Santa visits Ashlyn

Santa visits Ashlyn, a photo by northwoodsluna on Flickr.

Wow! Has it really been 2 months since I actually blogged about anything about life and love?


I've heard from a handful of people that they have been concerned about me due to my absence on my blogs. I'm sorry if you have been concerned. I am fine. It's just that life and work have kept me overly busy with little time to sit down for any length of time to do more than fire off a couple of sentences on a Facebook status update. Facebook for all it is NOT, does have the benefit of doing a quick check in with loved ones when I might not otherwise have the time to read. I confess there have been weeks at a time when I was on the fly and didn't have time to sit down to read the blogs I love to follow.


I have not blogged about "life" since the end of November.


My caseload increased drastically in November/December. This month I've seen a decrease in numbers on my load, and I've decreased frequency so can take a few minutes this morning to catch up here.


December went by in a blur! I did not get any holiday cards sent, perhaps I'll aim for spring or Easter cards.
December included:
Quarterly staff meeting/Agency Christmas party/luncheon in Fargo and a day of Christmas shopping December 10.
We were in Fargo for Christmas with the kids December 14 to 16.
-Julie called from the Twin Cities on the 14th to tell us she and Matt were engaged! Such happy news!


-Christmas on the 15th was fun! Santa (Kasey's uncle in Santa costume) visited the house, Ashlyn didn't know what to think and refused to talk to Santa.


Kasey set a gorgeous table and the food was wonderful. The gift exchange was fun too!


However there is always alcohol involved for the boys and their partners and friends so there was inevitably drama connected to due to an alcohol fed misunderstanding in which my future DIL felt slighted by me, when as the designated driver for the two of us, in my haste to get my sloshed husband back to the hotel for the evening (it was after midnight) I somehow neglected to hug Kasey goodbye, Kasey was not there when we went back from the hotel on Sunday morning before leaving to drive north. John was furious with me, barely speaking to me or Tom when we got there, telling me she cried all night, and John said some horrifically hurtful things to me acting out of his own fear and hurt. I called and sobbed out an apology to her voice-mail as we left town, she later text-ed me. I sent flowers to her the next day with more apology and thanking her for all she did to make our Christmas special. It's since been worked out but it was a dark cloud over the rest of the holiday season for me. I would never intentionally slight someone like that, especially someone I love. It's been my worst fear that she would hate me like John's ex did for whatever reason.


Julie and Matt came for Christmas Eve Day and Christmas Eve driving back to the Twin Cities on Christmas Morning. Julie and I had such fun talking wedding plans!


I took the week between Christmas and New Year's Day off and ended up sleeping most of it. I was so worn out by the pace of the month of December and getting all my paperwork caught up by the 10th and again before I took Christmas break. I worked 3 weeks of 12 hour days and it caught up with me.


New Year's Eve we had a nice dinner at home and just watched movies and played Scrabble. My kind of New Year's Eve! We had bought a bottle of Spumante but it's still in the refrigerator a month later unopened. LOL