It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

...which means I'm feeling behind.  The challenge of having family spread across the country is that you lose a week or more of shopping - because you have to save time to ship.  I got smart and ordered a number of things online and had them shipped directly, but there are still a couple of boxes to go out.

That's what I'm supposed to be doing right now.  I'm blogging.  Procrastinate much?

I have some much belated pictures from William's birthday to share.  We went with a Star Wars theme.  Pipe insulation light sabers (customized with colored electrical tape), origami Yodas and Darth Papers (inspired by the books of the same names), light saber cupcakes, and the piece de resistance, custom stormtrooper balloons decorated by Rachel.  They were all different - she googled stormtrooper images and we had everyone from the Clone Troopers to Forest Scouts to Darth Vader himself.

The weather was surprisingly warm for a November birthday, so we threw the boys in the backyard with their light sabers, and tied the balloons to weights all over the yard.  You'd be surprised how much they got into "attacking" the stormtroopers - although poor Darth Vader, after 20 minutes or more of painstaking work by Rachel, ended up an early casualty.  One of the boys whacked him repeatedly and enthusiastically, and he popped quickly.  The others lasted longer - one was accidentally released to the wild, and several actually survived the battle.

After pizza and cupcakes, we plugged them into a Lego Clone Wars DVD.  Worked well as a time filler while the parents trickled in.

Seems like just yesterday... but it was the middle of November - which may explain why I'm gobsmacked that Christmas is so close.

The Beginning or the End?

Saturday is the Band Parents Craft Fair. This marks the last of the major volunteering I've been doing this fall. There are a few ongoing projects, but they're mostly on autopilot now. To say that I am relieved would be an understatement. I haven't worked (for pay) outside the home for over 15 years, and while these commitments haven't added up to a full-time job, it's been a significant part-time job since September. I am no longer used to having this much committed time, and yes, my respect for working parents has only gone up. I think I will endeavor not to do this again.

I've always volunteered, but this was enough to make me not enjoy the process. If it's adding this much stress, and I feel like I can't do a good job, I really have to learn to say "no". It's hard, but it's got to start happening.

So now the Christmas season can begin, for me at least. I'm having a bit of a conflict this year-I'd like to spend a little less and clutter up the house less (mine and others), and I'd also like to shop more locally, support small artists, and otherwise spend responsibly. What's the problem, you say? There is SO much cool stuff out there! Etsy is a seriously dangerous site for me. Got a daughter who's into Japanese anime and manga? This site has pins and earrings from her favorite comics! Got a son who's into video games and online comics? This site has t-shirts! Got a family member who's into bacon? Somebody on Etsy has a whole shop dedicated to bacon accessories. If I had to search out each little store and drive all over the place, it would seriously curb this. The Internet is an enabler. But if you're on my Christmas list and you like something obscure? Let me know - the hunt is afoot!

In Which We Discuss Snow, and Volunteer Work, and Malaise

I love that word.  "Malaise".  Just a general out-of-sorts, not quite right, not-feeling myself kind of feeling.  It sounds so... indulgent, like a Victorian lady who is retiring to her salon suffering from malaise.  Seems like it should require a fainting couch and maybe a bon-bon or two, right?

I'm feeling a bit of malaise myself.  Nearing the end of the volunteer marathon this fall - yes, I know I could say "no", but that's hard, too.  I'm not Catholic, but I'm really really good at guilt.  Just one more event - anybody interested in a Craft Fair in Central New Jersey?  Wanna run it?

Combine "busy" with "time-change" and "lousy weather" and all I want to do is curl up in a warm place with a cat and a book.  Chocolate would be acceptable too.  Saturday is William's Birthday Party, so I do have to find some motivation eventually.  I find that deadlines are excellent motivators, but I'm one of those hypocrites that has to get right up under it before it takes effect.  We're not there yet, but I'm trying to do what I tell the kids and not leave it all until the last minute.

And just in case you thought those pictures of snow in October on the East Coast were exaggerated, here's how we looked here:

This was fairly early in the day, too, so there was more.  We ended up with about 6" total (although my neighbor said 10"), and tons of branches down in the area.  Rachel was out of school for 2 days, because they had no power; William had school on Monday, they realized the building had partial power from the solar panels but not enough to fire the boilers, and then HE was out for 2 days.  Poor JC had no days off, but he figures karma will resolve itself when the other 2 have to make up days and he doesn't.  We still have brush and debris partially blocking roads in the area, 2 weeks later.  And I saw a truly disgusting pile of dirty snow still in a parking lot yesterday.

Perhaps when I shake off this malaise, I'll manage to post more.  Or perhaps not - November around here is usually grey and cold and rainy.  Sounds like the cat and the bon-bons may win after all.

Random Bits

1.  I said "yes" to too many volunteer "opportunities" this fall, which is why there's been so much silence on the blog.  Sorry!  I am ticking them off, one by one, and I'm down to the last two.  They are, unfortunately, also the biggest two, so posting may continue sporadically.

2.  Marching Band is over (basically).  There was supposed to be a competition this weekend - only 6 bands signed up for what should have been a regional.  It got cancelled, I guess it really wasn't feasible to sign up for something else at this point, so we're done!  JC has texted me three times today confirming that this afternoons' practice is actually cancelled - we do have two more football games, but no more practices.  Good thing - the weather has decided to go early November on us, and it's about 45-50 degrees and schmutzing rain.  Ick.

3.  I am really kind of hoping soccer gets cancelled for this weekend, too.  Forecast is for rain on Saturday morning - Rachel has an 8:30am game, so NOT having to sit in the cold at that time in the morning would be a really lovely thing.  William's game is at 2:45, so that's ok, except that they've lost twice in a row.  My morale is low.  Hopefully, his isn't. 

4.  My house is a pit.  On top of too much volunteering, I've been scrambling to make a print for a print exchange (send in 12 and get back 10, all different).  I'm almost done, but there is dirt in every corner and finding a clear place to do homework or eat is getting...challenging.  I'm hoping that no band and maybe no soccer will provide me with minions to help with the cleaning.  We'll see - they're pretty good about disappearing when they smell housecleaning.

5.  Even though my house is a pit, what I really want to do right now is curl up with a blanket and a cat and take a nap.  Rainy fall days are bad for me that way.  I have 45 minutes before I have to pick up JC.  Not sure what's going to win.

iCon

I've been thinking about what to say about Steve Jobs for the last few days.  I've heard him compared to Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison.  I think the Edison analogy is apt - both men weren't necessarily the ones doing the innovative work, but they were both heavily involved in the vision and direction of that work.  Steve Jobs' Apple didn't invent the personal computer in the same way that Thomas Edison's lab made the first light bulb from ideas and glass and wire, but the early Apple computers fundamentally changed the way that computers were perceived by the general public.  Jobs created computers that were for regular people, that were simple and intuitive to use, that had a consistent interface across programs.  That seems so obvious now, but at the time, it really wasn't.  It's hard to remember now how clunky computers were in the 70's and 80's, and how few people actually used them in their personal life.

I wrote my Master's thesis on a Macintosh SE 30, and I don't remember once having to look at a User's Manual while formatting it, creating the charts and graphs, or any of the programs I used during the process.  And then he did it again with iEverything products, revolutionizing what we assumed computers and electronics could do and what they looked like.

RIP Steve Jobs, and prayers for his family.

Halloween AWESOME!

Now that the weather is finally turning cooler (and maybe not so rainy this week), it's actually possible to think about Halloween.  So as I'm poking around the Internet avoiding washing the dishes, I checked out The Martha Blog.  And somewhere on the page they had a link to the Daily Thred, which had a link to this:

100 Halloween Pumpkin Carving Ideas

Oh. My. Goodness.  Now, I'll certainly admit that some of these are far beyond my capabilities.  But how much fun is this?!

And this one, this put me over the top.

Isn't he GLORIOUS??!!

What Is It About Babies and Knitters?

I'm convinced there is some kind of cosmic link between babies and knitters.  Our neighbors' daughter just gave birth to a girl (Awwwww....!), and while I know the neighbors well, I hardly know their oldest daughter.  She's much much older (early 20's) than the daughter we know well.  That one is a year younger than William.  We've met the older daughter a few times, but she mostly lived with her mom, or was away at college.

But...

Upon hearing the news of the birth, and seeing some pictures (Awwwww.....!), I am overtaken with the urge to knit a Baby Surprise Sweater for her.  To the point where I took time yesterday (which was a very busy day!) to pick some yarn for her while I was at Michaels for something else. 

Maybe it's because baby items are just so darn cute!  Or small and quick?  Or both...