Taking it Easy

Christmas around the Cook house is usually a bit of a production.  OK, I'll be honest - we go way overboard.  We're talking one big (or giant depending on the year) real tree in the living room, a tree in the kitchen filled with kitchen ornaments, and a small tree downstairs with snowmen ornaments.  Not to mention the snowman collection, the outside lights, etc. etc.  All of this on top of the gifts buying, the wrapping, the baking, the parties . . . .it's wonderful.  An often exhausting.

This year the exhaustion set in early with the October arrival of Little Miss.  When December rolled around we were still getting used to her and our new life.  So we decided to take it easy this year and just focus on enjoying her and each other.  So the pencil tree from the kitchen made the big leagues and was put in the living room with the snowman ornaments because they were in the front of the pile of decorations.  A few wintry snowmen went up on the mantel and all of the other decor went back into the closet.

You know what?  I kind of like the more pared down look.  And I'm grateful that we can spend the holidays focused on what is really important instead of stressing over the mile long to do list.  Maybe we've started a new tradition . . . but probably not.

The Wake County Public Library

Today I took Little Miss to the public library for storytime for pre-walkers.  Yes, I know she is probably a little young, but we NEEDED to get out of the house and it was too cold to do much else.  What a wonderful program!  The children's librarian very clearly loved her job and was excited to see the kids get excited about reading.  This was a Holiday themed storytime and they hit them all.  We even sang a Kwanza song.  I didn't know there was such a thing. The only thing missing was a song about atheism.

We went to the Duraleigh branch, but I believe most of the branches offer some version.  If you have young children, check it out!

Watching Our Pennies

At first glance, this may seem like an odd topic for a gratitude post.  But its not. We have been watching our money a little closer lately, especially since we took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course at our church.  (Sidenote: I highly recommend the course.  Sidenote 2: You WILL at some point find yourself calling him Damn Ramsey.  I promise)

One of the reasons we are watching things more closely is due to the birth of our daughter.  My thankfulness for her far outweighs any inconvienences, financial or otherwise, that might come along because of her.  Somehow not buying that new whatever doesn't seem like much of a sacrifice.

Friends

Today I went shopping with one of those rare friends - one converted from a "work" friend to a "real" friend.  Regardless of how she came into my life she is one of the people I would call in the middle of the night with a problem and know that she would do whatever needed to help me. And I would do the very same for her. 

Spending the afternoon with her made me realize how lucky I am to have a circle of friends.  They come in all shapes and sizes. There are conservatives and liberals, marrieds and singles, accountants and artists.  I have friends to shop with, friends to share meals with and friends to call and bitch when things are not going my way.  This wonderful diversity is a blessing.  It keeps me on my toes and forces me to keep an open mind about things.  It also reminds me that sometimes it is best to just agree to disagree and move on.

Friends - get ya some.