Merry Christmas!

Okay so this is a little late but I haven't felt like sitting down on the computer to type it out for a while.  So anyway, I hope you all had a great Christmas.

We spent Christmas Eve having dinner with my family.  That was really nice.  My mom is an amazing cook and I just love the warm comfort of a family dinner.  That is one of my favorite things in the world.  We got out of there rather late, for us anyway (Jake has transformed me into an old person who wants to go to bed at nine).  While we drove home I just kept thinking about how all the kids were warm in their beds waiting with such excitement for what Santa was bringing them.  That was one of my favorite memories of childhood.

Christmas morning we packed up all the presents and headed back to my parents' house for Christmas morning.  Coffee, breakfast, family and presents.  You really can't complain about that.  We did stockings and Jake has his own stocking now.  My parents also got him quite a few presents.  I don't think he realizes it but it really warms my heart to see him coming into the fold of my family and accepting the fact that we're close and do things that he probably hasn't done before.  He's such a good sport and I love him all the more for it.  I also love that my family has accepted him.  He's my  heart and I so wanted him to be a part of my family.

I have to brag more on what I got for other people than what I got from them.  I got my mom little bird Christmas figurines to add to her bird theme.  I got my dad a Broncos blanket and coffee mug.  I got my sister two books of needlework she wanted for the baby's room.  She has a lot of work to do!  I got Jak a shirt that says "Keep Calm and Nerf On" for his obsession with Dart Warz.  I got my older brother a really nice handmade wooden coin holder for his military coins with the Air Force insignia and his name on it.  Though that was the package that the post office lost/stole.  Jerks.  So it didn't get here until after Christmas.  I got my younger brother a bag of coffee which is supposed to be the strongest coffee in the world.  I got Jake a coin holder for his military coins too only with United States Army on it.  One of his presents is still coming so I can't say anything about it.

Amongst many things I got a paw washer for the dogs, a tablet, a sonic toothbrush (which sounds weird but I would have never bought it for myself and I actually love it), some books from my brother, money for office furniture, a fitbit to track fitness, and other bits and pieces.  It was really great.  Jake got me a penguin onesie and seat warmers for my car.  Awesome!

After Christmas with my family we went home and Jake got Samuel.  We had a small present opening with him and that was a lot of fun.  Kids on Christmas are SO much fun.  The excitement is infectious.  I got him Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone and a customized ornament for his aikido orange belt.  I want him to get an ornament every year like my mom did for me.  I also want to read to him so hence the book.  Sure, he wasn't thrilled with them but at least they weren't a video game or something.  We went out to play with two of his presents, a pogo stick and a little jump rocket launcher thing.  I'm telling you, kids on Christmas.

We finished up with dinner, peppermint ice cream and watching the Muppets Christmas Carol.  I read Samuel Harry Potter until he fell alseep and it was just a wonderful Christmas.  I couldn't have asked for more.

I am more and more in love with my life day by day.  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Party in the Christmas Style

I forgot to talk about my Christmas party.  It is really nice that WNW has a Christmas party at a really nice restaurant.  I'd never really enjoyed work Christmas parties before the WNW party but I just wish it was closer.  So, they have it on a Sunday and have the stores close early and rent a bus to take all the Colorado Springs employees up to Denver.  The thing they didn't factor in is that the bus leaves half an hour after the stores closed.  My store is at least 15 minutes away from the bus.  It just doesn't leave enough time to close the store, get ready and rush for the bus... of course I'd rather not take the bus anyway.  We drove up with friends.

Anyway, it was a fun night.  The food was fantastic and it was a great chance to catch up with Ryan, whom our store sorely misses.  We had fun going up there and seeing the rest of WNW... though our store doesn't talk to the other stores.  We're Powers baby!

It was a good time, didn't get a good gift in the exchange but I will regift it.  Got some drinks, got fed and got a good bonus.  Overall, it wasn't better than last year but what can you do?  Maybe next year will be better if I'm still there.

Horrible pictures but here you go:

Christmas is in the Air!

It is no secret that I love the holidays.  I love the winter and Christmas and I'm actually getting at least somewhat in the spirit this year.  I kind of missed out last year which made me sad but this year I'm hitting all the traditions...

Gingerbread house:
When we were kids, my mom would make these huge gingerbread houses for us to decorate.  Not just that dinky house you decorated at school but all out gingerbread house... or fort, or log cabin, or castle... Stained glass windows and over a foot high.  Then she would set us loose with candy and frosting... honestly it was brave of her to let four kids who never got sugar go to town like that.  Anyway, we did it again this year.  I think she mostly did it for Samuel but I had fun too.  We did a train station and I think it turned out pretty well.

It is all edible... and we did eat some.  Which I regretted later in the day. What with frosting and eating your decorating mistakes, it was way too much sugar in one sitting.  How do kids do that?  Bleck.  But it was so much fun to do again.  Maybe this tradition will live on.

Tree cutting.  This may be one of my favorite childhood Christmas memories.  Every year, we would pack up to the mountains in search of the perfect, or in our case huge and fat, Christmas tree.  We would go with the families of Ruth Washburn with cookies and hot chocolate and have the time of our lives running around the mountains.  I always had so much fun and I'm so glad we got to do that again this year.  Mr. Hannigan's organization owns a ranch up in the mountains that we went to this year for a free tree.  Since this winter has been relatively mild, it was warm and sunny and beautiful.  We drove up there with Samuel and the dogs and began the great tree hunt.  First thing out of the car, what does Whitman do?  He peed all over my leg!  Stupid dog had all these trees and rocks to mark and he just had to lift his leg on me.  It was lovely... of course, I can't say that is the first time that a dog has peed on me and it probably won't be the last sadly.  Anyway, it really didn't take us too long to find the tree we wanted and Samuel and I sawed it down.

We were up there for less than an hour.  I had to get back to work which sucked because I would have loved to soak in that mountain air a little more.  Jeanine LOVED her first expedition to the mountains.  She ran around like a crazy girl and found a stick.  Such a Labrador.  I am so happy that she expressed her joy in a way that didn't include urine on my leg.

Thank goodness I live with Jake now because when we got home he got the wonderful job of putting the tree up.  I would do it but I do prefer this way because I don't get sap on me or poked.

Decorating.  One of my favorite things to do was get all the Christmas boxes out and decorate!  Over the years I have slowly started accumulating my own boxes of Christmas decorations.  I love this process!  Of course I get my best stuff after Christmas when it is all on sale. Anyway, this was the first year that I've actually put up Christmas lights on the house by myself.  And when I say by myself, I mean with Jake's help.  I am so pleased!

Every year, my mom got us ornaments about something we did that year.  I've continued this tradition with Samuel this year.  Needless to say, I have a lot of ornaments now.  I usually put as many up as I can and the poor tree gets overwhelmed but this year I tried to put a cap on it and limit the swarm on the tree.  It looks a little naked to me but still nice I guess.

Even the dogs got involved in the decorating fun... or they were lassoed in.  I plead the fifth.

One of the best things about this time of year is gift giving.  I like getting gifts, just like everyone else in the world.  If you say you don't like getting gifts then you're lying.  Anyway, I like that but I LOVE giving gifts.  I love picking out things that I think will just be the perfect gift.  I love people's faces when they get something they love and had no idea to even ask for.  I hope everyone loves their gifts this year.  More on that later.

Until then, happy holidays!

Advancement!

I am completely exhausted today.  I just haven't been able to wake up.  It feels like I am trudging along through mud and it is sucking me under.  It is the feeling I used to get when I was an insomniac and I do not need that again.  It is frightening because I haven't been sleeping well and the last thing I need is to develop insomnia again.  I'm always on high alert for insomnia.

Anyway, I figured I'd take the opportunity to catch up on some news in my life.  I am still working at WNW and have climbed the food chain.  Recently I was promoted to assistant manager, which is great with a very small pay raise... wish it was more.

It is ironic because, when I started here, I swore that I wouldn't go after advancement.  I had a bad taste in my mouth from LD to the doctors office and I just wanted a job that I enjoyed and had no pressure on.  I especially had a bad taste in my mouth about management from my experience with LD.  I was SO thrilled to be baker here and never had more fun at a job but finally got out of that into a key holder position for the money.  I wish I was still the baker because seriously, you can't have a more stress free and fun job than that.  Still, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised because I've never been in a job that I didn't look for advancement in.  There just must be something about me.  If, after a year, I don't feel there is advancement opportunities, I get bored with it real quick and move on.  I've noticed that in my past work experience.  So really, getting to assistant manager in a year isn't that big of a surprise.  It is just something that I go for and can't help but work for the goal of advancement.

Honestly, I look around at the other stores in this company and I am kind of surprised to find so many employees that have been working for years in one position and haven't moved up the corporate ladder.  That is hard for me to grasp that you'd want to work in a retail environment for years and not advance.  I think I'd go crazy but that may just be me.  Comparatively, WNW is not a bad company to work for.  I have my gripes, as any employee does, but I have seem much worse companies and I've been interested in working for them for years.  In this town, they are the leaders in pet nutrition.  I have been sending my clients to WNW for years to get advice on pet foods.  So I am happy to work here but I guess I could have never done it without looking for the next step.

I am looking much more into doing other things but a career at WNW is a possibility for me if nothing else.  The GM said that I am next in line for a store manager position so that is encouraging.  A year with the company and I've already leapfrogged many other people just because I want it and I can't do a job without trying to succeed and be better.  Just how I was raised I guess.  Who knows what the next year will bring.