Woah

This has been such a crazy couple of days. Of course, you all ready about my Friday night (and thanks for all the compliments on the tattoo!). Saturday, all the girls in the family went shopping for our annual Christmas pajamas. Sometimes this coordinates with the boy's lights/tools day, sometimes not. Emma enjoyed her first lobster tail at lunch, where we all fueled up elegantly for the shopping excursion ahead. Saturday night was my friend Shayla's 30th birthday party. Which was really fun because it was a cocktail party and everyone was dressed so beautifully. Chris even wore a suit, and can I just say that my man looks good in a suit! There are pictures of all of these things, but I've been a little photo-happy here lately, and I really don't have time to add them to the post.
Sunday was another crush of activity, ending with the first Sunday church service of Advent. That's always fun for me, and it's sort of when Christmas gets going. We had a really nice service - a little liturgical in nature - and lit candles as we read the prophecies about the Messiah from the Old Testament. Just as the increasing light of the candles brightens the room, the prophecies about the Coming Messiah gave increasing hope to the people of Israel. I'm really looking forward to our worship times this season.
Anyway, after that lovely pause, today just rushed by me in a flurry of catching up with little things at work, trying to get some Christmas shopping done this afternoon in my Monday "me" time (which really wasn't "me" time today - and why, oh why do I always seem to wear tall secretary shoes on days I have to run errands?) and grabbing the kids in time to pawn them off on my Julianna, who took them to dinner and a movie while we tried to accomplish ALL of our Christmas shopping in one night. Make that four hours, but toss dinner in there and it's closer to three. So, I'm pretty much wiped out and over-budget at this point. That's what happens when you don't have time to plan well, huh?
This is the first Christmas season that's actually stressing me out a little bit. It's not that I don't have holiday stress normally, but it's just that it's a different kind of stress. I'm usually rushing about making and creating and celebrating. But this year seems to have a lot more just chores and regular life stuffed into it. Maybe it's just that I don't have the white space my brain likes to have. I need that time to think and just "be." And I just don't have it right now. I'm hoping that, with shopping pretty much done already, we'll be able to settle into the business of meditating and family activity, baking and wrapping and singing in a more relaxed way - very soon.
We shall see.

DAILY BLISS: tabbouleh salad for lunch and clearance racks