Last year for Christmas, I made Hubs buy me an electric blanket. I am soooo glad I did so! Last year the temps got to -40 for a week or so, but this year? This year has been hell. We have been ranging from -25 to -50 now for three weeks, and it’s soooooo awesome to crawl into my bed and immediately start warning up thanks to my fuzzy wuzzy blankie!

Come to think of it, I seem to ask for warmth at this time of year, I asked for (and got) new slippers, and new housecoat and some new winter jammies.I wonder what I would ask for if christmas came in July…oh wait, it does! My Birthday is in July LOL

After spending the last month with our Christmas tree set up, an idea slowly unveiled itself to me. That is, I didn’t figure it out until just last night.

See, right now, our laptops are set up at the kitchen counter, and sitting on the bar stools playing on the net has left me with a sore back. It’s always sore. To the point that I am taking pills for the pain and having to often either stand at the counter instead of sitting, or leaving the kitchen altogether to lay down with a hot water bottle.

Clearly something had to change. Hubs and I have spent much time int eh past year looking for a nicer, more comfortable, more supportive barstool for the kitchen to prevent my back pain (shut up, don’t say “well play less computer!). We have been looking for barstools because we simply do not have the room in the upstairs to put a computer desk. or so I thought.

Last night it occurred to me that a small corner style computer desk would fit very nicely where the Christmas tree now resides. With that in mind, (we also wanted to find a set of matching stockings) we headed to the malls today to partake in the Boxing Day Sales. We had absolutely NO luck finding stockings, even though we resigned ourselves to paying 30 bucks a  piece for them at the specialty Christmas stores – NO ONE had any in stock. Not a single one. How is that even possible?

We did find a sweet little computer desk, and the best part, is that it was on sale for 68 bucks. It was even better when we got to the till, as she rang in in at $59. We didn’t question the price difference LOL. Hubs spent a goodly amount of time ogling the HDTV, but in the end, we left electronics with only a new DVD player.

I’m going to browse Ebay and Etsy for Christmas stockings, in hopes that I find what i am looking for. If not, I am going to have to beg my Step mother to make us a set, and I am sure that, as busy as she always is, THAT would go over sooo well! LOL

I guess one could say that the fact that I have ninety billion things to do in the next four days is all my fault. After all, Ive known that Christmas was coming for roughly three hundred and sixty days now, and still, all last week I pretty much sat on my butt!

At least this way, I figure there will be no need for me to whine and complain about how I need fat burners and diet pills after Christmas is over, I will probably lose ten pounds just running around int he next four days getting things ready!

Besides the baking that needs to be finished – and trust me, it;s a lot of baking that needs to be finished, there is the general housework that I need to get done, PLUS the laundry… unless you think it would be OK for the kids to run around naked on Christmas morning? I mean we DID get them new outfits and they could wear those … so it would only be a few hours of nakedness.. right? RIGHT?

Pfft. I’m going to do the dishes in about twenty minutes, then make supper, then after the kids are in bed I will be decorating cookies, and then? More dishes!

Monday I will be making the pies and Tuesday i will eb makign the pumpkin rolls, Wednesday we will be at the inlaws and Thursday of course is Christmas. Somewhere in the middle of all of that I need to find the time to do about 15 loads of laundry and wash the floors. And maybe, if i’m feeling energetic, I can cleant he bathrooms too?

In family news:

My inlaws are leaving for Mexico on December 26th. The need to be at the airport at 4:30 in teh morning, and have recruited Hubs to drive them. To say he is less than enthused to be getting up at that time in the morning would not be an exaggeration.

The ticket thingys my in laws printed out come full of rules they must follow. Like their luggage, two bags each, can only weight 45 pounds each. They keep packing and re packing their bags and then bringing them over here to set them on the scale. I told them to just take the scale to their house, I’m not going to need it, but they refuse to be logical.

Im finding it doubtful that they will manage to successfully pack their luggage properly, but they do get to take carry on bags with them. In My father in laws, he will have all his medication, but I suppose MIL can pack a few extra odds and ends into her carry on..

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In hopeful news :

Speaking of travel, My sister is NOT going to Texas now in March. She has found, like I hoped she would, that saving the amount of money she would need to take a trip of that magnitude, is very hard to do. She still has firm plans to go..sometime, but the date is not set and I am ever hopeful that things will change in the time it takes her to save up the money.

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In Cute news:

My six year old has a loose tooth. he refuses to pull it out, even though it is barely hanging in there, becuase he wants to wait  until Christmas eve so that Santa and the tooth fairy can meet each other!

So.Much.Baking.

I just cannot seem to escape the baked goods this year! So far we have made pumpkin tarts (twice) as well as apple tarts, three different kinds of cookies, a pumpkin roll, and four holiday cakes! And the worst of it? I’ve definitely eaten my share of it!

It might be tome for me to start looking for some top diet supplements, especially when you consider that I took my youngest to pre-K this afternoon for Family day and we – you guessed it – baked cookies for our Winter activity!

Want my favorite cookie recipe? It’s right here. These are the BEST cookies EVER. I can literally eat a dozen of them in one sitting.