Here's the entire month of December up until Christmas...
Thomas and I went to Trader Joe's to stock up for Christmas prep, and we found a chocolate bar. A really huge chocolate bar. Two kilos, to be exact. Of course I bought it. It was, after all, just
one chocolate bar.
For my work Christmas party at the beginning of December, I had promised on multiple occasions to bake my cake. So I did.
Here's the recipe, in case you wanted it.
December 4 -- our first snow! The first snow is always the most exciting. (The last snow is the second-most exciting.)
Fernando left for Knoxville, Kentucky on December 5. He spent two weeks there in training to be a full-fledged field service technician. No-- is really loving him so far, and I know Fernando will quickly pick up the technology in the high-speed lamination industry. He has such a big, sexy brain!
I brought home the rest of my cake from our work Christmas party. Yeah, my co-workers complained. But my guys were complaining more loudly, and I have to live with them.
December 9 -- Manicotti Day! Mom and I kept things simple and made a beautiful batch of Christmas dinner manicotti.
December 11 -- at a Christmas party that I attended where my parents and my younger brother were also invited. I missed Fernando, but we had a blast together with the other guests. Two piano guys (Duelling Pianos) played music all night, and dancing broke out; I got Dad and Mom to dance together! It was awesome.
Random photos of me while Fernando was gone. I like to have the guys take my picture so I can text them to Fernando so he doesn't forget what I look like. Or that he has a wife. :)
I throw some goofy ones in for good measure.
December 18 -- Once Fernando was home, we really just wanted to relax together, because we knew he was flying right back out on Monday. But, friends invited us to a restaurant for dinner and they wouldn't accept a no, so we ended up having a great meal with them. It was bitter cold that Sunday, too, and I ended up taking a picture of our frozen car, dirt-spattered and icicle-hanging, in the restaurant parking lot.
December 19 -- At an ungodly hour, I drove Fernando to O'Hare for his next trip. On the way home, I saw, in person and for the first time, a sun dog! I took an exit before my usual exit (and one that saves time--Fernando's trick!), since it goes by/through a forest preserve. I pulled over in a parking lot, positioned the tree in the sun's line of sight, and got this beautiful image of my very first sun dog. They generally occur shortly after sunrise and at super cold temperatures--it was about 11 below when I took this, I think--and they are much more magnificent in real life than in a photo.
December 21 -- New hair style day! I got my hair cut, colored, and styled by the daughter of our beauty specialist. I had it done in the morning, then drove up the street to work in the afternoon. Andrea (our beauty specialist) took these pictures of me.
A lady gushed over my hair, so I gave her Ali's number and she made an appointment on the spot!
December 22 -- Fernando came home from his most recent trip, and Thomas and I drove to pick him up. Thomas forgot to fill the gas tank, and we ended up circling around and around and around... So once we picked up Fernando, we drove to the O'Hare Oasis on I-294 and filled up the tank. It's so good to have Fernando home for just a little bit at Christmastime!
December 23 -- Fernando was coming to pick me up from work when Arabelle (my BMW) had a radiator burst and overheated. The night ended up being a time of me shopping in my store while Danny and Thomas drove to meet Fernando, then Danny driving to my work to pick me up and bring me back to the parking lot of Our Lady of the Woods where Fernando pulled in. Then, it was a tow truck pick-up and driving home, and trying to figure out how to get our BMW repaired.
Finally, the day before Christmas came and I found myself baking bread! I had made a double batch of cinnamon rolls, which also means making two loaves of bread (my recipe makes enough dough for the equivalent of four loaves of bread). Mmmm, warm bread with butter, all melty and delicious!
That's my December! It has flown by in a flash, I can't believe it's Christmas, and the coming of a new year!!
Back to life,
Christine
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