Ringing in 2010!

It is hard to believe that another year has gone by so quickly (as it feels sometimes). It was a good year all in all for me. Getting married was the highlight! But there were a lot of little moments that made the year for me. I get to hang out with an amazing person each day, I get kisses on the nose from my cat, cuddles and hugs from my dogs. I got to see a lot of family and friends this year.

I hope that 2010 brings each of you a lot of love and happiness.

Happy New Year!

A Rosie outlook

This is the reason that I am not getting all of my to do items off of my list (I have made a decent amount of progress though)

Her name is Rosie and is one year old. The hubs and I adopted her from a local shelter last Friday with Yukon in attendance.



They are getting along really well and spend their days playing "I want the toy you have" and cuddling on the doggy beds. Yukon is taking with her and has been a good sport. We've all be going on long walks and are working to develop the pack leadership.
Chaplin is a bit confused because she is a dog yet smaller than him. They have been testing each other out and have gotten to the tolerated part. Although he loves her crate!

The hubs and I have our hands full but, in a good way. We did our research and made sure that our priorities were the safety and well being of our first two pets. She is the perfect fit and is a love bug. It is only a matter of time before they are all sharing the same bed.

It has been worth it!

Free of the rest of the year

Today is the last day of work for me. I have the next two weeks off. I have a generous vacation days due to my savvy negotiation skills. But being a project manager does not mean I can ignore my emails, so for each day I will be checking in here and there. I want to conclude two projects before the end of the year so I have to make sure that they are in the wrapping up stages.

But it still means that I can sleep in and spend the day doing things that I want to be done. It is more of a staycation and I can't wait.

The main projects of my days off are to clean the condo from room to room. I created an aggressive list with what needs to be done and starting on Monday I am tacking the kitchen and bathroom. Tuesday will be spent in the office. Wednesday is a cooking day and doing the living room. The following week is the bedroom. I want to start the New Year in a gleaming spotless home.

I am also cutting myself some slack because I want to rest, catch up on some movies and do some beading. I also want to spend some time in a museum and making some yummy goodies.

It is going to be such a fulfilling way to end 2009.

Christmas Calm

So a strange sense of holiday calm has descended over me. I think because for the first time in a long time, I am on top of my game. I have all my Christmas presents done, wrapped and under the tree. Most of the cards are written, they just need to be stamped and sent The presents for the fam are boxed and almost ready to go (I have to get a treat for the dog). Last night the hubs and I made color mix crayons for gifts for our friends and family who have little ones.

I have also been planning our Christmas eve meal, I have decided to make:

Beef Bourguignon
A frisee salad with warm goat cheese
Popovers (from Trader Joe's)

Served with:
Bordeaux wine

For dessert, I am not sure. I was thinking cream brulee but that may be too much. So I am thinking a simple apple tart.

It is just the Hubs and I that night and I wanted to start our own traditions so I figure that re-creating a meal we had on our honeymoon is a lovely start. Since we are spending the next day with his fam, I am going to make a two types of cupcakes for dessert! The hubs requested a banana cupcake with chocolate frosting and I know my niece loves red velvet so we may have to make those two.

Now, I have to plan New Year's eve! But this is my last week of work so I think that I can spend next week planning how to ring in 2010.

What about you, any new intimate holiday traditions this year?

Random happenings

Just some random happenings:

• Got certified in Six Sigma as a Yellow Belt. I am very excited because the process will help me at my job! Not sure if I want to move to green belt but we shall see.
• Found out that our wedding was featured in our Alumni magazine.
  
• We got our Christmas tree, we put it up and it looks lovely.
• I got about 75% of my Christmas shopping done, but I know what I am getting for the 25%
• I experienced history repeating itself-and I am over it
• Spent time in some old haunts this past week, it was weird and seems like it was another life.
• It looks like we will pay off a good chunk of debt this week
• Working with the hubs to get rid of clutter.
  

What are your happenings?