We are bolting into 2010 and I still haven't wrapped up 2009 yet.

I hope that isn't how the whole year is going to go...
but if the theme of the Christmas video is right....

"Don't Blink"
....'cause it will be 2011 before we know it!

Anyway, as most of you know, our family takes turns with hosting Christmas.
Each sibling takes a year.
This year was mine and I had high hopes of doing lots of special stuff.

But, even tho Sandy is diligent in reminding me that Christmas comes on December 25th every year, I just can't seem to start early enough to ever get all done that I want to get done.

Hence my Christmas To Do List slowly evolved into the Christmas Fail Blog.

But, thanks to my sister makers and brother carriers and lots of nieces and nephews who pitched in and made and brought stuff we:

1. Did not starve

and
2. Had a great day together.

I didn't take a lot of pics (wait, what)?
But here's a few:
Vandercar's Winter Wonderland
before the storm

Special Treats from Maker Martha




Booby Trap Cookie Centerpiece
Darold sends a subtle message after falling into the Booby Trap
(they were ornaments, not cookies)
Enola wants an Asti Bottle

Making faces (Josh and Shel...crack me up) and telling stories!

two thirds of the "30" club
(never got one with Jamie)
Our Christmas Eve Baby turned 18!
....and Luke finds another thing to add to the Christmas Fail Blog list.
Sorry.

Directions to here:
Tune in next time for a recap of the grab bag and what will happen, thanks to your generosity.

Flashback vacation....

Susie and Sandy's vacation photos made me think of vacation all week.

Unfortunately for me, I was not on vacation.

But I was once.

and yes, sandy I wore a two piece too.

Directions to here:

and i was skinny once too.

So today is my official New Year's Holiday...according to the Half Price Books schedule.

So, Happy New Year!!!!

You can bet I spent the day....making lists upon list of all the great and not so great things I want and need to do in 2010.

There's a lot of projects on the list....

here's the short version:

okay, so maybe the list gets a little ambitious,
but I can't help but fall into the New Year trap of thinking that everything is possible...
as long as it's written down with a box next to it, just waiting to be checked off.

But before we get into all of that:

gotta catch up on last year.

Stay tuned for:

1. the Christmas List (a.k.a the Christmas fail blog)

2. Christmas Recap and update on our Christmas donation to Honor Flight and

3. the Ringing in of the New Year (the official one, not the fake Half Price Books scheduled one)

Gonna try to get it all on here soon, before the New Year's to do list glow starts to get snuffed out by reality!

Ringing out the old...

Saying goodbye to 2009

Directions to here:
Does anyone else remember putting pop bottles out in the snow to make them super cold?

Eighteen !!!????

Wait, What?

Shelby is 18 ??

Happy Birthday, Shelb!!

Flashback Friday...It's beginning to look a lot like...Dec. 25th

Apparently, Christmas is on December 25th every single year.

I can't seem to remember this.
I'm planning on making a plan,
to plan for this next year.
That's my plan.
But for now...it's beginning to look a lot like a
dancewithnance
Christmas,
round here.

The Birthday Sharers

Happy Double Birthday to the Birthday Girl and Boy!

Happy Birthday, Janet!

Happy Birthday, Taylor!

Flashback Friday...The day after Thanksgiving

Although I think about him a lot.

I think about him the day after Thanksgiving the most.

And this year, since Lowell went to State for football, he was especially on my mind.

Four years ago, I went to see my brother-in-law the day after Thanksgiving.
He had been in and out of the hospital and came home for Thanksgiving and was to go back in the next week for a somewhat simple surgery.

He was in pretty good spirits and we had a nice visit. His brother was there and it was no surprise we talked about cars. I told them both I had just discovered this little number and they both knew the year and exactly what I was talking about. From them, I learned the term "cat's eye" tail lights.

How fitting that my last conversation with him about his two loves:
His family
and
His cars

I left to go back to Indy to watch Lowell win the State football game.
They listened or watched it on the tv.

The next weekend, he slipped away from us...all very too soon.

My heart broke for my sister and family and I still wish they could have had more days and years together.

We miss you Junior....

Giving Thanks

Congratulations

Joshua and Adrienne

One more '79 er !

Happy Birthday, Sarah !!!

Directions to here:
I've been meaning to add this link forever.
Notice the link to Sarah's blog on the right with the rest!

11.11.11

No matter how many times I see this picture...


it always makes me proud to be a Veteran's daughter and sooooo glad we took that trip.

I am THANKFUL for and proud of all our VETS

This kid's been lighting up a room with that smile for 32 years!

Happy Birthday, Josh!

Flashback that Saturday +30 years to this Saturday...

This week's flashback...just came to me via a stolen picture from facebook.

O.M.G. !!!!

the woman that keeps nothing..
was caught on film, Saturday night, wearing a 30 year old dress!

Yes, everyone.
That is Sandy, wearing her wedding dress....30 years later.

Now, tell me.
Who do you know that can still fit into their wedding dress 30 years later?

Way to go exercise queen!

And 30 years ago she was the bride of Dave Vandercar:

Saturday night she went as the Bride of Frankenstein.

I got no comment on that.

Directions to here:
Thanks Cody V. for the pic!

Go, Go, Go Joe!

Happy Birthday, Joe!

have fun and don't forget to drive responsibly

flashback friday....those dimples

I recently posted a picture on facebook of me and our Turner cousin, Jane Sanders.

(for the geneology challenged (ie...Dave)...follow me here: Jane's Grandma (Jess) and our Grandma (Florence) were sisters. Jane's mom (Phyllis) and our mom (Helen) were cousins).

Phyllis and Helen also had something else in common...

they were both beautiful ladies with girlish dimples.

Both Phyllis and my mom had incredibly lovely smiles.

Jane and I are cousins, just like our moms.
Jane and I also have something else in common...

We inherited our mom's dimples.

I can't speak for Jane, but I love carrying a visible reminder of my mom everywhere I go.

And when I look at Jane I think of her mom (and also Aunt Jess, for that matter), who both, were always so very kind and sweet to me.

pretty great.

Eliza June

Great meets Great

and this Great says that Great is pretty Great.

Happy Birthday, ADAM !!!

Stranger Than Fiction...blame it on the rain.

TO THE CUSTOMER that called my co-worker a f-ing a-hole: you are uninvited;

TO THE CUSTOMER that dropped his books in a puddle in the parking lot and then got mad at us cause we couldn't give him money for his wet books: it's not our fault;

TO THE CUSTOMER who's last name was Butt (i am not making this up, it's on his driver's license): I'm sorry you probably almost always got picked on as a kid;

TO MY FELLOW EMPLOYEES AND MR. BUTT: take a deep breath and if that doesn't work, pop this vhs in the vcr:


TO EVERYONE ELSE: be nice to the people on the other side of the counter and be glad you don't work in retail.

October Sevens

Wishing there could have been more.

Flashback Friday...the other Sept. 11

I just had my review at work, which means I've been a bookseller for 9 years!

It was the year 2000 and I had just left a job that I thought I would be at for the rest of my life.
I was still numb over mom's passing and bruised from a lot of stuff that had gone on during the previous two years. I took the summer off and slept a lot and wondered just what was around the corner. When the money ran out, I asked myself, what have I always wanted to do?

The first answer was and still is:

Nothing.

I mean nothing that resembles work, anyway!
Seriously, the top answer is and always will be to wander backroads and take pictures of vanishing Americana and write about it and other random thoughts. And to make videos and tell stories, both mine and other peoples.
But, alas...no one was or ever is...gonna pay me to do that.

The second answer was and if one has to work, still is:
Work in a bookstore.

I applied at Borders and Barnes and Nobles, but secretly hoped for a job at one of my favorite huants: Half Price Books.
I still tell the story about how I knew that the "culture" of working there would suit me when my boss called to set up an interview with me and left a message on my machine saying "well, okay, honey....call me back when you get this."

The "honey" pretty much cinched it.

My first day was on Sept. 11, 2000.

Now, there are those who were skeptical:
My neighbor, ex-coworker and friend, upon finding out I got the job, said: "well, if you ask me, it's like an alcoholic working at a bar." And looking around at the state of my apartment and the amassing of all things written and recorded, I suppose she was right. But I don't recall asking her, anyway : )

Along with building the best book, cd and dvd library ever, the other perk of the job is collecting hundreds of movie moments and stories that come with working with the public and their stuff (we buy used merchandise from customers). Don't get me wrong, there are days when working in retail sucks. But those days and those customers, are usually outweighed by the priceless moments of experiencing humanity and all its quirks. When one of these moments unfolds before us, I often turn to my co-worker who is a film maker and say: " You can't write this and you can't cast this."

So far, this blog has been pretty silent about work stories. I usually save them for in person story-telling, but I find that I'm forgetting them, so in the future, I will try to preserve them here.

Directions to here:
The only thing I don't like about my job, is that it's not in Northwest Indiana!
Won't you go to halfpricebooks.com and send an email requesting a store in the Northwest Indiana area?

Bring it!