One thing I’ve learned about coming home from any vacation away from your regularly scheduled life: you’d better hit the ground running or be prepared to lose some skin when you hit. Did I really only just get back from my trip to Kentucky 16 days ago?! What the hell happened?!
:: inhale ::
:: exhale ::
Okay… here are the highlights:
- I attended my first gallery reception as an artist (photographer) for GLOW. Sarah and Keith were there, of course, since Keith was my co-photographer for the entry. My Dad, my 92-year-old Grandma, family friends Alice & John, and the entire Jones Family all came with their love and support. It was so great to have each and every one of you there!
- I worked my tail off, at home with my fingers attached to my desktop computer, and finally finished a month-plus-long super-secret, super-special Christmas project. It’s the thing I’m most excited about giving this holiday season!
- I sent out this tweet: “After successfully creating four of my signature baby shower gifts, I respectfully request a cease of procreation until after the holidays.”
- My dear friend Steph — now six-months pregnant and one of the recipients of a baby shower gift — came back to MD to go see the Trans Siberian Orchestra with me! The show was great (even if it did include a lot of hairography), and afterwards we ate at the fabulous TenPenh restaurant where we got to hear the words, “Compliments of the Chef!” not once, but twice!
- Sarah S-E and I made peppermint bark and she let me wash her dishes. YUM, and YES!
- I attended Karin’s baby shower (again, armed with signature gift), and won a Crate & Barrel tea light after successfully pinning the diaper on a paper-poster Baby Stewart, who strangely enough looked JUST like his? her? it’s? father.
- I have not completed my Christmas shopping yet, and so the only explanation can be that I’ve officially switched over to the Bizarro universe without realizing it. I did, however, manage to wrap what gifts I had gathered up and it only took Wolverine and The Fox and the Hound to do it.
- Mom and I spent more than three hours in the kitchen baking and decorating Christmas cookies. And that was AFTER she’d already mixed up all of the dough.
In other news, I cat-sat for five at my parents’ house while Mom went to Blacksburg to visit Jaci, and Dad went hunting. They came home in time to celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary (Go Parents!), and I inhaled finished reading two books and got caught up with my Hulu queue just as all of the new episodes stopped airing for the holiday break.
Now I’m focusing all of my energies on those end-of-the-year tasks that are elbowing each other, unwilling or unable to wait patiently in line sorted in any manner of sense whatsoever. There’s Christmas cards and gift packages to prepare, then mail. A box of stuff that needs to be turned into a list and then taken to Goodwill. I need to fix my checkbook error, which is going to go one way or the other by about $100. I’ll be attending a small dinner party this Saturday, and since Sarah‘s cooking I should probably start starving myself now so I’ll have room for all the goodness about to appear on my plate.
Mom’s Christmas tree needs decorating, my yard needs to be raked, and one way or the other I’m going to have to troubleshoot my front door else be locked in (or out) of my house entirely. I’m swimming a mile once a week, but want to get back into the gym and make some use out of this membership I’m paying for. There are emails to respond to, a cat’s toenails to trim, and a legion of dust to attack throughout the house.
Oh yes, and on Wednesday I’m getting a new windshield for my car, because an old star from driving to and from Baltimore decided to become a three-foot-long, horizontal fissure last Friday night.
:: inhale ::
:: exhale ::
Absolutely stunning!! Still trying to carve out a day to go see the exhibit, but it is a must.
And wasn’t TSO AMAZING?! Saw the show on Wednesday afternoon and loved every minute…but, seriously, how did those girls not get dizzy with all the head spinning and head flipping? So, I guess my dreams of being a rock band singer expired when I cut my hair! 🙂
Joleen — Thank you! I do hope you get to stop by and see GLOW… It’s small but interesting! 🙂
Hey, I went Wednesday afternoon too!!! ;-D Ticketmaster gave me a chance to review TSO’s concert — I gave them 4/5 stars. I LOVED that they gave ~$15K to a children’s hospital, and that they were so good to the kids (one kid walked away w/ a guitar at the end of our show), but I REALLY did not like all the hairography. I found it totally distracting, which is sad, because they play (and/or sing) so very well! And, it says *something* when the strobe lights, lasers, fog, tv’s and pyrotechnics don’t bother you, but the hair tossing does. It was a little out of control… 🙂
Your list of things completed, and things to complete seriously just stressed ME OUT.
I am now furiously scribbling down all the things I need to get done this week. If only my bank account would cooperate…
Oh Ashley, I’m so sorry! *HUG* At least I was able to help you come up with some names (one of the things I know is on your list)!
[My attitude lately has been “Bank account? Smank account!” I’m going to hate myself next year… LOL]