New Year's Resolutions

1. To weigh 140 pounds by January 1, 2010.
2. To change my oil in my car regularly forever!
3. To actually participate and complete NANOWRIMO 2009
4. Curb my potty mouth at home

Ding Dong My Car is Dead

Ok, everyone can laugh. I killed my car with lack of oil. Yeah, the brain trust called. They want me to work for them.
I can't believe I did that. I am usually so good at getting that stuff done. Gerry is threatening me with a caravan. I may go insane if I get a minivan.
In this economy we are lucky to have stable jobs that aren't going away, so we can afford new car payments. But we have gone so long without a car payment, it is going to change my budget.

Monday Fishing Fun

Gerry took Holly and Tim fishing this evening. Tim was a bit disappointed that he couldn't use his new pole for crappie fishing. (He got a bait caster rod.) They are using live bait, so the poor boy had to leave his new tackle box at home too. :) Holly is such an outdoor girl. I am so proud of her. She doesn't mind getting dirty.
<--This is a picture of Daisy meeting Annie (Gerry's parents' dog). Annie never warmed up to Daisy. Daisy tried so very hard to get Annie to like her and play with her. :) My Daisy is sick today. She has runny green poop. I think it is from her medicine. She has Demodectic Mange and is on Ivermectin. We are on day 10 of her treatment. She is not feeling well. Right now she is sacked out in my lap. She is such an ugly dog that she is cute. She is part dachshund and part Chihuahua. She is about 16 pounds right now. When we got her, she was only 5 pounds. She is such a trip. We also have Lola, our black lab. Lola is not a hyper lab, which is so very strange for me. All of our labs have been hyper. Lola is so laid back. My husband's dad just couldn't get over her. He wanted to take her home with him. She has the basic commands down and is house trained. She is outdoor/indoor, while Daisy spends most of her time inside. My fence wouldn't hold Daisy. She could get out really easy of that fence.
Holly and Tim got new cell phones for Christmas. Both of their old phones were dying -- the keys were actually breaking. Gerry broke his blackberry screen on Saturday. He was so upset with himself. I have a razor which I love. I doubt I will move on to a different phone for a while. It is actually my second razor.
I am keeping a food diary to watch my intake. I would like to get down to 135. I am at 156 now. It is less than what I started at 2 years ago, I was 170 in December 06. Studies say that people are more successful at losing weight if they keep a food journal. I tried weight watchers but I haven't really done it faithfully. We will see what happens.

Our Family Holiday Weaknesses

Tim's weakness is Egg Nog. He can't wait until Halloween when the first batches of egg nog are available in the stores. His favorite brand is Oak Hills. He is a little egg nog fiend! I don't worry about the calories for him. He needs to gain weight. But since he is the only one who drinks it, we don't often finish a quart before it goes bad.
Holly's weakness is silly socks, but it isn't limited to the holidays. Everyday she wears two different types of socks. She has the strangest combinations of socks. And she wears them out in public.
Kelsey's weakness is hard to figure out. I think it is all the holiday candies, but I am not sure. She loves anything with sugar.
Gerry's weaknesses is Starbucks. Luckily, he gets gift cards from people to supply his addiction to fine coffee.
My addiction is doing too much. I always think that I can get everthing accomplished on time, but I never do.

Christmas is over, but I still want to celebrate...

Bass Pro Shop was so slammed yesterday that they called Gerry into work. He works today and Sunday also. He enjoys talking to everyone about fishing. He sold someone about $3000 worth of fishing rods and reels yesterday. He sure does have the gift of gab.
Gerry, Tim and I went out to dinner last night after we picked Gerry up from BPS. Tim is enjoying being an only child now that his sisters are growing up. Kelsey was working and Holly went over to a friend's house.
Tim spent his Christmas cash in buying his little Bakagan toys. He is 13, but he sure loves his toys. I don't think the girls held onto their toys as much as he has.
Kelsey went with Daniel as he got a tattoo. She isn't up yet, but I figure she got one too. Even though she is scared to death of needles, she would like to get a tattoo. Go figure. I think it is just defiance.
Holly is such a good kid, I don't have to worry about her. She is almost making straight As in some very tough classes. She is taking AP English, AP History, Pre-AP Physics, Pre-AP Latin, regular Pre-Calculus, Band and Health. Ok, the Band and Health aren't difficult. But I can't even imagine taking Pre-Calculus. Crazy, crazy schedule.
On another note, I am really missing my mom this season. She has been dead since 2001, it should get easier. But this season is really tough. I miss my mom.

The after Christmas Returns

I have to go to Wally World today and take back Kelsey's mouse, I accidently got one with a wire instead of wireless. I screwed up.
Yesterday, after the gifts were done, we had Nana and Papa Johnny over for dinner. I got everything done easily and we had a great time. Daniel, Kelsey's boyfriend, was also over. The kids played Uno forever. It was the world's longest game. Then we took the kids bowling. We all had fun.
They were still teasing me about my prayer. "We will all be a year older" is now a humorous refrain in the family.

Merry Christmas!!!

I just spent a couple of hours trying to load Tim's new album onto his crammer. It is very insane for those of us wh are only half computer literate.
This afternoon we had Christmas dinner with Nana, Papa Johnny and Kelsey's boyfriend Daniel. I gave the blessing, and well, I didn't prepare for it. So, I made a fool of myself. (It isn't hard!) Everyone is still quoting, "We will be a year older next year."
Next year, I am going to memorize a prayer from the internet. :)

Merry Christmas Eve!

It is Christmas Eve, and we are all ready for Christmas. All the presents are under the tree. Tim is excited because I am going to let him open presents today.

My family always celebrated Christmas day, but Gerry's is Christmas Eve. So, we open tree presents Christmas Eve and open stockings on Christmas Day. The stockings are small presents most of the time.

The dogs and cats are only getting stockings. My "girls" have been bad already today, and are in their kennels for pooping in the house. Lola and Daisy both added their own presents under the tree. Crazy girls. My "girls" are a 9 month Black Lab and a 5 month Chi-Weenie.

Our Family's top Christmas movies

Christmas isn't Christmas without watching The Christmas Story. My favorite part of the movie is when the little boy licks the metal pole. This movie has been around for 25 years. I love watching on Christmas Day on TNT. It is an awesome movie. I have even used the phrase "you will shoot your eye out" when Tim says that he wants a bbgun.


The Family Stone is a good movie. I think Gerry likes it more than I do. It was on HBO for a while and I think he watched it like a hundred times. I like that the two sisters were able to get the perfect brother for each of them.




I am not sure if anyone else thinks of this as a Christmas movie, but it is set at Christmas time or in December. I love this hilarious movie. John Candy was a comic genius.

The best holiday movie is always Home Alone. I so love this show. I think it is a great physical comedy movie.

Monday before Christmas

I am a bit stressed today. We woke up to a breaker not working. One side of my bedroom didn't have electricity. I tried to figure it out, but couldn't. I woke up Gerry and he couldn't figure it out. I finally unplugged the electric blanket and it worked again.
Gerry is bringing the worst out in me today. He is being a bit bitchy and I don't have the patience with him that I usually has. He is all offended that I think he is sharp, so he threw a tantrum. Like every man he can be a pain in the butt.
I will admit I am not in the best of moods. Yesterday was the aniversary of my mother's death, and I don't do well in the days around it.
I did do something nice, I asked Virginia & Johnny over for Christmas dinner. I don't know if Allen and his family are coming with them. I hope not. I have no patience for him and his stupid wife. They should not be allowed to be parents. The way they smother their children is child abuse. And I will not keep my mouth shut in my own home. Lisa does something stupid, I am going to call her on it. Wolves would be better parents to those poor children.

Christmas Letter

I am mailing my Christmas cards today and I thought I would post my Christmas letter for all to read. :)

2008 Annual Winter Family Christmas Quiz
This year has been quite exciting and fun for the Winter family and we would like to have ya’ll answer the family quiz. Remember your life lines: phone a friend at 210-696-2728 or kwinter@satx.rr.com if you need help!
1. The Winter family Zoo grew by 2, our two new pets are:
a. Cow named Elsie and a donkey
b. A Chi-weenie named Daisy and a black Lab named Lola
c. A shaved monkey and rat
Answer: B, We have a 5 month old dachshund Chihuahua mix and 9 month old lab. We still have 2 other dogs, Taffy and Bonkers. Bonkers is going to be 15 years old in March. He is one old dog.
2. Fisherman extraordinaire Gerry was able to:
a. Get a part-time job at Bass Pro Shop for the 40% discount on all items made by Bass Pro.
b. Teach regular chemistry, honors chemistry, and advanced placement Chemistry 2
c. Teach Holly and Kelsey to drive without losing more hair
Answer: All three are correct. Mom doesn’t have the patience to teach the girls to drive. It is very scary!
3. Supermom Kim was able to:
a. Graduate from Our Lady of the Lake with a master of arts in special education
b. Host Prom 2008 and it was a huge success
c. Develop shingles for the month July
Answer: All three are correct. Kim graduated on 12/13/2008. Prom was great and everyone enjoyed it immensely. The stress of college, prom and Kelsey’s graduation helped Kim to develop a case of shingles. Shingles is the most painful condition and the cure is almost worse than the disease.
4. Kelsey was able to:
a. Graduate from high school
b. Get a part-time job at the bowling alley hosting birthday parties and as a cocktail waitress
c. Finish her first semester at community college
Answer: All three are correct. It has been a wild and fun year for Kelsey! Her major right now is Early Childhood Education K-4. She works well with kids and we all hope she enjoys this choice.
5. Holly was able to:
a. The band went to state with their show, Things that go Pop! The costume for the color guard was the ugliest yet! Supposedly they were to look like Cindy Lou Who but we never understood the connection.
b. Take two advanced placement classes that will give her credit for Freshman composition and US History in college.
c. Get her learner’s permit and almost her driver’s license (just a couple more months to go!).
Answer: All three are correct. She is the hardest working high school kid we know. She has a 96 gpa going into the second semester of her junior year. Mom is still not comfortable with her driving skills, but closing her eyes helps keep her from squealing to loudly.
6. Tim was able to:
a. Break his left arm and spend the summer in a cast.
b. Played free safety for the 7th grade B football team.
c. Survive another year in middle school.
Answer: All three are correct. We sometimes wonder if Tim will be able to make it through middle school. He is the defender of the underdog, and it constantly gets him in trouble. He grew a little this year and is now 5ft 1in and weighs 95 pounds.
This year has been such a momentous year. I can’t believe I made it through grad school. This last semester was the toughest, I took 9 hours. I haven’t been the best at keeping in touch and hope to be much better in the future. Gerry should finish his principal certification next fall and who knows where that will lead. Everyone thinks he would be a great academic dean because he understands the value of science and math. The kids keep growing and making me feel old. I will be 40 on January 17. I made my goal of finishing my masters degree with 35 days to spare.
We all hope this holiday season is happy and bright for ya’ll. Have a great New Year!
Love,
Kim, Gerry, Kelsey, Holly & Tim

Graduation, finally!!

Last Saturday I graduated from Our Lady of the Lake University with my master of arts in special education.

In other news, my classroom was damaged from a fire in the classroom next door. After a week and a half, I was finally able to get my stuff out of the room. The school district auctioned off the damaged portable. Hopefully, I will get a new portable classroom by January 5. We will see.

As a graduation/anniversary/Christmas/birthday present, Gerry bought me a laptop computer. I really, really love it. A laptop is so nice. I don't think I will ever use my desktop again.