January 7

My sister arrived yesterday afternoon as she was boarding a ship today for work.  She and Josh return on Wednesday night, we'll have breakfast on Thursday all together, then they fly home.  We had lots of laughs and such a great time enjoying fabulous wine, snacks, delicious dinner, and yummy dessert.

Sadly our dad isn't doing well  He has been pretty sick for the last couple of days and believe he probably has a kidney infection.  The home care nurse comes tomorrow and will do a test so he can get some meds.  Later in the afternoon he has a doctor appointment that he wasn't well enough to attend this morning.  Despite my pleading texts and calls, he refuses to go to ER.  If I lived nearby, I'd be hauling his behind there whether he liked it or not!

January 5

Mark is busy all day referring lacrosse games in Solana Beach so I decided to do a little crafting.  Got the laundry going, dishwasher emptied, things tidied up as my sister arrives tomorrow afternoon (yeah!), and can now spend some time in my office guilt-free!

There have been so many cute ideas on several company blogs I follow that I chose to copy them.  Sadly, I am much better at copying ideas than coming up with my own.

This is by far my favorite one of the day's projects and love the details ...

This card reminds me of something my crafty girlfriend would make as she LoVeS aqua and red together- it's fun and makes a whimsical note card ...

There's something about this little turtle that makes me smile.  Perhaps it's because we have an aquatic turtle with a personality!

Last, this is the cover for the 2012 Christmas cards we received.  I started putting them into a book like this last year, love it so much, that I am going to continue the tradition.  It's fun to look back through and see friends' pictures, newsletters, and how the cards change.

Tomorrow I will be posting some pictures from my sister's visit  :o)

January 2

With Mark's help we were able to wrestle the last tree into its case and everything is taken down and put away.  Amazing how big it makes the rooms look when things are gone!

I am greatly excited as I just booked a ticket to see my best friend in February ... sort of an early birthday present to myself.  I didn't get to make a trip the last part of 2012 so am taking advantage of a great deal and going for a long weekend.  Will make going back to work a little easier tomorrow!

In an attempt to constantly annoy his cousin who posted a picture of herself with her golden, Mark took one to make his new Facebook picture!

January 1

As a new year begins, I am grateful to have my father doing well after suffering another heart attack the day after Christmas.  He is home now but, given his limited heart function, he was told to consider each day a gift.  My goal is to remind myself of that and take those few minutes to make a call, drop a note to someone, or simply ask how someone is doing as lives can change in an instant.  Much love to family and friends as we begin 2013.