SUPER BOWL

OK, so its the night before the big game. There is still so much to do..........

1. finish all the chores so there are no interruptions
2. pre make some meals....so there are no interruptions
3. make sure the comfy clothes are clean
4. buy beer.....in CT you cannot buy beer on Sunday
I don't get it either
5. get to the store for necessitites.....chips.....dip......cheese......meat snacks.....
6. make sure the cable bill is paid
7. get a good nights sleep because even though the game starts at 6:15(EST)
the pregame begins at 9am with the Today Show.

For those of you who don't DO math that's 9 hours of pregame before the game starts so you're looking at about 13 or 14 hours of TV.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Nanner

Getting my ducks in a row!

So the holiday season is behind us with all the gifts sent and opened....we are off the open road.... a new year is upon us and the Christmas cards have finally been sent!

Both Lynn and I have had our birthdays(Lynn's was Monday the 5th and mine was Saturday the 10th) so that is done. We have already been scrapbooking in the new year and the first babysitting jobs are next weekend for us both.

Now the only thing left to do is...........PUT THE CHRISTMAS STUFF AWAY!!!!!!! Oh man how can two people collect so much crap oh,,no.. I mean treasures. We have had to shovel the driveway 3 times since new years day and we just haven't had the energy to bring up all the boxes from the basement and get the tree taken down and all the knick knacks put away. Then the several follow up trips to the basement for the decorations that we missed the first, second, or even third time we sweep the rooms for everything.

But with the New Year comes all the promises for a new you and not falling into old habits and keeping on top of your life in general, but I think having your Christmas decorations up until Valentine's Day kinda blows all that out of the water.

I should get going and clean off my desk and put the clothes away or maybe just have another piece of birthday cake and look at my treadmill......

but at least tomorrow is another day.

Nanner

The Tomato Saga

Let me share with ya'll the saga of Lynn's tomatoes......

Lynn has this tomato plant that she has tried to grow tomatoes on for a couple of years now. We take it out in the summer and to the front porch in the spring and fall and to the upstairs bedroom in the winter. We wrap it in blankets to keep it warm and still it doesn't grow.

Well all that changed this year. Lynn got two(little) tomatoes to grow on it this year. She was so proud, we had to talk and encourage the little guys to grow. I had to help do this too. We had to go and praise the little guys to keep them going strong.

Finally, they were as big as they were going to get so it was time to pick them off the tree so we could stare at them on the counter top for a few weeks.

So on New Year's Eve we had salads with our dinner and Lynn finally ate her tomatoes and they were delicious.

I can hardly wait until next year and we can start the whole experience again. I really enjoy having to go and talk and praise the tomatoes and I don't even LIKE tomatoes!

Nanner

Happy New Year

So, you want all the details of the party girls night on New Year's Eve? Let me tell you it was a rip roarin' time. Lynn and I spent time preparing for New Years Eve by taking a nap in the afternoon(my school was let out early due to a snow storm that hit yesterday).

So after the nap we had a great dinner(Lynn made steaks on the grill) then we hunkered down on the couch and watched TV in our jammies until the ball dropped at Times Square then we went to bed.......WOO HOO do we know how to party or what!

The storm got really bad with fresh snow and below zero wind chills so we didn't venture out at all once we got home. It was a really nice night all cozy inside hearing the wind howling outside, the only thing better would have been if we had a fire place, but we have had 2 friends with fireplaces have squirrels come in this year.

One of my directors had a flying squirrel come in on Christmas day and reek havoc in their tree and then it hid from them until they were eating and out he came again. Her brother finally put on some mitts and got him outside. Two of her three sons were alternately terrified and amused.

So maybe a fireplace is not the best idea.

I hope everyone has had a very safe and happy holiday.....oops I almost forgot........Happy Birthday yesterday to our friend Bevie....usually were get to spend some time at her house playing cards, but it was just too stormy......

I hope you all get just what you want out of the new year.

Nanner

Christmas on the Road

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!!

Lynn and I had a blast, we drove from Connecticut to Wisconsin to visit Lynn's family. We didn't tell her Mom or the kids we were coming so it was a huge surprise.

Now I know what most of you are thinking.....ARE YOU NUTS?#%#@? A 20 hour drive there and 20 hours back to spend about 56 hours there. Yep, we're nuts.....for the family.

The surprise was totally worth the whole trip, Lynn's Mom was just so happy it was great, and the Julia and Ben were excited too. Lynn's niece and nephew.

In actuality it took about 24 hours to get there since we hit a bad ice storm in Pennsylvania. Lynn slept in the car on the first part of the trip and at about midnight I said that I needed to switch and sleep for awhile. Well that only lasted about an hour and a half we Lynn gently woke me up saying, "YOU NEED TO WAKE UP AND DRIVE THROUGH THIS STORM!!!!".
It was really bad, I had to stop and break the ice off the car at one point because the windshield wipers were so caked with ice they didn't work. The entire car was just a mess. After hitting the road again(at about 35 mph) I passed about 5 semi trucks at differernt times that had slipped totally off the road! Holy Crap!!!

We made up a lot of time after that, until we hit traffic in Chicago and then terrible roads in Wisconsin. I don't know who lived on these road or who they ticked off, but they had not been plowed in awhile. I do believe that everyone we passed looked at us funny since we were wearing our elf hats(stocking hats with elf ears on them) and had painted a sign on the side of the rental car.....
Lots of second looks from the other drivers.

The best part was the fact that we made it and had a blast seeing, Cathy, Jeff, Julia, Ben, Suse, Larry, and Patrick. I love it when you can be with family for the holidays. I can't wait for the next trip in June to go see my family in Oregon when my niece Jill will be graduating high school.

But that's another story for later.

I'll write more this weekend and send up some photos from the trip, until then everyone have a safe and happy New Year.

Nanner

Merry Christmas

You can always tell when Christmas is near because Santa gets a little help from the local fire department here in Ansonia. The Sunday after our big snow storm we had another one hit with about 4 more inches. At about 11am Lynn and I could hear sirens going off below the hill we live on and sure enough about 10 minutes later here came Santa and his friends on the fire truck throwing popcorn balls to everyone brave enough to stand outside and wave to them.

I love this tradition that our little town has and Lynn and I look forward to the Santa ride every year. I just looks like a lot of fun, even though this year it looked a little cold.

Well, its two days before Christmas and the letters are sent(as well as the presents), and Lynn and I are getting ready for the holidays. I think that next week I'll have some funny stories to share with all of you, but for right now I've got to get the laundry finished and get packed.

So to all of you please have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Nanner

Well Bob the Weather Man got it right

IT SNOWED YESTERDAY!!!!!

The first really big storm of the season hit yesterday. Almost every school in the state was closed down in anticipation of the big storm. My school even closed early. It was not a bad day only one of the eight kids I normally have on Friday showed up. Most all of the other kids have parents who are teachers. At least it was one of my favorites who came in so he and I had a blast.

After Lynn picked me up we did a quick trip to the store for milk and wheat thins and stuff for soup making then off to the house where we watched the snow fall for the next 8 hours. We ended up with about 8 inches when it was all said and done. So we managed to finish our Christmas cards and even get a nap(yeah!)

So of course snow on Friday means shoveling on Saturday(bummer). Our little Honda just won't make it up the driveway if we don't plow out soooooooo.

I guess that its really not all a lot of hard work...........

We just have such a looooooooooooooong driveway. But with both of us helping its not so bad. Last year there was a layer of ice which made it so much harder.

We really did have a little fun while we were out there.

So your THOUGHT OF THE DAY during this the Christmas season comes from a Sheryl Crow song

Its not getting what you want

its wanting what you've got.

See you next time........Nanner