Blogmas Week Two

 -  Blogmas  Week Two  .  Friends  &  Musicals  &  Presents ,  Oh  My!  -

What a pretty busy week it has been for me. I'm glad I took a break from blogging because there is no way I would have been able to keep up with it all throughout the week. But now it is time to give ya a good update! The week began more chill than it ended. Monday was just a normal teaching day for me. Nothing too exciting went down that day...

- Tuesday -

Tuesday also was a fairly normal teaching day with no festivities to report of, but I will mention Tuesdays are one of my favorite teaching days! This past Tuesday marked my last day working closely with Cavod's Citylight Dance Theater Junior team (pictured above), until next year. I love these young ladies so much! They are a fun crew and an absolute delight to set choreography on. I am so proud of all they have accomplished this year so far!

 - Wednesday -

Wednesday was a fun day for me! A group of my friends and I enjoyed a night "out on the town". I think it was about 24 of us that got together to attend "A White Christmas" performed at the Fulton Opera House in downtown Lancaster. It had been quite a while since I had last seen a show at the Fulton. Thank you to the Blatts for the invitation! We had a great time!

The view from the balcony

 - The  Weekend -

Thursday was chill, or should I say chilly! It was the first day of the season that freezing rain, sleet, and snow were forecasted. I was feeling pretty tired of "extroverting" by the time Friday rolled around, but I persevered forward. Friday evening after teaching a series of private lessons and conducting a two-hour rehearsal with the Citylight Dance Theater Senior Company, I then switched gears, and outfits to attend Cavod's Holiday Staff Party. It was a beautiful night at the Detweiler's Farm. Dinner was served inside a greenhouse with twinkle lights and candles everywhere! It was so magical. I regret not taking any pictures.

Saturday, just when I didn't think I had any energy left, I tapped into an extra reserve to get me through a seven-hour adventure with some dear friends of mine at Hershey Park's Christmas Candy Lane. The air was nippy and the lines were long, but we had ourselves a great time regardless. It was the perfect festive activity needed to help get me in the Christmas Spirit and I so cherished the quality time spent with the people pictured below.

gotta have a car selfie!

Our favorite interactive ride "Reese's Cupfusion" had a long line (90 mins.) but it was worth the wait!

All bundled up...

Freezing our butts waiting in line, trying to stay optimistic  😝

#hersheyparkhappy

pretty lights aglow

... Lastly

Pictured here are the gifts unwrapped and revealed, from my last blog post for those of you who were curious as to what my Secret Santa from church got me! Her gift selections were all so perfect for me and so thoughtful! I was all smiles opening them up! She did a great job! 

7 more days till Christmas! I am excited, but also am starting to feel the pressure as I still have several cards and gifts I desire to make before the big day. I didn't EVEN TRY to procrastinate this year. Time just got away from me, but ready or not, 

HERE IT COMES!

🎄

k

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Sunday Best

 -  Blogmas  Day  Eleven  .   Guarding  my  Boundries  .   Secret  Santa  -

Hi everyone! Today was a fairly typical Sunday. Church, Wegmans, friends, rest. Not much to report, except can I just say, I've broken a record!!! I've blogged for eleven days straight! I'm feeling so accomplished right now as I have never done that before. With that being said, even after making the commitment earlier to blog every day leading up to Christmas, I've decided to loosen up the expectations a little bit and grant myself the grace to skip days if needed. 

Blogging daily has been a MOST enjoyable process...but a VERY time-consuming one, which is the main factor influencing my decision to step back from it a little bit. Ideally, it would have been so cool and wonderful to document all the days leading up to Christmas, and every day for that matter, as I believe every day usually has at least one thing special about it worth remembering, documenting/sharing about... but I've decided to be a "big girl" and let myself be a little flexible with this insignificant commitment to myself since I've started to notice the pattern of losing sleep over the sake of writing and editing for Blogmas. As hard as it was to make this decision I think it is the wisest thing and for the best! You wouldn't have caught me making wise decisions like this a year ago. I must be growing up lol.  
BUT, in accordance with my desire to keep my blog active and current/relevant, and still participate in Blogmas, I will be continuing to do my best to post as frequently as possible, just not at the expense of my sleep OR at the expense of the post's quality, which was another reason for deciding not to "just post something daily for the sake of posting something", if I have nothing quality to post about.
I think overall since I am not a full-time influencer 😜, and have an equally time-consuming rich life to lead offline as much as online, this is the best decision to make in order to keep both realms healthily balanced! But I am so excited going forward. I have learned a thing or two the past couple days regarding how to become faster and more consistent with creating content and have gained fresh vision and creative inspiration for The Occupied Optimist going forward (online and offline to be honest!) Would you get excited with me and wish me luck! Thank you readers who have stuck by me and are following along on the journey!

My church's Christmas tree! Crossway's Christmas tree, In all its glory!

I got these Christmas gifts from my Secret Santa from church today! Isn't the wrapping paper just darling!!! Want to know what is in them? me too!
I guess you will just have to come back and see my next blog post in order to find out! 

😁

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Blogmas Day Ten Photo Dump

 -  Blogmas  Day  Ten  . More  Shopping  .  Photodump  -

A merry sight at "Creatively Lancaster."

Hello friends, I hope you had a good day. I had a pretty good day. It has been a long one. I think I will go ahead and drop a short description of it and then just dump a few photos of it here for you. My day started at 9am with choir practice at the church. I LOVE choir! It is just so fun! Following our 2-hour rehearsal, I set out to do some Christmas shopping at Lancaster's Park City Center shopping mall. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to find what I was looking for, but I did! I also was delighted to discover Creatively Lancaster was having one of their maker's markets there! Yay! Tis the season for artisan craft markets. I spent so much time perusing through all the stands... daydreaming of having one for myself someday.

Yes, it has been quite a chill day, one without much structure which is a rarity for me, but I have been loving it! Currently, I find myself killing time in one of my favorite coffee shops, New Holland Coffee Co, and in just a little bit I will drive down the road to watch some of my favorite students perform in Cavod Performing Arts' Christmas show, Wonder! Well, that's all for now! Signing out!

The Makers Market in Park City

Mission accomplished!

Homemade Poptarts at New Holland Coffee Co! Poptarts definitely make the world a better place!

POV: Apple Walnut Salad from New Holland Coffee Co.

Later Update: The dancers ended up doing a fantastic job!

Also, 15 more days till Christmas! Are you ready?READY OR NOT, here it comes!!!!!😊
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