time goes by

wow, i can't believe christmas will be here in a little over a week! december is just flying by. of course, it's been busy with the usual holiday preparations, but for once, this year i had most of my shopping wrapped up by turkey day. yay!

work has been busy--we hired a new person on my team (a firecracker--she is so awesome!) and i have been training her for the past two weeks. needless to say, i've been getting a little less work done each day, but that won't be for long.

outside of work, i've been spending a lot of time over at my sister monica's house. her husband, nathan, has been a good sport about it all. monica's been cooking lots of yummy dinners and baking lots of new christmas treats. she actually found a new cookie recipe on Food Network.com , "moravian spice cookies' that are really good; kinda like a wafer-thin gingerbread with just a little more kick. monica and i have been in the throes of christmas card making. we actually decided to 'block print' ours, using linoleum squares to carve our design in mirror relief. are we crazy? maybe so, but it was fun. look for yours coming soon. (BTW, please send me your addresses!! i am missing a ton). i finished a knitting project at monica's that i've been working on for AGES! a pair of felted wool slippers i intended to give eric for his birthday that has now become his christmas present. thanks for your patience, eric!

last night, a couple friends and i went to a performance of Handel's Messiah put on by the Seattle Symphony in Benaroya Hall. it was absolutely amazing. the music of the chorus has been running through my head all day. truly inspiring.

today has been such a low-key day. i've had a couple fires in the fireplace; since i don't have church until 1 pm, there's time for a fire in the morning AND the evening. i don't know why i love having a fire so much, but it just makes me feel so cozy and homey. church was really good today, as always. i love how sacrament meeting always regenerates me and edifies me. i'm slowly but surely getting to know a few other people in my ward. after a year and a half, you'd think i'd be better, but it's been slow-going for some reason. nonetheless, i feel comfortable enough to have a little holiday gathering at my little place this wednesday. a little light on the male company, but i'm working on it slowly, but surely. having all these girlfriends all over the seattle area has got us pooling our resources--we'll see if anything comes of it.

jessie, michael and the girls have been in tri-cities, washington for christmas since mid-week last week, and boy, do i miss my little nieces! i am driving down to the tri-cities on saturday, and driving back christmas day. alas, i have to be at work 1st thing wednesday after christmas.

i hope everyone's holiday preparations are going well! i wish you happy holiday cheer!