Staples has an Easy Button, I need a Slow Down Button

The madness that surrounds Christmas hit full force and hasn't stopped. On the 11th, my daughter had her choir concert. It was really nice and there are some talented singers in the choir. No yoga for me.

I was able to get in a 4 mile run on Wednesday and a 4 mile run on Thursday. Fridays are my normal "off" days and it worked out well. My husband and son left town to go to a soccer tournament (why they schedule them so close to Christmas, I have no idea). We hired a sitter to spend the night so I could still do my group run Saturday, so I took advantage of that Friday night and went out to dinner with a friend for her birthday. Then I came home and got things ready for my Saturday run.

Sometime in the middle of the night, it stormed and woke me up. Several times. I was afraid the run would be cancelled, but when I got up at 5:30 am, it wasn't raining. The wind, however, was blowing like a tornado. The temperature was high 50s, but with the wind I knew it would feel colder. I dressed appropriately and headed out. The run actually turned out well. It was the perfect temperature for me and I could tell by the speed I was running. I actually came in third, which is surprising for me. The only time it got bad was when we had to cross a lake. Going over the bridge, the wind was so strong it was hard to stay on your feet. When I finished the 10 miles, I felt great. And it was a good thing, because I had a busy day ahead.

When I got home, I paid the sitter and then showered. Then my daughter and I headed to the post office to mail a package to my chemo angel girl. The line was long, but they kept it moving. Next stop: Taco Bell for lunch. After that we headed to the ceramic store in town so I could make a couple more gifts. I never think they are going to take as long as they do, so we were there for a while. I wanted to go to my friend's graduation party, but the man who had done our taxes for the last 15 years recently passed away from lymphoma and his memorial service was Saturday. I decided I should go. After that it was to the grocery store and then to drop my daughter off at her choir "caroling/party". Luckily that was going to last a few hours and I had some "me only" time to shop. I got quite a bit knocked out. At 9:30 I picked her up. She went to bed and I followed not long after.

Sunday we went to church as usual. I teach junior high and my co-teacher was out of town. Usually it's not bad, but I had 21 kids! They were actually pretty good and we survived. When I got home I started making hot sauce. For years, I've made hot sauce for teacher gifts. I give the main teacher that plus something else, but I like to show appreciation to the administrators and other teachers (choir, art, p.e., etc) as well. Since we're not made of money and since they already get so many sweats, I started giving them hot sauce. Many of them had come to expect it. I made four batches and realized I was going to need a lot more now that my daughter is in middle school and has several teachers. So, we headed back to the grocery store. The people must have thought I was insane buying 30 jalapeno peppers. Right back home and as the garage door is opening, it stops. I finally get it to go up, but notice that the spring that pulls the door up is broken on one side. Lovely. Now I'm afraid to put it down, which means we can't go anywhere. At least until my husband and son get home. So I spend the rest of the afternoon, literally, making hot sauce. After the last batch of hot sauce was done, I made the chocolate chip cookies that we will leave out for Santa. And finally, at 7:00 it was time to sit and relax while watching the Survivor season finale!

Monday night I had dinner with a publisher rep, so no run for me. Tuesday was my husband's birthday and we always go out to eat for birthdays, so no run or yoga for me. When we got home I did some more baking and actually wrapped a few gifts. And finally, tonight I was able to get in a 5 mile run. And it felt good. I could have kept going, but I stopped because I am making two batches of Amish Friendship Bread. One batch is in the oven right now and the other will go in the oven in about 15 minutes. Then I'll hopefully wrap the final gifts and be able to relax for a bit. I am so ready for next week. Friday is my last day of work until after the first of the year. I'll have many days to sleep late, get my runs in and be lazy the rest of the day. I'm hoping to get a bunch of scrapbooking in! But first I have to get through the rest of the week and a long run before Christmas! Where is that slow down button?????