Merry Christmas to All!

It's Christmas day!!  It was a wonderful day.  It was a quiet day, relatively speaking.  We were greeted with about 12cm of snow on Christmas Eve, so hubby worked late and then went in from 2 am to 3 pm, and with more snow today, he's back in at 2 am tomorrow morning.  It's the first time I've ever spent the majority of Christmas day by myself.  I accomplished a fair bit - 4 loads of laundry, dishes, I baked meringue cookies and cleaned the bathroom.  Hubby stopped home once around 10 am to pick up some coffee and a bagel.  Being Christmas the only thing open is Mac's corner stores.

Hubby was home around 3:30 and we opened our presents to each other.  I got him a shop vac, at his request, 2 DVDs, some chocolate truffels and his Stitch ornament that I actually picked up in Toronto last month.  He got me cookie cooling racks - beautiful ones!!, two pair of flannel jammies - my request, an electric can opener - another request, CSI season 8, my favorite Lindor mint chocolates and White Christmas on DVD. 

We went to dinner at hubby's mom's - our first year without dad.  I teared up a bit, but held my composure until we came home.  We both got spoiled rotten by our family, yet again.  I have enough gift cards for a shopping spree at the mall with my dear sister in law Jenn.  Plus a fantastic new "parts sorter" in which I can put all of my beads.  Hurray!!!  (I still am not quite done sorting them !!)

So I'm snuggled on the couch with my blanket, my ice pack, and White Christmas on the TV.  Hubby is asleep.  It's another busy day with dinner at my grandparent's tomorrow.  I'm making a small ham and mashed potatoes.  I love being together with my families on Christmas, or anytime for that matter.

I'm not ready. Are you?

I'm trying, really I am, but I'm not succeeding very well in getting ready for Christmas this year.  I've made 1 pan of Nanaimo bars and some peanut butter krispie squares (marshmallow free).  I still have plans for butter tarts, a Nanaimo for my grandparents, ginger cookies - because what's Christmas without ginger cookies! and shortbread.  I also bought almonds to make biscotti, but I think those will just have to wait until the New Year.

The tree is up and it has lights, thanks to the help of my husband. I went through 1 tote of the 3 full of decorations so far.  It's taking me 4 days to decorate a 5' tree; I don't care.  I'm minimizing the decorating this year.  Just don't have all of it in me.   Oh, and I hung the lighted tree and candy cane in the window - 1 whole suction cup each!

The good news is I am done shopping.  Unless we run out of milk, I don't have to set foot in a retail or grocery store until after the holiday.  I even wrapped hubby's big present on Tuesday.  I kinda had to, I couldn't hide it anywhere!  I put it downstairs under a blanket while we had dinner that night and then quickly wrapped it to prevent someone from peeking.

Dinners.  Plural.  Could have been 3, but 2 conflicted.  Christmas day will be at my mother-in-law's; it's our first Christmas without dad and it's already hard.  I hope for a good day.  I'm responsible for dessert - so Death by Chocolate it is.  It's a favorite.  And no one has ever noticed I make it with soy milk!!  Ha haha!! What they don't know won't hurt them.  Dinner #2 is Boxing Day with my family at my grandparents.  This year I get to do a small ham and potatoes.  And my mum has sent an email to the family that the men get to do dishes... we'll see how that one works out.  Oh well, I don't mind dishes as long as I have rubber gloves on.

We went to my staff party last Friday - it was very good.  The food, the conversations, the skit put on by one of the partners and some of the staff - it was all good.  I didn't drink, well I don't drink much anyways, but I felt like I had the most miserable hang over on Saturday.  I think it was just being out, late, and not being accustomed  to it.  My head pounded all weekend.  Saturday night I ended up taking Tramacet before bed.  Then I didn't sleep well.  That drug does wierd stuff to me.  I feel like my arms and legs won't move.  It's very disconcerting.  Sunday was not much better.  I had to basically just sit on the couch with an ice pack behind my head until after lunch.  I couldn't move.  I went downstairs to do laundry and I thought I'd never make it back upstairs.  The rest of the week was a little better, no major headaches, but lots of pressure.

And on a good note, my doctor finally completed the OHIP pre-approval forms and they have been sent off to see if I can get coverage to travel to WCC for an assessment at least if not the surgery.  I should hear after Christmas.  Keep your fingers crossed!!

Snow, craft show and beads!

We had our first snowfall on Tuesday.  I didn't test out how my neck and head would feel shoveling - hubby had the driveway done before I got home.  It was nice to see the snow.  It's been so grey and dreary, the white at least brightens things up!

It was a busy week.  I was called to teach at the pool on Tuesday as well as my regular Thursday class.  Only 1 week left until Christmas break.  My last class will be the 10th.  I'm sad to say good-bye to teaching, but I know I can't continue to teach and end up with 4 day long headaches because of it.

I took Friday off work as Friday and Saturday were the annual craft show at West Thunder Community Centre and I have had a table there for the last 4 years. Thought it was 5, but I remembered now that it was 5 years ago I started at 55 Plus.  I didn't do the 55 Plus show this year.  Here's a pic of my table this year.

So today was getting back to normal.  Just before I went to gentle Yin yoga this morning I started to find the kitchen table which has been buried beneath boxes of beads, wire, pliers, ribbon and glue for over a month.  On one of my trips downstairs with a load of stuff my bead box was balanced on top of the pile.  It's an old bead box - I know my mum gave it to me when she stopped beading and I remember it from very early in my childhood.  It has 12 drawers with up to 3 dividers in each.  12 drawers that don't latch shut. Each drawer is about 3" x 8" x 1.5" deep.  12 free sliding drawers hold a lot of beads.  10's of 1,000's you might say...  And you would know it hold's 10's of 1,000's of beads when you drop your bead box in the spare room in the basement, upside-down and all but 2 drawers fall out.  I let out a  loud ARGH!!!  and hubby asked what was wrong.  I told him I dropped the bead box.  He had to come look.  I should have taken a picture, but didn't.  I grabbed the dust pan and a broom and started rolling everything together.  I had a few minutes to shoveled the some of beads into a shoe box.  I had to leave it to go off to yoga.  And here is the box after I finished finding as many as I could...

The vacuum found most of the rest, and I'm sure there will be more underfoot when we move the Christmas totes out next week.  Guess who will be sorting beads into Ziploc bags instead of her bead box....

Hubby is nearly done the casing and baseboard in the spare room upstairs so we can move the furniture back in and set up the Christmas tree in the front hall.  I have tomorrow off work so I hope to get either peanut butter squares or nanaimo bars made at the least, and the rest of the kitchen tidied up.  Plus I have massage therapy at 3:00.

I also saw my family dr. this week to send a pre-approval form to OHIP to hopefully cover the cost of surgery at Wisconsin Chiari Center.  Hopefully he sends it out soon and I hear from OHIP before Christmas holidays. Cross your fingers, your toes, even your eyes!!!  I'm only $98,475 away from the $10k!

And, get this, I have only had 1 headache in the past 12 days!!!! Hurray!!!!!