Christmas Vacation

Saving up days, planning ahead and a little scheduling magic with the wonderful people I work with has resulted in a wonderful gift...seven days off over the Christmas week. After working on Friday the 19th I am off until Saturday the 27th! In the old days we were all home for this week; the kids on Christmas break and myself working for the school coupled with the Mr.'s winter shut-down. It's been about five years since we've enjoyed this time together. Jay lives on his own and works this week, but three out of four ain't bad! I've done some scheduling to make the most of my time balancing plenty of relaxation and fun with doing the things I'll regret leaving undone. I'll shop, bake, cook and watch old movies. On Sunday morning I did some housework and I finished the week's laundry. On Sunday afternoon we all sat around with cook books on our laps choosing the Christmas goodies we wanted. It reminded me of books I've read about people at the turn of the century and before looking through seed catalogs on snowy days planning their Spring gardens.

With the list of baked goods we will make a grocery list. I also have a list of Christmas gifts still not purchased. It seems natural then that Monday will be list day. I'll get up early to do my shopping and hope to be home not too late. I'll make jambalaya for dinner and wrap my gifts. Then I'll set up the kitchen for Tuesday's plan...baking.

I know the week will fly by (doesn't it always work that way with time off?) Come Saturday the 27th, I hope to be rested, celebrated and baked to perfection.