Tax Season is Crazy!!!!!

We're about half way through tax "season" and life is hectic -- more for Dave than for me. Isn't life weird that there is actually a fifth season of the year to celebrate paying money to the government??????
Dave works 6 days a week and I'm still averaging 4. It makes life and work bearable to be able to count on a few days off. But he only does it for 3 months so........workable!
I'm taking off next week to go visit J before she starts an externship that is full-time in a hospital setting. That's the one she really wants to shine at because she wants to get a job (but first that pesky 9 month training stuff) in a hospital setting. Here's hoping it's everything she thinks it will be (and that she gets the job after the externship).
J sold his house and now gets the pleasure of immediately packing everything up and then finding a rental to live in for 3 months while they build his house. Lucky guy! I'm visiting them next week in Utah too.
So even though my dad died and tax season is crazy, I'm enjoying the time spent with friends and family. My grandkids and kids are the light(s) of my life. I can't tell you all the funny things they do and say that make me smile.
What can I say?

Life goes on.......

My dad died 9 days ago. I can hardly believe that I won't see him if I go to his house. It all seems unreal. My kids all came home to "grieve" with me. They have jobs that allow them to have paid time off. I took off TWO hours this last week. I even worked the morning of the funeral because rescheduling regular clients is just plain too tiring to want to even attempt it. I just can't seem to grieve properly. I can only get weepy. Nothing more. What's wrong with me? I want to sob and sob and I can't. I will miss him even though we were not super close. You just knew he would be there. I can't believe he's gone.

HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!

We went on a fabulous cruise to New England and spent a day in Manhattan and a day in Brooklyn. What fun! It was our first ever cruise by ourselves. Almost scary! When we came home, we worked and then spent a weekend with Sherri and Graham in Washington. We went to two movies (yes, Twilight II was one of them) and had massages (not the guys) and shopped all day at Bellevue (is that spelled right?) Sherri's birthday was last week so we bought her something for her special day and their anniversary is in 12 days so we bought them something for that, too. Such a fun time! I miss my kids that don't live close.

I'm actually just blogging to say how excited I am for the holidays. EVERYONE is coming home (except possibly my Dad -- but that's another story). So starting with Thanksgiving -- Sherri and Graham were the only ones not home (they went to his family's dinner celebration). We had 46 people to dinner: 2 turkeys, 1 roast beef, 1 pork tenderloin, 20 pounds of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, green salad, green fluff, jello salad, dinner rolls, and PIES. My mom was too sick to come as was my cousin. We all had a great time with lots of good food.

The day after I got up at 6 AM and went shopping all day with Anna and Jacob and B. We totally shopped until we dropped. And then G and Y helped me decorate the tree. Gosh that was so nice. Shon and Christopher put up the outdoor lights (the stupid fuses go out every other day now) and by the end of the day (Saturday) everything looked great! We all went out to Lucille's for dinner and then Jacob and family left for Utah.

But NOW: Julie coming home on 12/16. Going to Nutcracker on 12/18. Channukah and Dave's birthday on 12/19. Fred and Dave's birthday dinner on 12/21. Braden's birthday and Sherri and Graham coming on 12/23. We're having an Italian dinner for 12/24 with tons of family and I love it all.

In the midst of all this two sad posts (not to be equally sad, but sad nonetheless): my dad is just barely hanging in with pancreatic cancer eating up his insides; Julie and her boyfriend of 3 months are no longer together.

But Christmas is coming and so is my family. Happy, happy times!

Countdown

Well, it seems that Julie had a whole list of things she is counting down the months/days/hours to. I really only have a few:

1. Months until Julie is off the parents' dole: 9 more!!!!!
2. Months until my car is paid for: 13
3. Weeks until we go on cruise: 4
4. Months until tax season starts again: 4 (give or take a little)

But #1 is #1!!!!

My new bedroom

Rate my space -- or just tell me it's beautiful now!

Well, after months of planning, ordering and paying, my bedroom is almost finished. I'm showing pictures now so Julie can tell me it's beautiful. I still need a few things, but I'll probably post a new picture "all done". My friend Sheila helped me. She is away now so I've sent her pictures so she can keep up.

Julie's list of life experiences by Sue

The bolded things are things I've done; The italic things are things I'll most likely NEVER do.

1. Started your own blog (duh)
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Nova Scotia & Scotland)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (one of those guys on the street... still counts)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (all my books)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
101. Learned to play an instrument

Gosh, there's still places to go, things to do!

Good Times

Well, this is just a funny story from when Julie was last here over the summer. The title is something she would say. I had my car (Sequoia) in to check/fix the brakes and had just gotten it back. I kept complaining to Julie as we were driving around (yes, she let me drive) that they just didn't feel right. We decided to go to Sacramento to visit Joanna and the kids. I complained some more about the brakes. After visiting, Julie demanded the keys and said "Let me drive." She said the brakes seemed OK to her. We drove down Watt Avenue and went on Highway 50 East. We got off the freeway on Prairie City Road, no problem. The speed limit there is 55 MPH and we were probably doing that as it was around 11 PM. We came up to the intersection of Prairie City and Iron Point Road and the light was red and we weren't slowing enough for me. I said "Julie, you can slow down now. Julie, JULIE!!!!!!" And we both screamed halfway through the intersection as the brakes FAILED!!!!! Thank goodness it was so late and on a weeknight so no traffic or we would have been killed. She looked both ways; no one was coming. We kept going home at a VERY slow pace. Good times in Folsom.