Today was a good day to:

watch the morning news from the elliptical

eat ice cream for breakfast (Haagen Dazs carmel cone, right out of the carton)

have my hair colored, and my nails manicured, my eye
brows waxed and my teeth cleaned

spent 12 minutes in a turbo tanning bed

wrap Christmas presents

snuggle up on the couch and watch Castle



Merry Christmas to Me!

Yep, I opened my Christmas present!
Santa must have known that I have been good all year because
it was dinner, shopping and The Forgotten Carols with Lacie.

Wait, maybe Lacie was the one that was good all year.....

Regardless, spending the evening with my daughter helped set
the tone for a joyous holiday season yet to come.

My Thanksgiving (in no particular order)

-A daughter (and son-in-law) willing to open their

hearts and home to my son.

- A very significant other who brightens my

day with laughter and love.

- Great friends willing to spend their morning

cooking a yummy meal.

- Loving parents and siblings who suppport me

with phone messages or in person.

and

- The freedom to make any decision I choose, while

realizing my full potential in this life.

Veteran's Day

I was leaving the house last weekend as Nicolas was returning home from 'drills' and what my eyes fell upon was a very impressive man dressed in his ACU's.  As he stood before me in his full military uniform I realized just how proud I was of the decision my son has made to do something of great worth in his life by serving in the Army Reserves.

Nicolas has opened my eyes to many unique experiences thus far, I knew nothing about dinosaurs before he came along, and nothing about scouts, ballroom dance, or Veteran's Day, and although Nicolas says Novemebr 11th is not about him per se (his comment is "I am not a Veteran'), I still became very emotional this year as I celebrated this day with more memorial than every before. I will savor these six years of reserve duty he is completing and look forward to a lifetime of Veteran's Day to remind me of the sacrifice made by my son and thousands of others on my behalf.

Date Night

I thought the first snow storm of the winter season would make for a good excuse to stay indoors and keep warm but one great guy decided that Friday night should be date night and off we went to enjoy an evening together.

We made the obvious choice for our 'dinner and a movie' an headed to the Gateway Mall where some of the finest restaurants in the city can be found.  Once we were safely parked in covered parking, we made our way to Z Trejas, who can go wrong with southwest cuisine?  After yummy enchiladas we headed to the theatre to watch Tower Heist, the movie my date had suggested.

The movie was a great choice but I left the theatre fearing the drive home on snowpacked roads.......... SURPRISE! the streets were blanketed with a thick layer of rain and as we headed home I realized that the best cure for the winter blues is getting out of the house and going on a date!