Time to Exhale

Decompression.

That is how I would describe my current "mode."

It feels so good to have all of the craziness behind me for now, and have a few days to just be.

(Well...kind of.  I still have things going on, but it is A LOT less crazy that the past month has been!)

Once we all got home from our Christmas morning commitments...(Lexie and I were at our church, and poor Mark, sang at our church for the Christmas Eve service, then played the midnight Mass at the Cathedral.  Slept for four hours, sang at the 8:00 Mass at our church, and then was off to play for the 10:00 Mass at the Cathedral again.) we finally took a collective sigh, and could relax.

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I have to admit....it was a little hard to believe it was Christmas, considering the weather was much more Easter-esque. 

So, I just turned off all the interior lights, lit the fireplace, and the lights on the tree...and was very happy once it got dark out. 

We made the kids wait until after lunch to open presents.  It's funny that it doesn't matter how old they are....they still are so impatient when it comes to opening gifts.

Their plan was to do it at 6am Christmas morning.

I nixed that idea immediately.

I have a hard enough time getting to church by 7:30 as it is.  

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I have to tell you....my husband was a rock star shopper this year.

He literally did ALL of the shopping, AND the wrapping.

I bought some extras for him...but he even took care of ordering his own "big" gift.  

I had circled a couple of pictures of things I liked on a Maurices ad...to give him some ideas.  The bag I circled was still in stock, so he bought that.

However, the boots and scarf I liked were not.  

Rather than just giving up on them, he actually searched out other stores to find  similar items.  So, rather than a pair of cheap Maurices boots, I opened up a super cute pair of Steve Madden's that are the exact style I wanted.

Seriously?  This man is a dream! ;)

(He said it was a "Christmas miracle," because they were a great price, and the display pair were the last in my size.) 

He also picked out not just one, but two super cute scarves....plus some other surprises that I had mentioned in passing were cute. (And he remembered!)

The man gets an A+ in shopping!!

~

I literally parked my butt on my couch for the entire day, lit my new, delicious spruce scented candle, and watched about a gazillion episodes of Castle that I had on the DVR.  

Riley and I crashed for awhile, because doing absolutely nothing is incredibly exhausting.

~

And now....it is time to start gearing up for the new year.

I always start to get excited at this time....ready to make changes, and get back on track with the goals I have been attempting to achieve year after year...but always seem to fall short of.

I think I am usually too broad with my goals...and never specific or really realistic enough.  I also don't usually have a plan to back up what it is I want to accomplish.

This year marks two significant dates.

My 25th high school reunion...and my 20th wedding anniversary.

I think both of those events call for a total body transformation.

In other words...no more day long Castle marathons on the couch.

This will definitely require a serious plan....and some major follow through.

I suppose the fact that Mother Nature is confused, and thinks it's April, may be in my favor, because I could easily get outside and walk/run.

~

Anyway....tackling the clutter in my house and planning out my big "Take On 2015" agenda is what will be happening here over the next week.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas...and that you have some time to just relax and enjoy time with your family (or time alone!!) over the next week.

Maybe you will join me in my goal setting adventure?!

We might as well dive into the new year head first!!

Have a great Friday!!