Cool gift, and Heidi Pictures!

I am excited to report that Don purchased us partial season tickets to the Pittsburgh Pirates 2008 Baseball Season. I can not wait until the first game in April! I love the ballpark and hope that the Bucs have a better season this year than last.

Heidi and her boyfriend Michael are enjoying their visit. They have both fallen in love with the town of Weirton like we did. We spent Wednesday doing some after Christmas shopping and got some really good deals. We also visited Don at work and he took the kids on a tour of a C-130, and then took us all for the traditional Primanti Bros. sandwich. Thursday we saw "National Treasure - Book of Secrets" and Friday, since I had to work, Don took them to Pittsburgh to ride the incline and eat at Hard Rock Cafe (Heidi's favorite). Here are some pictures from this week:

Heidi and I spent this morning at the salon getting pampered and this afternoon we are all going down to Wheeling to visit Cabela's, have dinner and tour the Oglebay Resort Festival of Lights. Sure wish we had more time to show them around. It is simply amazing how fast the week goes when we have family visiting!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday JIMMY!

I can't believe my baby boy is 26 years old today!!! I hope you have a very Happy Birthday Jimmy, I love you bunches! This picture is of him in the first grade. He really looks a lot like me now, but in this picture he really reminds me of his dad. Hopefully he will send me some current pictures of him soon so I can post a picture of him at 26 years old.

Some of you have asked for more Disney pictures, so here are two more of my favorites. All of us with Donald and Daisy Duck at the Disney Vacation Club Member's Merry Mixer at Epcot, and the other is a picture of my Dad with his "Salad in a Vase" at the Nine Dragons Chinese restaurant in China at Epcot. Isn't that salad pretty and unique? It had asparagus, bok choy, carrots, Japanese radish and I think zucchini. It was served in this beautiful vase filled with ice and came with a side of ginger salad dressing for dipping.




Don and I watched the old black and white Christmas movie "Christmas in Connecticut" tonight and it was wonderful. We really enjoyed "It's a Wonderful Life" while we were at Disney, and we still have Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" to watch this weekend. We have a couple of Christmas parties this weekend also, and are toying with the idea of an afternoon at "Mountaineer Racetrack and Resort" on Sunday. They opened the remaining table games today so we can now play blackjack, craps and roulette!

My family is having their Christmas this weekend at my parents house and I wish we could be there to join them - maybe next year. Hope you all have a fun weekend and a Very Merry Christmas!

Home again, Home again.....boo hoo!

Not really, I am glad to be back at my house, but I miss my parents and Florida! The weather was fantastic while we were there. Highs in the 80's and lows in the 60s - perfect. We landed in Pittsburgh and were met with 20 degree temps and snow on Saturday....4 inches! I got my snow tires though and actually drove to HR Block this morning by myself. The roads were clear thanks to the rain that washed most of the snow away. Looks like the rest of the week will be smooth sailing. Here are some fun pictures made by Disney last week:




Had to battle Capt. Hook after riding "Pirates of the Caribbean", but seeing Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow made it all worth while! It was so fun to share Disney with my parents. The holiday displays were absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to finish decorating my house "Disney" style. I better get started...one week till Christmas and I am still putting up decorations! The good news is I shipped all the gifts today, so hopefully they will arrive before Christmas.

Jim Shore Artwork!

We are having a great time at Disney. Lucky me - when we checked in on Saturday Don saw where one of my favorite Artists was signing his work over at Epcot. I was so excited to meet Jim Shore, shake his hand and pickup some of his newer pieces and have them autographed.

My parents bought me the new Donald Duck Ornament, and the new Boy making a Snowman figure. I am so proud of them! After meeting Jim Shore we went to France for an awesome dinner and enjoyed great conversation and fun with my parents.

Sunday we toured all of the resorts and saw the great edible decorations. Loved this one at the Contemporary Resort made of all chocolate!

Last night we had dinner at Mexico in Epcot and rode the Soarin ride. Today is MGM Studios day and I am excited about seeing Fantasmic tonight. The weather here is beautiful - in the 80s during the day and the 60s at night. Will try to update more in a couple of days!

More Snow?!?!

Ever see that movie "Groundhog Day"? I feel like I am living that movie - I couldn't believe it when I got up this morning and everything was a thick blanket of white! I spent yesterday afternoon clearing all the snow off of my patios, walkways, driveway, etc. I get up this morning and it is like I never did it. This is going to get old pretty darn quick...what am I saying - it already is OLD! I love to see the snow, but the feeling of being held hostage in my home because I can't get out of the driveway is very depressing.

Gotta say a huge thank you to my son Jimmy, my daughter Heidi and friend Sandy. Jimmy called Wednesday while I was shoving the first snowfall of the season and talked to me the entire time I shoveled the driveway. Heidi called me yesterday while I was sweeping the snow and ice off all the walkways and patios. This afternoon Sandy called and kept me company while I shoveled the driveway from last night and this mornings snow fall. Cell phones are great and I really appreciate the company while I am shoveling!

Well, I am packed and ready to head to sunny Orlando! Beach Club Villas - here I come!
Can't wait to get to 80 degree weather, see my parents, have great food, and ride Mission Space! The last time we went to Disney at Christmas I was so excited to attend "Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party" on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom. I love the parade with the toy soldiers and Santa, and I loved seeing them blow all the fake snow onto Main Street - so much fun. WELL...we have tickets for this event next Tuesday night and when they start blowing snow on to Main Street I am headed to the "Pirates of the Caribbean Ride"! I have seen enough snow for now, thats for sure!

Working Girl...

I am so excited that I thought I would share my news - I interviewed with a very prestigious law firm in Weirton this past Tuesday. Got a call from the office manager this morning - I GOT THE JOB! I start work on January 14th. I am eager to get back into the office setting and make some extra money. The firm is 4 miles from the house so I will be able to come home at lunch to walk Lilo & Stitch. The lawyer I will be working with is a products liability/personal injury attorney - very interesting practice and I am definitely up for learning a different side of the legal system.

4:00 snow update...

Snow Shoveling....day one!

Yep....four inches forecasted to fall today between now and 5:00 p.m. This is what it looks like right now at 7:00 a.m.





We took possession of the snow blower last night, but since it is gas powered Don made the comment "Terry will never be able to get it started"...so guess what? Remember all the times I said "why would anyone SHOVEL snow?" I am getting ready to find out! I have snow duty today and I am desperately trying to think of a plan of action. My first thought was to just leave it and hope it melts, but the neighbors have warned us about driving on the snow in the driveway and packing it down into ice. My second thought was to risk the lawn and sprinkle the rock salt my daddy sent me to make boiled peanuts....just how much salt would it take though, I wonder? I probably don't have enough, and the truth be told I would rather have boiled peanuts than a clear driveway any how! Wonder if the peanut shells would have enough salt on them to melt the snow?! I could boil peanuts today and throw the shells out the third story window onto the driveway! Probably not a good idea, huh? Okay, my third thought is maybe I could bribe the snowplow guy that keeps driving past the house to make a quick run down the driveway? Personally I think that is the best idea yet! Especially since the jerk keeps dumping all the snow from the street into my driveway anyway...the very idea! Uh oh...the neighbor just drove out of his driveway without removing the snow - of course, it was Skip and I am suppose to remove the snow from his driveway as well as mine because he owns the snowblower. Hmmmm...Guess I better get dressed, bundle up and get the shovel, huh? The temperature is 24 degrees with a windchill of 14! Wonder how long it takes to shovel three driveways anyway? The worst part is it is snowing to beat the band. Even if I shovel now I will have to shovel every two hours or so to keep it clear....who asked for a White Christmas anyways?

2:00 snow update!

Lilo wouldn't come out of the house and Stitch just stood there with a confused look on his face! He stayed on the sidewalk and wouldn't step in the snow. It's still coming down and the winds are so high that Don cancelled flying for tonight.




Four days, seven hours, thirty-six minutes before I get to Orlando!

December comes with ice, snow and parties!

Saturday night we attended Don's office Christmas party in Pittsburgh. It was very nice, but was raining when we got there. There was a winter storm warning but it was not suppose to hit until 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Don and I left the party about 8:30 and the ice had already started forming on Highway 22 from Pittsburgh to Weirton. We had to drive 10 miles per hour and the car slid sideways twice! I was terrified! All these cars were pulling off the side of the road and stopping with their blinkers on. I couldn't understand why, as I was thinking the longer they stay there the more ice there will be. Well, after taking us almost an hour to get home driving 10-15 miles per hour we realized that those cars were waiting for the salt/sand truck to drive by and cover the road so they could drive safer...DUH! Now I know what to do next time. We were kind of worried about the big hill that you have to drive up to get to our house, but realized when we got to Weirton that the roads were dry. Just as we pulled into our driveway at home the sleet started.

Needless to say, I stayed home all day yesterday since Don had to work and I had nothing I needed bad enough to drive on the icy roadways. The ice melted yesterday as the high was almost 50! We got up this morning to 46 mph winds, high of 32 and low of 26 for today (wind chill 21) and this is what I saw when I got the paper:

It is still snowing and it is predicted to do so for the next three days! I will take pictures periodically and post them so we can keep up with how much we get this week.

Don and I attend the Palisades Drive Christmas Party next door at Bill and Jane's last night:


We had so much fun and got to meet another couple that lives across the street from us. Well I better get busy, I have three friends coming for lunch today and I have to get up with Skip next door for a quick lesson on the snow blowing machine!

I CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO ORLANDO!

ArtWork!!

Remember this dogwood painting that I painted in Sandy's class at Hobby Lobby in Georgia? I won second place in the district for the Greater Federation of Woman's Club, Weirton Council!

And guess what I did yesterday?! My neighbor Kay called me yesterday morning and said "If your not busy today, come over and I will teach you stained glass"...boy was I excited! I have always wanted to learn, but I knew if I got hooked that I wouldn't be able to afford all the supplies necessary to support my habit....well, guess what? I hope we win the lottery soon because I LOVE THIS ART!! My friend Ellen will be so happy that I finally learned to do it. I made this snowman and although he is far from perfect I just love him!



Cutting and grinding the glass was my favorite part. Soldering the pieces together is definitely going to take some practice to get right. Kay has invited me back this afternoon to learn some more and I can't wait!

Finally, time to blog!

I can't believe it has been so long since I updated my blog. I missed blogging about Thanksgiving, so forgive me while I "catch-up" on here. Don's Sister Darla, her husband Matt and their daughter Macy Kate visited us the week of Thanksgiving. We had so much fun and Macy Kate was a joy to be around. We did lots of cool things like shop, tour a C-130, make Christmas cookies, went to Little Switzerland in Ohio and saw the Christmas light display at Oglebay Park Resort. Here are some pictures of what we did:








Don got new office furniture during November, and boy am I glad.


This is much nice than what he started out with in his office! Now he is a little more comfortable and still is having a great time doing this job he loves so much.

Last Saturday was date night and Don took me high up on Mount Washington to a quaint little restaurant called the Georgetown Inn. We had a small corner table for two right in front of the plate glass window that overlooked the ENTIRE CITY OF PITTSBURGH at night! It was so beautiful, and of course my pictures didn't turn out to well:




After dinner we went to the O'Reilly Theater in Downtown Pittsburg and saw the play "This Wonderful Life". It was fantastic and put us both in the Christmas Spirit. We are so excited about our trip to Disney next week to celebrate Christmas with my parents. (not to mention getting back to 80 degree weather will be awesome - today the high is 37!!!) Brrrrr....

Speaking of weather, it snowed pretty good the Friday after Thanksgiving. Sitting in the sunroom on a snowy day is like being inside your own snowglobe! You have to click on the picture to make it bigger to really see the snow.



I took my final exam at H&R Block this past Tuesday and passed with a score of 96. Glad the class is over, and I will be ready to start working for H&R Block the week after I get back from Disney.

Have a great week!

Ohio State Buckeyes...and getting ready for Thanksgiving!

Don and I had a great time yesterday at the Ohio State v. Michigan Tailgate Party. We purchased a $50.00 ticket that included food/drinks for two and a draw down chance to win $2,500 cash. We sat with my friend Peggy from Anna Kay's Unique Fashions and her sisters Sue and JoAnn, her brother in law Bill and her great niece Jackie.




Me and Peggy








Don, Sue, Peggy and JoAnn

















Another one of Peggy and JoAnn

Anyway, a long story short, Don purchased some blocks on this game board (I forget what they are called, but you sign your name on any block(s) you want on this paper then they draw numbers that go down the side and top of the page. If the last number in the score of the game falls in your block you win the prize)we had 6 blocks out of 100 and of course...DON WINS...$150.00. It was so funny because the numbers we had were 4 and 3. In the third quarter with 22+ minutes left in this game the score is Ohio State 14, Michigan 3. Don and I were so excited because we had the numbers and we were just hoping the teams would volley the ball back and forth on the field with no more scoring. With only seconds left in the game Ohio State has the ball and we just know that like any GOOD SEC TEAM they will kick a field goal and the score will change, right? NOPE...good ole Ohio State doesn't want to rub it in so they take a knee and Don wins the money. Unbelievable! SO MUCH FUN WE HAD. We were happy to win the money and the room was happy that Ohio State beat Michigan. Well the Michigan fans weren't happy (there were two tables full of THEM), but they sure as heck were a lot quieter in the last half of the game! Then the draw down starts and although our ticket was in the last 50 drawn, Peggy's brother in law Bill was in the final 5. They pulled the five up on stage and they all agreed to split the pot $600 each. We were so excited that our table had won $750 Bucks!



Here is a picture of Bill and a young boy that sat by him last year at this event. I was so in awe over this child as he reminded me so much of Jacob!

Not much else to report from here...we have had snow flurries on and off all week. The Lowe's employees smiled when we bought a snow shovel yesterday and made the comment "I hope you don't need it". I do to, but I really don't think that is going to be the case. We decorated the O'Club on Wednesday night for Christmas along with the Wing Commander and his wife and the Key Spouse President and her family.

Don did a great job decorating the fireplace and putting a Santa hat on the flying eagle


















Col. Elwell in uniform, Jenna Johns the Key Spouse President, her hubby Chris and son Zachary.

Darla, Matt and Macy Kate are to arrive at any time today and we are so excited. Don is busy in the yard raking leaves, and I have corn chowder, mushroom brie soup, black eyed pea cornbread and brownies already made. A pot of warm boiled peanuts are simmering on the stove, and the snow flurries will probably start any minute.

One last but not least on this LONG post - HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Sandy. She is 40 today and looks awesome. Most of you know that Sandy was my painting instructor. This picture was made of us at Donna Dewberry's Super Convention this past June.

Happy Birthday Sandy - I Miss You!