'Tis the Season to be Blogging!

Happy holidays to all!!

Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas this year. I know mine was full of merriment and joy! To those that are interested here's my synopsis:

Christmas Eve we went to Rob's grandmother's house and had a delicious seafood dinner with Rob's dad, his dad's fiancé and her son, 2 brothers, uncle, uncle's annoying girlfriend, and grandmother. It was a relaxing night. Every time I'm around his dad's fiancé, all she talks about is me and Rob getting married. Her sister is a jeweler, so she was asking me what kind of rings I like, so she can pick one out for me. :-) Rob just rolls his eyes and runs away.

Then Christmas morning Rob and I woke up at 7am to open gifts. We had a $100 limit, which was great, but also really limiting. I got him hiking and Red Sox stuff, which he was thrilled about. I only fueled the fire because he spent the whole weekend talking about the Red Sox and the woods! He got me some cute stuff. An ornament, a funky scarf, a cute hippie bag with an embroidered elephant, a pug calendar (because I love pugs!), a little plush lion, and three picture frames that had like jungle animals on them. Then when I thought I was done, he said there was a hidden compartment in the frames. So I opened them up and there were tickets to see the Lion King on Broadway! Hence, the jungle themed gifts. I was so surprised! We're going on Jan 22nd, and I can't wait! That's very uncharacteristic of him because I know he thinks musicals are cheesy, so he was really unselfish with that gift!

Then we got ready and headed up to my folks house. Ate some yummy Korean dumplings and went to the tree! I got the Bose SoundDock from my parents, which is what I was really hoping for. I tried it out at their house and it's so awesome! The sound is unbelievable! Then I got a few books and things. Normal relative-type stuff. Oh, also, as a gift to myself and Rob, I used some of my Christmas bonus money and bought a digital video camera! Rob has been wanting one forever because he used to have a video camera and used it to torture his brother and friends. He has the funniest videos. He used to lock his younger brother out of the house in the snow and wouldn't let him in until he did the robot in the street. And a few years ago we had big wheel races and taped it all, it was hilarious! Now I'm sure I'll be the one getting tortured, but he has so much fun doing it that it'll be worth it!

Then we went to my uncle's house and had a dinner with my uncle's family and my grandfather. Food was delicious. Didn't stay too late, went back to my parents' home and left late afternoon the next day. All in all it was a lovely holiday!

Stealing from my homegirl, Devon, I made a little photo collage of some pics we took during the celebrations! :-) You can see me in all my nasty glory, just out of bed, no shower, and a santa hat hiding my bed head! Oh, and my parents are there in the middle.

Who needs Paxil when you have white wine???

Hello all in blogsville! I am finally recuperated from my weekend!

Today is freakin’ freezing in Philly. It was –10˚ during my commute this morning. I actually drove in for the first time in over two years since I had many bags of ornaments to bring in to my boss, as well as the fact that tonight is our little holiday dinner event and I don’t feel comfortable riding the train alone at 11pm. Thanks to my boss, 20 of us are going to Jones Restaurant for dinner and to see Cats afterwards at the Walnut Street Theatre. Looking forward to it!

My job isn’t as bad as I make it out to be. Sure, sometimes it’s a pain in the rear, but overall, it’s a great place to work. This was confirmed on Friday when I received my holiday card (that I designed) filled with a big fat holiday bonus check! Woohoo! Last year all we got was a pen! This is so great! And thanks to the fact that Rob and I have a $100 limit on each other, my bonus easily covered all my holiday shopping as well as leaving me with some money to buy myself a little something and put some away for next month’s mortgage! (Mortgage is still a scary word to me!)

Saturday night Rob and I went to his family friends’ annual holiday party. Even though I really didn’t want to go at all, I had such a great time! And I think I figured out the answer to my social anxiety disorder……alcohol! When we first got there I barely talked to anyone. It was so packed, like a college party for grown ups. Rob introduced me around and I just kind of shook hands and stood by as Rob talked to people. After a few glasses of wine though, I was talking to strangers left and right! I even played pool with some kid I didn’t know! It was great! By the end of the night I was giving everyone hugs and taking down phone numbers! Since Rob rarely drinks anymore (he’s that friendly without alcohol), I usually never drink either. But now, the next time I’m in that sort of situation, I’ll be sure to knock back a few before going! :-)

Of course, we didn’t get home until after 5am, and thanks to that and the wine, I could barely get off of the sofa on Sunday. Oh well, it was worth it!

Christmas projects galore!!!

Hola chicos y chicas! Have a nice weekend?

I haven't posted anything in a little while because nothing has really been going on. Been busy with some side projects. I handmade 65 invitations for a coworker's Christmas party. Since I don't really charge them, I made sure I came up with a simple design. I was actually pretty happy with the way they came out! And I got a $100 gift certificate to a fancy Philly restaurant as a "thank you" so I'm happy! I know, I know, I should be charging these people. But it's kind of nice to get in good with the company. Especially since she's one of the CEO's daughters. :-)

Last Christmas I gave my head boss a glass Christmas ball that I painted with red flowers. I suppose she liked it because she called me this weekend and asked if I would make 20 ornaments by next Monday. Ugh, it's going to be a busy week! But I think with a stencil and some spray glitter, I can make magic happen! You see, she's taking me and 19 others out to dinner and to see Cats next Monday for Christmas, so she thought it'd be nice if she could give everyone a gift. I'd actually love it if she let me wrap them all because I just love wrapping gifts!! I ordered up some fancy wrapping paper from Kate's Paperie ($2.50 a sheet, I know I'm crazy) and I love making all my gifts coordinate! I'm hoping that I'll get a special little Christmas bonus for doing this project!

Our company holiday cards came in on Friday and I just love them! Here's what they look like:



They were printed on a shimmery paper and it really came out nice. They look much better in person. I hope everyone likes them! I'm sure they'd like them more if there was a big fat check inside. I still have my fingers crossed for that one. They don't let me in on those secrets. I'll be checking my mail religiously though!

Alrighty people, I'm done here. Hope you're all in the holiday spirit! Fa la la la laaaa, la laaaa laaaa laaaa!!!!

P.S. Just a note, I did not create that swoosh logo used in the holiday card!!! It's not my fault!!!