Just checking in today...it's the first day I've had internet since I got off work on Friday! Our Christmas party went great on Friday night and we had tons of fun! I'll post pictures later when I am not using dial-up internet. Why am I using the dreaded dial-up, you wonder? My parents' live in the dark age and haven't ventured out past dial up. My mom claims that it is "so cheap" and they don't use it enough to matter. So, I am suffering through it while at home.
I got home today after helping out at Just the Thing yesterday and half a day today. From the looks of it, everyone in Columbia waited til this week to Christmas shop. We were CRAZY BUSY yesterday and today. 8 plus hours on a concrete floor yesterday and my feet were screaming when I finally got home.
Tomorrow we venture to the upstate of South Carolina to spend Christmas Eve with my mom's family then we'll be back in the Lowcountry tomorrow night. Can't wait to see what Santa brings!! My mom always goes overboard with gifts. I think she forgets what she has bought until time to wrap and then she has way too much. My friends say it's because I am an only child, which is probably partly true.
Anyway, I must go now before this dial up decides to freeze up. The computer is making funny noises. I promise to catch up on everyone's blogs soon! Merry Christmas, everyone!
Tuesday, December 23
Friday, December 19
Christmas Vacation has arrived!
One of the best things about my job is the paid vacation days we get at Christmas and the other annual leave that builds up to supplement the days I am given. This year, I am taking 2 days of annual leave on Monday and Tuesday and the University gives us Wed., Thur., and Fri. and the entire next week! How awesome- two whole weeks without having to get up and come to work!!
I am also taking a half day today to get ready for a Christmas party that WEG and I are hosting for our friends. So in about 10 minutes, it's Hasta La Vista USC- see you next year!
On that note, my posts will be rather sporadic during the break with traveling home, etc. Also, we do not have internet at our house, so access will be very limited.
I am definitely looking forward to relaxing for two weeks. I will be helping out at Just the Thing, a store that has locations in Columbia, Atlanta, and Athens. I'll be working in the Columbia store a few days over the next two weeks, but I enjoy that and miss retail, so it's not at all like work. (And it's extra money for my cousin's bachelorette weekend in January- can't really beat that!!)
So, to everyone- I hope you have a fabulous Christmas (or whatever else you may celebrate) and that God blesses you with good friends, good family, and good times during the holiday season.
I am also taking a half day today to get ready for a Christmas party that WEG and I are hosting for our friends. So in about 10 minutes, it's Hasta La Vista USC- see you next year!
On that note, my posts will be rather sporadic during the break with traveling home, etc. Also, we do not have internet at our house, so access will be very limited.
I am definitely looking forward to relaxing for two weeks. I will be helping out at Just the Thing, a store that has locations in Columbia, Atlanta, and Athens. I'll be working in the Columbia store a few days over the next two weeks, but I enjoy that and miss retail, so it's not at all like work. (And it's extra money for my cousin's bachelorette weekend in January- can't really beat that!!)
So, to everyone- I hope you have a fabulous Christmas (or whatever else you may celebrate) and that God blesses you with good friends, good family, and good times during the holiday season.
Blog help needed
Can someone tell me how to add pictures? I don't have this blog stuff quite figured out yet! Also...how do y'all get all those cute layouts you have? Mine is pretty boring! Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thursday, December 18
Tis the season to remember
Does it ever seem like you hear more about sad things happening during Christmas than during any other time of the year? Maybe it's just the fact that it's Christmas and things are supposed to be happy and joyful and sad times aren't supposed to happen, so when we hear about them at this time of year it makes them seem more profound.
Why am I rambling about this, you ask? No, I haven't heard about an unusual number of tragedies this Christmas- a few, but not too many. It's because I lost 3 of my 4 grandparents right around Christmas. Today is the 5th anniversary of my grandfather's death. Although he was in bad health, losing him at Christmas was especially hard. To make it even more sad, it was nearly 10 years to the day that we lost his wife, my grandmother. She passed away in 1993, a mere 3 days before Christmas. Talk about a difficult Christmas. The presents for her were wrapped and under the tree, her stocking was hung on the mantle, and out of the blue, she had a cerebral hemorrhage and died. I was 11 at the time. I, along with 3 of my cousins, was staying over at my grandparent's house that night. I will never forget what we awoke to that morning. My grandfather had found my grandmother in her bathroom, unresponsive. My mother did CPR, tried all she could, but nothing helped. To make matters worse, the ambulance got lost trying to find my grandparents' house in rural South Carolina.
This was perhaps the hardest of the 3 deaths of my grandparents, probably because of its suddenness. Here today, gone tomorrow. You just never know when the good Lord is going to call someone you love home.
That Christmas, my youngest cousin, 4 years old at the time, got a pretend phone in her stocking and tried to call Heaven to speak to Grandma. I refused to take the traditional family photo because it just wasn't complete without her. To say we were all shocked and confused would be an understatement.
When my Grandpa passed away ten years later, it wasn't as big of a shock, but still sad. However, I know that even though he was leaving behind a large, loving family, he was going to be with the one person he had spent every day for ten years missing like no one could imagine. So his death was a little easier to take.
However, it's never easy. I mentioned another grandparent I lost around Christmas. My Poppy actually died in 1993 also, but in January, 11 months before my grandmother. Although his death wasn't at Christmas, he went into a coma several days after Christmas and never woke up. Colon cancer claimed him, and his death was the first one I experienced that really affected me. My Poppy was wonderful. He always referred to me as "the baby"- mind you, baby had about 3 or 4 syllables in his Southern accent. As soon as I was out of diapers he would take me to get some sort of treat and then out to the farm to visit my Daddy. There was nothing I wanted that he wouldn't give me. To say he spoiled me would be an major understatement.
The world lost 3 great people when it lost my 3 grandparents. I get most nostalgic at Christmas because that's when the memories of their deaths is most poignant. So, forgive me for my long post on a somewhat unhappy topic.
Has anybody else lost loved ones during the Christmas season?
Why am I rambling about this, you ask? No, I haven't heard about an unusual number of tragedies this Christmas- a few, but not too many. It's because I lost 3 of my 4 grandparents right around Christmas. Today is the 5th anniversary of my grandfather's death. Although he was in bad health, losing him at Christmas was especially hard. To make it even more sad, it was nearly 10 years to the day that we lost his wife, my grandmother. She passed away in 1993, a mere 3 days before Christmas. Talk about a difficult Christmas. The presents for her were wrapped and under the tree, her stocking was hung on the mantle, and out of the blue, she had a cerebral hemorrhage and died. I was 11 at the time. I, along with 3 of my cousins, was staying over at my grandparent's house that night. I will never forget what we awoke to that morning. My grandfather had found my grandmother in her bathroom, unresponsive. My mother did CPR, tried all she could, but nothing helped. To make matters worse, the ambulance got lost trying to find my grandparents' house in rural South Carolina.
This was perhaps the hardest of the 3 deaths of my grandparents, probably because of its suddenness. Here today, gone tomorrow. You just never know when the good Lord is going to call someone you love home.
That Christmas, my youngest cousin, 4 years old at the time, got a pretend phone in her stocking and tried to call Heaven to speak to Grandma. I refused to take the traditional family photo because it just wasn't complete without her. To say we were all shocked and confused would be an understatement.
When my Grandpa passed away ten years later, it wasn't as big of a shock, but still sad. However, I know that even though he was leaving behind a large, loving family, he was going to be with the one person he had spent every day for ten years missing like no one could imagine. So his death was a little easier to take.
However, it's never easy. I mentioned another grandparent I lost around Christmas. My Poppy actually died in 1993 also, but in January, 11 months before my grandmother. Although his death wasn't at Christmas, he went into a coma several days after Christmas and never woke up. Colon cancer claimed him, and his death was the first one I experienced that really affected me. My Poppy was wonderful. He always referred to me as "the baby"- mind you, baby had about 3 or 4 syllables in his Southern accent. As soon as I was out of diapers he would take me to get some sort of treat and then out to the farm to visit my Daddy. There was nothing I wanted that he wouldn't give me. To say he spoiled me would be an major understatement.
The world lost 3 great people when it lost my 3 grandparents. I get most nostalgic at Christmas because that's when the memories of their deaths is most poignant. So, forgive me for my long post on a somewhat unhappy topic.
Has anybody else lost loved ones during the Christmas season?
Getting my feet wet
I have finally done it...created a blog. At first I was skeptical about what I would have to talk about. I have been a stalker on many blogs since I first started reading Blue-Eyed Bride's blog, but have become even more interested in recent weeks. Everyone seems to have so much to say, as well as great ideas, not to mention recipes! So, I decided to give it a shot. Forgive me if I'm not as interesting as I hope to be.
A little bit of background. I'm a 20-something Southerner, born and raised in South Carolina. I grew up in a tiny town of 700, literally plopped down in the middle of a giant cotton field. I love the smell of cotton in the fall- even the defoliator. If any of you live in the rural South with cotton fields, you know the smell, and yes, that smell always reminds me of home. I didn't go far for college, an hour away at the University of South Carolina- Go Cocks! And then I didn't go far when I got out of college either. After 3 degrees at USC, I am now on staff here. I love it (although the pay could be better!).
This blog will be dedicated to all of my rants and ravings, as well as every day ramblings about my life, including my boyfriend, we'll call him WEG and our dog, Abe- the cutest chocolate lab usually, but today I am mad at him.
So, that's all for my first post. My next one may be coming very shortly, as I have more to talk about today! Thanks for stopping by.
A little bit of background. I'm a 20-something Southerner, born and raised in South Carolina. I grew up in a tiny town of 700, literally plopped down in the middle of a giant cotton field. I love the smell of cotton in the fall- even the defoliator. If any of you live in the rural South with cotton fields, you know the smell, and yes, that smell always reminds me of home. I didn't go far for college, an hour away at the University of South Carolina- Go Cocks! And then I didn't go far when I got out of college either. After 3 degrees at USC, I am now on staff here. I love it (although the pay could be better!).
This blog will be dedicated to all of my rants and ravings, as well as every day ramblings about my life, including my boyfriend, we'll call him WEG and our dog, Abe- the cutest chocolate lab usually, but today I am mad at him.
So, that's all for my first post. My next one may be coming very shortly, as I have more to talk about today! Thanks for stopping by.
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