19th Birthday.

Today, February 1, 2015 is my darling daughter's 19th Birthday.

I wrote her a letter and mailed it to her, but I'm afraid that it has not made it there in time, so here it is.

My Dearest Briony,

I know that I have said this before (perhaps in different words, perhaps in these exact words), but it warrants being said again, as a reminder.

The day that I became your mother was the greatest day of my life. I was so worried about becoming a step-mother, I read books and articles and researched so hard the months before I moved to Leicester. I wanted to do it right, and I wanted us to be a family. It took us some time, but that's exactly what we did become. The day that you first called me Mom, sitting in the car at the grocery store, asking “Mom, what's for dinner?” filled my heart with so much joy. I was so afraid that I had heard you wrong, so I pretended I didn't hear until you asked again.

You (and Cale) are the best blessings I've ever been given. Though there are things about the last eight years that I would change, becoming your mother is not one of them. Things have not always been easy, but that's life, everyone has hard times. The important things is that we came out the other side stronger than before.

I am so glad that I made the decision to move to Laramie. The year we had living together again was so much better than our weekly Sunday phone calls and Spring and Summer breaks in Virginia. We will always have our geocaching day trips, our cuddle time with Bearette, and our family dinners every Sunday with Cale. I wish that you were not so far away, but I have hope that we will see each other again for the important events in our lives. Because that's what family does, no matter the distance.

I love you more than words can express, and more than my heart can bear it sometimes. I am a better person with you in my life, a better person than I thought I could be. Being your Mother has been the most satisfying (and stressful and chaotic and terrifying) time of my life, but I wouldn't trade in this life for any other.

Love Always,

Mom.

XOXO.

I'm... Back?

It has been just over a year since I last blogged. I had not thought much about it at all until last week when I started composing an entry in my sleep. I must have woken up 10 times in the night, and each time I woke up from a dream about blogging. Weird, I thought, but perhaps my mind is telling me something, and perhaps I should listen.

Since deciding that I would indeed blog again, I have not actually done so, and that has bothered me. I have always been a person who enjoys writing, and perhaps this will be a good way to motivate me to work on my more important project, one in which I hope to one day publish and perhaps make a little money.

Boots, Brushes & Brew.

Today Sarah and I went to an event called Boots, Brushes & Brew.
 

We got brunch (catered by Altitude), all the supplies we needed, and instruction (and a cash bar!). I ate a little bit while waiting for Sarah to arrive, and treated myself to a mimosa.

As soon as I got my canvas, I got nervous that I was going to screw this thing up, but I am quite pleased with how it turned out, and am even planning a trip to Cheyenne soon to get some basic supplies myself. I thought that the start up cost would be expensive, but I only used four colours in my painting, and three brushes.

All the ladies were great, and we walked around and complimented each other on our variations of the original painting. No two were alike, that's for sure, but they were all amazing.

January 1, 2014!

January 1, 2013 involved an all day adventure with Heather, in which I discovered 31 geocaches. This year, it was snowing, and we were staying inside and warm. Until I got an alert on my phone, notifying me of a new geocache, that had been placed, and titled Happy New Year: 2014. Well, of course I had to go and find it! Briony and I bundled up and headed out. The description said it would be an easy find when there wasn't snow on the ground.. I didn't let that deter me. I headed out with my car snow scraper in hand, and found it after just a few pokes.

 I had to come back to the car to sign the log, because I couldn't feel my fingers, after just a few minutes in the cold wind.

Hard To Get Used To.

Never in my life have I experience temperatures, where my breath when I get in the car, creates ICE on the inside of my windshield, requiring me to actually SCRAPE off the ice INSIDE the car. It now looks like it snowed in here, and I have to say, scrapers are just not designed for the shape of the windshield from the inside...

Look At That Sunrise!

This is one of the many reasons I love this town.

Boxing Day.

Cale came over today to celebrate Christmas and Boxing Day with us. We had our semi-traditional Boxing Day Breakfast, with eggs, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon, and Yorkshire pudding with Bisto gravy.

The Crackers were kind of crap this year, but the crowns were awesome and gold!
Cale was of course more excited about his presents, which were heavy on the guitar supplies that he requested I get him, and of course, British sweets.

Christmas Day.

Today I had to get up and do kennels at work. The dogs were pretty good, but with every last kennel filled, it was not an easy morning.




I discovered the Bobby Sherman tune JENNIFER, via a record that Jenny got for me. I don't actually have a record player right now, but this prompted me to search and find it online. She also got me a travel bug that sticks to my car.


Briony and I did not start opening presents until after Noon. It was a small Christmas this year, due to the fact that she is moving to Wales in February, and won't be able to take much with her. I got her a couple small things, and vouchers to go out to dinner at her favourite restaurants.

The Countdown To No More Christmas Music!

I've been called a Scrooge a lot this Holiday season, and many others in the past. I don't like Christmas music, and very few people understand this. I don't mind some Holiday songs... in moderation of course. A quick Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, or Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer. I particularly like Kenny Chesney's All I Want For Christmas Is A Real Good Tan, or Montgomery Gentry's Merry Christmas From The Family. A new song that I heard this week is Stuck In The Smoke Hole Of Our Tipi, and it is quite entertaining.




I recently came up with this analogy of what Christmas music feels like to me... I feel like I've been hog-tied and put in the front row at church, and while you are preaching about Jesus to me, and all the prejudiced, racial hatred that comes with it (in my experience only, of course), I am being stabbed in the eyes with hot needles. This is how Christmas music makes me feel. I don't preach my anti-organized religion beliefs on others, but yet at Christmas, the music choices that are played force religion on me, and I don't like it.

Kenny (music only):


Montgomery Gentry (music only):

SRVC Christmas Extravaganza.

Today our office closed early, so that we could have lunch together at Mizu and then go shopping for a couple of families that we adopted.

It looks like it could snow soon.

One of my favourite boarders is with us this weekend. This is Max. He's my buddy!

This was my delicious lunch.

Alaskan Roll

 

We exchanged our presents for each other at lunch. My co-workers are so creative and crafty!

My favourite Christmas light decorations so far. If it didn't have the nativity scene on the dashboard, it would be perfect!