News at Home: Happy Holidays!
I hope everyone has been enjoying their holidays with their families! This was Dante’s first Christmas and it was really enjoyable, even if I’m pretty certain the only reason he knew it wasn’t like every other day is that his schedule got way out of wack.
Monday I had off and Dante’s daycare was open, so it was the day I had set aside to get a lot of shit done. I started with my first massage since August! I’ve been getting a massage roughly every two weeks for 5 years, so I’ve missed it. My masseuse had planned on taking the week off, but when I contacted her Friday she did some shuffling to get me in Monday morning. I’ve been going to her for 5 years and we’re sort of friends. I mean, she came to Dante’s baby shower and I was invited to her daughter’s Quinceañera (couldn’t make it because Dante was only 2 weeks old). I was so appreciative and I think we worked out how I can start making it in at least one time a month moving forward. Because massage is an important of taking care of your health, in my opinion.
Then it was off to my old school to clean out my classroom. It was really bittersweet. Like, I knew I was done teaching, but cleaning out my classroom made it really real. I’m happy with my decision, but it was a little sad to say goodbye to that chapter, because I LOVE teaching and LOVE my kids and I know it’s my calling. I will end up back with it in some capacity someday. But right now, my life is in a different season and this is what’s right for my family. Anyway…
Y’all I thought this would take an hour, but it pretty much took the rest of my day. My friend Melissa, who just switched to Kindergarten this year, met me at the school and took a lot of my things. I was thankful to see it finding a good home and not going to waste. We filled her SUV and mine with things. Hundreds of hours worth of cutting and laminating, not to mention sewing (by my mom) and carpentry (by my husband) have now found a new home. And who knows how much money. I still left a lot behind, too. I had planned on just sending her with everything, but we needed my SUV too. So I ended up driving with her to her school to unload and instead of finishing up by like 12:30 like I had planned, I was finished around 4 p.m. So I didn’t have time for anything but a quick stop at the store for a final gift for Kiko and then picking Dante up from daycare.
Tuesday we celebrated Christmas with Franky and that part of the family over at Tequilla’s. It was fun and Dante got some pretty great gifts that are already getting put to good use. I scored a Harry Potter purse from Tequilla, which was my favorite gift. It was just nice to spend the day with family and to start Dante’s Christmas off with that tradition of Christmas Eve with them – I think that will stick.
Wednesday morning we had breakfast and then I went and picked up my brother, along with Kiko’s sort-of Christmas gift (a TV). I say sort of because when I bought it from Amazon about a month ago, I had it shipped to my brother so Kiko wouldn’t see it and surprise ruined. Well I got a delivery notice on a Wednesday, but my brother didn’t have it. So I contacted Amazon and they said to wait until the next day. Well, Thursday it still hadn’t arrived, so they gave me a refund. Then Friday my brother said it showed up. So I contacted Amazon to have them re-charge me. And guess what? They told me I could keep the TV and the refund! So it was free… doesn’t exactly count as a gift. Which is why I bought him fancy cologne (eau de toilette actually) on Monday.
We celebrated with my brother at our place and then he helped us mount the TV (his gift to Kiko was the mount and setting it up). And we had leftovers from Christmas Eve to eat. And Dante played with his new gifts. And then my brother headed home and we went to my in-laws for one more Christmas celebration, with tamales and flan! We don’t do gifts there, just food and family. Overall, a really good Christmas.
Thursday & Friday it was back to work at an empty office and I got so much work done! It was just me and one co-worker and we spent both days getting super organized. It feels so good to have a system in place finally. I think I’ll be able to stay organized now. Next week the office will still be mostly empty and I may just be able to get ahead! Wooo!
This weekend I saw some friends that came over to visit and finally meet Dante. Today I plan to clean, pick up groceries, and hopefully finally do my nails (it’s been a month somehow).
Blog News
So I think I’m just going to be realistic and say that my blog mojo will be weak until the New Year. There’s just so much going on. I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has visited my couple of posts the last couple weeks, I’ve read comments and will hopefully get to reply this week at the very least. I think I’ll have regular lunch breaks and actually get some blogging done.
COYER is going great for me – I’m really enjoying doing these buddy reads. I’ve now finished two buddy reads and just started another, with four more planned! It’s so fun to talk to someone while you read a book, I think we need to make this a regular feature somehow in COYER.
Last Week on the Blog
- [23 Dec] Out with the Old, In with the New ~ Top 10 Books of 2019
- [25 Dec] Merry Christmas! From us to you!
- [28 Dec] Not a #Review ~ Kill the Farm Boy, I think I’ll try again next year.
- [29 Dec] Sunday Post with Berls ~Happy Holidays!
- [29 Dec] The Sunday Post ~ It’s like limbo ~ Week in READview!
Coming Next Week From Me
I have no idea… we’ll see.
You have definitely been a busy lady! I love the feeling of getting organized and prepared. I hope it makes your job more enjoyable. It sounds like Christmas was a lot of fun for you. 😊
Sounds like a busy week, but a good holiday! And yea for the first Christmas! In a couple years, he’ll be so much fun on Christmas morning! We had a lovely time at my sister’s home outside Philly. My kids love hanging with their cousins. My folks were also there. Now we are back home and relaxing before we go back to work and school at the end of the week. Happy New Year!
I really look forward to him being a real participant in Christmas! I think that age (3-8) is going to be my favorite all the way around, really.
Sounds like your family had a great holiday too! Enjoy your time resting. Happy New Year!
It’s interesting to see how many people believe in massage. My daughter and I have our scheduled for tomorrow morning.
Our buddy read can start sometime later in the week! I have it on the calendar as a Thrifty Thursday review for the 16th. I’m sort of behind on things but hope to do some catch up this week.
I’m glad things are going so well for you in the new job. Plus you had a lovely holiday week with family. I hope this week is also has relaxing time off and productive work time. Happy New Year!
Anne – Books of My Heart Here is my Sunday Post
I hope your massages were relaxing and restorative! I used to view them as pampering, until I got a badly needed massage when I started teaching and started going regularly. The difference in how I feel – back pain, headaches, even weight loss! – is huge.
I’m about halfway through my current read, so would you be good starting our buddy read this weekend? I think I’ll be good and ready then. I’m excited – I’ve really been enjoying buddy reading with people.
Have a great rest the week and Happy New Year!!
That sounds good.
Glad you had a great Christmas. I hope things stay ahead at work for you. 🙂
I hope you have a wonderful New Year filled with all the things you love!
Happy Reading! xx
Thanks Michelle! I’m really ready for 2020, I feel like it’s going to be MY year. Like all the changes I went through in 2019 (and there are a LOT) are all coming together to create a really good year. *fingers crossed*
Happy New Year!!! {{HUGS}}
I’m glad you had a good holiday. It was just me and hubs, so it was relaxing. I’m a huge believer in massages. I get one every month to help with my tension headaches. It makes such a big difference. I’m trying to get all caught up on blogging with my extra time off. Have a great new year.
Aren’t massages the best? I think they should be covered by health insurance, personally! Good luck with your catch up work 🙂
Happy New Year!