For those of you celebrating Christmas, its crunch time. I am still trying to catch up and finish multiple things. Gifts for family. Special orders that are bordering on, if not already, overdue. To those of you I am so sorry if your orders are not finished. This is my first year balancing business with personal, and even though I don't get nearly as much business as some of my most favorite artists, I feel like I was scrambling the entire time. I give them all so much more credit. I hope as the years go on, that my business will blossom, and I will have to scramble that much more :) I am really thankful for the scrambling. I just had no idea what my custom orders would have in store for me. Hopefully, if I am as fortunate next year, I will be able to balance it all out better. :)
With the lunar eclipse tonight for all of Northern America, I have decided to stay up to see it. Tomorrow is Yule, also known as the Winter Solstice, another holiday I like to celebrate. So with it being the longest night of the year, it will also be the darkest. They say that the moon in the total eclipse will be a red color. I just have to stay up to see it. I'm not good at going to bed and then setting an alarm to get up to see it. When I'm asleep, I have a hard time pulling myself out of bed to do that sort of thing. I'm way better at just staying awake. I plan on working my buns off on the last few orders and presents. I might also start my stew for tomorrow and wake up starving because my whole house will smell awesome. :) Might have to run to the 24 hour grocery store and get a couple more potatoes though. Mine seem to have turned against me. :X Should be a fun night. :) Then I wont have to get up at 8 or 9 in the morning to make the stew. It should be ready at lunchtime, but I think I'm still going to let it stew till dinner. :)
While risking sounding like a great big holiday sap, I'm going to share a story...
Tonight was my friends holiday cookie exchange. A tradition that I have been lucky enough to take part of for the last 3 years now. The first year I got invited was because one of my friends mothers friends couldn't make it at last minute, and they asked me if I would like to be a part. Well, I think she did end up being able to make it or something, but I think I ended up having to bake 13 dozen cookies. This year and the last its been 12 dozen, and I'm pretty sure that will end up being a set number from now on. More than 12 dozen cookies gets a little out of control.
Anyway, this year has been hard for me to get in the spirit, but I would like to thank my 6-year-old Goddaughter, and her little 2-year-old sister for rekindling some of that magic for me. Though the budget was tight, I picked up a little book for them, and made them each an ornament.
When I arrived I was greeted by my Goddaughter, and shortly after she told me she had a present for me. She ran to the kitchen and right back with a little box in her hands that she proclaimed proudly that she had wrapped all by herself without any help, and with what had to have been an entire roll of tape. That alone makes me smile. There was a little gift wrapped and taped to the outside. It was her gift to me from her schools Santa Shop. Its crazy to me, because I remember Santa Shop when I was a kid. Mom would give me money and I would get to go shopping for my family members, picking out each thing specifically for them. I unwrapped it, and it was one of those magic towels. In case you are unfamiliar, basically a compressed cotton brick that you put in water and it expands and turns into a towel. Mine has penguins on it. The bigger box I unwrapped had an ornament just for me with "Godmother" in red on a silver bulb. It was very sweet. It had to be the look on her little face when I looked up, how excited and happy she was to give it to me, that really struck me right in the heart. She gave me a big hug, and when I told her I had something for her and her sister, she got so excited. By the end of the night, her and I ended up on the couch, reading the story book I got her together.
Christmas is different being a grownup. Its harder to keep that magic going sometimes. My Goddaughter reminded me tonight though why I like Christmas. She was so happy to give me a present. She didn't even know I had something for her. I had gone there, planning to surprise them with a little gift, when in fact she surprised me. She gave me a better gift than she even knows.
I'm feeling nostalgic today folks. I didn't think I could get into the season this year. I didn't think I would find myself smiling about the holidays. I've been a bit of a Grinch for the last couple years. It seemed to get worse with each one. I don't know why. Like last year, I wasn't going to put up my tree. I wasn't going to put up any decorations. However, yesterday, I decided to dig my stuff out. Perhaps because I was feeling a twinge of guilt, perhaps it was a phone call I had a few days ago where my mom asked if I had put up my tree, and I said I didn't, and she said "Do it.". I really wasn't going to, but here I am now, typing next to the glow of little colored lights.
My city is being bombarded with big fluffy snowflakes. Its sticking to the branches and everything else. Its pretty, and snow before the new year makes me happy.
So, as I look out the window, I guess I could say I feel like this...
I've been working on a few different custom orders, making presents for family and friends, planning for parties and get togethers, contemplating building a toboggan, and I'm going to be baking cookies and maybe making fudge. :)
Time to get back to work. I'll leave you all with this :) Fahoo Fores Dahoo Dores...
