The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and I'm ready...Or at least I'm working on it. I'm one of those annoying people who has been shopping for months. Hitting the stores the day after Thanksgiving is simply a formality. It's a tradition in our house to get up at 4:00 a.m. and be in the mall parking lot at six. Crazy, I know, but my husband and I have fun. Mostly because we aren't after anything in particular so we can have fun watching everyone else stress out. The following Monday is the big shopping day for all the girls. That's when we really let our hair down and buy those impulse gifts that we swore we wouldn't get sucked into buying by all the media hype.

But this isn't about shopping and how much we add to our consumer debt. To me, the holiday season starts on Halloween. The last two months of the year are jam-packed with chores like preparing the flower beds for winter and preparing the house for out of town guests. It's for planning menus and trying new appetizers, shopping for that perfect gift and making list after list of what chores are finished and what still needs doing.

This is a three day work week so I have five days worth of work to squeeze in by Wednesday. We are hosting Thanksgiving at our house, so extra work for me. Besides cleaning and shopping and defrosting everything in time, I have several writing projects to finish. Did I mention my website has been on the fritz since August and I must get that straightened out by the end of the week because we all know December is our least productive month?

I've been setting up at craft bazaars the last few weeks, selling books and meeting readers. Yesterday I did my hometown bazaar and met lots of people who've been following my books for the last two years. I received lots of positive affirmation and feedback, which is such a joy since I often wonder if anyone is even reading the books. To add to the fun, I've sold lots of books. Thanks to all my faithful readers out there. Let me apologize to you for the mess that is my website and promise to get everything straightened out. By the first of the year, my readers' club and forum should be up and running and I invite all of you to check it out. Ask questions, stay abreast of what's coming next, enter the contests, and plenty of fun things.

I don't know how much blogging I'll get done in the next few weeks. But be patient, and I'll work on my regularity. If I don't see you for a few days, have a wonderful Thanksgiving. May you be surrounded with the people you love, doing what you enjoy most...which may very well include eating and watching football.

Teresa