Here's my long overdue post recapping Christmas and the end of the year. Pictorially of course!
It's always fun on Christmas Eve (even during the day) to snuggle up on the sofa to watch Christmas classics while sipping a steaming hot mug of hot cocoa with whipped cream, red sugar sprinkled on top, and with some candy covered marshmallows; dipped by yours truly.
Christmas morning in Arizona wouldn't be complete without the "fireplace" a-roaring with the gifts waiting anxiously beneath the tree. :)
The Christmas Eve tradition we've decided to start is jammies. (Like most other families that is.) This year I decided I'd buy Dylan's jammies along with Steve's and then next year Steve will pick out the jammies Dylan opens on Christmas Eve before packing up in the car and driving around to see houses adorned with lights. This year was pathetic when it came to Christmas lights. We drove around for about 30 minutes or so without more than 5 houses having lights on them. It was sad. I later found out that same was the case most everywhere. :( My assumption is that no one can really afford the added expense on the power bill. Understandable.
Here's just a random pic of Steve and Dylan the other night before they went out. I don't even remember where they were going, but the fact that they both had their track jackets on and Dylan was being extra giggly that night, I figured it was a perfect photo op. :)
If you have a little munchkin who grows like a weed and are constantly in need of new clothes for him, check out Naartjie. It's one of the cutest little kid stores when it comes to clothes and they're very reasonably priced. They have sizes from preemie to toddler and the shirt above, rightfully referred to in our home as "The Hippie Shirt", was a treasure found during my outing to spend Christmas money on myself for just $3!! I can never resist buying things for Steve or Dylan even when I'm supposed to be out shopping for myself. I'm sure most mommies can agree that becomes the case once you become, well, a mommy.
Yes, yes, I know. I'm not the biggest fan (neither is Steve) of the lovely Chinese invention of the Croc. However, when your child is the size of a 12-month-old since the age of 7 months, his feet are rather "girthy" since he doesn't quite walk yet. Therefore, the need for Crocs becomes more and more apparent as you venture out into public with WTB (White Trash Baby) who has no socks or shoes on 99.99% of the time. I think that the only people they should make Crocs for are infants. Dylan's just too cute in them! Mad props go out to Uncle Eric & Aunt Val for gifting him these lime green ones as well as a flaming orange pair in the next size up. :)
I don't have any pictures of New Year's Eve because we didn't go out or anything. Dylan was asleep by 9pm, Steve by 11:30pm, and I was busy playing Solitaire on my IPod until the clock struck midnight at which point I paused my game, raised my right arm into the air, and stated aloud (to no one else but the stars of whatever Food Network show I was watching), "WooHoo! Happy New Year!" Afterwards, I quickly returned to my umpteenth game of Solitaire and fell asleep at approximately 12:24am.
I've gotta say that I'm pretty happy 2008 is over. It wasn't the best of years, we all know that much. However, it was nice to know that no one was alone in their struggles. Admittedly, the degree of struggle varied by family, but all in all everyone could empathize in some way with someone else whether they be a stranger or a familiar face. The resolution for this year was a mighty one. I've decided to take on running. Steve has such an admiration for the activity, that I decided to try it out for myself. See if I like it. One week into 2009 and I still haven't stepped foot in the gym to start training, but I'm safely living behind the excuse of not having the appropriate footwear. It's a valid excuse right?! I mean, running relies heavily, if not entirely, upon what adorn your feet. I'd like to know that after the completion of my workout, I'm not going to dread having a pulsating blister on the back of either heel. My goal is to get running shoes in about a week. I'll blog about it, naturally. I may even force Steve to take some pictures of my feet for the occasion. We'll just have to wait and see.
2009 has brought some unwelcome surprises. Two deaths within the first few days of the year. One in California and one all the way across the country in New York. So many medical issues became prevalent at the end of 2008, that I feel like I may still be in denial/shock at the recent family passings. They were both peaceful deaths and we're confident in our faiths to know that they are both in a better place, fulfilling a new destiny set forth by God. We'll all see each other again someday. May Arnie and Grandma Pat rest peacefully with our Lord.
Our lease is almost up, January 31st to be exact. It's 100% confirmed that due to last year's economic struggle, we're "forced" to stay out in Central Phoenix for another year. I say "forced" because it's a humbling experience to complain about having to stay in our current area. Selfishly speaking, it sucks to stay so far away from my side of the family. Gratefully speaking, between Steve and myself, we have 4 jobs! That's right, four. I am an overnight desk assistant for a dorm at ASU and do rebate processing and Steve has his weekday 9-5 and works his weekend show at the radio station. From an outsiders point of view, we're blessed. We feel the same. There are some who have 1 job for a family much larger than ours or have 0 jobs. We are VERY blessed. We also have a perfectly functional vehicle to transport us to our family that seems "so far away". After last year, a lot of people don't have that luxury. Another reason for wanting to relocate was to not just be closer to my family, but also to have a little more space. Luckily enough for us, we have the option of transferring within our current community to a 3 bedroom town home for a minimal rent increase. I'm trying my best not to get my hopes up too much, but we'll be meeting with the assistant manager tomorrow to tour a unit and discuss our options. The best we can do at this point is pray. I feel as though the opportunity to take advantage of this option is answer enough to our prayers. In a nutshell, we are blessed.
For the sake of continuing my scatter-brain of a post, Dylan's going to be ONE...in 4 weeks and 4 days. (Haha, I didn't even realize it, but that's funny since he was born at 4:44am in 4 weeks and 4 days from now. Weird!) Being the overachiever I am, I'm throwing him a giant city traffic party at my mom's on Sunday, February 8th (his birthday). We're lucky his actual birthday falls not only on a weekend day, but on a Sunday. That's the day when most all of our family is available. No work, just church and chores. Chores can undoubtedly be put off in order to celebrate our munchkin, agreed?? :) Keep your peepers glued for the cute invitations I'm crafting.
Alright, rant over. I'm getting back to watching Psych on USA and processing some rebates, both while working the night desk.
xo,
Jess
