December 2009 Round Up

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Click mosaic to biggify, or see my December 2009 Project 365 Posts.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
Wait, I'm supposed to *read* the books? I thought they were just decorations for the built in bookshelves in our new den.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
At the Theater: Avatar (good to very good; MUST be seen on big screen in 3D) and The Princess and The Frog (okay to good; missing something that I can't articulate).

On the Tube: No new movies, I don't think, and virtually no other movies. I really can't even recall what we watched for rest time films. We did watch the short series on NBC called "The Sing-Off." It was an all a capella group competition, 3 nights one week, then one night the following week. It was wonderful! We also got Friday double shots of Dollhouse.

What special days did I celebrate and how?
Spent Christmas with my family, as always. Also got to see much of my mom's family at her mom's house on the 23rd, including one of my cousins and his pregnant wife, neither of whom we have seen since their wedding.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
We received two housewarming gifts, one from our local realtor and one from the realtor who helped us find our local realtor. And as an unexpected surprise, my friend Charisse sent me a beautiful ornament from the very evil site she introduced me to on the board. Lots of Christmas gifts, of course, but I always feel odd when listing those out. I'm sure you'll see or hear about most of them as the year goes on. (But if anyone wants to share their favorite slow cooker recipes, I'm all ears!)

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
I picked up Dad's cold over Christmas, which took about 4 days to become a sinus infection, bronchitis, and ear infection. Still not over it as the new year dawns, but so glad I went to the doctor early when I did, or I'd be "nearly dead" sick by now.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Sadly, there was very little that was fun about December. It all felt like work, either at work, on the old house, on the new house, or prepping for Christmas. We only squeaked in 2 movies on the 28th, and even then, I was sick as a dog, so they were enjoyable and distracting, but not "fun fun."

And while it absolutely was not fun, we enjoyed seeing all of DH's relatives at his grandfather's funeral. Obviously, the situation was no fun at all, but it is always so great to see extended family.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
After hearing about it from so many folks, we finally tried Five Guys Burgers and Fries. It was good, but a bit on the expensive side. Nice for an occasional change, but not a place we are likely to frequent. I had a new cookie recipe to try, but I never got around to making it. Just ran out of time.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
New fireplace screen (to replace the pile of boxes we were using to block the firebox from the cats), and rugs for the den and dining room (which were delivered on Christmas Eve, Merry Christmas to me!). I also bought several curtains, but they didn't work and I have to return them.

What were this month's disappointments?
DH's grandfather's death, of course. My laptop that stopped working, which meant my CD calendar will be late, and I didn't have time to make my own Christmas card insert (had to use premade, which just bothers me). I also never got to my November 2009 Round Up, which was not completed until after New Year's. I only managed to watch a single Christmas movie (usually I watch quite a few), but it is the best one: Muppet Christmas Carol. We tried installing a light in the dining room ceiling, but there were all sorts of frustrations with it, and after we got it connected and all the way up, we realized that the rod that screws in is too short, so we had to take it all back down. We ended up with no light in there for Christmas (or New Years!).

What were my accomplishments this month?
Another two items off the 101 Things List. That puts me at a total of 28 items for the first year after 38% of the time has lapsed. A few of them I already know won't get done, but I need to work a little harder on it this coming year.

76. Clean the inside of the windows. DH did this right before we got to the next item.

90. Put the house on the market. And there was much rejoicing in the land!! Now to wait for an offer.


And Project 365 is complete. Very hard to believe, and it was quite an experience. I'll do some thoughts on it later.

That assumes that the two huge problematic and now escalated projects at work don't kill me first. Did good on the super-huge hurry up project that is demanding to be complete in only about 40% of our usual cycle time. Other one will be... interesting as it unfolds. Wish me luck; we need a lot of it to hit our target date. I may not come up for air at work until March sometime.

What were Luke's accomplishments this month?


We had his first official parent-teacher conference of the year (the state requires two a year). He received glowing reviews. He is generally well-behaved and very honest (that was news). "He will tell the truth, even if he knows he will get in trouble." And he can't do that at home why? Socially, he gets along well with the other kids. "He talks a lot. He needs to listen more when we are teaching." Gee, I can't imagine where he gets that from (cough). It's not that he's not paying attention. Even when you think he's not, he is listening and can recall what you said. The problem is that it is distraction to the other children. We've talked to him about it, so hopefully it won't continue to be an issue. From a learning perspective, he is doing great! "He knows all of his letters and his numbers. He knows his shapes and his colors. I really don't have much else to teach him." As nice as that is to hear, it is also frustrating. Why am I sending him to Pre-K if you can't teach him anything?

Luke slept until 8 AM Christmas morning. Yes really! No one was more surprised than all of the grown-ups. He seems to be enjoying all of his gifts. Things were going well until the "cat in the night" incident (part 1, part 2). I'm not sure he'll ever sleep fully and soundly in his room again. ::sigh::

Anything else noteworthy to record?
I surely can't think of anything. I really need to just take the entire month of January off and recover, but that is highly impractical.

Monthly Round Up courtesy of Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

Currently feeling: hoping 2010 is a little less bonkers