Catching Up: Dec 16 - Dec 31

Almost caught up... but still have to get thru the end of the year and all that entails.

Time Off - It worked out that week before Christmas was rather quite at the office so I decided to take a couple days off. Friday the 22nd and Tuesday the 26th. Made it a nice looong holiday weekend! Loved it! Robert was off that Friday as well so we had a good day just being together, taking care of last minute errands and gift wrapping. And the Tuesday after Christmas was good... just a day to myself. I love those.

Road Trip - Robert found some truck accessory on eBay that he had to have (some kind of topper) and it was cheaper to go get it than pay for shipping, so on the 16th (a Saturday) we drove down to Boca Raton (just above Miami). We had hotel reservations down around Ft. Pierce but by the time we picked up the topper in Boca and got back up to Ft. Pierce it was only 3:00pm and it seemed crazy to spend the night when we could be home in another 4 hours or so. So we drove straight on back, thru road construction and hellacious rain, and got home just before 8pm. Looong day... and I'm not the best little traveler. But Robert is thrilled with his new topper-thingy, so it was worth it. :-)

Christmas - Christmas Eve at my parent's house was a lot of fun... as usual. We all meet over there around 6pm or so, hang out, have dinner (it's always something casual and easy) and open gifts. Very low-key. It's fun to see my two nephews get so excited over their gifts. :-) Sometimes I try to remember what it was like before they were here... boy, it must have been boring! lol I received several wonderful gifts from my parents and sisters... a gorgeous Liz Claiborne bag (I have a real weakness for LC purses), a to-die-for red cardigan with a fur collar, two gift certificates to a scrapbook store, a cashmere scarf in a beautiful shade of pale purple, an altered box and a glass storage jar with a lid that is personalized with "Tanya-san." (Terri and I have been calling each other Tanya-san and Terri-san for years... don't ask.) That had to be one of my favorites. It was just so personal and obvious thought went into it. And I think of Terri and smile every time I see it. :-)

Christmas morning at home was quiet with just me and Robert. We had a nice time exchanging our gifts... and Robert definitely surprised me with one of mine! For the past 5-6 years we've put a limit of $100 on what we spend on one another. Simply because there is absoltely nothing we need (and we're hard pressed sometimes to come up with things we want!) and also because the buying was getting out of hand. Hence the limit. So imagine my surprise when I opened a package to find an ipod video! I'd been kicking around the idea of getting an ipod for the last couple months and figured that after the new year and I might get one. But probably the nano - which I could get on base at the Exchange for $149. ;-) Before I could protest the expensive gift, Robert explained how he had won it in a United Way raffle at work. Very cool! I'm so loving it and have been having a blast loading it up with all my favorite music. In addition to the ipod, Robert got me my favorite Clinique lipstick (raspberry glacee, for those of you who are dying to know), a Liz Claiborne purse (did I mention that I love those?), two clear stamp sets, and a gift certificate from my Stampin' Up! rep (who also happens to be my friend and the previous BOM class instructor). Can't wait to put that to use! Anyway, we went back over to my parent's for lunch, and then out to my sister's house at the beach to see what Santa brought my nephews, and then it was back home. Another wonderful Christmas with family.

BOM Class - The Thursday after Christmas (the 28th) was the monthly Book of Me class which went really well. I was so loving my layout and I was excited to share it. It seemed to go over well and everyone had a good time. I'll have to post a pic of it later. Now to come up with an idea for January's class... the pressure's on. lol

New Year's Eve - Well, this should be short. Because I am so not one of those people who feels the need to be somewhere at the stroke of midnight. Other than home, that is. Robert and I went out for a late dinner then it was back home. He read and watched tv while I worked on a layout for a Scrap101 challenge. I was uploading the layout at 11:58pm just as all the fireworks in my neighborhood started going off like crazy. Pretty cool. By 12:30 I was in bed... and I only made it that long because I'd had a nap that afternoon. lol

So, that brings us pretty much up to date. And now that the holidays are over I hope to get back into the habit of regular blog postings. I've been missing that.