Holidays – Busy Bee Suz

Christmas Highlights: I’m A Present, Being Present & We Finally Finished The Big Project

Christmas. It came. It went. We enjoyed it. I would like to relish in the glow of the Christmas season without the rushing, shopping, prepping, worrying.

NEXT YEAR.

That was my first lie of this year.

The Highlight Reel

Linds carrying her Mom; sometimes I’m tired of doing it myself.
I said ONE TIME in 2006 that I’m Very Busy and it’s not been forgotten; paper weight from Lindsay.
My Great Niece
I really do Feel Sorry For People Who Don’t Know Me; kitchen towel from my good friend Aimee.
My sweet friend (Ernie) surprised with me with this, even though I (we) know SHE is the ultimate Wonder Woman.
My friend Dawn knows about my delightful and not so delightful parts, and still loves me.
I declared to Lolo one day in 2007 that “I have to do everything around here”, and that saying has NOT died. I still say it at least once a day, so Lolo embroidered it on a tote bag for me.

DON’T TRIFLE WITH ME ‘CAUSE WE DON’T DO DRAMA.

Lindsay and her Beau Mike hosted Christmas Eve and the night was PERFECT! She was a tad concerned about the amount of people in her home (20+) but it was so fun! Especially for me who just showed up with gifts, a lovely Trifle dessert, wine and the Antipasto. Wow, to be a guest is the best!

The weather cooperated (not too hot!) so she was able to open the doors to her lanai and use that space as well.

*Linds, Lolo, Nephew Bryan, Nathan and my MIL giving Max kisses* in the background.

(that lanai table was my MIL’s, then ours, and now Lindsay’s, the couch in the background was ours for about 12 years. It’s nice to visit my old furniture!)

*I’ve declared before that I am the world’s worst baker…mostly because I hate cooking with exact measurements. The Trifle was so easy. I made a box cake, chocolate pudding, a few tubs of cool whip, some heath toffee pieces and crushed walnuts. It was similar to this recipe and a big hit.

I was able to finally meet Mike’s Mom who is super sweet; but I was a bit worried for her as we are a big group, kinda loud and you know, just generally a laughy bunch. Both sides of my in-laws were there (divorced and remarried), my BIL, (his wife & her daughter) his grown kids and their other halves.

Linds said a few days later that Mike’s Mom had a great time and was amazed that we all get along so well. This is not the first time I’ve heard this and I suppose I take that for granted, but it’s aways been that way.

On the 27th we celebrated our darling Lindsay as she turned 28. How is that possible? I forbid for her to grow up, but apparently people no longer follow my commands.

She is one of my very favorite daughters and she’s such a bright light in a sometimes dismal world. I wish for her the best this upcoming year and every single day of her life for that matter.

I was working on the condo until 5pm on NYE. It is finished aside from a few touchups and a dishwasher panel. I’m super happy with how it turned out and I’m going back over there to SAGE THE HELL OUT OF IT and ward off future hurricanes that cause flooding.

Do you want to see pics?

Happy 2024! Wishing you a year of Chill.

XOXO

Catching Up And Admitting How Peopled-Out I Am.

Where were we? What did I last share? Oh, I was almost bragging about how well our move back into the condo went. *still so thankful for that* But we’ve not slowed down. However, the Frenchies, well they’re smart enough to rest when they feel the need.

I’d been going back and forth from the condo to our home, prepping for Christmas, tending to everyday stuff and thinking I’d love to sit down and watch about 27 Hallmark movies to cleanse my brain of tasks.

I’m not even bragging, but I’ve shopped so much. Not just for gifts, but for the condo, and other stuff that popped up.

I told the Coach the other night: ‘I don’t care to visit Home Goods, Target, Publix or any other store for at least month’. One hour later I realized we were out of coffee creamer. *smacks palm to forehead*

ME AND MY NEEDS!

BTW: I had to go into the new HomeSense the other night looking for a vanity mirror for a condo unit Coach had just finished….I was so over shopping, but that place IS THE BOMB.COM! It’s HomeGoods on steroids!

#2 BTW: I went to the HomeSense page to add the link, and right in my face was the biggest typo:

TK Maxx? What the what? Is it April 1st?

We Partied Like It Was 2001 And I’m Not Here For It.

I do want to share with you some of my fun gifts that were gifted to me. ME? ME! I was given some fun gifts! That will have to wait till next week because I’m still reeling from ALL THE PEOPLE I’VE SEEN AND TALKED TO.

I know. I sound like a millennial who had to make one phone call to a human, then sought help via REDDIT and her AI Therapist; but I did at one point want to find a safe space to lay down and have someone brush my hair until I fell asleep.

Remember we had our big company party on 12/16? Ya’ll, I talked to, hugged and laughed with at least 48 people. In.one.night. With the music blaring, people laughing and talking, I was done like dinner by 10:30 pm. My face hurt from smiling. SMILING took me down.

Later that week, on Thursday, we went out to dinner with two of our dear friends to celebrate the season. On Friday, we went out with two dear friends to celebrate the season. On Saturday, we went to a dear friend’s house and celebrated the season with about 15 kinda loud people.

Sunday, on Christmas Eve, we went to Lindsay’s house and celebrated with about 22 people. These were all my people, so of course, they were semi-loud.

Thank the good Lord that there were only six of us on Christmas Day because I was done like Christmas dinner. For real.

We took the 26th off from People, but I did go to my HIIT workout that night and there were indeed people there, but I was accustomed to it. Then on the 27th six of us went out to dinner to celebrate Lindsay’s birthday. How could we not celebrate the second most important person born in December? We.could.not.

The next day, I was back at our condo, when I ran into a good friend/neighbor who had just arrived back from Idaho. (All the snowbirds are flocking in) And she said the worst thing to me:

“Let’s get together for dinner!”

My heart literally sunk, but like a trooper, I said, sure, soon! And then I fled into our condo, locked the door, shut the blinds and silenced my phone.

Am I exaggerating? Not even a little.

Have you been to HomeSense or TK Maxx? Can anyone relate to the Peoplely part of my post?

I’ll get caught up with you Talky People in the near future. Maybe even this year. But probably not. Merry and Happy!! XOXO

Without A Hitch, Aside From Tired Feet, Being A Party Attendee & Gratitude Abound.

Thank you all for the empathy in my last post where I was completely frazzled by the upcoming deliveries, set up, and general chaos of moving stuff back into our rental condo. IT WENT SO SMOOTHLY. I was losing sleep over it all and it turns out that worrying DOES help. I mean, would it have gone so smooth without me worrying?

I had no complaints from any neighbors about parking issues and no traffic jams that I was aware of. (mostly because I didn’t go ‘out there’; what’s the phrase? Something about burying your head in the sand?) The Coach and I stayed at the condo from Thursday to the following Friday when I said: I MUST GO HOME. I NEED ORDER. We have it (as of Sunday) about 85% finished. I’m awaiting a few small pieces of furniture and I need to pick out a piece of art for the dining area. I can attest that I am not as young I used to be; moving and settling into a fourteen hundred square foot condo didn’t sound like THAT much work, but man, my feet were killing me mid-day even though I wore my most supportive, comfortable Sneakers from the moment I hopped out of bed. The dogs were a pain in the ass with all the people coming and going, but I expected that. Aside from the deliveries, we had electricians, painters, carpenters and our project manager in and out daily working on the punch list.

Remember I was worried about the State Of things Packed Up So Quickly after the hurricane? Well, things were better than I’d anticipated. All of our dishes made it, even without being ‘wrapped’. They, along with our glassware were in a plastic tub and I only lost a few stemmed wine glasses. Which, isn’t anything really since I don’t spend a lot on wine glasses because isn’t it fun to toss them at the wall when you’re requesting a second glass?

One surprising and amazing thing did appear. My cordless Dyson vacuum, which I love, was in a tub, mixed with some random stuff. I pulled it out and that baby didn’t miss a beat. It was ready to go. I mean, it’s been in a tub for FOURTEEN months and the battery was still charged.

We’re still looking for a newer home to replace our current home AND this condo, but considering how exhausting this was? I might just die in our current home because moving 26 years worth of my crap seems too daunting.

Christmas Is Happening!

Saturday night we had our company party and it was a beautiful success! In the past, I was in charge of all things Party. This year, I started it by securing a venue and date, and the entertainment, but then Lindsay, and two other employees handled the rest of it. Wow. What a joy going to a party and NOT WORKING a party. They did a fantastic job and I was happy to pass on the Party Torch. The company has been on a hiring spree (so much business happening!) so we had almost 150 people at the party this year.

THANK YOU!

I won’t have time to post again prior to Santa’s arrival, but I do want to share my utmost appreciation for all my friends who show up here, drop in a line or two; you make my day, my week, my year. YOU ARE MY GIFT.

I have this overwhelming feeling of gratitude for my family, friends, and my life in general. I wish I could share it with every single person I encounter, because then there would be less ass-hats roaming the world. Right?

Merry Everything! XOXO

Fake {name} Friends, Simplifying My Christmas, And Feeling The Spirit In The Smallest Dose

Have you dreamed of your virtual friends? I have and I do. I mean, as if I don’t already have enough sleep issues without YOU invading my sleep, but this is out of my hands.

This past week was super fun; I was receiving mail/packages from some of you.

Get Out Of My Dreams, Get Into My Car

Who loved that 80’s tune?

Anyhoo, my friend Nance sent me a huge box. Inside was a jar of strawberry preserves, and another box that contained huge strawberries. I mean, giant like the size of Shaq’s basketball shoes. BEHEMOTH. And then some books, some papers and STAMPED RETURN ADDRESS ENVELOPES. Get this, the return address had her REAL name and address. Nance: I thought Nance was your real name, but it isn’t is it? BARBARA! The return envelopes said Barbara SomethingOrOther Last Name.

At first I was disappointed to know you falsified your name, but the strawberry gifts softened the blow. But what the heck would I do with all the strawberries? They aren’t even my favorite berry.

Then Ally made an appearance. She sent me some letters and I’m not sure if there were gifts because things are getting fuzzy, but Ally isn’t Ally’s real first name either. I mean, according to MY dream, which we all know is All Telling.

There have been others in the past and it’s a fun surprise to visit with my Around The World Friends while I’m getting my beauty rest.

Passing The Torch, and I’m No Scrooge

Back in September while in GA with my MIL, I was lamenting to her that I didn’t know how I’d find the time to decorate our house this year. At that time, I’d scheduled all the furniture/bed deliveries for our beach condo (decimated by hurricane Ian) to be delivered the weekend after Thanksgiving) That weekend is generally when I decorate our home, which takes two days minimum. I went on to say, I wouldn’t even decorate if not for us hosting Christmas Eve for the family.

My MIL is nothing short of brilliant. Without missing a beat, she said: “Now that Lindsay has a house, why don’t you ask her to host this year?”

A lightbulb the size of Gibraltar went off over my skull, we called Linds then and there and she agreed to host this year. *sigh* Passing the torch is hard for me, so I’d like a blue ribbon or a plaque stating so, but I’m excited to let her do this.

Will I go to her house and leave my shoes in the middle of the floor? Will I drop my purse on the kitchen island in the middle of everything? Will I turn on every light and open every cabinet door without shutting them? Maybe, because dreams are made of such things. 😳😜

*I’ve since had to push the furniture deliveries back a week. It seems that even sleeping with your contractor doesn’t help these days.

On 12/1 it was time to tune into some Christmas Tunes on my Sonos system, then I pulled a few decorations out of my Christmas Cabinet that is located in my craft room; stuff I won’t store out in the garage because of the heat/humidity. No Christmas tree for thee, but I did buy a giant Poinsettia from Home Depot and placed in UP HIGH away from plant eating Frenchies in the Christmas tree spot. This will work for us this year.

I almost didn’t make cards this year, but yesterday I took a half an hour and threw a card together online. I worried that if I didn’t full-on decorate AND send out cards, the world would spin off its axis and we’d all be doomed.

If you have a few minutes, this is the best Christmas commercial I’ve seen in a long time! Grab a hankie (or your shirt sleeve) and a kettle ball.

Anyone else minimize your decor and stress this year?

Raise your hands if you’re blog friends have visited you during sleeping hours.

XOXO

^{pic borrowed from Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com}