Perks

Since it's the holidays, I wanted to share with you a few of the things that The DLF has been doing.

In one of our Monday morning meetings earlier this month, we were handed information on Artemis House which is a county-sponsored shelter for battered women in Fairfax, VA. We were assigned to a child/mother & we were given $100 to spend on gifts. They made it easy for us because we were given information on the child/mother that we were assigned to, i.e. their age, shoe size, clothing size & their wish lists. I was given a 3 year old boy with the first initial D. I was pretty excited because my nephew, JT, is 2 years old & I love shopping for him. Here's what I got D:

~ 3 shirts
~ 2 pairs of pants
~ Spiderman light up shoes (his info. said he loved Spiderman)
~ a winter coat
~ 1 Spiderman action figure
~ 1 Ironman action figure (this thing was huge)
~ Bolt, the movie

I had a lot of fun shopping & it's always more fun to spend someone elses money. :o) I really hope D was able to enjoy his Christmas & even though I wasn't able to see his face when he opened those presents, at least his Mom was able to.

At the time that we were given our $100, we were given $25 to buy for our office secret santa gift. Instead of buying gifts for everyone in our office, they came up with the idea of setting a limit & only buying 1 gift because there are 11 of us. Even if we were to buy small gifts for everyone, that adds up. The day that our secret santa exchange was scheduled, we also had a cookie bake off. The rules were that everyone in the office had to make their own cookie/bar. Each person would bring theirs in without labeling it & then everyone would vote for their favorite, anonymously. Unfortunately, I was not able to participate in the secret santa/cookie exchange this year but my co-workers saved me one of each cookie & I later brought in my secret santa gift. I had actually wanted to keep my secret santa gift because it was so cute. I had bought a white & glittery silver tablecloth with snowflakes on it, a white bowl with silver edging with snowflakes & 2 bunches of white & silver snowflake ornaments. Yes, it was themed. Maybe next year I'll learn to buy something that I won't want to keep for myself.

The gifts that I got from DLF were a $100 gift card to Elizabeth Arden Spa, a bottle of wine & a nice Christmas bonus. :o) When I had opened my Elizabeth Arden Spa gift card, Sandra Lue said, "now we get to pick a day, go to happy hour & then get a massage!" :o) I love her.

We still have one more event to look forward to & that is our end of the year dinner. Apparently in years past, The DLF has rented a limo that takes all of us out to a fancy restaurant for dinner. Ours is scheduled for this Thursday at 5:00 p.m. Everyone is pretty excited because our office is closed this Friday so we get a fancy dinner & a long weekend. :o)

More details will follow.

Expensive Pets

As I was logging into my email account this morning, I ran across an article by Nancy Keates, "The $20,000 Pet". Since Dan is always saying that Lexi is so expensive & that we should've just had a baby when we were contemplating buying her from the breeder down in South Carolina, of course I had to read it.

"It's no secret that Americans love their pets. But these days, all that love is leading to an unprecedented level of expense for millions of owners, who are only beginning to understand the pet-world concept of sticker shock. Caught up in a wave of new medical options and lured by an increasingly sophisticated cadre of veterinarians, pet owners across the country are forking over thousands -- and even tens of thousands -- of dollars to treat illnesses that would have gone undiagnosed or untreated just a few years ago. And then doing it again if they have to. Of course, pet owners and most vets have the animals' best interest in mind. But that doesn't make it any easier: With health insurance covering the humans in many families, it's not unusual for pet owners to spend far more money on health care for their cats and dogs than for their sons and daughters. According to a report by market-research, Americans spent $20 billion on veterinary bills in 2010 -- an 8.5% increase from a year earlier and more than double the amount spent just a decade ago.

Much of that money is being spent on new medical technology. With some of the advances in human health care spreading to the animal kingdom, pet owners have many more options for treatment -- and many more chances to fork over money to cure their pets or at least prolong their pets' lives. Dogs and cats can have pacemakers implanted at a cost of $1,000 to $1,500, while pets with kidney failure can get a kidney-clearing procedure that runs $20,000 to $25,000 for just the first few weeks. Not long ago a vet would most likely have recommended euthanasia for a cat or dog diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness. Today high-tech procedures and equipment, such as chemotherapy and MRIs -- and yes, CAT scans -- allow for better diagnosis and more-advanced treatment."

After reading this I'm actually thankful for Lexi's sensitive tummy & knocking on wood that we don't have to deal with anything more serious. I do have to say that I would be in the category of paying whatever cost is necessary in order to keep Lexi here with us. For those of you that are interested in reading the entire article, click here.

In Remembrance. . .

I have been thinking about this post for the last few days & the only way I know how to do it is to speak from the heart..."When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight".

We have lost someone very special, Dan's mother/my mother-in-law, Vicki. Yes, our hearts are broken that we cannot see her loving face & bright smile, but God had his reasons for taking her when he did & at 3:30 a.m. on a Thursday morning, she went peacefully surrounded by family & friends. Grieving comes in all stages & although a piece of us is missing, our memories & stories of her will live forever. I will miss her sweet demeanor, her quirky personality, the love she had for her family/friends, her superb cooking/baking skills, her outlook on life with a twist of science fiction, the sound she made after her first sip of beer, her love for animals, her craftiness & her welcoming arms which she gave me when I became a part of her family. We will see you again but until that day comes, enjoy your time with your Father; he's missed you dearly. We love you.

You can shed tears that she is gone
or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left.

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that she’s gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
or you can do what she’d want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

Vicki Lynn Coghlan (1948 - 2010)

Calling All Country Fans Vol. 3

It's that time again to share some of the country music that I've been listening to. For those of you that are not country fans, this is not the post for you. In past posts, I would add a link that would take you to a website where you could listen to the song; since that takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r to put together, I'm just going to add the youtube music videos. Yes, I'm being lazy. Here you go...:o)

Sunny Sweeney - From A Table Away


Thompson Square - Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?


Sara Evans - A Little Bit Stronger


Josh Thompson - Way Out Here


Randy Montana - Ain't Much Left Of Lovin' You ~I love this song; its one of my favorites.


Kenny Chesney - Somewhere With You ~I just heard this song for the first time this morning on my way to work.


Taylor Swift - Back to December ~I have liked every song of hers, just admit it, she's good.


Luke Bryan - Someone Else Calling You Baby


Jason Aldean - My Kinda Party ~What is a country post without some Jason Aldean?! Sorry bud, I know how much you don't like him.


Have a great weekend!