Home!

Andrew and I ended our journey with a trip to the Kentucky Flea Market. Quite an experience, reminded me of Covered Bridge, it was huge. Bought a new purse, socks, and a calendar--I was living dangerously, huh?

We got home yesterday evening around 6:30, when Robert got home we took him out to Bdubs. I have to say, I was impressed with the looks of my house when I got home and the dishes were in the dishwasher and had already been washed....yep, he didn't disappoint and yes, he WILL make someone a great hubby one of these days.

So, today is the start of my vacation. I have vowed to stay away from work as the last time I was on vacation, I spent most of my day hours on the phone for conference calls. I went so far as to delete my email account off of my cell so things don't just pop up for me to worry about. I have a lot of projects planned for this week so it would be good to concentrate on home this week.

And then there is the fact that it is New Years.....Resolutions....I don't make them. I do set goals for myself and for things for our family. I love writing down what we want to accomplish and being able to look back and see we did what we set out to do. The back bath project was one that wasn't finished last January and it is gorgeous now. Robert wanted a job and a better vehicle, and he has both. So, part of today (since it is the LEGAL holiday--my disclaimer for not doing this yesterday) will be spent writing down what we want to get done this year. I know one is work on the porch and another is to get my craft room done. The craft room hopefully will be done by the end of this month though.

Of course, I HAVE to watch the parade---it's a special one since it is on the 2nd. We actually marched on the 2nd when we were there. The coolest thing about that was we got to go to the Disneyland New Year's eve party which most of the time, the band's didn't get to do because they had to be lined up at 5 a.m.  I will never forget that trip and I sit and cry through the parade because I am so darned proud of the fact that we still have young people out there willing to work their tails off to get to do this. There is always hard work not only in the preparation for the parade but in the raising the money to get there. People, this instills that work ethic at a young age that employers want for the rest of their lives. It makes you realize things worth having are worth working for. And the things that you work for are so much sweeter than the ones that are handed to you. I washed a heck of a lot of windows and cars, raked tons of leaves, and cleaned plenty of houses to get there but we did it, even when things were tough at our house.......and of course, there were a few special people who would put money in a birthday card and say, "Just think Roses until January". I didn't mean to get on this but the day we found out we were going, I called my mom, I could hear the worry in her voice of how we would pay for it. I promised her I would do everything in my power to raise my money and I did. Anyway,  I think that was the first time I really saw what I could do if I set my mind to it and as I said above, it was a life lesson that has served me well.

So, Happy 2012 everyone. One of my goals is to blog more. I have had several people tell me they want me to share some of my organizational secrets, money-saving tips, and craft ideas. I am still trying to figure out if I want to do that or not. Yes, I like the fact that I do my menus a month at a time, use coupons for everything I can (I saved $13 on our trip because of coupons), and love when I come out of the grocery store with a full trunk and have spent less than $50 but I don't know that it is everyone else's cup of tea.

Happy Monday everybody!