Saturday, January 7, 2017

Holiday blessings!!!!

December 2016: 100 PLUS bessings of the season, In no particular order!

I realize that this featured blog is more for me, then most readers, so I beg not to bore you. 
 This whole month has been about friends, family and enjoying spending time with those people I love!!!! I am....incredibly BLESSED!
Blessing #1: Kelly !!! Look at this pretty lady who came and spent some time with me early in December. Her son was visiting from Florida and came to spend the day with us.
 I became friends with Kelly when I was 20 years old. We worked together for NY state.  Here is a picture of us about that age.
Blessing #2 We have been blessed as friends for nearly 27 years.


Blessing #3. Happiness! I am truly a happy women. It reads all across my face.
 Blessing #4. My daughter (below) does our make up using the art of contorting.
Blessing #5. My beautiful daughter spending time with her mother and her mother's friend. There was a time when I thought she and I would never get along.
 
Blessing #5. Make Up!!!! Thank you Cover Girl!!!
That Sunday I was blessed with two more of my amazing friends.
Blessing #6. Renee. A truly amazing friend who became a friend through marriage. Blessing #7 Yep she married one of my childhood friends and Blessing #8.they live down the street from me.
Blessing #9. She now works with me too!!!! 
I had a Holiday card workshop,
Blessing #10 Mary! I have know her since college. That was also about 20 something years ago too. She and I lived together when she met her husband Brian. Blessing #11, She introduced me to the LOVE of scrapbooking and blessing #12. one of my besties Tammy. She may even have introduced me to my Blessing #13. Close to my Heart friend Sandy.  
I had not expected Mary to show up for the work shop.
Blessing #14. I am blessed by her surprise and  Blessing #15 the consistent friendships that these two wonderful ladies have given me. (even continuing to purchase CTMH items when I know their closets are full.)

Blessing # 16 As blessings go, I am pretty happy to say I have been blessed with the ability to craft. Or at least the enjoyment of craft. Here is my gift exchange wreath I made. Not bad if I do say so myself. First time ever.
Blessing #17-I also am very blessed to  have known the day of an 80's hair doo. Perhaps not quite as tall as the days of my youth, but damn I do have some pretty AWESOME hair,...blessed again,
Blessing #18
Blessing #19 Had a few good hair days in December!!!
Blessing #20 and yet another!!!!

And speaking of hair... we have all been pulling ours out in preparing for the Home and Community Based Services project that NY State has rolled out!!!!!
Blessing #21 I have such great co-workers to go to an all day training with me in Utica all about the HCBS!!! and look were all smiling.  Blessing #22. We are all blessed to have an employer who thinks its important for all of us to continue to learn and grow.
Blessing #23  Subs from Jimmy Johns for lunch.
Blessing #24...and desert from the Italian Pastry shop!!!!


Blessing 25...and more deserts.
Blessing 26...and more.
Blessing 27 and some honey balls too.
Blessing # 28 whats in the white bag!!!! Oh I truly have been blessed with Yummy sweets...one I could even share.
Blessing #29. Being able to share (I gave one to Melanie no picture) with friends.
Blessing #30. My cream puff was INCREDIBLE....and blessing #31.it helped to make the conference go by faster.


One day during December we got this incredibly bad SNOW day. It was a complete white out. I had never been so scared to drive as you could barley see in front of your face.
Blessing #31I was so blessed to arrive home safe and sound.



 Blessing #32. I CA all of my appointments that day. It could have been a dangerous driving day, and someone may have been hurt.
Blessing #33. I was fortunate enough to be behind someone with good taillights and a good sense of direction to drive home behind.
Blessing #34. All of my family made it home safe and sound.

Blessing #35 and look who was clearing the drive....

Blessing #36 as I was sitting all snug next to a warm fire, (Blessed for sure).

When all that snow finally settled.... Blessing #37 we were blessed with these beautiful days...and blessing #38. the roads were clear....


(These were taken at Christine's house after the Close to my Heart Holiday Party.  )


and blessing #39 At least one beautiful sun attempting to shine.


We had a secret Santa at work this month. Blessing #40. My secret Santa got me these cute little owls. (AnneMarie)

Blessing #41. I even got gifts from non-secrets. Blessing #42. Hot chocolate and a bear claw!!!
Blessing # 43. I got a ton of Holiday cards from my friends and some family. Blessing #44 Every year my Aunt Shirley sends me a Christmas card with an update on her Grand children. #45. and a thoughtful scripture reading.

Blessing #46 I held a Ladies night and some of my favorite people showed up. Doreen, Kellie, Mindy Renee and Mary (She got cut off.)

Blessing #47.Mindy. I have known Mindy since college as well. She married my childhood friend Carmen, She is incredibly sweet.
Blessing #48. Good times, great laughs wine and of course food!!!
Blessing #49. Butts!!! No not really. I am blessed with silliness, laughter and fun, I believe Kellie took this picture of her elbow to look like a butt!

Blessing #50 Doreen. I met Doreen through a friend, who was once married to my high school sweetheart. (Crazy hun!.) Doreen is who I think of when someone says "Girls Night." My very first Girls night was held at her house some 5 years ago shortly after we met.
Blessing #51. Kellie. I met Kellie this year through Doreen. She is a TRIP. Her humor is contagious.


Blessing #52. I can see!!! For as much as I complain about having to wear my glasses. I am blessed to have them when I need to see. (Which is apparently only about 10% of the time, as I never seem to be wearing them.)
Blessing #53. Employment that I enjoy and new found friends from that employment. 
One evening a bunch of us from work met out for dinner at The Copper top restaurant to celebrate the Holidays.
Blessing #54. Stacey. I met Stacey at my current job. (I met all these wonderful people at my current job.) She is the sweetest person. Her work presence is calm and direct. I love that when I am a "SPAZ" I know she will have a "method" on how to address any situation,
Blessing #55 AnneMarie. She has the biggest heart, She is always going above and beyond for her clients and friends.
Blessing #56. Marquita. She no longer works with me, and I don't see her to often, but she is smart, witty and always has a good comback.
Blessing #57. Tracey is another work friend. She is a good confider and honest. She'll tell you how it is.
Blessing #58. Duyane. He too no longer works with me. All I can say is he's a hell of a guy!!
Blessing #59 Mixed Drinks.....YUM
Blessing #60 Mixed drinks with Marshmallows. Yummier!

Blessing #61 Good times. 

It was so nice to spend some of the Holidays with great people!!!!

Blessing #62 The Turing Stone Resort and their FREE nights!!! Mark had booked an overnight mid-week for the two of us at the Turning Stone.
The two of us enjoyed a romantic evening with some gaming, a big meal at the Buffet, and holiday decorations before we headed to the pool for some warm bubbles and a stress free evening.
Blessing #63. Holiday Decorations. I LOVE the lights and the bulbs!!!


Blessing #64. My AMAZING Husband!!!! Do I need to say more? He is THE best thing that ever came into my life and my biggest BLESSING ever!!!
Blessing #64 It was such a blessing just to RELAX and UNWIND during all these busy, cold pre-Holiday weeks.

Blessing #65. My job!!!! After all the employment changes I have made in my lifetime, and all the schooling I have under my belt, and all those previous jobs I HATED to go to...I am so very blessed to have the job I have now! I love my job, I love what I do, I love my co-workers, I love the flexibility my job offers, I love that I can be out in the community on a regular basics, I love that I play a part in my clients life.....  And a Holiday party to boot!!!!

Blessing #66 Smiles of happy faces. 
Blessing #67 Shelly!!! She is simply the sweetest. She has a HUGE heart and goes beyond her job expectations to help those with limited advocates!!!
Looks like some pretty happy people here too!!
Blessing #68. Stefanie she's  blessing too! Isn't she just the cutest!!! She makes sure we are all on top of our paperwork!!!


Blessing #69. FOOD!!! Wonderful FOOD!

Blessing #70...and a desert table!!!

More of my Great Co-Workers!!!! Of course I have to be the goof ball!!!



Blessing # 71. Dan and Jen. Dan is always ready to make you laugh. Jen is insightful and kind.
Our Holiday Party was Yummy and what GREAT company...both the people and the agency.

Blessing #72    Close to My Heart Holiday Party.
I am so blessed to be a part of the Close to My Heart world. I became a consultant several years ago because I love to CRAFT!!! Despite my poor sales and that I simply keep my status only because of my own addiction to the supplies...I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my TEAM the most!!!
link to my site.
wendyb@closetomyheart.com

I am so blessed to know each and every one of these AMAZINGLY TALENTED WOMEN!!!


Blessing #73. Kate and Laura. Kate is so supper FUN!!! She makes me laugh, she makes me think, she is a great one to confide in! 
Laura is super fun too! She is incredibly tender hearted and kind. 

Blessing #74. Judy!!! Judy will always remind me to count my blessings!! Words to live by can be found from this wise women. She's a little coocoo too...which makes he even more enjoyable.
Blessing #75. Lynne and Christine. So they are like AMAZING!!! I started CTMH around the same times these lovey ladies did. (although I am reminded especially at the holiday party gift exchange...that I quit and came back...which means my choosing of gifts gets sooner...and less time to find the best one to steal. ) Lynne is so bright and talented! She makes amazing cards.  Christine is incredibly talented to and she is simply so silly!! I love them both!!!
Blessing #76. Shelia! Fun loving and carefree!!! Spirited and impressively talented.

Blessing #77. Sandy!!! The Mama of all us CTMH babies!!! Sandy is the beginning of my CTMH trail and upline to my business. She is not only a business partner, but a trusted, and deer friend.


Blessing #78. AMAZING WOMEN and ONE CRAZY SLEEP OVER FULL OF FOOD< GIFTS< CRAFTS AND FUN!!!!



Blessing #79. Can I not get a great big BLESSING FOR FOOD!!!! Our dinner was delish!
Enchiladas, salad and tator tot bake.

and.;.....adorable little tea cup deserts!!!







After dinner it was soon time for our gift exchange. The annual Holiday Party gift exchange is the one thing we all look forward to every year, It must be homemade and people can STEAL your gift. I had these beautiful ski's for decoration made by Kate first before it was taken a few times.


Laura's up...
Taken by Judy....
Shelia got my gift!!!

A one point I was holding this beauty made by Lynne....then she stole it for herself!!! Hey!
WOW!!! What fun
Laura got the last gift of the evening.
It was Sheila's four seasons paintings.


Here is everyone with their gifts...Sandy got the skies.
Lynne got her wooden frame.
Kate got these amazing cards made by Christine.
Judy got this cute photo album made by Sandy.
Christine scored this beautiful table runner made by Judy.
...and I got this incredibly cute apron! YES I LOVE IT!!!
Blessing #80 More GIFTS!!!!
Blessing #81. SNOW!!!!

 yeah!! I hate that white stuff when its on the roads and making my car slip and slide..and I don't really enjoy shoveling or just HOW cold it can get....but it sure looks beautiful!!!




Blessing #83. Can you guess? Its more Food!! We had a yummy breakfast the following morning of Angle food cake french toast, fruit and sausage, egg, hash brown cheese bake. Oh yeah and how could I forget!!!
Blessing #84...COFFEE!!!  in a tiger cup no less! 

Blessing #85. These very adorable gift tags made by the CTMH gals.
A few fun/silly pictures before we ended the weekend fun!













Blessing #86. My AMAZING Team!!! oh yeah and a breakfast celebration at Stella's was pretty awesome too!



Blessing #87. Barbara. I know this beauty since high school. Her generosity is abundant!!!! Her heart is BIG!!! Always a smile on her face. Love ya Barb!!!
Blessing #88. Kelly (with Stacey who is still a blessing.) I was not all to excited to hear we were getting a new supervisor last year...nope not at all. I still miss Molly, but none can compare to the blessing we all received when Kelly took her spot!! She is the BOMB!!! What a great boss! I love that she is always available...shares openly...and (at least not yet) hasn't had me committed to a straight jacket with all my crazy tightly wound nonsense. She is AWESOME!
Blessing #89 Becky!!!
Blessing #90.
Blessing #91. Sandy!

Blessing #92. More Gifts!!!


Blessing # 93. Turning Stone Casino and resort! Okay...so we have gambled there quite a bit over the years, But look at all the fun we had. We were blessed this evening with these Amazing Gingerbread houses... totally 100% FREE evening was spent at this resort one Thursday.










Blessing # 94. Mark and I had a FREE dinner in the VIP room with complimentary beverages. 


...before we headed to the events center for this AMAZING concert!!!

Blessing #95.We were both were blessed with an Incredible rock and roll show with great seats too!
Up first was this amazing band Frankie Perez and the Truth.

I had never heard of the band, but the music was pretty AWESOME!!!!

Great Energy and as an opening act, they really got the crowd going!!!
Then the featured band. Kings of Chaos!
This is a band that has multiple members from many of the famous groups I grew up listening to. Apparently who plays changes some of the band members included big names like Slash, Joe Elliot and Steven Tyler

















Tonight's show featured Robin Zander from Cheep Trick, Billy Gibbons from ZZ-Top, Chester Bennington from Linik Park, Billy Duffy from The Cult, Steve Stevens from Billy Idol, Matt Sorum, Duffy McKegan and Gilby Clarke from Guns and Roses.
(I think I got everyone)
It was a fantastic show!!! I love Robin Zander and Cheep Trick....but best personality on the stage had to be Billy Gibbons...there is a face under all that hair!!!

As the Holidays got closer...even the dogs got into the season.

Blessing #96. Riley!!! Admittedly he can be a pain in the arse....but I LOVE this dog!!
Blessing #97. Peanut! Perhaps an even bigger pain in the arse...but he's my baby!
Blessing #98. FREE MONEY!!!! Mark had won $500- free play at the Yellow Brick Road casino! he and I went out one evening to play it! He basically walked home with about $500 for free in winnings!
I took a picture of the tornado. In the center is a money machine. We watched as a women collected the cash and gift cards that flew around her. (We didn't stay long enough to hear how much she won.)
Blessing #99. Comforts of Home on the Holidays!
My poor tree is like 20 years old. She's looking rough! We decided to donate her after the season this year for an upgrade in December next year!

Blessing #100. Chanuka! My Husband was raised Jewish, so we got to celebrate both Christmas and Chanuka.

Blessing #101. Bubbe. My mother in law. I am grateful to her for raising such an amazing son. She has been a wonderful blessing to our family.

Blessing 101. Clean clothing and a man who does the LAUNDRY! Look what Mark got for Chanuka. Yep its true he is my laundry man!!!
Blessing 102. Gavin! My youngest child. So blessed am I to have such a sweet son. He is talented, soft spoken and Independent. Maybe even a trend setter with the black hair and dark clothing. (I say that sarcastically as all my other children( except Ben) dyed their hair black, Nick and Gavin could look like twins at that age.)
Blessing #103. My belief in God! Church service. 
After a Jewish Holiday on Christmas Eve, (Does that even make sense to say?) I went to Church. I bought myself a new Bible too for 2017!
Blessing #104. Saving Money!!! I have decided upon a few resolutions as the new year approaches and I plan to SAVE money with coupons. I was quite aggressive in this in my past, but have slacked a bit over the last few years...Time to GET MY SWAG back and save a few dimes. I made this little coupon book to help keep me on track.

Blessing#105. Christmas morning. I simply love Christmas morning. Time with family, gifts, and food. Who can ask for anything more? As I get older and my kids get older too, Christmas morning has not been like it used to be. This Christmas we didn't even start getting excited about the day until afternoon. I think Gavin got up about that time. Since he is the only kid really still at the house and Ben is in Florida. Gavin got the Santa gifts that were under the tree. The one thing he asked for this year! Rock Band!


Here is the little ROCKER!!



Blessing # 106. Chicken wing dip made by Renee in bed on Christmas morning. I was blessed by a special treat. Renee had given me some of her homemade chicken wing dip, Mark and I  enjoyed Chicken Wing dip in bed while watching tv Holiday movies. (The Christmas Story) It cannot get any better then that!

The dogs got their Holiday gift too! My big gift this year was a Sony music box. Now I can play my music LOUD! 







Blessing #107 Nick and Alexis. Nick my first born. He has become an incredibly responsible adult. I am so blessed by his kind and big heart!
Alexis my only girl and sick on Christmas. She is definitely my daughter...Crazy like that!
Sibling LOVE!!! Missing Ben. :( sad face.

Blessing #108. Family.
We had Christmas at my parents house. Family, gifts and food. Then it was time for the GIFTS!






Blessing #109. My uncle Scott, My Mom and My Dad! What can I say my parents did a pretty good job. Look at me. Just kidding. My parents have been my rock and biggest support. Love them to pieces. My Uncle has been a new addition to the family get together's and what an added blessing that is!





















and some Chocolate too!






Blessing #110. My husband! I have been so blessed to have this incredibly compassionate, supportive and tolerant man as my lifetime partner and soulmate. Each day I am blessed with him in my life. 
We have 15 years of marriage on Jan 1st 2017!



So there we have it...all my December blessings all rolled up into one very long BLOG space! Of course I am so very blessed every day with those people I have been fortunate to surround myself with. God has filled my cup to the top! I know I have so many more blessings and my list could go on. As I enter into 2017 I want to remember every moment simply how blessed and grateful I am to the incredible life I am living.
Thanks for sharing in my blessed existence!

Happy Holidays!! Happy New Year and May God Bless you!!!