Merry Christmas!

Perfect Christmas so far this year (except not a whiff of snow). Work was fun yesterday for me--we don't have any music playing up front in the store, so the kids started singing. The last 20 minutes they all stood at the door and "caroled" the customers. Loudly. Badly. But it was hilarious! Then presents with the husband and kids this morning. We never let the kids just rip and snort through their presents--we always took turns so that it would last at least a little while. I was always glad that they took the time to appreciate each gift as it was opened, not just toss it aside and grab another one. Then my folks are coming for dinner this afternoon. And we will have the "family Christmas" with my step brothers on Saturday. The only thing that could make it better (other than some snow!) is if my brother and his family were here. Anyway, Merry Christmas, everyone!

Now, If It Would Just Snow a Little!

I'm finally getting in the Christmas mood. I've decided everyone is getting fruit baskets again. I think I gave our parents fruit baskets last year, but after all, they don't need anything. My folks can afford to buy what ever they need, and they do. And we aren't particularly close to my husband's Mom or Dad, therefore, I have no idea what they need. They are more than happy to do up "special" baskets at the store I work at, so I think I'll get some extras to put in them just to make them less generic. So that's settled, and I have the rest of my presents wrapped. My daughter made it home from college yesterday. It's great having her home. We went shopping last night, didn't really buy anything but it was fun just spending the time with her. Right now I can hear her and her brother in the next room playing on the Playstation. It's nice. And to top everything off, the husband got a job! It's part time as an "Inventory Control Specialist" at Walmart. I hope he likes it and it lasts. Full time would have been better, but even a part-time check is going to make such a difference.

Roscoe decided the orange smell doesn't bother him any more. We've found him in the trees several times playing with the ornaments. So far he hasn't done any damage, but I've got the feeling we won't leave the trees up very long after Christmas this year!

The Great Christmas Cookie Madness of 2008

I started baking cookies before Halloween. I decided to experiment with making double and triple batches and freezing them just to see how it would effect different varieties. And for some reason I haven't been able to stop! A couple of years ago a friend of mine and I baked cookies and sold them on the Triangle just to make some extra money. She had mentioned maybe doing it again this year, and I think that is when I went into overdrive. We never got together and decided a date, but I just kept mixing and baking. It's like an obsession! I wonder a bit if it isn't my way of dealing with the stress of my husband's job situation this year. Yesterday, as I finished baking the last of the dough from the freezer, I decided "this is it--no more", but yet at the same time I kept coming up with kinds I meant to bake this year but haven't yet. Eeekkkk! Make it stop! I think lots of family and friends are getting plates of cookies this year!

Bah Humbug

I'm having a very difficult time getting into Christmas this year. We only put up half the decorations that we usually do (and I didn't even clean before we put them up--the shelves were pretty dusty!) and I don't have my shopping done. I'm usually about done shopping and wrapping by now. We don't buy for very many people and I'm done with the kids and the Husband, but I have no idea what to get for the few others I usually buy for. I think between the stress of trying to pay the bills on just my paycheck and all of the work I've been putting into my Avon business is just not leaving any time for anything else. My brain is a bit fried! Last weekend I had a booth at the LYF's Holiday Bazaar and today I'm hosting my annual Pre-Christmas sale. It started out strong this morning, but has died down. It didn't help that part of my last order didn't arrive with the rest of it, so I reordered and (naturally) ended up with a box full of duplicates! So it's another thing that needs taken care of. I love getting a 40 hour paycheck, but I sure miss my Thursdays off that I had for the 10 years before this one! It was nice to have a day to get things done. The daughter comes home next weekend--maybe that will lift my spirits!