I can't believe the year is almost over. Time just goes by so fast!
We had a nice, relaxing Christmas. Our original plan was to have our annual Christmas Celebration at my sister's house on Christmas Eve...but she was sick so it was postponed a little bit. Christmas Day we went to my grandparents' house here in town like we always do for chatting, dinner, desserts, and presents. It was the first time we've been able to go since 2020. Before that...we've gone to my grandparents' house for Christmas day every year since I was a child. We used to celebrate Christmas Eve at my dad's side of the family with all my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc...but when my Grandma died in 2020, that was no longer carried on. It's just not the same without her. :(
Ashlyn finished all her classes for the semester which means she's officially done with high school! She'll still be able to go to Prom and then will still walk at graduation at the end of the school year with her classmates...she just doesn't have to go to class anymore. She turned 18 in September, but I told her that she wasn't allowed to move out until after she was done with her classes. She has wanted to move back to our hometown and live at XH's parents' house (where Aubry had been living since she graduated in 2020). Ashlyn has been excited so she started packing about a month ago. She moved some of the boxes she already had packed the Friday before her last couple days of school. Then she wanted to move the rest on Tuesday--her last day at school--but she wasn't anywhere near ready to go. She had a ton of packing and cleaning left to do. Then Wednesday, she'd gotten more done but still wasn't finished...and then the weather got bad so it didn't really matter anyway. She finally finished cleaning and packing on Friday and was able to move out the rest of her stuff. Aubry was excited...because she's been really anxious to move back here.
Truth be told, I was looking forward to an empty nest after 10 years of people coming in and out of our house. But...I did have Aubry sign a lease agreement so that everyone knows up front what to expect. In an ideal world, that wouldn't be necessary. But we've found that adult children can often take advantage and not be respectful of others in the house (or property) and it's far easier to establish ground rules up front including how much they are expected to contribute toward expenses. And when it's in writing...no one can "forget" what the terms are. Aubry understood and had no problem with the lease agreement at all. Everything seems to be working out fine so far. She starts her new job next month and is planning to save up for a newer car and her own place.
The dogs are doing well. :) With Aubry moving in...she brought her chihuahua, Linken, back with her. He's a little more vocal than Ashlyn's chihuahua, Neko. But he's starting to warm up to Bozley and NovaLee. It would be easier if Boz and Nova would calm down more...they tend to get pretty excited. They're fine by themselves...but they seem to rile each other up. It's the same way with the cats...by themselves, they're calm with the cats but together they end up chasing them back downstairs. We've been trying to work with them, but it's apparently a slow process. :P We need to get them to the groomer again too. It's been, like, a year since they've been to the groomer. :P They never need full-on haircuts, but a good bath and trimming their paws and everything is overdue. Johnny gives them baths once or twice a month depending on how dirty they get outside, but they always look and smell so good after the groomer. :)
I've been busy with CandiMaker stuff...as always! Luckily I love what I do. :) I'm trying to finish preparing for the grand opening of CandiMakerStickers. I'm SUPER excited about this Etsy shop. I keep adding new products which makes me even more excited. :) I'll have die-cut stickers, sticker sheets, planner stickers including weekly kits, laminated and magnetic bookmarks, laminated planner covers and page markers, and planner dividers for classic-size 9-disc planners (to fit Happy Planner brand pages). I may branch out to different sizes and different types of binding in the future, but we'll see how this works out and go from there. I'm still maintaining my two current Etsy shops as well. My goal for 2023 is to really work hard on all my Etsy shops to make them as successful as possible. :)
I hope everyone has a very happy new year! :)