Friday's Letters 12.28.12

Dear Santa,

  You were so good to me! Thanks for being so faithful to make your annual stop for 27 years!

Dear Christmas Break,

  You have been cathartic. I haven't got a lot to show for my time off, but I can definitely feel it. A little R&R goes a long way!

Dear Family,

  I think I've been blessed with the best! I have so enjoyed spending so much time with you and excited for more this weekend!

Dear Skyllar's Family,

  Thank you so much for including me in your Christmas festivities. Y'all always make me feel so welcome and a part of the family. I love you like my own!

Dear Jenna Blair,

  Finally, some girl time! Loved hanging out and going to the movies with you! 

Dear Tacky Christmas Party/Jared's Birthday Party,

  Too much fun. That's all I have to say about that.

Dear Neck/Back Pain Plaguing me as I Type,

  GO AWAY!

Friday's Letters On Saturday 12.22.12

Dear Dr. Seuss,

  How crazy is it that I completely forgot the story of the Grinch. I have to admit that when I was tying this story in with a math lesson, I had no idea how the Grinch's story was going to end. Made me a little sad that I'd forgotten such a classic. 

[Image obtained from www.fanpop.com]

Dear Titanic Exhibit,

  Wow! I so enjoyed taking a look at you. I would highly recommend you to anyone who is in greater Atlanta area.

[Image obtained from www.naturalsciences.org]

Dear Yankee "Sparkling Snow" candle,

  My house smells like Christmas because of you, and it's wonderful! Many thanks to one of my fabulous co-workers, Beth!

Dear Brooke,

  I still cannot believe we spent THREE HOURS on the phone!! I swear I haven't done that since high school. It was so cathartic. I miss you!!!

Me and Brooke from way back when. We know, we were some hotties.

Dear Skyllar and Family,

  You have been my rock through this hellacious (sorry, there is no other word for it) week. I truly believe your encouragement and prayers were the only things getting me through it with a smile still plastered to my face.

Dear Mrs. Kay,

  It's hard to believe you will not be at the Sunday morning church service. You were one of the most kind and genuine women I've ever known. You knew how to sing, cook, and tell a great story. I am so going to miss you! You were always so encouraging and up-lifting. Now you're doing the same in Gloryland with your Savior and Mama! I love you!

Dear Christmas Shopping,

  I am done with you! Yay!!!

Dear Ricky and Hayley,

  I am so glad you're in Dixie! Cannot wait to get my arms around y'all and give you a hug!

Uncle Ricky and Hayley

Dear Christmas Break,

 You are here! That's all I need to say (with a smile on my face)!!

Dear Etsy dealers,
 Thanks for FINALLY shipping my gifts. You waited until the Friday before Christmas, but you got here. I guess that has to count for something. However, you should know the amount of stress and emotional trauma you caused is almost unforgivable. I realize that you probably have a gazillion orders to fill, but it should not take THAT long to ship something. But, I digress...   Oh, except for Chane Hart, with What the Hart Likes. You were speedy and fabulous!! If you haven't had a chance to visit her etsy site, do it! She's fabulous, as are her products.

Friday's Letters 12.14.12

Friday's Letters   12.14.12

Dear Christmas:

  You sure are coming up fast, but I'm ready. Well, I will be. 

Dear Christmas Break:

  You are not coming up fast enough. Hurry!!!!

Dear People Obsessed with being PC:
  Being politically correct is fine and dandy, but some of you are going to have to let loose a little bit. If you don't like me saying Christmas then GET OVER IT. America is the great melting pot. We cannot simply water down everything so that no one is offended. Christmas is part of my religion, culture, and up-bringing. Christmas will remain Christmas in my heart and also my mouth, and we will just have to agree to disagree. I imagine the phrase "Merry Christmas" sounds to you like "Happy Holidays" sounds to me.

Image obtained from www.masterthebusiness.com

Dear Skunk:

  I am so glad it's getting cold again. You sure are super cuddly in the winter. :)

Dear The Office Christmas Party:

  I know I'm a week late, but thanks to my DVR I just watched you. I'm so glad you decided to celebrate the last office Christmas party with Dwight's Christmas. Belsnickel was great! I'm sure going to miss you after this season!

Image obtained from www.tvfanatic.com

Dear Aubrey:

  I'm so glad you're coming home this weekend!!

Jenna, Me, Aubs, and Brandi at Bonefish Grill last year

Friday's Letters 12.07.12

friday's letters

Dear The Walking Dead,
  While the suspense is kinda fun, I really HATE that I have to wait until February for you to come back on television.

Dear Christmas shopping,
  I'm not your biggest fan.

Dear Ladies Missionary Christmas Party,
  You are always so much fun! I am so glad I took a nap after work and didn't let exhaustion get in the way of me coming. Those monthly meetings are so cathartic.

Dear Tarte,
  I cannot get enough of you. You have got me running to Ulta and then price checking Amazon and QVC. You are seriously the best make-up line ever.

Dear Skunk,
  If you do not stop screaming in the mornings when the alarms start going off, I am going to kick you out. Those precious minutes between snoozes are ultra important and you're completely ruining them. I mean it.

Christmas Shopping is the Devil

  I have noticed that I pretty much say everything is the devil. But only because those things really are. Christmas shopping goes right along in that category. Yes, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, it's fun to give gifts to people you care about. And, yes, it is still a big ol' pain in the rear. However, I'm almost pretty sure I'm the one that makes it, as I say, the devil.

  My lack of planning is partly at fault. I don't want to designate a day/night of my weekend for this task, but I am too exhausted by the end of a work day to do it. I usually do it during those first days off of the break but that won't work with this year's school calendar. I've just been doing it little by little. I've got two gifts so far doing it t his way.

  My stubbornness is partly at fault. Unfortunately, I have this unquenchable desire to be able to tell myself, "I did that all by myself." I don't care if anyone else knows that all the credit goes to me; I just have to know it. It's pretty ridiculous. This is not just restricted to gift-giving; it takes hold on everything in my life. From gardening to cooking to working. Quite honestly, the only thing I've found that I absolutely don't mind divvying up the work for is cleaning. I can use a helping hand with that any day. So, yeah, asking someone what they want for Christmas is always a sure-fire way to ensure you get them the perfect gift, but then I wouldn't be able to take all the credit for it.

  My love of getting something new is at fault. I went to Target yesterday to pick up a couple of gifts. I wound up getting one gift for someone else and two gifts for me. Make no mistake, I had no need for my two gifts nor did I go into Target wanting these items. I guess online shopping is going to have to be the way to go this year. Thank goodness for Etsy!!

  Don't let this post fool you, I will have every single gift checked off before Christmas. I am mainly posting this to light a fire under myself because wrapping them is a whole other thing....   

Friday's Letters 11.30.12

Dear Gym,
It's so nice to see you again. I realize that I pay money to see you often, and in reality, only see you every couple of months. My apologies. Thanks for being easy on me this week; I suspect it's about to get more tough. I guess I'm okay with that.

Dear Christmas Tree,
Wow! You are gorgeous!!

Dear Mrs. Meyers Cleaner,
You have completely transformed my outlook on cleaning. Thank you!!!!! My house is clean and smells wonderful!

Dear Mom,
Thank you for teaching me to be respectful to adults. Thank you for teaching me the art of closing my mouth when an adult tells me to do so. If there were more parents out there teaching their children the same thing then perhaps this week wouldn't have been near as challenging as it was.

Dear Students,
Thank you for decorating our classroom tree. It is lovely!

Dear New Girl,
Thank you for being the funniest show ever. Your ability to make me LOL is uncanny.

Dear Holiday Bazaar,
I certainly hope you are worth all this prep work.