Chrise's Christmas Vacation!

I was so fortunate to be able to travel to see all my family over the holidays! I flew into VA where Stefanie and Christopher picked me up from the airport, and we (Stef) drove to PA. Poor thing, she was driving in terrible driving rain or thick fog . . . she's a trooper!! We got to PA in time for this awesome pizza Pete and Alexis had ordered (only in Philly!!). The real prize of the trip was seeing Samantha, she's such a sweetheart. By the end of the evening, Nicole and Justin were there, and even my cousin Evelyn and her GEM of a husband Gerry had come in from NY. It was just a nice night filled with family, love and LOTS of laughter!!

Next day was Samantha's 1st Birthday!!! What a loved child! The house was full of people; Pete's family, us, even my other cousin from NY with my Aunt and more second cousins! It was such a great day of love and laughter!!

Next day, with much better weather, we (Stef, Christopher, and I) drove back down to VA. We no sooner got into town, the rest of the VA BCH family came over Stef's house. Again, great to see everyone and spend another evening full of love, joy, and, yeah . . . more laughter!!

I get very sad being so far away, but I am SO grateful that I get the chance to spend such quality time with everyone.

Love you all!!!

Ok, here in Florida, we don't get the cold weather, or we can wish all we want, we are NOT going to have a White Christmas, but don't let that fool you . . . we still do Christmas!! Right now our end of our street looks like the Griswold family has all come to town. We've got our neighbors across the street that actually start decorating for Christmas before the Thanksgiving dishes are cleared from the table! We also have the poor guy next to them that just keeps hanging up lights and Christmas decorations, daily (we believe just to escape from what's going on inside his house)!! Next to him, with the utmost of dignity, we have the couple that strategically hangs a very nice thought out, tasteful, display each year. Across from them, we have the new neighbors, who (my kind of people) decorate for every holiday!! They've got pink flamingos with Santa hats on, flashing lights, a whole array of decorations. Then we have the poor recently married fireman across the street that had the fortune(?) to marry a girl with a young daughter. This year, not only does he have Frosty, spiral trees, and lights on the palm trees (we do that here), he's added icicle lights to the entire house and flashing snowflakes in the front window, all to the young girls delight!! He and Kenny "Bah Hum Bug" together when they know people are watching. However, secretly, we KNOW they are loving it!!

Then there is the Felton house, which in recent years gets decorated due the shame the neighbors used to put us through, and the fact that Kenny installed outside electric! Through the years, between discards from the condo where we work, Dollar General, and Walgreen's (we are high-end, aren't we?) we accumulated quite a stash. Now, the weekend after Thanksgiving, Kenny goes out and turns into Clark Griswold. The lights get strung on the bushes, the spiral trees go up, the lighted angel gets plugged in, and the reindeer get placed (this year, with one facing his butt to the street, but that's another blog, I guess). Now the crowning glory is not any pink flamingos, we are not allowed to have them (too tacky), no, instead, our crowning glory is a MERRY CHRISTMAS sign that lights up and hangs in our middle front window!!

HO! HO! HO!

A LOT OF THANKS TO GIVE

I give THANKS for my beautiful family.

I give THANKS for my wonderful, life-long friends.

I give thanks that the sun comes up every morning.

I give thanks, that especially in today's times, we have jobs that we can go to every day (OK, I don't always feel that way while I'm there, BUT, you know what I mean!).

I give thanks that, although, I may have some aches and pains, I can get up every morning and use my own two legs and arms to do whatever I want to do.

This year, I give thanks that "my baby" will be with me on Thanksgiving!

I give thanks that we live in this GREAT country of ours. This country, with all it's flaws and blemishes, I would NOT want to trade to live in any other country. We all need to give thanks for the freedoms that we have to live the lives that we choose to live, and not have to live the lives we are told to live. We, the Kevatos/Mantis', are here because our grandparents could NOT live the lives they wanted to live. So, instead, they sacrificed all that they had to come to a land that they believed would make it better for them and their future families.

Lastly, whether you think it is right or wrong why they are there, we need to give thanks for the men and women overseas putting their life in harms way every day.

I give thanks for all of you!

BJ and his Bride!

Brian (BJ to everyone but us) came to visit us in Florida, on his way to his new 3 year home, Monterrey, Mexico. We were so excited to see Brian, because we hadn't seen him since he had gone to Bolivia. Even more so, though, Brian was now married, and we were going to get to meet his bride Cynthia. Now please understand, Brian has lived many a years as a carefree bachelor. I couldn't wait to meet the girl that wooed him into walking down the aisle!!

Well, they arrived, and we were instantly enamored with Cynthia. It was so obvious to see how this charming, full of life, woman and won his bachelor heart. After very much catching up, we went out to dinner to one of Cape Coral's best hidden treasures, Ariani's Restaurant. It was a week night, so just the right amount of people were there, not too crowded. It gave us an opportunity to catch up even more. We were there for a couple of hours enjoying fantastic food, great wine, and excellent company! We didn't want the night to end, it was so good spending time with them, but they had a long drive ahead of them the next day, as they continued onto Monterrey.

It was a lovely evening, although not a long visit, it was a GREAT visit! All the luck and good wishes in the world to BJ and his Bride!

The Simple Things in Life

Men really don't understand how it is the simple things in life that we woman enjoy the most. At least, it is for me! For example, a clean house! As with everyone lately, the Felton's have been looking at ways to cut down on expenses. So, against my better judgement, we signed up with the cable company for their "Triple Play". This is broadband cable (yes we were working off DSL (UGH!)), telephone (local & LD), and Digital TV Cable. I must say, the best has been the TV. We've had a HD tv for awhile now, but never realized how good the picture could be! I digress . . . anyway, the "Triple Play" package is a flat amount for 24 months, and it will be $50 less per month than what we were paying!!

In addition, I looked on Craigslist, got some estimates, and we now have a new lawn guy for a savings of $15 per month!

Ok, now the other area my husband thought we could save money in is housecleaning. For years, I and, we have had someone clean the house. Well, in the interest of saving money, my husband decided WE should clean the house ourselves. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Sure, right, "we"?!" Well, "yes" he does mean "we". Because of my back, he would actually end up doing most of it. Now . . . anyone who knows him is already asking "when?"! When would he find the time? We still have remodeling to do, walls to paint, nails to hammer! WELL, he decided, he would find the time "to save the money".

OK, that was a month ago. The house has been cleaned once. I've tried to keep up here and there, but when your taking Vicodins and Flexirils for your back, it's hard to keep up with the housework. SO, the little dust bunnies became rabbits! We were able to save paper and write things down on the dust on the table . . . it was time for an intervention! So thank goodness for a little angel named Angela. Angela is a girl (woman) that we had clean for us before the whole remodel started. During the remodel, we couldn't have her come. Meanwhile, I felt bad taking that income away from her. So, at the condo where I work (and I met Angela) whenever an owner needed someone to clean, I gave them Angela's name. By the time our remodel was done, Angela had picked up so much extra work, she had NO room for me! So, to Craigslist I went, and got someone else to clean. However, my husband now wanted to save money, and I really didn't like the people that were cleaning. . . so we cancelled the new cleaning crew.

BUT NOW . . . WE HAVE ANGELA BACK!!! After many Vicodins, Flexirils, Chiropractor visits, and dust rabbits I pleaded with my husband for the return of a cleaning crew. Meanwhile, some owners have moved away, and Angela now had room in her schedule again!! So, this afternoon, we came home to a clean smelling, shiny, fantastically clean house (and at less money than the crew we didn't like)!!!!!

Life is good.

This is why I love my "baby"!

The following is a "comment" from Christopher's Facebook page. I hope he doesn't mind, but I copied it here, because I haven't been able to comprehend what I have been hearing this week. I couldn't comprehend what all the hoopla was about. I thought for sure I had missed the main point . . . but, NO, I hadn't!

I couldn't have said it better myself!!

From Christopher:

"I couldn't resist, I can't take all of these people arguing over President Obama speaking to the children/students of America. What is the problem? I REALLY can not figure out what is wrong with this. Is the President not the leader of the Free World, is he not the holder of the highest office in the land, is he not the Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces, is he not the leader of his political party (which at the moment holds a majority in the Congress and White House)? As an educator I find it very confusing and unsettling that people have a problem with the President of the United States saying "Good Luck" and "Stick with It" message to the children of America. I also can not comprehend the pure hatred and disrespect people have for not only the man himself, but the Office of the President. I will be quite honest, I have not very often agreed with the views of some of our Presidents or leaders in this country, but I have always made it a point to respect the honor of the Office itself. The amount of work, blood, sweat, and tears it takes to just want the position, not even have it, takes courage; and I respect every single one of those men for it. The bottom line is: What are these parents and others out there teaching their children? I, in essence, asked the same question when all these people stood up and screamed and shouted at our Congressmen and Senators this summer over health care. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU!!! As educators, at least this is the point of view of this educator, our job is to teach children how to formulate their own opinions, how to speak their minds and opinions in a respectful, assertive way. Conversations are good! Disagreements are good! It is what our country was founded on, but we must be willing to listen to different opinions and thoughts and work through issues, we can not be so close minded and disrespectful. In my classroom (and again some might totally hate me because in their eyes I am brainwashing our children) open discussion, thinking outside the box, and debate and discussion are welcomed - EVERY DAY! I want my students to be able to formulate educated sentences that make sense and can CHANGE others opinions, if it means we all benefit from it and become better, more educated because of it. I don't want students that can only fill in a bubble with a #2 pencil and can only recite what I tell them or their parents tell them. Am I saying I want our future leaders and adults to argue with everything and constantly think everything needs to be changed - NO! I just think that communication - positive, assertive, and educated communication can solve problems and make a HUGE difference in the world. That is the lesson I want taught to my students and my kids when they come along. I got an A in Government in high school and graduated college with a minor in Political Science and not once in any of those classes were differences frowned upon (even the one taught by a former United States Congressmen) and in each of them, when the structure of our government came up, I strongly remember that our National Government was set-up so that one branch doesn't have more power than another - the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches are all equal and create a Checks and Balance System (and in actuality, the Executive Branch is the weakest). So, how can one 15-20 minute speech (if that) by our President to the students of America change the direction of our country and brainwash every future voter into breaking down 233 years of freedom and democracy. I thought we had Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Education. I thought that as an educator I can take a topic in my classroom and make an incredible lesson out of it, one that my students will remember for the rest of their lives - I thought that is why I went to college, earned my degree, and bust my ass for my little 1 cent per hour paycheck. I thought it was to make sure my students get the best education possible and that they have every opportunity, if not more than I had growing up. Some might be mad at me over this, some might have stopped reading along time ago, and some might do the usual and just yell out, "That damn liberal doesn't know what the hell he is talking about!" But, my point of view is, that instead of criticizing everyone elses point of view - create your own and communicate it. With all of the screaming, name-calling, and insults aside, I am proud of what President Obama is doing, he simply puts the issue out on the table and starts the conversation - that is what America was founded on - conversation. And to all of you upset out there, don't act like you didn't see it coming, the man told you he was all about CHANGE, so here you go. At the same time, why must you continue to beat the man down, especially over something as simple as an address to school children that every other President before him has done? Well, my mind is a little lighter now. Needless to say Tuesday is the first day of classes for us and there is plenty of bureaucracy items and paperwork that "No Child Left Behind" gave us that needs to be tended to that we are most likely not going to have time to see the speech live and at the same time I don't have a class at 12noon to show it to. I am going to go back to preparing for my first day of classes and educating the children of America with my liberal, brainwashing views of the World. "

My baby's Birthday!

Went to VA for Christopher's (gulp) 33rd Birthday. Don't know how I managed these travel plans, but I flew in the day of the party (that I was giving)!! Thank God for my sister Stefanie. She had her daughter Alexis there all week, with her (gorgous) little baby, Samantha, plus Stefanie was working on and off, plus, all the family coming over to see Alexis & Samantha, then her son-in-law Pete came in, AND her daughter Nicole surprised everyone by coming down from NY!! With all this going on, Stefanie, with Alexs' help, managed to plan a party for Christopher and about 25 people! As I said, I showed up around 12:30 that day.

All in all, we had a great weekend, Alexis & family had to leave in the morning Sunday, but it was so good to see cute little Samantha (and, yeah, Alexis & Pete), if at least for that one day, and the best surprise was having Nicole there, too!

Of course, the highlight was seeing MY BABY, Christopher!!!! Although a short visit, it was great to spend time with him. Monday was a good day, all the family got together at Stefanie's house (while she was working) and got to quietly visit, while we finished up all the leftovers out of Stefanie's frig. She was excited to come home and see all the food gone, and just her normal yogurt and salad fixings in the frig! What was really nice was getting to visit with Steffie & Eddie and Maria on a quiet, relaxing basis. We usually only get to see them while they are hectically working.

I brought my camera, and I thought there were pictures being taken everywhere, but there are only a couple(?!), BUT, the memories will last longer.

Love to all my family, and I'm glad I got to see you all . . .