This Week/Weekend

- My ¡HOLA! (Hispanic Outreach Library Action) Project Workshop got canceled in Minocqua this week. Only three people were registered, so we canceled. We knew this area would be a tough sell at this time of year, but we tried. Now I will present a workshop somewhere else, which sounds fine to me.

- Poor Packers. They still have a good record, though. Poor Brett. I hope he recovers in time for Oakland. I'm glad Rodgers did well, but honestly...I want to see Brett it there. It's going to be hard when he's not playing anymore. He IS the Green Bay Packers.

- I was supposed to "bell ring" tonight, outside, for an hour. But now I'm not. I know, I'm horrible. I'm horrible, but honestly, I didn't feel that great yesterday, haven't been sleeping well and the thought of standing outside tonight when it's dark and cold just didn't float my boat. I think they struggle with finding outdoor ringers, and I can understand why. I signed up for an additional "indoor" date, and I informed the office I would not be ringing tonight. I like volunteering. I want to volunteer. But if I'm going to volunteer, I don't want to be miserable. And I know tonight, feeling the way I do, I would be miserable. Maybe that makes me a bad person, but I just don't want to be miserable by my own choosing.

- I want to get up my ugly store-bought tree this weekend. It's ugly, but I love it. I was also going to try and make cookies, but that might be pushing it. I could make some dough and freeze it.

- Our Y Staff Holiday party is on Saturday. I know the weather won't cooperate, but I'm still going to try and make it. I heard it's fun.

Early Gifts

Apparently my niece, Mary, couldn't resist opening up her Christmas presents from me a little early. My parents took her gifts with them last week, so my sister wouldn't have to lug them on the plane in January. It looks like she LOVES her new vacuum!

Date

I have a date with B on Friday. I guess you could say it's a date. We're meeting for drinks. Is that a date? Or is it an informal meeting with alcoholic beverages? I shouldn't be afraid to call it that, but I guess it is what it is.

It's a date. And I'm glad. I'm glad I have a date with B on Friday. :)

Where Did the Weekend Go?

I have been looking forward to this four-day weekend for ages, and now it's 11 am on Sunday, and I'm wondering where it went?

Turkey Day

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for this year.

My parents will be in Omaha visiting my sister this year, and I'm thankful that I have siblings close by who include me in their family plans, even if they are with their in-laws. I'm glad I won't be by myself on Thanksgiving.

Busy-Tired-Poor

The next time someone asks me how I'm doing, I'm going to try really hard and make an effort to NOT say one of the following.:

"I'm busy. Really, really busy."
"I'm tired. Really, really tired."
"I'm poor. Feeling really broke this month."

Even if one of them is true, I won't say it. Even if all three of them are true, I still won't say it, and here is why.

1) We are all busy. Everyone is busy. I don't know one person who isn't busy or who doesn't have things going on. Whether you are single, married, with kids, without kids, with pets, without pets, working full time, working part time, volunteering, not volunteering,....we're all busy. It's all relative. It's nothing new, and I'm not going to get a lot of pity by saying it anyway. You know something? Life would probably be pretty boring if we weren't busy, and I for one, am a happier person the "busier" I am.

2) We are all tired. We all could use more sleep. We all want to "sleep in" more. We all want more energy. We all wish we had the energy to work all day, take care of our kids, run errands, and then run a marathon before going to bed, but that just won't happen. I'm amazed that more of us don't fall asleep at the wheel or at our jobs with how "busy" our lives are, and I'm being serious. The world is crazy, and we're expected to do it all and then some. But we're all tired.

3) We're all broke. None of us are wealthy. Yes, most of us have some kind of debt and aren't swimming in money. I know VERY few people who don't have to worry about finances. But even those people still watch what they spend. But the truth is, we're really not that poor. We struggle at times, and money can be tight, but most of us always have food to eat, clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads. My life has definitely changed since I purchased a home, but I made that choice. I'm probably still richer than most of our world's population.

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