Sunday, December 15, 2013

Snow, Candles, Christmas


My Birthday Wish Came True
We just may have a White Christmas!


It's really cold but just so pretty outside. Today the family is going out for Sunday Brunch for my birthday - it's an annual tradition. Mr and Mrs Claus are there as well so it's so much fun with the little one.

This week flew by in a blur with so much going in at work (non work-related). There was a staff appreciation holiday breakfast one day, lunch with the president another day, wellness lunch another day. As my husband always says, "how do people get any work done where you work?"  Truth is working in an academic environment is just so different from most jobs. They are employee friendly - great about arriving late and leaving early, last minute time off, and they try to do a lot of little things for us as well like summer picnics, turkey raffles etc. because there are no year end bonuses for us like in a corporate environment.  The biggest perk however, for me, is the annual winter break where the college closes and pays us to stay home. This year I'll be off from Dec 20th - Jan 6th with pay! I'm so excited. Hope have a nice slower paced time to prep for Christmas,  go to Vermont for a few days, lunch with friends and time with granddaughter as well and I'm sure I'll see a few movies and read a few books as well.

This week's plans include: picking up a few small gifts, wrapping them, baking cookies, writing a few reviews: Eleanor and Park (loved it) and The Preservationist (really good as well), and thinking about my Top 10 list for 2013. Have you decided on your best reads for 2013 yet?

Have a Nice Sunday All!

24 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fun time and we hope you get the snow you want!!!

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  2. Happy Birthday, Diane! We are deluged with snow and hope it looks as pretty on Christmas.

    Harvee
    Book Dilettante

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  3. We are hibernating like bears in all the snow we got yesterday. Drifted so I don't know how much but probably about 8". I loved The Preservationist too. Too many good books this year to pick the best.

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  4. You do sound busy, but like you've been having a fun time too. Happy Birthday! :)

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  5. Happy birthday! I hope your wish comes true!

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  6. Happy Birthday! Personally, I would not wish for (more) snow. I think I would wish that I were magically transported to a house on the ocean in San Diego or something… I think your wish has a better chance of coming true! :--)

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  7. Happy Birthday, Diane! Enjoy the brunch:)

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  8. Happy Birthday! I am worried our snow is going to switch to rain. I really wanted a white Christmas, too. :(

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  9. Happy Birthday!!
    I sure would love some snow, but since I live in Florida it's probably not going to happen...although it did snow a few days ago for the first time in 100 years in Cairo, Jerusalem and areas of Syria.

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  10. Happy birthday, Diane!
    May your days be merry and bright....

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  11. Dang - I KNEW there was a reason I wanted to be a teacher for so many years! Happy birthday and enjoy your snow!

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  12. Happy Birthday. Your plans for the week sound preferable to the rush that many people will be experiencing.

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  13. Belated happy birthday. How exciting to have that much time off! I'm sure you'll enjoy every minute of it.

    You reminded me I need to look at my reading list to see what books I rated the highest. Looking forward to your end of year post. Have a wonderful Christmas!! {{Hugs}}

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  14. Happy birthday :) Have a lovely holiday - I'm very envious. Make sure you do lots and lots of reading!

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  15. Happy Birthday! I hope it was great!

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  16. Happy birthday! I get those two weeks off for the holidays as well. I can hardly wait! Enjoy your time!

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  17. Happy birthday! I get those two weeks off for the holidays as well. I can hardly wait! Enjoy your time!

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  18. Happy Birthday. We have lots of snow here. I would be happy to have it all blow your way. :) Have a great Holiday break from work. My company never gave us bonuses either but they were always very nice to us. I still miss that job!

    Is that your cardinal photo? I have 5 cardinals hanging out at my feeders but no way will they pose for a photo. I open the door or window and they scatter and hide.

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  19. Happy Birthday! I'm taking vacation between Christmas and New Year's, but, boy, would love that nice long break! I don't think I'll get much reading time with all the kids home for a visit, but hope you do!

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  20. Sounds like a lot of fun - and the paid time off sounds even better! I can;t wait to read Eleanor and Park, especially now that it is appearing on so many Best of 2013 lists.

    I like to include EVERYthing I read in the year, so I wait until early January to compile my Best of the year lists, though I know of some books that will definitely make the list this year.

    Enjoy your books this week and all the holiday fun!

    Sue

    Book By Book

    Book by Book is now on Facebook!

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  21. Happy Belated Birthday, Diane! Hope you had a wonderful time celebrating. I work in a corporate environment and this year we get two weeks off too - I'm beyond excited. It's been a rough couple of months so I am looking forward to enjoying the holiday season. Sounds like you will have lots of fun things to do too!

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  22. Happy birthday, Diane! Belated, I know, but think of it as an extension of your special day. :-)

    Snow is something I am glad I live far away from. LOL I am not a cold person. I envy you your paid time off from work. I took a few days off for Christmas, but I am not sure how much relaxing I'll be able to do during that time. I'm just looking forward to a break from work.

    I hope you enjoy the rest of the week.

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  23. Happy belated birthday, Diane! The downtime sounds heavenly to me :)

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