The Most Wonderful Time...

We had our first really big snow storm yesterday. While it delayed a much needed trip to IKEA, it's set the stage for a fun afternoon today. This afternoon we'll be putting up our Christmas tree, complete with a viewing of Elf (love it!) and hot chocolate with quite the picturesque backdrop.

Of course, this is the same backdrop I'll be cursing in January (or, you know, tomorrow when I actually have to drive!), but for now: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

(And LOOK! Lady GaGa's Christmas song is free today!)

The very best Christmas song ever:

(last christmas, wham)

November Book

Book club last night. So stinking fun, it was a little ridiculous, but exactly what I was hoping for when I started this venture. Even if our waiter DID steal his tip (probably because he knew with every ticking second it was getting smaller and smaller...).

For last month, we read Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center. It was good. Not as great as Everyone is Beautiful, but good. Considering how badly I wanted to slap Jenny upside the head through a great deal of it, I was clearly invested at what happened to her. And my favorite part was the clarity and truth at how she wrote about the first few months post-baby. Those, sadly, rang all too true. A few frustrating points (why should we care about Gardner? She really doesn't elaborate on why we should like him or why he's so taken with Jenny, who is CLEARLY a mess), but good. And we all decided that Aaron Eckhart should totally play Gardner in the movie. Because it feels as though there should be a movie.

For those of you playing along at home, December's book is The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. Meeting will be at Starbucks and I'm sincerely hoping GEB will be working to make it just that much more fun...

Music for a Friday:

(coin laundry, lisa mitchell)

Holly Jolly

I'm scrolling through the free Christmas music offerings on Amazon and run into one by Lady GaGa. Cause, you know, nothing screams "Birth of Our Lord" like Lady GaGa. Well, she is dressed up like a present half the time, so there's that... (on a side note, finding an appropriate link for Lady GaGa is a Christmas miracle in and of itself. I scrolled through several until I found one that wouldn't set my parents' computer on fire and have their internet filter chanting RED ALERT! RED ALERT! SAVE THE CHILD FROM AN ETERNITY IN HELL!)

However, I did download songs from Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas, so maybe I'm not really the end all be all authority of what is or is not top notch holiday music...

Or maybe I am, after all. Proper music to start the holiday season with:

(chris cornell, ave maria)

...And the Pay-Off

I've decided to name the house Penelope. We had a little heart to heart last night and a truce was declared (over spice drops and m&ms, of course) and I thought it fitting that this house o' mine was christened. So...Penelope it is. It feels like a girl house. Our last house was a boy house, clearly, but went nameless the two years we were there, sadly. Maybe I should name it NOW and put that in the ad listing! Or not...

We finally got the radiant heat working downstairs. I think that has a LOT to do with my mood lifting. It's finally starting to warm up in here, thank heavens. We also have our PO Box (blech) to temporarily hold us over until I can figure out a way to get real mail. And maybe add in a little time to decipher why everyone, down to a person, kept saying that I was the best person to fight this. In my mind, I like to pretend I'm soft and demure. I'm getting the feeling I'm the only one who pretends that.

Sammy and I popped over to the old house this morning to watch some tv (yes, we hooked it back up over there...yes, I know I'm pathetic). And I prioritized everything that was left to do. Gaining a little control back has lifted the feelings of nausea nicely, thankfully. Tonight will be all about putting together the rest of the rooms skeletons and electronics so that as we finish emptying the old house of the decor (which is pretty much all that is left), we know where it's going. Add in a quick trip to IKEA on Friday and I think by the end of the weekend, we MAY be pretty much done. Except for the cleaning and paint touch ups of the old house. Any extra prayers you all can spare to get it sold quickly wouldn't be unappreciated!

I was catching up on blogs today and kept reading lists and lists of Thanksgiving thankful posts. Health, happiness, family were recurring themes. And I thought of what I am thankful for. Family? Yup. Especially the willing and cheap labor sectors. No words thankful for that. Health? Sure. But I WILL still complain about it. Happiness? Yeah. Especially because it sometimes seems so fleeting. Reading back, two or three weeks, I was blissfully content. Today I'm slogging through and searching for the lost light. I know that most of it is stemming from the loss of control and as I settle and get a grip on things again it will return (and return even more fully once the house sells!), but happiness seems so conditional. Sammy is so fond of saying right now, "Mommy, you're happy?" and giving his cheesy fake grin. I really wish I could remember to be more thankful for it during the times it decides to stick around a little longer so the answer to Sammy is yes more than it is no.

Music for a new day:

(one step, ktp: by the way? this might be the best video EVER.)