Peeks, Weekending it, general catch-up

Oh boy.  I have a lot of catch-up to do.  I got laryngitis on Friday and then woke up with pink eye yesterday which is worse today despite drops.  I haven't enjoyed this combination since middle school.  Ugh.

And it couldn't have been the worst possible weekend to be sick.  The calendar was packed!  

I missed posting my Peeks from the Week on Friday but there were a few worthy things to share that I don't want to forget so I'll capture them here.  

Dan and I put together a gingerbread house kit for our unplug night activity.  We got the same kit as last year.  We tried our best but we were at a little bit of a loss without Mandy's pastry skills. 

We just won't show you the sides of the house. 

On Thursday I had my department holiday party.  We went to the Seaglass Carousel in Battery Park before appetizers and drinks.  I love carousels and I will definitely be bringing Dan back to this one. 

The seats were the fish and you lounged in them rather than sat.  The fish changed colors and moved up and down and spun around in a group as the carousel moved in a circle.  Plus mystical music plus the sunset outside at the same time.  It was magical.

Friday I stayed home hoping to recover my voice before the busy weekend.  Futile.  It's really hard for me to just slack on commitments despite how I feel.  So Saturday we spent what felt like the entire day in the kitchen making four dozen pudding sprinkle cookies, two dozen holiday hedgehog cookies, covered pretzels, presents for friends, and two batches of mac&cheese.

 

We went to a potluck dinner for the church staff that night but we were unable to attend Dan's cousins' holiday party in Jersey City.  Boo.  We were looking forward to that but a two hour commute to get there and then having no voice to mingle just didn't make sense to me.

Most of the cooking and baking on Saturday was preparation for Sunday.  Dan helped me in my pre-k class since I still had no voice.  I made salt dough ornaments for them to paint and they loved it!  It was the most quiet and behaved I have ever seen them.

After Sunday School was the huge Christmas Party that our church hosts for the residents of a local organization called The Guild for Exceptional Children which provides homes and services for adults with developmental disabilities.   It takes a lot of time and coordination with all the decorations, food, gifts, and activities but it is a great way for the church to reach-out in the community.  Read about the  party last year here.   I snapped a few pictures but then left early since there wasn't anything I could help with since I had no voice.  So frustrating!  I hate feeling useless.

I also missed my good friends' annual cookie exchange on account of the laryngitis.  It felt like I did all the work on Saturday and didn't get to enjoy the fruits of the labor.

Dan had to pick-up a lot of my slack since I couldn't do much at our commitments but he was a very sweet and thoughtful caretaker.

And now it is late on Tuesday and if my pink eye clears tomorrow (hopefully) I'll have a three day work week before vacation.  Three days to catch-up on work that I missed the previous three days.