Ten on Tuesday

1. It's almost Christmas Eve, my favorite day. It doesn't matter how old I get ... the anticipation just doesn't go away.
2. Ryan from my office had his wife bring their baby, Nolan, into the office yesterday. He's eight months old. I have determined that eight months is the perfect age for squishing. I just love this kid! He just smiles and gurgles at me. I wish he was here every day.
3. Speaking of babies, my friend Diane is going to have one any moment now. I can't wait to meet him.
4. It's snowing again. We can't have more than 24 hours without snow here, it seems. It's crazy, but I'm managing it okay. Just taking it easy, and trying to travel at off-peak times so I don't have to make another three-hour drive to go nine miles.
5. Patrick and Ed's house in Oak Park is perfection. Sure, it's old, a little bit run down, a little bit drafty. But somehow it feels like home. At least that's how it felt on Sunday when the Lake Geneva Rathundes plus Amber and me descended upon it. It was a wonderful day of being surrounded with love.
6. I'm gonna have more days like that! Tomorrow I will be with Patrick's family in Aurora, after which I will be with my actual blood family in Montgomery, through dinner on Christmas. Then the following weekend, I will be in Jacksonville with the Carlson/Rice family. It's like a two-week love fest, and I'm in the middle of it right now, soaking up the goodness!
7. I am the proud owner of a shiny new airline ticket. On February 6, I'm heading to Tucson to spend a weekend with Mike, Racheal and Kaylee. It's a short trip, as most of mine are, but it will be great to get out of the cold for a little while, and only miss a half day at work.
8. How did I procure said airline ticket, you ask? I had made a deal with myself that if I got a bonus this year at work, I would give that to myself with no guilt. And I'll be damned - today bonuses came through. I was hoping I would be able to afford both a plane ticket and a digital camera with this year's bonus, but they were smaller this year since our sales aren't as rockstar high as they've been in the past. So guess what? The ticket (before the service charges) amounted to about $2 less than my bonus. Isn't that amazing?
9. On the subject of my work, I can't say enough how grateful I am to be working for a company that seems stable and maybe even a little bit thriving in today's economy. I have learned so much in the last two years. I am a better writer, a better employee, a better person since I began working for an undisclosed company. After the rocky road I took to get here, I do not take it for granted. I realize with every day that I am indeed fortunate to not only have a job, but a job I love.
10. My Christmas wish this year is pretty simple. I wish that all those I love would be healthy, happy and surrounded with love; that they would all treasure fulfilling work and joyous relationships; that the coming year brings them more smiles than tears; and that Santa would bring me Kenny Chesney.