Settling back into routine...

    I decided to take a break over the Christmas holiday from my blog and focus on family and friends. There were tons of activities to do, loads of prep work to accomplish and Christmas cards to write. I would be crazy busy. Whatever down time I encountered I was going to spend lavishly doing very little. I was pretty sure that I would not be able to write good content. I was right on that count. What little writing I did accomplish over the holiday break could be summed up in one word - cringeworthy.

   The holiday break from our normal routine proved to be delightful,  despite having to keep an eye out for the mischievous elf-on-a-shelf we don't have. We celebrated birthdays, enjoyed Christmas activities sponsored by our park district, attended church services, reveled in family gatherings and did last minute Christmas shopping. Our 6'5" Santa informed the college students who took a turn to sit on his lap Christmas Eve that "Cs get degrees" but noted that "As and Bs keep scholarships". There were sleep-overs for my daughter, sleep-ins by the whole family (2 weeks of NOT having to get up at 6 or 6:30am was a treat), and relaxing evenings where we hopped in our pajamas early and ate popcorn for dinner. We ate out more than usual and visited the museum to check out the Christmas Trees Around the World display (part of our gift to our daughter this year). Heck, we even saw the new Star Wars movie in 3D! New Years eve we celebrated with food and friends, had a terrific time playing games and hanging out. The kids put on a circus, played and got to stay up late. The next day my husband and I started off the new year by changing into clean pajamas and spending the day being couch potatoes and watching a record amount of movies and tv.

   But as break came to an end, it was time to return to our everyday routine. Everything that could be done, had been done during the holiday break.

 Well, almost everything. Seems those Christmas cards did not quite get out this year.

   It was time to put away all those Christmas decorations and free up the space in our living room. Time to take a look at the bills and monthly finances and make sure we were up to date. Time to do wash so we could wear more than just our pajamas. Time to go back to school, music lessons and religious ed classes. Time to get back to serious writing. Or at least writing things that were not quite so cringeworthy.

   I devoted the Monday to writing. And a little wash. But mostly writing. What a great way to start off the new year! Except for that expensive plastic part I pulled off the car when I misjudged a snow embankment at the end of our drive when I took a break from writing and laundry to run errands. That really wasn't great. Nor was the fact that around me loomed a disorganized house of Christmas clutter and seasonal remains from our two weeks of celebrating. Something had to be done.

   I decided that first order of business was to get the Christmas stuff packed away and free up the spaces of our house from clutter. So Tuesday, between additional loads of laundry (how much laundry can a pajama wearing family produce?) and fixing the part on the car with my brother (temporary fix), I boxed and sorted all the Christmas stuff from around the house and that evening we put it all away.

   Oops, looks like we missed this little guy. Well, that is just one santa. No biggie. This time I did a really, really, really good job of rounding up all that Christmas stuff.  I even had time left over to put together my lesson plans for my next two RE class sessions!

   Feeling accomplished, I felt that a change a plans for Wednesday would be no big deal and drove out to help my friend work on a light design for a children's show. We had a great time working together and having a salad lunch up in the light booth. But on the way home, my day got a little busier....my windshield met a rock.

   Add calling the insurance to my growing list of things to do this week. Having survived the heart attack brought on by this harrowing experience (I actually saw the rock bounce up from the expressway and come right at me - as if in slow motion - I could'a died ya know), I returned home in time to gather up my RE bag and my daughter and headed off to teach class. Only to learn once I arrived that I had a new student. To my already large and boisterous class. Which was way cool, but created one problem. I now had more students than desks in my classroom. To rectify this problem, I placed one of my students at the teachers desk. Then half way through class I took away the bell at the desk. The RE director has promised to add more desks or at least additional chairs. I had better remind him to add more than one. I had a few absent students that day.

   Too tired to go grocery shopping or to the PTO meeting that evening, I drove home with my daughter to make dinner, only to remember once we arrived that I couldn't use the oven. The oven had burnt holiday food drippings on the racks and covering the bottom. It desperately needed cleaning. We already had one episode of Smoke out the House and Trigger the Alarm that left the home smelling like burnt toxic waste for days (it is a little to chilly to open the windows and air out the house). I wanted to avoid a sequel. Making due with an odd assortment of leftovers, we ate a quiet dinner and then I got busy cleaning the oven. Isn't that what every exhausted woman does at the end of the day?

   Thursday I managed to get my butt out the door and to the grocery store bright and early. It was imperative as I had promised to bring snacks for the women's bible study that morning, and you do not make promises to bring women food and fail to provide! After a really great bible study, I returned to the grocery store to obtain household food and supplies so that we might continue to survive. Holiday leftovers had run out and I had severely depleted our kleenex supplies with my struggle against the bubonic plague a mild head cold. Returning triumphant to our domicile, I put food away, threw together a quick lunch and headed up to the study. I was going to pay the bills and maybe get in a bit of writing.

Oh, I guess I missed another Christmas decoration. But it is probably the last one.

   Not to be deterred by a errant holiday decoration, I got right to work paying bills  updating our monthly spreadsheet of income and expenditures. I printed out receipts for our taxes and contacted the insurance to see about getting my windshield repaired. I even started putting together the file folders for our 2016 household file drawer when my smarter than me phone reminded me that Kate had an appointment to meet with the recital accompanist that evening and I needed money to pay for the lesson. Crap, why couldn't I have remembered that when I was out earlier this week wrecking our car running errands. After a quick glance at the clock, I determined I had just enough time to pick up the cash and get back before my daughter arrived home from school.

   I was dragging by evening, but somehow I managed to provide a cooked dinner without burning the house down, drive us to and from the practice safely and get my daughter in bed on time. Well, almost on time. Weary, I sat down on the couch to read a little before going to bed myself. That was when I saw the Christmas decorations on the entertainment center.

  I told myself, No Way. Those can't be more stray Christmas decorations. That is just not possible. I did a thorough job of collecting all the Christmas decorations this year! The only decorations that should still up are the outside ones. I don't take down the outside lights as that would involve ladders, and I have an agreement with the neighbors that if I am going to do work with ladders that I give them 24 hours to establish ticket and popcorn sales for the event.

   Besides, event seating in the winter is a pain in the butt. I don't want to put my neighbors through the hassle of digging out lawn chairs in January. Not all of them are as classy as me and keep one on the front porch year round.

I am sure these are the last of the missed holiday decorations.

   I knew Friday would come early, so I gave up reading (who can read with holiday decorations staring accusingly at you) and watched a TV program. I should have gone to bed, but I wanted to keep my sleep schedule fairly consistent.

   Apparently my sleep schedule did not get the memo. Nor did my head. About 2:30fm I was up with a pounding head. Sitting up made it worse, so I staggered into the bathroom and took two something from some bottle and tried to lay back down. At this point an annoying MS symptom kicked in and my leg decided that calisthenics were order and proceeded to cramp an uncramp with a regularity to be envied by any seasoned athlete. Not wanting to wake my hubby, I crawled into the bed we have in the little spare room and tried to get comfortable for the next several hours until my alarm clock rang in the new day.
 
   Struggling back to the bedroom, I proceeded to put on sweats and head downstairs to do some half-assed parenting and get my daughter ready for school. I got as far as waking her up, getting lunch packed and preparing a toaster waffle breakfast for her before my handsome mate joined me in the kitchen and took over. He had shaved and showered in record time so he could relieve me before he headed off to work. Thankful, I made my way back to my bed.

   Shedding my sweats, I rolled into bed. This time I was blessed with some sleep. So much for that resolution to start every day fresh and tackle things early. Somewhere close to lunch I awoke from my stupor, still stopped up and with a runny nose, but without the headache. I showered, then discovered that I had one last pair of underwear.

HOW CAN I BE OUT OF UNDERWEAR? I JUST DID THE WASH!

   Nope, I told myself over toaster waffles for lunch, I was not going to let this setback upset me. I was going to stay on task and clean house today. I will just add laundry to the list. No overnight headache that robbed me of my morning was going to stop me.

   That is when I saw it....another AWOL Christmas decoration!

   There is just not enough coffee in my coffee for this.