Holidays 2009
Instead of having the usual monthly photo set, I’m posting our holiday photos. Of course, the bulk of these photos are of Sophia. She thoroughly enjoyed her 2nd Christmas. Also included in this set are some of her Christmas portraits. Click on Sophia’s image above to view the set.
6 to 7 months
Sorry for the delay in updates and photos. This photo set is what everyone’s been waiting for – Sophia’s first Christmas. She did well and enjoyed opening her gifts, despite fighting a fever and an ear infection. Sophia is doing much better these days, learning to make different sounds and moving around a room (even though she crawls backwards). I’m trying to get back into the routine of photographing my little girl (since I went through an 11-day drought). As always, click the photo above to see more of Sophia.
Happy Holidays!
Season’s Greetings from my family to yours 
late Christmas
We celebrate a late Christmas with family (and celebrate Derek’s birthday as well).
Happy Holidays!
Season’s Greetings from my family to yours
(can also be accessed by the Happy Holidays link at the top of the page)
Stormtroopers Arrest Santa
Funny article.
“SANTA’S FACTORY, North Pole (Agencies) – An Imperial Stormtrooper commando broke into Santa’s Factory in the North Pole yesterday evening, killing an undetermined number of elves, arresting its owner and confiscating his sled.”
wish list update
With a baby on the way, I’ve decided to take down my wish list page. I don’t need anything for Christmas this year; it’s all about our baby now. If you’re wanting to get something, please save it for the baby!
'tis the season
To my family – we need wish lists! Thanksgiving is next week, and Christmas is just around the corner. Mine is posted here.
UPDATE – 12/1/07 – I’ve disabled the link to the wish list page. I’m not concerned about receiving gifts this Christmas. If you’d like, save for May/June of 2008 when the baby arrives!
holiday photos
Click on a thumbnail to see each photoset on Flickr.
And a video of my niece Victoria enjoying a gift from Grandma and Grandpa.
holiday recap
It was nice to have a bit of a break in NC. Always nice to spend time with family over the holidays. Unfortunately, my mother-in-law had to work each day (except Christmas, of course). The kids are growing up fast. D, the youngest of the 3, is now the tallest. They were pretty good this year and were pretty much occupied by movies and video games. It was unusually warm while we were there (70′s). At one point in time, we had the windows open on Christmas Eve!
We returned home after an all-day drive the day after Christmas. And on Wednesday, it was back to work. Now that it’s another long weekend, I hope to catch up on some things. I will be posting pics as soon as I get the chance.
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!
reason for the season
Click on the card for a special greeting …
holiday update
I love the holidays. It’s a special time of year; I cherish the time spent with family and friends. I love the music, the lights, and the atmosphere. What I don’t like is how busy it gets. (more…)
most wonderful time of the year?
Thanksgiving’s over. There’s 4 weeks until Christmas. Roughly 28 shopping days. Only 2 (gasp!) paydays.
Work is great. Can you believe I said that? It’s true. With the new helpdesk guys getting more comfortable each day, I’m able to focus on doing what I was hired to do back in September. I’m learning a bit more each day. Troubleshooting as an analyst is a little more challenging than it was at the helpdesk. But I like what I’m doing.
The holiday weekend was a busy one. CL and I enjoyed Thanksgiving at Ameristar Casino in St Charles. The buffet was very busy, but the food was very good. We also tried out some slots (came out ahead). CL worked Friday; I was off, so I spent it mulching leaves in the front yard. Saturday – we put up the Christmas tree and some decorations. Sunday – housecleaning (with some football in between breaks).
Monday night, CL’s employer is making a major announcement at a mandatory meeting for their employees. This announcement has unofficially made the rounds in the past week. Worst case scenario? She could be out of a job. Talk about bad timing with the holidays just around the corner. More to come after CL’s meeting.
Fan restores ‘Christmas Story’ house
If you’re ever in Cleveland during the holidays, be sure to stop by and see the house that Ralphie grew up in.
For Jones, the gotta-have-it item was Ralphie’s house — the one in “A Christmas Story,” the quirky film that’s found a niche alongside holiday classics like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Miracle on 34th Street.” Jones has restored the three-story, wood-frame house to its appearance in the movie and will open it for tours beginning Saturday.
wishlist updated
I’ve added a new section to my wishlist: Gift Cards. As I said before, this list is to give people ideas. If you feel the need to get everything on the list, please don’t. If you want to, then Thank You!
Please be sure to communicate to others in the family if you happen to get something from the list. Thanks!
wishlist
With the holidays just around the corner (I know, seems kinda early, doesn’t it?), I set up a wishlist for those of you who want to know what I want for Christmas this year. I temporarily disabled my Music page to make room for the wishlist. I used MasterWish since they provided a WordPress plugin to display my wishlist on my blog. The list is fairly new, but I will be adding a lot to it (don’t worry – I don’t expect to get everything; these are just ideas).
What’s nice is I can set the priority on each item to show how much I want it. All the items are linked to Amazon, but they don’t necessarily have to come from there; it’s just a reference point. By the way, I’ll be needing wishlists as well; believe it or not, I’ve started shopping. 
my new toy
Dell XPS M140
My new laptop arrived Friday! A very special “Thank You” to my family for this Christmas gift!
holiday recap
What I hadn’t blogged about for the past week and a half …
Thursday – 12-22 – “Friday” for us at work. Opened presents when I got home. CL got a new purse, D got a portable DVD player, and I got a new watch (among other things, of course).
Friday – 12-23 – Took Salem for a long walk, then to “camp”. He hated it, as did the rest of us. Flew to CT.
Saturday – 12-24 – Drove to NJ to see Dad’s family. Had dinner at the “white house” in Franklin Lakes. Returned to CT after midnight.
Sunday – 12-25 – Went to Christmas Day mass with Mom and Dad. Had brunch; my sister and her family arrived. After they ate, we opened gifts. Jasmine had a field day with her pile of presents. Everyone was happy; needless to say, I’m well on my way to purchasing my own computer
Monday – 12-26 – Day of rest. Rainy but mild. Took CL to Mohegan Sun; she made $.25! Picked up D and went shopping.
Tuesday – 12-27 – Mom and Dad took us to breakfast, then to the airport. D got sick after the first flight; he slept on our connecting flight from Charlotte. Arrived home around 6:30 pm. Got sick that night.
Skip to Saturday – 12-31 – Got sick again that morning. Went to Applebee’s for dinner (didn’t finish mine, but did ok). We played games and watched War of the Worlds; good movie, yet weird and confusing. Celebrated the New Year, then went to bed (uneventful).
Hope everyone had a nice holiday
Christmas 2005
Pics taken at home and in CT and NJ.
A mix of shots taken by me, CL, Mom, and Dad.
Posted on Flickr.
Click on the pic to see them.
flying is fun
We’re in CT visiting Mom and Dad for Christmas. Our flights were fine, although delayed. The flight out of Lambert didn’t leave on time due to short staffings and the lack of ice (?) on board. A small plane; the guy next to me was 6′ tall and took all of my leg room space. When we landed in Charlotte, our connecting flight to Providence was supposed to be boarding already. The airport tarmac looked like any mall parking lot the day after Thanksgiving (but with planes, of course). Our gate was D5, and they dropped us off outside E20. Remember the airport scene in “Home Alone”? We got to reenact the mad dash.
Luckily, the attendant at D5 (Jack from “Will and Grace”) explained that the crew was just arriving from Los Angeles, and we wouldn’t be boarding for maybe 10-15 minutes. A larger plane with more space and leg room (plus the flight was not full; CL and I moved to the row in front of ours). We took off 35 minutes late because they couldn’t find the guy to refuel the plane. What were they doing when they were waiting for our LA crew?
Anyway, we’re here safe and sound. It’s in the 40′s – a heat wave for the Northeast. We see NJ tonight, and we spend Christmas day at home tomorrow. Monday is a “whatever we want” day. We’ll probably just rest. We return home on Tuesday.
Til the next time … Merry Christmas
Happy Holidays!
We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Neil, Christine, Daniel, and Salem too!
Follow these instructions to view a nice Christmas greeting:
Click here to start.
Right-click on the “Now Loading…” for a small menu, and click on Play.
At the end of the greeting, your personal message will appear here.
If nothing loads, then you need to download Flash Player to view.
