I've never been very good at counting sheep. It's not that I can't count...I can. But imagining little sheep jumping over a fence in order to fall asleep just never made much sense to me! : ) As I'm counting my mind begins to wander and I start thinking about the wool that comes from those little sheep...and why would anyone want to be a sheep rancher....and wonder how Marvin Anderson is, who WAS a sheep rancher in the little town I grew up in...and on and on and on! Never works. It's 3:00 a.m and here I sit. I've had bouts of insomnia off and on the past few years and sometimes it's not so bad. It's quiet in the house. Everyone is asleep...including the poochies! I can sit here with my hot cup of tea, read my favorite websites, check out what my friends are doing across the country on blogs and Facebook and just enjoy the time alone. It's nice. : )




I hope everyone had a glorious Thanksgiving! Our house was filled with the aroma of turkey and all the trimmings, along with a pie or two. There was more food than necessary, good conversation, a couple of movies and some fun card games! The most fun part about the entire day? It was just Eric, Amanda and me. We had the best time as a little family! It was a Thanksgiving I will treasure for a long time.



Who went Black Friday shopping??? Come on, you can 'fess up! I will be the first to say that I am NOT a Black Friday shopper. As I've gotten older I find that crowds do not attract me at all. I would rather live vicariously through those who are brave enough to battle those mobs. Amanda is on of those brave souls. She was up at 3:00 a.m and off to do battle around 4. She and a couple of friends made a morning of it. She got herself some goodies, a few things for her "adopted" girls, and shopped for some kids she adopted from a wish tree in a local store. She was driving in one driveway as I was driving out the other on my way to work yesterday so I had to wait until later that night to peruse her treasures. She had fun and that's what counts!



Amanda and I are off to Yuma in a couple of hours. Since I had to work yesterday we had to wait until this morning to start our journey down there. Dad chose to stay in Yuma for Thanksgiving so we are off for a visit! Can't wait to hear him regale us with his adventures at the neighbors Thanksgiving celebration! Should be a hoot! I know, though, that he's missing Mom terribly right now and is having a difficult time. The Holidays are such a tough time for so many and I'm praying that Dad and all the other's out there who struggle through this Season are able to find some joy and peace.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Jan

Sleep...it eludes me!

This could very well be me in a couple of hours! LOL! Ever have times when you just can't seem to get enough sleep? I'm going through one of those phases! I thought it was because of the time change, but...oh wait...Arizona doesn't change time! Then I thought it could be the weather changing. It's been pretty chilly here in Northern AZ. Who knows. I just know I'm needing some caffeine right about NOW! Plus...what is with my tired eyes of late? I know, you can't see me so you don't know about this phenom! But trust me, if you saw a picture of me, you would see some mighty tired eyes! I used to have such bright, happy eyes! I think I'm going to come straight home from work and just go to bed. Think it'll work? Couldn't hurt!

I'm off to work in about 15 minutes. Have a great day!

Jan

And so it goes

Just returned from a quick trip to my Dad's. Can't take any time off during the work week during November and December, so my trips to Dad's are very quick this time of year. I'm worn out!

So just a quick hello and a hasty see ya later!

Something to Ponder

I've determined that it is extremely fortuitous that I did not live in the Victorian Era. My booty is large enough! I do not need the latest fashions augmenting it in any way!




Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Jan

Another side of Las Vegas

I live two hours south of Las Vegas, NV. Sin City. The adult playground. What happens there stays there. Hmmmpff. The first couple of times I visited this mecca in the desert, I was excited and ooohhhed and ahhhhhed as I was astounded by the casinos, hotels and general craziness that is Las Vegas. The buzz soon wore off. We would run up there every month to shop and gamble just a little. As the months and years rolled by our "tourist" trips up there went from every month to every few months. My sister lived up there and I would certainly run up and visit and during her illness I was there every week. Now that she's gone I don't have much reason to go to Las Vegas. EXCEPT....the beauty of Mt. Charleston. I get my directions all mixed up, but I THINK it's North of Vegas and probably over three hours from where I live. Well worth the trip.







Just a couple of photos I took when my brother and I were up there a few weeks ago. We only went to 8000 ft although I believe the ski area is approx. 12,000 ft. There's a village up there and a restaurant that I haven't stopped at yet. I'm hoping to run up there in a few weeks and spend a little more time. So you see, there is another side of Vegas that you just don't hear about! If you're planning a trip to Vegas, rent a car and make the trip. You'll love it!

Jan

Where did this addiction come from?

Hello, my name is Jan and I have become a Facebook addict. Yes I have. It is true. I discovered Facebook about 3 months ago when an old high school classmate invited me to join because I was going to miss out on our reunion. It's snowballed from there. I've gotten in contact with old high school friends, old teachers, keep in touch with family, even found some old work friends right here in town. Hey, I even have some friends on FB that I met through blogging. It's a whole new world out there! LOL! It's been great and very therapeutic believe it or not! : ) That, my friends, is the explanation for my blogging absence. I have been facebooking. Oh, I've not been crazy and logging onto Facebook first thing in the morning and staying logged on until I go to work and then again when I get home. But I have found it easier for me than blogging. I swear, I don't know how Pioneer Woman does it. She blogs AND is on FB! She must be a superwoman! LOL!

As far as life is concerned it's been fairly quiet. (Another reason for my absence) I got a new laptop with a much smaller keyboard and it's been interesting getting used to it! Typo's abound! Plus trying to figure out all the new gadgets is fun, too. (note the sarcasm) This one has a webcam built in. It scares me. I turn it on and I can see how bad I look at that very moment! LOL! Webcams should be BANNED!

My brother came to AZ for a visit last month. He and I drove up to Vegas but not to go gambling. We took a little trip up the mountain which is just lovely. The day was cool and crisp (on the mountain) and very serene. I would love to show you a photo or two, but blogger doesn't seem to want to allow me to post photos today. Maybe I'll edit later and throw some pictures in.

Even though this time of year is the peak time for yard sales in this part of the world, I haven't gone to one. Not one single yard sale. I can't say why. I think I must have just gotten my fill during the summer. Plus I'm trying to figure out what in the world to do with all the fun things I already have in this house. I don't need more junk.

That's it! Very quiet. Very mundane. Very boring. LOL! Hopefully I can get myself organized and be a superwoman! Take care!
Jan

Come walk with me!

Good morning everyone! Not sure if I've mentioned it here or not, but back in May Amanda and I started a little journey. We looked at ourselves....really looked at ourselves and didn't like what we saw at all! Both of us needed to lose a significant amount of weight but knew that we couldn't just go on a diet. We needed to make a lifestyle change. So we decided to get healthier. We changed our eating habits dramatically and began to move. We started out walking a mile or so around a track at a park in town. When we became bored with that we decided to walk a bit further, but in our neighborhood. Now we're up to 4 miles or so every morning and we've stepped it up a bit...literally. We are now hiking. Now we live in the high desert in Arizona. There are mountains aplenty to climb. Unfortunately, we live in town and to get to any sizable mountain we'd have to drive a bit. That's ok for the occasional weekend hike, but not every day. Well, we have what I like to call a mini mountain just down the street. Some would refer to it as a rocky hill! LOL! Please join us on our morning stroll! : )

Just starting out going up the street. Lovely morning. About 75 degrees at 6:30 a.m!



We're being watched! Nice kitty!!!



Hey! A new path! Wonder where this goes?




Wonder who lives down there? Not gonna stick around to find out!




"Will you hurry up Mom!" She gets so impatient with me! LOL!



The vultures are watching from there power line perches! They are much bigger than they appear in this picture and quite aggressive. At least that's what I've heard. They always keep their distance when we're walking!



There's a nice fellow! Mr. Quail striking a pose for me!



Half way up! Taking a break to enjoy the view!




Watch your step Jan! Wouldn't want to end up down there!



Still climbing....



Made it to the top! I'm the queen of this mountain!! LOL!



A view from the top!



Heading down....these youngin's just don't want to wait on the old people!



Almost down. Taking a break before the final leg of this little hike!



Where we've been...The sun hadn't come up on this side yet so it was still a bit shadowy.



Watch out for that ferocious critter there!



And just around the corner...up a couple of blocks and we were back home! Quite a nice little walk this morning! Always an adventure! Oh, thus far we've both lost between 35 and 40 lbs each. Not bad for a few months work!

Jan