It is very late on Sunday, much later than I normally post my Sunday Contentments, but I had a busy, busy day at the tail end of two busy, busy weeks. As predicted, the holidays hit like a freight train, though I think this year I gave myself more of a break than on previous years. I did plenty of baking and cooking, saw all my friends and family, and hit a few of the local holiday attractions with the Hubster and the kids. We even managed to see an exhibit on Egyptian mummies at the Chrysler Museum today to close out our whirlwind holiday break. And now…
I can finally take a break from the break.
I am more than ready to slow down. My sleep and work schedule have been all screwed up since the girls got out of school. I have stayed up too late and slept in too often. Now I’ve got to drag myself back into my routines and get cracking. I have a novella to write, a podcast to keep up with, and a convention to attend this month (if you are just absolutely dying to see me, I’ll be at Marscon in Williamsburg the weekend of the 15th-17th to talk about science fiction and erotica writing – woo hoo!). Yes indeed, it’s time to get back to work. But first, a moment to reflect on what I did enjoy the past two weeks, because that’s what Sunday Contentments are all about.
The biggest of life’s little enjoyments the last two weeks was being able to spend time with the kids. I don’t know if we spent it together wisely or not. We did spend more time watching TV than I would have liked. But we did go out quite a bit too. We went to two parties, two holiday lights displays, two museums, one botanical garden, and a couple of movies (don’t ask which ones because right now I’ll be damned if I can remember), as well as two aunts, two uncles, one cousin and two grandparents (Hubster’s folks). We ate… a lot! And I have discovered that yes, it really is time for me to give up the high fat foods. Without a gall bladder, those things just kill me.
I did a little reading too, the last couple of weeks, three books which I enjoyed (and aside from the last one, Atherton: The House of Power, I can’t recall the others right now because my noggin is still too full with factoids on Egyptian funerary rituals). And I learned a new craft – crocheting. I ended up teaching myself with the help of a few books, and made the lumpiest neon-colored voodoo doll you’d ever want to see. We’re calling it Rainbow Baby. Pixie has since claimed it as her own.
I think it’s significant that my last creative act of the new year was learning to crochet that doll. I enjoyed it, and was very proud that I figured out how to do it by myself. I need to do more things like that, so you’ll probably see a whole string of lumpy little dolls from me as I work out how to put them together. Don’t laugh or I will knit you an ugly sweater and make you wear it.
So I had fun in spite of the chaos that comes with the holidays, and I think one of my resolutions for 2010 will be to do a little more reading, a little more knitting, a little more crocheting and a little more relaxing with the family. I want to start a family game night, either Friday or Saturday night, whenever the Hubster is home, and we finally have enough kid-friendly games to make that a possibility. The first game night is scheduled for this weekend, and I’ll let you know if it gets off the ground or not.
Beyond that, it’s late and I really need to get to bed. Actually, it’s not that late, not even 10PM yet, but that’s another of my resolutions, to be in bed and asleep by 10PM. So good night to you all, and I hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season, whatever holiday you celebrate.
