sorry to those who have had trouble commenting lately. I haven’t had the chance to look into it, but if there are still problems next week, I’ll attempt to tackle it then…

The pictures are little, so click through if you want to see details…But this is the best Christmas present. EVER.

This year, after Dan’s grandfather had died, his grandmother decided to find a new hobby to keep herself busy. She loves sewing and had never tried this, so she joined a quilting group. This is the first quilt she has ever made. She had begun it this summer and I watched her a lot while she was working on it. Every single stitch (or 99.9% of it) is hand done. Every little heart design. Even putting the front and back together. I teased her a lot about how I wanted this blanket or one like it.  We have no plans for a baby anytime soon, but I’d love to have one for a family heirloom.

I had no idea that this would be in the box I unwrapped on Christmas afternoon. Tears sprang to my eyes…And everyone else’s eyes, really. On the back is a washable label on it where she wrote her name, the month and year it was complete, and a little note about it being her first quilt.

You have no idea how honored I am to have this. Really, I have so many words in my head, but I’m not sure how to explain them. Sometimes I fear that certain people in his family don’t like me.  Turns out I’ve been wrong this whole time….

It’s not the most expensive, and it’s not name-brand. But it came from the heart. And I can’t wait to bring this out when a baby finally enters our life…

I won’t be around to type out an entry, but thought I’d share with you a few of my favorite Christmas songs right now…and probably forever! I also want to wish all of my darling blog friends a very Merry Christmas. I hope that no matter what is happening in your lives right now, that you have a fabulous day. Whether it be with friends, family, or a little of both…Appreciate the time you have with every single person.

My Grown Up Christmas List – Kelly Clarkson

Let It Snow – Frank Sinatra

12 Days of Christmas – Straight No Chaser

Love you all!

From me…and the thing (my man!) that I’m most thankful for this year…

Sorry this is a day late…but I’m still thankful anyway!

Today was my Weight Watchers weigh in. *drumroll* 151 lbs!! I am in such a great mood about it. I lost about 2.5 pounds since last week, which according to WW, that’s a tad bad. It’s healthy to lose only 2 pounds a week.  I’m not worried about it. I would be concerned if I suddenly lost 5 pounds in a week. Lol…Stupid WW…. It’s worked so far though. Teaching me to be so much more careful about portion sizes…The importance of working out, too… I have 2 pounds left until I reach my first goal weight. 10 pounds off since the wedding! I’m SO CLOSE!

So it should be easy to take those principles and apply them to the holiday feasts, yes?? I hope so. So far, my willpower has been very strong. And I don’t LOVE the holiday food staples…Not a huge fan of turkey, ham, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes. I usually will eat little bits of those things to be polite.  But this year, I’m going to do something different. NOT eat things just to be polite. But I will still eat a little bit of turkey. White meat. No gravy. For a little protein. Still need that!

I have to be good because I have two dinners, one on Thursday and one on Friday.  Then we’re driving to Detroit on Saturday, to Ford Field, to watch Dan’s hometown highschool football team play in the state finals game. Should be exciting! Fun! Lots of good food I’m sure throughout the day.

I think I will be good for Thanksgiving. Very good. It will be more difficult after Thanksgiving. Once Christmas starts rolling in. And the more fantastic desserts come out from the cracks in the wall. My plan is to be good. OF COURSE. I will allow myself some small indulgences, but not every single day. And if I am faced with a dessert spread/buffet? Then I will have to be forced to choose ONLY ONE thing. So if I want a cookie AND a brownie? I have to choose one or the other. And it will be one cookie. Or maybe only half the brownie.

It kind of sounds like I’m punishing myself. But it will be the first holiday in which I am good. Very good.

I’m not even packing my “fat” jeans this weekend. So I don’t get tempted to eat a ton….I don’t want an excuse to wear them!

I hope my plan works…

Off to go pack now!

I briefly thought about getting a seasonal job recently. I go into our Old Navy a lot. I literally live 5 minutes from it and am constantly going in to see what’s new, even if I’m only there for a few new cami’s or socks or something. Sometimes I’m not buying anything at all. One of the managers got to recognizing me and I joke around about how I’m there “AGAIN”. She said that now I just needed to work there.  We got chatting about it once. I’ve got a job as a graduate assistant so I don’t NEED a job. But oh, wouldn’t it be fun? So, for the hell of it, I applied and without an interview, she wanted to hire me. The training would have been starting this Friday.

But I decided not to go for it, despite the fact that it would only be for the holidays, oh and think of the discounts! Not only at Old Navy, but at Gap and Banana Republic, too! Even though I’ve vowed not to do any clothes shopping in the near future. I called yesterday to tell them that I decided to not take the job. (Dan is sulking because he wanted the Banana Republic discount like WOAH. He loves trolling the sale racks…) Boo, right? Maybe.  I mean, I was barely going to be able to work at all. Maybe one day a week? Sure, it would have brought in a couple hundred dollars. But it would have been frowned upon  when I went to ask off 9-10 days for our venture to Colorado right around Christmas. When I would be needed the most.  Not to mention that I’d really get started as the semester is winding down and life isn’t easy when semesters wind down. I have lots of projects to get done, etc.

My biggest fear? Disappointing that manager who really wanted me to work there. That’s silly, though. I’ll still go in there all the time…I see things online, then want to inspect them in person, ok? Lol…I shop plenty at Old Navy, by the way, because their clothes are decent and decently priced. If I bought expensive clothes, I wouldn’t be able to afford to replace them regularly.

I have the hardest time just saying, no, not interested. I just see people get all excited and I’m afraid to let them down. It probably didn’t let her down at all. She doesn’t know me personally, and it’s not like I started the job then decided to quit. That’s what I didn’t want to happen. Start the job, hand over the days I need off AND then get too stressed out.

At the same time, I really wanted the job and the discounts… But I also felt guilty for possibly taking a job away from someone who actually NEEDS it. Yes, it would have been nice to have extra Christmas cash on hand. VERY nice actually. But someone out there is more excited about it and needs the opportunity so their kids can have a nice Christmas. I think that will be one of my good deeds for the season — a moment in which I needed to remember that greediness isn’t kosher.

Dan and I aren’t buying each other gifts this year. We’re not doing terribly budgetwise and we’re certainly not poor. But we’ll be spending enough money in Colorado, I am sure. I think we’ll get each other something small, and stocking sized, but that’s about it. It will be a frugal Christmas. A smart Christmas.