Tick Tock

Well, it is no surprise that I am running behind on everything... again.  December 2nd and my personal challenge of trying to get to bed by midnight is not happening.  Turning in after 2 am this morning was especially bad when persistent cough that's lingered from last month kept me up past 4 am.  I had to be up to make sandwiches at 6:30!  I was, however, surprised that I was not at all drowsy while doing morning family taxiing to jobs and school; even more surprising was that I didn't snuggle right back into bed immediately following feeding the dogs after arriving back at The Place.  I did eventually crash, but made sure to set phone alarm to go off a couple hours before I had to head out for school and job pick ups.  I somehow managed to be a few minutes late picking everyone up, but everyone else was running a bit behind too, so that was all good.

We were greeted this morning with gray, rain filled clouds... my favorite.  The cooler temps were quite refreshing and a welcome change.  There wasn't much rainfall, at least while I was out driving.  Rain or not, I did enjoy being out and had fun browsing holiday goods at Cost Plus World Market.  I'm hoping I'll have the chance to do a bit more shopping there for holiday treats.  Although, it is not my kitchen, I would love to buy some holiday tea towels; the ones I saw at the store where very nice.  I still get a little bummed that all my kitchen stuff is still in storage in Colorado.  I'll probably be back to the store tomorrow.  I'm grateful for this second straight Christmas season of steady income and we are hopeful that budget will allow for nice little gifts for everyone.  We'll just have to see.  I am happy that we are able to send College Girl a "finals survival goody package," and will also be sending a bunch of small gifts for her close friends and suite-mates.  It will be very nice having her visit for winter break from school.

There's a lot to look forward to; this week's focus is Sketch Girl's 18th birthday - she made three huge batches of homemade cookies to take to school and share with friends.  She's done this often over the years.  It's her special way of observing her special day,  I'm relived that we've had another year of being able to give the kids more than a few movie size boxes of candy, a couple of $10.00 gift cards and a small Carvel ice cream cake (a family tradition) for birthdays.  It's a nice change after going so long without.  I still have to recognize the fact that this is our "new normal" and have to keep reminding myself that less-is-more can be a good thing.

See, there is so much to look forward to and I'm so excited about the season.  Christmas music has been playing in our vehicle for three weeks now.  What are you excited about this season or closing out 2014?