Go, Go, Goers!

Merry Christmas! What a magical time of year. We celebrated Christmas Eve with my mom and dad, and indulged in a ton of yummy foods. This was the first year that G was aware of the "butterballs" in the soup, and while he seemed interested initially, he decided he didn't want them. Ava, however, has taken a liking to them, and ate a bunch! Mom gave this to me for dinner...and then G commented that my reindeer was REALLY happy! After the Christmas Eve festivities, we headed home, where we each opened a gift (matching jammies!) and the kids got the treats/eggnog ready for Santa. This year, the eggnog was a pretty blue with pink sprinkles. Very festive! I love how Ava can finally stay in one place when taking a pic, but G is at that age where staying still is almost impossible! Scott and I waited up for a bit to see if we could catch Santa leaving the gifts in the stockings, but he wasn't there by the time we went to bed, so we called it a nigh...

Last Sunday, we had a festive afternoon baking and decorating Christmas cookies. In order to be more efficient, Grandma Karen had pre-baked all of the sugar cookies, so she and the kiddos could focus on decorating their masterpieces. This was the first year that G joined in, and he had so much fun! The end results look great, and taste amazing! While they were busy decorating, I focused on making fudge, sugar cookie Christmas bars, and double chocolate peppermint kiss cookies. Everything turned out really, really good this year...there's not a bad treat in the bunch. For the last several Christmas seasons, we’ve introduced new treats into the mix to see if we like them. Most often, the newbies don’t make the cut, but I think all of the items we made this year are keepers! They thought it would be fun to both lick the spatula...clearly Ava decided it wasn't the best idea to do it at the same time! Both kids also had spirit week at daycare/school this week, s...

Tuesday night was G's last Christmas concert with The Clubhouse family. It was held at a new location this year (a renovated church, which has become a venue for events), and I was walked out I thought to myself how pretty it will be next year...and then it hit me that this was his last Christmas concert! Once the kids move to elementary school, they shy away from holiday concerts, and plan for just one concert per grade, throughout the year. It's been fun watching him progress for these shows, throughout the years. This year, he actually knew the words to the songs...and could sing them, in tune! Grandma Karen and Grandpa Doug joined us, so G had quite the cheering section. Scott and I, patiently waiting for the show to begin... The concert lasted maybe seven minutes (only four songs were partially sung), and then when Santa came down the aisle, everything stopped, and the kids were immediately only interested in seeing The Man in Red. Since this is our 3rd year of...

I did it! I survived my first day at a new job! I am officially an employee of Patterson Companies, as a Business Analyst on their Web Delivery team. I met a ton of new (very nice) people, and am diving into understanding how their technology team works. I’ve been told I started during a great week as there was something fun happening every day. The all-company Holiday Lunch was on Friday, so I was able to enjoy some prime rib during the day...yum! I won’t lie, though, I was absolutely exhausted last week. I think it’s because it’s cold and dark outside, plus, my mind was learning all new things, and I wasn’t running on auto-pilot for my tasks. I’m very excited to get up to speed so I can be a useful member of the team. I’m also pleased that there is a cafeteria on-site, and the food is really good (and well-priced.) And, the location is right on a big lake, which means that during the summer, I can get back to my daily walks over the lunch hour. Getting that fresh air and sunshine...

This was it...my final days at my job. I worked late nights and extra hours to try to wrap things up the best I could, and I still didn’t feel great about “handing over the keys.” I had envisioned being at a zero inbox count, and I was nowhere near that, and it pained me a bit. But, it’s no longer my issue, and it’s OK to let it go. I had a wonderful going-away happy hour on Tuesday night, where my closest friends made me feel very loved. It was a bit surreal driving away from the campus where I spent two decades of my life. But, the good news is that there’s social media and I didn’t burn any bridges, so I can always catch up on what’s going on...without having a workload! My good friends, with me till the sweet/bitter end! Dee and Dana Carey and Dee Wednesday was the start of my five-day “unemployment” time, and it’s been great! I’ve been able to do a bunch of things on my to-do list, and I’ve even taken some naps! I’m ready to tackle this holiday season, and ...