A day in the life of...

Tony, Morgan, and Sydney (Morgan's sister) invited me to go to CiCi's Pizza with them.  Cici's, the all-you-can-eat pizza restaurant, is one of their favorite.  When we got there they were so excited to find that they had a Tuesday special, all you can eat for $3.99...that is 3.99 plus the cost of your drink which is more expensive than champagne, but who is counting?

Before we go on, I apologize for the quality of these photos.  I used my cell phone and had no idea that the phone that handles calls crappily would do double crappy photos...go figure!

Morgan and Sydney sat across from Tony and me...

I'm not a pizza lover but to me, all you can eat at Cici's is very little!  I chose soup and a salad...

Sydney LOVED  the pizza...

I think Morgan did too!

Everyone had their favorites.  Morgan tried to get Sydney to try the one she liked best...

Sisterly love!

No one seemed to like the crust and before you knew it, it looked like they were playing Jenga with the crusts!

Tony seemed like he was having a good time too!

Ewwwww!

After pizza, the kids decided we needed to go to Goodwill. 

 I pretended like I did not know them for good reasons...

All of a sudden Tony called me to come and see what Morgan found...

A PINK Dyson!

We tested it and it worked great (just like a Dyson) and it was only $19.99!  I told Morgan I'd buy it for her for her birthday.  After that, she pushed it all through the store...

When she didn't have her hand on it, she had Tony Dyson sitting for her!

The kids had such a good time but I was happy to finally get them out of that store.

When we got to the house, Morgan and Sydney said good bye and left for home.  They live next door to each other and couldn't wait to get home and Dyson the floors!

Tony and I went to Andy's so Tony could help him move some furniture because he got something new, but that's a story for another day...

Now I'm off to see what trouble I can find...the rest of you go out there and be nice!

Talk to you again soon,

I love you,

Jan

Okay, Chris, I hear ya!

It wouldn't be hockey without a fight...right?

Mark's family has always been close but most of them live in the same area, visiting was easy.  Our little family was 45 minutes to an hour away so drop in company was unlikely.  We did most of our socializing in the summer at the river or on holidays.

Mark's death was a tragic reminder of how short life  and how unpredictable life is and just  how important family is.  They have all stepped in to fill the void in our lives.  They were there when the boys and I needed them and they are still there.  We get together often.

One of the things we've been doing is spending Thursday evening with Mark's brother, Mike, his wife, Michelle and kids Tori and Tyler.  This past Thursday was no exception.  The boys and I went to their house to watch the Penguins smash the Capitols and to eat pizza.

The pizza was excellent.  We all ate our fill before the start of the game.  We were ready, happy and a family...except...

There seems to be one problem child in each family.  We always believed it was Tony but now we are thinking it might be Tyler...

Of course, no hockey night, no matter where we gather, would be complete without a scrimmage, even if it is Mike and Michelle's family room...

And of course, no scrimmage, no matter how innocently it begins, leads to a good old fashioned hockey fight...

It gets pretty intense at times...

But any hockey fight that ends with the floor being mopped with Ovechkin

Can't be all bad, especially when we beat the Caps, 2-1!

There, Chris...an update, now get out there and hit the trail!

Love you guys, now go out and be a blessing to someone!

Jan

Invite your friends?

Sitting here on my bed, reading blogs and feeling smug.  Fans!  I have fans and friends I never met.  I have blogging friends who visit on a regular basis, almost as good as stopping by for a cup of coffee (remind me to tell you about my new coffee maker!)

I was feeling pretty smug as I went from blog to blog when I stopped by The Little Brown House where Sharyl was talking about winter coats.  I can dig it, or at least I could until she showed us the coat she bought herself when she got 100,000 hits on her blog in ONE MONTH!

Is that even possible?   I think that if you add the population of all the towns I've lived in, it would not be 100,000.  Seriously...

Seriously, very seriously, would I want 100,000 strangers staring at my family, seeing my son in a blond wig?   Would I mind if 100,000 strangers found out that I cannot swim? 

Nah...not 100,000.  I'd settle for half that.

 

Hey, I love you guys...all of you, so keep coming back, over and over...bring your friends!

Now since you have read all this,  I guess I need to reward you with a photo...

Now I'm going to see why the dogs are barking...

Talk to you soon!

Love,

Jan

 Giving thanks!

To be honest, I was dreading Thanksgiving this year.  Without Mark, holidays are hard even though I have enough good memories to last several lifetimes.  One of Mark's duties was to get to Mom's house early so he could help preparing the meal as well as his favorite duty:  carving the turkey.

We always celebrate Thanksgiving the Saturday after the holiday so everyone can spend the holidays with their 'other' families. 

This year...

Dinner was scheduled for 5:00.  I drove myself so I could have time to collect my thoughts and to pray. 

Yes, I am a one of those old women you see on your way to SOMEWHERE:   short, very short, so short that if she didn't have a little WV she wouldn't be able to see over the dash, grey hair, obviously alone in the car, but her mouth is moving, she's waving her free hand and nodding her head. 

I prayed that our family would enjoy being together, that we would count each other as blessings in our lives.  I prayed that all the members of my family would travel safely to Mom's and back home again. 

I did not pray for the turkey.

At 4:45 I walked into my mom's house and saw this:

Michael praying?

I stood there for a minute and saw this:

And this:

Hmmmmm....I was thinking this was the day we were having our Thanksgiving dinner.  I checked the dining room...

LOOKS like Thanksgiving...


Either by owner operator error, or equipment failure, the turkey was not done!


Andy and Tony amused themsves by playing coffee table ping pong:

As it got later and later, the desserts on the buffet started looking verrrrry good...

But before too many hours, no more than three and a half, Leslie anounced dinner was ready!

We no sooner swallowed the last morsel of food and the boys started clearing the table.  How wonderful!  They were being so helpful!  Then the truth came out...

It was time for dining room table ping pong!

First Andy played Tony:

And then Catherine played against Michael:

~sigh~

So many blessings, so many reasons to give thanks...so many prayers answered, so few ping pong balls!

I am blessed, now you (and you and you) go out there and be a blessing in someone's life!

Love ya,

Jan

Marsha, this one's for you!

I got an email from one of my favorite sisters-in-law this evening.  The subject line said BLOG and the email said, "It hasn't been updated in at least 5 days!"

So Marsha, instead of going to bed at a decent hour, I'm updating. 

I did not, nor have I ever gone shopping on Black Friday.  Heck, I hardly ever go shopping.  I hate to shop, but last week the boys took me shopping!

I bought a flashlight...

(No, I did not get a helmet.  "Locals" will recognize it as Tony's.)

I got a water bottle!

AND...

I got a new bike!

Eight speeds, hand brakes and a seat as wide as Ohio...

And it fits my bee-hind just fine! 

Look!  I can ride with one hand!  Next thing you know, I'll be unicycling.

Yeah, right!

Okay, Marsha, I'm going to bed now....ok?

Love,

Jan

Gutbuster?

Another first in my life:  my first cross country/trail  race.   This morning Andy, Tony, Morgan and a whole bunch of friends and relatives participated in the 35th annual Samuel Holland Gutbuster Race!

Now when I say race, don't think for a minute that I ran all that distance, up and down those hills, but please imagine that I gave it my best shot, up and over, down and out.  Actually, the walk from the car to the start of the course would have done me in a year ago, so I'm pretty pleased.

We started early, way too early for me, stopping for supplies (Gatorade and cough drops)

And once we got to the park, we had a loooong walk down to the start line!

Some of us went faster than the rest.  Once we got registered, we had to hang around for quite a while while they registered everyone.

We finally decided to take the after picture before, while all of us were standing:

The gang:  Andy, Heather, Wes, Tyler, Sydney, Morgan, Tony, Mike, Me, Tori, Kayla and Jim!

The boys ran the 4 mile course, along with Heather and Wes.  Morgan, Sydney and Tyler ran the 2 mile course, so did Tori and Kayla (we think).  Mike, Jim and I SURVIVED the 2 mile course, which is a personal best for us.  Another thing crossed off my Bucket List.

Now we're home, ready to shower and leave again, off on a quest for a turkey dinner.  This holiday feels strange to me, and I don't even feel like leaving the house, but in the middle of all the sadness and grief is that reminder that I am blessed and have much to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving to all you!

Now don't just sit there, go out and be a blessing to someone else!

Love,

Jan