Is anyone still out there? It's been awhile, at least by my almost daily-posting standards. I feel properly ashamed about neglecting my little blog.
As I mentioned in my last post, we have been running back and forth like crazy over the past few days. I feel like we've hardly been home, and Christmas hasn't even officially arrived yet. Which isn't to say this week hasn't been fun, but the driving and the working and the shopping just left me feeling drained.
And speaking of draining, I also found out yesterday that I've had a sinus infection for the last two weeks (ew, sorry for the gross congestion joke). So that's been putting a little dent in my festive mood while out fighting hot, pushy crowds shopping.
Now that our presents are nearly all wrapped and my medicine has nearly kicked in, I feel like I can catch my breath and take a minute to unwind.
Kyle and I exchanged our gifts last night. We wanted to have our own little family Christmas and enjoy our presents before hitting the open road, and it was wonderful. We wrapped in separate rooms, lit candles, put on "It's a Wonderful Life," and laid the packages out under the tree.
I am big on surprises, so I didn't really give him any ideas. And not to brag on him or anything, but boy did he hit this particular holiday out of the park.
We're going to see Celtic Woman when they come to Pittsburgh in March!!! Yinz, this is bloody brilliant (okay, that sounds a bit more British than Irish, but you can't have it all). He gave me one of their concert DVDs since the tickets haven't arrived yet, so that's an added bonus. And he picked out totally gorgeous, sparkly charms for my Brighton bracelet, and a beautiful jewelry box from Brighton too. Oh, and "Beauty and the Beast" on Blu-Ray (fistpump), and two Shel Silverstein books. My husband knows me so well;)
I have to give myself some props as well, because Kyle now has an exercise bike, a sweet watch, a kajillion Dallas Cowboys things (such as a Cowboys gnome that now sits merrily/creepily on our mantle) and a tie-dye Snuggie. No, that's not a joke. And yes, he's super pumped about it.
My heart feels much, much lighter than it has the past several days. Between being sick and making multiple trips to the dreaded mall and feeling a little bit bombarded at work, my Christmas cheer was getting rather lost in the shuffle.
But it's back, baby. The rain has finally stopped. Things are getting wrapped up, literally and figuratively. A golden retriever is snoozing all snuggled up next to me. Our families are ready to celebrate with us. We keep looking at each other lately and marveling out loud how incredibly lucky we are.
Because I can't bear to let these 48 hours go without squeezing out every last ounce of Christmas spirit, come back late tonight for my last "Those Who Truly Believe" post. And if you can make time for me tomorrow as well, I have a little something waiting.
Until then, I hope you're having the very happiest of Christmas Eves.