five things, december 27

1. I think this year is the most scattered I've, no we've, ever been at Christmas. Sometime during my last minute wrapping on Christmas Eve, I lost a vital Christmas present for Cal. Then my mom and I lost two bags of Christmas presents (we found them), and then Neel lost a stocking stuffer. When I went to look for that I found my missing present. I never made neighbor gifts, which is something I generally look forward to every year, and not all of our holiday cards made it out the door. But you know what, we had a great Christmas despite all of that.

2. I think, all things being equal, I did pretty well at not spending money on myself this Christmas. I may have spent a leeeetle more than intended on other people, but I am totally down with that. No guilt there. Trouble is, I still want things. The more things change.

3. I think the second funniest story of the week (getting permission to tell you the first, maybe next week) was during the time my mom was telling us about her time in Italy and explaining a teeny tiny bit of the Italian language to us. As she's describing the various pronunciations of the letter "C," Neel's looking at an antique photo of St. Mark's Cathedral I gave her. "CHA-the-dral," (emphasis on the CHA) he sounds out, as Cal and I lean over and say, "Uh, that's in English." I think my mom is still laughing. Guess you had to be there.

4. I think our Christmas day beach walk is one of my favorite traditions. Last year was warmer; this year cold, cold but crisp and sunny. And spectacularly beautiful. I'm pulling hard to do it again on New Years Day too.

5. I think, SPOILER ALERT, we're all sick. It's my dad's fault. He brought illness upon this house. Poor Neel has it the worst of all of us, and really, I don't blame my dad (that much). I think it's one of those things that when you take your foot off the accelerator things fall apart.

Not sure how much I'll be around at the start of next week, but I'll pop in to ring in to wish everyone Happy New Year! Love you guys!

five things, december 20

The annual day-after-Thanksgiving tree lighting in Nantucket.

1. I think I am not a fan of this year's five-exams-in-a-row schedule. These poor kids! Cal is completely brain dead, and his science teacher (the science test was last) has to feel like he's not getting the best effort. No matter. By noon-ish today, it'll all be over and Christmas break can begin!

2. I think things are kicking into high Christmas gear around here. My mom arrived on Wednesday and my dad arrives tomorrow. We have much fun in store and much to do. I'm mostly (mostly) done with everything except for having fun, so that's good, right? Full speed ahead on the riotous good times.

3. I think it's crazy that my hometown made the front page of USA Today this week for this story. It's not a great one really. You've heard my regular refrain about street flooding and sea level rise around here, and here's the story in depth. If you take the time to watch the video, near the end they describe a neighborhood that has raised houses (for approximately $135,000 per house) and is now creating an artificial wetland to help stem the tide of the rising river water. Well, that wetland is along my regular walk, and I've been watching its progress. Exciting solution to a scary prospect.

4. I think I have to guard against thinking I'm going to get all sorts of things done while Cal is in Richmond this winter. The biggest shift in my day-to-day will be the absence of the school run. I generally leave around 2:30 to hop in the carpool line, and because of timing and traffic, my working day is pretty much shot. I'm hoping I can take advantage of some extra hours and fill those hours to keep from missing him too much.

5. I think I can't let you go without sharing this video. It's older, so you've probably already seen it, but I can't stop watching it. Call it an early Christmas present.

Have a great weekend getting it all done, my lovelies! XO