Coming to a close.

Well, the holidays are almost over and we had a nice time. We had Christmas Eve in Rockford at my aunt and uncle's house with my side of the family, my favorite day of the year. For a few hours, the world slips away and everything is just perfect. It's really tough for me sometimes not living near my family - we are about 3 hours away - so Christmas Eve is even more important to me now that we live in Pontiac.

Christmas Day was spent with Mark's parents and a few of her siblings. We had a great dinner, and just relaxed for the most part in front of the fireplace.

I am excited for Mark's present to me... He is going to take me out to a fancy dinner & an activity (ice skating or something cool), an entire date day! Things have been so tight we haven't been able to do much this year, so I am really looking forward to being treated by my husband. :)

This Saturday is another holiday party with my family in Ann Arbor, at my great aunt & uncle's house. Looking forward to more food and family, especially seeing some of my out-of-staters!

I have been working at Target over the holidays, and the hours have been all over the place - both in the amount of hours and the times I'm scheduled - and I am very happy to say I will be starting in a new position with the American Cancer Society in January! I will be a Relay for Life Specialist for Eastern Macomb County; my job is essentially to support, encourage, recruit and supervise the volunteer teams for Harrison Township, Clinton Township and New Baltimore, and then to attend and support the actual events. My college and career experiences working with volunteer organizations and teams has prepared me well for this position, and I am beyond excited to be doing such fulfilling work which helps save and improve lives every day.  Mark & I have a lot of changes coming up in the new year, and we are so excited to see where this year takes us!

In other news, my Etsy shop hasn't been super lucrative, but my ledger is still in the green and I've had a few orders per month since I re-launched my shop September 16th. My shop facebook page has 188 likes, and I'm hoping to break 200 in the next few weeks! I'm currently running a 25% off after-Christmas clearance sale (with coupon code CHRISTMASCLEARANCE) so I'm hoping I can clear out a little inventory, make a few sales to tie me over until I start the new job, and make some new customers. :) I just love sharing my work with the world!

Also, my Drake will be 7 next month! He is starting to have a few old dog tendencies, but is still very energetic and ridiculous. Love my big baby boy.

Baby Drakers, the day I brought him home (he is 3 months old here), 5-4-07

Spring 2009 at WMU, age 2

Summer 2011, age 4

His birthday, 1-7-13

So that's what's going on right now. I'm very hopeful, especially with this new career path, that this year will be our best year yet.... once we get through this tough after-Christmas expense time first.

Love to you & yours, & happy holidays!

Emily

Movie suggestion: The Wolverine; great movie for fans of the comics and pop culture of the X-Men alike. This film explores Logan's time in Japan after the loss of Jean Grey and Professor X. Very good! And of course, Hugh Jackman looks amazing.