Christmas Spirit

A friend gave an incredibly powerful talk in church on Sunday. She spoke about the spirit of Christmas. She talked about how on her mission she struggled to help people feel the Spirit, and realized recently that all she needed to tell them was that the Spirit is the same as the spirit of Christmas. She gave such a powerful testimony, my bones practically rang with it. The spirit of Christmas touches you in the oddest places. . .

This morning at the gym, I was on my usual machine, and I was trying to finish a book I had been reading. (I don't usually read while working out because I do cardio in intervals and watch the clock to do them. The book is a Steven King novel that I've discovered I CAN'T read at night, so I took it to the gym with me this morning.) The pages kept flipping around, and it was a bit of a struggle. Suddenly, a lady that I had never seen before, came up and put a hair clip on my book, pinching the pages down, so I could easily read. She simply explained, "I like to read too. You can just give it back when you're done." and she pointed over to the weight area. I was just starting my hour tho, so I figured, I'd give it back when she left. About a 30 minutes later, she comes back and says, "You know, between my daughter and I, we have tons of those things, you keep that one." I asked if she was sure, and, here's what did it for me, she said, "Merry Christmas," and she left. The value of what she gave me was probably nothing to her, but, to me was priceless. "Merry Christmas," not "happy holidays" or any of the other things people say to wash away the real meaning, the Spirit, of the season.

Merry Christmas!

Favorite Things

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. . ." No, although they're very nice. I thought I'd write a quick note on my favorite things.

1. Nexxus Therappe hair products. I've tried tons of the premiums shampoos (my sister is a cosmetologist extraordinaire and keeps me well supplied) and I keep coming back to this line. Nothing leaves my hair as manageable and frizz-free as these products. Word of warning for gals lucky enough to have naturally oily hair-stay far, far away. These products are great for people with naturally curly, naturally dry hair. You can and should get them from Costco.

2. Curel body lotion. Again, for those lucky enough to have oily skin, this is probably not necessary for you. But, the Intensive Moisture Therapy product (red label) is the only lotion that I can apply once, and not have to reapply--all day. Love, love, love this stuff--and it's unscented, so anybody with sensitive skin should be okay with it.

3. Costco generic loratadine--hmmm, 300 pills of loratadine for $12 or $35 for 80 Claritin pills. Same medicine, same amount of medicine--this is a no brainer. We were spending a lot on medication for my son who suffers from allergies pretty much year round. When we were on vacation this July at my sister-in-law's house, I forgot our Claritin, and my son had rubbed his face in their cat's bed. They offered the Costco stuff, it worked great on my son's allergy flare up, and I haven't made that mistake again. Bless you (and curse you) Costco for making the things I need (and don't need) in large quantities.

4. Trader Joe's. Okay, I'll be honest here. I used to roll my eyes at my friends at work who spoke with slavish fanaticism at the stuff they got from their local Trader Joe's. It was, and is, a supremely yuppie place to shop. That said, the prices on milk, sour cream, eggs and other dairy aisle items are lower than any of the larger grocery chains, and our local non-chain grocery store I frequent. Their convenience items are also not expensive--broccoli chopped and ready to steam 2 lb for $1.99 (to the chagrin of my kids)! The Joe Joes are better than Oreos, and right now they have some with real candy canes in the frosting goodness that is the filling. And, if you haven't tried the kettle corn--you are missing a real treat.

5. The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Myer. Stay-at-home-mom of three fits writing 600+ page best-selling novels in between potty-training and church callings and all the other stuff that moms do during the day. Inspirational! I was introduced to these by a good friend, and I in turn bought them for my very self, and loaned them to other friends--all of which at one point or another have called at odd hours of the day begging me to spoil the plot for them. Eng, no reading the last chapter, you'll only ruin for yourself!!!! I enjoy these so much, I re-read when I don't have anything new. It's a true guilty pleasure--one of many, but I'll leave those for another entry.

Procrastination!

Christmas cards, photos to be hung on a wall, paperwork for insurance next year, choir cantata programs to be printed, desserts for various parties, IRS forms (not scary ones), Christmas presents, job hunting, EDD paperwork, car registrations, household chores--the question for the day is how many things can one woman having looming over her before she cracks? The really big problem is the I have the attention span of a gnat at the moment. If I could just sit down and focus on one thing from start to finish--I'd be able to knock most of this stuff out. But focus has never been a strong point of mine. You need only to have a conversation with me for longer than 10 minutes to realize how tangential my thinking is.

I swear its not old age either--I have been this way since I was a child! I'll walk into a room with the intention of plugging my cell phone in--I go to plug it in, realize that the counter is dirty, start cleaning it off, as I'm putting something away, realize that I have laundry that needs to be changed out, get down to the laundry and realize that my garage needs cleaning, put something from my dirty car upstairs in my room, sit down and try to get bills paid, pay my cell phone bill, realize that it's not yet plugged in, go down and plug it in and realize that the counter is still dirty. . .and the entire cycle starts over again. And at the end of the day, I have a dirty counter, dirty laundry, dirty garage and an uncharged cell phone! Is this normal, or do I need some serious drugs?!

I'm posting a collage of Porter a friend of mine did. It's quite good. I have such talented friends around me--Eng is an amazing photographer, my sister does everything she puts her hands to well, my mother can prepare lessons for church that make everyone better people. Me, I can't even clean my house.