Trouble in Paradise
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
CHRISTMAS CONFESSIONS!
I'm more excited to see my cats tomorrow than I am to see my family. I miss my fuzzy little fuuckheads.
I haven't gotten anything for my brother. He deposited 125$ into my account last week as my present. II'll probably get him a g.c. to some restaurant or just bake him some goodies. 
I just have no idea what he likes or needs.
I bought a stocking full of catnip toys for the cats.
"Yule Log "makes me giggle.
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Re: CHRISTMAS CONFESSIONS!
My MIL is sad that she didn't get a list from anyone this year. We always have our Amazon wishlists updated... so we assumed she was just looking at those. But then about a week ago, she said to H that she was bummed this Christmas becasue she didnt' get a list from anyone. H says that probably means we'll get mostly cash and/or gift cards...
And I'm THRILLED by this idea. I don't shop for myself a lot... so I LOVE getting gift cards. They're not impersonal to me at all. My sister one year bought me ONLY gift cards (a shitton of them to a bunch of my favorite stores). She wrapped them all up individually and attached them to cool things... it was one of my favorite gifts ever.
I'm secretly hoping it's cash because Darren Criss will be starring in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (on Broadway) from Jan 3rd to Jan 22nd (between DanRad and one of the Jonas brothers stints). If I get cash for Christmas- I'm planning on taking a day off and going to the city to see it by myself!
Oh... and H just got a $25k raise. I'm currently trying to convince him to buy himself a quad. And I'm also hoping that we can raise the fun money payments by $75 each paycheck. We'll see if I can get him onboard with that (I doubt it).
Currently Reading: Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
DUP.
You'll love it if you go to see it! And hooray for your H's raise! That's a pretty hefty chunk of money!
I am really hoping to get gift cards to specific places for Christmas. They're not impersonal, they're awesome. I'm broke and need highlights - a GC to my salon would be an amazing gift!
Even though I've told Mr. Bang I do not want to get engaged on Christmas again, I would totally rescind that if he were thinking of proposing.
I haven't wrapped anything. We were supposed to do it last night and watched a movie and drank wine instead.
wink- I've been dying to see it. While I'd love to see it with DanRad... Darren's my boy. And I would love to see him on Broadway.
And thank you. He's been working his azz off. He feels so much better... but I think it's more because he now knows for certain that they recognize the effort he puts in, more than it is about the money. My H stresses himself out and beats himself up easily... and it was awesome to see how relaxed he was last night.
Currently Reading: Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
That is AWESOME for your H, imoan. That's an amazing raise. And great that he's able to see that they recognize his hard work. What a fantastic Christmas gift for him! (And you, too!)
That's quite a raise - congrats mr. imoan!
We're not seeing the IL's until after Christmas, so we put off most of our Christmas shopping and haven't bought anything for H's family yet. Hello Boxing Week sales!
Also, our fridge died last week - I know...great timing! The new one is coming today, which means we can't really get groceries until tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to that, but I'm mostly sad that we have no chilled wine at home right now.
My brother is MIA again. Usually that means that he is having trouble with his depression and is holed up in his house like a hermit. I'll bring a pie over. I invited him to our house for Christmas again this year via voice message and text. We know things are going to hell when we don't hear from him. If I can woo him with a pie maybe he'll get dressed and come over. Its just H & I and the baby, but I think he gets super sad during the holidays. I lurve him, and wish I could fix it.If he declines I will still bring over leftovers so he doesn't have to worry about feeding himself. Money has been tight for him and he's living mostly off ramen unless I bring him food. His boyfriend is royal jerk, but that is a whole other TIP post in and of itself.
My Grandmother sent us lots of cookies and candy for Christmas. I am going to have H take them to work after we eat a few. I am trying to lose the baby weight and I don't need temptation around. I know she means well, but I call her twice a week. My weight loss has been a topic of conversation so I am not sure why she decided to send sweets this year. I guess its hard for her to break the habit of baking treats from when we were little. Its not a huge deal or anything, just a minor frustration. I do love her baking and the thought that she put into it. I just tend to love it TOO much, if you know what I mean. I could easily polish off a batch of the gingerbread cookies or oatmeal raisin. Its that good and a comfort food, which is dangerous right now.
My H is so adorable with Abby. He confessed last night he confessed he worked 80 hours already this week so he can spend next week with us. He is going on business in January and has already lamented how much he will miss us. I've got a great husband.
That is more of an AW, but oh well. Thank goodness for face time!
Are you in a location where it's cold now? Because I'd just put the wine on my porch and let Nature do her work!
Currently Reading: Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
We went over budget this year too. Normally my yearly bonus kicks in on the paycheck before Christmas, but whether or not we're getting one this year is up in the air. Luckily I got my deposit back from our apartment this month, so that should help make up for going over.
DH is working until 3:00 tomorrow, so we're going to miss Christmas dinner at my grandma's. It's a three and a half hour drive, plus we go from Central to Eastern time, so we'll at least be in time for dessert I hope. Either way, I'm making penguin cupcakes, so there'll be some dessert guranteed to be available.
It's actually been warm and rainy all week (except for today...it's cooled down quite a bit.) Believe me, as soon as I finish work, I am looking to rectify the situation immediately.
Random aside, Margarita-- let your fridge sit plugged in and empty for at least 24 hours before you put food in it. That way if you have some issue with the new fridge (error code or problem) you don't lose your food. You can get those great big coolers with ice for your dairy and meat in the meantime.
I can't tell you how many folks put food in right away and I got a call that it spoiled. The fridge has to work harder with food in it right off the bat.
Oh, we'll definitely wait. The coolers are a great suggestion though. Thanks Betty.
"Yule Log" makes me think of those dips that are like cream cheese with nuts around them. Except in a log shape instead of a ball. Which makes them look kind of like poo...
I volunteer for all hours surrounding Christmas at whatever job I'm working every year. It gives me more excuses to avoid family dinners. My training for my current job is all day tomorrow and I would love to work a double shift the day after Christmas.
Currently Reading: Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
They sell it already chilled at the wine store. Just buy and drink.
Congrats to Mr. Imoan. That's really fantastic.
And, I always volunteered to work on Christmas Day. Not busy, time and a half, and no guilt about not hanging out with the fam.
Imoan, that's a fantastic raise for your H - WOOHOOO!
My confession - I've been so excited for Christmas this year - my MIL will be here for several days, my sister and BIL will be staying with us for a couple of days, the Geekling is finally old enough to recognize Santa and I'm hoping he'll be able to open the majority of his presents this year. (Last year, he was just kind of "meh, whatever".) DH let me (OK, not like I really gave him a choice) open my new Kitchen Aid mixer and I've been using the hell out of it. I've been proud of myself for making stuff from scratch and with the right tool, its really a breeze (and sooo yummy)!
So, all of that being said, I don't really give a flying about my mom putting me on "blackout" for the last few days. Quite frankly, I don't even really want her here for Christmas. She's trying to make/create drama and I'm not buying into it. Part of me wants to call her and say "WTF is your problem????" but again, that would be feeding into it and I refuse to play ball. She can play her stupid little game all by herself.
I am going to have a house full of family and love this year and if she wants to try to be a Grinch, fine, we'll all just ignore her!
Geek- what color did you get your KA mixer in?
I'm still really bitter that H wouldn't let me get the "tangerine" one. He wanted black (BORING!), I wanted tangerine... we met in the middle with "caviar" (it's black but has glitter in it!)
Currently Reading: Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
Ooooh! Pretty. I like that one.
It's pathetic how long it took us to decide on a color. We ended up with cinnamon. It's a darker red. I also really like the persimmon one.
I went with the Tangerine and I love it! It was that or Green Apple so I let FB peeps decide (because I really couldn't choose - I liked them equally) and the overwhelming response was Tangerine.
I liked the caviar, too, but I'm a cheap heifer and didn't want to pay an extra $60 for it plus, I wanted some color in our kitchen!
I love it for the exact opposite reason! I mean, last year I worked with the dogs, so it wasn't any different. The dogs didn't care if it was Christmas or not. Other years it's been retail, meaning it's the busiest time of the year. I like that because the time goes by so much faster and I feel like I get to help more people with what they need. This year may be different. My new employers just moved the store across town (maybe three months ago), and it's a lower volume place than GameStop, too...
Of course, in my experience, Christmas Eve is crazy busy until about 2pm, then it's dead, so the first half of my shift will be busier than the second. Monday will be the busy day.
I love the bustle of the shoppers. I love being able to find them what they need and making sure they leave the store satisfied, especially around the holidays.
DH takes the week between Christmas and New Year's off every year. 90% of his office does, so they have a kind of "spirit week" for the people who actually come in--pajama day, crazy hair day, etc. Just like high school.