If you’re reading this journal entry, I want to give you a double high five. This is that strange part of the year where we’re in the thick of the holidays and time really doesn’t make sense anymore. Full disclosure–I’m writing this entry before I take my time off. If I tried to form sentences in the no man’s land between Christmas and New Year’s it just would work. 😅

So again, I really appreciate you!

What I’ve Been Up To

As I teased last month, we came home from vacation towards the beginning of the month! We did a 7 day Southern Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas.

We left from Old San Juan, Puerto Rico and headed to St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, and Barbados.

Although this was our 6th cruise, this was our first time booking anything other than an interior room. We actually went a little crazy and sprung for a 2 bedroom grand suite! We had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, including a ginormous tub that made for some pretty spectacular baths, a living room, and a spacious balcony. In cruising terms, it was basically a mansion.

While I absolutely cannot knock an interior room–the total darkness for sleeping plus the cost efficiency that cannot be beat–I loved having a suite.

In. St. Croix we spent hours watching sea turtles surface by the pier. I may have become addicted to cappuccinos that we could fetch 24/7 from the suite lounge. And on our one sea day, we had the dining room send our lunch to our state room so we could eat on the balcony. We were spoiled, and I loved it!

If you’re interested in a full journal dedicated just to the vacation, let me know! I could tackle that in the new year.

After vacation, we’ve been pretty quiet, just adjusting back to normal life and prepping for Christmas. As much as I love going away, I also love coming home! Absence really does make the heart grow fonder, and I’m grateful all over again for the home God blesses us with.

We had a Christmas celebration with Dillon’s family at his sister’s house, attended a candlelit service at our church for Christmas Eve, and a much more casual service for Christmas Day. We still have one more celebration with my family tomorrow.

I’m so grateful for all of the love and blessings we get to cherish. I know that not everyone has family to share the holidays with, so in the middle of all of the crazy, I always want to remember to be thankful.

What I’ve Been Reading

I’m currently several chapters deep into Yellowface by R. F. Kuang. The unreliable narrator, June, is friends? acquaintances? with the ultra famous author Athena Liu. They’ve known each other since college. Athena seems to genuinely like June, but June tolerates Athena at best.

June is pretty jealous of Athena, mostly because June is also an author, and would love to experience the same success. They hang out with each other every month or two, and June is actually with Athena on the night that she dies. That feels like a spoiler–but it isn’t. This is mentioned in the opening sentences of the novel.

June is not a goody two shoes. She’s a little bit of a disaster, which, so far, creates a can’t-look-away effect while reading. I’m intrigued to see where this story goes.

I also fully intend to read as much as possible before the end of the year. I want to take this work vacation to just let myself fully relax and veg out. Besides meeting with new prospective couples, I’m trying to not think about weddings. I’m still on a mission to find my new “thing” to work on this wedding season, and I think I might just need some R&R to get that clarity. So that’s what I’m trying to give myself.

What I’ve Been Watching

Dillon and I can’t help but love A.P. Bio on Netflix. It’s insane… but also… not.

Of course, everything is dramatized. But I think many people assume that a lot of the high school antics are over dramatized as well. After being a high school teacher myself, it hits closer to home than some might think 😅

The short episodes and Jack Griffin’s insane antics really do drag you in.

I’ve been burning through a lot more Netflix these days. On our cruise, I surprisingly walked a lot. One day I hit over 21,000 steps!

While that was a little crazy, I have been trying to hit 10,000 much more frequently. I’ve been putting my walking pad to good use (finally) and getting my steps in once the kids are in bed. Some days it takes me 20 minutes to finish up, and some days it takes closer to an hour–whoops! But either way, I’m finding it an excellent way to work on my health goals and wind down.

All of that to say–if you have Netflix or Prime TV suggestions, please please please send them my way! I need them! I’m open to podcast suggestions as well.

What I’m Looking Forward To

January is much more quiet, but there are still some bright spots coming my way!

-I have a stock shoot with 62 Soaps scheduled, and I’m so excited to get creative!

-I am donating my time at a gala for the Layla Lynn Bober Memorial Foundation. I’m always looking for opportunities to give back, and I’m so excited that this foundation supports kids right in my hometown!

That’s seriously it for scheduled plans!

But of course, I’m looking forward to family time, Mom’s Night with my church girlfriends, and time to continue to read, learn, and work behind the scenes. I love the seasonality to my business and the opportunity for downtime. Having a quiet schedule means lots of time to be introspective!

I hope the holiday season is treating you well. If you’re starting to plan your spring and summer and looking for photography, it’s never too early to reach out! I’d love to get you on my calendar!

Until next time,

Christine