Why do I do this to myself?

This time of year things are so busy as it is, why, oh why, do we feel the need to add more to our plates (literally and figuritively)?

I've still got Christmas shopping to do.
Tuesday dress shopping (for me) with a friend. Then dinner and a movie with the roomies.
Am making a trip over to my brother's this week to babysit the kiddlets.
Saturday morning my friend has enlisted me to take photos for her while she runs a race.
This weekend my mother and some of her friends are going to be in the city for a couple of days - so at some point along the way I'm going to have to entertain them some how.
I'll have to make another trip home to drop of Christmas gifts to everyone.
Another trip to my brother's to drop off gifts there.
Have to get in some time with a friend before Christmas.

Add to all that working full time.

Oh, and a list of baking that will take me forever to get through. I can cook, no problem. Baking is a slow tedious process for me.

My baking list: (speaking of adding things to our plates......)

Sugar cookies - thank goodness for my grandmother's recipe. Its pretty hard to screw up, unlike the recipe I was using before.
Truffles - while delicious are a long tedious process. I only make them every year because dad LOVES them.
Fudge - two batches. While easy to make takes a while to set in the fridge.
Chocolate bark - this will be my first attempt at making it. It seems easy enough though.
Cupcakes - no idea how many of these I'll end up making. They're mostly to take to work to share the love.

I'm also toying with the idea of making gingerbread men. However I don't have on hand all the stuff to make them and don't really want to have to go get it all just for one batch of cookies. I have the stuff to make everything else though. I have fun Christmas cookie cutters to use this year, so at least the cookies I do make won't be just plain 'ol cookies!

Most of this is going to have to take place on my days off, and if I look at a calendar I only have 8 days off before Christmas - and with trips to opposite ends of the province planned I have no idea when all this is going to happen!

At least my Christmas cards are done and just need to be mailed now. At least one thing is done.

AAAAAHHHHHHH.........

Bah Humbug

Oh, who am I kidding?

I'm actually excited for Christmas this year! I just like to think I'm not excited for it. You know, gotta maintain that crusty exterior I've worked so hard at! lol

(I'm NOT excited about my work schedule, but thats a whole other post for a whole other time)



Here we are a month out from Christmas. I've made my list, checked it twice, and am slowly crossing stuff off it as I get gifts bought.



And decorations. I want to decorate. Now. RIGHT NOW. If I were living on my own I'd probably be in the process of decorating already. However as I have roomies I will hold off awhile longer.

My one and only gripe (ok, counting my work schedule...two gripes) is the amount of money this is costing me. Good grief. Yeah, ok I admit to spoiling the nieces. They're the youngest in the family and, well, it IS Christmas and they are kids so its only right they get spoiled if you ask me. My 17 year old brother has expensive taste. Someone needs to knock that child down a peg or two. Thankfully I was able to get him a couple of tee shirts from a store he likes that were on BIG sale. Then he tells me he wants a PS3 game, at $80 a pop. Um, no. My list of people to buy for is getting longer and longer. Its a bit crazy. I thought I had my list finalized then remembered the secret Santa thing at work and one other person popped up as someone I needed to buy for. Its one lengthly list at this point.

I'm excited to get going on my Christmas cards. I'm excited to go find a new tree ornament (I usually get one or two new ornaments for myself every year). I already bought a too cute snowman decoration for the house (I have a snowman fetish, I freely admit it). The front door is just begging for a wreath of some sort (these are the times I wish I was crafty). And I'm hoping I can convince the roomie to let me put up lights in the front window this year.

I think my excitement this year is coming from my nieces. Yeah, one of them is far too young to even kind of understand but still its fun at Christmas with little ones around. Whether or not I'll get to actually see them over Christmas is another thing. I'll get to see them at some point, I'm sure. I'm not too worried.

Oh, how I've missed you

I was a week and a half without my computer. For someone who depends on the internet for entertainment, paying bills and a slew of other things, a week and a half was plenty long. I'm glad to have my pain-in-the-ass computer back. (just not glad to have had to spend $300+ to get it back)

Lesson learned: BACK YOUR SHIT UP!

Ugh.

Not that I had anything all that important on my computer, just photos and music for the most part, but its all gone. GONE. Thankfully I had most of my photos either on Facebook or in Photobucket, but there are a few that are gone, never to be recovered again. Music has mostly been put onto my MP3 already so thats not a huge concern. Its more my photos I'm worried about.

However, my computer died without warning last Thursday (which is why nothing got backed up). Used it Wednesday night, it was fine. Thursday morning = dead. The diagnosis: hard drive failure. FANFUCKINGTASTIC. Off to Geek Squad it went. $200 in labour and $100 for a new hard driver later, I have my computer back. Now I'm in the midst of reinstalling MSN, redownloading my Spyware program and my antivirus stuff. I no longer have the link to the board (if someone could send me a link to my Facebook inbox, I'd appreciate it!), all my "favorites" are gone. Blah.

Oh well, at least my computer is back up and running and will hopefully remain that way forever more.