First Friday of December!

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

We are going into the first weekend of December.

What plans do you have for this weekend?

What planning do you have to do for upcoming days/weeks?

This is a busy time of year with lots of additional tasks/events that don't have the deadline of the 24th/25th.

And then there are those of us with December birthdays, and trying hard to not let those be lost in the noise of this month.

Lots to think about today as we move into the weekend.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Dh is deposited at the airport. We left 35 minutes later than I would have liked but he got to the gate with well over an hour to spare so he was right, I was wrong.

I was ready at 7:15 (my time to leave) so while he finished packing up, I started to place my nativity sets around the apartment. Some will be in new spots where little hands can easily play with them. Some are well out of reach. Our internet modem and router have moved, unfortunately into my way in one case so the African grape leaf wise men have been banished to on top of the router since they don't really belong out yet. I usually don't put out the wise men at all since my decorations are down by Epiphany but with this set, they stay out but away from the manger because they are interesting. And the box the set comes in is the manger so it keeps everything together.

Once all the sets are out, I'll run around and gather up the baby Jesuses, except for the ones with the play sets.

I have one more scene to set up and then I move to the kitchen for house-blessing chores, zone work, and decorating. Dgd had me buy some decals that I think I'll put on my white kitchen cupboard doors. It will be incentive to get those doors properly degreased. That chore is one I tend to skip and just wipe down when I see dirt on them.

[CathyS]

Not doing much for Christmas this year. We just aren't in the mood. Lights outside aren't up. Tree isn't going up partly due to young kitten/cat being very curious. She would most likely climb it every time our backs were turned. I think a lot has to do with the fact that we bought each other something around Thanksgiving. I've been working on a counted cross stitch for dh for a Christmas gift since June 24, doing minimum of 200 stitches per day to get it done. I do plan on doing some baking. Dh wants mincemeat tarts, so those need to be made plus some shortbread. As far as I know we aren't going to see dh's mom and sister. I doubt we will see dd and her bf.

Cleaning lady is here. She gets here later and later and leaves earlier and earlier. She has a minimum price for "2 hours every 2 weeks". Dh likes her work, I always find places she consistently misses. Sigh... at least it pushes me to have a perfectly cleaned kitchen before she shows up.

[blessedw2]

crazy that it is the first Friday in December!

thank you for starting us this morning d Kathryn
wishing your dh a wonderful trip!
enjoy decorating your nativity sets!

hi d Cathy! Each season is different and we all have to go with works for us in that season! Good for you for doing what you need or want to do!
have a good day as well

have a wonderful day everyone.

[blessedw2]

good day to you!!!

dd older and I discussed my brothers advice and she said I can't keep saying sorry for other peoples bad behavior just to smooth things out for them. She feels that's why people feel they can say things or take advantage of me.

The only people I can't seem to stop is my own very strong family. My brother is strong but tries to understand different way of doing things or be kind bc he knows I don't do well with the strong arm family opinions or loud criticism. I am a strong but kind person with everyone else and I can ignore cranky moods or cranky people easily - I say a prayer for them or try to be kind - figuring that people are cranky bc of something underneath the surface. I would rather be talked to and discuss things where there can be an understanding of minds.

today's goal:
a non drama family day and do my best!

things have been building in the house bc I have not been doing the put away dance with the holiday stuff. I just have to finish the decorating.

wishing you blessings throughout your day!

[Twins' Mom]

You're on the move today, Kathryn!

I got up late - stayed up too late because decompressing from long evening with more chit chat than my ears could reasonable handle. And I don't have anywhere to be today so I just slept on.

I should go to the grocery today, and I wanted to go to the downtown library for their book sale. And I should get moving...

[Ramblinrose]

Morning…

I just finished all my packing so that’s done. Taking a break and then will take a shower. Want to put the condo back in some kind of order but that may wait till tomorrow.

We went out to my favorite place for pizza last night. On the way there we had to wait for 15+ deer to cross the road. Many does and yearlings and we live in an urban area though everyone still has big yards and the trees in our area are over 100 years old. Very tall and big including Christmas type evergreen trees. Took the herd almost 10 minutes to cross and the traffic behind us was not pleased, but of course they had no idea what the hold up was.

The last to cross the road, not a street, was a mama with her two yearlings. She would get to the edge of the road, put her foot on it, hesitate and the back up. Didn’t help that there was probably 10+ cars with headlights on, shining on the road. It was a sight to see. Deer are not that unusual anymore in our area, but the most I’ve ever seen of deer together is about 6. I was the first car so the deer all crossed in front of me.

After lunch we are going to treat ourselves to a ride down to the beach, and if it’s not too cold for Sweetie we want to walk the boardwalk. Then it’s dinner at the same place we held my moms family celebration at my friends restaurant. I’m looking forward to spending more time with my brother.

No idea about Christmas but know I won’t do much. Most likely a small tree and a few Cmas decorations here and there.

[Lady Maverick]

Good morning!

I didn't get to bed until after midnight because I stayed up waiting for DS14 to get home. A home caught fire in our little town and after the fire dept finished and made sure it was safe then DS14 and his boss went to check the status of the property his boss owns. His boss didn't own the home that burned but he owns structures on 3 sides of the burned property. After DS14 came home then he sat in the living room with me and talked while he processed the experience.

I made and appt for DH to get his hair cut with a new barber this morning. The barber moved here because his wife is in the military and is stationed at a nearby base. This barber does things a little differently and I wanted DH to experience it. I just don't know if DH is a steam facial type of guy, but I guess we will find out.

Both of the kids leave this afternoon for camp. They will be back tomorrow night. DH and I have a rare 24 hours to focus on ourselves. We plan to go shoot guns at our property. I have several old hard drives that I want to destroy before disposing of them. I seriously doubt if anyone would try to get my information from the old hard drives but using them as targets seemed a fun way to make sure the data is not retrievable.

menu plan for today -
5 mini meals =
1. Yogurt & Blueberries
2. Lentils
3. Vegetables w/liver
4. Chocolate Milk Shake
5. Peanut butter on tortilla wrap
Main Meal - Shakshuka

Yesterday was the very first day that I managed to get >250 steps in each of the 12 hours. I was pretty happy to achieve that. 250 steps are a short distance to walk (about 2 minutes). It has been an eye-opening experience for me to realize that I have hours that I don't take even that few of steps.

[blessedw2]

showered.
menu done
budget worked on
having yogurt and 2 tbl grape nuts together for lunch. I will have an apple later on.
I have to call mom's church today
dh did the dishes.

I am happy again. thank goodness!

dh got himself into a tizzy bc he couldn't find his mayonnaise but I found it exactly where he put it. He started laughing bc he got himself so frustrated and assumed someone (me) moved it. He said "I did it again".

time for errands and wishing you a great day!

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

I'm at risk of going into a holiday movie coma. I've 'watched' (mostly listened to) two so far while working on the kitchen so that's 3 hours of work. And I still have the shelves behind 16 cupboard doors and 13 drawers to do. I can't believe it. My kitchen is obviously too large. After the insides are all cleaned, I have to clean the outsides of all the cupboard doors and drawers (although I'm doing the top edge and the ledge formed where the cupboards meet the wall, while up on the step stool.)

Each cupboard seems like it will only take a few minutes but then it takes forever.

We have cheap cupboards with non-adjustable shelves and the doors are thermofoil. The super dry environment here means the adhesive has broken down and the doors are peeling along the top (for below counter) or bottom (for above counter.) As well, the laminate strip on the edges of my shelves have also started to peel away in a lot of places.

This is a rental. They will not repair or replace the kitchen cabinets. Or the laminate counter with is also giving up its edge pieces. So today, part of the slow work is taking packing tape and putting it along the edges that are peeling and at risk of breaking. And for the cupboard under the sink where the laminate at the bottom has broken off, I've put white duct tape.

The kitchen will be gutted and replaced when we move (as will the bathrooms) so at this point we feel free to do anything we want with the cupboards. But it is frustrating to be living in a place with cabinets that are falling apart and cracked floor tiles and paying almost 3x as much in rent as ds pays for his mortgage and taxes for his little house. My view is exceptional and I have a ton of space but the walls, cupboards, floors, appliances and fixtures (except my kitchen sink which we had them install when we moved in) are in appalling condition.