I got caught up reading old emails yesterday. I periodically do a search on my gmail using key words that pop up a lot but hold messages that I don't read (like bonusmail stuff or old exercise articles), but sometimes I get told email that gmail stores. I found one last night from an old mom's group that I belonged to, and it was dated 2005! I read it and started laughing because, even though the end of my time with them was pretty hurtful, I had a lot of good times with them.

I found a lot of messages like that, and I'm not sure what I want to do about it. I read through a bunch that held so many memories! I was a bit downhearted, but I didn't stay sad for long. I guess I'm more pensive about those things now? I wonder what happened, if I ran away from something rather than facing it, and thus missing out on more good times that could have been had, did I "bit my nose to spite my face" because I was angry and felt slighted... I don't like the "what if" game, but sometimes I find myself falling into it so easily!

I thought about permenantly deleting the messages, especially the ones that were between me and a handful of different people that were so full of hurt and misunderstandings (that I don't think were ever truly resolved, but sometimes it really is too late), but on the flip side of that I think that they might serve me well to keep. They serve as reminders, both of my past and of thing that I want to be careful to not repeat! I guess since I read them and didn't get that crushing loss of breath that I had in the past I'll keep them; I must be truly moving forward and letting go...

I found it! I have been looking all over for a site that would compare prices on product and I finally found it! I've been trying to get a site that would give me information and price comparison with an easy-to-use format, and I found ShopWiki. Thank goodness, because I have shopping to do!

Everyone who knows me knows that I have a love/hate relationship with my laptop. Lately it's more hate than love, especially since my browser will freeze with very little provoking, and now the cord hardly charges it anymore. I'm going to have to seriously look into getting a new laptop if I want to use it for any MT jobs in the future, and with this site I'm hoping I can learn enough to make the right pick and to get the best price!

I found a Dell Latitude E4200 that looks really, really nice. I'd love something small, ultralight, and easy to use, especially if I hope to make my new jobs portable!

The holidays rolled in with a thunder this year. They were upon me in a fast and furious way, but I'm glad to say that I was able to slow down and enjoy the approaching day rather than speeding through and then feeling as if I missed the most important parts of it.

Christmas Eve was different this year. I had to work, and I actually encountered some client problems that had to be dealt with. After those things were taken care of, I was able to be home and put work away while I made a Gingerbread House with Ian, bake a Gingerbread cake, and wrap the last of the gifts for my parents. We left for their house around 5pm, and Ian was a ball of excitement as soon as he hit the door, even without the usual whirlwind of his 5 cousins (they are up in Boston this year). We let him open 1 gift in hopes it would calm him down, but the effect of tranquility was not quite achieved. We were able to eat through, and we had a wonderful spiral ham, pasta salad, spinach and crab pastry, and brussel sprouts. We set up the candles for luminaria, and Ian was allowed to light them this year which was pretty exciting for him. After that we sat around and had champagne while we opened gifts, and then we walked around the neighborhood to look at all the lights and to mingle with the neighborhood. There were piles of people walking around and everyone was so happy! It was a fantastic night.

When we got home Ian and Roo got right into bed. Roo fell right to sleep, and Ian fell asleep shortly after that. Sean and I put the gifts under the tree, wrote the "thank you letter" from Santa for the cookies and carrots which I taped to the fireplace, and then we put the stockings out. We lasted about 15 minutes after that, and then it was off to bed for us!

I woke up at 5:30am, but didn't want to get out of bed. I managed to make it until 6:30am, and then I decided to get up and make coffee. Sean woke up too, so we went to the kitchen to start the Cinnamon buns and winter blend coffee.

As soon as I walked down the hallway I knew something was amiss. When I turned the corner to the living room I started to laugh, because I knew Ian had been up and had been out to see what Santa had left for us. The gifts were scattered, but funniest of all was the removal of Santa's letter. Ian can't even read, but somehow he knew what that letter was all about, LOL!

Sean and I decided to open our stockings before the kids woke up, so we did that quickly. That was funny too, because Ian had obviously been in the stockings as well; there were 2 things of candy that had been in my stocking that "mysteriously" ended up in his

We had to wake the kids up at 7:30am. I'm assuming Ian was still tired after his night of foraging! He had his impish grin going when he came down the hall, but he was excited to open everything. He was appropriately excited about all of his gifts, and was SUPER excited when Daddy pulled out the gift from behind the couch, which ended up being a Wii. *sigh* Roo got into ripping the paper off her things, but the whole experience was a bit beyond her.

After a relaxing morning, we went over the my mother-in-laws house. It was different this year because there were a LOT more people there and it wasn't as family focused. Sean had a hard time with it, but the kids had a great time. I did too, although I missed the special 'alone time' we usually have with them.

We left there around 5pm, and from there we went to Sean's dad's. He was at his girlfriends, so we had to travel about 30 minutes to her house. The kids had a blast, and they each got more than enough gifts, including Zhu-Zhu pets, LOL! They were both a bit wild though, so I knew that they were getting pretty tired. We stayed for a little over 2 hours, and we left (without the Chihuahua they wanted to give us!), and both of the kiddos passed out in about 4 minutes.

Yesterday Roo slept until 8am, and Ian was asleep until 9:30am! My parents came over to visit, and then we went to Ikea to look for something I wanted, and then we hit BJs and then the mall. The mall was terrifying with all the people though, so we picked up dinner and came home to play some of Ian's games. After that the kids were tucked in bed, and Sean and I watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until bed.

It was a wonderful way to spend the holiday. I couldn't have asked for better!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Bidazzled. All opinions are 100% mine.

How funny!

I was remarking to a friend the other day how much I dislike Ebay now. It isn't like it was in the beginning, with your everyday people selling their things online to make a buck. In fact, I have a TON of baby girl clothes that are in perfect condition, but I'm not even going to bother trying to sell them on Ebay because people don't seem to use the site the same way they used to. Now, it seems to be geared more toward businesses selling products without a storefront. Which is fine, but I don't find their products to be discounted at all, and it just seems like "big business" as usual.

As I was looking around on the web, I stumbled upon Bidazzled . What a cool site! It's relatively new; launched in November, but already taking the auctioning world by storm. What I like about this is bids are purchased prior to bidding. This way, the price increases on a few cents rather then by what your actual full bid is. After you bid a few seconds are added to the clock, and if no one else bids the product is yours. So, if there's some high-ticket item and your bid is $1.20 with no bids after you, when the time runs out the item is yours. Fun! And, if you don't win, you receive up to 50 "bonus bids" as a thank you for participating in the bidding. So, no losing!

This holiday season has been amazing. I am a Christmas whore, yes, but this year it's been something special. I feel so complete and so happy, and this Christmas seems to be a time for me to reflect on all the wonderful things that I have in my life. I find myself with this bubbling excitement in my chest, and I want to spread my happiness to everyone!!

A lot of this is because of the kids. My Roo has completed my heart; the hole I had in my soul is completely filled in by her presence. And Ian, well, he is my guiding star. I love the person I am when I'm with him; he truly is something amazing and special. Sean and my relationship isn't perfect, but I love him and who he is. Our relationship is getting better, and a lot of that has to do with me and my acceptance of what is and what I cannot change.

The weekend was great, complete with going to the movies with a wonderful friend on Friday, going to the mall Saturday night followed by sushi and Four Christmases, then a trip to Brooksville to Rogers Christmas Village, making cookies with Ian, and even some studying!

I am content.