Doin' the holiday hustle

Tomorrow is my last day of work for two wonderful weeks. My office closes between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day (which is awesome) and I was able to use my remaining vacation days to maximize my time off. I couldn't be more excited. Not only will I be able to relax and enjoy the holidays, but I'll also be able to get away from the "cesspool of sickness" that is my office, as the senior copywriter so nicely put it (every single person is sick, it's kind of gross).

So now I won't be at my apartment for about two weeks and I've been running around like a mad woman packing things, getting errands done and finishing up all my Christmas shopping. 

But once work ends Friday, the craziness really begins. I have to hop on the L, rush to O'Hare and await my flight to Boston. Unfortunately, Chicago is supposed to get hit with a snow/ice/sleet storm over the next couple of days. Not only that, but Boston is supposed to get hit with a big snowstorm, too. With those two combined, it should make for an interesting travel experience. Can't wait!

I am really excited to go out there, though. And then I get back on Tuesday afternoon, get to wrap tons of presents (I LOVE wrapping, seriously), and hang out at my parent's house. Then it's off to church and my Grandma's house for Christmas Eve. 

The most exciting thing? My family and I have decided this year will be a Pajama Christmas. Every other year we had to drive 6 hours to visit my Dad's family in southern Illinois on Christmas Day. I love my family, but spending the whole day in a car is NOT fun, especially when the only place open to get lunch is a really, really sad Wendy's in the middle of nowhere where people chain smoke and babies scream and everyone looks like they want to hurt you for being happy. But this year, we're not leaving until Friday, so we get to veg out all day on Christmas in our pajamas. I can't even wait.

It's going to be a crazy week, but it's going to be a blast. And two full weeks without work? It's going to be amazing! It's like I'm back in school again and get a holiday break...yay!

Good news! I saw a dog today.

Ok so maybe I'm not as excited as Buddy the Elf, but I'm thrilled about the pretty great week I'm having so far. And here's why:

Monday:

• Had to meet with my boss first thing in the morning—he told me I was getting a raise. A very, very small one, but my first one ever as a working girl. I was so excited. What a great way to start the week!

• My coworker made amazing brownies. Brownies are always a reason to be happy.

• I went to my parents' house to decorate the Christmas tree and my Mom made one of my favorite meals—cider stew. And she made brownies, too. Double brownie day!

• My parents picked out the perfect (live) tree and my Mom, Dad, sister and I decked it out with as many ornaments as possible. It's a total masterpiece now, if I do say so myself:

I always love the ornaments we made as kids, like this little gem:

Yep, that's me when I was 4. Apparently I loved Minnie Mouse...and penguins.

Tuesday:

• It snowed...it was pretty.

• I had 1/2 a vacation day to use, so I slept in.

• We all got little Christmas bonuses at work, which was very unexpected, very appreciated and very exciting.

• The creative team got to leave an hour early to go out for our annual Christmas dinner "Meet for Meat". We went to Twin Anchors, an amazing restaurant in Old Town. 

• After dinner, we went out for drinks at a bar nearby. The only two other people at the bar got ahold of a microphone...and proceeded to put on a "comedy" routine. The one guy started ranting about life, trying to be funny. It was totally awkward, but we were forced to listen to it. Then the other guy grabbed the microphone and proceeded to serenade us with songs like "Blue Velvet". He gave little dedications before each song ("this is for the dreamers out there, hope you find your love") and then forget half the words to the songs, so he hummed along instead. It was awful to watch, but it was probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Good times.

Wednesday:

•Finished all my Christmas shopping!

• Only two days of work left and then I'm off for two whole weeks. Can't wait!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

I literally just walked in the door and it feels so good to be back in my nice little apartment again. 

After going nonstop for a week now, I am physically and mentally exhausted. It's been a wonderful, fun-filled week, but I think I could pass out now and sleep for days. I only got about 4-5 hours of sleep each night last week. And after being out until the wee hours celebrating the Marquette victory last night, I'm pretty sure my body hates me. 

I'm really looking forward to having a relatively quiet couple of days coming up. And I'm determined to go to bed early this week. The craziness doesn't start again until Thursday and then doesn't stop until the 28th. I have friend parties, family parties, boyfriend's family parties, coworker parties, a trip to southern Illinois and a trip to Boston to squeeze in there. I now realize why it's my favorite—and most exhausting—time of year. 

Ok, that's all I have the energy to type right now. This night owl is going to bed early. Sweet dreams.

I've been drinking since 2:30...

So please forgive my poor writing this evening. I just had to write a post, I was missing my blog the last couple of days. I felt like I was neglecting a good friend.

The last couple of days have been crazy. As much as I love the holidays, there's always so much going on...

Wednesday: Client party in the suburbs. Got stuck in traffic in the snow on the way there. Felt a little awkward since I'm a creative person, not an account person, so small talk isn't my thing. Chatted with my coworkers, avoided the almost all seafood appetizers (yuck), was insulted by a coworker and had to deal with the very embarrassing moment when one of our senior clients hit on me. He got way too close to me, backed me up against a wall and chatted to be about his time in the Persian Gulf War in 1991 (no joke). He asked me what I was doing in 1991. I told him I was 6...and he thought it was cute. Not so much. Because I'm naive, it took me awhile to catch on. Luckily, my coworkers saved me and now I'm the talk of the office. So embarrassing. 

Thursday: College alumni party at a nearby bar. Tons of fun. I was tired from the night before so I vowed to be home by 9. Got to the bar, realized it was free beer for the first hour, ran into tons of friends and ended up not getting home until midnight. And then I decided I just HAD to watch The Office. Good idea, Pam.

Friday: Company holiday party at a Chicago bowling alley. We got to leave work at 2:30 and it was a lot of fun. We all went to a couple of bars afterward, which was a blast. And then I got into a cab where the crazy driver was screaming about religion, premarital sex and drunk girls. I just nodded, slumped lower in my seat and prayed that he would get me home safely...and not yell at me for being one of those drunk girls. 

I haven't been out this much since college. Yikes. 

Now I'm off to Milwaukee in the morning to see my boyfriend and go to the big Marquette vs. Madison basketball game. I can't wait!

Sidnote: I went to Starbucks this morning and the same barista took my order. I told her what I wanted and she said, "Ok and that's for Jes...". I immediately stopped her and said, "Nope, still Pam." She smiled and was like "Oh yeah! You remind me a lot of Pam from The Office. Now I'll be sure to remember! Must be your hair color or something..."

That made my day. Not only do I LOVE The Office, but I love Pam (makes me proud of my name) and I LOVE that she gets to be with Jim. Now this will help me live vicariously through her. Hooray for fictional characters!

Ok...I need to go to bed big time. Goodnight!