Yes, it’s going to a bullet sort of post.
- Baxter bought me new flannel pjs this year, which I opened early in order to be able to schlump around the house in them. They are pink zebra stripe and were only $15 at Army and Navy, so they didn’t even break his little budget.
- The Christmas newsletter that I started, oh, three weeks ago? Isn’t done. After the initial flurry of creativity, it died. I will resurrect it to be a New Years Letter when all this hoopla is over, so look for it then.
- I am officially ready for the big day – my gifts have all been sent to various parts of the country, I have things to bring to people I am visiting, my wine rack and snacky cupboard is stocked for Rock Star noshing (during the holidays I gravitate to a grazing-all-day type of eating on tiny portions, much like I imagine Rock Stars do)
- After my 3 clients this evening, I am finished coaching until 2012, AND I only have 8 more hours to do until I have all I need for accretidation. I don’t even care if that was spelt right…
- Two more sleeps until I am in Victoria, sipping wine and watching Love, Actually with my dear Monica. Ah.
- In my absence from the blog, I have been making plans for 2012 and beyond: I booked hotels for San Francisco in January, registered for a Leadership Program which will take me to California three times for retreats next year, I mapped out all the workshops and seminars I will run until the end of 2013 and blocked out three plus weeks for a trip to Thailand just over a year from now.
- I went through a few weeks where I was sort of stuck on the idea of finding a new partner in my life, but that has faded, somewhat. I still would like to share my big life with someone, but I am certainly not waiting until I do to carry on with any of my plans. I just trust it will happen at some point, and plan to carry on my merry way.
- I am now one of those people who is planning a life overhaul as of January 1 – I have managed to put on some weight over the past year (I blame cheese, wine, certification, a knee injury, discovering that truffle oil is really, really good on, well, almost everything, and some good old fashioned laziness), and have plans to get rid of it. If my knee has forgiven me for running the marathon earlier this year, we will be attempting a half in Ontario in the fall. And flax? Is my new friend.
- Baxter is going to the spa tomorrow in order to smell semi-lovely for all of our visiting this weekend. You’re welcome. Best $50 ever spent.
- I bought a cigar for myself for this coming weekend – a Cohiba #4. After considerable research with Man, this was the one I found I liked the most. I am looking forward to a thoughtful evening enjoying it with a glass of wine (I would have it with scotch, but I no longer have access to the selection Man has)
- Speaking of Man, we had a lovely little lunch together last week. We exchanged gifts (he went WAY overboard, but that was fine with me!), and it was actually very fun. He’s a funny guy, and I’ve missed getting to be around him. It was fun to laugh about our happy memories and collectively forget the bad stuff that we’ve left behind. We’re still a team, in some ways, and we’re working together at this new relationship we have. Fourteen years of being Team Awesome is hard to just forget (and is somewhat impossible to do), and we both seem to be adjusting well.
- I was watching a (dumb) show the other day where they walk new dog parents through choosing an appropriate puppy and (this why I even watched) this episode featured basset hound puppies (I’m sorry, but there is nothing cuter than a baby basset who has yet to grow into its ears). The breeder talked about how this breed is happy and extremely friendly (which I know to be true), and also that they are extremely attached to their people. This is something I *knew* but had kind of forgotten, but it’s true of Baxter, too. He isn’t just my dog, I am his Person, and he is very tied to me. It still breaks my heart to have stressed him with the separation and angst in our home last year, and it hammers it home so much more to remember his little perspective. He went through some devastation, too, and has come out happy and well-adjusted, but it’s no surprise that he has bad days, too. Aw. Makes me love him even more.
I am not going to even pretend that I will be back here before the 25th, so I wish you all a very Merry Day this Sunday…I hope the fire is warm, and the company is inviting, and that amid all the wrapping paper and hoopla, that you experience some plain ol’ JOY for having a few days of festivities with those you love most, both near and far. I will have his puppiness with me and will be doing just that. Cheers!
