It was a Merry Christmas!

I'm sad that Christmas is over!

It seems that the past few years Christmas has totally snuck up on me and this year was no exception. With all the photo shoot busyness, as well as being slammed at work, it seemed like we jumped right from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Fortunately I managed to get the tree up and a few other decorations in place before Christmas, which made me happy. I also managed to finish my shopping this year before Christmas Eve, which was a major blessing as well.

Needless to say, now that Christmas has passed, I'm sad it's gone. I had a great Christmas this year and was totally spoiled (as usual). It was also nice as I decided to make every effort to not get overly stressed and thus, overly emotional this year and things worked out well.

LEADING UP TO THE BIG DAY

We celebrated Christmas with my inlaws two weeks ago (see the crazy group photo we took after dinner) and my dad, stepmom and brothers on hte 20th... oh, my aunt was there too. Anyway, it was a fun, lowkey celebration. I'm happy to say that we got my brothers something they like (gift cards for new video games) and gave my dad and stepmom a gift certificate to our favorite dessert place and a certificate for an overnight stay for my brothers at our place, so my dad and stepmom can properly celebrate their anniversary in a few weeks. Steve and I were lucky enough to receive a good bottle of wine, a neat candle, a gift certificate for a show at the Old Globe and for dinner which I'm sure we'll enjoy sometime soon!

I was dreading heading to work last Friday as I knew I was out late the night before, had a lot to accomplish before my time off and was already in the vacation mode. Yet, not long after I arrived it turned out my work day was going to be great! I got two awesome e-mails from people I respect at the company thanking me for all my work and attention to detail, my boss gave me a cool Christmas decorating book and told me he'd put in for a RAISE for me! Yea! I'm so excited! I don't think I've ever been given a raise without it being mandated, solicited (by me or someone else) or a part of a union contract. It feels good to be rewarded for working so hard. I have no idea the amount of the raise or anything, but just to be getting something is a major blessing!

Friday night I headed out and finished most of my Christmas shopping. I also found myself a pair of work slacks for $10, which is pretty awesome! The stores weren't so bad on Friday, so I felt lucky to be shopping at that time.

On Saturday, I spent the morning cleaning up our house (putting away decoration boxes, etc.) and then I helped my mom prepare for my grandma's birthday party. My grandma turned 84 on Sunday (we had her party a day early) and I think she enjoyed the celebration. It was a good night and all turned out well. I'll post pictures of my mom's awesome (as usual) table decor... it was so festive and not red and green!

Sunday brought a day of more shopping, dinner with my honey and lots of gift wrapping. We both finished our shopping that night and it was fun to go into a store, split up (because we were picking things for the other person) and then making sure we didn't run into each other during our searches! I ended up staying up until 3 a.m. wrapping that night, in part because I was occasionally distracted by watching this and continually stretching out my legs since they kept falling asleep (I was sitting on the floor wrapping gifts).

CHRISTMAS EVE

Fortunately I got to sleep in a bit on Christmas Eve (not too much, but a bit). When I got up, I got ready and headed out to return a gift I'd bought, pick up a few last minute gift cards and wrap a gift for DH that I'd left at mom's for storage (more on that later). When I got home, I showered and changed and we headed to my aunt and uncle's for my cousin's birthday and our Christmas Eve celebration.

We were a bit late when we headed to church, so we ended up sitting in the very back, which was fine. Church can get a bit hot when it's so crowded, but in the back we got an occasional gust of fresh air when the doors opened, so we stayed awake and still enjoyed the service. We headed back home after church and I finished wrapping gifts while I played this movie and followed it up with its sequel.

CHRISTMAS DAY

On Christmas morning, DH and I woke up and decided to "open" our stockings in bed. DH bought me a new stocking, one I'd been eyeing at Pier 1, and I love it! I took a picture of it, so I'll have to post it later. He did a great job on my stocking (a new iPod case with an arm strap for walking), lots of dark chocolate, a new silver chain so I can wear some of my pendants again, a Giotto's "rocket blaster" to get dust out of my camera, etc. I did a pretty good job on his too, I think. It was nice to share that quiet time together at home. Afterwards, we both got ready and we headed over to my mom's for Christmas breakfast and gift exchanges. I helped mom make a great, fattening breakfast of french toast, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage with coffee and juice, which we shared with DH and my grandma.

After breakfast we opened gifts. We got my mom some new CDs, a new sweater set, a new pair of casual pants and some memory cards and a case for her new camera, plus a stocking full of stuff. She got DH a bunch of new tools (stuff for his Dremel, his drill, etc.) a new jacket, some books and a gift card for Barnes and Noble. She got me some clothes, some CDs, a book, a battery for my camera and a bunch of stuff in my stocking. But the best gift... a trip to San Francisco with my honey for Valentine's Day! Mom totally went overboard! I was so overwhelmed I cried! We haven't been on a trip since we went to Hawaii a year ago October, so this is going to be so awesome! I love San Francisco and I can't wait to share it with my sweetie (he's been once, but not with me, so this will be so fun).

My sweetie got me a grip for my camera, some memory for my camera and my laptop, a new purse and wallet, some candies, plus my new stocking full of treats. I got totally spoiled by him too.

After we shared gifts and breakfast, we headed home so I could make some potatoes and gather up the other gifts. We headed over to my grandma's for the afternoon. Her house is so festive. There were 20 of us there this year, which made for a tight squeeze, but oh so fun. We showered the kids with gifts first and then did our first year of the "number-drawing, gift exchange game" amongst the adults. Steve and I made out pretty well... a set of Gingerbread-themed plates and mugs (with cocoa) and a set of really nice baking sheets and mixing bowls.

Following the gift exchange we had a yummy dinner of ham, potatoes, veggies and all the sides, followed by Grandma's homemade Apple Pie. SO good!

It was a fun-filled few days and when Steve and I got home that night around 8:30, I laid down on the couch for a bit only to fall asleep. He woke me up after about half an hour and sent me to bed. I slept 13 hours that night! Eeek! I guess I was tired... but it was oh-so-refreshing.

Anyway, hopefully you're still reading and enjoyed this recap. I'll have more photos and details tomorrow! For now, have a great, safe New Year's Eve and Happy 2008!