My Lack of Bloggy Wonderment

Yes, I have been noticeably absent in the blogging world lately, but there have been some stressing issues in my life. I blogged about my experience briefly with my bout of appedicitis back in the middle of December. Then the holidays descended upon us all, which is a "get out of blog free card" in my book. The holidays lasted longer than normal due to my illness and having to reschedule Christmas with my family out of town.

After all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I planned on things getting back to normal, but my grandmother unexpectedly had to have a quadruple bypass. That ended up going very poorly and, very sadly, she passed away on January 15th. I spent the first three weekends in January traveling back and forth between WV and PA to be with my family during that difficult time.

While all of the medical issues with my grandmother were going on, my husband's grandmother was also in the hospital. She had a stroke back in November and was in a nursing home/rehabilitation center. She went into the hospital on January 5th for respiratory problems, was diagnosed about a week later with colon cancer, and had a bowel resection that was thought to be successful. This Friday, however, she had to go back into surgery where her bowel had come apart at the incision and is currently totally out of it on a ventilator in the ICU. We're not really sure what is going to happen with this situation, but she has been through a lot. We'll just keep praying that whatever is best for her is what happens.

Christmas Cubicle Decorating Contest

I am sad that I did not get to post this much earlier in the season, but alas, my damned appendix had to go rogue and make things difficult. I figure that anyone that has to stare at lovely cubicle walls all day should appreciate the pics even if they are a bit late.


In order to spruce up our spaces this year and take away a bit of the monotony, I decided to sponsor a cubicle decorating contest. I really just wanted people to go crazy and over the top for a little friendly competition. I typed up some rules and a sign-up sheet in November listing 3 possible categories to enter into:
1. Great Griswold Christmas Cubicle.
2. Funky and Festive Christmas Cubicle.
3. Classy Christmas Cubicle (for those who couldn't handle the glare and funk!).


Overall, we had 7 entries (it's a small office), and Miranda came up with the fantastic idea of getting a Dundee-type award for the prizes. We used a local trophy shop and had 3 small trophies made, which unfortunately, I did not take pictures of. The shop did a fantastic job on them though. I have mine (I won the Classy Christmas Cubicle award) proudly displayed on my desk for all to view and lust after. I was hoping that having them displayed prominently would encourage a bit more fierce competition in '09.

*Top photo-Dwight's Cubicle
*2 photos to right-Bobbie's Cubicle and winner of the Great Griswold Christmas Cubicle 2008!
*4th photo down on left-Miranda's Cubicle and winner of the Festive & Funky Christmas Cubicle 2008!
*5th photo down on left-Michelle's Cubicle/Desk Area and my personal favorite
*6th photo down on left-Melinda's Cubicle
*Photo below-Cindi's Cubicle...and she made fun of me for having too much time on my hands!
*Missing-photo of Angie's Cubicle winner of Classy Christmas Cubicle 2008! I am searching for a photo as I think someone in the office has to have one. I was laid up in the hospital at the time of judging and photo shoot.