also trying to get some of her medical appointments done before the new year. She scheduled a dentist appointment and another lab test for her blood work. But she was also looking forward to the trip to Busch Gardens. Last time she went, she was so ill she really did not enjoy herself. I was also happy to have her help put up some Christmas decorations. And Cookie is getting spoiled with a daily walk.

I also needed Allison's help to get my van to the tire center at Costco before our weekend trip.

On Weds my flat tire alarm went off. Tom wanted me to take the van into a local tire store because he thought it was a faulty sensor. Turns out I really did have a nail stuck in my tire, and the sensor needed replaced since it was corroded. Costco did both repairs and no charge since I bought the tires there! So Thursday morning Allison drove her car over so I could drop off the van, and then she drove me back home so I could get the Echo to drive to work. Then in the evening I had Tom and Allison pick it up since I was enjoying the Holiday Party at my mom's place. I had to get it fixed before the weekend since we were traveling with my mom and her scooter and it only fits on the back of my van. I also enjoyed the evening with my mom and munching on lots of turkey and ham. The facility always does such a nice job hosting parties. My visit also gave me the opportunity to pack Mom's suitcase. I have also been pacing myself on bringing her Christmas gifts. I picked up a few Christmas shirts and sweaters for her, along with some Holiday earrings and necklaces. She was definitely festive!

I was so glad I got my van fixed too. We really needed it for the weekend trip. I had a feeling I might have picked up a nail or other sharp object in my tires since I had been doing quite a bit of driving in the city recently with our GS performances. And my van tires get punctured quite easily. On Weds night I headed over to another Nursing Home near the GS headquarters to put on another Christmas concert for the residents after getting off work. I am glad I went since only 4 adults and 2 girls showed up. I think most parents were busy and could not get their kids there during the school week, not to mention more snow was on the way. Before I got home that night, I was driving through a blizzard!

I was just glad Tom and Allison made it home safely that night. They had traveled up to Hershey PA to watch a Hershey Bear Hockey Game and had a wonderful time. They thought it was especially funny when the Kiss Camera flashed on them both!  Tom gave Allison a quick peck on the top of her head!

On Friday we had another snow storm in the afternoon. We waited for Scott to get out of school and for the snow storm to stop before heading south. Turns out Scott got out of school a few hours early since it was a freezing rain/snow storm and the school district did not want to chance any accidents with the kids getting home from school.  Scott had already planned to take off work, but school was shut down anyway.

We picked up my mom around 7pm and headed down the road. The snow had stopped and the roads were fairly clear. We had all eaten dinner before the trip, and I had dropped Cookie off at our friends house early in the morning. We decided it was just easier traveling without Cookie for such a quick trip. We got to the hotel around 11pm and were all tucked in bed by midnite. I noticed however that my mom did not seem to be feeling too well. She had an upset stomach and a runny nose. I was able to give her some medication to keep her going over the weekend though and she seemed to do pretty well.

On Saturday morning she woke up very late. Around 10 am. Tom and the kids brought up breakfast, but everyone was anxious to get going for the day. The weather in Williamsburg was sunny and warmer, but not exactly Florida(as my mom pointed out!). The amusement park did not open until 2pm, so we decided to have lunch and catch the new Star Wars movie. What a disaster that turned out to be! We headed to the Movie Tavern in Williamsburg and got great seats for a great price. Everyone ordered their meals and settled in with a fun crowd to catch the newest movie in the Star Wars series. The movie started playing, but there was no sound! The management apologized and stated they would reboot the film. After another 20 mins, again a picture without sound. Now they were bringing out free popcorn and movie passes and calling the IT people. Still nothing. They were able to place 65 people in another theater, but we were out of luck. After waiting 2 hrs, with no movie to show for it, we left with a refund and no movie and an expensive lunch along with free movie passes and some free popcorn.  We did get a few photos of some Star Wars characters that were there for the opening.

No matter, we can catch it later. Instead we headed to the park. We all had a wonderful time  on a beautiful sunny day, strolling through the park, catching all the terrific musical shows like Scrooge and Gloria-Christmas carols and dancing. And when night rolled around we loved seeing all the lights throughout the park. Later in the evening, we stopped for dinner in Italy and an outdoor Accopella show and then decided to call it quits. It was getting incredibly crowded and a bit cold. And it looked like my mom had had enough. I think we all had enough, but we decided to try to get into the Star Wars movie one more time!

Tom stopped back at the movie tavern and I tried to use our free movie passes for the seats. However, they would not take movie passes for the new Star Wars movie. Unbelievable! Instead I asked Tom to drop my mom and I back at the hotel. She wasn't feeling so well, and I thought we'd had enough of a busy day. Tom and the kids however decided to chance it and went back to see the new Pixar movie, Coco. We had thought my mom would like it, but the kids said it was too sad and depressing and did not like it. Tom took a nap! Mom and I got tucked into bed and fell asleep watching The Peanuts Christmas shows.

So Sunday we needed to get up, dressed, eat breakfast and head out by 9am. I had to get back to Mom's place by 1 since our GS choir was performing there. We had no problem arriving before 1, so mom and I sat and ate lunch in her dining room before the girl scouts started to show up. Meanwhile Tom and the kids picked up Cookie and unloaded the van at home. Scott had a ton of homework to get caught up on, and Tom wanted to catch some football before we headed out for another Christmas concert in the late afternoon. Since we missed our Army Jazz Christmas concert, I ordered tickets for the Army Holiday Concert at the Lyric theater in downtown Baltimore.

We finished up our GS choir performance for my mom's place which turned out to be fantastic. However, when I checked my tickets for the evening concert-a free performance by the US Army band in downtown Baltimore, I discovered that I had overbooked my schedule! Their concert was exactly at the same time as our GS performance. So we missed the Holiday US Army band, but no matter, everyone was pretty worn out anyway. Instead, Allison came to pick me up and helped me do some shopping for Scott's adopted family. The NHS students at school all signed up to adopt  families for Christmas including buying gifts for the kids and collecting food items. Since Scott was so incredibly busy with his school work, Allison and I volunteered to do the shopping and the wrapping for him that evening. Everything had to be turned in the next day.  We had fun shopping for 3 little girls and wrapping all the gifts. It also made for a very long day(and weekend).

And as I was lying on the couch that night watching "The Sound of Music" I discovered that I was not feeling very well. 

Last weekend we had our very first snow fall of the season. What a wonderful way to welcome December! Snow can be fun, but it never seems to come at the right time! And this was not just snow, but ice and rain mixed in. It started on Saturday morning, so all events scheduled at the local schools were cancelled. The kids were bummed since they did not get their first snow day. But I was disappointed since I had tickets for the family and my mom to go hear the US Army Jazz Band play their Holiday concert at the local High School. They always do such an incredible job, and they play a 2 hr concert for free! Can't beat the price. So unfortunately, because they were scheduled to play at the school, and the schools were closed, the concert was cancelled. Oh well, it gave me more time to work on my Christmas cards.

And to get ready for the upcoming neighborhood Christmas party that night. We were to bring appetizers and side dishes, so I had some cooking to do. I also made a batch of Holiday Wassail-warm Christmas wine-in the crock pot which turned out to be a big hit on a cold night. Especially with the oranges, cranberries and cinnamon sticks.  We had a wonderful time visiting with all our neighbors, but the roads were slick getting home. I had hoped to take my Mom to the concert as well as the party, but did not want to risk Mom walking up frozen driveways or me skidding on the roads trying to pick her up and drop her off(especially after sampling the Christmas Wassail!).

The bad weather also kept Scott and I home baking cookies for his Cookie Exchange party with his elementary/high school friends. One of the girls has hosted a party for the past 4 years. I am always invited, although I usually have to run off to some GS choir event. So Scott and I made chocolate covered popcorn, cocoa spoons and oreo cookies and packaged them all up. Yum!  On Sunday afternoon we headed over for the party. I always enjoy catching up with the moms from the old school, as well as their kids future plans. We even exchanged contact info to see if the kids could get summer internships. Plus the moms are all so nice and exchange gifts! I can't keep up!And then I did have to leave for another GS choir event!

Our GS choir was invited to sing at a lighting ceremony in Mt Washington at the Johns Hopkins University. They actually light up an historical building-a multi story house in the shape of an octagon. I will have to check out its history. I really did not have time to talk to any of the staff. The building is attached to a conference center/hotel. Very nice, but very empty on a Sunday night. The staff did put out a Starbucks Hot Cocoa bar and cookies for the community, but it went fast. They said this was the most people they have ever had at their event. And they enjoyed our GS choir leading everyone in caroling.

I was also busy running around during the week. It was time to pick up our Christmas Photo cards at JC Penney. I invited Tom and Scott to join me for dinner. I had a gift card for Maggiones Italian Restaurant-Tom's favorite. We had a very nice dinner and got there just before all the big Holiday groups starting pouring in.  On  Friday I was running errands and spent the whole day Christmas shopping! What fun! Even Cookie got dropped off for a Christmas hair cut(which she needed badly). And Scott and I could not help picking her up a new bed for Christmas at the pet store(since it was on sale!). She's absolutely lost in the big, fluffy pillow!

We were also looking forward to having Allison come home. She finished a big final presentation on Tuesday night in Management and was busy studying over the weekend for her final in Finance(going to be a tough one!) the following week. Then she will be packing up and heading home for the Holidays!.

We started off last week celebrating Scott's 18th Birthday! We had eaten dinner together to celebrate Scott's Birthday on Sunday night at La Palapa Mexican restaurant. (Scott's choice). He enjoyed his Key Lime Pie slice with a candle after a big burrito dinner. We had opened his presents earlier in the afternoon-several accessories for his new car, a new video game, clothes and a Dr Who tv remote control in the shape of the sonic screwdriver. He just waves it at the tv to change channels and volume! But mostly he was hoping to get his car back  from the dealership. They have had it for several weeks working on all the repairs and waiting for parts.

On Monday, Scott's official Birthday,  we decided to go out for 1/2 off burgers at Glory Days. We also enjoyed cheesecake to celebrate his big day(his choice). And while we were at the restaurant, we looked into the possibility of setting up Scott's Eagle ceremony perhaps in January. Scott was also busy during the week working on a few big projects. He and his friends spent the weekend videotaping an educational commercial for his television class. They decided to do a short encouraging kids to quit smoking/don't start smoking. The principal really liked the video and may be using it for classroom education in the county. So their television teacher is encouraging their group to make another film. Now they are thinking about a short on parking skills!  And Scott was busy starting his physics project. Building a bridge out of toothpicks. He was following Allison's previous design as she was the big winner in her class for most structurally sound bridge design. After the kids build the bridge, they hook up weights to see which bridge is the strongest. Allison's design was the best in her physics class. So Scott is trying to follow in her footsteps.

On Friday I spent the whole day with my Mom. In the morning we both attended a Christmas party at her Senior Center. The staff put on a very nice party which included music/singing/entertainment and a very nice lunch. We even picked out a few ceramic art pieces from the Art with a Purpose class. Afterwards, Mom and I stopped into her storage unit and picked up her Christmas decorations. We headed back to the apartment and got busy decorating. I ended up leaving around 5pm. I was pooped!

On Saturday I opted out of going to sing with the GS choir at the German Village in Baltimore. Instead, Tom and I decided to drive to Salisbury to spend the day with Allison. She was stuck at school studying for her finals. She had a final group project on Tuesday night and a Finance final the following week. So she decided to stay so she could meet with her group to prepare for the presentation. We thought it would be fun to go out to dinner, do some shopping and drop off her St Nick's Day gift. We arrived in the afternoon and even took Cookie along for the ride. Cookie loved going for a walk on campus and dropping into Starbucks for a coffee to warm up.  We then let Allison open up her St Nick's Day gifts . And I couldn't help myself and I brought along her little dorm sized Christmas tree for her to decorate. We also visited Allison's repaired bathroom and replaced dryer. Yeah! Afterwards, we left Cookie in the condo since Allison's roommates were all gone for the weekend and we went shopping. We had a great time walking around the mall and I even picked up some new clothes for the holidays for myself. But we especially enjoyed picking up a set of antlers and a red nose for Scott's new car(when we ever get it back!) for his St Nick's Day stocking.

On Sunday, I was off again on a beautiful, sunny day with my Mom to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad museum, singing with my Girl Scout choir. I brought along a camp chair and a packed lunch for Mom and placed her directly in front of our group to enjoy an hour long performance. We had over 30 girls performing, and everyone did a nice job. And I watched Mom singing along with our group! It wasn't very crowded this year-we were the first group to perform that day. So most of our crowd were parents, but they seemed to really enjoy the music. Afterwards, Mom and I walked around looking at the small train sets with the little villages. We headed back to her apartment and spent the rest of the afternoon filling out her Christmas cards. We had a fun filled weekend!