I am finally over the last dregs of a nagging cold, and although my knees are now giving me problems, I have strong enough painkillers and a doctor's permission to put some miles on them and try to get my weight down. So, I am hoping that I can spend a few hours on each of the next five days at the gym.

Crazy busy week planned but starting out this morning with tehbarfs. Am scheduled to retrieve my nephew from the airport tonight.

I'm excited to be once again helping a friend wrap presents. I'm good at it and miss it since the family has shrunk and I have only a handful of friends who exchange gifts.

So I have an assortment of toys and clothes (6 y.o. girly things!) hidden at my house which a jolly ol elf will deliver xmas eve.

We're having a wrap-straveganza tomorrow night. I'll finish what isn't done later this week so it's ready for the big day.

With doc appointment and PT scheduled this week it'll be fewer hours at work, thus fewer hours of Napoleonic directives. Win.

Last full week of work this year! yahoo! And Wednesday, our little corner of the office is going to lunch and I'm ordering the most expensive thing on the menu, BOO YA. STEAK STEAK STEAAAAAAAAAAAK.

I have plans this week to watch "Holiday in Handcuffs", a cheesy ABC Family movie, because Ms. Pterodactyl suggested it to me via Twitter and it stars Melissa Joan Hart & Mario Lopez. SOLD SOLD SOLD. Not much else going on this week, other than a holiday show with a friend tomorrow night. Marc's church is doing caroling on the church steps Thursday night at 7, but that's a little late for baby, so I think I'll have to pass.

but starting out this morning with tehbarfs

Oh noes! Sorry about BLARG, that's unpleasant.

Today, I'm printing labels for lots of homemade goodies in jars and bottles, candied nuts and fruit liqueurs and frozen tarts and toffee and so on, that I'm giving as Christmas gifts.

Tomorrow, grocery shopping, more Christmas-project cooking, and a haircut. (YAY!) Also maybe some casual shopping in local stores, though I'm mostly done with the "buying things" part of my list.

Thursday is Day! Of! Nothing! Every year, my niece and I meet to wander through the festive downtown and do nothing much. When she was small, it was a chance for her to do Christmas shopping for her parents, but also a chance to unwind during a busy season. We do have a few traditions: I take her out for lunch, we stop for peppermint hot chocolate, and we end the afternoon at my place where we have soup and grilled cheese sandwiches and oftentimes we paint our toenails.

I also need to get to the art supply store. I undertook a project for a niece's present that turned out bigger and harder than I expected, and I need to rethink my materials. Uh-oh.

My week has begun in some disarray. I'd signed up to volunteer with Crisis at Christmas, at a venue convenient to me. It's a charity which opens shelters for the homeless across London over the Christmas period and it's reliant on volunteers to run these. At the last minute they've changed it to another location several miles away, south of the river. I'm trying to change shifts to another location where I'll be able to drive/park, but if I can't do that I won't be able to volunteer on Christmas Day and Boxing Day when there are no tubes - because there's no parking in the area.

So there's some uncertainty at the moment, because I have no idea if I'll be able to do all five shifts I'd signed up for, or where I'll be. But at least I'm not in the position some of the volunteers are in - people who are travelling a long way (Scotland, for example) and who've booked and paid for hotel rooms within walking distance of what they were told would be the location of the shelter they'd volunteered at, only to be told now that it's miles away and across the river.

But we had our Christmas lunch at work today, at a lovely restaurant. I was ill with food poisoning yesterday and so by the time lunch rolled round at 1.30pm I was hungry and thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

Lots of little and not so little things to take care of at work before the holidays.
I am feeling low energy and lazy so I am not sure if they will get done.
Must also make dr appt and refill prescriptions and help find holiday presents for e's family who we will go see next week in Illinois.
On the bright side I am really looking forward to the series finale of gossip girl.
Also a double date tomorrow with a friend and her new bf who we like and hope she holds on to.
Just got an unexpected box of treats in the mail for our CEO, which is really nice. I should eat a salad though instead.

I called out of work sick this morning because I was feeling super congested and exhausted. After a good 3 hour nap, I feel much better.

Tomorrow I have another costuming workshop in Gaithersburg. Thursday is the AKD holiday party that I need to make mac and cheese for. Friday morning I have to be up before sunrise to go over to my sister's house (luckily only right down the road) so we can go drink a glass of wine with the sunrise to welcome it back. I've also got dance class and a divination share in the evening. Saturday morning I've got bellydance bootcamp and in the evening I have a Yule party with the local coven.

A busy week.

On vacation this week (and next week!)

Painting the lattice-work that will go under the porch later in the week. Someday this porch project will actually be done.

Heading to California for a week on Thursday to see the In-laws over the holidays. Ironically it's supposed to be colder and rainier out there than it will be here in Pittsburgh.

Nothing's really wrong, but not feeling the spirit right now. Had the kindergartners as my Sunday school class yesterday. Friday's thing didn't come up with them, but the other teachers were subdued, too.

I really just don't want to be at work. In my head I'm already home, just chilling and wrapping presents and listening to them play tag outside.

My week is already Alice through the looking glass.

Totally not feeling the spirit. Sad. Overloaded. Sad because I love Christmas, but this one...

Watched "Holiday in Handcuffs" tonight. It was as bad as I expected- Melissa Joan Hart is the worst. I do enjoy me some Mario Lopez, though. Made the night a double-feature- watched "12 Dates of Christmas",which was better- "Groundhog Day" meets "A Christmas Carol" with Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Yay!

Funny you should mention. Big plans afoot for Mrs. Doohickie to have surgery on Thursday have been scuttled by the bronchitis she was diagnosed with today.

Exhausted. Sad. Shaky. Tried my best to answer the unanswerable for some of my students today. Just have to make it to Friday.

My sister came home from school out east yesterday. Between that and a huge internet outage at work I've been distracted, but not 100% feeling the spirit to begin with. I can't wait until Thursday when work is over until after Christmas. I feel like I never get enough sleep. I'd rather be playing video games, or shopping with my sister than going to work.

My whole family went out for Vietnamese last night though. It's so rare that we eat out ever, much less as a full unit. That was really special.

Pretty good. Meeting up with my cookie swap group tonight for beer and cookie swapping (we all live reasonably close to each other, yay for New york) so that will be fun as I haven't met two of the three mefites before.

Work is still kicking my ass. Got behind my workload during Hurricane Sandy and have only been catching up bit by bit every week. Am only about two days behind now though.

Kid is in a non-asshole phase, so that's helpful. This is the first year that she's really had the cognitive ability to plan for xmas so it's all we've been hearing about for the last few weeks.

So all in all, just steady as she goes.

Got things (moving and trashing stuff out) 99% resolved at my grandmother's rental house yesterday - took the day off work to take care of it. Pushed through the tiredness to completely trash it out. I swear, every time I move, I learn something *not* to do again! Eventually I'll have it down pat, right?

Shipped all my holiday packages yesterday, too. Was going to bake cookies, but see above re: moving. Tonight shall be the first batch of cookie baking. The crazy rush rush has begun, and I can't wait until next week, when it won't be as crazy - maybe mid-week? Weird family stuff this year is keeping the holiday spirit somewhat at bay, but I'm determined to make the best of it. I'm so lucky in so many ways, I just have to keep focused on that. Holiday shopping is done - I just have to wait for the rest of the packages to come in and wrap them.