Lights Please

I’m not sure what happened but our entire block lost power this morning. We all had to get ready in the dark so that was kinda interesting. Really glad I got those light-blocking blinds and curtains. At least now I know they really work because it was pitch black. Don’t know why I didn’t think of actually opening them…I guess that just would have been too easy.

Of course, anything out of our usual routine messes us up and it took us twice as long to get ready. So we got out the door late. And M missed her bus. She was thrilled because the coolest thing in the world right now is being a “car rider”. But only because it’s the opposite of what she does; if I dropped her off each morning she would beg me to ride the bus. So that put me behind schedule. I made it to work at 8 but I was late – missed my early morning catch-up time. I love getting early so I can get my day started before everything really kicks in and I had a list of things I wanted to get done that I still haven’t gotten to yet.

Finally got our house in Christmas mode. I usually do all that the day after Thanksgiving, or immediately when we get back from visiting the in-laws. This year, however, we stayed an extra night out of town visiting some friends and then when we got back it was the (completely awesome and amazing) Bedlam game and then I flew out for conference the next morning. So my family has been patiently, or more accurately not so patiently, waiting for the arrival of Christmas at our house.

I spent Saturday helping husband paint a rental. We had the radio on, just working away while the girls played outside - it was actually pretty fun. Until we got home and I discovered that some brown paint I had dripped on my chest had bleed through to my new bra. SO frustrating! I just bought the dang thing and it took me forever to find. It’s not that’s it cute or anything – I actually had to buy it because it’s not. I have a dress with a top that’s kinda sheer and every bra I have has a pattern or lace and you could see through it and it looked tacky. So I spent a lot of time hunting down a Grandma bra. I don’t even like it – it’s as plain as they make them…doesn’t even have a little bow in the middle or anything. It’s so not attractive. But now I have to find another one, or just never wear that dress. I may just have to consider painting braless from now on because I can’t afford to ruin anymore of these things – pretty underthings are not cheap!

So Sunday my plan was do go home from church, do lunch and naps and spend that time hauling everything out and getting it set-up so that we could decorate as soon as the girls woke up. But we got derailed – M2 had some serious red, patchy blotches going on so we made an unplanned trip to the doctor. We waited almost 2 hours and then they couldn’t diagnose her. In fact, the doctor even suggested taking her to another facility because she just wasn’t sure what was going on. Although she was confident it was a virus and not any of the toxic ones. And then, just as suddenly as it came on – it completely disappeared. It was the weirdest thing…

And since we’d already driven to the doctor we went ahead and had lunch and did some shopping before we went home. So it was late before we started the whole decorating thing and I’m still not done. I’ve got stuff strewn out everywhere. It looks like an elf puked in my living room – there is red, green and sparkle everywhere.

I think I’ve got the husband talked into doing the outside lights so they may actually look decent this year. Our poor neighbors have had to put up with my sloopy, too-short-to-reach-anything-even-on-a-ladder job for the past 5 years. I think they deserve a reprieve – it’s like our own personal gift to them. Enjoy the splendor of my husband’s height as you marvel at his fabulous light job…and soak up the scene because it may be another 5 years before he does it again!