Last of 2010

Christmas has come and gone, and it was a really great time with family.  When I woke up Friday morning (Christmas Eve day), I didn't feel very well and I was really worried that I'd miss everything.  Steve was sick last year and missed pretty much the whole day.  Got through ok, though I had to compromise on some of the things I had planned.  For instance, no big breakfast on Christmas morning -- just couldn't drag myself out of bed.

We had a good time on Christmas Eve day playing games and shopping and eating.  Ian was with his mom this year so we saved all of our gift opening for Christmas morning.  The kids were all pretty excited and crowded around the tree and the gifts.  We all managed to get through the gift opening with no major injuries or problems -- and I didn't get any pictures!  We did get some photos of the kids around the tree prior to the opening of gifts, fortunately.  If we hadn't gotten that, I wouldn't have anything.  Alex was trying for a big smile and ended up with a grimace.  All of the kids have their Christmas hats on and Anna is wearing her beautiful Christmas dress.  All of them are chomping at the bit to get at the packages and stockings.

After gift opening on Christmas, the kids had some time to actually enjoy the things that they got, and then we headed to Tracy's for the Schilleman family get-together.  Kim, Erkin, and the kids were here this year from Tulsa so it was a big group.  We played games, ate lots of food, and had a ton of great conversation.  The kids all borrowed snow gear and there was some serious sledding, which was kind of a big treat for the kids from Tulsa.

Jeff and I did absolutely nothing on Sunday.  It was football day for him and a day for me to relax, catch up on both sleep and lots of TV shows that I had recorded, and generally just enjoy the free time.  Jeff also had Monday off, but spent some of it at the office and doing some errands.  I was able to clean the house, put away my Christmas dishes, and do some laundry.  [Sidebar about those Christmas dishes:  it seems like a huge pain to get everything out each year just for one meal, but I love those dishes and I'm trying to build a tradition.  It's funny the things that I remember about going to my Grandma's and about things at home when I was a kid.  Maybe no one will remember the Christmas dishes when they grow up, but maybe it will be something that someone remembers.  Anyway, I like the tradition.]  After I got everything cleaned up, I ran to Kohl's to check on my work schedule for this week and to see if I had been scheduled beyond the first of the year.  Turns out they were having a big sale and I ended up spending quite a tidy sum on jewelry for myself and new linens for our bathroom upstairs.  The nice thing about that bathroom:  it's painted white, the tub is white, the shower curtain is white -- all intended to simply serve as a backdrop for whatever color scheme I choose.  I've been using navy and light gray for our towels and accessories, but now I've changed to a light blue and lavender, with a rug that has colors that reminds me of being in the Bahamas or Hawaii.  Very pretty.

I was originally scheduled to work three nights this week (Mon, Tues, and Wed), but they asked me last night if I'd like to work Thursday night as well and I accepted.  I'm still hoping to be retained after this seasonal job is finished so I want to be dependable and available.  As it is, I'm scheduled for one night next week and I think that's a good sign.  I talked to some of the other seasonal folks last night and none of them are scheduled at all beyond this week.  It's not terrible going to work at 9 or 10 p.m., and kind of nice to come out early in the morning before any real traffic starts.  Sounds like the weather is going to get really harsh later this week, though, so I hope my car starts after sitting all night.  It has growled at me a couple of times this winter already after sitting out in the parking lot.

For whatever reason, I just couldn't sleep when I got home this morning.  I dozed on and off from 7:30 'til about noon, then I got up and went to the library for 2 1/2 hours of volunteer work.  I enjoyed being there and I know I'm going to like doing volunteer work when I get into a regular pattern.  Right now, I'm feeling a bit sleep-deprived again and I have to work again tonight.  Should be able to sleep really well tomorrow!