this week was good because of...

...our second Christmas together.

...a lovely Christmas Day afternoon with the Wildcat family.

...getting to place the last "ornament" on the Advent tree my mom made.

...baking and cooking for holiday meals.

...a totally lucky guess of what was in a large gift box - and surprising the heck out of his family with my correct guess.

...delightful, perfect Christmas gifts, both given and received.

...the ways, small and large, in which we continue to build and form our partnership.

...finalizing our plans for this coming week's trip to Michigan.

...valuable reminders from an inspiring movie.

...Gru's first Christmas. It wasn't quite as exciting for him as it could have been (since Wildcat Guy and I aren't really the bows-and-ribbons types of gift-wrappers)...but it was neat to see his interest in the paper and boxes.

...celebrating the start of my holiday break with the last ginger pound cupcake.

...eleven days away from work.

...the holiday flavors at the local frozen yogurt cafe - and the adorable little ad describing them.

...lunch (and dessert) with colleagues to celebrate the end of the semester.

...Wildcat Guy's help finishing the Christmas cards.

...a productive and enjoyable evening of Christmas shopping.

...his patience with the task-oriented focus I slip into.

...finding the perfect quote for the second batch of Christmas cards.

...Gru's new interest in being a lap-cat.

...the creative satisfaction of crafting something beautiful out of this pile of scraps.

...having my passport photos made.

...this awesome assortment of "clever ideas" - some of which I'd never thought of!

...sorting through and putting away the "stuff" that's been packed in boxes in the closet for months and months.

...the ability to putter around for a couple of days. (Because let's be honest - the opportunity to spend a couple of days in sweats just doing stuff is nice.)

...this super-crafty Christmas tree in the window of a local gallery. (And yes - those are paper plates.)

...an upgraded laptop from the campus IT department.

...making good use of the unexpected downtime at work (while my laptop was being upgraded) to do lots of filing and desk organizing.

...finding out that there's a beautiful coastline graphic at the bottom of my blog background graphic. (Glad it's something I really like!)

What made your week (and your Christmas) good?

Where I am: home
What I'm reading: The Silver Glove by Suzy McKee Charnas