Anyone else want to skip Christmas?

Not that I have anything against Christmas, mind. And I do look forward to hanging out with all of my friends and make-my-own family. But I'm not sure I have the energy this year for all of the gift buying and gift giving and running around and so on.

Don't worry, I'm not scrooging out here - I'm going to find the energy somewhere, digging into my core to find it. I'm just saying.

Especially since I'm hoping to use those ten days off to Get Stuff Done^TM. I'd really like to have January be free and clear - a time for me, when I can focus on getting my own stuff done and not spend so much endless time worrying about apartment buildings.

Perhaps even a time where I spent not one, but two evenings a week at home? A shocking prospect, to be sure... but it could be fun :-)

Having a Dream

So how many of you out there actually have a dream of what you'd like to be accomplishing with your life?

No, you don't?

Well, me neither. But at this point I realize that I want to have a dream. I want to have an impact on the world around me, "make it a better place" and all that cliched mumbo-jumbo. I realize that this is trite stuff, everybody goes through twinges of this.

But that's the thing. For years I've denied any desire to have a dream, to have an impact. For years I let myself be daunted by my perception that the world was too big and I was too small, that there was no way to make a difference I could feel was worthwhile.

I'm still daunted. I have no idea what I want to dream about. I have no real idea how I could make a difference that struck me as worthwhile.

But now I know I want to. Hopefully the rest will follow.

And soon :-)

Mmm - good cookies!

Life is still stressful, but it was punctuated by a welcome moment of chaos - the annual cookie exchange! Many good cookies were brought by all, and there were at least 20 different kinds to share. Of course I had to wait through many torturous minutes while waiting for all to gather, and then for all to finish having Indian food (very tasty!), but finally, all of those various kinds of cookies were mine! Next year I think I'll offer my cookie picking services to Chris and Darcy - to ensure they get at least a few of every kind of cookie. As the hosts they are generally very gracious and take what is left on the table, but I think this year that meant that they missed out on a couple of their favourite kinds of cookies, and we must make sure that doesn't happen again! Or else - heaven forbid - somebody else might have to host!

After the cookies were squirreled away, Darcy broke out the gingerbread train that Catherine and Amelia had created together, and then the adults sat back to watch the sugar rush proceed. There were only three small ones in attendance, but they seemed like many more as they played tag (also known as running endlessly after each other round and round the circular path through the living room, hall, kitchen and dining room). Chris got them calmed down with a nice round of Simon says, but then Catherine insisted that someone else get to be Simon (first me, and then I handed the baton to Caitlyn) and by the end they were all worked up again. I'm quite certain all the parents had quite the time getting their kids to bed!

We even had the youngest members represented - both John and Connor were in attendance, and apart from a few minutes of angry hungry heartbreak on John's part (what do you mean my gruel is all gone!) they were uncommonly calm and cheerful throughout the chaos.

Good cookies and good times!