Day 22: Final Errands, Christmas Baking and Movie Night
Wow! Considering most of my days off have consisted mainly of me struggling to get out of bed, I’m really proud of how productive I was today. I had a lot of anxiety last night about COVID and ended up being awake until like 2 or 3 in the morning so I didn’t quite get the early start I was planning but it was still early enough! We managed to get out of the house fairly early to run some final errands. I really wanted to not need to run around anywhere anymore so I could just go to work and go straight home the next couple nights so I had a few bits and pieces that I wanted to get for my team. I’ve been slowly adding little treats to their stockings at work and I wanted to finish off with some extra goodies. But I knew exactly what I needed and so we managed to get it all done in record time and just before things started to get really busy!
When we made it back we were straight into Christmas baking! Mom and I have formed quite a system and I think we got our baking done in record time too! One of us starts the recipe while the other person starts gathering ingredients for the next batch and then we trade off dish washing while each batch bakes. It’s a great system! If we knew anything about baking without recipes we’d be a great team on a baking show! Our classic cookies are shortbread, snowballs (basically almond shortbread) and almond cookies. We like to sub Amaretto into out almond cookies instead of almond extract. So. Good.
After that I had some time to relax and squeeze in a little afternoon nap. When I woke up I wrote Christmas cards for my team and wrapped my last present of the season! Navi was feeling festive too and found her spot under the tree. I think she knew there was going to be an exciting evening planned because she was hiding under the tree most of the day. Later in the evening it was time for Christmas movie night! Last year we started what seems to be a new tradition in the making - we couldn’t get together with my brother and his then fiancé (now wife!) for the holidays so on Christmas eve we had a watch party of Scrooge (A Christmas Carol but the 1951 black and white film). So we continued the tradition this year complete with movie theater popcorn (my dad’s specialty) and hot chocolate and a dessert charcuterie board. It was so nice and honestly after today it finally started feeling like Christmas today. Like even though I have work the next two days I’m excited about it just being Christmas. I’ve had so much on my mind that it’s been hard to feel the warmth and joy of the holiday season so it’s nice to finally feel it a little bit. I’m feeling really thankful for my health, that my parents have been able to book their boosters and that my workplace prioritizes safety to well. Otherwise I probably would be on my own for the holidays. Which wouldn’t be the worst ever, but it wouldn’t be my top choice. I know I’ll always have Navi no matter what. And my Sims.
Anyway I managed to squeeze in a nice bath with a holiday bath bomb and now I smell amazing, my skin is so soft and I am so sleepy. Navi is lying down next to me and we are both wiped. I am going to sleep now and will do my best to take photo throughout the whirlwind of tomorrow!
How are you feeling? Are you feeling festive? Are you taking this time to care for yourself for the holidays? Are you feeling indifferent to any festivities? Whatever you’re feeling it’s okay to make space for it. Even if it’s icky. You’ll be okay, and we’ll get through this tough stuff. It’s not forever.
Goodnight!
-B