We had the office gift exchange on Wednesday, after our staff meeting. There were 15 of us participating, so 15 gifts. We each drew a number and that number indicated our turn to choose a gift. There was an interesting assortment of gifts and lots of laughter as each gift was opened and people "stole" some of the gifts (each gift could be stolen twice). I had contributed a glass candle holder which had a silver painted design on it and the colleague who picked it liked it a lot (we gave the gifts anonymously, so no one knew who gave what). I received an assortment of gifts:
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| Office Gift Exchange Gifts |
Wednesday evening, after I came home, I took it easy and didn't do any cleaning or almsgiving preparations. I had some leftover angel hair pasta with meatball curry for dinner, exchanged emails with a friend, and video chatted with my daughter.
Today, Thursday, I woke up feeling well. I went to the office and had a fairly productive day. My new supervisor took me and one other colleague who is also under her supervision out to lunch, today, as her holiday gift to us. We went to a Japanese fusion restaurant near the office. I had been there once before with my previous supervisor. I had one of their bento lunches, which included miso soup, green salad, chicken skewers, edamame, potato salad, rice, and cut up fruit. I couldn't finish it all, so brought home half of it for my dinner. I enjoyed their food and want to take daughter there one day, when she's down for the holidays.
Again, after I came home, I spent the evening relaxing. My sister had called and left a message saying she won't be able to attend the almsgiving; I'm glad she let me know (now I won't have to rush to get her gift ready by Sunday!) One of my friends called, too, and we chatted for a bit. Later, I video chatted with my daughter.
I have taken the day off from work, tomorrow, to prepare for the almsgiving. I am a bit behind with my schedule of cleaning, but I think I will be able to catch up, tomorrow. If not, I still have most of Saturday, as well, although I need to grocery shop on Saturday. The important thing, I am telling myself, is not to get too tired, or dehydrated, or stressed. We do NOT want a repeat of what happened last year!
I shall post my To Do list as a separate post.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Being treated to lunch by my supervisor
- A nice walk to the restaurant and back
- A productive day at the office
- A relaxed evening at home
- Phone calls, emails, and video chatting
How is your week going? Are you having busy days, too?
What a coincidence, I also woke up exhausted this morning for some reason and was tempted to text my son to tell him to just take the bus to school so I could go back to bed (and finish my really good dream too!) but I made myself get up and I suppose that, now that I've had coffee, I'm fine. Weird. It must be the mama bears in us wanting to hibernate :)
ReplyDeleteI love the combination of bacon and chocolate! I hope you like it too. I also love gift exchanges. When I worked, I didn't like the pressure of having to participate, mainly because back then money was super tight since we still had debt and 6 kids to provide for, but every time I went to one, I had loads of fun. I especially like the ones when you play a game and you get to "steal" a present from someone else. It was always a hoot, no matter what I ended up with. I'm happy that you got something that you truly needed and others that you can share with your daughter!
Have a great day. Have the fires in your area been extinguished? We don't hear much of it in the news anymore. I'm so glad you didn't have to evacuate!
I guess our bodies needed more rest? I think, for me, part of it is there is a bit more pressure at work and I feel stressed about it. Not a good thing. I am really looking forward to my two weeks of vacation that is coming up.
DeleteThis was my first "white elephant" gift exchange and I really didn't know what to contribute, but I am glad I participated.
Yes, the fires in my area have been put out. There is one big fire (the Thomas fire) that is still burning, but that's further north of me. I, too, am glad I didn't have to evacuate!
Hope the rest of your day goes well, Nathalie. :)
That is the same gift exchange that we enjoyed while I was still working at the library. It is so much fun. The participants could open a new gift, or steal one from someone who had already opened one. Lots of laughs. You ended up with a wonderful gift.
ReplyDeleteLovely also that your supervisor treated you out for lunch. That restaurant sounds wonderful. Yes, it does sound like you have a lot scheduled over the next two days, but you were wise to take it easy on Thursday evening. The rest of it will certainly get accomplished with a more rested and relaxed you.
It was a fun gift exchange. As I mentioned, it was the first time I've participated in such a gift exchange. It's going to be a busy couple of days, but with luck, I'll be able to get it all done. Might cheat a bit and shove a few things into the 3rd bedroom/Dump to deal with later! Shh! Don't tell! :D
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