Greetings from San Clemente!

Just a quick update-

We arrived to San Clemente yesterday morning and had a wonderful "Christmas" with James' family. We are pretty exhausted from all our traveling the past weeks, but seeing everyone was well worth it. Christmas was really nice with my family since everyone was able to be there this year. We had yummy dinner and fellowship. We had a chance to see Grandma Taylor and all the cousins as well as alllll of James' families.

More about the holidays later.

May peace be with you and Happy New Year!

To Grandmother's House We Go

Thankful Thursday is coming to an end. Today I am thankful for my job, again. This time I am thankful that I have two weeks off to go spend with old friends and family.

In the week we are in Michigan we will have the following events:
12/17 Counseller walk through, Lansing
12/18 Edgerle holiday get together, Grand Rapids
Spend time with James' brother, Kent, Stanton
12/21 Visit with Leigha, Lansing
12/23 Get together with high school friends, Grand Rapids
12/24 Christmas Eve with the Cullimore aunts and uncles, Perry and Weigel's, Lansing
12/25 Christmas with my immediate family, Spring Lake. Christmas with James' dad?
12/26 Christmas with grandma Taylor etc, Grand Rapids
          drive back to Chicago
12/27 Fly to California!!
          Visit with Kathleen, Alex and Ashleigh, John, friends and James' family. We have a whole long list of 
          places to eat while we're there too. Maybe that will be my next post!

Intermixed in there will be me printing and sending resumes for my internship next fall, Christmas shopping, and just hanging with my sister's kids, Heather, Tina, Diane, and Kim.

I can't wait to be home for a while and really relax, although, it doesn't look like there will be much of that. Pretty soon we are going to work on prioritizing and saying "no". How do you do it all when you really want to? Although I sound very overwhelmed, I truly am thankful we both have so much time off to spend with loved ones.

Blog Spotlight

I have been so busy at the store and at school (work school, not graduate school) that I haven't had much time to think of things to write about, let alone, sit down and blog. It has been a crazy few weeks. A friend from California is in town on business for a few days so we took our first trip down to Little Italy for dinner. Unfortunately, it was not great. His work friends picked it and now I know I'll have to be more assertive!

So in attempts to blog more I thought I would start to highlight some of the blogs I really love to read. Tonight I present to you, "The Bag Snob: Reviews of  Designer Handbags, Authentic Designer Purses, and Leather Bags". I love this blog because I enjoy seeing the trends in fashion and also who is carrying what. It is also fun to see some of the vintage bags still current.

www.bagsnob.com

Christmas is a Feeling

Tonight Kim, a friend from school, and I went to Christmas at DePaul, a free event with a narrator retelling the Christmas story accompanied by a huge choir and orchestra playing Christmas hymns. Last year Kim and I went with her in-laws and it was very beautiful. We both agreed this year's was even better! It was so fun watching the children's chorus signing, moving, and feeling the songs. The church is beautiful, the conductor was fascinating to watch, the atmosphere was so warm and peaceful.

I am thankful that I am a member of the DePaul Community. The University really provides a huge assortment of opportunities for the students and community. This week alone I have been to two events I learned of through DePaul. On Tuesday a different friend and I went to see a screening of the new documentary Race to Nowhere. This movie was pretty interesting, especially for a future counselor, parents, and educators. While the movie definitely has an agenda, and I may not agree with everything, it really makes some valid points.

I need to find more time to blog

TGIF!

Today I am thankful for Friday. This Friday the kids are not in class and the teachers have professional development. Unfortunately, I don't get to go learn about RtI, instead I will be filing in the records room. I love the kids, but I have been super tired this week. Too many evening activities. Monday was Monday Night Football with the gang, Tuesday I worked at Sur La Table, Wednesday Kim came over and made soup and then we went to kettelbells class with Sara and Kristen. Either the class was really hard, or I just haven't worked out in about a year. I think it was probably a combination of both. Regardless, going up and down the stairs today at work was killer. So was chaperoning the 7th and 8th grade dance! Those things always start off so awkward and end up being stinky. Hello! Hot, sweaty, pubescent 13 and 14 year olds. Gross!

So today, I am thankful that I get to sit in the records room tomorrow and also that those awkward days are over. I guess vodka helps the awkward, self-conscious dancing too! So thanks vodka!

I almost forgot, Friday is pay day! I am sure my mom and James will be thankful for that too, because I owe them money.  :)