Fridaze 064

The Maine

If you're new here, then you don't know about my love for The Maine. It's an alternative band that I've liked since I was 15 (back in 2008-2009). It's kinda cool that the music they continue to release is good as well. I've seen them 3 times (including this time), and I just love them! This concert was supposed to be a spin-off of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. They played lots of music from all of their albums, and it was amazing. They have played songs they usually don't, and I was so happy I bought these tickets back in September. If you like alternative rock music, and haven't listened to them yet, go check them out!

Secret Santa at Work

While we don’t do a work holiday party, we tend to do a little Secret Santa! It’s a really fun time to bond with all the people are the warehouse. I was gifted a Michael Kors purse, which was so beautiful. The event itself was a little stressful, because the Secret Santa was after work on the same day as J’s holiday party.

J’s Holiday Party

As I mentioned above, the same day of the Secret Santa, was J’s holiday party! They always do it in this beautiful restaurant close to his job. It was extra close to our new apartment. The food is delicious, it's fun chatting with the people he works with, and we tend to have a good time. This year was no exception! I ended up speaking with his boss' wife towards the end of the night, and it was such an inspirational conversation. I really enjoyed our chat a lot, and she probably doesn't know how much her words spoke to me.

Litmas as 2023

This was the third (1,2) annual Litmas that I've gone to, and it was a great time. In some ways this year felt different from past years, because my best friend wasn't there. I felt a little bit out of my comfort zone, not having a friend, but at the same time, I genuinely had a really good time!

We ended up at different bars from last time, we left everyone from barhopping in order to grab some food. Even though I wasn't completely sure I would have a good time this year (with the way my mental state has been), I'm glad we went.

Christmas Eve with J’s family

Last year, I started Christmas Eve at my aunt's house, then drove to J's sister's house. This year we decided to do the whole Christmas Eve with his family, and all of Christmas with my family. It was pretty different for me, not being with my family. That morning, I was really sad, but it was nice spending time with his family, and seeing how they do Christmas Eve differently.

While I'm not the best with change, I know that these changes are good! I just need to get used to them.

As a side note, I was super happy to see that all of his family seemed to like the gifts we chose for them. I take extreme pride in getting thoughtful gifts, so that was very exciting for me.

Christmas Day

This was the first Christmas we spent in our apartment, and it felt really special. It's been years since I've been giddy waking up for Christmas, but this year I did have that feeling. I slept in a little bit, walked Luca, and then could not wait for J to wake up, so we can exchange gifts.

After that, we spent a little bit of time hanging out, before heading to my parent's house. Usually my immediate family meet up there, where we exchange gifts among ourselves, and then head to my aunt's house. We reheat the food from Christmas Eve, and then chat and spend time with one another. I really enjoy these holidays with my family, they just feel so special.

They're memories that I will always look back at fondly.

Friend hangouts

In between all of these plans, my friend Jill surprised me and came over! She disappeared a bit during her finals month at school, so it was really nice catching up and chatting. I found out that she's moving closer to me, and I could not be happier! I'm excited to be able to see her more often.

lil things:

• Spending Christmas Eve with J's family
• Starting our Christmas at our Apartment (for the first time)
• On the third book in the Throne of Glass series, and feel like I’m breezing through. The chapters are getting a bit longer in this one, so this book is taking me longer to get through.
• J traveling the day after Christmas, and missing him, as always
• My downstairs neighbor going away for the holiday weekend, which means the heat from their apartment isn’t rising!

games I’ve played:

• Dave the Diver [PC on Steam]

Shows/Movies I’ve Watched:

• Burlesque [Netflix]
• Love hard [Netflix]
• Jujutsu Kaisen [CrunchyRoll]
• Vikings [Amazon Prime Video]
• Rick & Morty [Amazon Prime Video]

Books I’ve Been Reading (Let’s be Goodreads Friends!) (Let’s be StoryGraph Friends!) :

• Iris Zero 7 by Takana Hotaru
• The Emperor (Darkverse #3) by RuNyx
• The Final Offer by Lauren Asher (Dreamland Billionaires #3)
• Daisy Haites by Jessa Hastings (Magnolia Parks #2)
• Heartstopper #4 by Alice Oseman
• Caraval by Stephanie Garber
• One Day in December by Josie Silver
• The Faking Game by Portia MacIntosh
• Crown of Midnight by SJM
• Love Interest by Clare Gilmore
• Manacled Volume 1 by SenLinYu
• Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena
• Heir of Fire by SJM
• Pageboy by Elliot Page

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That's this week's Fridaze for you! How have you been throughout the month of December? Let me know. I would love to chat with you all xx