Merry Christmas friends, if you celebrate! Husband and the pup are asleep, so I thought I’d do a quick little post before the day gets going. The weather is Texas chilly (46 degrees!) but so beautiful and sunny. I woke up to find a stack of books scattered on the floor, along with a little mug I’d purchased in Portugal (it didn’t break – Christmas miracle?) Then when I was taking Apollo to the bathroom, he decided that he’d had enough of this family and was running towards the hole in the fence. 

Husband and I didn’t do a tree this year – the girls are still in the crazy kitten phase (see paragraph above) and since their relationship with Apollo is already tenuous, we didn’t want to add one more stressor to the mix. We DID, however, get the Triscuits* presents. It’s the girls’ first Christmas, after all!

Santa was generous thanks to Petsmart’s buy three, get two free sale (#notsponsored). Apollo and the kittens all steal each other’s toys, so we tried to select cat toys (bottom row) that would be big enough for him to play with. The girls leave their toys all around the house, and we learned really quickly that small toy mice are a choking hazard for Apollo, who enjoys shoving things in his mouth without really considering the consequences of what he’s trying to eat.

After our last private lesson on Friday, we’ve made enormous progress! Apollo is now able to walk around leashless when the girls are out.  He sniffs the cats but has otherwise been respecting their boundaries when they hiss at them (so far). He hasn’t seen them during their witching hour phase yet (when they’re bolting around the living room and hopping over couches), so THAT will be interesting. But just having them coexist in the same room without Apollo barking or lunging at them is such huge progress. DID I JUST GET MY CHRISTMAS WISH? This has been such a process and I don’t think we would have been able to do it without professional help.

Husband, Apollo, and Moon Pie are the real MVPs here. Mittens just hides under our living room couch the entire time while emotionally, I’m right there with her. This coexisting phase makes me VERY NERVOUS. But we’re getting there, slowly but surely.

Christmas is quiet this year, as it has been the past several years, but we’ll be meeting up with some family later to celebrate. Husband and I didn’t do a gift exchange since – and this sounds cheesy, but it’s true – we already have everything that we need. We have each other, we’re back in Austin, and our adorable pets are finally TOLERATING EACH OTHER, KIND OF. Our dating anniversary is next week (12 years!!!), so we’re going to plan something special for that. 

I am off until January 2nd, other than wrapping up a couple of tasks tomorrow. I don’t think I’ve had a week off that didn’t involve travel or moving since…2020, which were DIFFERENT VIBES. I feel like I’ll be at a week-long camp – what do I want to spend my time on? I have a couple of admin tasks, like getting my Texas driver’s license**, getting a front license plate holder installed for my car***, and doing a little organizing around the house. But otherwise? The possibilities are endless! There’s a hike I’ve been dying to do – I never finished the entire trail when we lived here and it was always a regret, but now that we’re back, I realllllly want to do it. I want to cat-proof my plants and do a little writing. Maybe update my wardrobe a bit now that I’m back in the office. 

I also want to work on crafty projects! I have made some progress on the cardigan I’m working on – the left front piece is done! Now I’m working on the right front piece. Note – I can rest assured that if I place yarn on the ground, a cat will appear within 30 seconds.

Well, that’s all I have. I hope you all have a restful day, however you choose to spend it.

*The pets have approximately 9183 nicknames, including “biscuits.” Now that we have three of them, Husband dubbed them “the Triscuits.” NOT SPONSORED OBVS.
** If you’re wondering why I’m just now getting my license, the wait list is stupid long. I booked this appointment awhile ago and have to go to Georgetown for it, which is luckily not a bad drive. Otherwise, if I wanted to make my appointment within the city limits, I’d have to wait until next year.
*** Indiana is weird and just has back plates. I’ve been defying authority and driving around with just the one Texas plate installed on the back, but I feel like I’m just asking to be pulled over.****
****Did I mention I have already been pulled over five times in my life? MAINLY IN MY TWENTIES, OKAY?