Sunday, December 14, 2014

Life It Goes On - December 14


Oh my goodness, have I had a productive weekend! It's a good thing, because I was starting to get that panicked feeling I'm so familiar with around this time of the year and I really was hoping to avoid it. The cards got picked up and will go out in the mail tomorrow, I'm almost finished shopping, and of the nine gifts that I'm making, eight are almost finished (seven will be done tomorrow).

Some good news for the book industry - we headed to Barnes and Noble to pick up some books we'd had set aside and found the parking lot packed and a long line to check out. We may yet make a trip to Half-Price Books to see if we can pick up a few bargains and experience this time of year has me expecting them to be busy as well.

This Week I'm:

Listening To: Finally turned on the Christmas music on the radio - occasionally. The majority of my drive time has been spent listening to podcasts. Sadly, while listening to NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour,  I got an ear worm stuck in my head. They were having a discussion of their favorite Christmas movies and they played "Mr. Heat Miser" and "Mr. Cold Miser" from The Year Without A Santa. Take a listen and see if it doesn't stick in your head. Because I shouldn't be alone in this!




Watching: I am totally getting into watching Christmas movies - or movies that have Christmas in some of the scenes (like Bridget Jones' Diary). Elf, White Christmas, The Santa Claus and It's A Wonderful Life have all been on the agenda this week.

Reading: I finished Charlie Lovett's First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen and my review for that will post on Austen's birthday, December 16. I thought to read one more Austen-themed book to post this week as well but declared Lost In Austen a DNF (did not finish) after less than 50 pages. Instead I started The Time Traveler's Wife - finally. My friend Mari has been insisting I needed to read this for years.

Making: Lasagna, chicken and noodles, potato soup, and hot cocoa mix. You'd think it'd been cold here but we've had unseasonably warm temps.

Planning: On finishing all of the shopping and gift making by the end of the week so when I have next week off it will be all about relaxing.

Grateful for: Treadmills. I've been trying to recuperate my knee by walking outside all fall and it just was not working. Hit the treadmill this week and every day after I do that, the leg feels much better. I may finally get this sucker working right again!

The Inspiration
Inspired by: Pinterest. It's where I've found several recipes I'll be trying this week, some decorating ideas and a couple of gift projects.

Feeling: Festive. At last. Especially now that I've got things so well in hand.

Looking forward to: Book club Tuesday night and celebrating Mini-me's birthday Wednesday. And Friday because that will be the last time I'm at the office until the 29th! What are you looking forward to this week?

Happy Hanukkah to those whose celebration will begin Tuesday!

5 comments:

  1. It's a satisfying feeling when you've done most of the Christmas preparations and you can relax and enjoy the festive occasion with the family and friends and a birthday celebration too! Enjoy your week. For me it's the last chance to food shop etc. before the guests arrive and school breaks up for the holidays. More entertaining this weekend with some students from the Far East coming to sample what they consider to be a traditional Christmas dinner!

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  2. Yep, it has been super busy at work (B&N) this past week. I worked Saturday and the checkout line was insane, but we got people through it very quickly. Lots of people looking for recs so that was fun.

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  3. Wow! You have been productive! I'm still in list phase but I'm getting there slowly but surely. I pulled out an old Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas CD we had gotten years ago. My husband hates it but the Tornado loves it and is wanting to listen to it all the time. Happy birthday to Mini-Me and have a great week!

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  4. You really did get a lot done. That panicky feeling you described? It hit me at the mall this weekend. I got hot and started to pace back and forth. I thought it was funny when I asked out loud, what should I get for Dorothy and my daughter said, red, sparkly shoes. It took me a full 5 seconds to get the humor. That is when I headed for the nearest exit.

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  5. Oh I can't wait to hear what you think of Time Traveler's Wife. It's one of my favorites, but I read it years ago without all of the hype. And I love that cute little letter block. You could do so many things with that--what are your plans? Making NINE gifts!! You are super woman. I haven't done a lick of shopping yet. I'm not sure what the heck I've thinking. :-/

    Hope it's a great week for you!

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