Christmas was pretty decent. Mister and I stayed home, just the two of us. Actually, when you include Greta it was just the three of us.

We started the day by watching A Christmas Story – on DVD so there weren’t any of those pesky commercials. We started with our stockings, as was always the tradition when I was growing up. Greta got a nice rawhide bone that she immediately disappeared upstairs with, though we heard some rather obscene noises coming from upstairs.

After stockings, we moved on to the loot under the tree. Here’s what we ended up with:

Since we’re moving to New Hampshire soon, and I’ve been living in the hot dry desert for the past 8 1/2 years, I needed some winter gear. I got it in the form of quality goods from LL Bean (LL Bean has no idea who I am and I was not paid to say that. I just love their stuff.) I got a winter coat and boots, both of which will come in really handy back there. I also got a new cell phone, which I really needed since mine won’t recognize the SD card – which means it won’t take pictures and I can’t have as many apps on it as I would like. I got it all charged up and will visit the cell phone store tomorrow so they can transfer my stuff. Some knee socks (to wear with my boots), chocolate covered cherries, a “K” ornament and a few other goodies rounded out my haul. I hung the ornament over my desk, which is my “K” wall since I have a few other initial items there.

Mister got an electric shaver for his head and face, since he mentioned that he wouldn’t mind at all if Santa brought one of those. He also got a BBQ lighter in the shape of a rifle, some nice leather gloves that actually fit his huge hands, a little talking Darth Vader plush, a CPU cart, whoopie cushion, cinnamon flavored old-fashioned candy cane, and a bunch of stocking stuffers that he wanted and a few that he never knew he wanted until he got them.

The best quote of the day came from Mister. As he was digging into his stocking, he exclaimed, “I love my wife – she buys the best presents!” You do some pretty good shopping yourself, my dear!

Greta was a bit confused at all the excitement and stuff in our living room, but once she received the previously mentioned rawhide, decided that she likes Christmas and wants it to happen every day. She also received a new harness and leash set that makes her a bit more visible than her old one. (Note: dog in photo above is not Greta.) Since Greta has black fur, and the road is black, and the dark is black, I was worried about people seeing her when we go out walking at night, so I decided that I wanted some reflective gear for her. This set is pink and the bones and paws print on it is the reflective part. Greta was excited and had to try them out right away, so I put on my new boots and coat, Greta put on her new harness and leash, and we went for a short walk.

The rest of the day was spent watching holiday movies, cooking and eating ham, and napping. Relatives were called, and we expressed how much we are looking forward to seeing them soon and spending next Christmas with them. Overall, it was a pretty good holiday, but the best part of all was getting to spend it with Mister and the pup.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

I just realized that I didn’t do a Christmas Post last year like I did in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. I’m not going to recap two years, so here’s the scoop for 2011.

Mister and I started the year getting to know our new dog a bit better and dealing with her as she got used to us. In February, my mom came for a visit and made my dog howl. My blog turned five years old and I continue to try to learn as much about the back end stuff that I can.

It wasn’t the greatest year as far as money matters are concerned. Due to Mister’s ongoing (still!) worker’s comp case, we listed our house for short sale. The realtor we hired didn’t do his job as far as submitting the listing agreement and other information to the bank, so when we applied for a deed in lieu, after the house had been listed for a specified amount of time per our mediation agreement, we found out that the house was back in the foreclosure since the bank assumed we didn’t keep our end of the agreement. More stress, attorney fees, and even more stress ensued. The locks were changed one afternoon while Mister was out, and he was able to thwart another attempt to have the locks changed. Because of this, Thanksgiving and Christmas are being spent at home instead of with family members in other cities. We don’t feel comfortable leaving the house for an extended amount of time.

But, we were able to hire another realtor who actually knows how to do her job, have submitted all the required paperwork to the bank, and are waiting to hear back from them if they will accept the listing and if they will postpone the scheduled trustee sale. We’d still like to manage the situation on our terms as much as possible.

Ok, enough of the depressing stuff. There’s more good stuff from 2011!

I needed a new computer, and ended up with my beautiful iMac. We celebrated an entire year of having Greta, who continues to make us smile when she does pretty much anything. I took a vacation to Florida to visit my sister and celebrate my niece’s 5th birthday, and it was really awesome to see how much Mia has grown. When I got home from my vacation, Mister and I started eating paleo-style, and even though it’s a struggle during the holidays, we’ve already noticed some benefits.

The biggest news of the year is the announcement that Mister and I are moving to my home state of New Hampshire. We miss the seasons, my family and friends, and all the opportunities that New England can offer us. We plan on moving in February, so keep watching my blog for updates!

That’s all the news for now. Merry Christmas, and here’s hoping 2012 is a great year for everyone!

A quick Thanksgiving post for you before I start a mad cooking frenzy in the kitchen…

Today I am thankful for my husband. We’ve been through quite a bit over the past few years, and it nearly broke us. But he stood by me, wrapped his big strong arms around me, and told me that everything will be OK. And you know what? He’s right, as usual. :-)

I’m also thankful for my family and friends, who have helped keep me sane during all these years I have lived away from them. I love them and miss them so much, and can’t wait to see everyone again.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!