Work last week went well. I may have enjoyed the fact that people were bringing in cookies and chocolates and the fact that there was a steady supply of decent hot chocolate right there a little bit too much. But, well, it’s just a little sugar? I did do some Christmas baking last week  – shortbread and sugar cookies. I’d brought the shortbread into work to share with people, and they seemed to like it (I went home with an empty box) and some people came by my desk for seconds (or thirds, for some people). What’s interesting about going to work during the winter (as opposed to the summer) is that people have a very different dynamic that what I’m used to. They honestly act differently during winter than they do in the summer. It was very difficult to put my finger on it at first, and then I figured out that people act differently. I don’t know, it was just some weird observation that I had. But what was really nice was actually being able to go in and say Merry Christmas to people and get to bring in the cookies I made for people at work myself (I generally send a plate or box with my mom and she’ll relay the comments to me later).

Overall, Christmas was the same as always. My parents spent hours arguing (normal), my father gave me an I.O.U. (expected) and we changed boxes of chocolate with our neighbours (oddly enough, we gave them a box of hedgehogs, they gave us a box of hedgehogs – first year we’ve ever given the same thing, right down to the brand!). I don’t know why I expect things to change (mainly referring to the arguing part of my Christmas), but I do.

And what post-Christmas blog post would this be if I didn’t talk about what kind of loot I got?

• Chocolates (hedgehogs and Lindt – the double-milk chocolate bar)
• Cookies
• Beads
• Glass tank (as a new enclosure for my pet)
• Cash (always useful)
• An I.O.U. that stated that I was owed one Christmas gift (I also got a similarly worded piece of paper for my birthday)

For Boxing Day, I ventured out to go shopping. Oddly enough, one of the malls I went to wasn’t particularly crowded at all. And there was actual parking spots available, many of them! My Boxing Day loot is as follows:

• Cosmetics, 4 nail polishes, 1 lipstick – $0.99/each
• Bear plush, wearing a scarf (approx. 9″ in height, maybe?) – $1
• Clothes, 4 shirts – there was a buy one, get one free promotion (1 that could essentially double as a bustier or just a fancy top, one that’s super pretty with a little flower print and works well as a work/office or formal-setting shirt) and 2 were on clearance (a tank top and a V-neck tee) – $30 (BOGO portion was $20 by itself)
• Santa Hat ($3.50)
• Chocolate, discounted because it came in a clear tree-shaped box – deliciousness at only $3
• Tall snowflake mug/cup/thing – $0.50 (I’m going to use it to hold yarn needles)

Overall, Boxing Day was a win because I was a) out of the house, b) did a little retail therapy, c) got a gorgeous top on sale and d) got discounted holiday-themed chocolate. It tastes just the same as non-holiday-themed chocolate, honest. And it doesn’t even expire until 2012… Not that it would last that long anyways!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas weekend! I, for one, a looking forward to a bit nicer weather so I can set up my glass tank. I also have 2 days of work this week (Wednesday and Thursday) and then another four-day weekend before I start school again on the Tuesday of next week. I’m mostly looking forward to spending some time with my boyfriend than spending time at home, hehe.