December Madness

Well folks, 2008 is fast coming to a close. In just over a month we will all be settling into 2009. But before we get there we all have to get through December. I always find December nuts, and just a little too jammed-packed, but this year? I don't think I've seen anything quite like it.

Colin will be away again for the first two weeks of December (but back for the weekends), working on the Island. It's ironic (in a good way) that during this massive economic slide Colin has had more work than ever before, and it sounds like he will be busy till the end of the year.

I will have to use this weekend, and the first two weeks of December to finish my little project and get the house in tip-top shape because... starting December 10th we have 6 functions in 5 days: we are going to see Robin Williams, I then have an admin staff party, my sorority party, two more parties on the Saturday, and one on the Sunday. In that time I am also getting my hair done and in order for Colin to see Robin Williams I have to drive out to Horseshoe Bay after work on Wednesday and drop him back out there around 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning! Which means a 4:00 a.m. start for me, followed by 5 parties in 4 days.

The third week is pretty quiet so far. I have my staff party, and then my vacation starts. But Colin thought it would be a good idea to host Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve - so there goes my first week of vacation - cooking a sit down Turkey dinner for 12 people, for the first time ever! I will have lots of help, but still...

I'm declaring 2009 the year of rest... yeah, fat chance of that happening!

Darker and Darker

Is it just me, or does this autumn seem particularly dark this year? Considering it's November the weather hasn't been all that bad. Just a few days of rain, but mostly sun or overcast, and fairly average temperatures. Maybe my body thinks it's Spring and is expecting the days to get longer, not shorter.

Maybe I get in such a funk at this time of year with the weather, that I never pay much attention to the shortening days. But since the weather has been okay, I'm noticing the darkness that much more.

Now I am just sitting and waiting for the crazy windstorm headed our way today. Apparently the gusts are supposed to hit 90 km/hour. I am just noticing now the trees are starting to sway a little...

On an entirely different note, I can't believe it's already Friday, and that the day is half done. This week has been a little strange since last weekend was so stressful, and Colin has been away all week, working on the Island. And he may not be back for Saturday night. Hopefully he will be, but I have Lisa and Andrew to keep me company tomorrow evening. I think Lisa needs to win the super duper friend of the week award. I plan to go shopping tonight - see if I can get some more Christmas shopping done, and maybe do some for myself - I am bucking the economic trend...

My de-cluttering and re-org is nearing the end and I will be damn glad when it's done. Then the next steps are putting things away and clearing out the closets and putting more things into storage. My goal is to have this done by the end of November, since December is always busy, and the calendar is starting to fill up!

Can't Wait for Monday

I think Hell just froze over - I am actually looking forward to the work week this week. I never in a billion years thought I'd say that, as much as I love my job. But this weekend was just crazy.

I will preface it by saying it wasn't all bad. I had a couple of awesome social engagements. But when I wasn't out of the house, things were just stressful.

My de-cluttering and reorganizing project has taken on a life of its own. And while I am trying to achieve an organized lifestyle, everything has been thrown into more chaos than I started with. And I don't do chaos, so it's starting to get to me.

With both our parents moving we have been obtaining more and more stuff we don't have room for, but things we want for when we have a decent sized home. So Colin has spent his weekend moving things to the storage locker, and it's just been stressful. For the both of us.

Colin will be away most of this week working, so hopefully I will distract myself by finishing my reorganization and start to organize a few more things for the storage locker. And then I can get on with my life...

Vote n' Bowl

What can I say, today hasn't exactly turned into the most relaxing Saturday. In less than four hours we need to be out the door to cast our vote in the Civic election and then participate in a bowl-a-thon for Cystic Fibrosis - which I'm organizing. In the mean time, Colin has to set up our storage locker, help my dad with some shelves, and then start moving things to the locker - none of which are even ready.

We'll probably take the mattress and mattress pad over today, and a couple of other things. But the mattress and pad haven't been wrapped, so I don't know what we're going to do about that.

It can be hard sometimes when you're the type of person who likes things done, ready, and organized, and you're with someone who is the opposite. And vice versa.

Jumping the Gun?

So I got some me shopping and some Christmas shopping done today. But the Christmas shopping wasn't quite as successful as I hoped. I may have started too early, as none of the Christmas stores have opened and Purdy's doesn't have their Christmas chocolate yet. Apparently that all happens this weekend.

But some Christmas shopping done is better than no Christmas shopping done. The only real downside today was that Lansdowne and Richmond Centre were a heck of a lot busier than I was expecting. I guess a lot of people took today off to get a long, long weekend. Either that, or they were playing hooky...

Coming Along

Do you want an update on my house de-cluttering and reorganizing activities? Probably not, but I am going to tell you anyways. I have completed the two worst rooms in the home: the den and the bedroom.

The den was a nightmare - basically five years of stuff to go through and tidy up. The bedroom wasn't as bad as I cleaned it not long ago. What took the time was going through all my clothes. I emptied all my drawers and took everything out of the closet. I know have this much room for new clothes. Colin wasn't too up on that theory. And I even got rid of a few pairs of shoes, which means more shoes too. Colin didn't like that theory either. But, I plan to go shopping tomorrow anyways - shopping for me, and shopping for Christmas. Yes Christmas shopping! I started doing my Christmas shopping in November a couple of years ago and I really enjoy it. I don't feel rushed and the malls (and people) aren't insane. I generally have everything bought and wrapped by early December. But this year I have to remember not to put bows on anything until the last minute. The cats love to chew them and rip them of the presents. A few people got mangled bows last year - but that's just Tiki and Welly's gift to you.

The Lowest of Human Lows…

There are lots of them out there, but my example is the person who stole my umbrella. Seriously, you have to be a pretty bad person to snatch a Vancouverite’s umbrella during the rainy season, especially with this week’s forecast. And the worst part is, it was taken from work…