December Already???

I can't believe that tomorrow is December 1! Here I was, feeling pretty good about Christmas preparations, and that calendar goes and messes it all up! haha

Over Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, we had our annual "what to do in December" conversation. For a number of years right after the divorce, we were gone every weekend in December, doing activities, seeing friends, etc., and it was really stressful, not to mention, we were so busy doing "stuff" that we weren't focusing on Christ. So for the last 3 years or so, we have cut our traveling back drastically the last month of the year. We reserve one weekend to see our friends in Cincinnati and choose one other out of town (ie, 1/2 hour or more away) activity, but other than that, we stick close to home. How that's going to work this year with a son chomping at the bit to drive every weekend and a daughter who reluctantly takes her turn ;-), I don't know! I'm thinking we might be doing more right-after-school,-in-town driving this month. Maybe. Perhaps. Possibly. We'll see.

Anyhoo, I made up a list of things that need to be done yet before Christmas eve, and it's not too overwhelming. If I can stick to this and not add 100 other things, we'll be fine. :-)
1. Finish shopping. (I only have my brother and a few stocking stuffers left.)
2. Wrap gifts. (Can easily be done in a couple hours)
3. Christmas cards. (Usually I have these done before Thanksgiving, but again, will only take a couple hours one evening.)
4. Decorate the house. (Kids will help so will only take an evening.)
5. Get a tree and decorate it. (We get a live tree, so this will wait until 7-10 days before Christmas. We'll put it in the stand on one night and decorate the next.)
6. Cookies. (This is the biggie. It usually takes 3-4 hours to do our cut-out cookies and then several more hours to ice them. Sometimes we split it up into 2 days; some years we do a marathon and crank them out in one day. Just depends on the schedule and my mood! This is done the weekend directly before Christmas. Any earlier and there are no cookies left by Christmas Eve.)
7. Trip to Cincinnati. (I'm thinking the 3rd weekend of the month.)
8. Attend our church's Christmas play. (2nd weekend of December; the kids usually work the After Cafe, serving desserts to raise money for camp.)
9. Out of the area activity. We've actually already done this. We went to the Columbus Zoo Wild Lights this last weekend and had a very good time.

DS also thinks we need to make buckeyes, fudge and something else that I've forgotten, but we'll see. That may need to be a week-after-Christmas or New Year's Eve activity. I also need to get to the bank and start my 2011 Christmas Club account before it's too late. It's such a blessing to have that discipline of putting that money aside and be able to have a cash Christmas.

And I think that's it. At least I hope so!

Piles, Piles, Everywhere....

These last few weeks, I feel like I have been running around being so busy yet at the same time accomplishing nothing! I did get the bushes trimmed out front last week, for the first time this year (yeah, not the best timing, but at least we don't have a forest in front of the porch now!) and got poison ivy in the process. In November. *sigh* And we've had food to eat, we've been spending our Saturday afternoons out driving, I've been finishing my Bible study, there have been a couple of doctor/eye appointments, but it seems everything else has slid to the back burner. I'll write about some of that later. But today, until DD wakes up and off we go in the car, I need to concentrate on the piles of STUFF scattered here and there. I have 5 piles of papers and ads and "to do" just here in the dining room! That doesn't include the 2 piles of "to do" in the bedroom or the "I don't know what to do with it" basket in the living room or the *kinda small* stack of dishes or the 4, maybe 5, sorted laundry piles that have to, have to, HAVE TO get done today! I'm also praying that I can start being a better steward of the time that God has alloted to me each day. I know me. I know I through through phases every year where I'm on top of stuff one week and the next week there is absolutely no motivation to do anything, but at my age :-), I need to learn to push through those "no motivation" times. Hopefully today will get me back on track!

Booking It

I love to read, and I'm blessed that my children do too. In fact, last week my 15-year-old son walked out of the library with 13 books, half of which have been read and are ready to go back! (And that's with us being gone most of the weekend, too!) So I have been reading LifeAsMom's Booking It series posts and intending to post pretty much every month but haven't until now. It's kinda like an informal book club, only you get to read what you want and you benefit from being introduced to new-to-you books that other readers post about.

In October, I didn't really read many books. I read the paper every day and my Bible almost every day for my BSF Isaiah study and our Romans study in Sunday School. I read some magazines, but unless we were waiting somewhere, I didn't pick up many books. I did, however, finish Terror by Night by Terry Caffey. It's the true story of a man whose wife and two sons were murdered, he himself seriously injured and his daughter accused of plotting the whole thing, and his faith journey through the following year or so. DD now has this on her to-be-read pile.

I recently started The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths by Pat Brown. I like crime dramas, and so far this has been very interesting to see the difference between "TV" and "real life." I'm about 1/5 through and this will be one that won't wait for waiting room-only reading!

Lastly, I am reading a book that DS asked me to read, H.I.V.E.: The Overlord Protocol. He loves fantasy/science fiction, and while that's not really my preferred genre, I generally read whatever my kids ask me to. :-) This is about a school that teaches teens and preteens who have shown a propensity for, um, illegal activities how to be better at their, uh, specialty. It's very top secret, and, of course, a secret mastermind behind the whole operation. This is the second in the series, and again, it's not something I would have chosen for myself, but it reads quickly, and it's easy to get interested in the students, and, most especially, it makes DS happy to share his favorite books with his mom. :-)

Christmas Gifts for the Older Folk

My kids only have 1 grandparent still living. Papa is in fairly good health aside from some arthritic issues and a slowly declining memory. He's independent and still gets out and about, does activities with the kids and gets what he wants when he wants it. It can be a challenge to get him something for Christmas that is useful and appreciated. The kids usually make him something, but I usually like to do something a little more tangible. So what do you get the older gentleman (or lady or couple!) who doesn't really "need" anything?

Experiences! Papa loves to get gift certificates for things he can do with the kids. Even though they are teenagers now, they love to go hit a bucket of golf balls, attend concerts at the local theater house or go have dinner on special Papa-grandchild days. Putt-putt golf, bowling, grandparent zoo passes (generally allows 2 grandparents and unlimited grandchildren for cheaper than a family pass) are all welcome ideas. Even if you have a grandparent or older friend who isn't all that active, just a note of committment that you will take them to the kids' school plays, concerts, activities would be a gift of an experience.

Cleaning! Grandma Jo always took care of the cleaning, and since her passing Papa has done a decent job, but I doubt he's ever washed walls! haha Four hours or a day of deep cleaning or lawn work is sure to be appreciated by an older person who takes pride in their home but just can't quite get it done like they used to. It may be something you and your family wish to do, instead of hiring someone. Giving a visit from Stanley Steamer or another carpet cleaning company would also be appreciated, I'm sure, as would detailing the car, an afternoon of seasonal home maintenance or even just cleaning out the gutters.

Pet Care! When my mother was alive, one of her greatest pleasures (outside of her family!) was her kitty. Unfortunately Tinker Bell weighed a lot more than my mom could pick up and wrestle into a carrier, and the cat would not let anyone else near her. What Mom could do was "trap" the cat in the bathroom, where one of us could catch her, crate her and get her to the vet and then back home again. It was such a relief to Mom to be know that Tinker was still able to get medical care. We also have a vet in town who will make house calls for the elderly. Arranging for either a trip to the vet or a visit from the vet would warm the heart of any pet lover.

Food! My kids like to make Papa dessert-type gifts, but he needs to eat "real" food too. It's not hard to make up 10 or 12 homemade frozen meals to stock his freezer. He's learned to cook a few things, but it's always nice to have something different. A homemade "gift card" announcing that you'll bring over a meal or some type of goodie every month or even every week - and then following through - means not only a meal, but also a visit from you, which will mean more than anything.

These are just a few ideas. I'm not sure what I'll do this year. I'm leaning towards filling Papa's freezer with meals, unless he comes up with a "you know what I could really use..." hint in the next few weeks! I'm so grateful that not only do my kids have their Papa but also a few other older folk who love them very much, and it's an honor to be able to do and/or give something they will really use and appreciate at Christmas.

This and That

The kids had a good time with their dad Saturday, for which I am truly grateful. They were gone about 9-1/2 hours, and when he left, he said he would be taking them target shooting sometime, so we will see if that happens. He has made promises before that he hasn't fulfilled, so I, at least, am taking things with a grain of salt. He has yet to call me back about an appointment with DD's physician about her weight, so again, we will just wait and see. Right now, all that matters is that the kids had a good time, and they have a memory of a fun day with their dad.

We are having issues with our kitty, Ash. He seems to be having an adjustment reaction to the loss of our other kitty, Joey, a few months ago and is urinating on soft items such as beds and now the couch. The vet gave him a "relaxant" shot for his bladder a few months ago, and we solved the bed issue by shutting bedroom doors. Unfortunately last night he urinated on the couch, and I found another spot this morning. So he will be going back to the vet today for another shot (these only last 2 months or so) and then back into the bathroom (a confined space) for litter box retraining. Ash is 7+ years old and has been using the litter box until yesterday, so hopefully the shot and retraining will do the trick for another few months. If he stays off the couch, I'll put the shot on the calender as a routine thing. If he doesn't, I'm not sure what will happen.

Work has been slow the last week to 10 days. It's 10:20 in the morning, and nothing is available. It was slow this time last year too, and it doesn't really make sense. I do medical transcription at home, and being the start of cold/flu season, it shouldn't be this slow. I tell myself to just focus on getting *enough* for today and not worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34), but it's hard not to be a little concerned. I need to get my pile of "desk work" assembled so I can be close enough to check for work availability but still get other things accomplished that would normally wait until evening. Maybe I'll start on my Christmas cards today!