Getting to know each other

[Christy Carol]

This is kinda of an expanded version of Dom "hobbies" post. I was sitting here thinking that we spend so much time talking about Christmas and we all know what kind of trees we use, what kind of lights we prefer and which day we like better, Christmas Eve or Christmas day...but how much do we really know about it other as individuals? So lets get to know each other better, if you are willing to share.

I will start.

For my profession I am the manger of the EDI (electronic data interchange) department of a debt recovery law firm. All of our claims are sent in electronically so I am in charge to make sure the info imports into the software correctly and make sure any issues we have with the claims are resolved before it ever hits the legal department. We average 7-9 thousand new claims a month. I work on 6 different computers at any given time and while I love my job I hate the stress. Dealing with large clients...Ford, Citibank, Discover, etc is a total pain and each one has their own standards on how they send things over and one little mess up and it is complete system failure.

At home I love to mess around my new home, we will have been here one year Jan. 11th and I couldnt be a more proud homeowner. We have almost 4 acres of land that we are constantly working on and come spring I will be planting my 2nd garden since we have lived here. And after the infamous tomato raid of 2006 by the squirrels I am bound and determined to have a successful crop this year.

Ok, that is enough about me. What can you tell me about you?

[e_xander]

I work for a contractor that installs for DirecTv. I am manager of the warehouse, making sure our technicians all get the equipment they need while trying to keep enough in stock so they can do their jobs, which can drive any sane person bonkers, including myself.

I have a lovely wife, whom I convert over to enjoying Christmas more that she ever did, a 13-year-old son who always seems to find my last nerve and smash it into oblivion, but I love him dearly, a soon to be 11-year-old son who loves Santa, Santaupdate.com and hockey, and a 4-year-old little girl who thinks shes 15. Christmas this year was awesome with Santaupdate.com. They were all asking on Christmas Eve about the whereabouts of Santa and we would look on the site.

I also have a 3-year-old Shih-Tzu who thinks he's the size of a St Bernard. He's our baby.

We have owned our home for almost 5 years now and are still renovating it!! Hopefully we'll make better progress this year on getting some of it done.

Sean

[ChristmasLights]

This is such a great idea for a thread. I'm new here and don't know anyone or know about anyone so I look forward to reading the responses of this thread. Ok, where to start, lol. This is like writing a christmas card telling about the year. Well, I'm happily married to my wife Kate of 5 years. We got married in University and we have two kids, Scott who is 3 and Chase who is 4 months old. Yes, We had Scott while we both completed 4 year business degrees. Talk about a crazy time. The bedroom of our apartment seemed useless as neither of us got any sleep. Anyways, after college, Kate's parents gave us 5 acres of their land and there was a small log cabin on the land so we have slowly but surely been renovating it and making it a cozy little home. I worked as Sales and Marketing manager in BIT Solutions, which makes specialized office softwares, however, recently we decided since we want a large company one of us will have to stay home and although Kate is a very good mother, she decided she would like to keep her career and I would be staying home starting at the end of January. I am opening a new chapter in my life and closing one so this is a very exciting time, but also, I am apprehensive of leaving a career, which I went to the University of Western Ontario to secure.

Thats enough blabbing about me. The last 6 years have been hectic with completing school, starting careers, and having kids, and I look forward to a hopefully more quiet, but equally exciting new year!!!

[sugarplum fairy]

I am 36 years old. I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 18 years. We have 3 children--a girl that is 17 years old and a junior in high school, a girl that is 13 years old and in the eighth grade, and a boy that is 5 years old in a half-day preschool program at a local church. We also have a Shi-Tzu that will be 2 years old in Feb. She thinks she is a person. LOL!

I am presently working as a substitute teacher. For the past 2 years I was an instructional assistant for the local school system, but due to budget cuts all the non-tenured staff were pink slipped. Hopefully, something will come available for me this year at another school. I have a year and a half left to get my degree in early childhood education. The drive to my university is almost 2 hours then almost 2 hours back. I may go back if something doesn't come open for me, but the drive is so rough. I don't know. It took a lot out of me last time, and now with my son, I am not sure I can cope. We will just wait and see. I pray that I get that job, though.

I am very close to my sister's children. They are practically like my own. My sister is 5 years older than I am. The kids stayed a lot with me and my parents when they were young. I use to do almost all the running around for them because my sister was working out of town. The schools use to think I was their gardian because I was always the one up there for their parties, awards, etc. My sister and I look a lot alike too, so that confused them even more. LOL! They are older now. One is married with a 2 year old girl; one is in college, and the baby is expecting a boy in Feb.

Well, that is about it for me--nothing special or unusual. I hope I didn't bore you all too much! LOL!! :-D

[silver bells]

I am a registered nurse and am a charge nurse/ECMO nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the children's hospital in Kansas City. I have been a NICU nurse for almost 20 years. I work 12 hour night shifts and work 3 nights/week. I have been married to my wonderful husband for 3 1/2 years(we met online) and I have 2 sons, an 18 y/o who is a freshman in college but still lives at home and a 16 year old who is a junior in high school. I also have 2 dogs, a mini daschund and a mini rat terrier plus 2 cats who are all spoiled rotten. In my spare time, I love to read, play on the computer and scrapbook.

[elfworks]

first and most importantly, for those of you who might still be confused, I AM A GIRL.
single, 40-something. never married. no kids. as of thanksgiving, 4 cats (as opposed to the 3 i had the day b4 t-day) pumpkin, phantom, jellybean and gingerbread.

i cook/mostly bake for a living. independently. (as opposed to working at a bakery, i cater out of my home)

love to entertain. good food and good wine shared with good friends is about as close to heaven as we can come on this here earth.
metaphorically speaking.

i smoke. and yes, i know i shouldnt.

i usually have about 8 books going at any one time. i see 3 or 4 movies a week. i love my tivo more than my boyfriend. i just recently moved to dallas from austin and the only thing i dont like about being here is that there isnt enuf live music. i might listen to music more than i do anything else.

i am very politically active.

i do not suffer fools gladly. in fact, i can be an outright (insert bad word here) when confronted with stupidity. especially stupidity that is a choice.

i am allergic to shellfish and mushrooms.

i think that is probably enuf info for now.

:D

xo

[dominick]

I'll keep this brief. I'm in my early 20s (many are surprised by that fact for whatever reason) and was born and raised in the south suburbs of Chicago. I lived in Houston, TX for a portion of my schooling and really enjoyed it. I am a mechanic by trade, though currently unemployed due to (among other things) a bit of an accident I had back in the summer. The time off was nice, but it's driving me a bit crazy lately.

-Tony

[dominick]

I thought it'd be nice to put names to faces. Sorry, I don't have many pictures of myself so these will have to do.

Here I'm prepping my new engine for install.
http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/9600/dscf2424xy9.jpg

Here I'm "plinking" at my friend's house in Caldwell, TX. It's a lot of fun.
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/8895/untitledzt7.jpg

[angelroompatti]

Nice to get to know all of you.

I think I'm the oldest one in the bunch here. heading for the big 50 . I've been prepping my self all year (cause in reality am in my 50 year right?)

married going on 16 years-no children (by design not choice)
my previous careers was insurance office manger, candystore (kindof manager) and "key" for a private owned craftstore for a few years.

Now I type data entry for hubby who is a house appraiser, we work out of the house, which for the most part is a good thing! :)

we have 2 dogs, Barney lab mix, and Dude, chow shepherd mix (the old man he is going on 12

we have two cats. Mamie and Emily (who as kittens I took of my brothers hands- they were birthed from to sister cats so they have been together all their lives are about 4) Named them after the baldwin sisters on Waltons. personalities different as night and day. amazing.

my hobbies are sewing, quilting, music, old TurnerClassic movies baking
beadwork. (jack of all trades master of none here.)

Hope to do more community oriented things this year.

that's about it! :)

[ChristmasAngel84]

Good topic!

I am 22 years old(soon to be 23 on the 21st)I currently am a nanny watching my nephew while my sister goes to school & when I am not doing that I like spending time with my family & my pets & friends.I enjoy baking & decorating...my mom & me share alot of the same interests so we like to hang out alot & watch t.v and listen to music etc....I enjoy older music (70's & 80's & Classic Rock)I really don't care for the music that is out today!

My fave groups are Def Leppard,Journey(with Steve Perry) & I also like Clay Aiken & Keith Urban and The Carpenters & a few others!

I am a huge animal lover & of course I LOVE Christmas lol.......I have a MYSpace page here is the link.....

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=67313920

[Jeff Westover]

Def Lepard? Ah, a woman after my own heart. This is part of my youth I have not given up and I'm proud to say that it is something I am sharing with delight with my 14 year old, over the protests, of course, of my wife.

I'm 43, going on 5. I am married, father of 7 -- ages 4 to nearly 21 (unreal), six girls and one boy. We have a border collie, just to make our chaos complete.

I am, by day, a mild-mannered district manager for See's Candies covering Utah, Idaho, Colorado and Northern Nevada. It is a job I find completely unfulfilling as well as woefully necessary. By night I am a freelance writer and webmaster, operating now 26 websites, including this one. Truth be told, this is where my heart is -- and hopefully my professional future.

We live in Sandy, Utah although I will always claim to be a Californian, not a Utahn, as I was born and raised in Northern California. Utah is great, don't get me wrong. I'm just not one of them, if you know what I mean.

I am not the avid reader I once was, due to time constraints. However I still consider it one of my passions and a very necessary life-skill. The Internet is a persistent hobby (nearly as bad as smoking), as is a deep-seeded love of Baseball, which I cannot get it out of my system. I am an old photo nut, teaching, purchasing and practicing photography ever since my childhood. I am a political junkie and I talk back alot at the tv as well as my computer screen and newspaper (I've grown hoarse these last few years). I greatly enjoy collecting movies, having driven my wife crazy with surround sound all these years. Sadly, like reading, I cannot delve into it as much as I once did because time doesn't allow it and I have to compete now for TV time with those advocating Sponge Bob and American Idol in my house (teenage girls who will not stomach even one more episode of West Wing on DVD from me).

My wife and I are very close. We shop together, study geneaology together, and yell at our kids in unison at times. She is the joy of my life and my best friend. She sometimes gets jealous of my online friends, something that gives me great pleasure.

It is a pleasure getting to know more of you this way!

Jeff

[ChristmasAngel84]

Def Lepard? Ah, a woman after my own heart. This is part of my youth I have not given up and I'm proud to say that it is something I am sharing with delight with my 14 year old, over the protests, of course, of my wife.

Oh that's so cool that ur a fan....I love them they are great....it is very cool to know ur 14 year old likes them too!

My mom is a big fan also...we watch the DVD's and have them playing all the time.... and I recently got "High N Dry' & "Pyromania" on vinyl for Christmas!

[Jeff Westover]

vinyl? that's hilarious considering that Pyromania was one of the first CDs I ever owned back in 1984. I remember going out and purchasing a CD player for like $600 at the time and then getting whatever CDs I could find. What I got was Erich Kunzel and the Cinncinnati Pops playing Dvorak's New World Symphony, David Nilson and Pyromania. Quite the diverse offering.

I also remember blowing my Dad away to the point that the next day he went out and purchased a new CD player as well. Up to that time, my Dad's collection of vinyl was unrivaled (and may still be).

After more than 20 years of CD collecting, I have to say that there are definitely some favorites I have still on vinyl that I prefer on vinyl. Some of my old Chicago and Eagles comes to mind.

Jeff

[ChristmasAngel84]

LOL.....I am definetly the only person my age that I know that has vinyyl lol....yeah my mom went nuts looking for Def Leppard on vinyl she only found those 2....she said to me"People don't wanna give up their DL records" lol so I am trying to build my vinyl collection....a few years back my parents bought me one of those new record players and it's so weird hearing the records verse the cd's...though I do have all of Journey's records on vinyl even Steve Perry's "Street Talk" album autographed by him...my sister got it for me off Ebay!

My first cd ever was "Destroyer" by KISS(when I was 5) I still am a fan but not as much as I used to be....IMO it's not KISS anymore!

I actually have some old Christmas records on vinyl that I enjoy more in that format rather than cd!

But like I was saying before I was playing my DL records on my turn table & Joe Elliott almost cracked my speakers lol.....it's still neat to hear them though in their original form!

[Jeff Westover]

I think vinyl was the reason ebay was invented. There is a quality to it that you cannot get on CD.

One of my pet projects is to get some of the old Christmas on vinyl digitized, oddly, so that we can play some on Merry Christmas Radio. I have an old LP of Ed Ames singing "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" that has to be heard to be believed.

Jeff

[ChristmasAngel84]

Oh that sounds great.....I have this Christmas album the record itself is red & it's all hymns & Carols played by chimes and it's just beatiful...it's my mom's from when she was a kid....I love that album & I can't recall the name of it....I'll have to look though....I doubt it's available on cd though!

[Michael Rielly]

Well, I am an Aquarius, with dark hair, and blue eyes. I am 6’-1”, I like walks on the beach, Piña Coladas, and getting caught in the rain. Just kidding. I hate Piña Coladas!
:-D

Okay seriously, I am a 43 (soon to be 44) single dad raising 2 kids – a just turned 14-year old son and a soon to be 9-year old daughter.

I live in Rhode Island, born and raised here.

For the past 25 something years I have worked in software sales and marketing. I don’t really like or know that much about professional sports. I love to cook (I do a lot of it) and spend most of my free time in front of this PC. I am a major geek. When I first started using the Internet, there were no pictures and no more than 100 websites! I’m old!
:-D

I develop and manage a few websites on the side and have owned two businesses. I now work as a business unit manager for a very large, well known conglomerate who’s former CEO is now in prison and spend WAY too much time traveling - both international and domestic. The kids hate it and so do I!

I am a Mechanical Engineer by degree, but started off as a music major. I studied classical trumpet and voice. I don't play any more but miss it terribly.

My dream is to one day open up an Italian style coffee bar (think Starbucks but cooler) and grow a real beard. Hopefully it will come in white.

Here's what I look like without the beard:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/kal_el_2020/avatar2.jpg

As you’ve guessed by now, I portray Santa Claus. I am not a “professional” Santa per say as I don’t work malls or gigs of that nature.

My grandfather (Papa) was also Santa. He portrayed Santa for over 60 years! He started playing Santa in the early 1930s and did so right up to the year he passed away. He was a wonderful Santa and had gotten praises, letters, awards, and the like from hundreds of celebrities, politicians, even the Pope!

In his honor, I took up the red suit the year after he passed. Like my Papa, I only portray Santa for hospitals, charities, nursing homes, and churches. Of course I always make an exception for my kids, nieces, and nephews! And like Papa, I take no money for my appearances.

My kids have sat on my knee every year since their birth and have never guessed it was me! My son only found out when he was 12. He said he recognized my eyes.

I have attended the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School in Midland, MI (www.santaclausschool.com). The SWH Santa Claus School was founded in 1937 and is the oldest and longest running school dedicated to the art of portraying Santa Claus.

I am also a member of The Royal Order Of Santa Claus (www.santaclausregistry.com).

Wow! That’s a lot! I could go on, but that’s probably more than you wanted to know!
:lol:

[ChristmasFanatic]

Very interesting info from everyone! Wish my info could be as interesting, but sadly, it's not. ;)

I'm soon to be 42, which I feel completely shocked by. Age is a state of mind, but I never pictured myself as being 42! My parents tell me if I think 42 is a shock, try being the parent of a 42-year old! :)

I've been involved in a wonderful and loving relationship for almost nine years, now and feel very fortunate for that. I'm the oldest child....I have two younger brothers and while I have no children, one brother has six ranging in age from 12-5 and the youngest brother and his wife just had their first child in May of '06. Naturally, I think my nieces and nephews are the cutest and the most intelligent! ;) My brothers and I are very close and I am close with my Mom and Dad, who divorced when I was 13. My family has always been there for me and I'd like to think I've been there for them, as well.

I worked for almost 15 years for the same company, before health issues made it impossible for me to work. I've been disabled for about 8 years, now and still have a tough time adjusting to the fact that I'm not working. When I was able to work, it was usually 12+ hours per day and 6 and 7 days a week. I spent more time with my co-workers than with family and most of my co-workers became better friends than I could have ever hoped for.

I'm an avid collcetor of anything and everything that I enjoy. My/our DVD collection is nearing 2000 DVDs and that's becoming a major problem, storage-wise.....we live in an apartment and room or lack-there-of is quickly becoming an issue! I'm a huge fan of all things classic.....classic films (especially sci-fi/horror), classic TV and classic tunes. I love the tunes of the 50s and 60s, but also tend to love hard rock/metal.

I'm a big sports fan, played softball in high school and still love to toss a softball or swing the bat, if I can. I love watching college football and NFL games as well as the NHL and MLB. I'll watch most any sport, but I've never been a fan of basketball or boxing.

Autumn and Winter are my favorite seasons.....I hate the heat and humidity of Summer as well as the spiders and bugs that Summer brings! The sight of a spider can send me into such a state of terror, it's almost comical, although I don't see any humor in it.

Probably much more info than anyone cares to know, but there's a bit about me. :)

[e_xander]

I have attended the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School in Midland, MI (www.santaclausschool.com). The SWH Santa Claus School was founded in 1937 and is the oldest and longest running school dedicated to the art of portraying Santa Claus.



When you attended, did you go to Bronners one weekend for a field trip? I saw a program a couple years ago on TV about the school and actually got to meet some attendants of the school at Bronners on our trip there in '05.

See this link for pictures:

http://www.mymerrychristmas.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3580

It must have been awesome to go to that school.

Sean

[angelroompatti]

just popping in to say I'm still here and loving hearing about all of you!

Have a great day!

[Michael Rielly]

I have attended the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School in Midland, MI (www.santaclausschool.com). The SWH Santa Claus School was founded in 1937 and is the oldest and longest running school dedicated to the art of portraying Santa Claus.



When you attended, did you go to Bronners one weekend for a field trip? I saw a program a couple years ago on TV about the school and actually got to meet some attendants of the school at Bronners on our trip there in '05.

See this link for pictures:

http://www.mymerrychristmas.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3580

It must have been awesome to go to that school.

Sean

Ha! Not only did I go to Bronners, I am IN THAT PICTURE! I am the non-bearded Santa in the middle with the yellow shirt!

Ha! Small world!

[e_xander]

No kidding! Who would have thought that we had run into each other without knowing!! I love your Santa outfit...you should have worn it to Bronners!! I would have recognized you then. :D

Sean

[Michael Rielly]

No kidding! Who would have thought that we had run into each other without knowing!! I love your Santa outfit...you should have worn it to Bronners!! I would have recognized you then. :D

Sean

I have two suits. The one in my avatar is my favorite. I am hoping to have another one made this year. I've been playing around with a new design idea.

I know that Santa in your avatar. I had no idea it was from that day we visited Bronners. Pretty cool.

That particular year we had Good Morning America with us. They did a segment on the school. They went with us to the Bronners that day too. I was in the background in a few scenes.

The school is in Midland, MI. The call it the Santa House. If you are ever in the area you have to stop by and see it. There are a few pictures on the website. I created the website for them. I wanted to put more pictures on the site, but they like to make it a surprise for visitors. So the pictures on the website only give you a little glimps of what's inside.

[mrshamm]

I'm 21 years old and I live in Ohio with my husband Jeremy and 2 children. Our son, Xander, is 2 years old and our daughter, Triniti, will be a year old on Feb. 7th. I have been married since July 31, 2004. I have my bridal consulting degree but I'm not sure if that's really what I want to do with my life. Right now, I'm a stay at home mom and I will continue to be untill the children start school. I read everything I can get my hands on and I've decided to write a book from all the ideas I have bouncing around in my head. I know it'll probably take a couple of years to finish writing the book but it'll be an interesting process. I am a musician. I play a lot of different instruments and find it easy to learn to play new ones. I am also a skilled vocalist. I have gotten out of shape after having 2 children so, I have taken up Latin dance to help me get back into shape. My husband is a CADD technician and is currently finishing up his bachleors in Business admin.

[kelly88]

This is a great thread! I haven't been on here very long (joined in November) so I don't know anyone yet. It's nice to read about people and get to know people a bit better.

I'm not very interesting and not very good at this kinda thing but I'll give it a go anyway.

I'm 18, female, I live in the UK. I was at college till the middle of last year but hated every single second of it because I knew for a while it wasn't what I wanted to do so I dropped out. I'm currently unemployed but looking for something to keep me going for the time being (admin, receptionist, that kinda thing). But when I'm old enough I want to be a driving instructor. Hehe, I'm a strange one me. I don't think I've ever known anyone who wants to be a driving instructor but I have a cousin who's one and it's the only thing I've ever really wanted to do. So I'm planning on working for a few years (when something comes up, the job hunting is driving me nuts!) and saving some money to do driving instructor training when I'm old enough.

So, yeah, I love my car to pieces and love being out and about in it (I'm a sad case, my car even has a name hehe). I love taking photos but I'm not very good at it and my camera is on it's way out. But it's still fun. I like doing things, arty things, cooking, that kinda thing (but I have to be in the mood). I've never been very good at art really but it's fun :-D . I love reading, I spend a lot of time reading if there's nothing else to do. And I think I'm a bit of a computer addict. I spend far too much time on here. I also spend a lot of time at the cinema. I love it. I love watching and buying DVD's too. So, yep, I love films.

I live with my parents, a dog, 2 guinea pigs, fish, a cockatiel and a finch (bit of a zoo LOL). I have a brother and sister, they're both older than me.

Umm... I can't think of anything else to say now so I'll leave it at that :-D

[Michael Rielly]

This is a great thread! I haven't been on here very long (joined in November) so I don't know anyone yet. It's nice to read about people and get to know people a bit better.

I'm not very interesting and not very good at this kinda thing but I'll give it a go anyway.

I'm 18, female, I live in the UK. I was at college till the middle of last year but hated every single second of it because I knew for a while it wasn't what I wanted to do so I dropped out. I'm currently unemployed but looking for something to keep me going for the time being (admin, receptionist, that kinda thing). But when I'm old enough I want to be a driving instructor. Hehe, I'm a strange one me. I don't think I've ever known anyone who wants to be a driving instructor but I have a cousin who's one and it's the only thing I've ever really wanted to do. So I'm planning on working for a few years (when something comes up, the job hunting is driving me nuts!) and saving some money to do driving instructor training when I'm old enough.

So, yeah, I love my car to pieces and love being out and about in it (I'm a sad case, my car even has a name hehe). I love taking photos but I'm not very good at it and my camera is on it's way out. But it's still fun. I like doing things, arty things, cooking, that kinda thing (but I have to be in the mood). I've never been very good at art really but it's fun :-D . I love reading, I spend a lot of time reading if there's nothing else to do. And I think I'm a bit of a computer addict. I spend far too much time on here. I also spend a lot of time at the cinema. I love it. I love watching and buying DVD's too. So, yep, I love films.

I live with my parents, a dog, 2 guinea pigs, fish, a cockatiel and a finch (bit of a zoo LOL). I have a brother and sister, they're both older than me.

Umm... I can't think of anything else to say now so I'll leave it at that :-D

I've been to the UK several times. In fact I was recently there. I love roundabouts!
:D

[kelly88]

:lol: they're awful! How can you like them? People feel the need to toot their horn at other drivers for no reason on them too often

[mrshfromjersey]

mrshfromjersey - The Readers Digest Condensed Version

I'm 40 (almost 41) and happily married to dvdguy for a little over 4 years. No kids yet (unless you count dvdguy) but we do have a cat. We relocated from NJ to FL in September and so far it has been a good move.

I work in the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources department of Charlotte County, FL. I love the job. It is quite diverse. I think it makes the most of my customer service, office and SELF TAUGHT computer skills. I've worked in Health Insurance, Network Reselling, Pharmaceutical Advertising, Banking, Healthcare, and small town cable advertising. So far, my job with Parks and Rec is the best fit for me.

My hobbies are: baking, cooking, gardening, photography, the internet (mostly MMC and shopping!), music, reading and writing.

Any questions????

[Michael Rielly]

mrshfromjersey - The Readers Digest Condensed Version

<snip>

My hobbies are: baking...

Any questions????
Yes. Where were my cookies! ;-)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/kal_el_2020/santa/Santa7.jpg

[Jeff Westover]

Photography? We should talk, MrsH.

[mrshfromjersey]

Answers -

SC: The cookies are nestled all snug in their bed while visions of stepping on the scale are rolling around in my head

Jeff: You like photography, need a photographer, need pictures??? What can I do for you? I've recently rekindled my old hobby of photography now that I have so many birds, animals, lizards, frogs and just plain old beautiful scenery in Florida. (Check out my website for some of my photography http://home.earthlink.net/~kathleenharriott/)

Any other questions?

[mrshamm]

you take beautiful photos!

[mrshfromjersey]

Thanks mrshamm. I love nature photography, but sometimes you can't get the darned birds, animals, insects and such to cooperate.

[megarrick]

I am 21 years old (22 on Aug. 27th). I live in Jackson, AL with my mama and daddy. I have a boyfriend of 3 years.

When I graduated high school I got sent to a university that was 150 miles away, needless to say I lived on campus. Well I hated being away from home and that was also the year I met my boyfriend. So I stopped going to class. I failed everything and came home. Went to the community college here and pulled my GPA back up to a 3.2! After attending there for 2 years, I enrolled in the University of South Alabama, where I am now, and I am working on my Elementary Education Major!!! :grin:

My boyfriend has recently been accepted my our local department to become a police officer so he has been getting ready to go Police Academy. He wanted to get in shape before he goes so they don't kill him when he gets there. He will be there for 12 weeks...I've seen him every day for the past 2 1/2 years. I honestly don't know what I am going to do with all of that time. :-(

In my spare time I enjoy hunting, fishing, playing with my Golden Retriever, cross-stitching, scrapbooking, and exercising. If anyone knows of a web site that you can get cross stitch patterns off of (that don't cost anything) please tell me about them! :smile:

[mrshfromjersey]

I might have some counted cross stitch sites for you. I'll look throught my crafty favorites, put together a list and PM it to you. Sound good?

[megarrick]

Sounds excellent!

I love the movie that your signature came from!

[HolyNight7]

Hey that bubble light avatar is pretty cool megarrick! :D

[mrshfromjersey]

Some websites with free cross stitch patterns

http://www.yarntree.com/007begin.htm

http://www.freepatternsonline.com/

http://crosstitch.com/

http://www.momsbudget.com/crafts/freecrossstitch.html

[ReineV]

Cool thread!

Let's see...I'm 22 years old (23 in June), and I just graduated from Georgia Southern University with a Bachelors of Science in Broadcasting with Production Emphasis. I've started pounding the pavement, looking for jobs with local Atlanta news stations and even applied for a job at CNN (lucky me for living in the city where CNN headquarters are located!). I am really family oriented and my sisters mean the world to me even though they are a lot older than me! The oldest is a doctor (ob/gyn) the middle is a teacher, then there's me! So I'm kinda out to prove something, lol. My mom is awesome, although we have our "moments" we're still as close as can be. I consider myself to be unbelievably blessed with the BEST friends in the whole wide world! I love em dearly and they've made my life beautiful. I enjoy cooking a lot and have gotten pretty good at mastering my own recipes...although I am still learning how to cook soul food recipes my family has been passing down for generations. I am single, and have been for two years, but that's kinda my fault since I've put school and my friends in the forefront of my life. But, I figure that will happen when the time is right. I'm kind of a weird girl, seeing that I love chick-flicks, shopping, etc, but I LOVE football (watching the Bears-Seahawks game right now!) and I like video games a lot! Gears of War is my favorite and I play it on X Box Live a lot. So...I'm weird...but in a good way! ...I think....

http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/3875/n33009075317977453419cq1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/4182/n33011390300757798378zg9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/23/p1010351hc4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)[/img][/i]

[megarrick]

Thanks for the great sites! :???:

[dvdguy]

nothing wrong with being wierd

[RadioJonD]

Greetings folks!

My name is Jonathan. I’m in my late forties. My wife of almost twenty years and I live in Cherokee, Alabama with our soon to be nineteen year old daughter. We also have a twenty-seven year old son who lives nearby. We have four cats that hang around for food, love, and health benefits!

My wife is an RN and serves as a branch director for a statewide home health care & hospice agency. Daughter attends Junior College and works at Old Navy.

The area we live in is famous for the birthplace of Helen Keller (in Tuscumbia) and W.C. Handy, father of the blues, (in Florence) and the Muscle Shoals Sound for you music aficionados! Many chart topping hits were recorded in this area. Sam Phillips of Sun Records also was born and raised in Florence. Oh, and just south of our small town is the World’s only Coon Dog Cemetery!

Last October I retired as a Police Communications Officer for the Alabama Department of Public Safety, a.k.a. State Troopers with almost twenty-seven years state service. Another opportunity came along that allows me to practice the same vocation with the U.S. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Police. Briefly, the US-TVA is a Federal Utility created in 1933 that serves folks in seven states in the southeast. I am proud to be a third generation TVA employee!

My hobbies are radio monitoring, travel, reading, attending air shows, living history reenactments & music/cultural festivals, and listening to most types of music (especially Christmas!). Yes, I have a vinyl collection as well as audio cassettes and CDs! I don’t have any eight tracks though!

Though I seldom watch much TV network programming, I am totally hooked on the NBC show, “The Office”! I happen to catch their 2005 Christmas show during Summer reruns last and was instantly captured. I have the first two seasons on DVD. Got ‘em for Christmas! To tell you how often I get into TV shows, the last one I really liked was “Quantum Leap” and the one before it was “Moonlighting”.

Some internet sites that define me:

http://www.flo-tour.org/ & http://www.colbertcountytourism.org/

http://www.tva.gov/ & http://www.tva.gov/abouttva/tvap/index.htm

http://www.dps.state.al.us/ & http://www.alabamastatetrooper.com/

http://www.radioreference.com/ & http://www.lifeintheoffice.com/forum/index.php

[dominick]

It was brought to my attention when I posted my pictures that neither of them really showed my face; since I prefer to be behind the camera taking the pictures, there aren't a whole lot of pictures of me to speak of. Anyway, a friend from Houston flew up for a visit last week and this is us at a War Memorial in Munster, IN. I'm on the right.

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/3024/alextonymemorialas6.jpg

[Christy Carol]

Are you sure he is just a friend? You two could pass for brothers!!!

[dominick]

Are you sure he is just a friend? You two could pass for brothers!!!

I'm not sure that's a good thing. :-?

[e_xander]

Are you sure he is just a friend? You two could pass for brothers!!!

I was thinking the same thing! :???:

Sean

[caseydbell]

I am 18 - single. I love to read, I never miss the apprentice and ER - the two "shows" I watch on TV. I listen to classical, oldies, and country music. I am very involved in politics, and I am a Christian. And as you could guess my favorite holiday is.....CHRISTMAS!!!!! Thanksgiving is a close second.

[kidzrme]

HELLO,
I AM 35 YEAR OLD SINGLE MOM. MY DAUGHTER IS 171/2, AND WILL BE HEADED OFF TO NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY IN THE FALL. I LIVE IN MA, AND WORK F0R THE SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT AS A 911 DISPATCHER. I HAVE 2 CATS, AND 1 DOG. MY DOG, BASIL, IS A MIX BETWEEN A CHIHUAHUA AND A BEAGLE, WE CALL HIM A CHAWEAGLE. I AM A HOMEOWNER, AND LOVE TO WORK ON MY HOUSE AND MY YARD. I AM ON A 5 YEAR PLAN TO FINISH MY BASEMENT (SO IT IS LIKE THE REST OF THE HOUSE, EXTRA ROOMS) AND ADD A GARAGE W/ AN APARTMENT. :-D

[AuntieMistletoeDear]

Well, I am an Aquarius, with dark hair, and blue eyes. I am 6’-1”, I like walks on the beach, Piña Coladas, and getting caught in the rain. Just kidding. I hate Piña Coladas!
:-D
:lol:

:dance: That's funny. I remember thinking the words to that song were "do you like sleeping with the lights on, getting caught in the rain?"

[AuntieMistletoeDear]

:wiggy: Who Am I?

I was born in a hospital, weighing 7lb. 6oz. - I had blue eyes (now hazel) and dark black hair (now becoming more gray than black, ugh!).
I sat up alone at five months, cut my first tooth at seven months, drank from a cup at nine months, stood up alone at nine months - there was no stopping me from walking at ten months, and I celebrated Christmas for the first time at nine months.
My favourite gifts that year were my musical teddy bear, Raggedy Ann, Rolling-eyes Fisher Price telephone, and dinky cars.
My imaginary friends with whom I entertained regularly for tea parties were: Pretend Heather, Bobo the Seal, Tusky the Walrus, BubbleGum the dog and Jiminey Cricket.
My first pets were: Goldie (ginger tabby), Big Silver & Little Silver (not much imagination there - I saved that for invisible friends), Charlie Brown (changed his name to Heffelump) and then came my best pal Ragmop (named after the song). I used to pretend my little two-wheel bike was a horse and I called it, "Big Red".
I am married to the most wonderful man in the world who treats me like a Queen (and why shouldn't he) and have two step-sons )although we never use that term - I'm "ma") and five grandchildren whom I love dearly. Currently we are owned by a wild thing named O'Malley whose mother might have mated with a Canadian Lynx or a Bobcat ~ if not than he's definitely the "son of a feral cat". He makes us laugh one minute and frustrates us the next. Nothing on National Geographic can compare to his "battle dance" and I hope to catch that on video with my new digital camera.
My training is in Children & Youth and I have worked with some very troubled children over the years. Currently, I am in charge of ensuring quality care and service for licensed child care programs at the local YMCA and staff training and external meetings take up quite a chunk of time, but I'm never too busy to stop and listen to a child.
I have many passions: nature & wildlife, hiking, biking, music, story telling, puppetry, still trying to complete that family tree (found a few broken branches along the way), and I love Christmas.
I have a wonderful memory and when I'm sharing a story I can put myself right back there as if I'm experiencing it all over again. I have dreams (literally) about Christmas all the time and I wish I could tape some of them to show everyone the colours, tastes, sounds and smells I experience in them.
I enjoy making banners and I'm playing around with Animation3, trying to make avatar graphics. Lots of practice left before I'll get there.
Some days I feel like I must be nearly 60 by now and other days I feel like I'm seven. I'll keep the rest a bit of a mystery.

:give: Great thread idea ~ look at what we've learned about each other.

[dvdguy]

wow I feel like Ive known you all my life :wiggy: