Christmas is only a few days away, and all the presents are wrapped and under the tree. This weekend brought the smell of cookies throughout the house. My neck and back have been giving me a lot of problems, so I only made one type of cookies this year, an easy recipe called Magic Bars. I like to give the secretaries in my office something homemade, so Don and I wrapped them up in decorative plates and I brought them to work today. And now the smell of cookies is radiating throughout our offices!

Church yesterday was wonderful, it was started with the singing of the beautiful classic Christmas carols. The first song started and Don and I watched the door for Shannon who had not yet arrived. I was completely surprised when I saw my best friend Cathy and her husband Tim walk through the doors. Cathy is the sister to my ex-husband, but she is like the sister I didn't have. In fact, when she introduces me, she introduces me as her sister. She and Tim have become an important part of my and Don's lives. They don't normally come to our church, so I was totally caught off guard. Don and I both jumped up when we saw them and rushed to greet them, then found seats altogether. Then Shannon arrived. What a wonderful Christmas present! The service was then followed by more Christmas carols and a powerful message delivered by Pastor Jim.

Crystal and Mike have started looking at other houses. It doesn't look like the insurance company is going to pay for the damage done to the house they had put the offer in on, so now they have to start all over. It's hard buying a house in a city you've only lived in for a couple of years. When they find a house they like, they have to ask a lot of people a lot of questions to find out if it's a good area or not. At least when we bought our house we didn't have that troubleb because I've lived here all my life and Don's been here for over 20 years. Think we need to leave it in God's hands and he will show them where they need to be in there lives.
 

It was just another Wednesday afternoon, so Don thought. He was busy at work doing endless paperwork in his office when the front office called him and told him someone was there to see him. That's nothing unusual, his "clients" drop in on him constantly. But this was different. His son Nathan, daughter-in-law Laura Mae, and granddaughter 16 month old Jaycee gave him a surprise visit all the way from Hawaii. He was thrilled, to say the least. He was relieved that Jaycee didn't hesitate at all to be held by her papa. I'm not sure how, but I think she remembered him from the last time he saw her six months ago. Afterall, we babysat her quite a bit when she and Laura Mae had come for an extended visit last November while Nathan was in Iraq. Don is thrilled to have his "baby" back for her second Christmas with us, as well as having Nathan here to celebrate as well. This will be the first time that all of our kids and significant others will be together. And I'm happy to see Don so thrilled! And I'm really happy we bought a 17 lb. prime rib for Christmas dinner. Just don't ask me how we're going to fit it in the oven - lol. When I told Crystal about it, she reminded me she hadn't even met her step-brother Nathan yet! I think this Christmas is going to present quite a lot of photo opportunities! Better get ready to scrapbook ....
 

Yesterday, Monday, the sun peaked through the clouds and graced us with its presence. Typical Monday, though, hard to wake up, hard to embrace the work day. The day brought much sadness for my friend and commute partner, Kathy. She has had an extremely difficult year. Her office downsized this past year leaving her as the only "support staff" they had which required her to work under the three attorneys. She is able to wear three hats now, receptionist, secretary and paralegal due to her superior organizatinal skills. But when it came time for the annual Christmas bonus, there was none. No small gift card, not even an a apology or excuse, not a word. Her feelings were crushed. It was a long ride home.

Don was waiting for me when I got home, I could tell how tired he was also. We went out for a quick bite and then home to a relaxing evening in the hot tub. We are so thankful to have such blessings in our lives.

My daughter Crystal called me about some pictures she had emailed to me. I could tell by her trembling voice something was wrong. She proceeded to tell me about a pipe that had frozen and burst in the house they were buying. It caused the ceiling to collapse in three rooms and flooded the entire house - the water had leaked outside and into the pool causing it to overflow. After looking at the pictures I could see why she was upset. There was plaster and insulation everywhere. We talked for a while and after she realized that it may be a blessing in disguise she felt better. Their realtor had told them the owners had insurance and it should be covered, then the floors and ceiling would be repaired and they could have it done the way they want. As of today they still hadn't heard anything more, so now it's a wait and see.
 

The rain continued all weekend. Not bad, just enough to be a nuisance. Friday night, Saturday night and tonight, Don volunteered at the church for the "Miracle of Christmas" drive through. He is one of the disciples at the Last Supper. My brother, Joe, and my (ex) sister-in-law who's my best friend (yeah, it's complicated) and I drove through on Friday night to see it. It was beautiful although wet. I was hoping Don's scene had an overhang since it the scene ws supposed to take place indoors, but it wasn't. When he got home, he didn't have one inch of dryness on his body anywhere. Saturday night was much better, the cars kept coming and they eventually had to put the barracades up to stop more cars from coming in. It only rained for about the last 15 minutes. It's lightly raining right now, so I'm hoping he won't be too wet tonight. The show itself was wonderful. Everything was created by members of the church, all the costumes were hand-sewn and the backdrops were painted. So much talent!

Catrina came to visit this afternoon (hang-out, as she calls it). It was nice to have her here; we don't see her very often as she is so busy. Then this afternoon Don and I enjoyed soaking in the hot tub - in the rain. It was so wonderful and relaxing. It made us realize that luxuries like that makes working worthwhile!
 

The air seems to be even colder that it was yesterday. The local news station confirmed it - a new record low. My, oh my. Crystal and Mike picked up their dog Rock yesterday. We were dog sitting while they went to Reno where they got snowed in. They ended up staying another night. I love dog sitting Rock, he's like a big teddy bear; but he's an inside dog and we need to keep him outside at our house. So I was worried he would not acclimate to the weather. He did pretty good. At night I heated up an old bath towel in the dryer and as he lay in his bed, I tucked it in arover him and then wrapped him with a heavier blanket. He stayed tucked in all night - smart dog! Meeka I don't worry about, she has her winter coat. But she slept next to Rock on her own blanket. I tried tucking her in as well, but she would shake the covers off, so I knew she must have been warmer than Rock.

The hot tub got delivered yesterday and it's beautiful. It looks perfect there, right next to our bedroom slider. The electrician is coming Wednesday, so hopefully by the end of this week we'll be able to enjoy it. I'm so looking forward to it! And so is Don. I think he especially needs it since he's been working so much on the house lately putting up all the Christmas lights and decorations and pouring cement. He's going to need to relax in a nice warm hot tub!
 

Well, there was a chance of snow here last night. Can you believe that? In "sunny" California, in the middle of the northern valley? It's snowed here before, many, many years ago. Probably around 20 years ago, I remember my daughters were small the last time it snowed. Our front yard was 1/3 acre and it was covered with so much snow they were able have snowball fights. But last night I guess it just wasn't meant to be; no snow and we only received a small amount of rain. Oh well, the winter is still young.

Then I got to thinking - - wouldn't it be funny it snowing since today is the day the movers are moving the hot tub in. It sure would have been nice to already have it in and going on cold evenings like this, but I'm sure there's going to be many more to come! At least the hot tub will be there when I get home from work tonight. The electrician will still have to come and get the wiring done, but at least it will be here! The cement work that Don did on the patio looks real good, he did such a great job! I'm wondering if there's anything he doesn't know how to do!
 

My goodness, winter I think has set in. I had a really good day after a great night sleep. I was busy all day at work which I love since it makes the day go by faster. In mid-afternoon the property management company of our building at work held a mini-Christmas party in the lobby. My co-workers and I wondered down the hall to grab one of the truffles we had heard about; and imagine our surprise when we found it had been catered with sandwiches, chicken skewers, egg rolls, assorted Christmas cookies and, of course, truffles. It was nice to take a break from our busy day to visit with others in our building and listen to the Christmas carolers decked out in their Victorian garb. What a treat!

When I got home, Catrina's fiancee Jeremy and his friend were there visiting with Don. Jeremy's friend will be doing the wiring for our hot tub. They continued with their "man talk" and got things squared away with what he needs to do and he'll come back some time next week to do the work. Jeremy works for a construction company, so he has many talented friends/co-workers. Looks like things are coming together!

I was so cold all evening, not sure why because the thermostat said 72 degrees. So after eating a bowl of homemade clam chowder in a bread bowl for dinner, I curled up in the recliner with the heating pad, rusty, zack and my favorite fluffy afghan wrapped around us. What a great way to relax in the evening!
 

Is it Friday yet? What a terrible day. Started with a terrible night. I forgot to take the Flexiril the doc prescribed for the spasm in my neck, it really helps me sleep. Woke up 3 times with severe neck pain. Finally got up at 5:00 with a migraine and stayed up. Put the traction gizmo on my neck for a while which helped, and took an Imitrex and a HOT shower. Wanted to call in sick, but I have no sick time left, used it up when I had the tumor removed from my leg (which, by the way, has returned). But, by 6 A.M. I was feeling human so got dressed and by 7:00 I was functional, although my neck still hurt. Nothing like a long commute to work when you don't feel good. But I made it and by 10:00 I was nearly normal. Days like this makes me wonder why I delay the surgery on my neck. Good thing they are few and far between. And my dear sweet husband takes such good care of me. He really is the nicest person I have ever met! I mean REALLY NICE. In this day and age it's hard to find nice, sweet people. I'd like to think I'm pretty nice, and my two daughters are very nice, and my step-daughter is very nice; but my husband is at the top of the list!