Cleaning & Fixing

I've spent the past couple of days washing windows & curtains and then hanging Christmas lights in all of the windows at the front of the house. Our new little tree is up on the table with it's Befana topper and the wreath is on the door. I just need to give the house a good cleaning to really feel like it's ready for the season ahead.

I've decided that I want to make the craft room more storage friendly and plan to put up some shelf mounts in there & just buy wood to fit the size I need and line the east wall in shelves, that way I can keep fabric up there and my other supplies & not have to worry about it. I need to borrow my dad's stud finder and see where to put the mounts first, I don't want my shelves falling off the wall in the middle of the night or anything.

I've been using that room a lot lately, since I've been sewing again. I will be using it even more as soon as I find the fabric I have in mind for my booth's walls & start to make those and the topper for it. I need to get caught up on our storage bill before I lose my booth first, though. I have no idea how I got so far behind on it, but I did & am playing catch up right now. I wish I knew why it seems like I'm always behind on one bill or three this time of year.

Busy Day!

I truly do love the holidays, I actually have a pretty great family, for the most part & love to spend time with them, so that's never a hassle. We've all learned over the years that the holidays aren't the time to bring up our various issues with each other, although we had to learn the hard way. I do get tired when there's so much to do before, though. I feel like I've been running all day. I got up at 6:30 with Troy, was at the gym by 7:30, back here before 9 and I spent a little time playing on Facebook and eating before I grabbed a shower, did dishes and started making pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and pumpkin mousse.

I'm just thankful that this year, we won't be participating in Black Friday & trying to get a great deal on mp3 players, Michael Kors gloves or small appliances, because I'm already tired and just want to relax. Our niece, Jaycie, spent the night last night & will be with us again tonight, then she'll ride with Rhi & I to my folks' house for the holiday. It's just easier for her most of the time to stay away from home when her parents are both home. She doesn't have to deal with the drinking and the craziness this way and we like spending time with her anyway.

Anyway, while it will be an odd holiday for me (Troy works & Erin won't be here), I'm looking forward to spending time with my family & hope all of you have a great day, too!

Why is It?

Why does everything seem to go wrong when you're the busiest & the store is the most crowded? The stores here have been jam-packed for almost a week now, and I can't seem to focus any time I'm actually inside a store, so I guess it's a good thing I'm a chronic list-maker, except when we run in for something we suddenly realized we needed & I forget about it halfway through the store & end up with a cart full of things we didn't need, but decided we couldn't live without. It's always those times when the lines are the longest and the checker is the slowest. It always seems like we're in line for 30 minutes and then right before our turn the receipt printer jams, the checker freaks and tries to fix it herself and can't and then we're all waiting for it to be unjammed or we get switched to another line & start the waiting again.

I hate crowds and chaos, it's probably a good thing that I don't live in a bigger city anymore, I would never be able to go out and go shopping. I do a fair share of it online, but I'm never really sure anymore what size clothes I wear or how something will look on me, so I can't buy those online. I have foot issues and have to try shoes on before I buy them, because I can bounce between 3 different sizes, just depending on how the shoe is made, so another thing I have to buy in person. I can handle all of that, just as long as I can do it when there are no big gift-giving holidays on the horizon. We really need to finish our shopping in the next couple of weeks, just so we don't have to deal with it, ither than to get groceries until the holidays are over.

Reading Excitement!

I was thrilled to read a post over at Christine's blog the other day. She posted that both Barnes & Noble and Amazon had released free downloads of their eReader software for download. I have been wanting a Kindle or a Nook for a few months, after first being very hesitant to even try one, because I'm pretty sure that I'll miss the smell and feel of the paper. I decided I wanted one so that I can just take it with me when I go places that I'm afraid I might get bored at. It seems like it would just be sturdier for carrying around in my purse than an actual book, you know?

Anyway, Troy & I are getting netbooks for Christmas, and we're both voracious readers, so this will be perfect for us. We buy so many books as it is, that it won't be that big of a deal to also buy some eBooks, you know? I have no intention of giving up my good, old-fashioned books, I'd miss lying down with one before bed and all of that, but for going other places, a book or two on the netbook would be ideal and there are also tons of free ones out there, too, so I'll probably get a chance to read a bunch of things I wouldn't have considered otherwise.

I think I'm just about finished with my shopping for the family, I know we'll get my brother & his wife & my mom and dad as our draws, that's the only way it really works out, otherwise, some of us end up giving gifts to the people we live with & buy for anyway. I know which perfume my sister-in-law likes, and which cologne dad likes, so I added them to my next Avon order, I'm getting a bunch of stuff for my niece, too. I'm trying to find the perfect gift for my mom and brother, but they won't be that hard to shop for, they're both pretty easy-going when it comes to that. I can always get my brother something with a Rockies or a Broncos logo and he'll be happy, of course I could (and likely will) do the same for dad.

We haven't been able to find what we're getting for the grand-daughter anywhere here locally, so we may have to order it from Crayola, but I'm going to check here again and then in St. George first, just to make sure, and yeah, I still haven't bought Erin's, but we'll probably go look today & see what the price range is & maybe grab it now.

Relieved

Erin called me a couple of nights ago and he's in Pueblo, with his big brother, or at least close enough that they can hang out together for awhile. It's nice knowing where he is for a change. I just keep hoping he doesn't run into his donor, that's something I'd like to have him avoid, at least until he's a bit more stable. The clinic he went to in Texas also called and all of his tests came back normal, so none of us have to worry about his health, either. He said he plans to be back here in December, for about 2 weeks, so he'll probably be here for Christmas & a bit after & then head out to parts unknown again. Sometimes it feels like he's in punta cana or something, because it's all the same when you have no idea where your kids are, you know?

I guess we'd better get his Christmas gift purchased and wrapped, since he's verified again that he is coming home. I got Rhi's the other day & just have to get it wrapped (it's a lot bigger than I thought, so that'll be fun.. not) and tagged.

I've ordered a few things for stocking stuffers and such from Avon, too, and keep adding to that as I go along. It should be a pretty fun holiday, at any rate, in spite of Troy's work schedule and my hostility regarding that, I just wish that for once, Dawn and her family could enjoy it.

Excited

I'm starting to get excited for Christmas already. I didn't think I would, because Troy is working that day, but I am. I'm getting a Zune from Troy and I'm really stoked about it. I really wanted to get one for the days when I'm walking by myself, it helps keep my mind off of the pain & repetition, and makes it go a lot faster.

The rest of the family all have MP3 players, so I have been a little jealous of that. I had one for awhile, but my car killed it. I've really missed having one since then. The package I'm getting has the car kit with it, so it'll transmit through the radio & I won't have to worry about the electrical system in my car ruining it.

So, yeah, I know, I'm excited for the holidays for a solely material reason, but at least I'm excited and not dreading them anymore, right?

Worries

I'm concerned about so many things right now. The economy doesn't seem to be turning around any time soon, and the company my husband works for has already started laying people off. I'm hoping that they're finished, but you never know. It's a constant worry, even if it's under the surface most of the time.

Erin is having medical issues and is a long, long way from home. I don't know that he's okay, or that he will be, I do know that he's drinking too much and has had DTs when he hasn't had anything to drink for awhile. That is never something a mother wants to know about her child, especially when there isn't anything in the world you can do about it.

My brother's drinking has also gotten worse. He has started showing up late for work because he's been oversleeping. His wife never gets out of bed anymore until late afternoon, she doesn't bathe, she looks horrible. I hate that my niece has to live in that environment, and I worry about her. My brother will lose his job if he keeps it up. They have already cut everyone back to four days a week, and if it'll save them money they'll fire him for being late. He's a welder who fabricates stainless steel drums, and I just can't see that there will be so much demand for him that he'll get any slack with that behavior.

Rhi is still trying to get a job, she has applications in all over the place, but isn't having any luck so far.

Dawn is stressed & emotional right now. Jason isn't working, she's paying everything on her own & they just aren't making it anymore. She has to have surgery on her wrists, but she needs a second job, too, so she's stuck trying to decide what to do. They're overdrawn at the bank (thanks to Jason. Again.) and have no way to repay it. her medicaid & food stamp case is closed right now, because they changed the rules and she had to come up with proof that the kids were actually who she said they were. She did that & yet, she's still waiting. They have no food in the house, I have no way to get her any because we have nothing extra right now, either.

What a bunch of messes. :(