Happy New Year Y'all!!

Well...here we are. At the end of another year! Where does the time go? We are doing the usual...staying home where we belong! Jake's buddy, Damion, is staying over tonight and we plan to play games and make cookies. I got pizza for dinner to make life easy. I doubt we will make it to midnight. It's another quiet New Year's Eve at the Newell house! :)

Ketchikan is buried in snow and more snow is said to be coming. It's cold, too, and is supposed to get down to 20 degrees tonight. Brrrrr!! I must say, tho, that it is absolutely gorgeous here right now. Nothing is melting and everything is covered in white. I will post pictures later when I'm not on my laptop. For those of you on Facebook...I put pics on there last night. Enjoy!

I hope you all have a fun night! We are laying low...tomorrow we will enjoy another day off. Well, at least I will. Tony's been home on vacation for a while now.

Many blessings to you and yours as we go into this new year together. Bye for now~ Nan

Snow is a Four-Letter Word

OK. So anything I was going to blog about has been seriously trumped by the ridiculous amount of snow we got today. Everyone has been snowed in by 2.5 feet of snow that fell today...OK...I don't know if that's accurate but that is how much landed in MY yard and on my deck today! It's more snow than Tony and I have ever seen and my dear husband had to go out and shovel a lot of it. I think he was out there a total of 3 hours...maybe more. *Sigh* I feel we've left "Kansas" and landed somewhere in Anchorage! Anyway, Jake went out for a little while (broken arm and all) and didn't take very long before he was freezing and wet. He came in within an hour and never went out again! It is THAT bad out there!! His boots were full of snow...which I found out had turned to water as I put the boots on the "boot dryer" we so wisely bought this last summer. Whoever invented that thing is a genius by the way! :) Anyway, church was cancelled this a.m. and that has NEVER happened in all my years here that I know of. All the grocery stores were closed because people couldn't get to work. I mean...this is unprecedented people!!!! Can you feel my pain????? LOL!!!

We had a slight power outage as well which sent me into a cleaning/laundry frenzy when it came back on. I was just SURE the power was going to go off again at some point due to all the heavy snow on the branches so I was busy ALL DAY cleaning and doing laundry before that happened. It will probably happen while I hastily try to post this! Knock on wood!! :)

So, here's a few pics for you and the rest will be in a slide show I will replace the Halloween one with. Anyone who has lived here will agree this is NOT a usual snowfall for us. It's just CRAZY!!

The roads are so bad I won't be going to work tomorrow. Perhaps I will continue to update this blog!! Hmmmm...there's an idea that's perfect for a "snow day". LOL!!!! TTFN~ Nan

Our back deck...crazy, huh?

Notice Tony's car is completely buried over in the corner! We won't be using THAT car anytime soon!! LOL!!

Our Boy

Well...our December just wouldn't be complete without a little trip to the E.R. Yep...you heard me...the EMERGENCY ROOM!! The above pics were taken at the lake today...Jake's FIRST day of Christmas break...just before he fell and broke his arm. His left arm....for the 2nd time. *Sigh* It's just a fracture but it will need a cast. He goes back to the doc tomorrow and we may need to go to the Ortho. Anyway, just thought I'd take a few minutes after a very long day to let y'all know...all is WELL at the Newell house. PTL!!!!!! I'm just glad he didn't fall and hit his noggen or something. :)

More pics and updates later. I'm FINALLY getting my tree done tonight. It's ONLY the 22nd!!!! I am SO far behind!!!

Deep Breath~ Nan :)

This Will Make You Smile

Click on the link below to watch a video on youtube. It's awesome!! Enjoy.... Nan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

Update On Update

This is an update to let you know that I realize I need to update this blog. I have so much going on right now my head is spinnig. I'm sure you can relate. I promise to get pictures on here and a synopsis of what's been going on as soon as I can get to it. I figured once the singing tree was done I would have loads of time to work on this. However, that is not necessarily the case. Anywhoooo....I haven't forgotten about ya (mom) I am just trying to prioritize and juggle as best I can. I *did* manage to get to my pilates class last night and do some walking, which is a BIG priority for me right now. Not just for physical reasons but emotional, too. I am LOVING my pilates class now!! I was ready to quit the first day...LOL!!! :)

More later! Nan (Merry Christmas in case I don't get to this before the big day!!)

A Week In Pictures

Last Sunday began with church and an unexpected surprise. A gal I've known for years and no longer lives in Ketchikan was visiting with her new husband (whom I'd never met...) It was so great to see her and meet her new hubby! Her name is Trista and hubs is John...I didn't get the last name cuz I was too excited to see her. We worked together for a time at the OB/Gyn clinic back in the day...it was really nice seeing her!

We had 3 (it's a miracle!) days of clear, cold weather last week. On Wednesday, I went to work early and LO AND BEHOLD I could actually see the SUNRISE!!!!!!! This is extremely rare for me to see as it's usually either overcast and raining or the sun is up by the time I head in to work. I just HAD to stop and get a shot...I have a gazillion sunsets...but NO (until now) sunrise pics. What a blessing!! :)

Friday night found me and Shirley, my mother in law, at The Nutcracker. Jake's little friend, Grant, played Fritz...he did SUCH a good job and looked like he was having so much fun. It was fun to finally see him perform. He's been in ballet for quite some time. I think the girl next to him was Clara...not sure.

This is also a Nutcracker pic. This is Taylor...she played the Snow Queen and was amazing! I've known this girl since she was in diapers and it brought tears to my eyes to see how grown up she is now. That's Joe and Terie...her parents whom I've known forever. :)

NOW...the "piece de resistance"...this is ME getting a body wrap on Saturday. I lost 10 inches this day. It works!! What we won't do for beauty.......LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

My next post will be of Christmas party pics. They turned out pretty good. Until then...have a great week y'all. Love, Nan XOX

Who Knew?

That Pilates could be SO HARD?????? Yikes! Good thing I didn't know this BEFORE I signed up...I may not have taken this class. Mercy!! LOL!! Lord knows I need it, tho. I thought Yoga was tough...Wow! Who knew? Anyway...this class was much different than what I anticipated and I will have to really work to incorporate my regular aerobic activity in with it. This means MORE time at the gym...UGH!! Oh well...it's for the greater good!!! Ha! I've lost almost 20 pounds since October 1st and I am NOT giving up now. Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay for ME! And Tony is getting in shape, too. He likes to run 3 miles at a time on the treadmill at home...he is LOOKIN' GOOOOOODDD!!!!!!!

OK...enough bragging for now. What are y'all up to?

Hugs~ Nan

Long-Winded...Sorry!

Where do I begin today? It is December 2nd already and we are on the cusp of going into yet another busy, hectic, crazy holiday season. Heck...we are probably already there and I am just in denial! LOL! I am on the verge of feeling extremely overwhelmed. No matter how much I try to do in advance, I can not help but focus on what still lies ahead to get everything done in time. Throw in a birthday party for a soon to be 10 year old and you have the recipe for nothing short of a slight nervous breakdown. Oh!! And not to mention dieting on top of it all and starting a new exercise regime. We all know how HARD it is to make time for exercise in this day and age of working full time and running a household. As my grandma likes to say..."MERCY ME!!!" :) Soooo...taking a deep breath here as I try to take one HOUR at a time. Perhaps making a list is in order! Maybe crossing duties/tasks off of a list will help with the feelings of anxiety that start to creep into my heart. I know what some of you are thinking (Helen, Sabrina)..."How can she be overwhelmed? She only has ONE (1) child at home?!?!" LOL!! Well...all I can say is I may only have 1 child to take care of but it's all the little things that creep in that seem to overtake me at times. Not to mention, I have a full-time job that keeps me away from home for at least 9 hours a day!! You throw in going to the gym and it's even longer. Tonight I start a Pilates class that is 3 nights a week. My goal is to make it for at least 2 of those nights. Seems reasonable to ME! Oh..and did I mention I am singing in the Singing Christmas Tree this year? That's always a huge time committment. Then we've got the 4th grader (a BOY, mind you!!) who still (yes..still!!) needs to be constantly micro-managed when it comes to what he needs to be getting done, which is always homework, homework, homework!! It is just never ending! After all that is said and done...you throw in laundry, trips out of town, etc...etc...and before you know it...you are CHASING YOUR TAIL!!!! At least I FEEL like I'm chasing my tail. *SIGH* Now...all that being said...when I have moments like this I turn to my new favorite blog...which will take you to a daily devotion if you are so inclined. If you have not checked out Lysa's blog...YOU MUST. Thank you so much to my friend, Debra, for introducing me to her! I read her stuff daily and she is MY KIND OF WOMAN!!! She is so down to earth and shares the same struggles as the rest of us...you know...REAL WOMEN! LOL!! Anyway, today's devotion is a good one if you'd like to check it out.

Proverbs 31 Ministries: Daily Devotions

Now...enough "reflecting". Seems like I've been doing that a lot lately. Let's see....we are on day #2 of clear, blue skies and sunshine! Yea, Baby!!!!!!! I am LOVIN' it...actually everyone here is! LOL!! However, with that comes COLD, COLD, COLD! I'm sure snow is around the corner soon. Jake is hoping for the white stuff on his birthday (this is his wish every year!). Speaking of which, my baby is turning 10! *Sniff* How is that possible???? OMGosh!!!! We are planning a pizza party at Godfather's per his request. This makes it easy and I don't have to clean up...yay! I'm so glad it's on a Saturday this year.

So, this week I am trying to focus on getting packages in the mail for Christmas, planning a birthday party, making my Christmas card list, learning the music for the Singing Tree...hmmm...starting my Pilates class....What else??? Oh...and here's my schedule for the next two weeks so you may not hear much from me after this!! Starting Friday, Dec. 5th...going to the Nutcracker with my MIL. Saturday, Dec. 6th, trying to get Christmas tree and decorations out and UP...a daunting task it seems. Sat. night...company Christmas party with Tony. Sunday...church and "tree" practice. Sunday night...collapse! Monday...work and "tree practice". Tuesday...work and "tree" pratice. Wed...work & a night off...whew!! Thursday...work and "tree" practice. Friday...work and then 2 (two!) "tree" performances. Sat. recover from previous week...only 1 "tree" performance. Sunday...church and 2 "tree" performances!!!!!!!!! OK...perhaps I shouldn't have recapped all this...I'm feeling overwhelmed again. Yikes!! Not to mention...while all of this is going on...I have to get ready for Christmas!!! Ack!!! LOL!!!

Anyway, life is good but very busy! It's a good kind of busy...I just need to stay on top of it all. One VERY IMPORTANT THING I keep forgetting to mention is this. Behind every busy woman is a man who is just as busy. At least this is true in MY household. I must give a shout out to my very wonderful and HELPFUL husband who keeps things running at home like a well-oiled machine while I am "flitting" about pulling my hair out making sure stuff gets taken care of. Honey...YOU DA BOMB!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!! I COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU!!!! (I wonder if he even reads this blog!?! LOL!)

Soooo....I hope this doesn't sound like I'm feeling sorry for myself because it is definitely not my intention. I am using this blog as an outlet to keep myself in "check" and to get input from those around me (and friends far away.) It has been very therapeutic for me! LOL! And fun, too!! I hope you are actually enjoying it and getting *something* from it even if it's just a laugh or a smile. :)

With that, I will leave you for now and hopefully I won't get *too* busy to drop you a line once in a while.

Love and Hugs!! Nan XOX