Miscellany

I should really be in bed right now as it is one minute until midnight and the kid is asleep, but the husband is up reading a book and I hate going to bed without him...I just end up watching television until he shows up. So - here I am.

Things are busy in the House of Anna. We decorated the living room for Christmas last night. I opted not to put the lights in the bushes in the front yard this year, though I threw a wreath on the front door. The tree inside is lit and full of Hallmark ornaments that date back to when I was a kid. As we decorated it, Anna and I discussed (okay...I discussed and she listened intently) the meaning of Christmas (i.e. the baby Jesus) and the history of the Christmas tree (some pagan tradition). Very important stuff. The living room floor shows off last night's decorating frenzy by displaying little green tree dandruff everywhere. Every single time I get ready to vacuum it up Anna goes to sleep. As much as I like a clean floor, I'm not gonna wake up Sleeping Beauty.

(Shhh! Don't tell my mom about the tree dandruff...must get it up before she and my dad come to visit in the morning.)

Today, I did a bit of work. I could tell you about it, but then I'd have to kill you. I put off some more work. The whole family went to Wal-Mart where we stocked up on the essentials (Diet Mountain Dew and brownie mix...duh!). Then, we came home and Joseph made black bean salsa while I bathed and fed the kiddo. And after that, I wrapped some Christmas presents and addressed Christmas cards while watching Big Fat Loser (NBC calls it The Biggest Loser). And I know that you are super excited to hear about what I did after that, but you'll just have to love the mystery that is Shannon. Ha!

Oh, I meant to write this down because it made me happy, and I know that it'll make me happy when I read it in the future. At church the other day, I introduced myself to a woman as I was walking out the door. Her response was, "You're welcome." For a split second, I thought to myself, "Did I not thank her for opening the door? Is this old lady really being sarcastic?" I must have looked confused because she repeated herself and changed her comment just a bit. She said, "You are welcome here." Her expression, her face, everything about her was...well...just so welcoming. And nice. I thought that was a very nice thing of her to say. It felt good to hear. And then the nice lady asked me if I was Irish and that made me laugh.

Okay. My midnight ramblings are over. Oh wait... Let me just ask. Is there anybody out there? Doesn't anybody have any comments? Comments are on my Christmas list!