Christmas through New Year

(Warning.... this is long...... more for my own recollection than anything, lol)

The week of Christmas was a work week, filling in for the overnights, so it was busy to say the least! I was so proud of myself, because I got all my last-minute shopping finished Monday (the 22nd) and wrapped EVERYTHING on Tuesday (the 23rd), while watching Christmas movies.

Since I was working overnights, I decided that I would fill my evenings/mornings with Christmas movies. Not exactly the most professional thing to do, since I was working, lol, but I did it anyway. I LOVE Christmas movies and try to get my fill of them. And, it doesn't matter what kind.... the Classics, funny favorite films, or TV movies that you see on '25 Days of Christmas' or Lifetime, lol.

Christmas Eve, I worked, slept, and then did the family thing. I know we had things to do, but it was such a blur, I can't remember where we went, besides church!! I LOVE going to our church's Christmas Eve service. I really enjoyed that.

After church, my family went out to eat at Chili's. Long story, but it's a tradition to go to Chili's sometime during the Christmas season, usually the night we get our tree. But, since that didn't happen, we decided to go on Christmas Eve. Yummy!

About 11pm, it was time to head to work. I ran by Starbucks for a Holiday treat of a Peppermint White Mocha Frapp and a Cranberry Bliss Bar. I also picked up a slice of Gingerbread for JJ, who I was relieving. The man at Starbucks was NOT happy about working on Christmas, lol. Very grumpy. Finally, in my cheery Christmas way, I asked him how long he had to work. He grumbled, "I get off at 5:30 in the morning.".... I happily said, "I have to work til 6. We're in the same boat! Merry Christmas!"

Our Christmas Day format didn't require a lot of on-air talking, so I had LOTS of time to watch movies. It was a 6 hour shift, so I watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, The Family Stone, and Elf.

Once I was done, I headed home and was able to catch about 2 hours of sleep before the Christmas morning festivities began. We opened presents and then cleaned up. A bunch of family came over at 1pm to eat. Loads of fun. Then, about half of us went to see Bedtime Stories at 4:30om. It was a really cute movie!

Once we got home, I caught another 2 hour nap. Then, my family watched Home Alone and ate leftovers. Then, it was back to work!!

I pretty much worked non-stop from Friday until Monday night. I think like 30 hours, plus a remote. Not kidding. So, it was a blur. But, on Saturday, I was able to visit with my friend Meg. She recently had a baby, so I got to see him for the first time. There is nothing in this world like a baby falling asleep in your arms.

After a great (if slightly short!) visit with Meg, I ran to meet my step-sister Brittany for coffee and a quick gift exchange. I got both Meg's baby David and my neice Kadence personalized (Disney) "Baby's 1st Christmas" ornaments, which was fun to pick out. Kadence is 8 months old, so I had tons of fun holding her and playing, while visiting with Brittany.

Sadly, on Friday, one of my friends was let go from the station, due to the economy. It was a bit of a shock around the station when we found out that S was gone. I was supposed to cover for him, while he was on vacation, from Tuesday through Friday. But, with him being let go and his replacement (another one of my friends, who was moved from another area of the station to the overnights) taking over, I suddenly had a couple days off. It was a mixed bag of emotions, but ultimately I was relieved to have a few days off. I needed the time... I'd worked every day from the day after Thanksgiving (Nov 28) until Monday (Dec 29). Like I said, mixed feelings, but it was much needed.

So, what did I do? Well, I slept, lol. I caught up on my TV shows that I'd missed in December. I did laundry, lol. I hung out with the family. It was nice.

I went to Disney on Tuesday! (post to follow)

Wednesday was my brother's 16th birthday (more on that later), as well as New Year's Eve. I went to a party at my friend's boyfriend's house. That was fun. Welcome to 2009!

I don't think I actually left the house on New Year's Day, lol. We may have gone out to eat, but, again, such a blur. Unfortunately, that's what happens when you don't sleep enough... the days begin to run together and you can't remember what you did. Wait! I did go out! My mom, stepdad, and I went to dinner and to see Marley and Me. SOOOO good!!!

Friday was another sad shock. Another one of my friends (and who is pictured and mentioned on this blog several times) was let go. While I was sad about S, I'm fairly devastated about JJ. He's like a big brother to me. We've hung out a lot at work and almost every memory I have of JJ is of him making me crack up. I know he and his family will be ok, but it still makes me sad. He is a great guy and a real team player. This darned economy!!!

One thing that I love about this station is the people who work here. There are some characters!! And, over the past 3 1/2 years, I've made real friends with several of them. JJ is one of those. Hopefully, there won't be anymore cutbacks.... because, I really hate seeing my friends go.

Allow me to travel back to memory lane for a second....

All-Time Favorite Memory with JJ....... we had a remote at a home builders on a Sunday. I'd worked the overnight and only had like 2 hours of sleep. We got there at 9am and set up, even though no one from the company was there. The remote started at 10 and we were broadcasting in this empty neighborhood. There was about 10 houses and only one was occupied. We sat in the driveway of the model home and watched as this family came and went. At one point, we had the music going and JJ talked into the microphone, "Hello, house on the corner! If we're bothering you, we'll gladly turn the music down!" Then, at about 11:30 (after we'd been there for 2 1/2 hours and had been broadcasting for 1 1/2), we get a call from back at the station..... we were at the wrong site!!! We'd been given the wrong location. So, we had to throw everything in the van, race across town, and set up at the correct location. What was supposed to be a 10-1 quickly turned into a 10-3! It was a mess... we laughed ourselves silly the entire time (otherwise we would have cried). I wish we had a picture of us set up in the driveway, all by ourselves, in the empty neighborhood.

All-Time Favorite Memory with S.... a few months after I started working on the air and S became full-time, we both got put on the website. We'd taken pictures for it on the same day and were eagerly awaiting it being put up. Well, when it was, S's picture hadn't been cropped and his shirt was untucked. He goes, "Have you seen that picture of me? I look ridiculous.".... I looked at it and replies, "You look like one of those polygomist women in Texas." Well, S had just taken a sip of his coffee and it went right out of his nose!!! We laughed hysterically because of the coffee and the fact that he really did look like a Polygomist, lol.

Saturday came and it was time to work, again! Now, I'm back at the grind. School starts Tuesday (tomorrow the 5th) and I continue my longterm sub assignment until the 13th. Then, the 15th, I go to Memphis!!! I'm seriously SOOOO excited about it and expect several blogs recapping the trip!