I think I need a vacation from my vacation! I took Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off - and was busy the entire time! Wednesday was shopping - and wrapping (my least favorite part!) I did get all the shopping done and put under the tree! Thursday was tying up loose ends - chasing the few elusive presents I missed on Wednesday, and lunch with Ralph. As luck would have it, just as I got home from town after lunch, AJ called - wrestling practise was cancelled, could I pick him up? Back in to town! Thursday was my driving day!

Friday.....was baking day. I started at a little after 8:00 (after I took the kids to school and daycare) and I finished cleaning up the kitchen around 5:00 - just before everyone got home. I baked sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, chocolate chewy cookies with peanut butter chips, macaroons, and biscotti (with the biscotti and macaroons dipped in melted chocolate - yum!). I also cooked up the turkey carcass and made homemade soup for dinner, and got a couple of batches of Holiday Tea ready for gifting - including washing all the cups that I had laying around (about 40 or so!). After dinner, I worked on a few more gloves.

Today, Veronica, Meredith and Renee will be coming with their kids to decorate the sugar cookies, and make a few Christmas ornaments. This is our annual tradition -started when AJ and Caroline were in Daycare together years ago. I can't remember if I started it before they started school or after, but it seems like forever! I still need to get the family packages put together - a plate of cookies, a snowflake, a cup with Holiday Tea, and some gloves.

I feel like I have not really written anything interesting on the blog lately, but that may be because I haven't done anything interesting! I have been working hard on getting ready for Christmas. I finished up some small stockings for co-workers. These are simple six-sided granny squares (I know, that makes them granny hexagons, but that sounds funny!) sewn together and stuffed with a candy cane. Pretty quick! I need to make some more up, but....when? I think I still need a couple more snowflakes, and I still to stiffen about 30 or so that I have done. Cookie baking is set for this week, as I have kids showing up on Saturday to decorate cookies and make an ornament. (Note to self -pick up something for the kids to decorate!) Good thing I have the next three days off! They will pass by in a flurry of cleaning, shopping and baking, I think!

Also on my list of things to do - write the annual Christmas letter, do my Christmas cards, scan in the portraits we had done at Wal-mart, so I can show off my family, do all my Christmas shopping (I have not done any shopping yet!) clean house, clean out my car, get the oil changed, etc. Good thing I am taking some time off to relax, right?

I got my Christmas decorations up, and found a colored ball to put my 'ornament collar' on, so you can see it a bit better. Still not a great picture, but blame the photographer!

I had the whole day (well, almost!) to myself yesterday! I took a day off of work, and besides running kids in and out of town, had the day to myself. I played with a couple of patterns for Christmas ornaments. I don't have my Christmas stuff down from the attic, so I don't have a colored ball to put the thread collar on, so you will have to squint! I'll post a better picture after I have my ornaments out. This didn't take long to make, but there are sure a lot of ends to weave in - not my favorite job.

The dogs and I went for a walk in the afternoon- after the fog burned off! It was cold and foggy here yesterday. Still no rain in sight, so it may be another drought year!

Home again, home again! Yesterday was our third Thanksgiving dinner in as many days. I need to go walk a few miles today! The trip to Susanville was fun - everyone was there, and the house was full! Luckily, it was nice weather, so the guys could hang outside without freezing. We had 15 for dinner, and Mom was quite happy to have almost no leftovers. That pile of potatoes that looked like too much - disappeared! The turkey - just bones left. There was still plenty of dessert left when we took off, but I bet even that was demolished before the end of the day. It was a fun day, but I don't know how we all fit in that house when we were little! (I know, we were much smaller then!)

Dad and Alli had a running battle for his chair. Alli was good about it - if Dad had the chair, she settled for the couch, but if he got up - it was hers! Dad had a new MRI done a couple of weeks ago, and it showed several new stress fractures, so he is looking at more surgery - probably several more surgeries, since his surgeon doesn't like to treat more than three fractures at a time, and they counted at least 7 new fractures. He is probably exhausted today - he spent most of the day hanging with the guys out in the garage. (That and coming in to see if we had dinner ready yet!)

I finished a scarf for Alli's daycare provider on the way up - I'll try to post a picture later today when I have some natural light. I took the baby sweaters I finished in to work on Friday, and they made it to the babies! Alicia and Isabella just happened to be visiting grandma this week, so Linda brought them it for us to see. They are so sweet! It looks like the sweaters will fit - happy day! I hate making things for babies sometimes - you never know if they will fit until after they are done, and due to my speedy work (ha ha!) by then, they have outgrown them.

I finished the second sweater! They are pretty cute -I just hope they (still) fit! Procrastinating for babies is a bad thing - they grow too quick!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner at Larry and Pat's house - too much food! Aunt Inez was there, and looking good. So were Pixie and Dan (late as usual). Pat's granddaughter Angela and her beau came as well. Allison was a sweetheart the entire time! She played on Pat's couch almost the whole time we were there. She did make a mess at the table, but not too bad!

Here is a baby sweater I have finished - I have another one almost done - ready to do the sleeves. The other is done in pink - for twin baby girls (Okay, they are almost 6 months old now, but - I made the sweaters bigger!)

It's a cold foggy day here today - such a change! Yesterday was warm and sunny in the morning, with the clouds moving in in the afternoon - just in time for a gorgeous sunset! Since my desk at work faces West, I can watch the sunset from work - a big bummer! Something about working through the sunset - not good! The good news - I can stop and stare at the sunset, and everyone thinks I am reading something on my computer screen! We actually do take a few moments and notice the sunset collectively in my department, so I guess it isn't all bad to still be at work!

I still have a cheesecake to make for today. It was on my "list of things to do" last night after work, and it just didn't happen. I had a nail appointment and got home around 7:30, and went to bed around 9:30. I need more energy! Of course, yesterday was another day that Alli was up early, so I guess I had been awake my fair share of the day! I did get to sleep in this morning. Alli got up around 6:00, so I got about an extra hour. Now - to go make a cheese cake!

I actually need to make two cheesecakes - one for today and one for tomorrow. Today, we are going to Ralph's family's Thanksgiving, and tomorrow I am cooking a turkey dinner for us. Ralph is actually cooking the turkey part - I have to work. I have to make the 'fixin's' for the dinner after I get home. Since it is just us, I am not making a lot of side dishes - mashed potatoes, dressing, cranberry sauce, broccoli, gravy, pumpkin pie, and a cheesecake. (Alex is insisiting that he wants both!) Easy! I got a 14 pound turkey, so we should have lots of leftovers! This year, Ralph would like to brine the turkey before cooking it - something I have never tried. (I didn't know he was paying attention to the cooking shows I was watching, really!)

Another early day! Alli was up at 5:20 this morning - and I hadn't gotten my shower yet! Bummer! Alli got her shower first, and then managed to 'play nice' while I was in the shower. As far as I can tell, she stayed in her chair the whole time - nothing was disturbed! (meaning - no mess to clean up!) She is definitely sleeping less these days - I think part of it is weaning her off her anti-seizure medication. Part of it could just be her growing up as well. It's hard to believe she is 11 now.

After a very productive Saturday (cleaning house, grocery shopping, etc.) Sunday was kind of a bust. I didn't get a lot done around the house - laundry, but that was about it. I did get Alli to walk about 20 minutes combined on the treadmill! (No, I didn't get any time on it myself - I've been bad!) I couldn't even settle down to any hand work until close to dinner time. I seem to have spent quite a bit of time looking at this website: http://icanhascheezburger.com/. I am sure I could have found something more productive to do, but it is a fun site. (That is where the 'munsters under mai bed' photo came from.)

The Christmas season has begun - we had Christmas pictures taken Friday night at Wal-mart. I think that is my official 'beginning' to the season! The fact that I have been working on snowflakes all year makes it hard to pin point a beginning otherwise. The pictures turned out pretty nice. We even got Ralph to come with us this year - so we have an actual family portrait! Alli was on her best behavior (well, OK, she was on pretty good behavior!) and took some good pictures. This year, she was actually smiling in the pictures!

I did sit down and make a list of needed snowflakes, and I have 55 made, and need about 75. I know the number I need will go up, so I am planning on making extras. One problem - the 55 are crocheted, but not stiffened! I will have to start stiffening a bunch every night here pretty soon (yes, I am still procrastinating!) I still haven't made my list of 'things to get done' before Christmas.

I don't know if we will have a 'cookie decorating party' this year or not. I haven't checked with AJ lately, and it doesn't look like the Derby's will be able to make it up. I don't know that AJ really wants to do it with his 'guy friends'. I am sure he would love to have them come over, but I don't think they want to interrupt their video games to decorate cookies! As the kids got older, it was easy to see the gender differences (at least for the kids that usually come!). I have to force Dallas to make an ornament and decorate cookies to take to his mom. (Now, if the cookies all made it home, I would be very surprised, and it is a very short walk!) The girls, on the other hand, spent a lot of time making the ornaments look just right, and decorated a lot more cookies that AJ and Dallas do.

I think it is going to be a long day! Alli was up bright and cheerful at 5:00! Needless to say, I was up too, but not necessarily cheerful! I usually get up around then anyway, but I get a shower and a cup of coffee (and some 'me' time!) before she gets up. Oh well, she is happy this morning, anyway. She will probably zone out at school this afternoon now.

AJ is home sick (again). He called Ralph on Wednesday to come pick him up at school, and the school nurse told him not to come back. It's just a cold, but he feels pretty miserable. He is out of school (both kids are) all next week anyway. He does have wrestling practise during the week, but I don't know that he will make it in for them. Not just because he is sick, but because of the time and energy required to come pick him up, take him in, and then reverse the process a couple of hours later. He is really enjoying wrestling though. His latest request for Christmas - a wrestling mat so he can practise at home! Now - where he puts the mat is a good question. I told him to do some research about the mat - how big, where to get it, where to store it, etc. and we would talk. I don't think a lot of research has has happened yet.

Finally - I have time to update the blog! It's been a bit busy around here, but that isn't the best excuse, I guess. Alex's wrestling practise is taking a big chunk out of my 'free time' lately. Three days a week, he practises until 6:00 after school - no big deal, but it puts me behind when I get home, and two days a week, he practises from 5:30 to 7:30, so I get to go back into town to pick him up after practise. Just enough of a disruption to my routine to make me feel like I am behind!

This weekend is going to be a 'catch up' weekend. I hereby vow to make a list of all the things I need to do or want to do, between now and Christmas. (See how much leeway I gave myself - I have between now and Christmas to come up with a list! Not quite what I meant.) I know I have a ton of things I want to do, but I don't seem to focus on the important projects. (I would rather sit down and read a book.) I work better with a list, so it is there in black and white. I also feel better when I can cross an item off my list.

For things that have to happen this weekend, major housecleaning is tops on the list. I also need to get the leaves off the front lawn - just to make room for the other leaves! My trees can't loose all their leaves at once! Alex is supposed to help me, and I might even get some help from Dallas - we'll see.

I actually finished a doily! This is a fairly simple, quick doily, and it felt like it took me forever to finish it! I only had to frog it once, and then just one row, but it seems my crochet time has been cut lately! This is about 20 inches across, and done in Christmas Green - it is part of Christmas exchange from one of my Yahoo! lists. I don't think the photo does it justice - I didn't want to wait until I had good light to take the picture, so made do with flash and a black background. I was just excited to finally finish it!

From here on out - I think I need to focus on my snowflakes. I think I have close to 40 done. I am thinking I need at least 80 - so I need to get cranking on them! I also have a ton of gloves to add crochet edging to for gifts this year. Christmas is coming! Soon!

I think my crochet time has been replaced with sleeping time! I fell asleep on the couch last night at 9:00! Allison let me sleep in a bit this morning. The schools and the bank are closed for Veteran's Day, so we slept in to 6:30! A whole extra hour for me! (Of course, I was awake at my normal 5:30, I just didn't get up!) So far, it is just Alli and I awake at home. Ralph got up around 7:00 and left for work (poor baby) and Alex and Dallas are still snoozing. I'm making waffles this morning, so I think they will be waking up pretty soon!