Wow - long time, no post.

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted anything on this site. All I can say is there are big changes I'm hoping to make in 2011. It's time to get moving on my projects for this year.

2010 was a pretty good year. There were a few rough spots, but overall I think the good outweighed the bad. After my oldest son was laid off in the fall of 2009, he finally found a great job in 2010. He also passed all portions of his architectural licensing exam and is now a licensed architect. Yeah!! We're all so proud of him. After spending almost 10 years with a company, they laid him off after he'd passed the first couple of his tests. I know the economy hit the skids, but seriously. They cut him first because he'd been there the longest in the office and they knew he'd want more money when he was licensed. I could go on and on in that vein, but since he's happier in his new job than he ever was in the old one, I'll let it go.

Another great thing this year was my daughter getting married in October. It was a great wedding. We all had such a great time and it's wonderful to see them so happy together. The only negative was her husband (at the time her fiance) was laid off for six months prior to the wedding and started a new job right after their honeymoon. Unfortunately, the pay is about half what he was making before and he's driving into Chicago. We're all praying he finds something else very soon. Rumors are that he will be laid off from this new job in April, also.

The greatest news of the year was on Christmas morning when my daughter and her new husband made the announcement that they're expecting their first baby and our first grandchild. Everyone is very excited!! Projected due date is August 15th. My oldest son and I both have August birthdays, so we're more than happy to welcome a little one to our club.

So, as far as the changes I mentioned, I have two new projects going right now.

Project #1 - My husband and I went on Saturday and joined the local YMCA. He is a great, and I mean really great, cook and we've both definitely put on weight since we got married almost 4 years ago. I am at the heaviest I have ever been even weighing more than I did the morning I delivered my youngest son. At that time, that was the heaviest I had ever been. I did lose all the baby weight at one point, but over the years the weight has crept up little by little. I am going to try to look at this as a new lifestyle rather than a diet. I've been on almost every diet imaginable and haven't stuck with any of them long enough to accomplish anything. Now that we're going to be grandparents, it's time to get in shape and get active. I don't want my grandchildren remembering me because we sat and watched tv all the time. I want them to remember me as being fun and active, spending time doing things with them.

Project #2 - I signed up to take a beginning quilting class which starts tomorrow night. I have made a few quilts for people and think they were pretty good for a beginner. I definitely had fun making them. I finished a quilt for my daughter for her 29th birthday, which also happened to be her wedding day. I then finished quilts for my daughter-in-law and my youngest son's girlfriend for Christmas. I'm currently in the process of making a baby quilt for my first grandchild. I spend tons of time on a quilting board looking at pictures of quilts made by other people and reading tips and hints. I definitely fit into a beginner category after seeing the works of art on that site. There are a few areas where I struggle with my quilting and I signed up for this class for some help with those areas.

I will try very hard to come back more often and post my progress with my new healthier lifestyle and with my quilting progress. Maybe I'll even get brave and post a few pictures of the quilts. Hope you're all having a great year so far. That's really funny since I don't even have any followers. Do I want followers? I'm not sure. Not used to putting myself out there, but maybe it's good for a few laughs now and then. Have a great night!!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving!! There were twelve of us for dinner this year, my oldest son and his wife, my daughter and her fiance and his son, my youngest son and his girlfriend, my brother and his two children and my husband and me. Not a big group by some standards, but about all this little house could hold. Dinner was excellent. Desserts were over the top wonderful. Conversations were spirited with the usual teasing and joking. It is so wonderful to look down the table and see how very blessed I am with such a wonderful group beside me. I look at my children interacting together and can only pray that they stay close forever. So much love in the room. What a wonderful day.

Very bittersweet to realize that my siblings are so divided that there are not even phone calls exchanged to wish each other a Happy Thanksgiving. What happens that splits families to the point where they can no longer even get together at holiday time? Why can some families remain united and work through disagreements without building walls between each other? Were we not taught respect for each other while growing up? Were we not encouraged to work out our differences or were we encouraged to keep everything inside and let it fester and grow until there was no path back to common ground? I do not know the answers, but I do know that my heart is heavy and pray for healing for our family. This Christmas one sister has invited everyone to her home for a family gathering. I am very hopeful. After all, isn't Christmas a magical time of reconciliation?

Today was a really long day. New puppy to the vet for her second set of shots, new sleeper sofa delivered and then the baseball game. The baseball game was part of a benefit for the husband of one of the women I work with. Less than four months ago he was playing baseball with the team and had yet to be diagnosed with cancer. He passed away yesterday and today was his benefit. He left behind his wife and two children. He was only 46. This is the second coworker who has lost a spouse in the last two months. The wife of another coworker passed away in October. She was only 26 and they had just gotten married in June. Sometimes things don't always go the way you hope they will, but when people you know suffer such loss you are brought up short and you realize how selfish you've been with your own pity parties. There was an absolutely huge turnout for the benefit. Lots going on with a pig roast, band, raffles, 50-50 drawings and Jarrett Payton as a speaker. There was hardly room to move and I'm sure we exceeded the occupancy limits by 4 times the limit at least. Unbelievable how strong his family was. I wish them peace over the next few days. I know that he is in a better place and that his suffering has come to an end, but they will be saying goodbye to a great father, husband, son, brother, uncle, friend, coach, and coworker and have to begin the reality of life without him. I know that as time goes on the thoughts of his illness and pain will lessen as the happy memories come more easily to mind. As I lay down to sleep tonight help me to remember those who are grieving and to say a prayer. Let me never forget to tell my loved ones how much they mean to me. Let me tell them every day that I love them very much. Life can change in an instant. Let us never forget. God bless and good night.