Whirlwind

Decmber has been nothing short of a whirlwind, and once again, I have let my blog fall to the wayside. December rolled in and it was time to organize and sort everything we own in preparation for our big move. In that same time, I finished my student teaching and master's program - woo hoo! I am extremely excited to be able to spend some time working before beginning any classes again.

Then, it was time to move. Because the husband was leaving the military, we were able to use their moving services for the majority of our things. However, the movers came about two weeks before we were leaving so there was plenty of stuff to pack into two vehicles. The drive was long but rather beautiful, and I used Christmas music and some other "belt it out" type songs to pass the time. 

After my 3 am arrival in northern Virginia, I pulled the car into the garage, got the dogs settled in the condo, and slept all day. The next few days were filled with unpacking and trying to find a place for everything. [we still have lots of unpacking/organizing left to do - our garage is a mess and no longer fits a car inside of it] I was also able to fit in an evening out in Annapolis with a very dear friend of mine - and what a lovely evening it was. All of that fun had to come to a halt as we packed up the car once again and headed to western PA for Christmas.

We spent five days with my family for the holidays. The days were filled with laughter, warmth, food, drinks, snow, and lots of love. A very merry Christmas it was!

Kings and I continued our travels as we headed to Lancaster, PA to say farewell to a friend who is moving to Japan. We enjoyed a night of remembering old and creating new memories with friends from college.

After all of the excitement, I've returned home [my new home] for a day and a half, only to head off to Philly for NYE festivities. 

Like I said, this month has been a complete whirlwind, but I am proud to say that I have found myself smiling and laughing often, and delighting in the simple things in life.

Where are you Christmas?

It’s December 10^th – only 15 days until Christmas. This is normally my favorite time of the year. I’m usually bustling about decorating our home, hosting parties, buying gifts, and enjoying other holiday festivities.

This year is different. Because we’re in the middle of a move, I barely have any furniture in my apartment, let alone decorations. The stress of completing my student teaching and grad school while getting ready to move and job hunting has got me feeling down in the dumps lately. And to top it all off, there was a record high temperature in this area of Florida today – 78 degrees on December 10th - oy!

Needless to say, I am having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this year. It pains me to type that as Christmas is absolutely my favorite holiday and I have delighted in its presence for as long as I can remember.  I am trying to find ways to boost my holiday cheer in the midst of all the chaos - any ideas?

Here is my one measly strand of white twinkle lights that I managed to grab out of storage before everything was shipped away.

I feel like Cindy Lou Who from the Jim Carrey version of the Grinch.

“Where are you Christmas?

Why can’t I find you?

Why have you gone away?....

My world is changing

I’m rearranging

Does that mean Christmas changes too?”