Life | Book Chatter

Sunday Matters

With Christmas just a couple of days away, I find myself taking cover and hiding from the hustle because my fuse has been very short and I don’t want to head into the holidays angry. I’ve had the past few days off to get stuff done and now I just want to transform into a slug.

Right Now:

Nothing. I am not doing anything because I am really worn-out and just need to sit. We have nothing planned for the day.

This Week:

We attended Christmas service last Thursday but on Christmas Eve we will make a short trip to say “Hi” to some friends who are working at the church that day and then head over to my MIL’s. My nephews are down and one of them has small kids so it ought to be fun. I’m bringing the mashed potatoes and boat loads of butter and cheese are a must.

Christmas Day I am cooking a Prime Rib roast with all the trimmings and then we are heading to the movies, probably to see the new Mary Poppins movie!

The Hub has off this week which is very rare and although we had hoped to head out-of-town we will be doing some day trips to places we’ve not been or to places we haven’t been to in a while.

Reading:

Finishing up Force of Nature. I had not planned to pick this one up but the book I wanted to read “fell” off my Kindle and I was left with nothing to read so I dove in. I want to end the year with Michelle Obama though.

Watching:

Christmas movies and shows. So behind on them.

New Things I’ve Tried:

I haven’t tried any new products this week but this year I tried to tone down my Christmas spending and I’d say I was about 60% successful. I went to the mall for two small things and left, totally disgusted by what the holiday has become. I saw a lady at the PINK store who had wads of cash out in plain sight, and she was making a sale of over $1500. At an underwear store, people. I think it was admirable that she was paying cash but I seriously feared for her safety because it was clear to me that she had thousands more to spend.

Gosh, the majority of us do too much, spend too much and just fall apart at the end of the year. It’s not supposed to be like that at all. It doesn’t have to be. I’m hopeful.

Grateful for:

I am grateful for this time off. I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful.

What does this weekend look like for you? Are you doing okay? Do you need some encouragement?

Sunday Matters

Wow, what a week. We had a shooting threat (three) on campus which forced us to do business in a different way and created some extra work because finals had to be moved online. Finals week without students feels very strange.

Right Now:

I can’t do much more than just sit here. I am a lump and yet I have much to do which probably won’t get done today. But I found out the other day that I need to take more vacation than I planned because of a miscalculation of hours so I get two more days which makes my last day of work this Tuesday. I return to work on January 8th!

This Week:

This week will be spent wrapping what I have and planning our meals for Christmas day. Normally we make reservations but the food hasn’t been great and it’s just too expensive. Last year, the restaurant ran out of food. No joke!

On another note, we adopted a family for Christmas through Adopt-a-Family but even though we opened it up to a couple of groups, donations have been sparse so I will be taking the next few days to figure out what we need to get and then get it so we can deliver it on Saturday.

I also have to do some sorting. My closets are embarrassing. When others are in need and you simply have too much junk… it really makes you second-guess the commercialism of Christmas.

Reading:

Well, I saw that I had one review copy that I forgot to get to so I popped open The Incendiaries and kind of fell into it. It’s short and reminding me of a lot of other books but it’s strangely fascinating.

Watching:

I told you last week I would catch-up on Christmas movies. I lied. Hopefully, this weekend we can catch a few because my list is long.

New Things I’ve Tried:

This stuff is amazing. It’s the Eggnog Liqueur from Trader Joe’s. It’s about $8 a bottle and deadly. You can add it to coffee, or you can drink it straight and it will definitely put some “Merry” into your Christmas.

Grateful for:

That eggnog. Nah, just kidding. Well, not really.

I am grateful for two extra days of vacation. I don’t like to just use up vacation if I don’t have anything planned but I can definitely use those two days with Christmas right around the corner.

My question to you, if you could add a new Christmas or holiday tradition to your routine, what would it be? I would really like to attend one of the Holiday Boat Parades every year. I miss those days on our friend’s yacht.

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