overdue

Christmas at the lopez-davies shack was pretty great.

A few days before xmas we got a huge box from my parents that was too big to be left at our door, and I had to go down to the post office to retrieve. I had to park two blocks away (and in a 30-minute zone), and the line was MADNESS and took forever. I had to carry the box two blocks, but was so glad to see that I didn't get towed, that I almost started crying from relief.

I guess I was feeling pretty stressed.

Anyway, I got home and opened it and it was filled with...lots of smaller, wrapped boxes for me and Seth to open on xmas.

Anyway, it was worth the wait (and the heavy lifting) because eventually I got:
cute purple steve madden pumps
cute purple knee-high leather boots
grey cardigan
purple silk blouse
cream denim jacket (all work clothes I desperately needed but was too broke to buy)
this awesome book about managing money that's kind of already changed my life
candy
awesome new electric toothbrush

Seth got me this fabulous electric wine opener that I love, and I got him some books he wanted and The Hangover on blu-ray. We made steaks and baked potatoes and it was pretty fabulous.

Until about 1 am when Seth got kidney stones.

After trying to take the pain meds we got from our last kidney stone adventure, we realized he was in too much pain to handle on our own, and went to the ER, where thankfully it was NOT busy and we got in right away and the staff was super nice and attentive. He got more meds, and 4 hours later, we were home. Seth was zonked out cold and I had a slight meltdown from the combination of pre-holiday stress, stress about another uninsured ER trip, and lack of sleep. While cleaning up from the night's events (he had also barfed a lot) I was sending my mom texts that probably sounded pretty upset because my dad called me immediately and we talked for at least 30 minutes. I totally spilled my guts about how stressed out I've been lately (and totally didn't realize or fully articulate until that morning) and he totally let me vent and then made me feel better in this non-patronizing, non-judgmental way that he has and that I miss a lot. After we talked, my mom called and promised that they would help us with hospital bills (the actuality of which didn't freak me out as much as being the hospital again had) and that honestly, it's ok to be stressed out, but there's nothing wrong with my life and seth was not going to die from kidney stones. Then she told me funny stories about her job and I felt better.

Seth spent a few days in recovery, but actually passed his stones pretty quickly. He was supposed to work a temp job all week, but they replaced him after he told them about the ER trip. It's kind of a bummer not to have that money, but he starts a new job tomorrow so it's fine. And it was a relief not to have to wake up at 6am to drive him to work during my week off.

Two days after xmas was our 5-year anniversary. Seth was still sore and recovering and he felt awful for ruining things, but honestly, it was nice to spend time together, at home. After he felt better we had some good talks about why I've been so stressed and I really do feel better.

Anyway we spent new year's at home. I made jalapeno poppers and we drank champagne at midnight of all the different time zones. By the time it was midnight here, we were pretty exhausted so we went to bed early :)

It's the last day of break and to be honest I'm sort of ready to go back to work tomorrow. New Year's always re-energizes me. My only resolution is to spend less money, and basically learn to do more with less. Also, not to get so stressed out. Oh, and to focus more on my job. So, three things. That book really helped me figure out how to get a handle on my spending and my stupid credit card debt (in a much more practical way than Suze Orman's "pay the minimum! or more! each month" advice).

The best thing is that Seth's temp job this week is at the school where I work :) he's working in the bookstore during book sales so we can ride in together and get lunch and stuff. He's training this afternoon so I'm going to my office for a bit to get somethings organized so it's not ridiculous tomorrow. Tomorrow is the first day of the quarter, and also when we do advising drop-ins all day for all majors. Bananas.

I also started selling back all my school books online. It's just time to get them out of here. There were so many that I'd been keeping because I didn't know if I needed them for my thesis work, and now that's done, and I really don't see myself needing most of them ever again. I'll probably keep a few, but for the most part, I'm tossing everything. I've actually had a lot of luck, I guess because school is about to start again. I've made like $100 so far! And thanks to that book, I'm not tempted to spend it on shoes/makeup/thai food. Well, sort of.

Anyway, Happy New Year! I definitely missed everyone a LOT this year. Next year a trip is definitely in order.

EDIT: We also saw Sherlock Holmes this week, and it was really good. We were at the age 21+ theater that serves burgers and beer, which always helps. Jude Law and RDJ have an amazing bromance.
(And I sold two more books online today. boosh.)