Aftermath

We took Joe's mom and stepdad to the airport this morning and I'm staring down laundry, house-cleaning and a Christmas tree to take apart. I wonder how long I can procrastinate? Some highlights of our Chicago Christmas included some very good food, two excellent movies (True Grit and The King's Speech), going to the Christkindlmarket and seeing A Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theatre. If ever you are in Chicago around this time of year, this is a must-see production. It's quite a tradition around here and now I know why. I am afraid I'll never be able to see it anywhere else ever again or I'll be very let down. Now to the procrastination...

Christmas ramblings

I think I am in denial that Christmas is actually this week. Maybe that's because I did my shopping so early? For the first time ever, we are staying home. We are trying to get the house ready for Joe's mom and stepdad to visit us but still have a lot to do around here and it seems that we're suddenly running out of time. And as unpredictable as the weather is at this time of year, we're hoping that they can arrive and depart without any travel complications. This is also the first time ever that I haven't spent Christmas day with my family - we celebrated with them over Thanksgiving. After thinking about it, I realized that I haven't slept in my own bed or not traveled somewhere for a Christmas or Thanksgiving since I was still living at home during college. Joe has spent very few of those holidays at home, too. So we are looking forward to cooking together, opening stockings at home for the first time and seeing what a Chicago Christmas looks like for us - Merry Christmas, friends!

Tis the Season

The department where I volunteer had their holiday party today and invited me to participate in the festivities. Afterwards we volunteered for a few hours at the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Tomorrow is Joe's holiday party so I am baking...and baking...and baking. Last batch of cookies are in the oven. Celebrating is hard work!

About me

Who would have thought that a kidney stone only 2.5mm in size would cause such an ordeal? But Tuesday - after numerous doctors' visits and lab tests, three CT scans, two ultrasounds and one set of xrays later - I had my first-ever surgery.  Although I still have more doctors' appointments and possibly another proceedure in the future, I'm hoping that life quiets down a little.

I will say that I am actually very blessed that this is all I've had to deal with thus far (knock on wood!) and am also so blessed that Joe has a fantastic insurance plan. I know that so many people have much more severe medical problems and also have to go into debt or deplete savings accounts just to get the care they need. So that is going to be what I'm thankful for this holiday season.

I also managed to finish my finals this week so I'm going to cherish some much needed quiet time for a few weeks until school starts again. I predict there's going to be some holiday baking in my near future.

Around here...

• Joe has been sick. Twice to the doctor (today and a few days ago) and even was off work a day this week which almost never happens.
• I have been deeply emersed in finals...final exam, final paper/presentation. The end is in sight! I will finally be finished with economics but have another accounting class to endure in January. Sigh.
• Joe brought home an early Christmas present for me - a Tempur-pedic pillow. He insisted I have it right now because he knows how much I toss and turn at night, never quite comfortable with my neck. I'm in love! (With Joe and my new pillow.)
• The first real snow has hit. It's beautiful outside but reminds me all the reasons why I love curling up inside in the winter - cozy blankets, hot coco and soup.
• Found out that our new favorite tv show may get cancelled and that makes me incredibly sad. It's an extremely smart and well-written show. Why isn't anyone watching?