Christmas Eve and Christmas

Tuesday, December 24th - Christmas Eve

I had to work on Christmas Eve. I actually had to go into the office on Christmas Eve because the day before my work laptop had a critical error and I needed to swap it out with IT. I was super annoyed because it just made for a longer day than I wanted it to be. It took a little less than an hour and then I spent the rest of the morning getting caught up because Debbie and Devon were on their personal leave day. 

During our UR meeting the day before, it was made clear that I was going to do part of Debbie's work but apparently, people change the plan without letting people know. Both Tammy and I got in trouble from our supervisor because she failed to communicate with us. I really felt like I was being gaslighted and almost put in leave and went home for the rest of the day. Instead, I vented at lunch time since I was literally the only one in the cafeteria that day.

I went back to my desk, finished up with what I was responsible for with UR and then switched gears into my afternoon DJA work. 4:00 could not come any sooner. I was so done after that morning incident, but I was able to get what I needed done before logging off and enjoying the next two days not having to work.

It's been nice that Erika and Zac agreed to host Christmas Eve the past few years.  Ben and I having to do both of them was getting rather taxing. I sent an email to everyone earlier in December to set aside dates and times that we were getting together, what was on the menu and who was responsible for bringing what item.

I grabbed my stuff and headed out to the Escape. I had enough time to go home before having to go over to Erika and Zac's house. The plan for the last few years is a taco bar since it is easy to make and easy to feed a bunch of people. I brought gluten free taco seasoning and taco shells. Erika made the burger and provided the cheese, Grandma brought lettuce, Mom brought some desserts and tomatoes, and Doug and Sonya brought chips and salsa.  We all brought our presents for the gift exchange too. Mom gave me the two breakfast casseroles for tomorrow.

Ben and I drove over, parked and brought everything in.  Erika and Zac don't have an actual Christmas tree instead they used the small one with LED lights that we bought for Grandpa while he lived at Bonaventure. We piled all the presents under the little tree as best as we could.

We ate tacos, hung out, Brian was passed around and yelled at the dogs for begging and being in the way. We were able to get a family picture even though Brian wiggled around and the dogs weren't paying attention. We got organized and started handing out gifts. Every year I try to get everyone at least one thing they can use or enjoy. I had a bunch of Grandpa's flannel shirts, and I thought it would be great to make them into pillows and give them to my siblings for Christmas.  I plan on doing that with Grammie's shirts too. 

We helped Erika clean up and put the leftover food into containers. She thanked us all for coming and we all headed home to get ready for the next day. Ben and I had a bunch of stuff left to do since I was forced to go into the office earlier that day because of my laptop. Why did it have to malfunction near the holidays?  Ben and I headed home and got as much stuff done as we possibly could before we went to bed.  We did go to bed later than we wanted to because 8 am was going to come fast. 

Wednesday, December 25th - Christmas Day

The alarm went off at 8:00 and I got up, got ready and put the breakfast casseroles in the oven since they needed more time than cutting up the muffins and getting the fruit ready. I had to force Ben to get out of bed and help me. I finished up the decorations on the tables since we don't trust the cats to leave them alone overnight.

I got the plates, cups, silverware and napkins on the table as well. Around 8:45 people started to arrive with boxes of presents to stick under the tree. 

We were running out of room fast and had to be creative. By the time the food was done everyone was there.  I put everything on the table and told everyone that food was ready to be eaten. A frenzy of people made their way into the kitchen and to the dining room with their plates. There was plenty of food for 13 people.

We all sat down, ate and enjoyed the many conversations that were had. Ben and I should find ourselves a highchair so Brian could join us at the table and not have to be held when everyone is eating. The food went fast, and many got up for seconds and even thirds. I just had one plate of food because I didn't want to be stuffed. I am glad I didn't have leftovers I had to find homes for. Trish and Amy helped out with the dishes. We started the dishwasher so it would be done before dinner.

We all got ready in the living room for stockings and gifts. Trish decided she wanted to be Santa this year and started handing out the gifts. We all opened our gifts and saw what each other got. Then we threw balled up wrapping paper at everyone. It's been a family tradition for as long as I can remember. Of course, everyone aims for people's eyes and faces! We pile a bunch of wrapping paper on Brian, and he had a great time squealing and moving his hands and legs.

We got out our garbage bags and everyone started helping clean up the huge mess of wrapping paper.  Even Wade came out to see what all the commotion was and even played in the mounds of boxes and wrapping paper. Everyone gathered up their presents and extra things they brought with them and started taking it out to their cars. It alleviated the clutter in the living room, and we were able to put the dining room table back together.  

Before people left we took some photos of everyone in their Christmas outfits. We tried to get different groups of people and groups of what people wanted. It was hard to get Brian to look at the camera, but we managed to get a few good ones.

Some people went home for a few hours to get ready for dinner, some stayed, and Doug and Sonya went to go hang out with her mom for dinner. I washed the napkins and fabric table clothes.  I got the ham ready to go and got it into the cooker for 3-4 hours. The rest of the stuff we were responsible for would have to be done as it got closer to dinner time. 

Mom, Dad, Grandma, Erika, Brian and Zac went home for a few hours. Trish, Jean, Amy and Ed stayed since they lived further away.  They played card, dice and marble games and once the NFL games came on, we streamed those. As it got closer to dinner, I had Ben and his mom help with peeling the potatoes. I started the gluten free gravy and the green beans. Trish put the buns in the oven with about 15 minutes left before dinner.  Erika, Zac and Brian showed back up. We finished up the food, Ben got the ham all cut up and got it on the table. I had Trish set the table with plates, silverware, the clean napkins and glasses.

We let everyone know food was done. Everyone grabbed their plates and piled food on it. We sat down and talked about random things while we ate.  The food was tasty, like it always is. Very few people got up for seconds. It's always weird when people are missing from the table, like it has been since 2018, and holidays will never be or feel the same. 

When we were done eating, we spent some time clearing out the dishes, putting them into the dishwasher and relaxing with card games, marbles and dice - for those who wanted to play them.  Some watched TV and passed Brian around and some just chilled on the couch. The pies and desserts were brought out and people grabbed a slice or two when they felt like it.

As the evening wore on, it was getting late, and Brian was starting to get crabby. Everyone thanked us for hosting; hugs were given out and everyone went home.  Ben and I spent some time putting the rest of the food away, putting the table and chairs away, vacuuming and wiping everything down. We relaxed for a few hours before going to bed. I was happy to have the next day off.  I need some sleep. 

Next Adventure: NYE and New Year's Day

Figgy and Russ Take Over December

This was the first time since 2019 I was able to do a few scenes at work.  I've been doing my DJA since October and going into the office on Thursdays went hand in hand with the agreement. That meant, I had to do three elf scenes at work. I was not sure how the new unit I was working for would react to the elf scenes. I went ahead and did it anyway.

I had a few new scenes like I try to do each year. I find my props at yard sales, my grandparents' house, the Goodwill, Value Village and the Dollar Tree. Sometimes people give me ideas and give me the props to do it with. I already had one person want me to make them a Figgy and Russ calendar and we had it made in the fall and gave it to her for Christmas about a week ago.  She absolutely loved it.

Here are the ones for this year:

Instagram post: Figgy and Russ have returned, immediately getting into their crazy antics, and they always seem to take it a step too far or cross the wrong person.  This time, they decided to tangle with Spiderman, and he was not in the mood to mess around. We will see how they get out of this one. Stay tuned. #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #spiderman, #marvel, #webs, #tangle

Instagram post: They survived Spiderman! I'm not sure how...they're pretty tricky. Today, they stumble upon the enchanted fortress, make friends with the ponies and the dragon. With their wit and charm, they succeed! They feel so fortunate to be a part of this castle.  See you all tomorrow! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #castle, #ponies, #dragon, #princess, #fortressofsolitude

Instagram post: Figgy and Russ decided to go ice fishing on their day off. They were soon joined by a bunch of outdoor/woodland creature who were curious about what they were doing. This year, the elves made better decision when regarding ice and snow safety. They even managed to catch a fish! Have a great rest of the week everyone! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #icefishing, #igloo, #creatures, #snow

Instagram post: Figgy and Russ sure do like to test boundaries. They were not able to get the Infinity Gauntlet before Thanos snapped his fingers. Sadly, the elves' spirits disappeared into the Soul World, inside the soul stone. Don't worry, though. They will be back soon. #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #marvel, #infinitystones, #snap, #blip, #thanos, #timeline, #pilesofdust

Instagram post: Oh no! They are back at it again! Thanos eliminating half of humanity didn't stop Figgy and Russ from their elf antics. Does anyone need some tasty chips? The potatoes sure didn't like watching their buddy be grated into chips. They were horrified that they were next on the list! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #fuss, #omd, #potatoes, #chips, #gallery, #friendchipgoals

Instagram post: Figgy and Russ decided to get the band back together this holiday season. I present to you the Figgy Puddin' Band! Don't fret, they will make sure to stick to the rhythm of your favorite song! Yes, they also sing Christmas songs but try to stay away from All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carrey.  Hahaha! #elfontheshelf, #russ, #figgy, #omd, #band, #festive, #rockstars, #christmas

Instagram post: Do you wanna build a gingerbread house? Figgy and Russ sure did. They had a great time making them too; messes and all! They want you to have a wonder holiday season because life is what you bake of it! 15 more days until Christmas! Spend it wisely! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #gingerbreadhouses, #candy, #frosting, #fun, #daystilchristmas

Instagram post: Lost in a sea of colorful balls this holiday season. Figgy and Russ have a great time, diving into a world of endless fun. Hanging with your pal, all day long, needs no reason. Happiness is a ball pit adventure. #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #ballpit, #fun, #bestfriends, #adventure

Instagram post: Figgy and Russ managed to make it on board the Executor to case some elf shenanigans. Unfortunately, Darth Vader caught them in the act. They've been in some precarious situations before, but can they escape the dark side? We will find out. #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #starwars, #darthvader, #deathstar, #stormtroopers

Instagram post: Figgy and Russ took the day off to volunteer instead of causing mayhem. They found their local pet rescue and decided to spend time, pet, and wash the cats and dogs. They are hoping these pets will find loving homes soon! Instead of gifts this year, maybe consider volunteering your time at a pet shelter, fostering or donating goods to a humane society. Happy Friday, everyone! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #pets, #shelter, #volunteering, #cats, #dogs

Instagram post: It's been a while since we saw Chubb's. With the power of suggestion, Figgy and Russ decided to take Santa's sleigh for a joy ride. It doesn't take much for the elves to get ideas in their heads to cause chaos. Let's just hope they don't ruin Santa's sleigh before the big night! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #santassleigh, #chubbsnuggets, #joyride

Instagram post: We haven't seen Small, the trivia shark, in a while, He showed up while Figgy, Russ and Jones were getting ready for a deep sea dive. Smalls got their attention that he was being chased by a bigger and meaner shark. Figgy and Russ had to chews wisely and got out the harpoon gun. With one shot, Figgy took the bad shark down and saved Smalls. Stay jaw-some! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #smalls, #triviashark, #badshark, #harpoon, #chewswisely, #deepseaadventure

Instagram post: I knew I heard a bunch of noise last night and found flour everywhere this morning. Figgy and Russ had a hankering for some cookies. They're usually pretty good about cleaning up after themselves, but not this time. They didn't even share any of the cookies they made either. They are them all before sun up. What a bunch of little jerks! That reminds me, Mom and I still have to make Christmas cookies this weekend. #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #cookies, #baking, #flour, #selfish

Instagram post: You get a donut, and you get a donut! Figgy and Russ decided to be generous this morning and share donuts with people in the office. Obviously, it isn't as cool because we all work from home now. Yes, sometimes they aren't all chaos and up to no good. 6 days until Christmas! Happy Holidays everyone! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #donuts, #sharingiscaring, #office, #coworkers

Instagram post: Happy Fri-yay! Figgy and Russ took advantage of the snowfall this morning. They have a lot to do before Christmas Eve and Christmas since they are just around the corner. They hope you have a fabulous weekend and don't unravel under the holiday pressure! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #snow, #sledding, #christmassweaters, #tightknit

Instagram post: Well, Figgy and Russ finally got caught and put in jail. I imagine, since they are creative enough, they won't be staying for very long. We will see how they get out of this bind they're in! The adventure continues and ends tomorrow. 

*Bonus points to those who can tell me what cartoon the plate numbers on their chests come from*

#elfontheshelf, #russ, #figgy, #omd, #elfjail, #beindbars, #candycanes, #doubletrouble

Instagram post: You are correct! Figgy and Russ did escape jail with the help of my nephew Brian. You can't keep these sneaky elves trapped for too long. Today is Christmas Eve and the last day of Figgy and Russ until next December. Thank you to everyone who have enjoyed them along the way. It is much appreciated! Happy Holidays! #elfontheshelf, #figgy, #russ, #omd, #brian, #nephew, #elfcostume, #omnom, #christmastree

See you next December!

Next Adventure: Christmas Eve and Christmas

Erika's Birthday and Karaoke with Rhonda

At the beginning of December, I asked Erika what she wanted to do for her birthday. Like always, she says she doesn't know and procrastinates giving me little or no time to plan for it. A few days later, after pestering her, she finally told me she wanted breakfast for her birthday party. 

We hammered down the time, what kinds of foods and where it was going to be. Ben and I were going to host it at noon, and we were going to make sprinkle pancakes with whipped cream, hashbrowns, sausage, scrambled eggs, orange juice, chocolate milk and for those who want coffee - they would have to bring it themselves.  Ben and I got rid of our Keurig to Doug when he moved out. Plus, Ben thought that coffee was the thing making him feel bad.

We woke up around 9:30 and got ready.  I quickly jumped into the shower, threw some clothes on and started doing stuff.  We moved tables, got chairs from the garage, put dishes away and started making food at 11.  Ben made the sprinkle pancakes while I cooked the rest of the stuff. I went out to the garage to grab the buffet warmer - it comes in handy when I am making several different types of food at the same time and need to keep them warm.

Everyone started to arrive just at noon except Doug and Sonya who were 45 minutes late and went to Erika's house. They apparently don't read the emails I send, and we started eating without them. When they did finally arrive, the grabbed some food and joined us at the table. We ate, visited, hung out with Brian and finally got his 6-month photo in along with my elf photo I needed for my elf on the shelves stuff that I do every December.

We cleared off the table and brought in the cake.  We sang, dished up some cake for everyone and watcher her open her presents. I got her some Ravenclaw jammie bottoms and a Grogu bath sponge. Some people got bored, and Zac ended up turning the TV on and finding a weird dog show called SuperPupz. Everyone spent most of their time hanging out with Brian. 

Around 3:30 everyone gathered their stuff and went home. Ben and I spent about an hour or so cleaning up and putting stuff away. Earlier that month, Rhonda, our neighbor, asked if we wanted to do karaoke one night soon at the Viking.  She and Randy chose December 14th. I told her we would be able to do it later on that evening since we were celebrating Erika's birthday. Rhonda said she would drive and some of her friends would be joining us. We agreed.

I haven't been to the Viking in at least ten years.  The last time was with Ben and one of his friends from the station. 6:30 approached and we walked across the street to meet up with Rhonda. We hopped in and of we were off to the Viking. We found a place to park and went inside.  We saw that a couple of her friends were already there, and we joined them at the large table. We introduced ourselves and decided to get a couple drinks and look at the menu.  I knew Ben wasn't going to be able to have most of the drinks and food because his recent gluten free diagnosis. 

We spent some time visiting and talking to Rhonda's friends. I even showed everyone something that we do when we are at a bar for karaoke. We take one of the small pieces of paper (to request a song to sing) and we pass it around drawing little pictures on it. I remembered to bring extra paper and colored pens just in case there weren't extras around. We had fun.  Ben was the only one who was brave enough to sing.  That butthole requested that I do a song without my knowledge, and I had to get up and sing it. I will have to get him back at some point. 

I end up having a beer and some chicken strips and fries. Ben has a couple of mixed drinks and some fries. He was frustrated that he couldn't have an actual meal or beer. This was his new normal he would have to get used to. Randy met up with us for a bit.

We stayed until about 10 and then decided to head home since we had our fill of dive bar entertainment. We thanked Rhonda for the invite, and she said that we would have to do it again at some point. Ben and I walked back across the street to our house. We relaxed a bit before heading to bed.

Next Adventure: Figgy and Russ Take Over December

Decorating Our Christmas Tree

I've always had fun decorating the Christmas tree even when I was a little kid and it's always been a real tree too. There's just something about a real tree vs. a fake tree. The smell is amazing, it's full, it's not artificial looking, you don't have to store it anywhere and sometimes you find presents inside like a bird or a bee's nest. (One year we had a bird nest in our tree). The only downside to a real tree is that it drops fir needles everywhere and you have to find a place to discard it.

Ben and I brought our tree inside and it took us a while to assemble the tree stand because it is one of the old school ones. We finally got it together and we stuffed our tree inside of it. I had to hold it straight while Ben screwed in the knobs. Everything looked pretty good and straight. 

A couple weeks ago, Megan was in TJ Maxx or a Ross and found a Mario star Christmas tree topper. Ben and I had been talking about upgrading ours and this was the perfect opportunity to. A week prior, I got up and did some grocery shopping.  I drove over to the Ross and picked up our very own Mario star Christmas tree topper.  I brought it home and Ben was excited.

I brought in all of our Christmas totes and went through them. I put some stuff up, but the other decorations would have to wait until the next day after work.

He had the honor of putting the new topper on the tree. We had to go through all of our Christmas lights because some of them were getting old. I also bought some new garland because again, a lot of our stuff was getting old since we've had it for several years. We only had time to put the tree topper and lights on it.

The next day, we were able to put the new garland and go through our ornaments. Ben's family had a tradition every year to get a new ornament with the year on it. I set those out on the table to see how many years we've been together.  About a month ago, I found our 2024 ornament to commemorate our first Christmas together married. That was the last ornament we put on the tree, right in front. 

There is always a lot to do during the holiday season because we have several birthdays to remember and celebrate, the weather generally sucks during this time, find a day to make cookies and treats, create and send out our Christmas letter and cards, we have to get Christmas presents, keep the house clean, plan for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (thankfully Erika and Zac have taken over Christmas Eve so Ben and I don't have to do both), go to work, live your daily life and hope that December goes by quickly so we can get closer to summer time again.

I do miss Christmas as a kid.  To me, for some reason, it was more magical and fun. I also miss my grandparents.  They made the holiday what it is for me and now that they are gone, it just isn't the same. They had some sort of presence to them that made it extraordinary. I will remember those times more that I will hosting Christmas as an adult because they were more profound to me. I know you can't get those times back, but I will always cherish them and try to strive for the same experience.

Next Adventure: Erika's Birthday Party and Karaoke with Rhonda

Picking Out Our Christmas Tree and Our First Session of D&D

I knew I should have gotten the Christmas tree last weekend when it was nice!  Ughhh!  This weather sucks!  I also knew if we didn't do it this weekend, we would run out of time to get the tree up, decorate it and host Christmas here.  It's a lot of work.

I called up Grandma and asked her if she wanted to go with us to go pick out a Christmas tree at Gerrits Greens.  She said she would go.  I called Mom and she didn't answer, so her loss. I checked the weather several times throughout the morning, and it said that it was going to rain but there might be some breaks.  I was hoping that we hit one of those rain breaks.

I always pay for Grandma's Christmas tree every year as her Christmas gift.  She doesn't have the extra money to get a tree. Ben and I got ready to go and grabbed some tie downs, gloves and our hand saw. I had asked Dad the day before if we could borrow the truck and he said we could. We drove into Rainier and grabbed the truck.  We made our way to Grandma's house, picked her up (we were very snuggy in the truck) and continued the short distance to Gerrits Greens. 

The rain started to come down. Of course it did. We found a place to park and was surprised on how many people were there getting trees! I didn't think this many people would be out in the rain.  I mean, I wouldn't have been because I should have done it the weekend before, when it was nice, but here we were.

We get out and walk towards the structure to get out of the rain. We see Lynn and Kelsey and briefly say hi to them.  We have our hand saw and a couple of foam pads for our knees.  We put out hoods up and brave the weather. It took us a good half hour or so to even find something that fit our criteria. Ben cut our tree down and we took it to the structure to see if Greg could even out the bottom of it with the chain saw.  We went back out to help Grandma find hers. She found one that she liked, and Ben helped her cut it down.  We took hers to the structure so it can be trimmed as well.

I grabbed some hot chocolate and a small candy cane while we stood under the structure out of the rain. I found out that Kelsey was helping the Gerrits with the Christmas tree season. She shared with me how the past year was treating her and all the things she was doing and looking forward to doing in the upcoming year. It was great catching up with her. We chatted with Lynn and Greg as well as we stood next to the fire pit. We paid for our trees, threw them in the back of the truck and thanked Lynn and Greg. We crammed ourselves into the cab of the truck and drove back over to Grandma's house.

We were absolutely soaked.  We chose the wrong part of the day to go out and find a Christmas tree. It is always great to support local businesses and family friends. 

We helped Grandma put her Christmas tree in the stand and set it up in her living room.  She thanked us for taking her and putting the tree into the stand.  

She said she would rest for a bit and then spend some time decorating it later.  I told her that I expected pictures of her tree. She said she would post it. 

Ben and I took the truck with our tree back to my parent's house and tied it to the top of the Escape with the twine we brought with us. Ben got it all secured on top and we headed back into Lacey.  When we got home, he untied the twine and got the tree off the top of the car, and we took it into the garage so it could dry out. We would spend time decorating it when it wasn't dripping with rainwater. 

Later on, that evening, we drove over to Nicole and Del's house for our first session of Dungeons and Dragons. Somehow my friends had talked me into playing. This is a game I was not interested in because I didn't think I was nerdy enough to play it, but I thought I would try at least one campaign to see what all the excitement was about. 

We did have a "zero hour" meet up a few weeks before to talk about what we were going to do and what type of characters we were going to play. Nicole got enough information from everyone to make each of us a 3D printed version of our character. For the next several weeks we worked on the homework that Nicole gave us to prepare for the next session. 

Nicole made burrito bowls, which were delicious and a great idea, and we got to play our characters for the first time. We shared our backstories, what our characters looked like, our fears, what a normal day for our characters look like and we got to slaughter some zombies and other bad guys. It was great to figure out what our characters could do and ask questions if we weren't sure.

Here's to new game and trying new things.  We will see how it goes.

Next Adventure: Decorating Our Christmas Tree