Vacation Time!!

First off, I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas. I hope you were kind to yourself, maintained your boundaries, and felt some of the love and joy of the season. 🎄❤️

Technically our vacation is a stay-cation as we aren't going anywhere... but man it's nice to not have to wake up with an alarm clock for a week or so.

Ace was less than impressed with his stocking. Hehe. 

Before we get into the holiday shenanigans, here's where my losing weight obsession may have gone off the rails. At the beginning of the month, I declared Dec 19 as "effective year-end" cuz who the hell steps on a scale between Christmas and new years?? Then I thought "no, you need to stay accountable, so Dec 24 will be the official year end." Then I went back and forth with this a bit until I arrived at the ONLY logical conclusion. Dec 23 would be the effective year end IF that weight was LESS than the Dec 19th one. So... yeah. Dec 19 is the effective year end with 22 lbs lost. That leaves between 33 and 43 to go! So if I continue with what I'm doing, I should be at goal come this time next year. Then it's just a question of maintenance. And possibly getting some new work out clothes since my clothing buying ban ends on Jan 1. 😁 now, tbh I'm probably going to still weigh myself next week, but I'm not gonna stress about it. 

After a week of the WORST "I don't wanna's," it was finally Wednesday afternoon. I worked half a day, then came home to hubbs, pizza, and Christmas movies. We opened our Christmas eve presents (just one each) and then went to bed. Christmas morning we took turns stuffing stocking and opened gifts from others! 

This is officially my favorite pic of the Ace with the tree.

He might need a bigger shark.

The new scratcher is a hit!!

He's having a helluva time getting the treats out. Lol.

So Ace made out like a bandit! Dad called and we got to catch up. Then hubbs and I headed to his sisters house. We had a lovely dinner and played white elephant. Hubbs and I got a new game where we can hit each other with swords and I got the generals hot sauce. 🤪 Then we came home and I got to chat with mom. Then it was bedtime. We had a rather nice, chill Christmas. 🎄

Hubbs and I got to relax on Friday. We rolled the dice and went to Lone Star Bar&Grill for lunch. We hadn't been there before and can now confidently say that it's one of the diveyist of dive bars. Lol. Good drinks and good food, tho. Hubbs decided we needed a bit of a bar crawl so we had an appetizer at lone star, then went to station 330 for an entree, and ended at Eagle Point for dessert. It was a fun day. Nice to be out and about with the warm weather. We came home and watched Emmit Otter (cuz boxing day) and then went to bed. 

Ace was thrilled. 

He's got a nice little set up now. 😁

Saturday was more relaxing and chilling with the kitty cat.

The cutest toe beans!!!

Sunday we got groceries and planned to spend the rest of the day at home. I brought in my pepper plants cuz it's supposed to get COLD later for like 2 days and then be back in the 70s. I'm wondering what I'm going to do with myself for a week! Read? Plan world domination? Prep enough food for MONTHS of lunches? Who knows?! Bestie is coming up eventually, so that will be fun. Here's to ringing in a new year, everyone!! 🥂

New Traditions

Last year we started a tradition of hosting an ornament decorating party at our place. This year, we continued the tradition. So of course the whole week after/before work was cleaning, solidifying food and beverages, cleaning, getting out crafting stuffs, and cleaning. Lol... like any of our friends are going to look under the mat around the faucet, but you know what? That sucker has been wiped DOWN. 😆 Also one is allergic to cats, so lots of sweeping and steam mopping on thurs night. 

I spent the whole week 1 day off. Monday I thought it was Tuesday, Tuesday I thought it was Wednesday, etc. So rude! Friday finally rolled around and after work hubbs and I made a Costco run for the party. Originally we were gonna do soup bowls, but since it's supposed to be 80 degrees on sat, we thought maybe cold things would be better... and a pitcher of new englander (cranberry juice, vodka, and lime soda (the sugared kind) with sparkling water for bubbles) will work better than hot wine. We also got eggnog to mix with the st Brendans we have in the fridge. We also got chicken nuggies, turkey pinwheels, a veggie tray, a cheese log, and a charcuterie tray. Also some italian sodas. If anyone leaves hungry, it's on THEM!! 

On the day of, we had one cancelation due to strep throat and another due to an infection and a positive flu test in the house. So we went from a parry of 8 to a party of 5. Hehe. So. Much. FOOD. Hubbs napped while I watched Christmas movies. I started with the Christmas chronicles 1 and 2, then red one, finally last holiday and garfield. Much funness. Then people started showing up. 😁

The necklace of lights

Foods and friends 

Decorating the gingerbread barn

Putting it together 

The most punk barn EVER!!

Painting other ornaments.

Our happy Christmas batman skull with vodka, cranberry and lime.

It was a good time! We missed the sick people but still put together some ornaments and the gingerbread house! No one had any intention of eating the thing, but it was a fun group project.

Hubbs is working 3 days this week, as am i, and then I'm off until after new years! Hubbs isn't as lucky but will also have some good time off, which will be nice. Yay for PTO!! hugs and love, friends, I hope you are also enjoying seeing your people!!

Tis the Season...

... for BAKING! Its time to make all my lists for all the cookies I'll be baking. Oatmeal raisin, ginger molasses, and chocolate chip for work stuffs, gooey butter for hubbs, Andes mint and probably ranger for in-laws. The weekend is all about softening butter, mixing dry ingredients, cooling, and trying NOT to burn them!! Hehe. Thankfully one thing I don't have to worry about is keeping the cat off the counters. Poor thing can't jump that high. 

Being all cute after a morning of being a menace!

It has become cold enough that I was able to get out all of my cold weather stuff. Sweaters, ponchos, hoodies, thermals, boots, all the best stuffs for keeping warm! Which is good because my hubby runs hot and so is loving the cold while I already run cold so I'm SUFFERING. I even got out my shark onesie from Halloween 2 years ago. 

I bet hubbs is happy he married someone who likes the seggsy sleepwear. 😁 

Work was work again. Tho I'd really like to put this as my automatic response to emails.

Thing about working in Healthcare, its NEVER time for a break. Lol. I am SO looking forward to being OFF for Christmas/New Years.

I am quite annoyed with my car insurance app. We had a concert and drove home at 1130 PM. I open the darn thing the next day and it says "late trips may affect your score." Late. Trips. BITCH, I drive in the metroplex!! I face some of the worst roads for drivers on a daily basis, AND I have yet to use your damn services. Don't threaten me because of ONE late night trip HOME from house of blues. I am a DAMN good driver and you don't deserve me. Sigh... such BS. 

Anyway, this week kind of morphed into a "be kind to myself" week. I went to yoga, but didn't do cardio first (as I have been). One day I went to the grocery store, one day I went to the library with my journal, the other days I went looking for stocking stuffers. I treated myself gently and kindly and it was really quite nice. I must get better at being nice to myself. In fact, one of the yoga instructors said to be kind to yourself and listen to your body and I went "I'm working on that!!" Cuz I have hurt myself by trying too hard. I tend to think I can do all the things until my body goes "we don't bend like that!" I have been enjoying starting the Christmas movie watching... thankfully my poor hubbs doesn't have to watch them ALL with me... tho he probably would. 

Suddenly it's the Dec 'teenths and I'm going "CRAP! I MUST DO ALL THE THINGS!" I've got 2 work pot lucks, one work gift, and I'm VERY happy that I don't have to hide Ace's presents from him (stoked to give him his shark cat bed). The aforementioned cookie baking must commence and at least one trip to Costco must happen before Christmas. I'm also in countdown to vacation mode cuz I'm taking the week after Christmas off. You know, for some "get ready for 2026" R&R which may involve a grinch margarita at a place in Fort worth. 😁

Hubby and I put up the tree on Saturday after we went to the farmers market and checked out the new Buffalo bros in downtown. It was a lovely date day.

Tree

We got Ace this when we were in Lawrence. So cute!!! 

No lasting I'll effects on the kitty, tho he does prefer to be nekke.

Sunday is baking at least 3 kinds of cookies, assuming the butter ever softens. When hubbs goes to work I'll wrap the presents for him that won't fit in his stocking. I'm excited. 😁 most of under the tree is the tunnel for the cat, but we can stack some presents to the side. 

I hope all of you are doing well. Much love from TX. 🥰🥰 miss all of you!! 

More thoughts

We are nearing the end of 2025 and what a wild ride it has been. At the end of 2024 I made a list of "2025 goals" and I'm happy to say I've hit most of them. Some are a work in progress, of course (especially in the 'couple' category), but professional, health, and financial goals are (mostly) hit. 

So what is the big takeaway from the year? Marriage is challenging in ways that are unexpected and my reactions are not always what i would expect them to be. I knew learning to live with someone would be challenging, but I didn't realize how much internal pressure I would put on myself. Communication can be a lego-strewn hallway of misunderstandings and one or 2 of those Legos are emotional bombs ready to go off when stepped on (barefoot, of course). When your person is hurting, you are hurting and when you know you can't make it better the powerlessness you feel makes it worse. My hubby has been thru so much this year, and i want to wrap him in a cooling blanket, plop him in a room with all his gaming stuff, and let him just BE for like a month... but i cant. Half the time i cant even give him a hug or send him ice cream! It tears me up to see him hurt. It sucks that i cant "fix" it. I married the most wonderful, generous, kindhearted man in the world, and I'm so grateful that we found each other in the craziness of online dating in the metroplex. 

It was a rough year. Grief is tough. A lot of changes follow a death, and one of the hardest things is adapting to the new reality. The next hardest thing is being true to your own needs in your grief, especially when faced with other's expectations of how it should go. Its hard to remember that everyone grieves differently, and to accept what their process is, especially when their process differs greatly from yours. Couple that with the pain you're already feeling and... yeah. It's a recipe for a whole lotta suck. 

No matter how often I tell myself that the only constant is change, I still want to rally against certain things. I did read a quote that said it was from Padre Pio (I didn't verify the source). It said "God gave me my sister, and He also took her back." God brings our people to us, and he also calls them home when it's their time. We feel the pain of their loss, but we also get to live in the light of their love while they are here and we get to see them when we ourselves are called home. There's a kind of beauty in that... tho learning to live without them and also coming to terms with what changes in yourself that happen after a loss is TOUGH. Another thought that is comforting is of course from Sir Terry:

I think this also works with the Mexican idea that as long as we remember our loved ones, they can visit us from time to time (and always on Dia de Los Muertos). 

I miss my people who are scattered around the globe, and finding out they have passed still hurts, even when its been YEARS since we had seen each other. My heart aches for all who are grieving, especially during this time of the year. The disconnect between the festive atmosphere and the pain inside is way worse when you feel like you're "supposed" to be festive, too. So I'd like to remind us all of what Dame Judy Dench said, "don't worry so much about 'supposed to.'" 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to 2026. Car will be paid off and hopefully that means we can take some bigger trips! Im hoping for a ladies tropical getaway and a romantic getaway for hubbs and I. 🥰 I wanna be on a beach with a book and a drink and my gals, and in a cozy room with hubby, snacks, and wine! Hehe. Not at the same time, obviously. That would be weird. 

I hope the new year brings peace and joy to all of my family and friends. Let's be kind. Let's be gentle. Let's work on ourselves and treat ourselves well, too. Let's spend more time together. (You can visit, we can roll out the air mattress for you! We know all the good food spots.)

Here's to lessons learned in 2025, and hope for the new year! 🥂