Christmas 2010

Christmas was kind of a sad event this year. Since the family all went to Pigeon Forge for Thanksgiving, most of them went to the in-laws for Christmas. Cordelia and Chris were in Shreveport with Boston, Jeremy and Carol were in Boaz, Alabama with Madison and Ashlyn, I was working my 8 straight in Baton Rouge, Marlin and Stephanie were in Richton, Mississippi with William and Blake, Chance was in Mississippi with his dad Robert, and Tyler and Ashley went to Indiana with Skyler. It was the first time in 28 years (my freshman year in college at LSU when my family lived in San Diego) that I didn’t see ANYONE in my immediate family on Christmas! My Mom and Dad were pretty sad, too. Daddy was funny, as he said it was fun while we were all together in the cabin but when he woke up Christmas morning to an empty house and no presents it really sucked! I missed seeing my nieces and nephews and seeing them open their gifts from me. My love language is definitely gifts, so I didn’t feel a whole lotta love on Christmas! Mom and Dad did get to see the Goodnight crew but still not the usual big event. Mama and Cordelia and Daddy did a “Twelve Days of Christmas” for me and it was really fun. They gave me lots of fun, tasty, and interesting things and it was very special that they took the time to do something so sweet for me!

The new year is approaching fast and as usual, I will not be making any resolutions. I always cut back on the eating and ramp up the exercise after the holidays in the never-ending battle of the bulge. But I don’t think it will be as crazy as it was last year. There’s a biggest loser contest at work but I don’t even know if I will be playing that game. It’s really kind of futile to work that hard to lose a lot of weight just to gain it back. I can’t keep that kind of workout pace forever, so it stands to reason that the weight will come back. I wouldn’t mind losing 10-15 pounds just so my clothes will fit better, but I don’t have to be crazy to do that. The older I get the less concerned I become about being a little overweight. My heart is fine, I feel pretty good, and I’m pretty happy with my life. I’ll never be skinny and I’m tired of wasting all that time wishing I was and plotting a plan to get there. As long as I feel good and I’m healthy, some love handles and a little cellulite is okay.

I am hoping the new year is as good as 2010 was. I did lose a friend and co-worker, but from that I grew and made a new friend. I also got to welcome his son Blaize into our family in blue and he is a precious child. I had great times with friends, went on two dive trips, walked 25 miles in two days at the COPS Walk, had a great trip to the mountains with my family, finished remodeling the inside of the house, got new furniture in the living room, Daphne’s bedroom, and the office, took a stitching class in Houston, got promoted to Acting Lieutenant and have my own squad, made it back to my favorite precinct, got a year closer to being out of debt, got a good friend back that I thought I had lost, found my best friend from college on Facebook, got a year closer to retirement, got a new bike and started riding again, got a maid, went to the beach several times and had a blast, met new friends, didn’t suffer any injuries or major illness, and many other wonderful things.

I’m so thankful that God has blessed me with a loving family, a truly wonderful best friend, several really good close friends, my health, my home, my job, and my salvation. What more could I want? Here’s to 2011 and all that God has in store for me!

Thanksgiving Week

I went to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for the week of Thanksgiving with my parents, my siblings/spouses and all of my nieces/nephews/great nephew. We had a great time! We rented an 8 bed/bathroom cabin called “The Loose Moose” and it was really cool. Pool table, fooseball, air hockey, each bedroom had a private bath, and a nice den area and kitchen for group games and gatherings.

The first day was pretty hectic getting everyone unpacked and situated in rooms. But after that it went pretty smooth. Although we had 17 people (and 20 for the first day/night), we didn’t have any fights and very few grumblings! Various groups did different things. I went to the local cross stitch store one day with my mom, some went to Dollywood park, some went to Gatlinburg for ice skating and rides at Ober Gatlinburg. We all went to the Incredible Christmas Store which is always fun and I got a new nutcracker.

Thanksgiving day we had all planned to eat out. Mom had called two different restaurants and were assured both would be open and no reservations required. We actually got all 17 people dressed and out the door in five vehicles and made it to the restaurant at 11:00 on the dot. Guess what? They weren’t open!! Okay, no problem, restaurant number two is just down the street. Guess what? Reservations only and they couldn’t take us until 7:00! Everyone got aggravated and my mom was really sad because she really wanted everyone to eat together and have a nice Thanksgiving meal. We headed back to the cabin but then found Tony Roma’s open and ready to seat us all! It was a great meal with great service and we had a great time!

We all managed to get repacked to leave and were out of the cabin at 10:00 on the dot on Friday. On the way home to Laurel, we (me, mom, dad) stopped and toured Ruby Falls outside of Chattanooga. We lolly-gagged around, ate and shopped at Cracker Barrel, and finally got back to Laurel at 11:00 pm. About 2:00 am I woke up with a horrible stomach bug that lasted for three days! It was a rough three-hour drive home to Baton Rouge and then two days in bed.

I had a really good time and am thankful for so many things! Mainly for my family, my job, my friends, and my salvation. I have a really good life and I’m thankful for my parents who raised me to be a responsible, God-fearing, hard-working adult that is faithful to my friends and a dependable employee. I’m thankful I have wonderful siblings that love me, nieces and nephews that I adore, and a God that gave his all for me so that life will be even better in the hereafter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and remembered to be thankful for all that God has given you!