Weekend Wrap Up! (Twas the night before Christmas...)

 

Hey, hey, hey, it's Christmas Eve! But it's also Monday, which means I want to wrap up my weekend for you. Before I do that, here is my annual Christmas Eve tradition... a holiday poem for you to enjoy!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Twas the night before Christmas, and all was not quiet

All the creatures were stirring- the cats were on a diet!

The stockings were hung in the kitchen with care,

Chrissy and Jelly were prowling.... they are quite the pair!

My husband was nestled all snug in the basement,

Playing guitar and burning some candles so fragrant.

And me in my reindeer PJs so cozy

Relaxed on the couch, cheeks bright and rosy.

When out in the kitchen there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the couch to see what was the matter.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But two kitty cats acting so cavalier

Chrissy had opened the cupboard door,

He cried and meowed- begging for more.

And Jelly just stared with bright precious eyes,

That said, "Please give me food!" and I had to sympathize...

"Now Chrissy! Now Jelly! You're going to be fine!

It's only ten o'clock and you just ate at nine!"

"Don't let them dupe you!" Paul called from below.

"There's no way they're hungry. They're putting on a show."

And so I bent down and gave them a kiss,

Their antics are always so hard to resist.

After all, my dear readers, it was Christmas Eve,

They deserve something special, I do believe.

Quietly, cautiously, ever so discrete,

I snuck to the cupboard and got out the treats.

The cats excitedly puffed out their tails

And within seconds gobbled their treats- diets derailed.

But holidays are a time to relax and recharge,

to not worry about calories, sugar and carbs.

Tomorrow the kitties will get back on track,

Their hard work not ruined by one midnight snack.

Chrissy and Jelly were now so content,

They purred with delight and off to bed they went.

But I heard them exclaim, as they sneaked out of sight,

"Meowy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

My day started with a treadmill run at Planet Fitness. Then I headed to work. I dressed "jolly" and serenaded the kiddos at stairwell duty.

My reed, hehehe!

I don't know if I can accurately convey to you how much I need a break from work. I won't get into details other than to say I am at my breaking point. However, the high point of the week was when took a group of my instrumental students around to classrooms to play Jingle Bells. They sounded awesome and I'm so proud of them!

After work, I was very wound, anxious, and stressed. I needed a good two hours by myself to pull myself down from those feelings. I did some housework and organizing. Outer order, inner calm...

That evening, Paul and I met our friend Lauren to check out a shop in Carlisle and have dinner and drinks at Grand Illusion Cidery. I tried a couple ciders and found two I really like. I can't wait to go back! Not only was the food and drink good, but the employees were nice and the ambiance was very cool!

After bragging to Paul that I didn't have to set my alarm for the next day, it was only fitting that Christmas woke me up at 5:37. I passed the time watching the news and cooking.

I went to Zumba and then came home to work out some more because I didn't quite get the burn at class. I think all the speed work and deck of cards workouts I have been doing have put me in better shape and make me crave more high intensity workouts. However, Zumba was super fun because there were some Christmas songs in the mix... Run, Run Rudolph, Baby It's Cold Outside, All I Want for Christmas Is You... I WAS IN MY ELEMENT! I sang along. I hope no one minded...

Next, I ran some errands. I know, it's crazy to run errands on the Saturday before Christmas, but I made it back from Aldi alive.

At Aldi, I dropped all my blueberries at the bagging area. They rolled all over the front of the store and anyone who wanted to get out had to roll their carts over the blueberries. There were blueberries everywhere! Everyone was really nice and one of the workers even replaced my blueberries for free. Aldi rocks!

When I got home, I did a bit more organizing, then I just tried to relax. I was bored, but I was too tired to make plans and do something. Paul went out, so I had a drink and dinner with Chrissy, then went to bed at 7pm!

Chrissy wanted my egg nog! I gave him 3 licks.

Look! Cold turkey since Oct. 31!

I took two trazadones. I never took two before. I slept for 12 hours!

Good morning! Look at this cute mug a student got me!

I went to the gym and did a deck of cards workout and speed work on the treadmill.

Then we headed to Paul's Aunt's house for a Christmas party. I did not get any pictures, I am so mad!

When I got home, I realized I could squeeze in a short trail run before it got dark, so I headed to the AT for 4 miles. It was wonderful!

Paul watched football, I cooked up some veggies for dinner, and I went to bed early! It was a low key kind of evening.

Did you ever drop something and make a huge mess at the grocery store?

Local peeps: Who wants to check out Grand Illusion with me?

How are you celebrating Christmas Eve?