Holiday Season
The end of 2015 was uneventful and that's just what we wanted. We finally spent our first Thanksgiving together without either of us working or in the hospital. Brandt made ham and plethora of other delicious foods and we spent the day together with the dogs.
We had a potluck at work again to celebrate winter holidays. I made adorable, edible spider webs for Halloween so I thought I'd try another creative dessert. I've been wanting to make melting snowman cookies for a while and gave it a try. They were a hit at work and also tasted pretty good.
A friend of mine had an ugly sweater party a few days before Christmas. I love to dress up but didn't need another ugly sweater. I wore the same ugly sweater I had a few years ago and added a twist. I found a sweet hairdo on Pinterest to up my game. I'm definitely going to use this idea again... I just need the right excuse and to figure out what other animals I can make out of my hair.Christmas was also uneventful and wonderful. We both had the day off and enjoyed more of Brandt's delicious cooking; this time a roast. We watched Elf and A Christmas Story while opening presents from each other and love ones. Brandt's birthday is the next day and we ate the traditional ice cream cake. He even got the day off and did a little shopping with gift card money.
Giving Back
I ended my year by giving back a few more times. First, I stopped and made an in-kind donation the week after Christmas. I had a lot of socks I didn't need, a comforter with white in the design that needed to be washed too often because of our dingy dogs, and other items. I was going to take it all to Goodwill, like I always do, but then a coworker mentioned that the homeless shelters always desperately need socks. I hadn't considered that before and took everything they'd accept over there. I also donated a few old pillows as well as toiletries I'd never used and probably never would. The best part about stopping by Transition Projects was when the guy opened the closet to add my donations. The closet was absolutely stuffed. It made me happy to see that they had so much support. I can only hope the closet is that full all year, not just around the holidays.
I also donated blood for the second time since we moved. The Red Cross brings a bus by work a few times a year and has a mini-blood drive. I was in and out in just 30 minutes, when it normally takes an hour. It helps to be the last person of the day! They also had free shirts, which I'm always a fan of.On my way to work the day before New Year's Eve, OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) was running a one-day, year-end donation drive. I'd always meant to donate to KPB when I lived in Kansas and I knew I should quit putting it off. I became a sustaining member and they're going to plant a tree in my name. I was able to support two things I love at once!
Hello 2016
I chose to stay in on New Year's Eve and end the year calmly. Brandt and I played our 3DS's and cuddled with the puppies. I went to bed before midnight and it was another perfect holiday.2016 began much more eventfully than 2015 ended. We got snow and ice! It was our first winter weather event since we moved out here in 2014. Oregon is woefully unprepared for ice: no salt allowed on the roads and very few snow plows. I spent my first day "back" at work, at home. I worked from the couch with three personal space heaters, AKA the dogs. Cedric loves the snow and I will end this posting with a picture of my snow puppy.
