Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Snow and Birthday

We don't get much snow in Atlanta so it is always a big deal, even when it is just forecast. This time, we actually got it!

Sunday, I had a public affairs meeting about the rededication of the Atlanta Temple, so I had Bill go with me, just in case the snow arrived early - and also because it is getting hard for me to see very well at night and I don't like to drive if I don't have to. It was a good meeting. No dates have been set yet, but it should be in April. The hold up is finding a venue for the cultural celebration. Once that is set, everything will work from that date back.

Late Sunday night, the snow started coming and we had the ground lightly covered by the time we went to bed. Over night, we got probably 5 or 6 inches, so it has been a big storm for Atlanta. My office was closed, so it turned out to be a holiday for me. It was also my birthday, so I got snow for my birthday. We had a lazy day, since we obviously weren't going anywhere.

The usual course of snow storms here is that by the afternoon, the temp has risen and the sun is shining, so most of the snow melts away. However, it never got enough above freezing, and there was no sunshine, so the snow stayed. There was some sleet and freezing rain that came on top of the snow, so it is pretty slippery everywhere. My office has closed again for Tuesday morning and will make a decision by late morning about the afternoon.

So, my birthday turned out to be a little different that normal. Lisa and Ashby had baked a cake, but couldn't get over here to deliver it. She posted some pictures on Facebook. They called and sang Happy Birthday over the phone. Ashby was so bashful, Lisa had a hard time getting her to sing. She finally would say the last word of each line, so I heard her sing "you, "you," Gamma," and "you." It was too cute! Bill fixed a nice brunch for us - waffles and bacon. I spent much of the day on the computer - doing some public affairs things, family history, and playing on Facebook where I got a ton of birthday messages that I enjoyed responding to.

What an eventful way to start a week!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Week One of the New Year

Well, the first week of the new year has passed - and it seemed to be a busy one! New Year's Day, Lisa and family came over late in the day and we had a pork roast dinner that I fixed in the crock pot. They stayed through the evening.



Sunday, our meeting times changed to 9 am. I like church at this time better than in the afternoon. It was nice to get up, get ready, and go straight to church. It was fast Sunday. I bore my testimony in Relief Society.



Monday, I had a work holiday. David and Lisa had appointments to check their eyes for possible lasik surgery, so we kept Ashby and Brooks. It is always fun to have them over. Ashby loves playing with Grandpa and they went outside for a long time. Part of the time, they played in his truck - something Ashby loves to do! After their appointments, Lisa dropped David off at home and then came over to get the children. She stayed a while and we ordered pizza for dinner.



Tuesday, it was back to work for me. I took a long nap in the afternoon, as I am still trying to get rid of the last of the cold that had me down over Christmas.



Wednesday and Thursday I worked. Otherwise, they were pretty ordinary days.



Friday, David had his eye surgery, so they dropped Ashby off around 9:00. Bill was home, so he took care of her until I got off work. When I walked in, they were on the floor playing with the Lego blocks and had built a big house, using every block in the box. After lunch, Ashby took a nap. When she woke up, we made some cookies. She is always getting the egg slicer from the cupboard and playing it like a harp, so it dawned on me that she might enjoy the Music Maker. I found it upstairs in storage and she enjoyed strumming it and singing. She loves taking a bubble bath in our big tub, so she did that after dinner. She also spent the night with us. I lay down with her when she went to bed and she chattered away for a while. She wanted to know where "baby brudder Brooks" was, as well as Mommy and Daddy. I told her they were at home, but Ashby got to spend the night at Grandma's. Then I asked her what we would do in the morning and she said she would play with the toys with Grandpa. She then danced a little jig, giving the sign for "excited," and said she was excited to play with Grandpa.



Saturday, we had more play time with Ashby. David had a follow-up exam with the eye doctor and then they came over and spent the rest of the day with us. We picked up food at Johnny's for our lunch. Lisa was so exhausted that she took a nice long nap while she had lots of help watching the children. After Ashby's nap and Brooks eating one more time, they went on home. Brooks is now over 11 lbs. He has really filled out and is so cute. He can't seem to get enough to eat!


So the first week of the new year is finished. It is already going too fast!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

New Year 2011

So - a new year has arrived and it is customary to review the old and plan ahead for the new.

As I think back on 2010, it was a good year for the most part. The highlight was the birth of Brooks Hamilton Pulsipher - #2 grandchild and #1 grandson - on December 1st. There is absolutely nothing better than grandchildren. Ashby is now 2 1/2 and is more fun every day. Brooks is so sweet and cuddly. Those two make the whole of life worthwhile!

We did a little traveling during the year. The two weeks in St. Augustine in July were the best. We are already looking forward to this year. I made it up to Iowa for my 45th class reunion and spent another week visiting with Billy and my dad. That was a lot of fun. We took a long weekend over Labor Day and went to the mountains in North Carolina with David, Lisa, and Ashby. That is always a relaxing trip.

We had some visits from friends that added some fun to our year: Connie & Jack (my college roommate) came through and spent a night with us. They were back in November for a conference and Connie and I got to spend a day together. Susan Allen and some of her kids were here in the spring and we spent an afternoon at St. Mountain with them; then she and David were back in the fall and we all went out to dinner. Billy spent the winter in Key West, so we had him before and after his trip down there. He also made it down for Thanksgiving and the birth of Brooks.

Church callings have kept us busy as well. Bill is serving in the bishopric so seems to be going to meetings all the time! I am still Stake Director of Public Affairs. I have had some busy times with that - day of service, news articles, community meetings, etc. I have felt discouraged with the calling, but am hanging in there. Maybe this will be the year that things really happen like they are supposed to. I have accepted and accomplished two different challenges to read the Book of Mormon this year - once in 90 days and once in 100 days. Next year, I am going to read the New Testament - slowly!

I haven't done much scrapbooking, but I did do some paintings for Brooks nursery. Lisa wanted four pictures of a train. Other than that, my only hobbies have been reading and genealogy. I have read or listened to 71 books in 2010. There were a lot that I really like and I gave them four stars. Only one book rated 5 stars, though, A Magnificent Catastrophe by Edward R Larson. I have them all listed on my site on Shelfari.com. I spent several months working on a family history of my Smith-Cleary line for a family reunion in the summer. It turned out pretty good, but I still have a question about one link and I will have to keep working on that in the new year since I can't seem to find the right information.

2011 promises to be a good year, too. We will spend as much time with the grandchildren as possible. Most Sundays we all get together for dinner, which will continue. We are looking forward to our two weeks in Florida. Plus, I will be having a week with my college roommates in the spring here in Atlanta. I hope to go to Iowa for at least a week sometime during the year. We are also supposed to have our reunion with the old Atlanta group of friends this fall - but that may be delayed until the next spring since one of the couples in currently on a mission in England. We also hope for a week in North Carolina in the fall.

I seem to have an aversion to making New Year's resolutions, so I am not doing any - just the general "have a good year."