December in Review

On Wednesday, December 1 I had dinner with Rachel at Itto Sushi. Don't worry, I get shrimp/cooked rolls. I realized I forgot her present, so Matthew had to bring it for me. He sat and chatted with us while we waited for his order to go. Raytch and I wandered around World Market after dinner, and I came out with things I don't need, of course--clotted cream, coffee chocolate macadamia nuts, shortbread cookies, and I needed sugar free peppermint Torani syrup (which I found, thankfully!). 

December 2 we had Matthew's work Christmas party downtown at the Grand America. We didn't get any photos of or with each other, so that's a bummer. He lost all his chips except $10, which put him at the bottom of the prize picking list. But he still picked out some wireless Bose headphones for me, which I'm excited to get for Christmas. 

Friday, December 3 we had an appointment at the Birth Center! I did what I could to get ready for Saturday, including wrapping prizes and getting a box of supplies ready to take to my grandma's. We left at about 6:10 for Saratoga Springs to see our nephew Isaac in his high school play called You Can't Take it with You. It was really fun, and he did a great job! His aunt Shelley came and brought her five kids too, so he had a big fan club. 

December 4 was busy. I got up early to clean and start laundry. I got to the gym. The big event of the day was Amoreena's bridal shower. Arianna (a girl from work) dropped off the cake at my place while I was at the gym. I hauled everything to grandma's and got set up. Her mom Terry helped me blow up and put up balloons, and prep the food. Aunt Jessica texted that she couldn't come and wouldn't bring Chloe either since she didn't want to be left alone. We got started pretty late with our small group--just grandma, mom, Terry, Amy, April, myself, and Amoreena, of course. Mom made chicken salad croissant sandwiches. Everything turned out really well, I think. I got lots of nice feedback on the cake. I hit traffic on the way home. Amoreena sent me home with a cute baby basket with onesies and wash clothes, and a blueberry loaf that was super delicious. I did client check-ins. We ate leftovers for dinner and had a Christmas treat taste-off. Sadly, I didn't like any of the treats; Matthew liked the orange roll. I had our teenage neighbor take them off our hands. 

Sunday, December 5 was pretty busy. I got gas at Costco, and went in for dog food and a rotisserie chicken. I went to Wal-mart, but they didn't have two of the three things I went there for, so that was frustrating. Then I drove to Midvale to drop off my Secret Santa gift I did through Fitbliss. Hopefully she liked it. I went on several walks. I did two chapters of my textbook while Matthew was at his mom's storage unit. I did some meal prep for myself to try and minimize post-lunch heartburn this week at work. Matthew and I watched the first three episodes of Hawkeye. 

December 6 we went to see lights at Cross E. Ranch. I thought it was a drive through like last year, but nope. It was a walking situation. I found out an hour before we left, thankfully, so we could dress appropriately. I feel there were less lights than last year, but I could be wrong. Their donuts are still the best. 

Tuesday, December 7 was my dad's birthday. I sent him pho for lunch on GrubHub since he is sick. I waited too long to call him, and he was already in bed by 8, and I still feel terrible about it. Matthew and I just hung out at home and talked about parenting. 

December 8 was my grandma's (and also my aunt's and cousin's) birthday. I sent her a Storyworth subscription, which I'm really excited about. So I came over to give her a card and talk to her about it. Matthew wanted to go to Trader Joe's to get me some papaya enzymes. So we went there but didn't find any. We did get some Greek Louks and go to Walmart. 

Thursday, December 9 my name got picked to choose a prize under the billing department Christmas tree, so that was fun. My prize was a six pack of pocket tissue, which is super fitting for me, especially on the two year anniversary of Mucus Lucas. In the evening, we went to Luminaria. I bought tickets weeks in advance before knowing it would snow, and when I called to see if I could swap, they said it costs $10 to switch, and it's an rain/snow/shine event, so I was a little stressed it would be unpleasantly cold and wet and not enjoyable. While it was wet, cold, and windy, and snow kept getting in my eyes, it was still really beautiful. 

December 10 was a quiet night at home. We started cleaning and watched a Christmas movie. Right when I was heading into bed, my dad texted that he was going into the ER with COVID complications. I didn't have his club brothers' phone numbers so it was a bit of added stress. I'm grateful that Matthew was so supportive and wonderful and sensitive to my concerns. I was up late just sort of waiting to hear something. 

Saturday, December 11 was an emotional day. I woke up to texts that my dad has COVID and pneumonia. I struggled to get my normal tasks done and ended up just doing my workout at home. I was just super worried about my dad, and Matthew was a great support to me. That evening we got Chick Fil A and stopped at our neighbor's for his open house. I managed to finish cleaning and laundry eventually. 

December 12 I was able to do a little more than Saturday, since it seemed like my dad was stable. I got groceries but had to stop at Smith's and Walmart since Smith's didn't have all that I needed. I made sugar cookie dough first. I made oatmeal coconut chocolate chip cookies second, Chinese chews third, and muddy buddies last. Then I waited until around 7 to start baking the sugar cookies (the dough has to chill). I finished around 9pm. It felt like a long day, and I watched FOUR movies!: Polar Express, Edward Scissorhands, and Frozen 1 and 2. 

Monday, December 13 was a Monday. Not much else to add here. I felt distracted most of the day, and didn't get much done at home after work. I did go pick up my SIL's fetal Doppler from Matthew's cousin who was hanging onto it for us. 

December 14 I got a call from my dad's doctor about his oxygen going "the wrong direction," and a discussion about intubation. So I was a wreck but had an interview at Big Mountain Barbell for a work from home position. The interview went well anyway. Matthew showed our upstairs neighbor how to take care of the cat and fish. We packed for CA. 

Wednesday, December 15 was a crazy ordeal. It snowed all night, and of course we needed to leave before any plowing had been done at all. I got us stuck pulling out of my parking spot. Matthew drove, and it took us forever to get to Jim's, where we were dropping off Dexter and hoping for a ride to the airport. But we got there 30 minutes later than we intended. We ended up dropping off the dog and driving ourselves to the airport and using daily parking. While we waited in line for security, I got notification that our flight was delayed. While we were waiting for breakfast, I got notice that our flight was canceled. I found us a new one in a few hours, but it would go to Santa Ana instead of Ontario. That flight got delayed several times. We didn't get to CA until 5pm. But considering there were people waiting for flights from the night before, it was lucky we got to fly out that same day. Jared & Amo picked us up. We sat in traffic all the way home. We got dinner at Corner Bakery.  

December 16 was sort of a slow and frustrating day. We put together a care basket to take to my dad at the hospital. We got a Christmas tree. The boys put the lights on, and we decorated that night. A friend of my dad's said he would drop by after 2 with some food for us. I didn't get a specific time and didn't want to pester, but I ended up waiting all day for him, and he never came. It threw off the rhythm of the whole day, along with things coming up that kept Matthew out way longer than expected. I had hoped to go to a Christmas dinner thing with his mom's side of the fam, but I didn't want to be late, so I just didn't go. It was generally a weird day; I said something I shouldn't have and hurt my youngest brother's feelings. I apologized and hope we're OK now, but still feel terrible. That morning the doctor said that my dad would be moved to a lower acuity level and had a blood clot in his lung, which actually was a better explanation of my dad's increased oxygen needs.

Friday, December 17 I tried to get busy around the house. I cleaned out the hallway cabinet, got a COVID test, and got some groceries. I made some cookies for my brothers. I visited my dad in the hospital. He was pretty out of it that day. That evening we got dinner at Casa del Rey, all the siblings and partners except Kellie. 

December 18 I went on a walk and went on a hunt for some Fairlife Shakes. I'm not sure why CA hates them so much, because I could not find them anywhere. I started to clean out another room in my dad's house. We did sibling gift exchanges. I went to visit my dad again. I did more work on the room in the house, and wrapped some gifts for my brother's girlfriend, and for my dad from me. 

Sunday, December 19 I was up early. We got breakfast at Peppertree Cafe. Jason joined us. I called the nurse for an update, and she said that the rules changed, and the COVID unit couldn't have visitors. This was literally minutes after my brother paid a lot of money to get the rapid test to see my dad--super disappointing. After taking us to the airport, he still gave it the college try to go see my dad. Thankfully, they made an exception for him with his persistence. He got to visit our dad for two hours. Our flight landed safely. We got the dog, got home, unpacked, and Matthew picked up food for us. We ate and  watched The Witcher. 

December 20 I couldn't manage to get up, so I slept in. Work was busy. We ate leftovers and watched the Witcher. 

Tuesday, December 21 I went to the gym and had a good workout. I took a COVID test before work so I could go to the Home Alone symphony on Wednesday. I started coughing a ton at work around 3:30pm. I had some cough drops and took cough medicine when I got home. That evening I had a wax appointment. I ate some soup and went to bed early because I didn't feel well at all. I woke up at midnight to see a text with my test results: positive for COVID. I called to leave a message at my physical therapist's office because I had an appointment scheduled for Wednesday morning I obviously couldn't go to. 

December 22 I texted my bosses about my test results. I had Matthew go get my computer from work; I worked from home all day. I contacted my doctor's office. The nurse called me and said I qualified for monoclonal antibodies since I am pregnant and considered high risk. I didn't anticipate that process to take so long. The shots were quick (and more uncomfortable than I expected), but I had to be observed for 45-60 minutes. I ended up getting worse before I got better. My temp got all the way up to 101.9. My whole body hurt, and my head felt like it might explode. I stayed in contact with my midwife for taking Tylenol and things. The fever broke; I woke up drenched in sweat that night. The good news of Wednesday was that my dad got home from the hospital--well before Christmas and earlier than expected.  

Thursday, December 23 I woke up feeling a lot better. Lots of allergy-type symptoms: sneezing and stuffy nose. I worked from home again and watched Christmas movies. 

December 24 was just another quiet day at home. I felt better most of the day but not as great toward bedtime; then Matthew didn't feel very well. We watched Christmas movies. We finished the Witcher. We both put together each other's stockings before bed. 

My new water bottle from Kellie. It's so helpful.

On Christmas we did stockings first. Matthew made us breakfast. We watched Christmas Vacation and Miracle on 34th Street. Matthew was tired and felt pretty yucky most of the day. We did our presents to each other. He went way overboard for me. Then we did Face Time with Jared and Amoreena. Later in the day I did Face Time with my mom, and even later than that with my dad. 

Matthew said he couldn't find a Christmas bag in my stash. 

My stocking from my sweet husband

December 26 I finished a book (Wundersmith) and started a new one (Cilka's Journey). I walked on my treadmill. 

Monday, December 27 I lifted weights at home. I worked at home, mostly on expense reports. That night, we watched Ron's Gone Wrong on Disney Plus. 

December 28 I lifted weights at home again. I worked at home and had a couple of meetings. We finished watching Hawkeye, and we watched Encanto. We ordered Zupas for dinner. 

Wednesday, December 29 I walked on my treadmill. I was back to work since the CDC dropped the isolation period from 10 days to 5 days. It was day 8 anyway, and I had felt pretty good since Friday and Saturday. Plus I don't even sit by anyone. I also got groceries after work since we needed a few things. 

December 30 I went to work and took down Christmas decorations there. I set up Trainerize as a coach and put in a few workouts I had previously designed. That evening, Matthew fixed the garbage disposal that had been jammed. I started taking down decorations at home. 

Friday, December 31 was incredibly busy. I went back to the gym finally (I worked out at home all week), but I accidentally deadlifted WAY more weight than I ever have. I did the math wrong on my first set. I dropped the weight for my other sets. But I paid for it with my back over the weekend, especially because we stayed so busy. We had our midwife appointment in the morning and had lunch at Gandolfo's after that. We went to the storage unit to get the Christmas bins. We took down Christmas, which isn't too much work except for putting away the fake tree and the Harry Potter village. We organized a little bit, got the bookshelves moved on either side of the TV, and cleared off the third bookshelf to sell. I am super happy with how the house looks right now. We will have a big open spot that I expect will be crowded with baby things in just a few months. I did my Top 9 post, which took some time since I review the year's events. I did the weekend cleaning while Matthew ran errands. We spent New Year's Eve at home. We made Lil Smokies, stuffed mushrooms, and ham, and we watched Dr. Who. My whole body was suffering by the end of the day. 

Overall the month of December was a rocky one, honestly. But it had some bright moments, and brought a lot of gratitude as my dad healed and came home much sooner than expected. Our Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve looked a lot different than we hoped or expected. But again, we were sick and then well again very quickly, which I am so grateful for.

2022 feels a little daunting to me, to be honest. I am generally a "one day at a time" kind of person, but with a baby coming, I still feel there is so much left to do. And I know my biggest challenges (and also the most beautiful moments) lie ahead. Just trying to gear up. 

Books I read in December:

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin (started in October)
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (audiobook)
Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (audiobook)

Notable that I met my reading goal. I set out to read 36 books this year (3 per month). I read 38. Goodreads says 39 because I read one title twice. But this wouldn't have happened without audiobooks. That's how I'm getting most of my reading done each year. Excited to see how much reading I can do while I spend a few weeks at home with baby boy.