Friday was my company’s holiday luncheon which is always fun. I ordered two White Russians since Sangria wasn’t an option. I didn’t participate in the grab bag, which turned out to be a wise decision since the only present I would have wanted was a Darth Vader onesie, but I did win a gift wrapping set they raffled off.
I originally won a bottle of wine but was told I could take the gift wrap instead which was perfectly fine by me. The area around the restaurant, which is outside our local mall, was packed with traffic so I vowed we’d avoid stores until after Christmas.
Saturday we hung out and then took Wookie with us after dark to look at Christmas lights around the neighborhood. She ended up throwing up in the car so we won’t be doing that again! We were also up late cooking a turkey which she really did not like because she doesn’t like going in the kitchen when the oven is on but she wanted to go to bed and that’s where her crate is kept.
Sunday we celebrated Christmas with my family. I think my parents and Brother J went a little overboard this year, but I do like that I got presents instead of gift cards! Brother B got me some candles even though he hadn’t intended on exchanging (probably since I revealed a month or so ago that I had already gotten him something) and his girlfriend gave us homemade cookies which were/are delicious!
Pictured: Cookie tin, Lipstick & the Leash (book), Wii Sports Mix, How To Be Perfectly Unhappy (book by The Oatmeal), Invaders Must Die by The Prodigy (CD), 20 by Orbital (CD), Oxxo vegetable chopper, various candles. Not pictured: a set of packing cubes.
Joe received a hat that says “Cool” so he can be “Joe Cool” LOL, a beer mug, a $25 Binny’s gift card, a $25 Dunkin Donuts gift card, and a $25 McDonald’s gift card plus some money. See what I mean? They spent far too much and I feel bad. I got my brothers each a cute magnet from a craft show (Megaman for one and Jason Vorhees for the other) and for Brother J I also got two wrestling DVDs (although the brat went and ordered one of them himself after sending me his wishlist so I have to return it), a poo emoji keychain, a book, and some True Lemon since he was joking I should buy him some.
We gave my parents each a Target gift card, my mom a CD, and my dad a magazine subscription. We also gave Brother B’s girlfriend a Dollar Tree gift card and a rubber ball inside a stocking with paw prints on it for their dog.
My only complaint about the evening was that we were supposed to be there at 5 but didn’t arrive until almost 5:30 due to traffic. It had snowed earlier that day and we got caught behind snow plows in EVERY SINGLE LANE for a good portion of our drive. Brother B called me right around 5 so I explained our predicament. I don’t know whether he didn’t relate the info to my parents or what, but once we arrived we found everyone had already eaten. Seriously, they couldn’t wait for us? Especially because we brought the ham, turkey, cranberries, stuffing, and mac and cheese. I was pretty irked but didn’t let it ruin the evening.
Christmas Day was low-key with just the two of us and Wookie, which was perfect. We opened our remaining presents (we each had opened two the evening before) and also gave Wookie her gifts.
It was so cute how her tail never stopped wagging. I love that dog so much!
Much to my surprise, Joe got me an iPad Pro! Apparently it was $150 off at Target a few weeks ago which was a stellar deal coupled with the 5% off we get with our Target card. I wasn’t really liking my Samsung mini tablet (I prefer Apple’s ecosystem) and at this point I’ve given up hope of Apple releasing a new 7″ tablet. I plan to give Joe my Samsung tablet, and if by chance Apple does decide to release a new mini tablet I will happily buy one and give Joe my iPad Pro 10.5″ since his iPad Air has gotten extremely slow over the years. (I still occasionally use my iPad 2 but not for much since it’s nearly six years old and quite slow now).
Pictured: Gel pens, Tsum Tsum coloring book, Junior Mints, iPad Pro 10.5″, pumpkin seed BarkTHINs, Further by Chemical Brothers (CD), french vanilla and mint Swiss Miss cocoa, a PopSocket, and Human Giant starring Aziz Ansari (DVD).
Joe’s “big” gift from me was a fitness tracker. Not a Fitbit, however, since he didn’t want something that expensive in case he didn’t make use out of it. The one I got him is pretty cool because it doubles as a bare-bones smartwatch that sends him alerts when he gets messages. For the price ($35) it’s pretty impressive. Other things I got him: a Norelco multi-groomer, a beard grooming kit, beard shampoo, candy, a cocktail muddler and spoon barware set, and a Jack Skellington nutcracker.
After setting up my iPad we had a late breakfast which included a new recipe I came across that I thought Joe would like – Three Cheese Grits Casserole. To my surprise I really liked it too so that will be part of our Christmas tradition moving forward.
We also dismantled the Christmas tree because it was driving us crazy. It’s just too big and messes with the flow of our home.
This morning we ran over to Target and Walmart to check out the after-Christmas discounts. We didn’t need any gift wrap but were on the hunt for Christmas cards; unfortunately there weren’t many styles to choose from so we didn’t get any which is ok since we have enough for next year anyway. We did buy some candy and a timer and remote-controlled outlets to make turning on the Christmas lights much easier from now on. I’ve already starting using them and they work great!
We’re also on the hunt for a slim Christmas tree for under $35. Walmart had one for only $25 but it was pre-lit which I’m not sure we want to deal with since it doesn’t seem like you can remove the lights and replace them with your own down the line.
We also bought this awesome sign.
We really liked it the first time we spotted it two weeks ago but didn’t want to pay $18. Today it was only $8.92! I like how you can hang it or just put it on the floor or a table since it has a built in stand.
Today was also our Christmas with the kids. Since E had to work this afternoon we met them at a pizza place at 11 am for lunch (and they were on time, woo!) and then went back to K & ES’ place to open presents.
Now we’re just relaxing since it’s back to work tomorrow. Boo! At least I only have to work two days this week!