Merry Christmas!!

Hope you had a happy one!!

quote of the season

“Do you feel like it’s Christmas, or do you feel like you want to cut your head off?” – Shannon

 

Now that I’m home, I feel like it’s Christmas, but earlier today….that’s a different story. Good riddance, TWE (at least for 5 days)….

 

You too, ShanNON! Have a good one!!

Deep breath

Only 3 more days until Christmas! I'm feeling tired/excited/anxious all at the same time. It's been a long (though productive) week, and I am ready to relax with the husband tomorrow night before the family craziness commences.

Had a slightly stressful conversation with the maternal unit today. I know Christmas is hard for her (and it was evident on the phone), but I really did not have the emotional energy to deal with it tonight. I started feeling all guilty/responsible/can't-say-no (as usual), but Craig helped me draw the line I was having trouble drawing myself. And I feel a lot better about it now.

As of today, Brian is coming down with them and I'm super excited about that. Can it be possible that I haven't seen my brother since my wedding? 2 1/2 years? God, it sounds absurd, but I think that might be right. I really hope he doesn't bail at the last minute like he did last year. Scott is in California having a fabulous time, but I'll miss not seeing him. I can't wait to do the Santa thing with Gracie again :) (Christmas is so much more fun with little kids around!)

Just one more day of work...If I can get through two chapters and a handful of small loose ends to tie up before 2:00, I'll be home free for 4 days--yay!! This week has been extremely exhausting (12 chapters in 4 days--a new record for me--in addition to having one of those Carla conversations that knocked the wind out of me) and I am ready for this break :)

Working hard or hardly working?

What does it look like to you?

life is busy...

...but it's time to catch up on the blog!

Strange/new experiences I've had lately:

• Got an empty envelope in the mail. It contained a letter when it left California, but lost it somewhere along the way. That was a first.
• Went gay bar clubbing. Had a fabulous time.
• Got a tongue-kiss from a friend’s dog. Ew.

Life has been very good, very exciting, and very much a whirlwind lately. (not that the bullets above are necessarily all examples of this. The dog kiss especially was unexpected, yet I would describe it as neither “good” nor “exciting.” It was, however, a whirlwind. I had two dogs jumping on me at once in an overwhelmingly enthusiastic greeting and everything happened very quickly.)

More after the holidays, I expect…

orange

Is it just me, or is there still a ghost of orange above the description box to the right, above my profile?

Maybe I'm just orange-a-phobic. Whose idea was it to put orange and pink in the same template, anyway? Who thinks those colors look good together? Anyone?

on a more positive note...

Okay, so that last post sounded kind of pouty. In an effort to resist completely mel-ing out, I’m going to be honest about one thing concerning this experience—it truly has been an exercise in depending on God instead of people (“people” being “Craig” in this situation). That’s one of the things I’ve been praying for, and God has answered that prayer. But there’s a funny thing about praying for things like patience, refined character, or a deeper dependence on God—when God answers, it hurts!! Why can’t there be a painless way of getting those things? I guess when your hope starts growing into the wrong thing, it hurts to have it ripped away.

Anyway, I felt like I needed to acknowledge the positive side, because it’s been very real and very cool. Painful, but cool. Doesn’t mean I’m not still sad and it sure doesn’t mean I’m not still struggling, but God is faithful. He’s cool like that :) Maybe when Craig comes home I’ll appreciate him a little more and need him a little less. That would be sweet.

it's hump day

The orange line is gone--yay! I am an html genius! (haha, hardly...)

Two days, 15 hours, 30-some minutes until Craig is home. (But who's counting?)

Holiday Status (aka "the H-stat"):

• Christmas shopping: mostly done
• Gift wrapping: not started
• Craft-ish gifts (ie. requiring sewing or knitting): almost done, but my eyes and back are killing me.
• Christmas tree: still standing. for now.

I'm getting a massage tomorrow. I decided I deserve it. The past week and a half have been harder than I anticipated. I know, I know, single friends...no sympathy from you. I get it. Don't ask if you don't want to know the truth. I'm sad. I think I'm allowed. :(

new look part 2

Just kidding, I fixed the orange background. But I still can’t figure out how to get rid of the orange bar—any ideas?

 

Is it Saturday yet?

new look

So I was inspired by April's seasonally decorated blog to change up my look a bit. (Although, if someone can tell me the html secret to changing that orange background on my description box, I'd appreciate it...)

Temporary bachelorettehood is agreeing with me so far. I miss Craig (a lot), but I'm keeping busy and making good use of my time, which I was hoping I could do. I'm excited to see him Saturday, so I'm hoping this last week goes by quickly.

The Christmas shopping is almost done--woo-hoo!! Who knew getting a head start and having a strategy would make such a difference?

A tree, a book, and an empty house

Wow, over a week--I need to get on the ball with this thing!

So Craig left for Florida yesterday and I already miss him a whole lot :( I'll survive, but it's hard not to be sad. I know I won't have a problem keeping busy...keeping occupied is one way to keep myself from thinking and being sad, but it's also a good way to burn myself out. So, let's try not to revert back to my "old ways" of stuffing my life so full of activity that I don't ever rest and get any down time. These two weeks of temporary singleness will be over before I know it.

Last night Adrienne came over and helped me put up the tree and decorate the house. The downstairs is all lit and festive (I wanted to post a picture of it, but our camera battery is finally officially dead, and the charger is still at the house in Traverse City. Bummer!). This is Mika's first Christmas tree, and she's been very curious and exploratory. Let's hope it stays standing...

Ooh ooh, I have a new book to recommend: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Excellent so far! I was wary of reading it, because everyone talked about it like it was so disturbing and creepy, but that's a bunch of baloney. Yeah, it's about a girl who gets murdered, but it's not as dark and depressing as everyone made it sound. We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates and My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult were both 10x more depressing/disturbing, so if you have a morbid fascination with those kinds of books, read them! Good books, but dark.

GO BUCKS!!!

Fight the team across the field

Show them Ohio's here

(We've got the team why don't we)

Set the Earth reverberating

With a mighty cheer

RAH! RAH! RAH!

Hit them hard and see how they fall

Never let that team get the ball

Hail! Hail! The gang's all here

So let's beat that Michigan now!