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It's been a relaxing few days around here. We had a fabulous Christmas Day with Jim's family, and have just been doing a 'little bit of this, and a little bit of that' and enjoying no deadlines! Getting caught up on naps, lazy conversations and even some movies!
Hope you and yours are having a wonderful time as well. I'm off now to get some new art painted!
While battling insomnia this past month I'd developed an odd schedule. Mostly my life was spent walking around in a sleep-deprived haze, but there were some lucid moments, too. Mornings when I'd managed to eke out more than 5 hours of sleep, I'd be running around in a frenzy of productivity.
Despite attempting to be as methodical as possible with the tasks at hand, I still managed to make a fair number of mistakes. Luckily, most involved Jim or the kids. But one day I was quite embarrassed to get an email from an Etsy customer who thanked me for the lovely set of 10 Holiday Cards, but explained there had only been 6 envelopes included. Ooops. You'd think I'd be 1 short, but 4?? And then
there was the pendant for Janae. I'd made two of them to ensure that nothing could go wrong. But when I went to wrap it up, I finally noticed the finer details calling for a pink cord (not a problem) and a pink border (uhhh, BIG problem!) so it was back to production.
Then about a week ago a miracle happened. I started getting regular sleep again. Being the pollyanna that I am, I was convinced that I could still pull off everything that needed to be done before our party Friday night, and Josh and Dani's "Christmas" with us on Saturday morning. But then Kristi was sick on Monday. And Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday progressed in pretty much the same fashion. A lot of unexpected issues to deal with plus a half dozen trips to the middle school for various practices, concerts and special events.
On Thursday while I was out dealing with yet another unexpected issue, I managed to squeeze in a trip to our local TJMaxx to get some gift cards. Yet Murphy's law prevailed - there were only two registers open. I zipped over to the shortest one just in time to have a woman with a cart FULL of items beat me by a nano second. Uggggh. So when we finally made it up to the register, I was flustered as I grabbed
the gift cards. Then the Heavens smiled down on me. They opened another register and asked for the next person in line. Yayy ME :)
I zipped home for another crazy evening of making dinner, $350 worth of grocery shopping with Jim, laundry, cleaning and attending to my shop orders. But Friday I was in for another good surprise - Jim had taken the day off so he told me he would drive down to Rochester in the snowstorm to pick up Josh from college.
Then my dark cloud reappeared in the form of my oldest daughter. With over 15 people expected for our dinner party at 6pm, Katie took over the kitchen at 1:30 to start making five dozen cookies for a cookie swap at work that evening. Unfortunately, she'd had the same kind of week I had (college exams, driving in snowstorms and lots of unexpected issues) so I just let her be and prayed she got out of there quickly. It wasn't like I didn't have a half dozen other things to attend to - namely getting my parents Christmas gifts wrapped and shipped out if I wanted them there Christmas, and finally getting Janae's shipment out as well. Plus I still had all of Dani and Josh's gifts to wrap. And Christmas cards?? Ha! I hadn't even started.
I managed to get a few things done in the kitchen while dancing around Katie's messy cookie making (was it possible there was a surface NOT covered in cookie dough?) and then zipped back to my studio to get the packages ready for Priority shipments. I knew my mom would be excited about the pendants I was shipping her, she knew I'd been behind and didn't think I would get to them. But now everything was wrapped except for the gift cards from TJMaxx. I thought back to my harried purchase as I addressed them - as neatly as my caffeine induced shaking would allow, "To Grandpa, Love Katie, Kristi, Josh and Dani". Fold it up, wrap it up, put it in the box. Okay, last gift card now, "To Grandma, Love Katie, Kristi, Josh and Danielle". As I glanced down to fold it up, I noticed the card for the first time. A pretty snowflake.
The card, however, read, "Happy Hanukkah" - I nearly peed my pants.
Then I started laughing so hard I had tears running down my face.
Well, the show had to go on. I left my mom a voicemail explaining the new holiday she'd be celebrating, I also told Katie to vamooose out of the kitchen ASAP. And Jim and Josh got back in time to run the packages to the post office. The worst was over, we'd made it and I only had to worry about finishing appetizer and dinner preparations. The gift wrapping could wait until 5am tomorrow!
It wasn't until an hour later when I went to grab some pendants that my friend Denise ordered and was picking up during the party that I realized something. I'd sent them to MOM by mistake!!!
sometimes, you just can't take things too seriously :)
so, Happy Hanukkah, Mom!! And when the correct pendants arrive, you'll find a pre-paid, pre-addressed bubble mailer included to ship the wrong ones back to me.
These smiling kids haven't been together much as a group of four lately. In fact, since August, they've spent a grand total of 20 hours under the same roof at the same time. And at least 16 of those hours were spent sleeping. Having two in colleges in different states, and three of the four also juggling work schedules had made getting a Christmas card photo a bit tricky this year. But we had a 45 minute window of opportunity yesterday morning, and this was the result. Josh and Dani are now in Tampa with their mom, and Katie and Kristi are spending a couple of days with their dad, so Jim and I are finally enjoying some time alone :)
Have lots of funny stories to share - but we just got back from going to the Vikings game with Denise and Charlie, so those will have to wait until tomorrow. One in particular just goes to show what kinds of things can happen when you burn both ends of a candle for too long without a break!
Hope you and yours are enjoying the festivities, and hope you manage to find a little time to yourself to relax - and reflect on the blessings of 2008.
Happy Holidays!!
xo,
Bee
p.s. if you want to know what they're really smiling about - know that we take a couple of "funny" pictures, and this was the shot right after the "weird face" one!! Maybe one year I'll use that as the official photo!! LOL
RC had this on her blog and I loved it :) Feel free to borrow it for your blogging pleasure :)
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
ummmm, BOTH??? :) But in small doses. I'm a salty munchie person, not sweets, typically.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
when the kids were little they were wrapped. These days (4 teenagers) there's a name in TO and the FROM is left blank. Call me efficient, or call me lazy. Just call me. *groan* couldn't resist :)
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
White on the house. And we do two trees, since Josh and Dani grew up with colored lights and Katie and Kristi grew up with white lights. Both trees are on the main level so it's a lot of fun - and the best of both worlds (this is my one holiday splurge every year).
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
nope. Jim kisses me enough as it is and I'd never get any work done. seriously!!
5. When do you put your decorations up?
generally the first week of December. And it usually takes a few weeks to get it all done.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
we just do the traditional ham or turkey, potatoes, etc - nothing too special that comes to mind. But one thing we do at Christmas that we don't do the rest of the year is cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. Yummmmmy :)
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
Receiving the doll house my grandfather had built for my mom when she was a young girl. Dad had added electricity to it and it was truly magical. My sister and I used to lay there in the dark in front of it, and turn the little lights on inside and just be like *whoaaaaaa* :)
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I'm pretty analytical - had figured it out by age 7 and distinctly remember telling my almost 10 year old brother that there was "no way". It didn't change things for me though - like many others I find the spirit of Christmas just amazing and get very excited every year.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Growing up it was always Christmas morning. But we let the kids open one Christmas Eve.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
White Lights, ornaments and tinsel on the Living Room tree; Colored Lights, ornaments and garland on the Family Room tree.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
HA! We're a family of skiers and snowboarders, so that one is obvious :)
12. Can you ice skate?
Yeah, baby! And all the girls have taken lessons and can figure skate quite well, too.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
See #7 above - the Doll House :)
14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Family and celebrating the true meaning of Christmas.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Macaroons
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
The kids can get up early and open their stockings, but have to wait until 7am to wake everyone up. The stocking presents are also wrapped - lots of tiny, fun stuff. As most of you know I'm a really early riser so I have always loved hearing the 'crunch-crunch' of wrapping paper as they excitedly open their stocking gifts. I usually join them about half way through the process with a steaming cup of coffee.
17. What tops your tree?
A star or a bow.
18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving?
Giving
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
I can never remember if this is the title - but it's the one that goes, "Do you Hear what I Hear?" 
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Like RC said - I have to be in the right mood to enjoy them. Overall, they aren’t my favorite…
* * *
I'm off to Rochester (and 8" of snow) to pick up Josh before our party tonight. Have 20 people coming over so *crossing fingers* that we make decent time. Lots still to do! ummm, so why am I blogging instead of getting ready??
LOL
I'm really, really excited about the latest development with the BeeDazzles Art Pendants - they're now available . . . hand set In pewter!! What an awesome finishing touch that just sets off the artwork to perfection. Available in the shop, naturally :)
The past few days have been spent getting caught up on orders and tying up last minute preparations for the upcoming festivities. We have several events planned in the next week or so, and it will be a flurry of activity. To better enjoy that time, I will be paring back shop inventories to bare minimums. The shops will re-open at full capacity on January 2 with tons of new inventory!!
So be sure to pop in back here from time to time to see what is coming down the pipeline. Sneak previews every few days, for your viewing pleasure.
Hope you and yours are having a fabulous season thus far!
A big Thank You to On the Dot Creations for including my swan notes in her lovely feature, "Seven Swans a Swimming" I love the items she selected (the Etsy shop that sells the clutches is just amazing!)
Don't forget to check out her other Eleven Days of Christmas!
On
my end . . . catching up on sleep, catching up on shop orders and
hoping to be ready for the holidays with time to spare, this year!
How about you?? Hope you're enjoying a lovely season so far and have lots of fun planned in the weeks ahead.
I am SO smitten with this one!! It's a perfect design for just a general, "how are you doing?" OR for a Holiday Card . . . especially when you have a final few acquaintances to send to - and you're not quite sure what they celebrate!
Also, my thanks to all of you who commented or sent words of concern. I'm thrilled to say that I've broken out of the rut I'd found myself in with sleeping. It's amazing how many people go through this on occasion.
Hope everyone's holiday shopping is going well, and you're having a cozy and relaxing weekend. :)
This is a painting that I truly love, but that is yet unfinished. As we all know, 'tis the season for busy etailers, and BeeDazzles is no exception. But adding complications to my productivity is something that has plagued me off and on for most of my life . . . that delightful condition known as insomnia. I've always been an early riser (usually around 5 a.m., and haven't owned an alarm clock in several decades) but I sometimes go through periods of waking up at obscene hours. And during these times I find myself unable to fall back asleep. Eventually, I start going to bed an hour or two ahead of schedule in an attempt to 'catch up', but typically only wake up even earlier. After close to two weeks of this, last night took the prize. 2:30 a.m.
*sigh*
I don't share this for any reason other than to explain why I am running behind on some things lately. It's hard to be creative on 4 1/2 hours of sleep. And the things I'm behind on?? Well, let's just say I'd promised certain individuals (Kim B, Janae) that I'd have items for them well over a week ago, but they have still yet to be completed. And this "Mitten Tree" painting is another project that I'd mentioned having ready and in the shops (Carole) but that is still on the burner . . . simmering. Tomorrow I hope to have all three items checked off my To Do list :).
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'll mention that if insomnia is the worst of my issues right now, I am truly blessed. So many people face far greater challenges (Dianne, Ed) and I'm sure many others of you also have far more stressful and important issues that you are holding private. My thoughts and prayers go out to each and every one of you as you face your challenges. I hope you find peace and comfort in your lives and with your families during the upcoming Holiday Season.
hugs!
Bee
I'm all in favor of adding more LOVE to the world!! So as I pass this around (per instructions) here is the drill:
The Spreader of Love award the rules are:
1. Post a copy on your blog
2. Mention who gave you the award
3. Pass the award on to 6 others
4. Leave a message on their blog letting them know the honor has been bestowed upon them.
It's now my honor to pass this loving award on to my dear friends at the following blogs:
1. Happiknits
2. Hill Smith Family Update
3. HappyDayStudio
4. ThePamperedPrincess
5. WildlifersBlog
6. PaintedFishStudio
