So the kids went back to school with their semester final exams pushed back til Friday 23rd, Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th. I was glad to hear that they'd have those important review days beforehand that could have been just skipped over.

I donated blood Monday 19th and had my first bad experience with a needle! They couldn't get my left arm to cooperate and it got messy! After a couple "that hurts!" from me, we switched to my right arm and all was good. I skipped my regular BodyFlo class that night as I thought the veins in my arms may burst from the pressure of too many Down Dogs. (Don't worry, I made it up on Friday.)

Abby was able to observe (teaching) an English-as-a-Second-Language teacher at the elementary and middle school level on Wednesday 21st. She really enjoyed and her experience confirmed her decisions to add English-as-a-Second-Language as a minor.

Thursday night I got a special invitation to attend the Art Guild Exec Board meeting - mainly to gather info to update the website, but also to rope me in to more volunteer opportunities. Our big event coming up is ChillyFest, which is an outdoor winter festival that we combine with art gallery openings which offer a break for people to come inside and warm up.

Abby had the week to concentrate on getting everything together to go back for 2nd semester. In typical Abby fashion, she began doing her laundry Friday at noon. We left the house about 3:30pm and coasted into LaCrosse at 6:30. Jeff dropped me at the Olive Garden so I could put our name in - there's always a wait! Then he and the girls checked into our usual hotel, Stoney Creek Inn.

The dorms opened up at 10am Saturday morning for students to move back in and we were there by 11. Was really happy we did that because it seemed no one else showed up til about 12:30. So we were able to easily secure the vacuum cleaner and keep a lot of Abby's stuff in the hallway while we sucked up dust bunnies, candy wrappers and bobby pins. Wow! That once-a-semester vacuuming really made a difference! The first basket I picked up in Abby's room contained the "I already lost my I.D." from the 3rd week of school that I had just paid for. Abby was amazed. No wonder all kids ask their moms where everything is! Abby had Paige and Bryn re-organize her dresser drawers and even had a certain folding policy! One of her floormates made a comment about how organized Abby was and we all dropped our jaws!!!! Because none of the campus eateries were open, we went to Subway for lunch. Then we gave Abby our goodbyes hugs and kisses and left her to college life once again.

Kristin and Carlo invited us to dinner Saturday night which was nice coming back from La Crosse right around dinner time. Bryn and Paige got Lucy and Bella all riled up! My mom and dad were there again for another basement-fixer-upper session.

Sunday has become my meeting day. I tagged along with Bryn to her Mission Trip meeting in the morning where we presented t-shirt designs, then to Student Council in the evening where we make weekly progress on planning the Winter Carnival.

Abby's doctor requested some further bloodwork to be done which required her to report to a separate lab. She put this off as long as she could and finally recruited Kendal to come along for moral support on Friday. Abby was so nervous that she was going to faint!

Even though school was cancelled again Friday, the school play went on! Paige went to see it with a few friends. I'm really encouraging her to get involved with the next play. All 3 of our girls had social plans that evening, so Jeff and I decided to get a movie in. The girls had recommended "7 Pounds", but when we finally got up to purchase tickets we discovered that that theatre had projector problems. We were offered a discount on any other movie, and Jeff thought quickly to see Gran Torino. I was a little upset because now we wouldn't be able to pick up Paige from the play because this movie started later, but it turns out she got a ride from another parent. The movie was great and I'd recommend it to anyone!


Friday night we lost Domino. I think I mentioned that she had not been eating. Bryn was encouraged by getting Domino to eat some pineapple, but you could see her having a hard time breathing. We'll give Domino a proper burial (near Chamois) in the springtime. Bryn's very sad.

We finally followed up on Theo's Christmas present and ordered him an indoor dog bed so he can keep on eye on us while he's in the house.

Signed Paige up for another season of Little League! Love watching those games!

Saturday night we were invited to my boss's home for my company's Holiday Party. His girlfriend is a very good cook so the food was wonderful. We were even treated to chocolate fondue for dessert! I'm still SO full yet today!

Most of Abby's friends go back to college today so she's doing a lot of good-byeing. We'll have her all to ourselves next week.

I realize I'm behind. With the world coming back to life after the holidays, I just got busy.

Paige and Bryn went back to school Monday Jan 5th. I also started going to the Y 4X/week. It really makes a difference when you go more often!


Abby and I had eye exams and both got new glasses. Abby's look so different! They're really cool. My new bifocals are adjusted to see a longer distance whereas my current ones are set for my computer work. They also have clip-on sunglasses that will be so nice to drive with!

I baked bread for church last Friday. I thought I'd get to spend the day with Abby, but she took someone's hours at work. I can't complain - she needs the money! I got a chance to finally poke around the Art Guild web site, that I am now in charge of. I was able to make a few updates, but will need to move on to redesigning it soon as I had promised the club.

I'm so loving my new TiVo!!! Of course, my children get way more use out of it than I do. But on Saturday, I cleaned my entire kitchen and floors watching while watching my soaps that I recorded!! While Bryn watched Bella and Lucy Saturday night, Jeff and I went out for Carlo's birthday dinner at Red Lobster! Yum!

Bryn is still jobless. She is required to fill out a job application daily since Jan 1st. Why is nobody calling??? Kendal is working hard on getting Bryn in to her tanning salon. Thanks Kendal!

Sunday was full of meetings. I went to fulfill our family's Greeter assignment at church, then went with Bryn to a different church for a Mission Trip meeting that apparently got rescheduled. Attended the first-ever Creativity Unleashed event at a local coffee shop on behalf of the Art Guild and then with Bryn again to her Student Council meeting to help with their upcoming Winter Carnival. The Creativity Unleashed thing was kinda cool: artists in any medium could present their work to a welcoming audience. Singers presented new songs. Poets recited works and elaborated on their inspiration. Guitar players just jammed. I mentioned it to Bryn. I could see her up there!

We "Skyped" Bryce on his birthday Monday.

We barely see Abby: she's still sleeping when we all leave for work or school, and she's out after we go to bed at night! Thank goodness for the weekends! Besides the eye doctor, she's had appointment with the dentist and family doctor - got to get them all in! She was going to visit a friend in Kaukauna tomorrow (Thursday), but we advised against it with the bitter cold weather.

On that note, our animals have all been moved to our indoor barn (the basement). We're getting a little concerned about Domino, our oldest Dutch bunny - she's kind of stopped eating. Never a good sign. Theo is quite content being an indoor dog, and would love to be a 80-lb lap dog. He barks as soon as he's done doing his business outdoors now because he hates to spend an extra minute away from everybody. The girls are excited as school has already been cancelled for tomorrow!

I'm tired.

Worked three days last week: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Didn't leave me much time to get much else accomplished. That getting sick last weekend really screwed me up. So Tuesday night I stayed up late to do laundry and cook my assigned meal for my family trip to the Dells.

Wednesday night Bryn was having friends over for a New Years Eve party but it got rerouted to another house. Paige got invited to An Amazing New Years Eve party & sleepover. So I guess we could've gone out, but just as well. We had another couple over for Chinese take-out and wine. We talked a lot and played Paige's new Wii. We tried every game on there. I really sucked at batting in baseball. The great thing was that we had absolutely no problem staying up til midnight!

Thursday morning we all got up and out of the house by 10am for the Dells! My sister Kristin actually arranged the whole thing. We just had to say yes! Meg stayed at Craig's in Chicago New Year's Eve to give them a break in their 7-hour trek north. We all met in the Dells around 2pm: Kristin's and my family from Milwaukee, Mom & Dad from Shawano, Craig from Chicago, and Meg's family from Indy. And don't forget - even Abby was dropped off on the way back from her CRU convention. Our room wasn't quite ready - as we anticipated. Bella and Lucy were ready to jump in, so Bryn and I went with Kristin, Carlo and their girls into the waterpark while everyone else waited for, then moved into our room. We were able to rent a full condo, 3 stories complete with 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and a complete rec room in the basement! So nice for all 19 of us! After moving in, everyone else met us in the waterpark and we ate dinner late Thursday night. Friday we shuffled off to the waterpark when it opened again at 10am, ate lunch there, came back to the room for dinner, then closed the waterpark at 10pm. We even made good use of the rec room that night! Saturday we all had to pack back up to be out of the room by 11am. I think we were all glad we still had one day left in our weekend because Saturday was meant for recovery.

So my parents stayed with us since arriving to see Bryn in Band Revue last Sunday (21st).

Monday and Tuesday, Jeff, Paige, Bryn and I all had our regular work/school schedules which left Abby with Grandma and Grandpa. Monday Abby took them along on her marathon Christmas shopping! She really wore them out. Grandma was impressed that Abby had put a lot of thought into her shopping list. Tuesday Abby ran by herself and my parents shoveled 3 times that day! Pretty much, they shoveled everyday they were here. I felt guilty, but they do like it.

Finally Wednesday we were all off and got to stay home. We finished up wrapping presents, tidied the house up and got all the food ready for Christmas Eve. Kristin, Carlo, Lucy and Bella arrived by 4:30pm and were very patient waiting to open gift while we all sampled all the fixins. Bella loved handing out the presents and helping everyone unwrap. She didn't care that it wasn't for her! Kristin made Lucy and Bella ballerina too-toos. Lucy was fascinated with just having Grandma put it on her and take it off. Again. And again... Kristin had purchased a Shark steam mop on Black Friday and wrapped it up for herself from Carlo. Obviously she was not too excited when she opened it. But Carlo prodded her to take it out. Kristin didn't see the sense in taking it out of the box, but when she did, she found Carlo had replaced the mop with a new winter coat! Pretty clever, Carlo! Because this was a rare time when my entire family did not get all together, we Skyped Meg after we finished opening presents! Skype is software that allows you to have a video phone call if you have a webcam on your computer. It was a lot of fun!

Christmas Day, after checking out what Santa had brought, we went to church nearby our house. Mom and Dad spilled the offertory basket as they passed it to each other. Then Mom and Dad went to Kristin and Carlo's for the day while we headed to Jeff's Dad & Judy's in Appleton. When we got back, we all went to see Marley and Me. Good movie, but if you have a dog, bring a lot of Kleenex!

Friday was my Dad's birthday. Abby worked hard today, very busy with half off all that Hallmark Christmas stuff! We met Kristin, Carlo, Bella and Lucy for breakfast at McDonald's. Then Mom went with me to exchange Abby's new cell phone for a different color and amazingly they were not busy! That afternoon we took Mom and Dad to the Domes for their Christmas present. We went later in the day because we wanted it to get dark so we could see the new lights. It was really pretty. We came back home for dinner.

Saturday my parents headed back home. And it was a good thing because the rest of us - minus Abby - got sick. I had all intentions of heading for the Y to work off all those Christmas goodies, but my body had another, more violent, way of shedding those extra pounds. I still don't feel 100%. Bryn's is the same boat I'm in. Paige actually felt OK and went shopping with a friend, only to throw up in McDonalds. Jeff's seems to be all in his head: major headache and chills. We're all feeling a little weak.

Abby's been avoiding us as much as possible. She leaves today for a conference in the Minneapolis for CRU. She'll then get dropped off in the Dells where we're headed this Thursday.

I'm so impressed with how connected Abby is with her rides back and forth from LaCrosse. That helps us out so much! Abby was back from UWL Tuesday before any of us got home from work or school. But Paige only figured out she was home when she noticed Abby was on Facebook telling everyone she was back! Abby was up in her room on her laptop. So Abby came along with me to drive Paige to TaeKwonDo and do a little Christmas shopping.

Bryn's UWAY Concerto Competition rescheduled for this past Tuesday did go on. Bryn, Jeff and accompanist Dr. Puchner were all taken aback when the only comments made upon completion of her piece was "Thank You." No suggestions for improvement, no compliments, nothing! They stopped at Qdoba for a bite to eat before heading back home and Bryn back to Band Revue practice. Again.

Wednesday Abby worked a little bit. Later, Paige got a really cute bang makeover before her band concert Wednesday night. I think her hair will behave much better with not so much to keep back all the time.

School was cancelled Friday (so glad I don't work Fridays!) due to our 11 inches of snow! Jeff and I went out to shovel at 8:30am so we could get Abby's car out since she had to be to work at 9am. I went in to yell at her for the 3rd time at 9:05, when she told me that she didn't have to go in. Thanks. She was on call for the remainder of the morning and did have to work at noon. The snow tapered off by then. I had all intentions of running to the mall for more last minute Christmas shopping and had not intentions of some silly snow storm stopping me. I headed out by 1:30pm and to my surprise, the mall was NOT crowded! Paige, Jeff and I went to Band Revue Friday night and loved it. Abby went also, but with a group of kids from her graduating class. Bryn's ensemble that played in Act II was awesome!!!! Our James Bond raffle basket put all the others to shame with all its creative prizes and the just the sheer size of it.

Saturday we headed north to Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Tom's to celebrate Christmas. The snow just doesn't stop! We watched it come down and blow on the way there and back. We couldn't make the family Christmas set for Sunday due to another Band Revue performance, but really liked having the time alone with Jeff's Mom and Tom. That night, Jeff and I went out for a few small items and I dropped my cell phone. And not just any cell phone, my iPhone!!! When we got back in the car after Walgreen's I couldn't find my phone anywhere. Jeff immediately turned around and we searched the crevices of the car and the ground where we had parked. Suddenly the lady in the car next to us rolled down her window and asked if we had lost a cell phone! She had just found one and asked a guy coming back to his car from the store if it was his. I guess he was grateful she had found HIS phone. I was not so grateful. Jeff called my phone from his and of course, no answer. I urged Jeff to text the guy and let him know we'd be at Walgreen's waiting for his return. Luckily, he did but we did not offer a reward to a wanna-be-iPhone-thief.

Back from last performance of Band Revue; we went with Kristin, Paige, Abby and my parents. Just as impressed as the Friday night. Really good this year. The high school outsourced the script which I was against, and I hate to admit it, but it was a good storyline. I guess I just prefer that the students do it "all." Band Revue is such a great high school memory for those kids.

A blast from our past paid us a visit Monday. Dr. Puchner, the girls' piano teacher, came over to practice with Bryn for her Concerto Competition piece for UWAY. Bryn hired Dr. Puchner to accompany her on the piano. Dr. Puchner is always happy to oblige and is very good working with Bryn through the tempo changes. The Competition was scheduled for Tuesday night, but Milwaukee got dumped on again with snow, so it's now postponed until this coming Tuesday.

Bryn began nightly Band Revue rehearsals Wednesday and they'll continue until the first performance this coming Thursday afternoon. Many students have complained that the show is not as far along as it should be by now. Not sure if that's jitters or for real. Bryn has made a theme suggestion for next year and maybe having more student involvement early on will help the kids feel more in control for next year.

I went to Zumba class at the Y for the first time in over a month. I like the class, but it was tough not doing those moves for so long! I was hoping to be ready to go with Abby when she comes home from college this week.

Friday my 3 good Falls friends and I scheduled a lunch date. Through the years, we'd have lunch maybe 4-5 times during the schoolyear. That has sadly dwindled down to once a year mostly because of job changes. But we had 3 hours of chit-chatting and it was great!

Jeff's not feeling too well. He came home early from work on both Thursday and Friday and slept. We had a commitment to work the concession stand at the high school basketball game Friday night, and Jeff reluctantly stayed home. He wanted to get out and socialize, but his sniffling and sneezing weren't a good combination with serving food. There were still 4 of us altogether working the stand, and it was fun. Jeff's still going through the kleenex! Not to worry, I made him chicken & dumplings for dinner tonight and we've been running the cure-all steamer at night.

I got both Paige and Bryn out Christmas shopping this weekend and that is nice to have done. Jeff took over Christmas card duty and got those all signed and sealed and in the mailbox. And I finally finished up decorating the tree that's been naked in our living room for over a week.

Last night our neighbor across the street invited us to a surprise 50th birthday party for his wife. We had a great time mingling with the neighbors and their family. Meanwhile, Bryn went to mass with her confirmation class which concluded with a pizza party and Paige played Rummy Royal at a friend's.

The Band Revue basket that I've organized is coming together! Remember, the theme is James Bond... I picked up the donated tux rental on Friday, donated aviator sunglasses and Bond Girl perfume on Saturday. Other items were all purchased by families and donated to our basket including: James Bond Monopoly game, 3 James Bond movie DVDs, ice bucket, martini glasses and martini shaker, Sharper Image gift card, The Safe House restaurant gift card and Marcus Cinemas gift card. Nice, huh?