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So as it turned out, Christmas was wonderful. Everything that I was stressed about was put on the back burner. Time with my family, fun gifts, great wine and yummy food made the holiday special.

And last night Michael and I decided to take advantage of the after-Christmas sales. New pants and jeans for him. New boots for me. YAY! The perfect boots I had been eyeing but couldn't rationalize buying during gift-giving season. And now they were on sale for $70 less. I couldn't pass them by this time.

The only problem is...I'm really out of space.

That's not even all of them!

For the remainder of my vacation I am focusing on kicking the cold I've developed and celebrating New Years Eve/my birthday with some great friends. Boobeski is coming tomorrow and my oldest friend (literally since we were infants) is coming Sunday.

Looks like it will be a happy new year!

From Now On Our Troubles Will Be Miles Away?

It's the last day before vacation and while I am looking forward to the break and seeing my family, I am very aware that this holiday will not be all merry and bright. This is going to be a hard Christmas.

My sister has caused the family a lot of heartache and stress lately. Trust has been lost. A lot of feelings have been hurt. A lot of tears have been shed. And while I'm still looking forward to seeing everyone, embracing them in hugs and watching them open their gifts, a part of my holiday spirit has really died.

I'm so tired. I'm tired of crying at night. I'm tired from crying at night. I'm already counting down the minutes until today is over because each day that passes is one day closer to things getting better. I hope.

I know we'll all pull together as a family and make the most of the holiday and the time we have together. I am thankful for them and for Michael, who has been my rock and supplier of hugs through all of this. Without him I would be lost.

Happy holidays to all of you.

101

My head is kind of all over the place today, so please excuse the sporadic ramblings that follows. First off, yesterday was my 100th post. That may not be a lot in the world of blogging, but I thought it was pretty cool.

Secondly, that family stuff I thought was getting better? It's not. It's getting worse. And my anxiety over it has sky rocketed. I feel physically sick over the situation and I'm really angry. That's all I really want to say about it right now, but it's definitely on my mind.

Got my Christmas present from my boss this morning and it's awesome. Mighty Girl wrote this book and I now own it. Now I have no excuse for a boring post. Did I mention it's awesome? Because it is.

It's no secret I love the Christmas season. But know what I don't like? Holiday commercials. OK, some of them are alright. But most of them? Awful. Especially:

Victoria's Secret: Featuring Heidi Klum singing "Santa Baby" very, very badly. I don't know about you, but this does not make me want to buy underwear. It makes me want to change the channel. And fast. Of course, it's probably not marketed to females...

Lexus: Oh how nice. You go out into your driveway and there's a shiny new Lexus with a big red bow just for you! Except in my world, that would never happen. And I think it's fair to say that most people are not getting a new Lexus for the holidays. If you are, congratulations to you. But me, I drive a Honda Accord.

Jeweler Commercials: Kays, Beldin, Jarrod's (these last two might be RI places, not sure.) If I have to hear one more cheesy song playing in the background while diamond circle pendants sparkle on the screen I'm going to vomit. And their gimmicks are so...gimmicky. "Every kiss begins at Kay," "He went to Jarrod's! He went to Jarrod's? He went to Jarrod's!!!!" Once again, I apologize if this is something you enjoy, but I would prefer not to get a diamond circle pendant that anyone could pick up at the Walmart jewelry counter. I'm just saying.

Old Navy: Get your fash-on. Yeah, I get it. FashiON. So funny. So annoying. Especially with children and dogs jumping out of boxes. I wish they would stop.

Michael likes the JC Penny commercial with the remix of "Here Comes Santa Claus." I like that one because he dances to it and I think it's so cute.

Also, I baked cookies last night for my boss. Which meant my dinner was cookies and two glasses of wine.

And I'm OK with that.

Two Turtle Doves And Some Things Just For Me

I finally finished my Christmas shopping this weekend. Everything is wrapped and waiting in big shopping bags to go home to New York.

I love looking at those bags of gifts. It's so nice to finally be in a position where I can afford to give the people I love all the things I want to give them. I spent way too much money on gifts, but I'm OK with that. Although my bank account may be crying a little.

Jen and I braved Target and the Christmas Tree Shop this weekend. Those are two places you really don't want to be a week before Christmas. But we were successful and actually managed to cross the remaining gift-needs off our list.

Since beginning my shopping in November, I've been pretty good about just buying things for others. However, a few items may have been slipped in that are all for me. They include socks, lotion, a DVD, two ornaments, a stuff Newfoundland that I couldn't resist even though I'm really not a stuffed animal person, countless soy chai lattes and one pair of shoes.

Fabulous leopard-print shoes.

Don't judge.

O Christmas Tree

Like most weekends, this one went by too quickly. Saturday was spent mostly in my pajamas, until it was time to go back to work. But work isn't really work when you're dressed up eating a gourmet meal. To give you an idea of that meal, it consisted of:

Lobster Madeira Vol-Au-Vent

A mixed winter green salad with apples, dried cranberries and spicy pecans in a maple pomegranate vinaigrette

And a Chef's Trio: Petite filet mignon, grilled double lamb chop with a port wine and cherry reduction and wood roasted Alaskan halibut with a shrimp and roasted fennel gratinee.

It's ok. I'd be jealous of my stomach too. I guess if you have to work on a Saturday, that's the way to do it.

Sunday was Fun Day because we finally got the Christmas tree! Michael wasn't into decorating it, but he did put it in the stand which was great because last year I did it myself, was covered in sap and cursing repeatedly. This was much better.

The night was complete with us lying on the couch under the glow of the tree. Me watching Mean Girls, him asleep in my arms.

So good.

Let It Snow?

I was so happy to see snow falling this morning. Everything was quiet and the trees sparkled with white. Big, fluffy snow flakes were falling. It's finally winter! Kodiak ran outside and pranced around the yard. He loves the cold. It was very cute.

The magic of the first snow quickly disappeared when I went to start my car. That beautiful snow? The snow that sparkled and came down like soft, white feathers? Was attached to my car in the form of heavy, wet slush. Bleh.

But it still looked pretty. But I guess Connecticut didn't get snow because work is snow-free.

In other news, my puppy is not 100%. Turns out he did hurt his paw. He has to wear a bandage for about six weeks and although it breaks my heart, I think it looks so cute. It's bright yellow and since he's a black dog he looks very trendy. I call it his boo boo bandage, but Michael prefers Workout Band, as it is more manly. And we don't want to give the dog a complex.

Unfortunately, even with all the preventative measures we took, he was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. I know the pain that is Lyme, as I've had it twice. He was prescribed the exact same medication I had to take. My poor puppy.

I guess the paw injury was a blessing in disguise because we caught the Lyme early enough to prevent any damage to his system. He doesn’t even seem to be having an side effects. He’s just happy to be getting extra peanut butter every day. Hides the pills great.

My house is also Christmas-ized with the candles in the windows and a yummy smelling wreath on the door. I’m trying to convince Michael to go and get the tree with me, but he’s resisting until a later date. I will win this battle!

And also, there’s only three weeks till Christmas. I’m almost done shopping, but three weeks! I better get a move on.

In Which I Say "Meatballs"...Twice

I woke up this morning to a text saying that Christmas music was on the radio. (Thanks, Jen!) I know it's a cliche, but this really is my favorite time of year. There's something about Thanksgiving through New Years that's so warm and cozy and happy. I love it.

So despite the fact that it's 60 degrees out, I listened to Christmas music the whole ride to work and now have it playing at my desk. Yay! Michael (a.k.a. Scrooge) will cringe when he reads this. He doesn't want to hear Christmas music until the week of Christmas, and even then he thinks it's too much. Too bad he lives with me!

I've already bopped around my desk to Mariah ("All I want for Christmas is yoouuuuu!") and am currently being serenaded by Frosty the Snowman. Love it!

On to some randomness, because really, it's Friday.

I confessed to Michael that I look at wedding stuff and that I might possibly (i.e. absolutely) have found the place for a reception. As in, I started drooling all over myself when I found it. And we could afford it! And...hi, I'm not even engaged.

His response? He wasn't surprised. Or freaked out. He laughed...and then smiled. He's so cute.

I really pushed myself at the gym last night (yes, I did go!) and as a result I am not wearing heels today. Legs = ow. But a good ow.

Tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow I am going to Ikea. IKEA! The magical store that goes on forever and has stemware, couches, beds and meatballs! Couches and meatballs! In the same store! Oh those crazy Scandinavians!

I've been given some tips to survive my first experience within the window-less blue box. Bring a granola bar. Follow the signs. Charge your cell before leaving and always have a buddy. With these tips I'm sure popping my Ikea cherry will be a fun adventure. Details to follow.

Happy Friday!

"Siillllleeeent Niiight. Hooooooly Niiiight..."