Christmas Eve bits and pieces
We're gonna go with stream of consciousness today!
First, thank you so much to all of you for celebrating with me about my new car. It is so sweet of you all to be enthusiastically happy for me; you all made me smile. Thank you for sharing in my joy!
I forgot to mention in the post that my Civic is a hybrid, which means my gas mileage will be very nice. I will not save enough on gas to make up for the price of the car, of course, but hey, we take a win where we can. 😉
Lots of you asked about the status of my van. I do still have it in my possession; there's obviously no loan on the van, and insurance is really inexpensive, so I probably will just keep her for a while.
If I find that I rarely need the extra space, I may sell the van. But for now, I do have the parking pad space to easily store an extra car, so that's the plan.
Switching gears, some of you said you liked my blue velvet top in the symphony photo.
But surprise, it's actually a dress, which I bought for my niece's wedding last year.
It comes in a lot of different colors, and the one I have is listed just as Blue; it's not the Royal Blue color.
Also, just as an FYI, I tried the Dark Army Green and I will tell you it's way more like a brown than a green. I decided I liked the blue better!
I honestly am just very proud of myself for not even ordering the black one to try on.
Do I have a lot of black dresses? Yes.
Do I still always gravitate toward the black option when shopping? Yes.
Black dresses are just so....YES.
But I boldly bought the blue one instead. Please clap for me.
This is the best style of dress for me because it does not have a defined waistline. I have a very long torso, which means anything with a defined waist never hits me in the right spot. So, when I shop for dresses, I am always looking for styles that have a flexible waist design, and this one hits the spot.
Fellow long-torso women, I know you know what I'm talking about.
I'm headed to work today because it's my year to work the Christmas holidays (we rotate between Thanksgiving and Christmas).
I honestly don't mind; my kids are all grown up (Zoe and I will have a makeup Christmas on Saturday!), and besides, I know my patients will need a little sunshine if they are stuck in the hospital at Christmas.
So, I will do my best to brighten up their days.
To prepare for a string of shifts (I have six 12-hour shifts in the next eight days), I did a lotta cooking yesterday; among other things, I made squash soup, kale salad, and egg bites.
And I actually baked! I made a batch of these whole wheat rolls.
Since there are only two of us here, I froze some of them, using the suck-the-air-out-with-a-straw trick, which basically vacuum seals the bread.
Anyway, now I have some quick and easy breakfasts and lunches for my work days, and that feels good.
Annnnd now I'm off to bring some cheerful Christmas Eve energy to some patients at work. 🙂
Wanna do a stream of consciousness with me?
Feel free to add a little stream of thoughts in your comment!
That blue velvet is so becoming on you! I find it underlines your natural colours more than plain black. And the muddy green dress is so stylish and also suits you to a t and might make a great Christmas dress.
Fashion wise: what earrings /studs will you be sporting at work today?
Today is a quiet day with some phone calls to loved ones. We have been so busy that we did not get round to writing christmas cards yet (and I have them in the house!) and we took the executive decision to only write to the generation above us, this year.
In my mind I still have the music from last Saturday's Christmas concert that I sang in, and in particular the Echo song ("while shepherds watched their flocks at night"): then may our hearts be filled with joy!
I wish you and yours Kristen, and everyone in the commentariat, that your hearts may be filled with joy.
Peace on earth and good will to mankind!
I have my little Christmas tree earrings in today! And tomorrow I will probably borrow some of Zoe's dangly Christmas earrings. 🙂
Nice pun with 'switching gears' 😉
I love the blue dress! Blue is my favourite colour - the majority of my wardrobe is blue, as yours is black - but I really think it looks great on you!
I always enjoy the quiet of Christmas Eve. They celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve in Denmark, so I sent Christmas messages to my friends there, but here it's still a day of anticipation. We exchanged gifts with my sister's partner last night but will do the main event tomorrow. I bought a Christmas present for their cat but she hid because there were too many people, so hopefully she'll be there on Christmas Day! The cat is also disgruntled because her platform was moved a quarter of an inch to make room for the Christmas tree!
I'm enjoying the combination of new ornaments with older ones on my parents' Christmas tree; there's some from their childhood, ones their parents owned before they were born and some my sister and I made as children. I'm watching My So-Called Life with my mum in the evenings, and it's so nice seeing the tree in the corner of the room with its colourful lights.
I have one additional thought on your post about your new car. Buying your Civic new is actually frugal in the long run, if you plan on keeping it for a long time. We drove all of our Civics (we've had at least 4 I can remember) a minimum of 300K+ miles with very little repair work, other than typical maintenance: tires, oil changes, etc. We were able to pass them down to our kids when they needed vehicles for college. Our son just bought a used Civic because his old one (our gift to him) was beginning to have mechanical issues that would ultimately cost way more to maintain than to buy a new-to-him model.
So if you plan on keeping your new friend for years and years, it's a frugal win!
That cut of dress is so gorgeous on you! You may as well get onein every color, including black. 😉
We've been enjoying our village's holiday spirit. This past weekend, my husband and I drove around looking at Christmas lights. We brought homemade cocoa with us, and my husband played holiday music on his phone. We made a friend's night by texting him that he'd won our private light contest again--his Victorian with a wraparound porch is always a showstopper when fully festooned!
Our light-viewing cocoa had the bonus addition of homemade cinnamon marshmallows. A barista at the local coffee shop gave a package to us, as she had extra from her family's marshmallow making party.
I helped with the village Christmas fair, selling wrapped "Santa surprise" books (all donated) for $1-3 each. This was the book sale's first year, and it was a hit! All proceeds went to the library's snack and craft budget for the children's programming. The library board members (including me) had several book wrapping parties throughout the previous week, and another member organized them by age range and set up the booth the night before.
The Christmas fair, itself, is really neat, as the village kids get to pick gifts for their parents (all free/donated), which are then wrapped by a fleet of grandmas. There was also free cookie decorating, card and ornament making. For food, there was free cocoa and a free will donation soup and sandwich lunch (I gave $5). The closing game of Bingo was INTENSE.
@N,
Your Christmas fair and all the activities sounds heavenly! Thanks for sharing!
@N, that all sounds so fun!
@N,
What a wonderful Christmas Fair! How fun!
Kristen, you’ll have to let us know how good the gas mileage is on your new hybrid.
I’m sorry you have to work today and tomorrow, but if I had to be in the hospital on Christmas, I’d feel better having you and your cheerful self as my nurse!
Merry Christmas to all!
I rarely shop for clothes at Goodwill because I have too many clothes. But I needed a black dress for a funeral. I found four options and picked a
simple, black Old Navy swing dress. At my GW the weekly discount color applies to clothes only and I was pleasantly surprised at the checkout the dress was 50% off, $4.50! That happened to me once before when buying a dress, same scenario. I rarely wear dresses so to have two in my closet for less than $5 each, ready in case I need them, is a win.
I was just thinking the other day that, should I reach my goal of becoming a nurse, I will be more than happy to take holiday shifts. I was in the hospital with appendicitis the Christmas I was sixteen, and it was miserable. I would love to show up cheerfully for patients who have to be there. Plus my kids are all pretty grown up and don't rely on me for "Christmas magic", I don't have a big extended family that expects visits, so I'd be available. I have a lot of conflicted feelings about Christmas celebrations anyway, so I'd be happy to be at work!
DS#2 and I took our state-certification nurse aide test yesterday--oh, the nerves I had going in, I was like Miss Bennett after hearing about Lydia's elopement. But it wasn't quite as horrible--nothing ever is as bad as the anticipation. We both passed on the knowledge portion (woo hoo!), as that was graded by computer, and are waiting on the skills portion, graded by a human. DS very much wants to get his certification and start applying for nurse aide jobs, during the two semesters he'll be waiting to start the actual nursing program. I'm so excited for him, and he's excited--he's come a long way in the past year!
That's all I've got. I wish everyone in the Commentariat who celebrates a Merry, blessed Christmas, and wishes for a bright and wonderful New Year!
@Karen A., I have loved following your and your son’s journey. Congratulations on this latest milestone.
I enjoy Christmas festivities (the anticipation and community activities) but find that like any holiday it can be celebrated on any day and in many different ways and still be enjoyed regardless of how low key (a blessing some years). Actually, for me, low key is best because “day of” is not important. I love the special music, the tree lighting events, gifting baked goods and other opportunities to celebrate the season - not the day.
@Karen A., Congratulations to you and your son!
@Jean C, I’m with you. So much to enjoy in the lead-up to Christmas, but the day is sort of meh.
@Karen A., congratulations to you and your son--and, as always, I appreciate the Pride and Prejudice allusion. Goodness, wouldn't it be wonderful if all of us could do a Christmas at Pemberley??
@A. Marie, My goal for 2026 is to read more 19th century fiction--branching out from the Brontes to read more Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, and the like. So Mrs. Bennet ( just realized I made an error above by calling her "Miss"!) is much on my mind these days as I build my reading list! 😉
CHristmas Eve stream:
Happy to spend a few quiet moments alone in living room with the kitties and my coffee before this busy day begins.
Feeling grateful for my friends,whose little gift bags I have finished up,will deliver today.Handmade greeting cards, a candle, and candy bar from Trader Joe for each friend.
So grateful for reconnecting with some old friends and having an invitation to their large friends and family gathering tomorrow afternoon.It’s Arizona so we’ll all eat and mingle outdoors.. can’t wait!
Our TELEVISION BROKE COMPLETELY yesterday while I was watching a Christmas movie.So glad we had the $$ to buy another one right away and our son could install it so quickly!
Happy for music, movies, and cookies.And my family!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!
I also gravitate towards black. Although the little black dress takes you everywhere, I have started to move away from dark colors. Five years ago, I adopted Rescue Pup who is a Great Pyrenees mix -- nearly 100 pounds of white fluff. Although I vacuum daily and brush this beautiful girl often, my black clothes act as magnets for her white hair. I buy clothing rollers in bulk now. Despite this, she is worth every stray hair I find. She is the most intelligent and interesting dog that I have ever owned.
Now, I am off to make a giant vat of seafood gumbo -- our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. The men in the in the house will be gone until 3 putting together a giant swing set for the grands.
I wish all of you the joy, peace, and hope of the season. For those of you who celebrate, may your Christmas be merry.
Kristen, it's no surprise to hear that you'll be spreading cheer among your patients this holiday. If I were in the hospital on Christmas Eve/Day, your megawatt smile is the one I'd want to see!
Here, I've got things pretty well under control. Making Christmas Eve dinner for the Bestest Neighbors and NDN1 (the Two Fat Ladies' "A.N.'s Slow Shoulder of Lamb," as always) involves considerable slicing and dicing, but I've done this for so many years that it's almost on automatic pilot by now. All presents are all systems go. And the weather for tomorrow looks dry and calm, so I won't have to worry about sliding myself and NDN1 down CF's driveway into the adjacent pond on the way to CF's and her DH's Christmas Day buffet!
@A. Marie, I am more or less across the lake from you: tomorrow is dry weather wise, but Boxing day, Friday we are expecting a lot of snow, and we have to travel north on that day, henceforth I am not looking forward to the drive. We are having Christmas on Boxing day as the nieces are all doing their in-laws tomorrow.
My only thought right now is that you look absolutely fantastic in that dress! You should wear it everywhere! Like maybe to Aldi, ha!
Yikes, that's a lot of long work shifts. Nice paycheck to start the new year, though.
I really like your wedding-guest dress. I'm going to be shopping for something similar for my niece's fall wedding in Vermont next year, but I can't wear wrap dresses like that. I am more, um, well-endowed on the top, and too old to be that risque. 🙂 Dresses in general are so hard to get to fit well that I'm really not looking forward to the experience.
The dress code is "country formal" though--whatever that means--so I'm actually wondering if I can get away with my long denim skirt, a velvet top, and my cowboy boots. My sons will be in ironed jeans and western shirts and boots, and everyone knows we live in the wild west and are only semi-civilized. It might work. 🙂
Improvement with my heroically-earned injury ahem: I can walk (slowly) today! And lift my leg enough to get on a shoe! Yesterday was the first day since Saturday night that I could walk with just a limp, rather than shuffling very painfully. I was so glad that I was at least kind of mobile yesterday, because it was the night of our church's Posadas and I didn't want to have to miss that. It's a Hispanic tradition before Christmas of re-creating Mary and Joseph's search for an inn. There are little kids playing the parts of Mary and Joseph, angels, and shepherds as they go door to door with a crowd, knocking and requesting a room. This takes the form of a song the crowd sings, which is answered by a crowd inside the house singing a song saying nope, no room here, move on, until they get to the last one, at which they are invited in. It's all in Spanish, it's nothing I ever did before living in New Mexico, and I love it. We sing Christmas carols afterwards and have a potluck. I'm so glad I didn't miss it, even though my leg was aching afterwards.
Our elderly neighbor brought us a box of Christmas treats yesterday. It was a literal box, which she gift-wrapped, and in it were homemade peanut candy (dyed red), chocolate chip cookies, slices of fruit cake, and nougat. It was so delightfully old-fashioned, the kind of thing people don't do much anymore, what with the variety of homemade baked goods all packaged so carefully and actually gift-wrapped. Also, none of the baked goods with flour tasted like laundry detergent, which is getting more rare these days. I almost never try something someone else baked that doesn't have that taste of chemical fragrance now. It's a plague.
Tonight is Grandma Bishop's molasses cookies, homemade eggnog, and listening to "Still, Still, Still" before sending kids to bed so my husband and I can get the presents under the tree and the stockings filled. Christmas is tomorrow! Hooray!
Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope your day is filled with light.
@kristin @ going country, your wedding guest outfit idea sounds perfect to me! Exactly appropriate. Wear some pearls with it if they go with the neckline, or dangly sparkly earrings.
I love these stream of consciousness posts.
- Kristen, congratulations on your new vehicle; my father always drove blue cars, he said they were good luck. (yes I know your car is listed as grey, but it looks blue-ish).
- My library was having a sock drive. Socks are the most requested items for people who are in shelters or otherwise homeless. I bought *a lot* of socks and dropped them off at the library; I was happy to be able to do this.
- A lady on Freecycle requested china and linens etc. for her daughters wedding next year, she is trying to offset the huge costs associated with a wedding. I gave her my mothers china, which was a Noritake set called RC China Sri Lanka (most likely from 1959 or so). She will use what she can plus her daughter may keeps some after. I said if her daughter wishes to sell it, it may bring her in maybe $1000 or more. Happy to do this.
- My dryer broke, of course in the middle of a tumble dry. I hung the laundry on the rack and the lines that are hung across my laundry room. It was the belt that broke. At the same time, HB used a "chimney sweep" type kit to clean all the lint out of the pipe/vent hose that vents to the outside. So.much.lint. This was probably a fire hazard. So this is my PSA to you re: the pipe/vent hose.
- My colonoscopy and endoscopy showed no cancer, so I'm quite happy at that. It did however show some other conditions, but they are livable so again I'm quite happy at that.
- My SIL died of leptomeningeal and brain melanoma, it is a very rare cancer of the brain. My doctor said that it does not originate in the brain, it migrated from somewhere else, likely an advanced skin cancer. He sent my HB to a dermatologist to be checked out; the good news is no signs of skin cancer on my HB; though he does have some eczema on his foot and face, so he got a script for 2 medicated creams.
- wrapping presents today, because as per usual I have left it to the last minute. Though I have 2 days; we are doing Christmas on Boxing day (26th) as the nieces are seeing their respective in-laws families on Christmas day.
Wishing everyone peace, health and happiness over the holidays and for the new year.
@Linda in Canada, I looked up that china pattern and found multiple iterations. The one with delicate blue flowers really floats my boat! What a great gift to your Freecycle person; it is a real pickle to figure out what to do with fancy china. I’m glad I never got any and I’ve turned down sets from Grandma and from Mom with no idea what happened to this stuff, which they collected so carefully through the decades. Sigh.
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, the china is white with a gold rim. I was under the impression that the gold rim is actually real gold. I also have some china pieces stamped Bulgaria, white with a gold rim that belonged to my grandmother, so I would think it is pre- World War I or just thereafter. This one I am hanging onto.
You look amazing in that dress! Happy everything to all.
We are having a fun Christmas season this year with visits from young grandchildren who want to come over and play while out of school, a long visit from son and DIL who live at other end of California, Christmas Eve dinner and presents with same son & DIL, Christmas Day for all of us at local sons MIL house. Three dogs get to attend too!
Nice surprise with a small box of cookies delivered by neighbors we only know casually plus ones from both DILs cookie exchanges. We are well sugared without making any ? although I did make the Smitten Kitchen pumpkin bread which is a hit.
@Juhli, Thanks for the Smitten Kitchen recommendation! I love their recipes and will be sure to try this one. AND bonus prompt: I picked up several cans of pumpkin puree at the grocery store yesterday because the price was marked way down -- they're clearing out the Thanksgiving stock, I guess.
Merry Christmas!
Your mention of having a lot of black dresses made me smile. When my sister was here last week for our grandfather’s funeral and we were trying to decide what to wear, we discovered she owns zero black dresses and I own many black dresses. She was surprised I owned more than one, I was shocked she didn’t own any – great belly laughs during a sad weekend.
Last night my husband was so excited that “tomorrow is Christmas!” I finally have him on board with my thought that Christmas is a two-day affair and Christmas Eve is just as important as Christmas Day.
My son is leaving the day after Christmas to spend a few days with his dad’s family. I’m going to miss him so much, but I’m really excited that he’s going to spend time with them.
Missed saying it yesterday - celebrating your new car with you! So cute and Kristeny!
I'm grateful to have two days at home with NOTHING planned or expected of me.
Your cooking spree yesterday sounds yummy and will pay big dividends as you enjoy those foods!
I knew your blue velvet was a dress because you’ve worn and photographed it once before—and it’s pretty unforgettable. With all of the symphony visits now, you could get the black or another color….
Half of our family arrived last night and the other half is awaited (these are DS1 and DS2's families). We will be a packed house full of love. Even their pups will be here!
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and peace and goodwill to all in this lovely group chat!
Oh I'm sure your patients will be so grateful for your sunshine tomorrow! The dress is great on you and hooray for not choosing black :). I'm stuck at my office with really nothing to do but I'm here till 1, then heading home to make lasagna and cookies as my people trickle in. Merry Christmas!
Thanks for reminding us about the straw tip for freezing bread in a plastic bag! I always hate when the bread gets freezer burned. That's a good, simple solution that I will definitely have to start doing.
The so called "green" dress is gorgeous. Such a rich color. You need to have it also.
I can jump in on stream of consciousness 🙂 I've been out and efficiently ran 4 errand stops - things mostly to accommodate last minute requests from my newly wed daughter. We have a group going out to eat tomorrow and then to her house for gifts. She realized a few things were needed to pull together the "after dinner" portion of the day.
Tonight is church and a small after church get together.
My youngest daughter is out of town with a friend - first Christmas in her life we haven't been together. I think I'm OK with this - we'll see tomorrow. She did ask before making plans.
And Kristen, I'm glad you can care for your patients on this holiday. I know you will make a difference. Makes me wonder if I couldn't volunteer part of the day . . . something to check into.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays in general to the blog followers. I usually lurk, but I read faithfully everyday. You all are part of my life.
Lots of Thots/Loughts of Thoughts (silly me)
1. Two cars is such a wonderful luxury. I’m loving seeing how you have moved from monetary desperation to prosperity and abundance!
2. RAIN!! It’s been a month or two, and now we are getting an enormous storm.
3. While in the PO this week I noticed 3 styles of jeans: skinny, wide-leg rolled up hem, sort of baggy stacked up on shoes a bit. I fell into the 3rd camp—a life-long abhorrence of high-waters, and too-tight clothing. There were no ripped jeans visible. Just interesting to see a huge variety in fashion.
4. Baking is sort of fun, but it has fallen out of favor in my life since most people my age have cut way back on sugar and carbohydrate consumption. I don’t miss the mess, but I often wish I had a cookie, which makes me want two, and then I might as well have three. So, abstinence is a good plan here.
5. This is a day late, but has anyone heard of Christmas Adam? A few years ago I read it on a blog that I found through this blog, (one of the Karens, I think) and it stuck because of the cleverness.
Thank you for cheerfully working Christmas shifts, Kristen and all others who are on duty. You'll bring sunshine into peoples' lives and that counts for a lot.
Here I am, computer rotting (I'm at my desk, not in bed) when I need to be cleaning house! But I love checking in with you and reading all the comments from all my online friends! It makes me feel like I am NOT the last woman on Planet Earth. Glad tidings to all!
Snuggles chased a squirrel this morning. Good doggy!
I work 2-6 today, although it may be later depending on how many last-minute guys (it's always men!) are around our store's perfume/fragrance counter. They know Christmas comes this time of year and they've had 365 days to shop for the ladies in their lives -- but they always wait until the Very. Last. Second. Why is that?
The store manager is having a BBQ lunch, like he does every holiday. But on Thanksgiving, it was all gone by the time I got to my p.m. shift. So I'm taking in my green bean salad today at 11 and making a plate, and then I'll leave and come back at 2.
My green bean salad is very frugal: we had a sale on French sliced green beans, 69 cents a can, and these were Libbey brand. I stocked up on them and used a few cans for the salad. You just drain the beans and add Italian dressing (I use the zesty kind from Aldi, it took 2 bottles.) Marinate in the fridge overnight and you have something that tastes like Olive Garden would serve it.
The weather is going to be 79 or 80 degrees today, so I figure a cold side dish would be good.
I wrote on Katy's NCA blog about wanting to use the Italian dressing I had in the pantry, but realizing it was a funny brown color. Its exp. date was 2023, so that was a frugal fail -- I had to throw it out. I'd bought some new bottles of Italian dressing, and luckily, it was enough.
Our church service will be at 4, so I will miss it this time. But then they'll have a midnight service at 10 p.m. (well, it's midnight somewhere in the world by then!). I hope to attend that if I'm not dead on my feet from working. This past week, we haven't had time to look up: the lines are long and we just keep a-checking. Hopefully, the card readers won't break down; they sometimes do.
Hopefully, the PA music system WILL break down; it blares in my ear all shift and I get really tired of the same ol' same ol' bad holiday tunes that I've had to endure since Black Friday. I noticed last night that our assistant manager has ear buds in; guess he's trying to drown out the Grinch-y carols, as well.
On Christmas Day, I have 3 events to attend so I am really happy!
Merry Christmas to all, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday!
@Fru-gal Lisa, on a "brown" note, shortly after my father passed away I couldn't sleep for love nor money so I thought I would open this bottle of WHITE wine, see if that helped any. It might have helped ... if I'd been able to get past the fact that this white wine was now BROWN.
Just wanted to drop in and say your cheerful post brightened my morning today, Merry Christmas Eve !
Congrats on the car! I love that for you. Heated seats actually save us money on gas as we don't have to start the car early to warm it up for us. We just absorb the heat from the seats.
I am working 12 hours, today, Christmas Eve, as my coworker celebrates today. I let her decide whether to work the day or the eve as she has grandchildren, and my children are grown.
I sent my Christmas cards out Monday so some will be on time but some will be late. But since I have received NONE I know it will be lovely to receive one.
My children have fallen in love with the rolls from your Basic Roll recipe. We tried to get away with store bought ones for one holiday (luckily I mentioned it beforehand) but they were sooo disappointed. I surprised them with yours and they were SOO happy. We had exactly none left after they took the leftovers. That makes me happy that rolls can make someone so happy.
After traveling for a trip to New Orleans, we realized that out kitty needs a friend. Our other kitty died unexpectedly last year and this was the first trip since then. We have a trip planned in February and we will reach out to a foster family to adopt one. They might not get along (the last one didn't, and you know how cats are) but at least she will not be totally alone.
Our niece by marriage worked NICU for a number of Christmas days and got interviewed amongst others on TV about what it was like to work that day. She smiled happily during her interview and said it didn’t bother her at all. Her family was fine with waiting on her to celebrate, and it gave her a chance to make it a better day for “her babies.” You will be like that, Kristen.
I have the doors and windows open because outside is warmer than inside right now. My house had cooled down after some chilly days and it is slow to warm back up. I’d rather it be chilly for Christmas, though.
I’m doing last preps for tomorrow and will take time out this evening for the Christmas Eve service.
I want to give a shout out to Wreaths Across America for the work they do in placing Christmas wreaths at the graves and columbariums at national cemeteries. Also to the volunteers who place them, including my veteran nephew and his family. A fresh wreath was under DH’s niche and the air smelled of evergreens all over the cemetery.
Yay for Honda hybrids! My 2021 CR-V is a hybrid and I love the mileage it gets. Too bad the state of MD assesses a registration surcharge on a hybrid that is almost as much as on an electric vehicle ($125 vs. $150). It feels unfair to me.
You look great in that blue dress. My torso is not long so I think with my pear shaped body it would not be a good dress for me. The olive color looked divine on you. I hope you kept it.
Good for you for bringing cheer to hospitalized patients. They will be lucky to have you.
I'm recliner rotting at the moment, before hitting the "to do" list hard. My niece and Lil Bro are coming for brunch tomorrow. My Lil Bro thinks he can make my home for early meal and then my other Bro for afternoon. I would like to be a fly on the wall of my other Bro's house as Lil Bro tells him he had cheese souffle, dragon fruit and petit fours and tea (not iced) among other things. We have a midwestern country background and although cheese souffle is really not hard to make, it's a little high class for us. I got the wrong MisFits box with the dragon fruit or we would not be having that. It will be new to all of us. I 'm also doing TakeII on cranberry orange muffins. For Thanksgiving dinner, I accidently swapped the baking powder and baking soda, plus the whole, fresh cranberries were a little eye squinting. Going to chop them this time. And follow the directions more closely...
I get to work tomorrow night. I actually don't mind. The souls should be pretty tired if they've been able to holiday with families.
Merry Christmas All!
Do you spend any of the holidays with your parents and siblings?
This year I had exactly one day off in the week between Christmas and New Year's so not this time!
Our new Honda CRV is a hybrid as well.
Dd is working at Macy's today. Send up good thoughts to her.
Dh is making chocolate chip cookies.
I'll make the lasagne for dinner.
Thank you for your cheerfulness while working over Christmas 🙂
Living in Asia has taught me that it's very nice to take the pressure and expectation off of the day itself. Nonetheless, there is something valuable about your community holding a day as sacred (by that I mean most people try to be kind the day of and understanding about time off). New Year and Obon are like that here, mostly.
It will be interesting to see how I feel next year back in the states. We are going to implement a new tradition: keeping a little live tree through the year, maybe decorating it over Christmas, and then planting it (probably in the fall) on our property in Colorado. I really love the idea of seeing all my little Christmas trees grow successively over my lifetime.
Hospitals feel different on Christmas Eve. It's both a special and sometimes solemn time for patients. I know you will bring them comfort.
AND, the break room will be filled with treats (hopefully day shift saves some for you!).
Blue is my favorite color, and it brings out the color in your eyes. It's beautiful!
Happy you are keeping van for now!
I'm sitting here thinking that I should actually decorate my THREE Christmas trees.
i am absolutely kvelling over your new car. my zoe is in the hospital. she may be there two weeks or more. i have noticed and this is only me that the day staff is more compassionate than the night staff. she is receiving excellent care and i hope and pray she will be fixed up soon. merry xmas to all who celebrate . and for all of us chanukah folks, may we see peace in our lifetimes.
Best wishes for regained health for Zoe. And I join you in your prayer for peace, Anita.
@JNL, thank you so much.
The blue dress is beautiful, but the olive looks almost bronze and is a very classy look.
I am taking a short break from the days excitement and visitors. The little neighbors came over to decorate our little wagon that we will take to cowboy church tomorrow, being pulled by our mini mules. Those kids decorate everything!
Here in Oregon the DOT has not figured out a concise way to charge hybrids. If you want to account mileage, you can at 2.3 cents/mile. If you want they will charge you a straight $350+ which ends up being about $130 more than a combustible engine car that gets 30 mpg @ 12k miles per year and paying at the pump. Room for improvement for sure.
we had gorgeous weather here today. The wind storm did not come to pass so we set up the fire pit. Visiting around the fire is so relaxing. A frequent fire pit visitor brought over homemade marshmallows, gf graham crackers and chocolate bars and put them in the larder for us to enjoy this weekend when her guests leave. A lovely treat to look forward to.
Time to go put out the desserts and then the sourdough rolls for the kids to make sandwiches for snacks.
I had something all lined up to wear to church last night but it occurred to me that I really need to work on my "dress nice" wardrobe...I spend most of my days in scrubs so when its time to dress up I forget that I have nothing to wear!
You can switch the van from a commuter car to “pleasure/leisure” to save a few more dollars. I’m not sure the exact term, but if it’s not your commuter car, they will change the status on your policy (or you may be able to do it online). You likely already know, but there’s also a small discount if you drive what is considered low miles each year. Your van may now qualify for that designation as well since it is now a second vehicle.
That dress is stunning on you-both cut and color! As a tall girl, I appreciate this dress recommendation.
We have an old beater truck inherited from my in-laws. It's useful for hauling and the cost to maintain is minimal making it worthwhile for us to keep it. You probably know this, but as a reminder, don't do what we did and forget to drive the extra vehicle a few mile at least every 1-2 weeks! That resulted in stalled car (at fortunately enough a Chick-fil-A:)) and a stern talking to from our mechanic on proper maintenance. Now, my husband drives it to work 1 day a week (so, like 10 miles every week) for maintenance.
A little late with my stream of consciousness. LOL. I hadn't filed taxes for 2 years (state) and 3 years (federal). When I got my act together this year and filed everything apparently I made some big arse errors on state as my figures showed small refunds....hardy har har. Ended up owing over 1K. Bit the bullet and paid it right away with a credit card.
On the bright side, I've received 2 out of 3 refunds from federal...when I receive the 3rd check I will have $700 to go into my flooring fund (quote was 9K, I've saved up 2K so far, the goal is to get it done by February 26 2027 when I retire).
Congrats on the car! did you know you could rent out your van to people (you could just check it out to make sure all is legal) the dress is beautiful and you being thin look great in it. Happy New Year!