I feel like a winner!

I went to my company Christmas party last night. 871 other people attended as well. The party was at the French Lick Hotel and Casino. Good food. Good conversations. Good company...pun intended. I really like working for SAIC.

Between dinner and dancing, they gave away prizes. Like 200 of them! My name was called as a winner! I got a $25 gift certificate for Sears. Also, they gave every person...not just the SAIC employees...but EVERY person a $10 card to use at the casino. THEN they bought us breakfast. I LOVE SAIC! It was all very nice. And I only lost about $2.50. I consider that a win.

Between dancing and going to the casino, Terri and I went up to our room to get comfortable and drop off a few things. I checked my voicemail only to find out that Linus was home! He's been missing since Thanksgiving. I still don't know where he went, but he's home now. So, I felt like a winner before we even stepped foot in the casino.

Actually, I felt pretty good long before we even left for French Lick. I worked the Toy Store for a few hours yesterday morning. That's where the Toys for Tots toys go, as well as the toys collected at the area churches. Talk about amazing. Thousands and thousands of toys, all lined up on tables. The parents get a shopping cart, just like at any other toy store. They push their carts through the aisles selecting two toys for every child. Volunteers wrap the gifts for them as the parents then check out the clothing area. Hats and gloves, t-shirts and sweatshirts, socks and shoes. They get to choose another two items per child. Then before they walk out the door, they get a bag of candy for every child, to put in their stockings. It's so heart-warming to see all of the parents' faces glow as they select gifts for their kids.

I totally feel like a winner!