Slooooow down

I can't believe it's down to the wire! I mean, all the buildup, all the waiting, all the hype and traffic and marathon shopping sprees and now it's almost here. The older I get, the faster Christmas arrives and the less like an 'EVENT' it seems and more like something I need to write down in my organizer so I don't forget about it. I know, I know....that's just how it goes. Everyone feels that time goes too fast and that they're overscheduled.

But I'm not everyone. It bothers me to see my life racing past in a flurry of packing lunchboxes, doing laundry, running errands, cleaning bunny cages, taking kids to practices and making beads. (O.K., I actually don't mind to beadmaking, but the rest of it is just so..... so.)

What about all the stuff in the middle?

When do we get to do all the other stuff. The cool stuff. Where is the 'beef' of life, if you will. I've been thinking about that these last couple of weeks and so I'm determined to enjoy these holidays and not spend them stressed out, racing around town trying to make everything perfect. Last year, we got so busy we didn't even have time to make the gingerbread house, for crying out loud.

I'm done shopping and I'm going to get everything wrapped today while the kids are enjoying the last day of school. Then, we're going to just unplug. We're going to take a couple of little road trips to visit places I've been wanting to see for a while. We're going to do some Christmas crafts, make that gingerbread house, cook up some s'mores in the patio fireplace, take the dogs to the dog park... whatever strikes our fancy. No schedule, no little calendar book to keep me on track, no stress. We're going to kick back, get the frenzy behind us and just do a little living.

I hope you all do the same.

FREE SHIPPING THRU CHRISTMAS!!!

Yes, it's been awhile. That's because, like everyone else, I've been incredibly busy. And my rationale for not updating my blog has been, "If I don't have time to write it, I know they don't have time to read it."

Howevah...I have an awful lot of Christmas items languishing in my Etsy shop. An awful lot. And, well, it's almost Christmas......so, um, you know.....if you could maybe just stop buy...oops, I mean stop by.

And, starting today,

FREE SHIPPING THRU CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

There are lots and lots and lots and lots of other beads, jewelry and beaded gifts available. Come check it out!

Oh, how they grow!

I hope everyone had a great holiday, filled with food and fun. I know we did. Every year, we trek up to Robert's sister's home in St. Augustine. The day is filled with family gossip, food, football and some Monkey-in-the-Middle. This year, everyone brought their dogs. As our children have gotten older, the dogs have sort of taken their place in some ways. Just like the kids used to do, they ran loose all day, playing and jumping, stealing snacks, bickering when the got over-tired. By the end of the evening, the kitchen floor was wall to wall with sleepy canines. Lots of them. Two pit-pulls, two Chihuahuas, a Husky, an Akita and our yellow lab. That's a lot of dogs, let me tell you.

A tradition that we have is, after dinner and dessert, when everyone is winding down, we all head down to Old Towne, where they light up the city with thousands of tiny lights. We walk through the square and wander through the streets, stop for hot chocolate and ice cream (well, it's Florida!), admire the Bridge of Lions and soak up that last bit of peace before the Season kicks in full speed.

As we walk through the square, I always make the kids stop and climb up on one of the old cannons and pose for a picture. We've done this every year for, oh, about a decade or more I guess. This year, when I downloaded the pictures later, I was amazed by how huge the kids were. I mean, really so big. So I went back, looking for an older picture to compare. The earliest one I could find on my computer was from 2004. It's not very good quality, but you can get my general point.

Wow, that went by quick.

Pondering on it

Like about everybody else in the neighborhood and thereabouts, tonight I'm thinking about what I'm thankful for. I mean, there's momentary thankfulness like, "Holy crap, thank God I didn't run over that kid! Freaking blind spot!!!" and there's the deeper thanks of, "My family is good. We've gone another year and we're all still here, still healthy, still together." But there's an awful lot of in between, right? So much grey, so much that seems trivial but that's not really.

So, here's a few things I'm thankful for:

1. My healthy, intact family. Yeah, I know I already said it, but it's the most important thing so I'm saying it again.

2. My new puppy. This one's healthy and lovey and sweet. Goofy as a three dollar bill, though.

3. My kick-ass husband who lets me melt glass all day every day and never bats an eyelash.

4. My kids who do the same and think my job is cool.

5. Although we haven't been untouched by this diseased economy, we haven't been destroyed by it.

6. For the first time since my daughter was born - I'm withing spitting distance of getting my ass into a size 8. And I mean a real 8, not the fake 8 that's really a 10.

7. That Ullja is getting sued

8. The beach. Honestly, I don't know how I'd live without it. Just knowing it's there is enough to get me through the toughest times.

9. Tomorrow is the biggest pie-eating day of the year. Pie's my all time fave.

10. That the world, though still greatly distressed, seems somewhat more hopeful than it did two years ago when I was having trouble even imagining my children's future.

So, what's on your list?

What color are you?

Do you have a color that's just so close to you, so loved by you that it's more than just a 'favorite'? A color that's truly yours?

I don't mean one that you wear all the time (although, that does count) or that you choose because it makes your butt look smaller. No, I'm talking about the color that's reflective of you, that the sight of alters your mood, brings a private little smile to your senses and somehow soothes your overworked nerves. The color that when you look around your home you realize that - through no intentional design plan - you've surrounded yourself with.

Thank you to Joan Miller Porcelain for this pendant. It's my favorite and I wear it all the time!