Yes, I did spend Christmas Day by myself and it was a wonderful day. It was my first day off since November 25th and it felt so good to not have to start the car and drive somewhere, to be able to clean the house, take a nap, clean some more, watch a little TV, listen to some new music and talk to a special man on the phone.

I did spend time with my family on Christmas Eve and we will have our larger celebration this Friday when my niece and her family are here from Ohio. It will be the traditional Italian Christmas that my family has celebrated long before I was born. We still use my grandmother’s recipes with a few newer traditions thrown in. The focus is on family and the birth of Christ – something we should all strive to celebrate on a daily basis. This year will have a touch of sadness due to the deaths of my dad and Godmother but also gratefulness for the many years I was blessed to have them in my life.

The past month hasn’t been one of best sparking months due to a crazy work schedule – close to 240 hours between my two jobs and taking pictures of children and pets with Santa. I have to admit that the picture taking was fun – especially seeing all the adorable outfits children were dressed in and their reactions to Santa. It was fun seeing the most adorable dresses (being that I have two boys, I was never able to buy them) and outfits little girls were wearing. It was also interesting watching children’s reactions to Santa. You never know how they will react until they get up there – lots of crying and screaming mixed in with sheer enjoyment. Pets were a challenge, and even more so when there were children and pets at the same time. Trying to get children to smile and their dogs or cats to look at the camera was anything but easy. But the results were worth the trouble - most pictures were absolutely adorable! It was also nice when Santa requested that I do it again next year because he enjoyed working with me and was pleased at the way I interacted with children and their parents. Depending on my job and life situation, I would gladly do it again.

Santa and me

Now it is time to get back to sparking, eating right and exercising again. No excuses – just doing it! I have moved exercise equipment into my oldest son’s bedroom (he sleeps there only a few nights a year now) to get myself out of the dingy basement, am going to invest in workout dvds and up my exercise time. Will set a higher fitness goal for 2013, and will surpass it!