Everyday Chatting & Waffling {2026} Let's get to know each other!

FormbyGirl

FormbyGirl

Sugar Cookie : GingerScraps Praise
Here's a new thread for 2026 - I hope to see us all here chatting. Welcome back to the familiar faces, and I'm looking forward to seeing some new faces!!

As always, we started the year well with our family traditions at home. This year was no different for us.

I baked Mincemeat Pies (not mince, not meat; I have no idea how they got their name!) for the third year. This has always been my mother's task, but now she is gone, it rests on my shoulders to carry on the tradition. I made them with Mary Berry's pastry recipe this year and they were excellent.

At midnight, my husband takes the old year out at the first stroke of 12, runs around the building, and brings in the New Year on the last stroke. He brings in silver so we will never be poor, coal so we will never be cold, and bread so we will never be hungry. I always greet him at the door with mincemeat pies and Grand Marnier, then toast the new year and take our pictures in front of the tree. Then, after sending the family Happy New Year wishes, we toddle off to bed. This year, son James called from England and I was able to Facetime with my grandchildren!

Cheers all, this is our New Year thread; I hope to see you all here, along with some new faces.
 
Thanks for starting the new thread, Lynnie!

I've had a pretty good start to the new year. I got to sleep in, but was so tired after breakfast that I went back to bed for a nap. Eren and a friend came over while I was out, but we had a fun time chatting and watching anime. We've been watching college football almost nonstop, but I managed to get a yoga flow in. My grade came in for my last class, and I got a 95. That continues my 4.0 and I made the president's list. I didn't think I would get that high because I did less than stellar on a few assignments. I am genuinely surprised I was able to keep up--it was a tough class. Only 4 more classes to go until I get my degree!
 
We had a lovely Christmas. We had friends and family over and opened our gifts under the tree followed by a delicious ham and sides. (it is the same every year!)

New Year's was described above in the first post.

I am married to a delightful man, Rand. We live in Southern California. I had five children, Chris, David, James, Karen and Steven.

James is married to Hannah and lives in England. They have two children, John who is 9 and Luke who is 6.
Karen is married to Jon (they got married last November)
Steven is married to Vanessa and lives about 45 minutes from me. They have two children, Bruce who is 6 and Scarlett who is 2.
Chris and David are no longer with us, but David left me a grandson, Mark, who is now 29.

A few Highlights of the year:
  • Daughter, Karen got married (wuhoo)
  • My friend, Karen, visited from England (again), we have been friends since we were four or five.
  • Rand and I went to England and visited our UK Grandkids, my sisters and my cousins. It was lovely.
  • I went to the National Convention in Philadelphia, representing the California State Board of the Daughters of the British Empire
  • This was the second year homeschooling my grandson.
 
Happy New Year to all the Wafflers!

I hope to keep up with all the sharing here.

Ane, well done with your studies. I hope this year's assignments go well for you.

Lynnie, thankyou for sharing the highlights of your 2025.

Highlights from 2025 for Ken and I:
Ken turned 80 in April. He did not want any family and/or friends gatherings. He just wanted to go fishing. We went to a beachside town for three nights and it rained the whole time we were there. But it was a nice little holiday.
We had another holiday at Boondooma Dam ( man made lake), once again to hopefully go fishing but the weather was too hot.
Ken did well with starting to sell his woodwork at two different cafes in local towns to where we live. All the money he raises goes to Barnabas Aid ( a charity that helps persecuted Christians throughout the world)
I enjoyed attending a craft group each Friday morning where we sit and work on any projects we have with lots of chatting. The other ladies are mostly a lot older than me. They have invited me to become their assistant Treasurer which I think is because they are all getting so much older for handling the monies. This year I crocheted a baby blanket with matching bootees.
Christmas Day was celebrated with my older sister and her family. I had a couple of special moments with my very autistic great-nephew who with his Dad lives with my sister.

New Year's Day was a nice quiet day. We had a picnic lunch at Cressbrook Dam so my first photo for the year featured water. I do at times miss living near the river where we last lived and also we used be only 25 minutes drive to a lovely beach - now it takes a few hours to get to a beach.
 
Happy Friday from New Zealand everyone.

I'm still here, though not especially active. I've never been much of a waffler, I haven't felt comfortable talking about my life online for several years now, but I do usually read the thread and will comment when I feel able.
I hardly did any pages last year, my scrapping mojo has been missing for quite a while now so who knows what will happen this year.
 
Julia said:
Happy Friday from New Zealand everyone.

I'm still here, though not especially active. I've never been much of a waffler, I haven't felt comfortable talking about my life online for several years now, but I do usually read the thread and will comment when I feel able.
I hardly did any pages last year, my scrapping mojo has been missing for quite a while now so who knows what will happen this year.
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It has always been okay that you don’t comment much :) I like knowing that you are hovering and thinking of us all :) I hope your mojo comes back soon, you are such a great scrapper. Perhaps we need to organize a laptop crop in New Zealand to get your mojo on the move!!
 
Sounds like our house, Ane! So glad your studies are going well. I've had no doubt that you could keep it up.
Good to see you pop in Anne-Marie!
Always welcome here, Julia, no matter what you have to say or not!
Hey there Grace!
Thanks SO much for starting us out again, Miss Lynnie!
We both stayed up past midnight binge-watching Blue Bloods. LOVE that show. LOL. That and MASH are our two faves and we could watch just about every episode over and over and over. There are just a couple episodes of MASH that we don't "like". We caught the ball drop on TV and heard and watched the fireworks from the neighboring ski slopes which is always fun. Freddy opens the front door while I'm at the back door to let out the old year and let in the new! Hopefully MUCH better new. Not that anything horrible happened, but I'd just like it to be better than the last several have been. A bit of turmoil, ya know. But dang, we felt old Thursday morning! We both took naps after breakfast too. HA!
Now, as of next Thursday, I'll be down to double-digits to my retirement! 102 days on Monday and counting down....... Still amazes me and scares me. I don't know how I'll get everything done and I really don't know how they're going to find someone to replace me... for what they pay me and without any training! smh, but that's their problem. I keep telling... anyone who will listen. (but they don't)
Anyway... I'm excited and a little apprehensive. But I know I'm going to love it.
That's about it!

Love and Blessings
Carla, in MN
 
Happy New Year to everyone.
We had a quiet holiday season. Christmas with daughter and son in law plus the g'kiddo's. New Years was quiet at home- we slept through the change of years.

I live in Florida and it has been quite chilly lately. That's ok- gives me a chance to wear some cozy wear and drink a lot of hot tea.
I enjoy [besides scrapbooking which I've done forever]- knitting, crochet, loom knit, embroidery, sewing, and crafting with my granddaughter.

Highlights from the year-
We did a New Years Cruise to welcome in 2025. I had lower back issues which turned more into cervical spine issues which netted me an extensive surgery. I am still in physical therapy for both.
Oldest grandson- graduated from college.
Younger grandson- baseball, baseball, baseball along with playing bass in the orchestra at school
Granddaughter- dance, dance, dance- and crafting with grandma or mommy.
Hubby and I go to the Y for fitness and he is working with a trainer.

I try to keep with this thread, but it gets so long I get lost!
m
 
Happy 2026-
We spent New Year's Eve at home. I worked on my cross stitch project while hubby and mother-in-law watched TV.

Highlights for 2025 (first half at least):
Loving on my dogs
Hit our 50th state during our cruise to Hawaii
I had a pretty good garden going, and the first year of my blackberry harvest- TONS of berries. Unfortunately my hubby or mother-in-law does not like blackberries. . . lol
Finally starting to feel like home

Come July, we lost my father-in-law to cancer. Had to move in with mother-in-law since she has dementia. A few highlights came from this:
Rented out our home very quickly
Got settled in our new home, with our new life as a 20/7 caregiver (she can be alone for a few hours at least).
I work from home, and through all of this, I was still able to accomplish being the highest producer on my team and got a promotion, so I am very grateful for the work-life balance.
I finished a cross stitch project that I started 3 years ago. I had put it down for a long time, and decided to pick it up this fall and completed it, re-sparking my interest in cross stitching.

I'm sure 2026 will be ok, but my life has greatly changed- no more travel, no more camping, no more getting up and going on an overnight trip like we used to, no more enjoying my "me" time. I am still finding my new self, and finding strength that I didn't know I had to deal with the nonsense of the demented mind thanks to Alzheimer's Disease. It's amazing how hobbies/activities change. Maybe I will discover something new.
 
laura.dulle said:
Happy 2026-
We spent New Year's Eve at home. I worked on my cross stitch project while hubby and mother-in-law watched TV.

Highlights for 2025 (first half at least):
Loving on my dogs
Hit our 50th state during our cruise to Hawaii
I had a pretty good garden going, and the first year of my blackberry harvest- TONS of berries. Unfortunately my hubby or mother-in-law does not like blackberries. . . lol
Finally starting to feel like home

Come July, we lost my father-in-law to cancer. Had to move in with mother-in-law since she has dementia. A few highlights came from this:
Rented out our home very quickly
Got settled in our new home, with our new life as a 20/7 caregiver (she can be alone for a few hours at least).
I work from home, and through all of this, I was still able to accomplish being the highest producer on my team and got a promotion, so I am very grateful for the work-life balance.
I finished a cross stitch project that I started 3 years ago. I had put it down for a long time, and decided to pick it up this fall and completed it, re-sparking my interest in cross stitching.

I'm sure 2026 will be ok, but my life has greatly changed- no more travel, no more camping, no more getting up and going on an overnight trip like we used to, no more enjoying my "me" time. I am still finding my new self, and finding strength that I didn't know I had to deal with the nonsense of the demented mind thanks to Alzheimer's Disease. It's amazing how hobbies/activities change. Maybe I will discover something new.
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A lot to deal with, but so wonderful you can. Would love to see the cross stitch.
 
Lynnie, thanks for the new 2026 thread. Wonderful list of highlights for 2025.

Ane, congrats on the 95 grade and making the president's list, You Rock!

A-M, nice list of accomplishments last year and nice to hear you had a nice visit with your grand-nephew.

Julia, Nice that you are able to pop in and chat. How I would love to visit New Zealand!

Grace, Happy New Year!

Carla: I absolutely love Blue Bloods and have been watching since the beginning, I would love to binge it, is it on Netflix?? Retirement...WOW congratulations, you are going to LOVE it!!

Mich: I laugh when you say "chilly" in Florida when we are upon the minuses here in the great white north. We had 1 blizzard already and are now in the deep-freeze!

Laura: Lucky you to visit Hawaii, it is on my bucket list. So sorry to hear of your father-in-law's passing and dementia is hard to deal with. Hope you are hanging on! Glad you have picked up your cross-stitching again, something new to focus on. I am kind of experiencing these things as well after I lost my husband last year. Take care!

Well, I think I am caught up now, Happy New Year everyone! My motto this year is "If it doesn't bring me joy, it's gone!
 
Karen, we have found it somewhere... Now I have to remember exactly where. Sorry. But we were fortunate enough that NYE happened to be Wednesday and Wed is BB day on ION TV on our cable network so we just lucked into it. I know that we did find BB on Hulu at one time, but they're not all there now. There are some on Paramount/Prime. No one has all of the seasons yet. As soon as someone does, you can bet that hubby and I will be subscribing to that streaming service! :love:
 
Route66 said:
Lynnie, thanks for the new 2026 thread. Wonderful list of highlights for 2025.

Ane, congrats on the 95 grade and making the president's list, You Rock!

A-M, nice list of accomplishments last year and nice to hear you had a nice visit with your grand-nephew.

Julia, Nice that you are able to pop in and chat. How I would love to visit New Zealand!

Grace, Happy New Year!

Carla: I absolutely love Blue Bloods and have been watching since the beginning, I would love to binge it, is it on Netflix?? Retirement...WOW congratulations, you are going to LOVE it!!

Mich: I laugh when you say "chilly" in Florida when we are upon the minuses here in the great white north. We had 1 blizzard already and are now in the deep-freeze!

Laura: Lucky you to visit Hawaii, it is on my bucket list. So sorry to hear of your father-in-law's passing and dementia is hard to deal with. Hope you are hanging on! Glad you have picked up your cross-stitching again, something new to focus on. I am kind of experiencing these things as well after I lost my husband last year. Take care!

Well, I think I am caught up now, Happy New Year everyone! My motto this year is "If it doesn't bring me joy, it's gone!
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When it drops to 37...and you are used to the morning being 30 degrees warmer...chilly. I wouldn't make it in the up north!
 
Aww, thanks for the message. I've been feeling disconnected from scrapping for a few months now. I still do it for the one CT I'm on, but that's been it. I will go through and read all the posts in a minute, but I figured I'd share my 2025 highlights:

*In March, my growed up kids came home and we were all together for several days
*In April my oldest got engaged (that wasn't super exciting for me at first as they lied about their relationship for over a year, so it came with a big dose of hurt, but now I'm happy for them)
*I went trick or treating with my youngest this year. That was a fun time. I usually stay at home and hand out candy, but I didn't want to spend the money this year.
* I started working out at the end of August. Still not skinny, but feeling better in general. Also eating a bit better, but not afraid of a good treat.
*Drove 25 hrs each way to go to Utah for Thanksgiving. It was such a long drive, but a wonderful trip! All my siblings came!
*I scaled down Christmas this year. By a lot. I've been meaning to for years, but kept..... not..... I'd run myself ragged and stay up til 1-2 am every morning trying to make stuff that nobody cared about. So this year, I didn't make anything. I bought 5 things for each of the themes (many of them $5 or less) and NOBODY complained. Nobody seemed upset about less. It was so freeing.
 
Thanks for the new thread, Lynnie! How fun to read everyone's highlights!

My husband (Randy) and I live in rural Kansas, and I love doing layouts of our travels (for work or for fun). We have one daughter who is 26 and is starting a new job today. Randy and I each have two siblings, and we have a TRIBE of nephews and nieces... and now grand-nephews and grand-nieces.

2025 Highlights:
  • This is the year I full heartedly decided to become a Disney adult, so we worked hard to visit the parks as often as we could.
  • The youngest nephew is now a senior in HS, and I was able to add him to my delegation for my annual youth leadership tour to Washington, D.C. last summer.
  • Randy and I have continued to prioritize our health journey, and I am now "this close" to reaching some of my health goals.
Hope everyone has a wonderful week! Happy New Year!
 
Happy New Year to all!

2025 Highlights:
-Jeff (hubby) became a Christmas junkie. He collects/buys what others don't want and paints and changes lights on them. The display this year was big and next year will be bigger.
-I crafted much of my indoor decoration.
-Hubby and I planned a cruise for Valentine's Day
-Daughter Molly (24) is still living with Eric for about 5 years now. No sign of marriage. She is on testosterone and only I know this (hubby doesn't). She is looking more masculine.
-Son Philip (20) is in college majoring in Hotel Administration. He is struggling as he always has in HS and has failed a number of classes. Don't know how this is going to end up.
- I'm feeling good about myself even though my A1C is stuck at 7.3. My PHN is under control with meds but I still feel the nerve pain sometimes but it is bearable
-Although I haven't scrapped in a while, I'm using a lot of my paper scrapbooking stuff and making cards. I made over 30 Christmas cards and handed them out to coworkers. Now I'm make a few Valentine's cards to take with me on the cruise then I'll make more Christmas cards for next year and possible sell some.

ta ta for now
 
LilyAnn said:
Happy New Year to all!

2025 Highlights:
-Jeff (hubby) became a Christmas junkie. He collects/buys what others don't want and paints and changes lights on them. The display this year was big and next year will be bigger.
-I crafted much of my indoor decoration.
-Hubby and I planned a cruise for Valentine's Day
-Daughter Molly (24) is still living with Eric for about 5 years now. No sign of marriage. She is on testosterone and only I know this (hubby doesn't). She is looking more masculine.
-Son Philip (20) is in college majoring in Hotel Administration. He is struggling as he always has in HS and has failed a number of classes. Don't know how this is going to end up.
- I'm feeling good about myself even though my A1C is stuck at 7.3. My PHN is under control with meds but I still feel the nerve pain sometimes but it is bearable
-Although I haven't scrapped in a while, I'm using a lot of my paper scrapbooking stuff and making cards. I made over 30 Christmas cards and handed them out to coworkers. Now I'm make a few Valentine's cards to take with me on the cruise then I'll make more Christmas cards for next year and possible sell some.

ta ta for now
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*hugs* on the kids part. My oldest was born a boy and is taking meds to be more feminine, living/engaged to his partner who was born a girl and is on testosterone. My second oldest was born a girl and identifies as a boy, but she lives with her boyfriend (who is really a boy) who loves and adores her.
 
KatherineWoodin said:
I am still around. Last year was an awesome year but also a hard year. I am going to choose to make this a very happy year. I wish everyone here the best and happiest new year.
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I love your attitude! My mottos are two fold, but go hand in hand. 1. Happiness is hard work and 2. There is always, always, always, always something to be thankful for. Also, I love your pages, I feel like I relate to yours so much!
 
I tend to lurk on here a lot more than I chat with everyone. Of course, that could be due to the fact that I have a lot on my plate. I created a new siggy for this month, and it was the first thing that I have scrapped since November.

Let's see... I earned my associate's degree in December and rolled straight into the Bachelor's program. I am studying addictions counseling with the hopes of being able to practice as a counselor who can help entire intact families where addiction is an issue.

I have been helping Paul deal with mental health struggles. He has decided to take some time away from school in hopes of working and concentrating on his mental health. I applaud him for that because so many people do not take any kind of consideration to their mental health. I did also help him buy a car last week since he has been without one for a year since he totaled his old car last January due to emotional driving on the day his grandmother passed away.

My big goal for this year is to get in the position to find the house of my dreams outside the city so I can finally put down roots.
 
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