thotlady.com » Holiday

Busy week

thotlady — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:33:43 +0000

A list:

A long with a good friend I am hosting a Murder Mystery Party this Saturday night.
Still trying to catch up on work, since I came back from my conference in Indianapolis
Sending out invitations to our annual Christmas Open House
Will need to start working on Christmas cards….Yikes
Inundated with fall leaves, my hubby raked up the front yard this past weekend, but I still need to work on the back…Yikes again.
And of course…Christmas gift shopping and mailing

The end.

-thotlady

Back from Indianapolis

thotlady — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:18:10 +0000

I spent last week in Indianapolis at a parking conference. You heard me…a parking conference. It sounds boring doesn’t it, well you are right it was BORING. The only thing that got me through the boredom was knowing I was traveling up to Wisconsin on Friday to celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday with my family.

Everyone had a good time. Too much alcohol was had by many, not me, but many others. I did have my share, but I was pretty good at moderation. I did eat too much however, so I gained three pounds in a week. How does that happen? I hate middle age.

Thanksgiving is coming, do you see it right around the bend. I have yet to make any plans. Although it is Thanksgiving after all and what do you need to plan really? Turkey – check, green beans – check, pumpkin pie – check, sweet potatoes – check, stuffing – check and of course, mashed potatoes – check. I think it will just be Bogie and me this year. I will invite our host students, but they usually travel around the US during Thanksgiving week.

So, what is everyone else doing for Thanksgiving? The usual or something new and different? Gobble, Gobble.

-thotlady

Happy Halloween

thotlady — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:36:51 +0000

Death Star

Elephant

Gollum

John Lennon

-thotlady

Father’s Day Gifts

thotlady — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 17:46:27 +0000

Here are some unique and fun ways to celebrate Father’s Day….

Hand print canvas kit, how cool is this…

Wireless Key Finder, I love this and could use it myself…

Now if your dad is a Star Wars fan, well, you simply must get him one of these…

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

-thotlady

Memorial Day

thotlady — Mon, 30 May 2011 17:40:28 +0000

Thank a soldier or a soldier’s family at every opportunity. We are the best country in the world and soldiers make sure we stay that way!

-thotlady

Off with the old, on with the new

thotlady — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:14:23 +0000

I remember when I was in high school…really, I do. My friends and I were talking one day and I said “I wonder how old I will be at the turn of the century?“ So naturally we all did the math in our heads. Well some of us did it in our heads, the rest needed pencil and paper. When we came up with the age, it was staggering 43. Well, it was staggering to me. When one is 16 years of age, 43 seems like a life time away. And it pretty much is.

Now as the earth has completed another rotation around the sun, I am much, much, older than 43. I have lived over half my life. Somehow I can’t quite wrap my brain around that. So I won’t try, I will just move on.

What awaits me in 2011. Hopefully good things. Here are my wishes for 2011, in no particular order.

I want to have a wonderful, carefree vacation in Aruba in February.
I wish for my hubby and sweet puppy to have continued good health.

On a side note, many, many years ago I was told by a very wise person (I can’t remember who it was, but they were wise), “If you want to achieve your goals in life you should write them down on a piece of paper, so you can take them out and look at them every so often”. So I wrote down my long term goals. You want to know what they were don’t you? Okay, I will try to recall.

To own my own home
To finish my college degree (you can do this…you can see the finish line)
To find someone with whom I can share my life (back then I spoke in this highfalutin fashion)
To have a baby

Did I achieve my goals? Let’s see:

To own my own home -check (with Bogie)
To finish my college degree (you can do this…you can see the finish line) -check
To find someone with whom I can share my life -check
To have a baby

Three out of four ain’t bad. I do recommend writing down your long term goals. I did pull my list out and look at it from time-to-time. It kept me hopeful and on track. Now, if you are the type of person who does not like to set goals, who likes to fly by the seat of your pants, then by all means carry-on.

Back to my 2011 list:

Bogie and I haven’t spent much time together away from home, I hope we can change that in 2011, we are off to a good start with our February, Aruba trip.
I would like to get a tattoo, but I keep procrastinating. I would show you the tattoo, but then you might steel it and we would end up with matching tattoos and that is not going to happen.
I want to take another road trip to visit Wisconsin. It is a 15 hour drive, but I would like to visit in June. We shall see.
I will work on keeping our paper clutter at home to a minimum. Both Bogie and I are very bad when it comes to paper clutter.
Knit more. If that is even possible.
Smile more.
Thank people more.
And last but not least, get that face lift already…I am starting to look my age. YIKES!

Well, there it is my 2011 list. Boring isn’t it. I find that the older I get the less I expect. Why is that? Experience has taught me to expect less but appreciate more.

thotlady in thot

Christmas hangover…

thotlady — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 00:02:02 +0000

…not from alcohol, just the letdown after the holiday. I hate it! We had a wonderful Christmas in the D.C. area with Bogie’s brother and family. We went up on Thursday and returned home on Monday. We missed most of the east coast snow storm. Thankfully.

I have a friend who is considering leaving her husband after 17+ years of marriage. It is so sad. No one wins in a situation like this. It adds to the sad feeling I have had of late. Something like this touches and affects so many lives.

It begs the question, how does one decide if they are unhappy enough in their marriage to do something about it? Unhappy 51% of the time? What makes you unhappy? Are the highs to low to balance out the lows? All you married people know what I’m talking about.

I am sure the holidays did not help the situation any. I know Christmas can be a very happy time, but it can also be a very sad time for quite a few people.

I will be praying for both her and her husband.

-thotlady

My life these days

thotlady — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 20:06:28 +0000

What’s been going on in my life…in no particular order.

Winter celebration at work for the whole university faculty and staff
Holiday Christmas luncheon for senior staff and their assistants (that’s me)
Dinner for police department command staff (me again). This was an amazing dinner I spoke about it here.
We had our annual Christmas open house on the 18th (last Saturday). HUGH turnout. The most people we have ever had. There had to be over 50 people there at any given time, kids and all.
I am taking a day of vacation on the 23rd, the university shuts down from December 24 through January 3rd, so I will have 11 straight days off and I need them. Nice, very nice. Six free days off. You have to love working for a university.
We have snow on the ground, yeah! We might have another snow storm on Christmas Day.
Did I mention I am going to Aruba in February. First vacation with my husband in several years I am ashamed to admit. We are going to help my younger sister celebrate her 50th birthday. I can hardly believe she turns 50 in February.
We are spending Christmas in our nation’s Capitol. Should be beautiful. I just hope we make it home, since snow is predicted for the 25th around here.
Did I mention that I received a Kindle for my birthday, I seem to remember telling you how awesome it is. Oh right, that was in my last post.
That about sums it up around here.

Merry Christmas all! Stay safe.

-thotlady

Are your ready?

thotlady — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:38:41 +0000

You know what I am talking about.

Some people prepare for Christmas all year long. I tend to concentrate on Christmas in December. When I was younger I would be out every Dec 24th still buying gifts. I work well under pressure, plus it is always fun to see who else is a last minute gift buyer.

For the past four years we have held a Christmas open house right before Christmas. Bogie and I had decided to stop traveling over Christmas. We had two dogs and our families live in Wisconsin and Washington state. It just got too expensive to visit our families over Christmas, with airfare and kenneling our two dogs, the expense was high.

That is how the Christmas open house began. I wanted to have something to look forward to each Christmas and to celebrate the wonderful holiday with friends, if not family. Our open houses have turned into an annual tradition now. We get quite a crowd some years. We invite family, friends, neighbors, church friends and co-workers. As you can imagine, quite a diverse group of people. Most families bring their children, which makes the event all the merrier.

Our Christmas open house this year is the 18th, so we are in the final stages of planning now. On Sunday we went to Sam’s and purchased much of the consumables (food, beer, soft drinks). I still need to buy the plates, cups and utensils. I also usually bake 2-3 desserts for the party, so on Friday afternoon I will make those. Maybe Wednesday night too.

Four or five years ago, Bogie’s brother and family moved back to the D.C. area, so now we have family near with who we can spend the holidays. It is wonderful. We still hold our open house, so we have the best of family and friends. This year will be the first year at my new job, here at the university. I have invited all my co-workers, so we should have a new group of people this year.

On top of the party preparations, we still need to buy all our Christmas gifts, wrap them and get them mailed this week. A lot to do. I did some wrapping last night. There are still a bunch of gifts to wrap. We need to mail them tomorrow.

At work we have had quite a few functions as well. University holiday luncheon, command staff lunch, and a division wide staff meeting tomorrow, along with my birthday. Don’t ask. (old), that’s all you need to know. I took a photo with me and Patricia Cornwell recently at her book signing, and I look so bad, I don’t even want to post it here. I take lousy photos. If I ever take a good photo, then you will definitely know that an alien has taken over my body, either that or plastic surgery. Don’t laugh, I am considering it. That or a tattoo. They cost about the same, right? .

Oh, and last Friday night I went out for dinner with the command staff here at the police department at Texas de Brazil. Have you ever been to one of these restaurants? They just keep bringing you meat until you burst, or you can turn your little coaster to red. Green means bring it on, red means, another mouthful and I will explode. What a great evening. Oh, and we brought our spouses. Nice, right?

-thotlady

Christmas gift suggestion…

thotlady — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:01:24 +0000

I have been spending a lot of time on Etsy in the past few weeks. I simply love to browse the many unique stores selling beautiful wares.

Recently I found this gem on Rou Designs…

Sweater Weather Decorated Sphere Vases

I love these little vases. They are simply divine.

Gift Pouch with a Bow

This one is just precious. I can visualize this one with a sweet gift tucked inside.

Eventually I had to purchase one. But which one. So many choices. Drum roll please…

Creamer

Yes, I now own this beauty. I am trying to decide if I want to give it as a gift or keep it for myself.

Along with the above creamer I purchased these two cuties…

Salt and pepper shakers

Mine have a dark mark on the pepper shaker. Each item seems to be

a one-of-a-kind.

I received my purchases in under a week. I just love them.

-thotlady