More Cookies

Barbara took the day off. So why eat MY
cookies when I could eat hers!

.....Although Nikki brought me some
homemade cookies in too!

COOKIES

I whined and whined about there being
no Christmas cookies in the office so much
so that a collection was taken....................

.....And this was on my desk this morning!

Filled with a mix of cookies from different people
in the office. I left the tin at the work otherwise
I would be eating every single last one of them
right now. I have a psychological addiction to
cookies---like a junkie to heroin, only for me it's
sugar cookies and chocolate chips. My brain won't
let me eat two or three I have to have them ALL.

Joe Flacco Did It!

....He signed my photos!!!! One is for

Jim and the other for my coworker John

The End of the Day

I was standing in the kitchen cooking chicken

curry when out of the blue I doubled over

screaming in pain and yelling every curse word.

It was like a scene from the Exorcist. Then I hobbled

upstairs to hunt for DRUGS. And I found some

pain pills and muscle relaxers and my cane.

COINCIDENTALLY the pain pills and the muscle

relaxers were given to me my Dr Wyatt on this VERY

SAME DAY LAST YEAR for my back. It must have

snowed then too.

The Blizzard of 2009 Continues

I shoveled the snow one last time for
the night. My back is killing me.
whoever said the snow is FUN they
ain't shoveling snow.

Princess Grace can't find a place to pee

Daddy had to dig a pee-path across

the back yard.

I even had to dig out the heat-pump!

Mind you that thing is sitting on legs.

It's going to be a White Christmas

this year for sure.

Another beer! And then I'm

going to take a long hot

shower.

The Blizzard of 2009

I was stuck home so it forced me to get
things done---like wrap all the Christmas
presents.

They barely fit under my tree

I braved the outdoors several times

to shovel

I prefer to shovel the sidewalks, driveway

and the poop path several times than have

to deal with a metre of snow all at one time.

I was worried about the roof over my

patio unsure if it could support so much

weight.

So I hung my head out the window and

scraped what I could. And then YES I

did it. I climbed out ONTO the roof

like, as my grandmother would say

"A God damned Nut" and shoveled

the snow off the roof.

And I'm confident now that it's not

going to collapse in the night.

Then I had a beer

......and baked some cookies

44th Anniversary

It's my parents 44th Wedding Anniversary.

The BIG ONE

In just 3 hours THE BIG ONE starts! And I'm

right in the midddle of the 24-36 inch area.

But I'm ready. Amstel, Stella Artois and Becks.

Sweet 16

I went to Anne's house for Lyndsay's 16th
Birthday----seems like it was just last week
I was sneaking beer into the baby dept at
St Agnes Hospital.

Anne picked up two of the free guides at the
grocery store for Lyndsay and her father-in-law
"Cookie" as it was his birthday too!

Anne's new winter coat which she'll need for the

blizzard we're getting! They're in NYC for it too.

This sign is hanging in Anne's house. I love it!

Behind me is a stack of paper, 940 pages
of hospital records that I need to read. I
have been readinga few pages a day and
making notes so by the time I finish I'll
look like the skull!

Kim playing with the copy machine.
She's good at it. I bet she coud put the
machine back together faster than then
the tech!

KIVA - Sudan

There was $25 paid back to my KIVA account

so I re-loaned it this time to this lady in Sudan.

Iggo Margret, currently in the business of selling beer and soft drinks such as sodas, packaged juice, water, etc., is requesting a loan to stock wines and spirits in her bar to sell. Iggo, 38 years old and widowed, has four children, all attending school. With the extra profits from her loan, she hopes to be able to build a book shop.

BRAC's holistic approach to poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor encompasses a range of core programs in economic and social development, health, education, human rights and legal services which are delivered through an extensive network of village organizations. BRAC has become one of the world's largest NGOs as measured by the scale and diversity of its interventions. In 2007, BRAC started operations in Southern Sudan. The microfinance program, which is targeted towards returning war refugees, has already formed 418 village organizations with more than 14,000 women members.

The McDougall's

My Great-Great Grandparents marriage certificate.

......and the report I received from a
relative in Philadelphia who contacted
me via Ancestry.com

If you're a McDougall you'll find
this interesting and can CLICK on
the IMAGES to read them

The Office Christmas Party

Again held this year at the Boumi Temple

Welcomed by Hors d'oeuvres

We have a great party.

M E L I N D A !

Kim and Deb!

Kinder Pup

No Photos today but Gracie and I continue to go to Kinder Pup for obedience training. What I've learned so far is absolutely fascinating and the instructors are great. I chose this place because my friend Tami went there 10 or 15 years ago with her dog and it was amazing what it did for her dog.

Here's a link to Kinder Pup and they have some articles about dog behaviour which you'll find interesting......Anne.
http://www.kinder-pup.com/

Bonnie Blink

It was my annual trip to Bonnie Blink
in Hunt Valley. I pick up my friend and
former coworker Lee and take her to
visit her elderly mother.

I drive from my house to Lee's then back
north to Hunt Valley and then back to Lee's
and finally home. It's 205 miles of driving.
On the way back though we stopped at
my house to let Gracie in and so I could
show Lee all the 1940's Christmas decorations
she gave me, which are now on my vintage
silver Christmas Tree.

Inside Bonnie Blink on our way to
Mrs Simmons apartment.

Ugly plastic blue Christmas tree

Lee and her Chihuahua Ollie.

And now she holds Daisy

Earlier I ran into Debbie at Macy's.

The lights at Homestead Gardens on my

way back to Lee's house.

The lights along Rt 214 are amazing.

And apparently distracting enough to

make a police officer think I was drunk

driving! I got pulled over!

I was given a full field sobriety test, eye test, walking and turning and a breathalyzer. To the police officers (two officers and two cars) surprise I PASSED them all. I guess he believes my story now "I was looking at the Christmas Lights"

I was scared! And my legs were shaking. The police officer asked me if the lights from his car were bothering me and I said "Well of course, they're flashing in my eyes" so he allowed me to turn away. Then asked me if I had any medical problems---so I gave the list, my back, me knee, my arms---and then during the heal to heal walk, he told me to walk 9 steps. I told him I couldn't because my feet are too big and there doesn't appear to be enough space. So I did and stopped when I got to the car on the other side I said I can only fit 7 steps not nine. And he told me my eyes looked glassy----so explained I just drove 200 miles and I'm exhausted......it gets better.

He asked me why I was down in Davidsonville, so I explained my "Old lady friend" who I pick up in Harwood and then drive her to Hunt Valley to visit her mother at a nursing home, then take Lee back to Harwood and then drive myself back to Glen Burnie and down, up, back down and home is 205 miles. I told him I was with a bunch of old people who plucked my nerves, argued about everything, bitched and complained and I was anxious. I said I can prove it, look at my digital camera....pictures of old people with no teeth in a nursing home.

The FUNNIEST part was that while I was pulled over a car driving by rolled down the window and yelled "That a-hole cut me off"

The Christmas Luncheon

Meet my coworkers. We went to Stoney
Creek Steak House in Towson for our
Christmas Lunch.

Deb was laughing as her "Pooping"
Polar Bear!

Then we did our gift exchange.

L-R Charlotte is peaking into her package

scared I think because it was from me.

Then Lean with a beautifully wrapped

package from Donaleigh, our supervisor

VonCeil and Deb.

Now we have John, Donaleigh and

Kim.

Kim got a book she wanted.

Charlotte actually THOUGHT I got her

OxyClean.....but I put her gift inside the

container!

Now VonCeil opening the gift from the

Unit to her.

She was looking at it, laughing, studying

it.......overwhelmed with joy, or was it shock

She was so thrown off that I

think we cause brain signals to

start going crazy! BECAUSE..........

We put her gift in this 'joke' box! The

box purports to be for a Gravy Fountain

shaped like a frog!

Can you imagine! Something like this

spitting out GRAVY on your Christmas

table! VonCeil must have thought we had

TERRIBLE TASTE and was STRUGGLING

to remain gracious in case it was real!

Then we all told her we wanted to see

what it looked liked----so she would open

the box and find her REAL gift.

AND then she laughed and laughed for

FIVE WHOLE MINUTES I think in relief

that we didn't really get her a Gravy Fountain

Later I had a drink with Donaleigh and her

sister "Hortense"

Gifts for my Coworkers

Last night I did laundry and used the
last of the OxyClean when I came up
with an "idear" [sic] I would use the
empty tub to wrap a gift for my coworker
so when she opened it everyone would
be watching and think WTF?

I got her DISH CLOTHS. Not Dish Towels
but Dish Cloths---I had to get clarification
because I have a dishwasher. SO WHY DID
I get her dish cloths? Because that's what she
wanted!
At the office we fill out a little slip of
paper with three things we'd like that
cost $15 or less. Then drop the slips of
paper in a bowl and draw names. I drew
Charlotte's name.
I listed subscriptions to 1 Readers Digest,
2. Popular Photography and 3 Travel
and Leisure magazine for my gift ideas

I put three packs of TEN dish cloths
(not towels as specified on her slip)
in the now cleaned out OxyClean
bucket!

.....and I got her a frame. Honestly
can you imagine what $15.00 of dish
rags would look like.....a mountain.
Plus I didn't want my coworkers too
think "OMG he got her dish rags"

And for everyone else in the unit I got
a little something too as a joke gift.
A POOPING POLAR BEAR. You lift
his paw and a jelly bean pops out his
ass! last year I got them the pooping
Santa Claus and the year before that
the Reindeer! So I stuck the sh*t theme