2012 Year in Review

On January 6, Dear Hubby and I celebrated our 22nd Wedding Anniversary....and to think they (okay, only the best man...that I know of) said it wouldn't last.  (Not that I'm keeping score but Best Man has been divorced three times.  Hubby and I are on our first and only marriage.)  Four days later, Dear Hubby and I celebrated our 25th anniversary (dating) together.

February 4th, Son #1 had his best high school wrestling match to date.  He lost 11 to 13 in overtime.  Although he lost, he went 6+ minutes and did an amazing job.

February 12th.  We attended 11:00 am Mass at the Abbey, followed by brunch at Copeland's to celebrate my father-in-law's 80th birthday.  Eighty is a milestone for the men in Dear Hubby's family.  We had a great time.

February 18th.  Happy 10th birthday, Son #3.  It was a rainy day, but we celebrated with lunch at Panda Buffet.  We celebrated your birthday with friends Jared, Indy, Spencer and Grant on Feb. 24th with pizza and a Nerf war before going to see the movie "Journey to the Mysterious Island 2 in 3D".

February 26th.  My birthday....lunch with Dear Hubby and kids at Mellow Mushroom, followed by shopping.  Found a pair of black leather boots - in my size - at JCPenney's on sale for $15.  Bazinga!  Happy Birthday to Me!

March 4th.  Finished the frame of the deck that we started last October.

March 13th.  Oh my goodness.  I'm too dumb for the smart phone I purchased today.

April 12th - 16th.  My sister and I flew to Virginia to visit my Mom.  Good shopping, good food, good times.

May 18th.  Son #1's friend, age 17, had an implantable defibrillator put in today.  Two days later, we had a farewell picnic for our pastor and parochial vicar, who are being transferred to another parish, and to Washington D to work with the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops, respectively.

June 2nd.  Celebrate Dear Hubby's birthday yesterday.  Today, we put down 6 deck surface boards.  81 to go.

June 10th. Son #1 and I watched "Jersey Shore Shark Attack."  Yes, this is a highlight of our year.  Lots of chuckles.

June 15th.  After 16 months, we finally finished the deck.  Woo Hoo!

June 17th - July 1st -- Dear Hubby and Son #2 attend a 12 day backpacking trip in the mountains of New Mexico (Philmont Scout Ranch), along with Defib boy (see May 18th) and others.  All have a great time and return safe and sound.

June 23rd.   Happy 17th birthday, Son #1.  Aunt Amy and I take him to dinner at Olive Garden.  Later I wished him a Happy Birthday on Facebook.  He replied, "I love you too, Mom."  on Facebook.  In Public.  Wow!

July 1st.  Dear Hubby received his assignment letter.  If/when he's ordained as a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church (he's been studying for 4 years), he'll be assigned to our home parish.

July 25th - 29th.  Dear Hubby and I attended a 5-day pre-ordination retreat.  Good times, good stories. 

August 12th.  Rest in Peace, Kramer (beloved guinea pig).

September 29th.  I spent the day with 150+ 11th graders at the Confirmation Retreat.  Good times.  Meanwhile, today Son #1 had a Cross Country PR (personal record):  3 miles in 21 minutes 18 seconds.  He'll attend the State Meet as an alternate in November.  He's very excited!

November 9th.  Beloved father-in-law admitted to the hospital with bleeding of the brain.  We're not sure whether he had an aneurism, which caused him to fall, or whether the fall (and subsequent blow to the head) caused bleeding.  He passed away on November 14th and was laid to rest on the 19th.

November 22nd.  Our first Thanksgiving with Father-in-law.  We usually spend the holidays at his house and decided to do the same this year.  It was a good day overall, but we'll definitely miss him.

December 1st.  Ordination Day.  Dear Hubby has worked and studied for four years for this moment.  He and 19 other men were ordained as deacons for our Archdiocese.  Bittersweet that his dad wasn't there to see it. 

Dec. 3rd - 7th.   I visited my mom in Virginia.  She had cataract surgery on Dec. 4th.  She handled the procedure well, but her recovery is taking longer than expected.

Other highlights:  Son #3 played soccer for the local recreation district park this fall.  His team was undefeated during the regular season.  He and his two brothers are doing great in school.  My boss (aka Boss Man), who is a college buddy, and his wife adopted an infant in July -- adorable! 





. 

I'm the best wife ever!

Not only did I buy my husband and I each a mini laptop for Christmas/Anniversary (so he doesn't have to share with the boys anymore!), but I managed to -- get this -- download printer drivers so I can print from our existing printer (Lexmark Prevail Pro 705).  

Not so simple, though, as our new laptops run Windows 8 and Lexmark hasn't updated the drivers for Windows 8 (boo!).  Nevertheless, thanks to "John" at Lexmark TechSupport, I learned how to download the most recent driver (Windows 7) and adjust the compatibility.  All without throwing the darn Lexmark printer out the window.  Yoo Hoo!

Seriously "John" emailed me the instructions.  Sooooo simple.  I wonder why they couldn't just post them on the Lexmark site.   Nah, that would be too easy.

What Was I Thinking?????

File this under "What was I thinking???"  Our slim 9 ft pre-lit Christmas tree is 8+ years old and certain patches are no longer pre-lit. I replaced bulbs (even though it's the one out, the rest remain lit type). I replaced fuses. No luck.

So I got the bright idea to take off all the old lights and replace them with new LED lights. It took *five* hours-- with wire cutters -- to remove the lights before I turned it over to Sons #1 & 2 for the final hour. (So I could eat dinner at midnight.)

Not only where the strands were wrapped around the branches (which I knew), but there were attached with hundreds of tiny green plastic clips, assorted green twist ties and little green zip ties (which I did not know).

It took another hour this morning to re-string with 450 LED lights (forget wrapping around branches!). So if you come to my house in May and my Christmas tree is still up, it's all because I was too cheap to buy another prelit tree. Seriously, this one is at least 8 years old. I got my money's worth.

Oh, and to see my hands and forearms, you'd think I tried to give a pack of feral cats a bath.

Son #1 is going to the State Cross Country Meet!

Son #1, who is now a senior (can you believe how fast time flies?), is going with his high school cross country team as an alternate.  As an alternate, he's not scheduled to compete unless another runner is unable.  Still, he's thrilled to be asked.

He's been running his heart out since the 9th grade.  He's not incredibly fast, but very persistent.  Lots of stamina.  He's gone from the bottom of the pack -- literally, the first year, he came in last for the first several meets -- to in the top 12 on his team. 

He's worked hard, great team spirit.  Even if he doesn't run at State, being asked to make the trip is a great way to end his high school running career!

New Orleans Saints: I'm Very Disappointed in You

To the New Orleans Saints:  I'm very disappointed in you.   In the past season or two, there's been rumbling about how the Saints have become bullies on the field.  Many in the WhoDat Nation, as the most avid Saints fans are called, responded with comments such as:   "It's football.  People get hurt."  "Packers fans should quit whining if their QB can't play tough." etc.

The story recently broke that apparently the Saints had "bounties" out for opponents on other teams:  $1000 for a good hit, $1500 if the player was knocked out of the game, etc.    All this apparently occurring under the watchful eye of former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (and with the knowledge of Coach Sean Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis).

Williams has said about the debacle, "It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it.  Instead of getting caught up in it, I should have stopped it.  I take full responsibility for my role.  I am truly sorry.  I have learned a hard lesson and I guarantee that I will never participate in or allow this kind of activity to happen again."

My translation:  "I'm sorry I got caught, and sure hope I don't lose my new job with the Rams."

Meanwhile, it seems like it's time for the Saints fans to dig out their paper bags, because the Saints have definitely become the Ain'ts again.