Merry merry Christmas!

Listening to: Mae, The Everglow

My goodness, I'm so emo. I do love my mellow music at night though, which allows me to relax and unwind. Though there isn't much to unwind these days per se, since I am no longer working. My hair is in tact, nails are growing, and my blood pressure is normal all day long. I do miss working, but I just know there is something much better out there for me. Going back to school will be a change of pace, but I'm not a complete stranger to it. I'm ready for it, I say bring it on!

We've had to make another recent adjustment: my girlfriend's sister, who has also become a friend, has moved into our home until she can find a better arrangement. It had only been a few months since Rob moved out, but this girl had to find a place to live in less than a month. We have 2 spare bedrooms and a full bath she could use, we figured, why not?

So, Thanksgiving and Christmas have come and gone. This year was quite a challenge for Matt and I, but we got through it. I cannot imagine my life without him. We spent Thanksgiving with both our families, sans my brother-in-law and his family because they spent it with my sister-in-law's family. It's always interesting and fun to get both families together, because everyone is so different. It really is wonderful when it happens, because it goes to show how much love and respect we have for one another. We all contributed to the feast, and the amount of food was endless. It was a lot of fun.

We threw an ugly Christmas sweater/fondue holiday party at our house about a week and a half before Christmas. As much as I like to host and entertain, I've come to the realization that it is a LOT of work, setting up and the clean up after. Perhaps we will host every other year? I love getting people together, and spending time with our great friends. There is nothing else like it.

Christmas has been celebrated the same way for six years now, we have Christmas dinner and open presents on the 24th with my family, and the 25th is celebrated with Matt's family. Again, tons of fun. I suspect I was a good girl this year, because I feel pretty spoiled by all. I do admit a little bit of guilt, though because I feel that I have a lot of "stuff", and the money spent could go elsewhere, like to those in need. I am, however, extremely grateful for all that I have. Our gifts from everyone were very thoughtful and special. Here are a couple of goofy photos of us opening gifts:

Now we look forward to ringing in the new year! We plan on spending it out and about with a couple of our best friends. I'm excited to think about what is in store for us in 2013. Oh, the possibilities...

Fall Brings me Up

Listening to: A Fine Frenzy, One Cell in the Sea


First of all, I am happy to say that the Giants won quite a game tonight. YES! Onto game 6 Sunday...Hah! I never thought I'd be this much into baseball, or even hockey. My husband is fully responsible for that. :)

I have finally, after two full years, cleaned up and organized our office. Of course, with the help of my lovely mother. She and I have had a very tumultuous relationship for years but it seems she is really making an effort to be much more involved in my life than ever before. It was nice, it gave us time to talk, and catch up on all of the latest gossip, haha. I cannot believe how much stuff we were hoarding. It was a little embarrassing. It feels good, though...it was sort of like a mental cleanse. My dad treated us to lunch nearby, it was a very nice afternoon well spent. I love my parents so much!

I adore this time of year. I love the smell of the air, the color of the leaves on the trees, that cozy feeling one gets during the fall. I've been sipping on a lot of tea, eliminating the daily morning coffee, I've made myself a schedule to adhere to during the week, making time for lunch, playing with Sgt more, trying out new recipes and loving every minute of it. My days were much like a roller coaster initially, sleeping in until past 10, eating like crap, skipping lunches and just being lazy in general. Not good. I was beginning to think depression was going to rear its ugly head if it hadn't already done so. I have slowly but surely found a work/play balance that works for me, one that I'm comfortable with and works for both Matt and I.

I have also been working on the spare bedrooms and they look fabulous, with the exception of some art work I've been eyeing which can come later, along with painting. I've become quite obsessed with Pinterest. I'm on there during my "free" time. I've never really been a DIY kind of girl, but since Pinterest, I've found many projects I have in mind that I want to try for the house. I've pretty much thrown myself into caring for my home, in ways that I had not done in the past.

We have made plans to have dinner at my parents' tomorrow, and to discuss how Disneyland plans are going to pan out for the following weekend. I'm really looking forward to this trip! Disneyland during Halloween time, how cool is that.
I'm excited not only because we get to spend time with my family, but I get to spend hours upon hours in a car with my husband. It will be great one on one time, I feel like we're overdue for it.

I'm truly my happiest when I'm doing something for the benefit of others, so I've signed us up for some volunteer work around Thanksgiving time. I wanted to sign up last year but it was so last minute, there weren't any spots available for us to fill. I think that is a very good thing. ;)

When I first mentioned that I wanted to do some volunteer work in Africa, Matt expressed a lack of interest. I thought, that's okay I can always ask someone who would be interested in joining me. I brought it up again tonight at dinner, and this time he said he actually wants to do it with me. I don't know what prompted his change of heart, but I don't care, all I know is that I cannot wait to do this with him. We obviously still need to discuss details, but the fact that he wants to go, is way, way amazing!