Santa? I Know Him!

(12/1) Dad and C went to get a tree this morning in C's truck. They set the tree in the stand for me since my back is still barking at me. I strung the lights and D did the tree skirt. I love it! D and I put up the stockings too. C ended up driving all over today trying his best to help out his girlfriend. They kept sending me pictures of the cat on the road with them. He was exhausted after a long day on the road and crashed as soon as he came home.

(12/2) I worked from home today, the boys had school, and Dad had the day off. Dad is having the best time with his toy. He smoked a turkey and did up all the sides and we had S & A over for dinner. J had a follow-up doctor appointment this afternoon and we sat for over an hour waiting for our turn. But we rolled in right as dinner was ready so the timing wasn't all bad.

(12/3) I worked from home today, the boys had school, and Dad had the day off. He took S to a medical appointment and then they picked up her glasses so she can see again! We all got together over lunch to get our Santa pictures taken. They turned out darling!

(12/4) Dad and I were off today. I went up to grab Nanan so we could do our Santa pictures after the boys were done with school. She stayed through dinner and then I ran her home.

(12/5) We all had work and school today. I worked from home and finished up a long course on project management that I've been taking. I was so glad to get that one done and off my plate.

(12/6) I worked from home this morning and then ran out to get a toy to (hopefully!) send with Jerry when he goes to his new home. I met up with my team to put together our trays for the company Christmas party tonight. We had it at Patterson Cellars again and had the nicest time. We rented an Italian food truck and dinner was delicious! I derped and didn't take any pictures. Guess I was having too much fun!

(12/7) I had C drive the boys, Toffee, and Noodle through the drive-through so that it would be a little quieter while our foster puppy met a potential adopter. Jerry was skittish, as expected, but was able to take cheese and then slept close to her while we visited. She decided to take him home and we hope things go well for him! I was going to head out to Nanan's place this afternoon, but when I went out to the car it was dead-dead-dead. I thought it might just be my fob, so tried fixing that, and then we tried jumping it, but 'twas not to be. I ended up having a stay-home day and reading all afternoon.

(12/8) C injured his wrist at work last night so we hit urgent care this morning to have a look-see. He badly strained it, but nothing is broken. Phew! He'll be on modified duty for the next few weeks, but it should heal up just fine. I went up to help Nanan with her phone which ended up being a quick fix so we decided to go for lunch. She thought the football game she wanted to watch was later and it happened to be airing at the cafe so we got to watch that, and I set up her TV to record all the future games so she won't miss any more.

(12/9) I worked from home today, the boys had school, and Dad had the day off. Dad brought me poké for lunch. Yummo! He also smoked a bunch of fish today which turned out tasty. Jimmy was quite keen on sharing and kept following me around.

(12/10) I worked in the building today and the boys had school. We took all the office cash donations for the toy drive and Supermarket Sweeped at Marshall's getting toys for all ages. We have over 75 toys to donate, which I'll drop off next week.

(12/11) Dad and I were off today. He smoked a bunch of different cheeses. The dogs were really hoping he might drop something so supervised him carefully. 

(12/12) I worked from home, Dad worked at work, and the boys had school. J managed to break his retainer already (it's been a month) and we had an orthodontist appointment this afternoon to see about next steps. They were going to install a permanent lower retainer next year anyway, so they took care of that today. Phew!

(12/13) We all had work and school today. I work from home on Fridays and have a (mostly) quiet house all to myself in the morning after everyone heads out. I got an update that our foster dog is doing great in his new home! I love to hear about their new lives--it's one of my favorite parts about fostering.

(12/14) Today was a day for putzing around the house. I ordered some new artwork frames because two of our old ones broke. The boys don't bring home new stuff anymore but I love to display the snowmen they did in elementary school at Christmas time. I got the new frames assembled, put up this year's set of mug shots (school pics), and added our Santa pictures to the wall.

(12/15) I slept in and bummed around the house for most of the day. I made peppermint fudge this afternoon and the boys were thrilled that there was enough for gifts and for them to sample.

(12/16) I worked from home today, the twins had school, and Dad had the day off. C woke up feeling like death so stayed home today. I played Santa and ran my office's toy donations to the YWCA. I hope we made some families smile this holiday!

(12/17) I worked in the building today, Dad had the day off, and the twins had school. C still sounded terrible last night so we called him out. Hope he's better soon! My office closed out the year with a happy hour this afternoon. Such a nice group to hang with.

(12/18) We had quite the storm last night and when I took the pups out, a tree-sized branch had blown the kennel door shut and they were so confused that there suddenly was a tree in the way. Dad and I were both off today. We ordered lunch with jalapenos, which I offered up to C to clear out his sinuses because I'm helpful like that. He sounds a bit better but still isn't ready for primetime.

(12/19) I took the day off to burn some PTO. I did some shopping and think I'm close to done now? Dad worked at work and the twins had school. C was still barking so he was home again.

(12/20) Yay, we have made it to break! The boys had a half day and Dad and I worked. C was finally feeling well enough to rejoin civilization and grudgingly went back to school too. I took S to an appointment this afternoon and W and I serenaded the waiting room with Baby Shark. I found a 90-min compilation on YouTube in case you're looking. Do, do, do-do, do-do!

(12/21) I had a relaxing morning with my book, coffee, and the pupperinos. Dad had to work this afternoon so I took Sarah with me to see Christopher Titus tonight at the Neptune. His new material was amazing and I know Dad will love it when he gets to see it!

(12/22) I had a day of sloth today. One of those where you have so much to do and just don't do any of it. I have wrapping apathy and am considering bags for everything.

(12/23) I worked from today. I had just enough to do to keep me busy for the day and the rest can wait until next year. Sarah and I went for a sunny coffee walk during lunch. The weather sure changed though, and it poured for C's shift tonight.

(12/24) We packed up and headed to the grands' today. Our ferry over stopped just short of the dock because there were orcas! They went all the way around the boat. So cool! We had a great lunch-- Dad brought some of his smoked cheeses and fish. We played lots of Rummikub and shared lots of laughs.

(12/25) We woke up, got breakfast started, and had a Zoom call with the traveling siblings. Jake's fam arrived soon after and a little green from a rockin' and rolling ferry. So glad they could make it! We spent the day together and put on A Christmas Story as is tradition. Dinner was amazing and we went home stuffed to the gills. We ended up driving right on the ferry on our way home tonight.

(12/26) I had a lazy morning with the pups. I sat by the tree and read my book. C went up to Nanan's to begin clearing a space for himself since he's thinking of moving up there next summer after he graduates. He cleared a small room and that inspired me to do some deep cleaning at home.

(12/27) I went up to Nanan's to help with a few dump runs and we discovered that the condensation pump for her furnace had stopped working who knows when and water was everywhere. What a mess! C and I put on our game faces and cleared the main room and had a tech come in to diagnose the issue. They aren't able to repair it until Monday, so we have time to get everything cleared out.

(12/28) C and I worked up at Nanan's all day today. He did an initial pass and then I worked through everything he had set aside to go through. We made a great team!

(12/29) I got a later start today and threw dinner in the crock pot before heading up to Nanan's. We did a dump run and then went to lunch on the island. I defrosted her freezer, cleaned out her car, took another load to the dump and a load to goodwill. C decided to come on home tonight too. He's exhausted.

(12/30) I drove up to meet the HVAC repair technician and once they were done with replacing the pump the 23-year old furnace wouldn't fire back up so we're now looking at a full replacement. Ugh. We had S, A, and W over for dinner tonight and did our Christmas with them. I derped and hardly got any pictures, except when the dogs all piled on A.

(12/31) I went up to Nanan's again to meet the furnace tech and the restoration company. It's gonna be a long couple of weeks. Blah. We brought Nanan back down with us to ring in the New Year.