Bah, Humbug!

It's already mid-December...just ten days left before Christmas, and we haven't done SQUAT. Maybe tomorrow Mark will have time to get the lights up...and I hope that we have time to pick out a tree this weekend.

• The plans for the kitchen are on hold for a while, as it will be a good chunk of money to get it done. We have too many other things going on. We have everything in place to start when we are ready.
  
• Changes for both of us at work:
  
  Mark has a new group for Church Council as well as a new secretary.
  
  My manager has moved to a new department and the director has split the department into two groups; there will be two managers now, one for upgrade project managers and one for account managers. It's a good idea, as managing both groups was really too big a job for one person.
  
• Mom is in South Florida as I write this. She flew down there to meet with a specialist from the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. I have no idea if they will be able to help her, but we are trying to be hopeful. I'll write more about that situation later.

Love to all...

It's already December?!

Time just flies, and it seems every night we have something else keeping us busy. Soccer, tutoring, meetings at church, choir...and it's just as bad on the weekend. Tomorrow will be another soccer game for Kyla, and most likely Mark will have to do something at church. This Sunday after church I am singing The Messiah with a choir made up of Lutherans from many local congregations. Immediately after that I'll be at a baby shower for a co-worker.

• In the last month my father-in-law has been hospitalized; he is doing a bit better, but we still worry about him.
• It has been three years to the day that my mother was hit by the drunk driver. It's difficult to know what to call it...do we "commemorate" it, call it an "anniversary"...? Hard to know, but my mom wants to be doing something fun today...something other than sitting around and dwelling on the date. Last year she went to Disney for several days with a friend. This year she might be going out to dinner with Bill. Can it be three
  years?
• Back to the mundane: yes, we came through Wilma just fine. South Florida (mostly Broward County) got the worst of it. After the storm went through Florida our temperatures fell. We haven't seen 80 degrees in a while. I'm hoping it will warm up again.
• The house is looking better and better. The folks at Home Depot came by for the SECOND measure; soon we will actually order the cabinets and look for someone to do the installation. Plus we will need an electrician and a plumber.
• We saw the latest Harry Potter (Goblet of Fire) last weekend; really enjoyed it. We debated whether to bring Kyla. She is old enough to understand that those images were only a movie, so we took her. The toughest part was watching Cedric's father grieve.
• Advent is always especially busy. Messiah this week, service of Lessons and Carols at Blessed Trinity next week, the following Sunday will be the Cantata, plus Christmas caroling to shut-ins.
• I read a lousy book: The Patron Saint of Liars, same author as Bel Canto. I loved Bel Canto...Patron Saint was not much of a follow up.

We are considering a Disney Christmas, but we aren't positive; it might be too busy at the Happiest Place on Earth. We are guessing that the worst of it will be the week between Christmas and New Years...if we can take a day or two off before then, we might have a better time.

Greetings to all....