Peaks and Pits

On working the overnight shift:

Pits

1. The obvious - unless you hate sunlight, working overnight is not ideal for anyone

2. Leaving my warm bed at 10 pm and venturing into the cold night

3. Struggling at maintaining any sort of routine

4. Sleeping during beautiful days

5. I find myself really, really tired, a lot of the time

Peaks

1. I appreciate the daytime SO much more

2. Errands and shopping are way less painful - no hassle or crowds

3. No traffic on the drive to and from work... ever!

4. I have an excuse to stay in my pj's ALL day

5. I so look forward to the time I do get to spend with Felix

*6. I love the other overnight staff

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a MERRY MERRY Christmas.

[Frohe Weihnachten]

Date Mornings

Between my work schedule and Felix's classes, we aren't left with tons of free nights when I'm not exhausted or when we don't have other things to get done. Like I said before, this situation has caused us to be much more creative when planning our weekly dates. 'Date Night'  can be a very flexible term, and as long as we set aside a specific block of time to do something out of our normal routine, I call that successful. A few weeks ago, we scheduled a date morning, in which I was in charge of food and Felix was in charge of the activity. I tried my hand at a version of this breakfast pizza I found online. I wasn't prepared and didn't have all of the ingredients - I replaced sausage with turkey bacon, and I used salsa as the pizza sauce - and it certainly didn't look pretty, but it turned out okay!

Inspired by our fun night out at Canvas and Cocktails in Cherry Creek last month, Felix brought home a couple of blank canvases and tons of paint supplies. We enjoyed breakfast while pretending to be artistic which was a great way to start the day.

Today, we slept in until 9 (amazing!) and tried out a new breakfast place in Capitol Hill. I was recommended a few fun places in that area by a friend who lives there and I am determined to try ALL of them. Jelly's yummy food paired with the adorable diner atmosphere made for a very pleasant morning. They make homemade jelly, fresh every morning and it's a different flavor every day. We were impressed with our meals and if we weren't stuffed enough, we topped the meal off with their famous donut holes filled with house jelly, creamy custard, chocolate, and cinnamon sugar. They were out of this world delicious. The kind of thing you can make room for at the end of any meal. I am excited to go back, maybe for brunch with friends, and enjoy their specialty mimosas!

Bellingham, WA

A few weeks ago, I went to visit my younger (bigger) brother in Bellingham, WA. With the exception of the 2 full days spent traveling (flight to Seattle then 2.5 hour bus ride to Bellingham), it was a wonderful few days and I am so happy I made the trip.



  

Since I went during his week (my weekend), he had classes to go to so I spent some alone time, enjoying the killer view from his studio apartment, cleaning and wandering/getting lost in the town.

I grocery shopped for him and made him and his friends chili and tested out these s'more cookies. 

If you ever get the chance to visit WA, in addition to spending time in Seattle, I highly recommend visiting Bellingham. It is a picturesque pacific northwest town. While fall is usually full of rainy days, my few days were gorgeous - warm and sunny!

He graciously decided to skip all of his classes one day and we spent the afternoon wandering through Fairhaven, a small affluent suburb located on the edge of Bellingham Bay, full of high-end boutiques and stellar restaurants. After some fish and chips that rivaled even those we ate in Australia, we took a nap and finished deep cleaning his whole apartment. It was the first time his bathroom floor had seen a mop - what wonderful sisterly influence I have.

On my last night, Christopher, his girlfriend and I went to a wonderful seafood dinner overlooking the water and completed the night watching Toy Story 3. I left early the next morning and got home just in time to head to work at 10:30 pm.

I am so proud of him and it was great to get a glimpse of the life he's made for himself out there. He graduates in 6 short months. I am so excited to see what is next for him, and I have no doubt I will continue to be proud.

I love you baby brother!

Welcome December

Yesterday was outrageously beautiful and sunny (Felix went to lunch in shorts and flip-flops!). It was a perfect ending to a glorious November. 

This morning, we woke up in our toasty warm bed and excitedly pulled open the curtains to reveal a snow covered ground. We watched in silence as the thick flakes continued to fall and stick to the already 4 inch layer of fluff. So we say, WELCOME DECEMBER! We are excited for what this month is bringing; lots of family and presents and more snow, just to name a few.

Our back porch

Short of anxiously watching the names of schools scroll across the bottom of the TV screen during the news in anticipation of a SNOW DAY, we treated today much like I used to on snow days back when I was in high school. Super lazy morning which blended into an afternoon of PJ's and hot chocolate.

I'm not like most people where I start anticipating Christmas as soon as (or maybe a little before) Thanksgiving is over. I don't believe in decorating, listening to Christmas tunes, or even lighting my favorite cinnamon spice candles any earlier than December 1. But now that it's December.. bring on the Christmas decorations and everything that comes with it!

Sir Toby, my parent's cat, posing by the new tree

Happy happy December!