And here is my baby sister getting her face time with President Obama.  She has always had the gift of gab, that girl.  I'm sure he was absolutely taken with her as most people are.  That's why we call her Ferris!

This photo was taken at Obama's first campaign rally in Minnesota. I am the one directly over his right shoulder, and my sister Jackie is over his left shoulder. The bearded guy beside Jackie, is my brother in law Ron. We were right up front and got to shake his hand. It was that handshake that gave me really good vibes about this man and his character. Today was a special day in the history of this country. I've got an embossed invitation to the Inauguration. I am definitely going to frame that. I am proud that we were Obama supporters from the beginning. He is gonna be a great president. The anticipation is running high.

These photos are kind of far off, but if you look closely, you will see the tiny little detached head to the man in the other photo. I believe it had something to do with that alien!!

I have a few Christmas villages that I display on Christmas around the dining room. There is one in particular that I let the kids mess with if they want, and this year they loved doing that. There is nothing in there that is worth more than the fun they have just arranging, rearranging, turning the lights off and on. It is theirs, really. This year however, there is a horrible, strange creature lurking in the village. The poor people are completely unaware, except for the man in the foreground who has obviously lost his head somehow in the bargain. Upon closer inspection in the second photo, the missing head is spotted near a door. Will the little village ever be the same again after invasion by this giant headed woman on some sort of spacecraft? Stay tuned next year, and I will let you know.

We're going to Disney World! We leave on Monday. Two of our three kids and their kids - the grandkiddies are jetting off to Disney World. I can't wait for some sun and fun. There is no better experience than sitting at Chef Mickeys and watching those little cuties waving their napkins as the characters come dancing through the restaurant and loud music plays. It is a party atmosphere like no other. The faces of those little people are priceless and their reactions to the characters are hilarious.

My hubby and I went to Disney World for the first time in our late 30's. We found from the first time we set foot on Disney soil that it is the one place we can go and just be kids again. The first time we sat down on the monorail and heard that deep, clear reassuring voice say, "Welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth!" I felt my heart soar like it hadn't done since I was a small child. I felt absolutely giddy. You just don't find that very often in an average adult life. I was hooked!

As soon as we could manage it, we bought shares at Disney Vacation Club. Since then we have brought our kids and our grandkids, as they have come along, for at least one yearly trip down there. It is a place where we can be together as a family and let our cares float away like the huge balloons that manage to escape the grasp of their little owners and float away into the tranquil blue sky. When I see the balloon vendors on Main Street I am always intrigued about the pull upward that a mess of balloons like that would create against the force of gravity. What would it feel like to have a huge bouquet of balloons like that in your grasp? Maybe I will try it someday. It is on my list of things to do.

Well, time to pack my bags and get my boarding pass printed. Mickey here we come!! Get those Mickey bars and turkey legs ready for us.

New Years always puts me in such a contemplative mood. I spend time thinking about the year gone by and the year to come. I try to figure out what I was supposed to learn, and what lessons were wasted on me completely.

The past year was amazing and eye opening in so many ways. Topping my list was the election of Barack Obama. Man, what an exiting time this is for our country. We have elected the first African American man to be president, and what a good man he is indeed. I don't jump on band wagons easily, but in this case, I am glad we made the right choice. I feel hope for the year ahead because he is being inaugurated.

On a personal level, I have started to become more fit. The weight has not fallen off, but I have lost about 10 lbs. and I am feeling healthy, so that is good. I have to continue to work on my eating plan. I don't like to call it a diet.

I have also come to the conclusion this past year that having a big, fat Griswold Christmas is in the past for me. It seems the greater one's expectations for that happiest of all seasons, the more room there is for disappointment and hurt feelings. I am thinking that a beach in Hawaii looks really good for next year. Either that, or a beach in Florida - definitely a beach. I don't care if my midwest loving husband protests every step of the way, I am gonna take Christmas from now on to rest, relax and enjoy the true meaning of the season. I am done with the White Christmas and Holiday Inn scene. Done! Done! Done!

For the coming year, I intend to accomplish some of my personal goals, once and for all. Now that I am on the bottom side of 50, I don't feel like I have a lot of time to waste. Although there is longevity in my family, and my great-grandmother and grandmother lived into their 90's, you just never know. Maybe my sister and I will start a rock band. We can be the rocking grannies, although last night on New Years Eve we were goofing around and practicing some hip hop. We decided you can't really undersand what they are saying in unison anyway, so we could just give recipes, and no one would know the difference! We both wear short, baggy jeans already, so add a jersey, a baseball cap turned sideways, some chains and some high tops, and we've got the look! We can yell and bob and weave as well as any of those guys! Put a little pow wow step in now and again, and by gosh I think we've got it!! Gi-Le and JackRo! Catch us soon, we'll let you know when our first gig is.