Almost Christmas

One of my dance friends gave me a bunch of photos from the Northern Essex Student performance. That was sweet of her. Here is one of my solo. Walker comes out at the end, so technically, I suppose it wasn't a solo. But I did dance by myself for 4.5 minutes before he came out. Anyway, I'll upload some more of the performance pics to my Epsom account later for anyone who wants to see more.

Every time I go into a store it feels like it's the LAST CHANCE to get anything. I can't believe I spent $100 at Rite-Aid this morning. I had to go in there to pick up sample sizes for stocking stuffers and came out with those as well as a sled for Walker, "Floam" that he's wanted for 2 years, some bath tub science toys and a hair straightening iron for me (that I'll probably use once - like the large barrel curling iron I got myself last Christmas). Some other stuff, I'm sure.

I love the antique shop, "The Three Sisters." There are always different things in there. I got Scott, the collector an antique umbrella stand with an old golf club, an umbrella and a cane in it. On the way out of there a coat rack called out to me, so I bought that too.

I'm almost done. Just have to get one more thing for one couple and Harry Potter 4 for Walker. Oh, also have to do the food shopping. Scott and I have a "date" to plan the menu for the event tomorrow. We're not having tons of people, but for us, the 14 that we do have feels like a lot, since it's usually just the 3 of us.

I'm very excited to be able to bring Walker to his dance company class today. I finally have a Wednesday off from Andover while he does have class. I can't wait to see their dance. Right after that we've got his Christmas Karate party at the dojo. His friend, Tommy, is coming to that too. We won't be able to come home until after we get to Hannaford to pick up some baby carrots for the preschool Christmas party tomorrow morning. Whew!

Holiday Countdown

We went back to Sears this morning to pick up the Christmas
cards we had done a couple of weeks ago. The mall was surprisingly UNcrowded. We got to visit with Santa. When asked what he wanted for Christmas, Walker said, "A Christmas Tree." Poor kid, doesn't even have a tree - yet. Sheesh, we're getting one this weekend. Walker looks like a little, biker boy in this shot.

This evening after Scott left for work and Walker went to sleep, I started to hear the "chirping" of one of our smoke detectors. They do that when one of the batteries is dying. So I went and got out a 9 volt battery, which we keep on hand just for this reason because you know they will always start chirping away in the middle of the night. I kept hearing it but I couldn't figure out which one it was. I went and stood under each one and waited for the noise again. Each time I heard it I was under the wrong one. It was getting frustrating. Finally, after visiting each one a second time the phone rang. By the time I got off the phone with my friend Ann Marie, the chirping had stopped altogether. It happened last night as well, and then stopped just as abruptly. How odd. Perhaps it's not the smoke detectors at all? Maybe it's a lone cricket. But that can't be right. One little chirp at a time? Who knows. Maybe I should replace ALL the batteries. But then again, why do that and waste the ones that don't need changing. Such are my mysteries.

My cold was brief. It felt like it was coming on strong last Saturday, but after the 1st day of sore throat and stuffiness it went away. Good.

I'll feel so free after Saturday night. Once these shows are over it'll all be easy. The Christmas show will be fun, of course, but I'll be in holiday mode the minute they are over. I'm going to come home and drink a Corona (or several). All these rehearsals/shows have really put a damper on partying!

One Show Down...

Saturday's show at Northern Essex went smoothly. Walker was great, he was tired and bored, but did what he needed to do when he needed to do it. My little professional man. Someone asked me if I was going to buy the DVD of the show. I said I wasn't, but she made me feel guilty saying I should because Walker was in it. I've got lots of his show DVDs and I've only watched them once. Maybe one day I'll regret not buying it. Anyway, that wonderful woman actually got a copy for me, so I do have it. I can't help it if I'm cheap, especially this time of year.

We're just very tired from this long, late weekend. Sunday was spent in rehearsal for next weekend's Christmas show. As most rehearsal related events, it was a lot of hurry up and wait. Walker was super over tired from the night before, but we made it through. Luckily, Scott took today (Monday) off, because we slept very late and Scott was able to take Walker to school so I wouldn't be late for work at the "Y."

I started out so strong on my Christmas shopping. Now I'm just ready to stay OUT of the stores. I'm not in the spirit of the season yet. Can't even think about wrapping things. We don't have a lot of Christmas cards yet. We haven't sent ours out yet, either. I have to make the trip back to the mall/Sears to pick up the finished product then write out the labels, etc. We only ordered 30 picture cards, so if you get one you'll know you were in the top 30 people on our list! I actually cut a lot of folks out this year. Anyone (except old college roommates) that I haven't spoken to in 10 years is off the list. So are distant in-law related relatives that I don't know. I ruthlessly edited the card list. Maybe I'll only have to send 30 cards anyway.

Time to get out to Karate.

December Spring...

Happy Holidays! Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone it's really beginning to look a lot like Christmas. At least at our house. We've got all the decorations and lights up - except a real tree. We'll get that in a couple weeks.

Walker did a great job at rehearsal for my Northern Essex student dance showcase piece. I asked him if he liked my dance and he said it was too long. Then I guess I got the point of the piece across. We'll be performing on Saturday night at 7:30PM. Then I'll be done with that class, except for the viewing of the recorded show, which may be more painful than the show itself!

As I write, the rain is pouring down after slamming into the window. Could rain break my window? We're expecting sever thunder storms. It was 69 degrees yesterday. It's too hot for winter coats. I'm not complaining, of course. I'm always glad to save on heating costs. Still, I am looking forward to some snow. Walker wants to wear his new boots.

I hate going to the Cumberland Farms store/gas station in Plaistow, NH. It's convenient; that's the only reason I keep going there. I thought Cumbie's was supposed to be a wholesome, happy place. Every time I'm in there the cashiers are grumbling to each other about how terrible it is to work there. They also seem to treat the customers like we are troubling them, taking them from what they are doing (grumbling) and disturbing them. I'll have to plan to NOT go there anymore. I did read in Good Housekeeping that you could find out who to write to/who owns what businesses on Hoover.com. I haven't tried it yet, though.

Walker is going to be in yet another show, this one for his preschool, on December 14. I'm taking the morning off from work to go to his rehearsal (can't handle the thought of him driving with a "chaperone" I don't know). I'll have to have the video recorder ready to go. It'll be the first time he performs that I'm not directly related to the project. His teachers say he handles stage direction very well. That's my boy!

The more I go to Starbucks, the more I like it there. I used to be opposed to the high priced coffee, but it's not any higher than Dunkins and it's a lot better. Or maybe I should say it's just a lot different. I keep going there and I don't even have to pay. My students keep giving me gift cards in large monetary amounts (for which I'm very, very grateful!). So, I'm an addict of Starbucks now. Oh, er, I mean a fan. I love coffee.