Year end

I have much to say about 2010, but it will have to wait until later... M & I are heading out to start our day of celebrating: lunch at at one of our favorite restaurants, a movie, a meet-up with some friends, and finally, another movie & Dick Clark at home. As much as I enjoy a good party, I'm happy to just kick back and have a low-key end to the year.

Happy New Year! :-)

Christmas wrap up

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas (or whatever variation of Christmakwanzakah you celebrate)... as usual, we had a crazy-fun holiday and I was completely spoiled by M and my friends. I know I say this every year, but I totally made out this year! I got a sweet new camera, a car stereo (my current one is in sad shape), jewelry (including a Hello Kitty necklace & a pair of earrings from this line, books*, shoes, and various gift cards/certificates (a local salon/spa, The Body Shop, a few clothing stores, an Indian restaurant in our neighborhood & a voucher for theatre tickets). I also gave myself a beautiful pair of Nine West boots that I have been coveting for months. So, so spoiled. Of course, it's not just all about the presents (there's all that love, bonding, and sharing with friends & family), but really, who wants to hear about that mushy crap? The loot list is far more interesting. ;-)

Unfortunately, I also ended up with nasty cold that kept me inside for three days. It was some seriously icky super cold! In fact, it was so bad that I actually ended up napping for most of the first day, which I rarely do - I think that was my second or third nap of 2010. Thankfully, it's mostly gone now (thanks to an aggressive Umcka & vitamin D routine) and I was given the okay by Dr. M to return to the outside world yesterday (he refused to let me leave the house the previous days). I've also finally recovered from my week of booze and bad food, so I'm once again fully functional. Yay!
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*A special thanks to my Booklovers Secret Santa, Jules! I am already devouring the book (well, I'm also sobbing my way through it - the tears were flowing two pages into it!). You picked the perfect book for me!  :-)

Merry!

Have a wonderful Christmas!

I'll be back next week, once I recover from the festivities (mostly from the copious amounts of alcohol I consumed this week). I think my week-long state of tipsiness, drunkenness, or hungover-ness (yes, I realize that's not really a word - and yes, I'm still slightly in that state) may be a slight indication that I've had a wee bit too much merry this season. ;-)

Woo-hoo!

I love winter break!!!!!!!!!! :-)

I am having a fabulous time (well, minus the pounding hangover headache I'm currently suffering)... I had a blast at the burlesque class (more about this later), partied my ass off at the Solstice gathering, baked up an army of cookies at The Chopping Block with D (including an anatomically correct/frustrated gingerbread man!), and had another awesome night out with my former student (along with two of her friends & her father). Tomorrow night, I'm headed down to a swanky hotel on the Mag Mile with Beebs for a mini-girls getaway - we're planning to hit up the Christkindlmarket (all sorts of crazy mulled alcohol & German food) & the various other holiday events (well, not the ice skating rink - I really don't feel like smashing my face into a giant slab of ice).

Let me just say it again: no school = super awesome happy comebacknikki time! Yay! I love it! :-)

Our little green tree... I finally retired the little red one

Cookies! :)

Winter Spiral (Solstice party)

Freedom!

The essays, portfolios, and exams have all been read, final grades have been submitted, and the students have been sent on their merry way (well, there was one who was not so merry... perhaps if she wanted to stay merry, she shouldn't have turned in another student's final paper as her own, right?).

Oh yes, the incredibly long and painful term that seemed like it would never come to an end has finally ended. Whoo-hoooooo! :-)
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BTW - I'm still taking requests for awesomely awesome cards! I plan to send them out this weekend, so if you would like one, act now. I promise you won't be disappointed. :-)

Get a card!

Oh yes, you heard it right... I'm sending out some awesomely awesome holiday cards! I'm a big fan of both sending and receiving mail (well, as long as it doesn't have anything to do with bills) and have sent dozens of postcards to various blog readers over the years. Now, it's time to move on to holiday cards!

I have some pretty damn awesome cards to send to some of my coolest readers. If I run out of the awesomely awesome cards, I do have some backup cards that are still quite awesome... but take it from me, you really want to be a part of the first batch of cards, especially if you're a grammar nerd. :-)

So, here's the deal: if you would like to receive a card, leave a comment on this post & then send your info to comebacknikki AT gmail.com.  I promise all of your information will be seen by my eyes only... and I won't send you any creepy chain letters or drive by your house late at night (well, unless you're Prince). There's no catch - just ask for a card and I'll send you one. You don't have to send anything back to me, unless of course, you want to - in that case, just ask for my address when you email me & I'll pass it along.

Please leave a comment and send your email ASAP. If you wait too long, not only will you miss out on the awesomely awesome cards, but you will also crush Hello Kitty's very soul... and do you really want to be saddled with that responsibility? Hello Kitty thinks not.

Helllllooooo

I really didn't mean to abandon the blog after finishing NaNoBloMo; in fact, I'm surprised and a little embarrassed that this is my first post of December (so much for my intention to participate in reverb). The only excuse I can offer is that I've been completely over-scheduled and overstretched, both personally and professionally. Seriously, December is kicking my ass. It's not all bad; actually, it has been a quite a bit heavier on the good side, but it has all been so time-consuming... mix in a major case of insomnia (ugh, 2-4 hours of sleep per night is so not enough) and you have one very stressed out girl.

So, exactly what have I been up to? Well, let's condense the last two weeks into one of those awesome bulleted lists...

• End of semester obligations at Large College: see this list and add in (1) a policy manual I was just asked to write (must be done before the end of the term this week - obviously, I have time to do it because I really have nothing else to do at the end of a term, right?); (2) another friggin' committee meeting (because there's a committee member who just won't shut the fuck up, so we can never get everything done during one meeting); (3) an a unusually large amount of emails from students having to do with various dead relatives, emergency hospital visits, car accidents, and miscarriages to respond to (amazing that they all happened during the last two weeks of the term) 
• Indigo Girls concert (it was so incredible!)
• Meet-ups with various out-of-town friends ('tis the season to visit and/or pass through Chicago)
• Drinks with a former student (oh, that was verrrry interesting)
• Power shopping and hanging out at a swanky movie theater with D
• A trip back to Michigan to see my peeps (it was fun, but exhausting - they're all in their thirties, but party like they're 21) 
• Various holiday parties (they've been in full-swing for a few weeks already!)
• Writing/not sending/deleting various unpleasant emails that really need to be sent
• Time at the gym... must combat all of the delicious seasonal peppermint treats that somehow seem to make their way to me ;-) 

Upcoming plans include...

• Burlesque class 
• Winter Solstice party
• Cooking class at The Chopping Block (it has been far too long!) 
• Dinner with a friend I haven't seen in almost a year
• Girly night downtown with Beebs - complete with a sweet hotel room and much mulled wine & cider
• Three more Christmas parties & various other mini holiday themed get-togethers
• A possible trip to Indianapolis to see a dear friend  

Like I said, the craziness is mostly good (well, minus the insomnia and work crap), but it's still a lot to pack into one little month (on top of the normal holiday madness). I am exhausted!

Okay, now that we're all caught up, let's just move on and pretend my little unintentional hiatus never happened. Now, it's time for me to crawl into bed, wrap myself in multiple blankets (it's 10 degrees - ick!), and pretend to wish for curse the lack of go to sleep.