I admit that I can be a perfectionist. And an idealist.
I love handmade gifts. Making them. Giving them.
I love baking goodies from scratch.
To me, it makes everything more special. Like I'm giving a little bit of myself when I give gifts that take extra time and ingredients.
​But ...
​I am not Wonder Woman.

Are you still singing Christmas songs in your house? Is it because your children are still singing Christmas songs? That's the way it is here. Ugh. I'm over it.
But it keeps an issue in the forefront of my mind, too. You see, this year my children actually paid more attention to the lyrics. Know what is in the lyrics of quite a few Christmas songs?
​Euphemisms.

2023 got off to a shaky start in some ways.
I caught a cold/sinus gunk shortly before Christmas and kept it all the way through. Not a fun way to celebrate the holidays. I finally started feeling better in time to start back to work. But I started back to work with two days of an online tax seminar. I went from getting up between 7:30 and 8 and lazing away at breakfast to having to be at the office by 7. Big difference.
By the end of those days, I was spent. Mentally and physically.
Imagine my joy when I walk into my house and find the ceiling fans dusted and dinner started.

How many books did you read in 2022? Did you count? I keep track on Goodreads. For the last few years, I've set my "goal" at 125, though it's not set in stone. It's an average that I know I usually hit/pass. This year, I passed it by more than 10, though there were a few points where I wasn't sure I'd make it.
Something I have discovered is that writing/editing more leaves less time for pleasure reading. But that doesn't stop me from reading for pleasure anyway. Reading is my stress-relief. And, I feel it helps me be a better writer, too. So, what did I read?

For the last few years, I've started with the goal of one date per month.
Well, y'all, it just hasn't happened.
This year we started really strong. I think we succeeded in keeping that goal all the way through May. But then life happened. Sicknesses, busyness, or simply nowhere to go. And the dates trickled off to one about every three months for the last half of the year.
Total bummer.
Some people might think it doesn't matter. After all, we're married. We live in the same house, see each other almost every day of our lives (not every day because sometimes I go on retreats ;) ). But it does.

Every couple brings his or her own history of holiday traditions with them when they come to the relationship. Sometimes that makes for a rocky first holiday. Can romance be found in tolerating each other at Christmas? Jenny McLeod Carlisle is guesting today and talking about just that. She's an author I count as a friend ... and I got to edit her soon-to-release book, which is really good so read all the way to the end!

Tolerance is my Christmas Love Language

                After forty-six years of marriage, my husband has become very good at putting up with my foibles.  I’m sure he could easily make you a list of quirks he elects to ignore. As the pages of the calendar diminish each year, my best friend’s tolerance is pushed to the limit.
                James and I met in high school, just weeks after I moved from my birthplace in Kansas to Arkansas. We were seniors at the same, small high school. That first Christmas in my new home, I was very sad. Our family didn’t make the trip to my grandmother’s house and I discovered the depths of homesickness. The familiar gathering with my cousins and all of the traditions involved turned out to be what I missed more than anything else.

Today, in the US, we're celebrating Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays. I LOVE the food, for one thing. Turkey and dressing and gravy and rolls! Yum. I can eat my weight in it, and then still want pumpkin pie.
But I also just love how laid back and family-focused it is. It's like the last calm before the scurry and hurry of the Christmas season, a deep breath to be still for a moment before going full-throttle to the end of the year. And let me tell you, I need a few minutes of just being still after this crazy busy year.
​But I still have plenty to be thankful for ... despite all the craziness that came with 2022.

How do you do it all?
I get that question ALL THE TIME. A lot of times, I say something about "I just do it." 
But then I think. No. It's not just me.
My husband helps A LOT. He makes sure I can carve out time for writing/editing/marketing. He nods and waves me on when I schedule a book signing or register for a conference to help me improve.
He takes on so much with the children, and always makes sure I get a shower by myself. Lovely!
He takes out the trash each week, including the dirty cat litter. And often ends up doing the Goodwill runs, too.

My daughter is a book worm, in case you haven't picked up on that. She reads every hour (and I mean that literally) she can each day. So, when she started talking about what theme she wanted for her birthday party this year, of course it took a bookish slant.
At first, she went back and forth between just books in general or Nancy Drew. But since a lot of her friends are behind her in the reading department, we figured most of them hadn't read Nancy Drew. So, we went with a more general theme.

Have you ever thrown an axe?
No, that's not a crazy question. It's a new-ish trend from the last few years. There are escape rooms. There are putt-putt and bowling and other places like that. Or you can go axe-throwing.
I haven't been to one of the places in town that offer such fun, but last weekend, I was blessed to go on a retreat and it was an event we could sign up for.
​So, of course I did. ;)