Ready Or Not

I have had a real problem with Thanksgiving coming so late this year and shortening the Christmas season (meaning time to shop for it). Could I have started shopping BEFORE Thanksgiving? Yes, yes, I could. DID I start shopping before Thanksgiving? I don't believe I need to answer that. But seriously, THREE WEEKS is not enough time to do all the planning, baking, and shopping, or in my case, do any of it, and I am now scrambling like eggs in a hot skillet of bacon grease to make Christmas magic happen. Smoke and mirrors, baby, smoke and mirrors.

Here are my Ten Things of Thankful:

1. Christmas vacation has officially begun. I don't go back to work until January 3, and children don't return until the 6th. 

2. While I have done minimal decorating this year, the tree is up, the garland is hung over all the doorways, and the candles are in the windows, and it's warm and Christmasy.

3. The cats have pretty much stayed out of the tree since it has been decorated.

4. Lewis has kept ornament theft to a minimum this year. I have only found about five of them around the house, and they are cat-friendly ones I hung low in hopes he would take the easy route to de-ornamenting the tree.

5. Christmas goodies. I have eaten so many of them that the true Christmas miracle is that I still fit into my clothes (barely). I will deal with that AFTER the new year.

6. The days are getting longer as of today!

7. I did my (now) annual showing of the Jingle Bell Rock scene from Mean Girls to my class. They thought it was HILARIOUS. Shortly after, my friend (and boss) Nikki handed me a gift, and inside was... PERFECTION:

8. My brother and sister in law took us to the Kansas City Symphony Christmas Festival at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. It was a spectacular event! 

With my brother

With my husband and daughter

9. The KC Chiefs are 14-1 and have cliched the AFC West. I think I hold a lot of the responsibility for this record by leaning hard the direction the ball is being carried, thereby getting them more yards with each play. I hope they appreciate the little extra effort.

10. Sunday evening and no Sunday Scaries! 

It's going to be a busy week: baking, candy making, traveling, celebrating the birth of Christ with family and friends. My thankfuls will grow like my waistband!

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Bad Pennies Always Turn Up, a/k/a I'm Back. Again.

Wow. Not a single post since October 27. When I closed my laptop after that post, I had so much hope for the future of our country, and that hope was crushed a week later. Outwardly, I have been going through the motions of being okay, but inside, I am terrified. 

But I am also resilient. 

I started this blog almost thirteen years ago because I was scared, and writing became my personal therapy, and I'll be damned if I am going to allow a felon and his minions to take this happy place from me. Time to make some good trouble.

And now for the thankfuls.

Five. More. Days. Of. School. Until. Christmas. Break.

The college students who have worked with me as teacher assistants, both past and present. 

Butter on sale for $3.50 a pound. 

Johnny Mathis special on PBS.

Awesome finds at thrift stores.

Once a Bear, always a Bear

Getting the daily Wordle in three or less tries.

My friend Linda's memes that she posts on my Wordle results regardless of how many tries it takes me to get the answer.

My personal cheerleader! Linda, not the dog.

Aloe vera for kitchen burns (but to the person whose tooth I saved by fishing the old maid out of the pan of caramel corn with my bare finger, you're welcome!)

Cheese.

My daddy, He celebrated his 90th birthday this week!

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