HELLO JANUARY 2011!

I'm finally blogging again.  For the last hour, I have been remembering why I haven't done this since I've been home from Ethiopia.  When we got back into the country, Alan decided that he wanted to get us onto a new phone/internet service.  Consequently, the old email address that belonged to this blog as well as the IFIE blog was discontinued and wouldn't let us put on new posts, a fact I did not know until after it was done, and I was very irritated when I found out.  It is hard enough to do all of the blogging without having all the passwords and usernames discontinued.  For some reason I have to go through some ridiculous amount of security and agree to view unsecure images and then I still can't blog on my computer.  Alan's computer does better - it will let me blog, but I dislike INTENSELY his picture manager.  On his computer I can't find pictures once I get them downloaded, and the download is ridiculous too, so that has been prohibiting me from doing this.  However, since it is Jan. 1, 2011, I woke up this morning with a renewed desire to post a blog, until I ran into the same old blogging problems, and then when I had pitched a big enough fit, Alan decided to help download the pictures onto his computer and take a look at what is creating the hang-up on mine.  I'm sure my computer has been infected with another virus that affects my googling abilities (which are somehow connected with my blog sign-in), and I think it might have to have hard-drive brain surgery.  So now you know why.
    Oh wow, I'm glad I got that off my chest, except I'm still irritated about it and just now I had to leave and go upstairs and stand in my closet because I had a hotflash which was brought on by the blogging frustrations.  Also, unbeknowst to me, Alan turned up my side of the mattress heating pad last night, and I wasn't smart enough to realize it was on last night, so I  think I had a nine hour hotflash last night that fried my upper right shoulder blade muscle into a knot.  Can that really happen?  Probably not, but that's how it feels.  I need HELP!  I need a MASSAGE!  I need to go into the hospital along with my computer for BRAIN SURGERY.  AHHHHHH!  Apparently the hotflashes have not gone away.  I even had a hotflash while cooking breakfast this morning and honestly had sweat dripping down my face.  I need HORMONES. 
OK, now I need to focus on what I was really going to post about, which is the weather, last night's big party, and my New Year resolutions ( I actually have some).

We started to have some of that crazy snowy weather mid-week and by Wednesday night we were having a full-fledged blizzard.  North wind blizzards are terrible and it roared and howled all through the night.  Luckily, Camille's family had taken a window of opportunity and took off early on Thursday morning in order to get back to So. Cal. by the New Year.  Good thing they got out of here.  No one went anywhere on Thursday, I should say no one with a brain went anywhere on Thursday, because there were some people who did try to get down our road.  Alan got a phone call right during dinner asking him to go up to the Hugginsville corner and pull someone out.  He ended up pulling two cars out.  Then he came back down the road and saw someone stuck in front of Kent's house, but they were getting help.  The next day, New Year's Eve, Alan went out on the road, just after the wedge went up the road and shot this video. 

Alan in the Maxima on January 1, 2011.  He was driving and filming at the same time.  Crazy man.  The rotary plow came up the road last night so that there are two lanes of traffice now.  I'm thinking some of you can't wait to come and visit us here on the farm.  You know January is one of the more exciting times what with our snow and blizzards.  We think there might be just under three feet of snow out there.

In the picture above, you can see that the swags on the fence with the red ribbon bows are all but buried.  We're going to have a hard time getting those out any time soon.  Below - the aftermath. 

A few pictures of Christmas morning when the kids came over after opening their gifts from Santa.  Somehow Santa had left some presents for Leah and Lily at my house.  Santa better get things straight. 

Here is a picture of what I did yesterday - I cleaned up the frontroom and tried to erase all the decorations of the season.  Somehow I feel renewed and peaceful and happy when I can get all of the Christmas decorations put away and once again see my carpet and walls.  It feels a little bare, but I like it.  This room definitely needs a  remodel.  YEP, big remodel and updated look.  That fireplace needs to go - I know I'll probably get a lot of flack from the in-laws, but Luella remodeled and so can I.  We can do it, we can change.

My Amaryllis bloomed in time for Christmas.  It is beautiful and I now have four full blossoms and the second stalk is blooming too.  I love this deep red color.  Do you know, I saw Amaryllis growing and blooming on the sides of the roads in Ethiopia.  Of course, why not?  isn't it ironic that I live in a place where flowers have to be coaxed out of the ground and lovingly protected and cared for, and I love and appreciate them so much, while in Ethiopia hardly anyone cares for the flowers and plant-life which so abundantly bloom throughout the country.  It is unfair.

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who came to Alan's and my New Year's Eve party last night.  Ours seemed to be the party to go to.  We can't say thank you enough to all who traveled near and far to come and play our games and toast in the New Year.  In case you were wondering what that unsightly thing is between the bottles of bubbly, it is a pomegranate.  Did I spell that correctly?  Leah especially liked the white grape juice.

During the evening's competitions, Lily had some unsportsmanlike conduct and would fall on the floor and scream to which the only solution was to let her suck on her arms while the rest of us went on playing.  Kind of hard when you're in the middle of a tennis match and your partner has to suck on her arms.  She didn't make it past 9:30 p.m. and was soon sound asleep, which after all the going limp, thrashing, and wailing, came as a relief to the rest of the party goers and we were glad that we were put out of our misery and her too.   

A picture of the hostess with the mostest.

Some of our guests: Leah, Morgan, Andrew, Zack (who took a little break from his mission, and might I add that he looks the same as when he left), Zack's friends TJay, Bryan, and BJ, cousins Alex, Miles, Whitney, Miranda, Tenny, Banner, Hannah and my sister Jennifer also made it from Orangeville.  Oh, and Lana Lang and Clark Kent were there for the baseball game and our most special guest Mitt Romney came too.  I was so surprised when he showed up in the batting line up.  We played two baseball games, and I have to say that Whitney proved to be the biggest asset.  Two homeruns and one of them was out of the park. Alan's team won once and my team won once.  The tennis was completely different.  Let's just say, I have worked long and hard for that pro status, and even with the time off in Ethiopia this year, I dominated.  Some of our other events went in Alan's favor.  I confess, I am not a red-neck and do not want to be labeled as such.  Alan may lay claim to champion cow racer and I don't care.  I just enjoy racing from behind watching Alan on his mad cow crazily veering back and forth across the track,  plowing into scarecrow and hitting targets left and right.  Even handicapped while clocking Leah in the head with his gun he went on to blast away at balloons, coke cans, skeet, and invading martians and handily won the shooting portions of the events.  Alan doesn't let minor things like head wounds stop him from competing to his potential.

Yes, it was a fun night, enjoyed by all who attended and thank you once again for being our guests.

My New Year Resolutions:

1.  Welcome everyone to my home and make them feel so comfortable they don't want to leave.

2.  Make each  fast day a peaceful, spiritual experience with Heavenly Father.

3.  Always have good music in my home.

4.  Have special days with my daughter and her daughters.  That means TEAPARTIES!

5.  Prepare for a half marathon - I mean it. 

6.  Be thankful for my challenges even when I'm in the middle of them. 

7.  Help my other children from Ethiopia.

8.  Make that one quilt I've been meaning to make for the last five years. 

Well, I have other goals, but for now that will suffice. 

We hope you have a good beginning to the year 2011, and may you be healthy and prosper.