Long time...

It has been quite a long time since I have visited this little corner of the web, much less read it or thought about posting anything. Hell it is a miracle that I remembered what my password is. That being said, I may decide to start posting again, for no other reason than as an outlet. I certainly don't think that I am interesting enough for anyone to read about. On the slim chance that someone stumbles upon this and cares to read, I hope it does not bore you into a coma :-)

Killer Weekend

I can only hope that everyone had as much fun this weekend as I did. Did you ever have one of those weekends? You know, the kind where everything just falls into place and the whole weekend is a blast? Anyone? Well anyway, that is how my weekend went.

I spent Friday night at my cousin's house watching movies and playing with the kids. We had a lot of fun and the kids love to wrestle with me. So Friday was good, but Saturday was a blast. I got to sleep in a little bit and when I got up my roommate was getting ready to leave for the day...BONUS!!! So, I took the opportunity to do some things around the house...in my jammies. Saturday night the gang went out to a place called the Village to hear our fav. local band. Jeremy works with the drummer and they really kick ass....great show. I had a few beers, danced until I couldn't feel my legs anymore, sang, and got to hang out with my friends. I really wished that the night didn't have to end.

Sunday was much more low key. I stayed at Jeremy's house because I had been drinking (don't drink and drive!!!) and we spent all day Sunday in bed. I couldn't tell you how many movies we watched or how much Guitar Hero we played, but it was nice to not do anything. Here are some pictures from Saturday:


Here we have Brandon, Ryan, Steph, Jeremy, and Eddie doing Jager Bombs.


Ryan and Jeremy hamming it up for Steph and acting crazy...


Steph loves the fact that I am tiny and picks me up for no reason sometimes :0)




And this picture (or should I say the beverage) led to this:



I was having such a blast at this point, and I really love this picture for some reason.

Last but not least...a good picture of Jeremy and I...love this one too!



Now just to show how busy I have been, I started this entry on Monday and it is now Thursday....yeah I am awesome I know ;0). I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!!!

The case of the disappearing Missy!

Well, here I am. And, contrary to popular belief, I did not fall off the face of the earth...thank goodness. I have been so busy lately and blogging has just not been on the top of my priority list...but I have really missed reading blogs and writing too (but not as much as reading).

As you can probably see from the picture, I have been disappearing in more than one way. Stress has that effect on me...I am back to the same size I was (if not a little smaller) than I was in high school. Not to worry though...

My little niece is getting so big and is finally walking! She is such a sweet little girl and I just love spending time with her. This Mothers' Day was my sister's first and it was really special for her.

I have been trying my best to make due with the current living situation, but my roommate is really working on my last nerve. Hopefully before long Jeremy and I will be getting a place together and I won't have to deal with her as a roommate.

My relationship with Jeremy has been going great. It is so nice to have finally met someone that I feel so comfortable with. He has really made a difference in my life:).

Well, I just wanted to check in with everyone and let you know that I didn't forget about this little page. I will hopefully have a little more time now to update, but we shall see. I will be checking in on what I've missed and I will try my best to comment....:0)

Today is the day!

I am pretty sure that I have mentioned before that my sis and bro-in-law were adopting a little girl from Guatemala. When they started the process, Noelle was 2 or 3 mo. old I believe. On Dec. 6 Noelle turned 1 and as of yesterday she is in the country and officially a member of the family!!!! ***Squee!!!***

They didn't get home until late last night so today I will finally get to meet (and get my hands on) that precious little girl. Noelle is the first grandchild for my parents and my sister's mom and stepdad so as you can imagine everyone is just over the moon.

Watching her go through her first year through pictures was hard, but it was also wonderful. I am just so happy that she is finally here and that my sister and brother-in-law can finally stop worrying and will be much less stressed.

They are having a small birthday party for her on Sunday with the immediate family. We don't want her to be completely overwhelmed. My sister's birthday was on Wed. so she got the best birthday present ever! And, we are all getting a very special Christmas present this year!

Family Traditions

Most families have their own traditions as far as the holidays go. My family is no exception to this, hence the title of this post. With Thanksgiving coming up I was thinking about what I am most thankful for - and that is my family. My dad's side of the family is quite large. I am the youngest of 13 grandchildren, from the 6 children of my grandparents (who each came from families of 13 kids each). Before I was born Thanksgiving was always held at my grandparent's house. It was a chance for everyone to catch up and all of the cousins to get to play together. But, by the time I came along, all of the individual families had started doing their own dinners on thanksgiving (I am the youngest by 10 years).

In 2004 my cousin Jeff had a wonderful idea to start having a big family meal again. It was planned that the Sunday before Thanksgiving we would have an early Thanksgiving for the whole family to get together. Our new tradition was that we would make a main course as our great grandmother would have. We each bring a dish, but cook something (this year it was chicken pot pie) in kettles over an open fire outside. We have made chicken corn soup, apple butter, and the traditional turkey. It has been so great for all of the family to get to pitch in and spend the day together. This is what I am thankful for. It is also great that the great grandchildren and the great-great grandchildren have an opportunity to get to know one another as some of them live a few hours away.

My grandfather just had his 90th birthday in September and God willing we will have him for years to come, but it is wonderful to see his joy at having the whole family together. Here is the family photo from this year (minus about 18 people):



This represents my dad and his brothers and sisters and their families. This gives you an idea of how large our family is. The extended family is huge! I'm constantly finding out about more cousins ;0). So, I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots of turkey, spend time with loved ones, and then take a nap! :0)

Just where have you been young lady?

Well, let me explain. I still don't have internet access at home. I've been meaning to get a card for my laptop, but have yet to actually do it. I'm not home much, so there didn't seem to be a good reason to spend the money. And, I've been cut back to part time at work, so I don't have much time to spend on here. That's my story and I'm sticking to it ;0).

So, as far as what has been happening in the last two months, I'll fill you in. I am pretty settled in my new digs...even though I want to strangle my roommate sometimes. It bothers me that even though she is home most of the day...she doesn't do anything. We have had a box of cleaning supplies and other things that she took out of the cabinets under the sink for the purpose of scrubbing the inside of the cabinet....that was a month and a half ago, and the box is still in the kitchen. I would do it, but it's the principle of it...you started it, you finish it.

Work has been extremely lacking for us, and I've been laid off for a few weeks...not to worry though, everything has been ok. I sold my Mazda and got what I wanted for it, so I had some extra cash after paying off the loan...bonus! I've been able to collect UC benefits, and had hoped that things would pick up, but I've started scouting for jobs.

It is funny that while with Tony I was quite the home body and that when I left I became quite the social butterfly so to speak. There is a little bar that I was in quite a bit with my dad when I was younger where I like to go and shoot pool. I used to be pretty good...and I still am ;0). I reconnected with people that I hadn't seen in years and made some new friends. I have been dating someone special too. He approached me one night to shoot a game of pool...and I beat him. OK, no big deal...right? Yeah, no. He wanted a rematch. I won again. Then he won. I think you know where this is going....I don't know how many games we actually played, but I know I won more games. So he decided he would call me Shark ;0). Every time I'd see him that is what my nickname was. So, he asked me out, we had a great time, and are still having a great time.

That is about everything in a nutshell. I'm doing well. I have lost a bunch of weight though because of stress and not eating, but honestly it's kind of nice because I'm back down to what I weighed in school. I will try to get a picture up in flickr, but I don't know when that will be. I will also try to get around and catch up on everyone as soon as I can. And, just in case I don't before the holiday....Happy Thanksgiving to everybody!

Changes

Change is something that I think is difficult (to some degree) for everyone. I have always struggled with change. I am a creature of habit and/or routine, if you will. The bigger the change, the harder it is for me to adjust. As you all know, I've had quite a bit of big changes going on in a short period of time. That is part of the reason that I haven't been around much lately. I needed some time to take stock of the situation and deal with it.

Most of my stuff is finally out of Tony's house, so that is good I guess. My new roomie and I haven't killed each other yet, so that is also good. I'm finally starting to get settled. I really really really miss my dog, which as you have probably guessed is one of the hardest things for me to deal with right now. I miss Tony too, but we talk often so that is nice. I'm thankful that we are able to be friends.

As of right now, I don't have internet access at home, and I don't know when I might get it. We live in the boonies so I either have to pay a small fortune for a card for my laptop, or settle for dial up. I really don't want dial up. So, the only time I have to check in is at work and I've been crazy busy lately. So, don't think that I've completely disappeared...I'm still reading, I just don't have time to comment like I would like to.

So, all in all I'm not doing so bad. It could be worse and it could be better. I'm just taking everything one day at a time. It always amazes me how things work out. It may not seem like it at the moment, but I am sure that something good will come out of all of this. It better! ;0)