Day 51: The Joy of Being Lazy

I'm not usually one who stays in bed all morning. I consider myself a morning person and I'm usually quite antsy by 8 am to get out of bed and get my day started. Not yesterday. Another peaceful, relaxing day of winter break fell upon us, and I decided to cherish it before the hustle and bustle of family vacation begins. Maizey and I decided we didn't feel like getting out of bed yesterday morning, so we didn't. We just snuggled and cuddled under the covers and turned on the Today Show. I didn't stress about getting up to finish the errands that needed to be run or the phone calls that needed to be made. We just lay there and enjoyed the company of each other and Matt Lauer. It was a blissful morning, and I feel energized and ready to tackle the trip to Florida today to spend the weekend with the Voticky clan (well most of it). Vacation, here we come!

My snuggle buddy. Pure deliciousness.

 

Day 50: Happiness Overload

If I haven't made it clear, I really love winter break. I am oozing with joy as I get to sip my coffee in the morning slowly and read a book (I actually finished it today!) with Maizey curled at my feet. I love that I can enjoy watching the snow fall and not stress about having to drive in it. Vacation should be mandatory for all Americans. I think I'll write President Obama about some new legislation -- The Vacation for All Bill of 2010.

Today, I got to do some more house chores that often get neglected, I had lunch with a dear friend from work, and got to spend some quality time with the cutest baby I know. She's seriously the happiest baby ever. She's got such a personality and her laugh is infectious.

It's starting to get dark out (yes, at 4:30 pm). I'm sitting here with a glass of wine, watching Maizey chew on her bone and just trying to soak up every ounce of winter break that I can. It goes by too fast... but, man, it has brought tons of happiness in such a short amount of time. 

I stole this picture off Allie's blog... and while it's not from today, it just radiates happiness. I love this kid to pieces.

Day 49: Home Sweet Home

It's amazing how productive one can be when they aren't working full time. I feel spoiled that I get two weeks of vacation, but trust me, these days are not wasted away. After catching up on some much needed sleep this weekend, I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to conquer my Monday. I spent two hours cleaning my house from top to bottom this morning. I mean hands-and-knees scrubbing the floors, washing every towel and piece of laundry that has been neglected, and Windexing every window. It was therapeutic cleaning. The kind of cleaning where you can't stop once you've started.

A long-shower-and-many-errands-knocked-off-the-list later, I curled up on the couch and continued reading The Help (I can't put it down!) Maizey's pretty pooped from a long day's work...

Day 48: Izzy's Holiday Bash

Today, Rick and I were invited to celebrate the holidays with Izzy and her plethora of baby friends! Allie did such a fantastic job hosting such a cute party. She went all out... delicious food, festive decorations and she even made personalized picture frames for each of her guests. Of course, the main attraction was the adorableness that is Izzy. She was radiating cuteness as usual, and it was pretty impossible to stop smiling the whole time we were there. Thanks for hosting such a fun shindig, Iz (and Allie and Hart)!

Izzy loves her Uncle Rick

The adorable frames Allie made! (Who knew she was so creative??)

Cutest reindeer on the block!

Day 47: It's Winter Break... and It Feels Good!

Saturday was the first official day of winter vacation. Man, it feels good. My body was so exhausted from the past weeks' craziness, that it was begging for some relaxation. So, I gave in. I got my favorite blanket, cozied up on the couch with Maizey and decided to re-try reading a book that almost everyone has recommended to me. This time around, I'm really loving it. It's funny how a little time off from work can change your outlook on just about anything :)

Day 46: Hockey in Luxury

Rick scored some pretty fancy seats for the Blackhaws/Red Wings game Friday night. He was given four box seats from a client, and we took full advantage of all the perks that came with it. I had never been to a Blackhawks game before, nor had I sat in a luxury box before. Needless to say I was impressed. The box was stocked with booze and food, and the seats were amazing.

Even more, sitting in the box next to us was a former Red Wings player who Rick got to meet. If you know anything about Rick, you know his passion for Detroit sports teams. I don't see Rick get giddy often, but when he came and asked me to take a picture of him with this guy he had a smile on his face similar to the one I used to have when I went to a Backstreet Boys Concert. So cute.

The boys checking out the goods...

Rick and his celebrity moment!

Day 45: Christmukkah!

It's the MOST wonderful time of the year... I have been looking forward to this night all year and it finally came! Last year, Adrienne and I decided to host a Christmukkah sleepover party at my house for the night before the last day of school. We invited our dearest friends from work, arranged a Secret Santa gift exchange and enforced a strict "pajama wearing only" rule!

While last year's shin dig was fabulously fun, this year's was even better! Somehow, I convinced Rick to sleep out that night so we could have the house to ourselves and not worry about waking him up. We also had some newbies who came this year! We all got a pair of holiday socks, we changed into our jammies quickly and the party began! We drank champagne out of the fancy crystal (to celebrate Steph and Elle's recent Masters graduations!) and devoured some fancy pizzas on paper plates. We exchanged gifts, gossiped galore, and snuggled with each other in every nook of the living room.

By the time we decided to go to sleep, we were all so exhausted we couldn't muster the thought of going to work the next day. But, we managed to wake up the next morning, and Adrienne cooked burned some bacon and hash browns for breakfast.

It was yet another very successful Christmukkah, and I'm already counting down until next year.

Happy Winter Break Hoffmanites!