Growing up in the 90's, I had my tradition for New Year's Eve. Starting in 1996 my parents would go to First Night Akron and I would spend the evening with my grandparents. The three of us would go to a movie, then run through a drive thru for dinner and take it back to their house.

We'd then turn on the TV and watch episodes of "Supermarket Sweep" and "Shop Til You Drop" they had taped. Then, maybe another short movie. In between we'd check in with the networks on their coverage in New York. I would float in and out on the couch...I couldn't make it awake all night back then (frankly I doubt my grandparents did either haha). I usually would wake up about 11:00 or 11:30 and watch the ball drop in New York with my grandparents.

After a little bit, my parents would stop by and pick me up and I'd go home. I enjoyed those evenings very much.

Now that I'm an adult, I have no traditions. I'll get dinner with my mom or some friends, and likely spend the evening falling asleep on the couch. Likely miss the ball drop, and continue napping. Happy New Year!!!

My fur monster Buttercup was a very good boy in 2022, so Santa rewarded him quite handsomely!

Santa brought him another cat tree to put in the living room for when our back sunroom is closed off for the winter :). Grandma (my mom) got him a pack of yummy Salmon flavored snacks! She also got him three new toys!!!

Hopefully he will be on Santa's nice list again in 2023...who am I joking? he's a cat - I'll get him stuff no matter what! LOL

I had a mishap with my fireplace over the weekend. During Friday's obscene cold, my mom showed up at my house unexpectedly. She suggested I turn on my gas fireplace to help keep my living room a little warmer (especially since my fireplace is quite drafty). So I went and got my long-stem lighter and this is where things got a little more exciting than I anticipated!

I turned on the gas, and went to light the fireplace. Well...I guess I turned the gas on WAY more than I thought I did and I think one of those huge 50 MPH wind gusts came down the chimney at the same time too. When I lit the fire, I had a HUGE rush of flames coming out of the fireplace and my entire left forearm was in the fire!!! Luckily, it went out immediately and I turned the gas down, and all was well.

Just as a tip - BE CAREFUL to know how far you have the gas turned on and try to stay away from flames as much as possible ;).

For me, I'm perfectly fine except that my left arm still smells a little like fire, and some of my arm hairs are a little shorter than they were Friday morning! ;D

I hope you had a very happy Christmas weekend :). Now, it's time to turn the calendar over to 2023 this weekend. I was thinking earlier today that I remember at least one event from every month of 2022. My memory just works that way. Some good, some bad - but I'm glad I am able to do it either way.

There are a few things I didn't get accomplished in '22 or things didn't go as I thought they might. Now I guess, that means they go on my list of things to do starting next week lol. As we say in sports around here: "There's always next year!" LOL

With this extreme winter storm coming, PLEASE take care of the animals too. It's animal cruelty to leave them out in the cold. The wind chills coud be as low as -20 to -30. 

PLEASE, PLEASE bring them inside! Remember, if it's too cold for you - it's too cold for them. Period.

Today is one of my favorite days of the year! - the shortest day of the year. Now at first that may sound weird, but hear me out. I say that because from here out, the days get longer for the next six months!!! 

When you work 3rd shift like I do, this time of year is difficult. Almost my entire day is spent in the dark! If I do see what little sunshine we get this time of year, it may just be for a couple hours before it's dark again. So that is why I always say December 21st is one of my favorite days of the year.

So it's the middle of college football bowl season. As I have said before, I prefer the college game over the pros. There are so many games to choose from to watch! Now, many of those don't really interest me, but others I'll watch just because.

When I was in high school and college, my dad and I would spend a decent amount of time just game surfing over the weekends. Trying to watch maybe two at the same time, or going one to another. It was fun. Even if we really had no interest in who won the bowl game. It was just enjoyable to watch for some decent games and some will surprise you as to how good they turn out to be!

It's your FINAL WEEK to win an awesome prize for concert fans on your gift list just in time for Christmas! Christmas in The Country...Fest!

You could win a pair of commuter passes to The Country Fest in August at Clay's Resort Jellystone Park when you hear the sounder each day this week. Kane Brown, Sam Hunt, Jon Pardi, Dustin Lynch & more will be there...and you know you want to be there too!

Listen the rest of the week for your chance to win - GOOD LUCK!

If you were wondering where I was Wednesday-Friday last week...I was on Bereavement Leave. My dad passed away late Tuesday afternoon from cancer and other conditions at the age of 70. As of now, I am doing pretty good actually. Services with family and friends are this week. We haven't passed a day where I would normally see him yet, so I don't know if it's fully sunk in.

Myself and one of my brothers were in the hospital room with him when he actually passed. He was a great travel companion and loved spending a day at Cedar Point or Dollywood together. We spent many evenings at baseball games - both major and minor league.

He was an only child, so my siblings and I are joking that he's now back with his parents (who were HUGE Indians fans) debating what to do for the upcoming season, etc. Also, he's trying to finally help them get their VHS collection sorted. His parent's front coat closet had an entire upper shelf with tapes of movies, TV shows and Indians games on them. NOT JOKING - the ENTIRE 1995 World Series, the 1997 All Star Game, the ENTIRE 1997 World Series and more! They'd tape EVERY game, then watch the news to see if the Indians won. If they did, they'd watch the game. If the Indians lost, they'd just tape over it the next day! LOL

So we're thinking my dad is with them trying to get them to sort out and part with SOME of those VHS tapes! RIP Dad. <3

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to do something I usually don't with my schedule...go out for breakfast! On Sunday I was craving some waffles, so I went to Wally Waffle in Tallmadge. I love the food there!!! OMG! 

I get The Patriot. It's a waffle with strawberries, blueberries, and bananas (see the red, white and blue?). I also get it a la mode ;). Can it get any better than that?! Everything was so delicious and it was great to get a brunch out and about.