our list of items to be grateful for this year is longer than ever. in 2018 we made new friends, had lots of visits from family members, purchased our first home, a new car, and in addition to all that health and happiness - this week j also received word that he had earned a really awesome promotion.
after a few years in texas that were packed with disappointing news on relocations, transfers, opportunities, etc. we became pretty accustomed to receiving bad news on the professional front. given these experiences we tried not to err on the side of pessimism, but i think there’s an element of being realistic that made us really cautious about hoping for good news. empirically i thought he was a really strong candidate, but the competition was pretty fierce, and we haven’t been at this agency for long so it was SUCH a gift to receive that happy phone call. my reaction was split down the middle of “well duh, of course - you totally deserved this” and “omg seriously?!??!”
you know how they say “if it doesn’t open then it’s not your door?” i think the reverse is true as well. our move to washington has been an uphill battle in a couple ways, and this news confirmed that we are, in fact in the right place at the right time. having made it successfully to the next rung feels like the culmination of years of his hard work, and i’m so happy for him.
between the work hours we managed to squeeze in a trip to the christmas tree farm, a buttercream cupcake class, a wreath workshop, a cookie exchange, a couple girl’s nights, date nights featuring christmas lights, cookie baking extravaganzas, decorating with real greenery (why did no one tell me how messy that is?!), some christmas diys and LOTS of decorating for our first christmas in the new house.
the season was also packed with:
// bespoke ribbons and gift tags.
// turning off all the lights except our tree.
// reading the night before christmas.
// endless cups of cocoa stuffed with too many marshmallows, dollops of whipped cream and sprinkles.
// all the peppermint mochas.
// watching holiday movies.
// new pajamas.
// sending and receiving christmas cards.
// cinnamon rolls in the morning. and cranberry orange muffins.
// new planners.
// finding cool christmas light displays.
// cruising around downtown bainbridge and poulsbo
// a box of chocolate covered cherries. ( i get it from my daddy)
// fuzzy slippers.
// fir, vanilla and caramel scented candles.
// making a list for santa.
// christmas-colored manis and pedis.
// sugar cookies. boozy linzer cookies. fudge. gingerbread cookies. amaretto/rum balls.
// fresh pine everything.
// using an advent calendar. […what do you put in those besides candy?]
// participating in secret santa
// stuffing stockings.
it’s all made for a whirlwind month, which falls at the conclusion of this jam-packed year, for the next few days i’m so happy to be home for the holiday.
merry christmas everyone!!
