I'm sick :(

Obviously as the title states - I'm sick.  Boo hiss.  I hate being sick.  (but really, who doesn't?!)

I've laid around all.day (more on that in a sec) & finally got up off the couch to fix something on my iPad.  I need iTunes to do it & sadly there is an update.  Since I live in the middle of no freaking internet ville it's taking for-ever to do a measley 42 mb download.  Bleh.  So, I'm bored waiting for the green bar to go all the way to the right & I thought I'd chat with ya'll.

Usually every year around this time I get sick.  I just do.  I don't know why.  I'm weird.  In anticipation of my trip last weekend, I was loading up on vitamin C & zinc trying NOT to get sick before we went.  Well, it worked..until Monday.  My throat has been scratchy, I've got drainage (ick) & I'm constantly clearing my throat because all the crap is just hanging there.  I'm getting on my nerves.

So, I felt pretty bad yesterday but I had to go to work because something important happens on the 25th of each month & I'm repsonsible for doing it.  When the something was finally done around 1:30 I asked if I could go home.  I was starting to have bad sinus pressure by that point.

I went to the store to get some medicine & came home & went.to.sleep.  I woke up that evening & since I hadn't been home Mon or Tues night I had to do laundry, dishes & fix supper.  I was still feeling crappy & was debating on whether or not to go to work today.  Something else important was supposed to happen today that required me.  Responsibilty blows, people.

I woke up at 6:30 this morning still feeling awful.  I re-set the alarm for 7:30 (when someone would be at work for me to call in) & went back to sleep.  I called in around 7:40, re-medicated around 9:30 & went back to sleep at 10.  I woke up at 1:30, finally got out of bed & laid on the couch. 

B-rad stopped at the store to get some Sprite & other essentials (including supper.  YAY!).  I fell back asleep on the couch around 6:30 & woke up when my phone rang at 8:15.  Wow.  Apparently I've needed rest?!

I still feel crappy.  My voice is jacked.up.  I really sound awful.  I had 2 doctors appointments today & called to re-schedule them.  Thankfully they could tell I was sick & didn't charge me for cancelling.  One lady said, "Oh honey - you sound awful!"  Uhm...thanks....

Now the big questions is - do I go to work tomorrow?  I don't call into work sick.  I just don't.  This is the 2nd time in 10 years I've called in.  But, I also think it's silly to go to work when I'm sick because I could potentially get others sick.  We don't have sick days either so I have to take them unpaid or use up vacation days.  Decisions, decisions...

I don't think I have an infection or anything so I don't think the doctor could do anything for me.  Everything is clear (if you catch my drift...).  I just feel really blah. 

And in the time it took me to type & proofread this - my iTunes still is only 1/2 way done.  Man, it sucks to be me! 

Since I have some time - I'll tell you a story.  In the last year or so, I have figured out that home shows aren't all about me.  (Oh, the humanity...)  It's about my hostess, her guests & making them feel pretty & important.  It's been tough for me sometimes because I love: a) talking & b) talking about myself.  But I've learned that they don't want to know about me.  I'm the one who wants to know about them.  It's about creating a relationship. 

A guy B-rad works with wife wanted to have a show for me last year.  I did the show & met her mother in law there.  The mother in law booked a show.  At her show I met a couple of her sisters & their mother.  Sweetest.people.ever.  The sisters booked a show & so on & so forth so I've seen these gals a lot over the last 6 months.  They hug me, they know my name (not just, 'hey there's the jewelry lady!') & they make me feel like part of their family.  They never come into the show with the attitude, "Yea, we've been here done this a thousand times before."

The last sister had a show for me in December.  My last show of 2011.  She was a kindred spirit to me because her addiction to RED was as bad as mine to PURPLE!  She had a red Christmas tree & everything! I knew she loved red.  She hadn't been feeling well before her show but she didn't cancel on me.  We did the show...her sisters & mom came (again).  She picked out the Red Hot necklace we have (duh, it's red) & let her daughter who was home from college have all the rest of the free pieces. 

I was doing a bunco a couple of weekends ago & the sister of the hostess (another hostess of mine) works with the original sister I booked with this past summer.  I asked, "Hey, how's ***** doing?"   She said, "Oh, she's ok, she should come back to work this week.  Her sister passed away."  I said, "Oh no!  Which sister?!"  (UHM, I know them all!)  She replied which sister & I sucked out all the oxygen in that room.  It was the sister from the show in December.  The one that loved red. 

I was completely shocked & saddened.  She had passed a week after New Years.  After I left that show I called the original sister & left a voice mail.  Seriously, ya'll - this really sent me for a loop.  I couldn't believe it.  They're not really sure what happened, some kind of disease to her brain.  She was put into the hospital & a week later she died.  They did an autopsy that revealed the brain disease but I don't know any other details. 

I bought each of the sisters & the mom a card & wrote a personal note to each of them.  My heart was breaking for them all.  They were one of those families where you know they all loved each other very much, but still had fun teasing & laughing at each other. 

My show Tuesday night was with the niece of the sister that died.  It was the first time I had seen them since their sisters passing.  They all hugged me (again) & thanked me for the cards.  The mom was also there.  You can tell a part of them is missing, but now they each were angel pins in memory of their lost sister. 

After things were winding down, one of them was chatting with me a bit about her.  I said, "I really hope ya'll did something 'red' for her!"  She said, "Oh yes, she had a red casket."  WOW.  Talk about going out in style.  I KNOW she would've LOVED that.

So-here's what I've learned since starting my journey in this jewelry business:  Some people have a negative view of direct sales.   (Thank goodness Premier doesn't view themselves as that.  We are a direct SERVICE company.)  Whatever your views are - think about this:    there are SO many people out there that I would have never, ever, ever had the pleasure of meeting had it not been for this jewelry business.  There are lives I've touched & that have touched mine had it not been for this jewelry business.  And yes, I have even made quite a bit of money that I would not have made if had not been for this jewelry business. 

Even though it's a lot of work, I do love it.  I have fun.  I get to make ladies feel pretty when putting on some bling.  I teach them fashion skills (when I have none of my own).  Sometimes I meet the whole family & even find out the hostess is related to me! (Yes, that HAS happened!!!) I have a great support system with my jewelry family.  Have I had bad moments?  Of course - but the good far out-weighs the bad.  

Well, that's the whole story...I can't stretch it anymore... AND, my iTunes update is still not done.  Sheesh... (And, I'm still getting on my nerves clearing crap outta my throat...)

Adrenaline & Diet sunkist.

I told ya'll this past weekend I was in Columbus, OH for official jewelry business.   Friday's session started around 1:30 in the afternoon.  I took a few pics here & there.  I just wasn't feeling it.  I hate being away from home.  Boring, I know...  

Here are Debbie, Rose & I.  We all roomed together this time.  

 Imagine 3000 fabulous jewelry ladies in one ginormous room.  Yea...

 My first trip across stage was for being promoted to Builder.  Premier is really big on recognition & really, who doesn't like being told, "Great job.  Way to go.  You're awesome" by senior leaders while they high five you?  I love me some high fives...

 Here I am after my walk of fame.

 They always play fun, upbeat music & we dance & sing.  I wanted to get the 3000 aforementioned jewelry ladies doing the YMCA.

 Brenda always orders the entire new line of jewelry.  Sooooo, we all hang out together & play in her jewelry.   If you're smart & make the picture bigger & look realllll close, you can see some of the new pieces!

 The co-founder, Andy, attends every.single.rally (he's 80 something years old...).  They are held over 2 weekends - 7 of them total.  I swear to you, if you EVER heard him tell the story about his wife, Joan, passing away - you would cry like a baby.  I did...& I have a heart of stone. 

We have acronyms we use in Premier.  WBP (What is Best for Premier) & WIR. (What is Right)  When Premier makes decisions - these are the 2 things they always keep in mind.  After Joan passed, they added 2 more.  WWR. (We will remember) & IKT (I know that.)  Let me tell you about that last one.  Andy told us the whole.entire.story of what happened when Joan passed away at Rally last year.  (She passed away in December 2010).  Right before the end, the doctor leaned down & told her, "Joan - God will take care of you."  Her reply, "I.KNOW.THAT."  Insert crying now...

 Ahem, lets compose ourselves, shall we?

Next I got to be recognized for the 100 Home show club.  

 My jewelry grandma, Gerilee, also got recognized for being in the 500 home show club.  Gulp.  She was even more special & got to say her name in the microphone!

A pic of all my rally roomies.  (My stupid eyes are closed.)

 Here's our whole crew!  There were 14 of us!  After this pic, it all went down hill...quick...

 I'm not really sure what got into us, but by Saturday afternoon we were acting crazy.  For me it was pure adrenaline & Diet Sunkist.  I was sooo tired & soooo ready to come home...(I'm a boring home body remember?...) Debbie gets irritated because her grandson always opens his mouth in pictures.  So she said, "Lets open our mouths real wide."  Wow, that's no problem for me...  

(Look close, new jewelry sighting on Debbie...) 

 (It's a perk of rooming with Brenda - you get to borrow her new bling!)

Brenda wanted a pic of her & I.  Look at the lovely photo bombers.  Ya'll know how I feel about that.  Sigh...

(New jewelry on Jaime Mac's ears.)

Premier also gives away cash & prizes throughout the weekend.  Of course, WE never won anything.  Bleh.  The lack of sleep was getting to us so we decided to practice what we'd do if we DID win.  

(New jewelry on Rose & Debbie...)

Next was my turn.  This is my "I just won $100" face.    

(New jewelry sighting on Jaime Mac's wrist...wow, I'm wearing a lotta bracelets!  It's the colorful one!)

 When it was finally time to leave Saturday afternoon, the car was covered in a sheet of ice.  And Brenda didn't have an ice scraper.  It was around 10 degrees outside & we all yanked out our credit cards to start scraping!  No problem, I was still running on adrenaline & Diet Sunkist... but a gal can only scrape so much ice...with a credit card.  Have you ever tried that?  Hmph...

Can I borrow some butter?

I have returned from a weekend in Ohio for official jewelry rally business.  I left Thursday afternoon & got home really late Saturday night.  When I have more time, I will tell ya'll ALL about it - about the fun we had & about how a certain over achiever got to walk across the stage...(twice)!

One of the best parts of going to official jewelry rally business is the new jewelry!  It's like crack to a jewelry lady.  This year they did it a little different & introduced 'collections'.  There's a passport collection, sundance collection, eye candy collection & retro classic classic.  Since ya'll are my friends & all - I will share a sneak peek with you.  The pieces on this page are in the retro classic collection & are my absolute FAVORITE!  I wanna slather them with butter & eat.them.up.

Christmas #4

Yes, that's right. We weren't done with Christmas yet. We still had to visit with B-rads parents and Ann's brother & sister in law from Indy always comes down to visit as well.

They got rooms at the water park thingie place in French Lick for last night. I couldn't go yesterday with everyone else because I had a jewelry show. B-rad went over with his parents & I drove out after I was finished.I have no pics from the water park. Matter of fact, I didn't even see the waterpark. Fine by me-I don't like the water.

We went to Denny's to eat dinner & no family gathering would be complete without ceremonial pictures of everyone on their phones.


I think they're onto me...


Why do they wanna ruin my fun?


After dinner we had 15(!) people in one room to open gifts. (some of the people were behind me & beside me. I couldn't get all of them in one shot.)


Erin, Eric & the girls were able to come down. I took a pic with Madelyn.


Uhm with 15(!) people in one room it got pretty warm so B-rad opened the window. We were on the 5th floor so it would only open about 6 inches. You know-so no one could jump out? Leave it to B-rad to figure out that the window could just open in from the hinges. Kinda defeats the "don't jump to your death" thing, huh?


B-rad got some accessories for his iPad.


Payton got a cash register. Grammy was teaching her good, valuable life lessons about "charging it."


We got Stanley a tool box. It was a 'Stanley' brand tool box. Cole walked over & said, "Grandpa its got your name all over it.". Love that kiddo.


We got Ann some jewelry. Premier jewelry, of course.


Ann's birthday is 10 days after Christmas so we gave her her birthday gift as well. It's a wax warmer smell good thingie.


This is the scene of carnage after 15(!) people open gifts. It was complete chaos.


- Posted by Jaime Mac using BlogPress from my iPad

Baby Colton

Robin & Matt had their baby Friday! I had texted Alicia Thursday night & told her to keep me posted. I hadn't heard from her by Friday on my lunch hour (11-12) so I texted her & said, "no baby news?". (I thought maybe she had forgotten about me!) She texted back & said, "Just got off the phone with mom. Emergency c section & he was born at 10:40am.". Wow...talk about timing...

I went by the hospital Saturday to see the new guy! I told Robin, "I know you hate this, but I gotta take a picture!". She was a good sport & smiled & replied, "it's ok-I don't have a baby everyday!"


Of course I had to take a pic of me with the little guy. He is sooo tiny! He hardly made a peep while I was there. He did make little noises while I rocked him!


I'm so happy for the whole family! I know this little boy is a gift from Heaven especially since they didn't know if it could happen. I know he's gonna be spoiled by his big sister! (and Matt is talking already talking about him taking him hunting & fishing---like soon! Soooo sweet!)

Posted by Jaime Mac using BlogPress from my iPad

I'm so predictable

I'm almost through another busy week at work.  Now I'm playing catch up on all the stuff I couldn't do because I was tied up with other things.  Bleh.  Let me tell you the words I absolutely HATE to hear.  "I know you're busy BUT..."  What they're actually saying is "I know you're busy, but I don't give a s***!  Do what I want you to do right this instance."  UGH!  And I hear it 50.thousand.times.a.day.  It's the constant interruptions that drive me completely bonkers.  

B-rad went to Illinois Monday night for some kind of farming school about some of the electronic gadgets he uses for the planter.  He is UBER excited because they make a program & adapter for the planter monitor that he can hook up his iPad too.  It will serve as another screen while he plants, plus it writes all the maps to it as well.  All he has to do is grab his iPad & he has the maps right there.  Don't 'cha LOVE technology?

I went with my jewelry Grandma, Gerilee, the other night to order her an iPhone.  She wants to be like me (do you blame her?) & have some cool techie stuff.  Like a lot of people, she's intimidated by new things & electronics.  It was so funny at the store because she just watched the sales lady & me talk back & forth like she was at a tennis match.   I asked the sales lady to explain some of the features of the phone (even though I knew them, sometimes ya know how people ask you questions & they just don't believe your answer?  That totally irritates me...that happens at work too!).  When we were checking out Gerilee said, "I should have just acted like I knew what you guys were talking about."  I said, "Well, the eyes glazed over look totally gave you away."  I'm so bad...

I have my first jewelry show since December on Saturday.  It's hard getting back into the swing of things.  All my stuff is in the office just where I sat it after my last show.  But once I get back into it, I'll be fine.  

I mean, I can't be top retailer (again) if I don't get my butt in gear...

I have a couple more 'blow my benjamins' purchases to show you.  First up, something purple.  Shocker.  I've been wanting a thumb ring to wear everyday.  Sure, I have a ton of rings but I like just a simple band for my thumb.  I have a set of 3 rings (black, white & diamond) from Premier so I would wear the diamond one a lot.  But I don't like doing that because it wears down one of the rings & it looks bad compared with the other two.   I found this cute amethyst ring on QVC.  

I could lie & say that purple is my favorite color because B-rad's birthday is in February & that's his birthstone.  But lying is wrong... I'm glad at least one of us has an awesome birthstone.  Mine is emerald green.  Ick.

I bought a purple Relic watch from Kohl's.  Again, I have watches, but if I wear them every.single.day they will wear down faster.  That's a jewelry tip, people.  If you wear the same jewelry all day everyday, it will wear out faster & not look as good.  (Just like your favorite pair of jeans...or shoes for you shoe people.)

Let me tell you some more exciting jewelry related news.  Premier has all sorts of ways we can 'earn' free jewelry.  Lets call them mini competitions.  I've gotten jewelry certificates in the past (uhm, have you met Miss Competition?) & it's awesome.  I got $300 because I achieved my Quick start when I got started.  This means I did 9 shows in 45 days.  There is also a Crown Jewel program that has different levels.  The first level is Amethyst (yay!) & if you have $3000 wholesale in 30 days, you receive a $200 certificate.  I did that in 2010.

Once you do 25 home shows in any 120 consecutive days, you are entered into the "home show club".  You get a pin & then your home shows start accumulating with no time frame.  Once you hit 100, you get a certificate & another pin.  I made the home show club 5 months after I joined Premier.  I had been counting my shows & I knew I was getting close to 100.  I finally did it at the end of November & I got my certificate.  $250 big ones.  Cha-ching.

I was also going to receive one for making Builder.  It came in the mail this week & it's $300 big ones.  Holla.  But also in the mail that same day was something else I wasn't expecting.  I made the 2nd level of the Crown Jewel program.  $6000 wholesale in 60 days.  $400 big ones.  Gulp.

Now, if you're keeping track, that's $950 in.free.jewelry.  PLUS at the year end celebration, I got $50 in free jewelry for being the #2 sponsor.  So that's a grand total of $1000 in free jewelry.  Lets just take a moment, shall we?

..........

The new spring line is coming out in a couple of weeks & this chick right here probably won't have to pay any money outta her pretty little pocket for new samples.  Can I get an Amen?

Now, I know I run my mouth a lot about how great & wonderful I am.  (And I totally think I am...) but I must also say I work really, really hard.  I enjoy being a jewelry lady & have lots of fun.  Is it work?  Of course.  But it's fun work!  I get to meet a lot of new people, hang out with other ladies & just have fun!  Most the time I make more money at my shows than I do sitting at my desk all day, getting interrupted & hearing "I know you're busy but..."

As if you didn't know...

Saturday night was the year end celebration for the jewelry lady group.  We had dinner at Christie's in Salem.  It was super yummy.  

The prize table was all laid out.  I was foaming at the mouth just waiting for the big moment.  

To find out...was I the top dog or not?  

After dinner we were ready for the big reveal.  And you can act shocked (I didn't), I was in fact, top retailer in our group for 2011.  I had 41 shows (!) & around $24,000.00 retail.  Gasp!  

Can't you see the shocked look on my face here as I strike a pose?!

I got another thirty one bag with lots of goodies inside.

Turns out I was also the #2 sponsor for our group.  I was surprised about that one.  I got $50 in free jewelry!  Score!

AND, perhaps the one that I got that was the most special was the Servants Heart award.  That's the one you get for doing good for others & helping, etc.  (basically for just.being.awesome.)  

Here's a hilarious story:  They always try to include the spouses/significant others during our par-tay so they play games & ask the guys questions.  This year they asked questions about the jewelry biz & whoever answered first got a ticket.  We weren't allowed to help.  I was sitting in the back of the room & B-rad was up front & I yelled, "Ok Mac, better have your A game on!"  Of course, they all laughed & starting telling B-rad he better be careful since I'm so competitive.  They asked questions about the bonuses & percentage free, etc.  Then they asked, "If your wife was on a football team, What position would she play?  Quarterback, running back (& I don't know the rest- I don't know football!)"  B-rad sat for a second & said, "My wife would be the coach because she'd be telling everyone what to do."  

Roars of laughter from the room, including me.  I.love.it!

My kind of wedding

We went to a wedding last night for one of my ex co-workers, Michael. He quit to be a full time farmer. (B-rad is soooo jealous.) This was THE best grooms cake I have ever seen. The grooms aunt made it & it said "the farmer takes a wife". I don't care about details when I'm doing things because I like it to be done fast, but I LOVE all the details on this cake.


I had noticed during the ceremony that the guys had a hint of purple in their boutonnières & the gals were carrying purple flowers. I was hopeful that there would be more purpley goodness at the reception & they did.not.disappoint. Our table had a hurricane glass vase with purple & silver pine cones at the bottom. Inside there was a candle holder thingie too. Very pretty...& purple.


I was also impressed with the purpley cake. It was elevated on clear glass & they had the purple & silver pine cones underneath the glass. The also had purple tulle around the table with clear Christmas lights in it. Sure, there's some green mixed in there too...but who cares about green?


Another really really cool element they had was a self serve ice cream machine. Michael said they wanted to do something people would remember.


They had chocolate & caramel sauce & lots of toppings.


On a side note-I'm coming to you live from my iPad. The blogger app that I bought a while back was having some trouble after the newest iOS 5 update. They were working on a fix but it was taking some time to get the final approval from Apple. They finally sent me the update last week & eureka! It's working awesome now! Aren't ya'll lucky?! I still have to get my bearings & figure everything out. Up first on my list is how to make the font purple! Psssssh!

A small, sliver of light at the end of a very dark tunnel

Loyal blog stalkers, I have had a HELLUVA couple of weeks at work.  I have had NO time for anything except work.  BLAH!!!  This work also caused my brain to become mush & when I got home at night I.am.completely.mentally.exhausted.  Sigh.

Here's a funny story of just how much stress I was dealing with:  us girls at work always get lunch on Wednesday.  And since my office is out of the watchful eye of the bosses, we get the orders together & put our money in an envelope on my desk.  Then I take it to the money drawer & bust out the change.  Wednesday we noticed that we had $10 left over.  This NEVER happens.  After some thinking, I just assumed I had made the change incorrectly & we put it back in the money drawer.  This caused us all to have a big laugh at my expense especially since I was eye deep in reconciling numbers & dollar amounts the entire week.  

My lunch total was $6.25 & all I had on me was a $20.  So I put my $20 in the envelope & took out $13.  Two $5's & three $1's.  Easy breezy...

I met a friend for dinner that night.  And I was going to pay with my $13.  When I got in my wallet...I only had three $1's.  Hhhhmmmm?  I didn't give myself the two $5's?  For the love of God....

Lora counts the money at work every morning so I came in & told her the story & said, "if you're $10 over today, I think it's probably mine...".  She laughed & replied, "We shouldn't have let you touch ANY money yesterday!"  So, so true....  And guess what?  She was $9.53 over... I'm a mess...

My end of the year, pain in my a**, stress me out beyond words weeks are slowly starting to end.  I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.  My brain is no longer the consistency of mush...  

I'm excited to have more time to do truly important things. Like pay my bills online (at work), scour the internet (at work), shop online (at work) & blog (at work.)

We have a busy weekend ahead but I'm hoping to have some blogging material.  We have a co-worker of mines wedding AND the year end celebration for the jewelry biz.  (Remember last year I won the office makeover for being top retailer?!  B-rad says they are NOT allowed to do ANYTHING to the house this time.  Hmph....)  I'm hoping to be the top retailer again this year.  I don't know what prize will be in store for me, but I told Brenda (my jewelry mom) - 'if anyone asks what I want/need - I want cash...'  I know you will be on the edges of your seats waiting to see what happens.  

Let see, what else?  Oh, I am pretty excited about something else happening here at work.  There used to be a lady in my office with me.  And I hate her.  YES, I said hate.  I have very good reasons, trust me.  She is my arch nemesis.  Maybe those crazy ones of you that are stay at home moms (oh, the humanity) have never had a arch nemesis before, but if you have ever been in the 'outside the home' work force, you've had one...or you're a liar!!!   My buddy, Nancy, retired so they moved the arch nemesis into her job.  Up front.  Away from me.  Hallelujah. 

 I've had to pick up some of her job duties, which has really sucked because I've been covered up with my job duties.  I haven't even had time to enjoy the peace & quiet that is not having my arch nemesis in the same room with me 8 hours a day.  Now that I'm getting caught up I may skip to work every morning...

I have been trying to get ideas together for different things to do in the house to decorate.  I downloaded a pinboard app (I love the internet...) to keep all my pictures in one spot.  Alas, I have so many pictures now & don't know where to start & feel overwhelmed so I haven't done anything.  Sigh.

I've made a few more 'blow my bonus benjamins' purchases.  Nothing real exciting, but of course I will share them when they arrive.  I'm still debating on whether or not I want a Mac computer.  What has started the whole thing is I want one of those Neat organizers.  Have you seen the commercials?  They have a desktop model & receipt (portable) model.   The desk model would be so completely awesome to have for all the farm receipts.  You should see the mess of paperwork I have to get together for tax time.  (Ahh, upcoming blog topic?!) But when you order this neat organizer thingy you have to decide PC or Mac?  

It's too much pressure!!!!!

Shauna is a big journaler (is that even a word?) & downloaded an app for her iPad to journal on.  Don't ya love technology?  To hell with a pen & paper...  She's started becoming a more faithful blog stalker & since blogging is just a form of journaling (is that a verb?!), she's thinking she might wanna start her own blog from her journal.  I don't have the heart to tell her she won't be nearly as funny as me... 

(Hi, Shauna!!!!)

Laid back New Year

We had no plans for New Years Eve this year.  B-rad went over to the barn to do a few things & I took down the purpley, silvery masterpiece.  I threw out all the Christmas decorations I don't use anymore & got all the decorations into 4 plastic totes.  Plus I labelled them with the new super cool label maker I bought. 

Shauna & I had been talking on the phone & we decided to go to dinner & then just hang out at their house.  We got to Outback around 7 pm & the wait was an hour & a half.  Blah!  We decided to leave & go to Texas Roadhouse.  The wait was the same there, but the mall is also there!  Who can't kill an hour & a half shopping?  UHM-did you know that every store in the mall is closed on New Years Eve?  Really?  It was like a ghost town.  Creepy...

The boys went outside to talk & Shauna & I sat in the bar to stalk booths.  Shauna noticed that a couple seemed to be stirring a bit so I ran over to ask them if they were leaving?  The lady was like, "Yea- I was looking around to see if anybody noticed!"  I said, "Yes, we did!  I was coming over here to tell you we were gonna stalk you waiting for you to leave so we could steal your booth!"  The chick was really cool about it - the dude just stared at me like, 'what is WRONG with this chick?'   Hmph...

We got back to their house & the boys went to the man cave to do this....

 Shauna & I stayed upstairs & did this:   

 This is Shauna's dog, Laila.  She's super sweet & she LOVES to play with B-rad.  He gets her all riled up & then he gets into trouble.

 Shauna does the same thing B-rad does...while playing on her iPad, I hear her laughing uncontrollably...

 Then she showed me what she was laughing at.  Nice...

 We made the boys leave their games for 5 minutes to come watch the ball drop on tv. 

 This was our view for welcoming in the New Year.  (B-rad mooned everyone at their Halloween Party...I choose to believe this was pay back from Brian...) 

 Turns out Laila didn't really like seeing Brian's a** either.  Like I said, she's a good dog...