What We've Been Doing With Our Time

Recently, I've been a slacker at posting to my blog. I've been around visiting you all, but I just haven't had time to write anything. Don't get me wrong. I'm not feeling stressed out over the holiday season. I'm thoroughly enjoying all the activities of the season.

First of all, L and I have been taking the time to strengthen our bond as a couple. Our relationship is improving daily! We are no longer forgetting each other in our daily routine of struggling through life.

I de-stressed Christmas shopping several years ago. I now shop year 'round for all the gift-giving occasions in our lives. If I find an item that I know my loved ones will enjoy, I buy it and squirrel it away. When a holiday approaches, I check my stash and fill in the holes.

Online shopping has also been a HUGE time saver! We try to support our local economy by buying what we can in town. However, small town choices are limited. We used to make an annual trek to Duluth to complete our shopping. Now, I shop in comfort, in our bedroom, with a cup of coffee.

With SME's family living in Canada, I've been forced to get their Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving. If I don't mail their package by then, they won't get it in time for Christmas. I also include SME's and Demi's birthday gifts in this package.

This year we became honorary grandparents to Tweety's 2 girls. It was a joy shopping for little ones again!

We also eliminated stress by mutually agreeing with our in-laws to stop giving each other Christmas and birthday gifts. We've all reached the age where we don't need to be increasing the clutter in our lives. The only exception to this is L's mother. She is constantly bailing out the rest of the family with her small reserve of cash, which leaves her little for herself. We've found that the only thing she'll use is a WalMart gift card. She spends her card at Sam's Club, stocking up on groceries.

Christmas cards are a chore, and expense, that we also eliminated several years ago. I have learned to stay in touch with friends and family several times throughout the year instead. Why add stress to the Christmas season when greetings can be exchanged at Easter or Valentine's Day?

Once the shopping and mailing of gifts is complete, we're free to indulge in the Christmas activities we enjoy as a family. Last Saturday we made a double batch of sugar cookie cutouts. I bake the cookies and the guys decorate them. Last Sunday, L and I made 9 dozen lefse. During the week, I made a batch of fudge. and 2 batches of Peanut Blossoms(peanut butter cookies with a chocolate star in the middle). Yesterday, we made umpteen chocolate covered peanut butter Ritz cookies(Z's favorite). Today, I will make a double batch of Mexican Wedding Cakes(aka Russian Tea Cakes or snowballs), while L clears the rest of the snow from our roof.

For the first time in several years, we have received a normal amount of snow for the season. Wednesday, Z and spent the entire afternoon moving snow. I widened the driveway with the snowblower, while Z removed the snow from our small metal shed, camper, AC cover, and small generator shed. I then cleared the snow away from the vents on our roof, as the snow was starting to cover them. Normally, the snow slides off our metal roof. This year, our snowy days have been followed by -20F days, which prevents the snow from sliding. This is what I get for wishing for an old-fashioned, snowy Christmas.

This final week before Christmas, I will finish my gift-wrapping, shop for stocking stuffers, buy groceries for our Christmas Eve dinner, and indulge in my birthday dinner of prime rib at my parents' house.