Update

Some of you have inquired how I'm doing with my quest to keep things from spiraling out of control and making me crazy during this season that's supposed to be a remembrance of personal peace that Jesus' birth brought. Well, the progressive dinner is behind us, and the service project we were supposed to participate in this coming Saturday has been postponed, and the event we thought was on the calendar for the 15th is also no longer filling that evening! That just leaves Michael's piano recital this Saturday afternoon, and my part--the purchasing of khaki pants and dress shoes--is checked off. Yes, I think that means we'll be putting up a tree.

Overall, I'm feeling better, and I'm thankful for all of you who have offered your encouraging words of support and perspective. I read something last night from a collection of Christmas reflections that stopped me "dead in my tracks":

The author writes, "I looked at the nativity scene and realized that a baby born in a stable 2000 years ago was a person who still walks with us today, making his presence known, working to bring us through the difficulties of life, if only we let Him." Christ has been making his presence known to me and working quietly to bring me to a different place, and He's willing to do that more, if I'll let Him.

I worked non-coverage at Starbucks yesterday, and that meant that I had cleaning tasks to perform for 4 hours! Yes, there's an exclamation point behind that sentence because my mom nurtured a love of cleanliness and order in my formative years, and I actually enjoy doing that kind of thing. I cleaned out the milk refrigerators, scrubbed drains, and cleaned underneath shelving. Lest you think I'm insane, I assure you I take more pleasure doing this kind of thing at some place other than my own abode! Great sense of accomplishment, though, even knowing that it'll be dirty by the time I go in today.

Bob had rehearsal last night, so I fixed Michael and I an early dinner and spent the evening in the craft room. It took much longer than I anticipated to finish these off with an initial for each person, but the result is well worth the effort!

This first set is western-themed, using SU!'s Outlaw paper. LOVE that stuff!! Such a departure for me, but really fun. I have pictures of the insides of each of these, but didn't want to overwhelm you with photos. Let me know if you'd like to see them and I'll post them.

The next group was made using SU!'s Cutie Pie dp, and that's fun to work with too!

I really enjoy the soothing color combination of baby blue and celery green, and the whimsy that the dotted pattern brought to these.

The letters were made using SU!'s lower simon chipboard collection. If the world was perfect, I'd have multiple sets of these and could've used the actual letters for each one, but with 4 "k"s to make, that wasn't going to happen! So I cut each letter out once from designer paper that coordinated with the cover, then I traced the letter again on thin cardboard and cut it out. The ribbon was from my stash, but it's all SU! product, again a testament to how the company makes me look professional by taking all the guesswork out of pairing colors!

I had a friend send me a card, letting me know that she was linking arms with me and we were walking together, and that's how I feel about you! Thanks for walking with me.