Crying on the way to work

Not the best way to start the day.

Why was I crying? My favorite radio show, The Free Beer and Hotwings Show is doing their annual "holiday break-ins" right now. People will nominate their friends and family who are down on their luck to have a "break-in" done. The show will go in and essentially deliver Christmas where one didn't exist before due to hard times.

This morning they gave them a new mini-van. It was a single Dad with three young kids and he couldn't provide because he spent all his money fixing up his car and then the car died. He had been left by two different women who left him with the kids. Wow. It was so emotional to hear the letter that was sent in by their sponsor and to know that with this mini-van the Dad can get to work and hopefully give this family the boost they need.

The show does not take any credit for it. They don't leave any type of note. I can't imagine this Dad and kids coming home today and seeing presents that just covered the living room floor and a new mini-van in the driveway. Amazing.

It made me feel so lucky for all that we have. We have jobs, a warm house and food on our table. I also love hearing that there are good, generous people and companies out there. I know this show can't help everyone that wrote in, but they changed this family in a huge way.

Weekend activities

I was thrilled that when I got home on Friday night we did have our electricity back. It was out most of the day Friday so the condo was a little cold, but at least we had lights. Some of the state is still without and poor New Hampshire was slammed.

The most important reason I needed electricity Friday night was I had to make my mother a birthday cake! It was also a fabulous reason to use my new Kitchenaid Mixer that was a wonderfully generous wedding gift!

The cake turned out alright, I certainly could use some help in the decorating department, but it tasted pretty good. I am also (always) proud of my homemade butter cream frosting. No jar stuff here! (I really can't believe I'm actually sharing this photo).

The craft stores around here offer some cake decorating classes. I might sign myself up for one at some point when (if) things slow down. Until then, this is what I can do. It's not much, but at least Mom (who always does the cakes) had a homemade birthday cake that she didn't have to make. (She was thrilled with it).

Sunday we made our way up to Fryeburg for Jacob's third birthday party. I must remember that three year olds are obsessed with dump trucks that move and make noise. We got him a huge fire engine (which he also liked), but those dump trucks were great. I hear his fleet will be growing at Christmas and I know he'll be excited. We always have so much fun when we visit Mitchel and Courtney, we just don't get up there very often.

This week will be all about Christmas shopping! I have some ideas for almost everyone...we'll see what happens!

Ice storm!

Certainly not as bad as "THE" ice storm of '98, but it certainly is icy. We lost power this morning at about 7:30am, but I'm sure it will be on when I get home from work. We live so close to a major intersection in Gray where six roads converge (at two street lights) that it basically has to get fixed.

Pat is working in Standish today. I thought he would have been really busy this morning with calls due to trees down and downed power lines, but he hasn't.

This weekend is very busy, we have two birthday gatherings both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is my Mom's birthday and I need to bake her a cake tonight. Sunday we're headed to Fryeburg for Jacob's third birthday. Unfortunately we won't be able to stay long since Pat has to work both Saturday & Sunday nights from 6pm-6am at Cumberland.

Well, since I can't think of anything else to write about, have a great weekend everyone!

The Details

It's been a month?

Wow, I really suck. So what has been so pressing that it has been keeping me from blogging?

Life.

Poignant as that may sound, it's the truth. Work has become increasingly busy, which is not all bad. Pat has been home more, which is all good.

We are still looking at houses. This weekend we looked at four and have one more on our radar to look at soon. One is a gorgeous new construction and one is a house that will need a lot of TLC. Both have their plusses and minuses.

But are we there yet? Are we ready to buy a house? No. Not yet. I still say it will be around 9 months. I think we'll start seriously looking in May and buy at the end of summer. I hope the market will still be in our favor at that time...I have a feeling it will be.

I have finally changed my name with Social Security and with DMV. In a week or so I'll have my new license and I'll be able to update banks, credit cards, loans etc. While I am excited about having the same last name as Pat, it's truly a surreal thing to just become someone else.

We have our professional pictures from the wedding finally. I am very happy with them. I feel there are some important ones that she missed and didn't fully "get" me when I told her I wanted a bazillion 'detail' pictures, but overall they are wonderful.

Here's a taste: