Ringing out the old

This has not been a fun day. Last night I came home from work, had a cup of egg nog and immediately fell ill enough to go to bed. It lasted a couple of hours and then, just as quickly as it hit, it went away. I assumed it was the egg nog and threw the rest out. This morning I felt fine and headed in to work. About an hour into it, I started feeling the same thing I felt the night before. Not as bad this time, but enough to finally convince me to come home. So here I am, back at home. Now I don't know if it's a stomach bug or if I've redeveloped an ulcer, but I'm determined to find out. While I appreciate the day with my kids, it's no fun when I feel like there's a knife sticking through my stomach and they are at the end of the Christmas vacation at the point where they are bored stiff.

I had a great Christmas. John has come a long way in getting gifts for me. I remember our first Christmas together he got me dishes. How non romantic. Of course, he also proposed to me that night, so that kind of made up for it, but...dishes!? This year he got me things for scrapping, including a new photo printer. Then he installed it for me and did all the testing work. Now I'm just waiting for him to teach me to use it and I'm all set. He also bought me a king size electric blanket. I've been wanting one ever since we moved back to the midwest but hadn't even nagged him about it this year. Maybe that was the key to success? ;) Anyway, this is the first year in quite a few that I haven't felt that let down feeling after Christmas. I enjoyed it, the season lasted just long enough and I am OK with letting it go.

And in other news, Shona lost her first tooth on Tuesday. She was so excited and I was just happy it didn't happen on Christmas. The tooth fairy always brings a gift the first visit and a coin thereafter. She got a spin head toothbrush that times you for two full minutes of brushing, a tube of kids' Crest toothpaste and some dinosaur flossers. I got some great pictures of her without that tooth, too.

Now for some other fun. Annette did this year in review and challenged us all with repeating it in our own blogs. So here ya go, girl.

JANUARY
1. Did you have a new year's resolution this year? Yes, to spoil and pamper myself. I did well for the first half of the year then got caught up with everyday life again.
2. Who kissed you at midnight? No one, that doesn't seem to be a big tradition in our house.
3. Did it snow where you live? Several times in January
5. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop? No. It's not really on my life's "to do" list, either.

FEBRUARY
1. Who was your valentine? John
2. What did your valentine get you? You know, I don't remember.
3. When you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class? Yes, and decorated a shoe box. I always made the most elaborate ones.

MARCH
1. Are you Irish? I don't have green eyes and a temper for nothing.
2. Did you wear green on St. Patty's Day? Yes because no one ever lets me use my green eyes to avoid getting pinched.
3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day? Probably worked.

APRIL
1. Do you like the rain? I love rain.
2. Did you play an April Fool's joke on anyone this year? I think I did on the kids but I can't remember what it was.
3. Did you get tons of candy on Easter? No.

MAY
1. What's your favorite kind of flower?: I love them all. I especially like daffodils but John doesn't ever want them in the yard.
2. Do you like the spring? It's my favorite season. I love watching everything green up again.
3. Finish the phrase: "April showers bring...": May Flowers
4. What would you think of as a spring color?: pink

JUNE
1. What year did you graduate from school?: 1988
2. Did you go on any vacations last June?: No, we went in July.

JULY
1. What did you do on the 4th of July? We had a party at our house and set off fireworks. John lived in a big city all his life and was never allowed to play with them. He goes overboard now.
2. Did you go on any vacations during this month?: Yes, we took the girls to the St. Louis Zoo, Grant's Farm, a riverboat ride and up the arch.

AUGUST
1. Did you do anything special to end off your summer? Not that I can recall.
2. What was your favorite summer memory of '05? The trip to St. Louis. It was great to get away and be off work for a whole week.
3. Did you go swimming a lot in the summer? I didn't but the kids did in our little pool.
4. Did you go to the beach a lot? I live too far from it. Someday....

SEPTEMBER
1. Did you attend school/college in '05? No
2. Who is/was your favorite teacher? Mrs. Warner, my first grade teacher. The night of my last day in her class I cried myself to sleep. She is retiring this year.
3. Did you like fall better than summer? Oh yes, I love escaping the intense heat.

OCTOBER
1. What was your favorite Halloween costume ever? I can't even begin to remember. My parents didn't take pictures of us back then so I don't even remember what I was.
2. What's your favorite candy? candy corn
3. What did you dress up like this year? A tired, overweight, middle aged mom?

NOVEMBER
1. Whose house did you go to for Thanksgiving? My dad and stepmother's house.
2. Do you like stuffing? Yes, I do!
3. What are you thankful for? My family and our health. The fact that we are able to have a roof over our heads and pay the bills most months. ;)

DECEMBER
1. Do you celebrate Christmas? Yes
2. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe? I've never even seen real mistletoe.
3. What did you want this year for Christmas? A new photo printer, a Fastenater and a Basic Grey notch tool. I got them all.
4. What's the best present you ever got for Christmas? A marriage proposal.
5. Do you like cold weather? Cool, yes. Cold, no.
6. How would you rate your year on a scale of 1-10? Six. I'm still working, John had a rough school year and we had a lot of teen drama.