Not Gonna Lie...I Need a Nap

This whole trying to stay afloat in the Christmas season is NOT EASY, PEOPLE!!!!!

I had my week so carefully planned on Sunday, and of course, this precious Indiana weather has already thrown a wrench in the whole thing. The threat of freezing rain and wind and...well...not tropical bliss...meant I had to scootchy some of the chores up a day.

I love holiday baking. Each year I take a day, hunker down in the butler's kitchen (OH! You don't know that story! I'll get to it in a minute...) and make lots of treats. I use them for gifts for the people in my office, primarily, but I share with others, too. This year I decided to try something new and made it my goal every week throughout the year to save at least a dollar - maybe two - on my weekly grocery budget. I put back every dollar...quarter...penny...and by the time shopping day rolled around today, I'd saved almost $60 to use toward holiday baking. That was a huge help!

So a few days ago, I picked out all the recipes I wanted to make, and then I made a list of how many batches I needed of each one, and then I made a list of the ingredients I needed. Y'all, I bought SEVEN JARS OF PEANUT BUTTER today. That is a lot of protein in one cart. So about one hour and three stores after leaving home, I had everything I needed for baking day.

Oh, and did I mention that all this took place during the height of the freezing rain? I'd been to the gym, so my already-not-good hair was a matted mess in a ponytail, stuck under a cap, giving me an interestingly shaped head, I'm sure. My workout pants are too big now, and they were dragging through slushy puddles, and water seeped in through the air holes in my shoes. I was a bedraggled mess. But I have seven jars of peanut butter, so who cares!?!?

Upon arriving home, I settled in for the Biggest Loser finale (thrilled with both results, but I'll leave it at that for you DVR people) and went to work ordering all the Christmas pictures.

My Christmas card photos were taken last night. My friend Rachel came over and did those for me. My precious cats, who normally keep to themselves and do their own thing, both showed up and lurked in the background the entire time we worked. Bless them. After an office-wide vote today, I ditched the popular winner in favor of the one I liked better. :D The order has been placed, and that means the mailing of the cards can happen THIS WEEK.

After that I placed the order for the studio shots I had taken to appease my mother. Remember? Digital dieting? Now I just have to hope they show up in time for Christmas! (This is what happens when I'm too cheap to pay for express delivery.)

The shopping...the weather...the pictures...the cards...the baking...yes, I need a nap.

But not before I tell you the butler's kitchen story. I promise that will be the end of today's rambling.

This past Saturday night, I went on a Christmas tour of homes. I'm kind of a house junkie, so anytime I can take tours, I'm all about it. I was excited for this tour because it included a bed and breakfast I'd always wanted to see - AND it included the IWU President's home. When I went through that home, the lady giving the skinny on the dining room said, "If you'll step this way, you'll pass through the butler's kitchen, and that will take you into the family's kitchen and through to the rest of the private residence." So I "stepped this way" into a kitchen that is the very same size and layout as the one in my house. I have a butler's kitchen!!! I have no butler, but I have a butler's kitchen!

So from now on...this is what I call it. I respectfully request you to do the same.