And the Winner is....

I have officially not won the letter to me contest that I entered over here.  My streak is still intact!  Yay me!!  You can read the winning entry at this location.  Congrats!

Am I unhappy?  Yeah, kind of.  Just in the sense that I would have loved to have won.  But, it is no big deal.  There were a lot better letters to selves out there than mine.  Of course, if mine hadn't been the first and everyone could see what they were up against, then maybe theirs wouldn't have been so darn better!  (Yes, I am just joking.  Kinda....)

Maybe I am just saving up all my winnings for something really big....like the Power Ball lottery!  Then all those folks who won things in contests that I entered will be sad that they already used up their win.  Yeah, probably not.

I saw that the person I sent my Secret Santa stuff to has received it and posted about it.  They say they like it.  But I feel kind of bad because I sent something that would go with something else I was under the impression they already had.  Evidently that was not the case.  Now they are going to have to wait to use the gift since they are having to wait to get the item I sent the gift for.  (Wow! Did that even make sense?!)

Like I said in another post, it was kind of hard to get something for this person because they are the exact opposite of me.  But, according to the recipient, I didn't do too terribly bad.  I just hope they aren't too disappointed in the fact that they will have to wait to use part of what I sent.  If they are reading this, then I hope they forgive me.

I am still waiting on my gift to come in the mail (or by FedEx or UPS or Santa's Sleigh).  I have gawked at some of the other Secret Santa packages that have been sent, so I am really looking forward to seeing what I get.  I have been pretty impressed with what others have come up with.

Maybe it will be in the next couple of days so that I can get pictures up on here before I am without daily access to a computer with internet!  If not, then I will take pictures and post as soon as I possibly can.

Last night, we went to the Shriner's Christmas Party.  This is for all of the past and present Shriner's patients in our area.  My Crazy Man is a former patient.  He had several operations and was a patient of theirs for over six years.  Because of their kindness, this is something that is near and dear to our hearts.

In years past, Santa shows up and all of the kids and siblings receive a present.  And by kids, I mean the patients, no matter the age.  Now, the siblings have to all be under the age of 13 to get a gift.  The meal was served free to the patient and one guest along with any child.

This year, anyone over age 18 had to pay for their meal (former patients included) and only those kids under age 13 received a gift.  The economy is hard on everyone this year.

Please don't read that previous paragraph as a complaint.  It totally is not.  I am just explaining how things were and how they are now.  We gladly pay for our meals and Crazy Man has told them for years to use the money they were spending on his gift to make sure that another child is helped.

We love going to support this group.  I love to see the little ones eyes light up as Santa comes in and they get him for a few minutes all to themselves.  AND they get a cool gift!  To watch some of these kids grow is fun too.  This year, the kids ranged in age from 4 months up to 82 years old.  Everyone has a good time!

They have us all seated at certain tables, so that no body gets to pick where they want to sit.  They try to make sure that a Shriner and his wife sit at each table.  For the past three years, we have shared a meal with the Roloffs.  This year, we were sitting with Charlie Brown and his wife.

That just tickles me.  Of course I get amused by some of the silliest things.  But, having a Christmas meal with Charlie Brown is just fun to say!