This weekend has been nice and relaxing. Although I worked Friday and Saturday, only having to work until one or two on those days makes it ok. This week I am working Mon-Fri, and Mike took next Saturday off, so we are happy to enjoy our first weekend together I left the hospital and started working every other Saturday at my dental office. I realize this is something pretty minor to get excited about, as lots of people work M-F 9-5, but I have worked every Saturday for the last 5 years, so I am happy for the change.
We haven't done anything special with our time this weekend, but its just been nice to not have any plans and be able to relax. There is a forest preserve that is a 5 minute walk away from our place, so we have gone for a couple of walks together to check it out. It is absolutely beautiful to walk through it, one area is like walking through a field of flowers. Our last apartment complex was not in an area that I felt comfortable walking around in, so I am really happy to be in the neighborhood that we are, and to have this forest preserve so close by. We are going to try to take advantage of the weather as much as we can, because taking walks together is something we really like to do.
I am beyond excited that we will be getting to go to Tennessee for Christmas to see my family. We haven't been able to see my family for Christmas since 2008 due to school, Mike's work, and not having the money because I was only working 6 hours a week. This year luckily Mike was able to get the time off, I can get the time off, and we have the resources now to make it happen. We may drive this year since we will have more time off to travel. It is a 9-10 hour drive, so if we only have 3 days to take off, driving is just not an option. But we will have pretty much the whole week off, so we will still have a lot of time to spend with my family even if we drive. Plus, we can try to see how many Waffle Houses we can find along the way to stop at! :) But seriously, $600 airfare compared to maybe $200-250 in gas is kind of a no-brainer. We always rent a car when we go down there, so that is a savings that looks pretty good to me.
Sure, it is stressful traveling during the holidays, but its just a way of life for me. We always traveled for Christmas growing up. We never got to open our presents on Christmas morning because we weren't home until late at night Christmas Day. Yeah, I was pretty jealous of my cousins who came to my Grandpa's house wearing their new outfits and carrying their new toys, but it was just what we did every year, so we were used to it. Since I have moved up here, its been different because Mike traveled with me to see my family. He never had to travel, and here I am making him wake up at 3 in the morning so we could leave for Flora by 5 to get to my Grandpa's for my Mom's side's gathering. But it was the only way that he could still have Christmas with his family since they have their party Christmas Eve night, and for me to see mine. Luckily, he has been a trooper and gone along for the ride, and Christmas with the B-Fam is now a tradition for me that I look forward to every year. We found a way to make it work for us.
I am really excited for Christmas this year for some reason. While I suck at coming up with a wish list for myself, I LOVE coming up with gift ideas for others. I feel really excited when I come up with a good idea, and it just feels good to give to others. This may be a sore subject now, but I found these really cute camera earrings last year for my sister-in-law last year. And I thought it was perfect because she really loves taking pictures, and it wasn't a huge, extravagant gift, but I was really excited to give them to her. My parents are responsible for this. We were given a set amount of money each year, and we had to take that and find a gift for our parents and siblings. It was a challenge to find the best gift you could and stay within your budget. So, sure, they weren't big gifts, but it really drove home that its the thought that matters. Even when I first moved up here, and was super-super poor, I found a recipe for a sugar-free cake since my Dad-in-law is Diabetic and was on a strictly no-sugar diet, and I found a pretty cake stand to put it on that I could afford for my Mom-in-law. And I made my family's Santa cookies, which are now a B-Fam tradition,too! I put them in a really cute basket that was 50% off at Michael's. That was my gift to them since that was all I could afford. I have been fortunate that I have not been that poor since that year, but if bad times come, at least I know I can get creative and keep my Christmas traditions alive and still get that happy feeling I get from giving.
I am soooo excited to start collecting more Christmas decorations. We never had the space for much at our last apartment, and we certainly didn't have the space living with the in-laws. So this year, I am just really excited to dress up our place for the holidays!
And geez, its 3 months away, and I'm already babbling on and on about Christmas, I'll stop now! lol
In other news, the yearly violation is coming up on Tuesdays. Seriously, whoever made it a rule that girls must go through this awful exam just to get the next year's worth of birth control refills should be shot. That's all I am gonna say about that.
Oh, holy crap, I just realized I completely forgot that Grey's comes back this week! And Scandal is still coming on right after! Happy Dance!! Again, seriously minor thing to get excited about, but I can finally follow TV shows without having to catch up during a rare day off watching them on Netflix. We still have to catch up on Sons of Anarchy, but I am happy to be regaining some normalcy here. And Breaking Amish....Amish Jersey Shore, and we are loving it!!
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