It's Coming...

I just cannot seem to get my rear into gear. And Christmas is only...hang on let's look...EGADS...ELEVEN DAYS AWAY.

This is getting critical, people.

I know, I know, it's Advent and we're supposed to be calm and serene and blissful. But things still need to get done, right? I am having trouble knowing how to get things accomplished without all the craziness and chaos in which I usually partake during what I used to call the Christmas season.

Still redefining Christmas over here. If I don't run around like a fiend for a solid month before the 25th, getting done all the things everyone else tells me I need to do, when, exactly, am I supposed to do the things I AM supposed to do?

I think, maybe, I've been misusing Advent. It is not an excuse to be lazy and procrastinate after all, is it?

In my defense, things have been a wee bit unusual around here. True, Redheaded Snippet is not doing basketball this year which has been a HUGE improvement, schedule-wise, and The Viking's back is getting gradually better all the time, but there always seems to be some kind of wackiness to fill in the gaps when other wackiness departs from us.

We're having our stove put in, which you know about. It's still not done. I don't really want to talk about it. Okay, being no stranger to home improvement projects, I am fully aware that NO project EVER goes as quickly or smoothly as you think and predict it will. There is ALWAYS some unseen problem and some surprising drama. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to fill all those programming hours on HGTV. Can you imagine? Today on Home Renovators, Joe and Darlene are upgrading their upstairs bathroom, taking an out-dated, boring, 1980's-style glorified closet and turning it into an up-dated, boring, 2009-style glorified closet with a granite vanity and cocoa paint! They finish the project in the allotted time and within budget and they like it very much. BORING!

Or how about this:

Today, on House Hunters, Mike and Joann are looking for a modest 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath home in a middle-class neighborhood in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Their budget is $300,000 and they have plenty of time to move. They find the perfect house on their very first try. Moving day goes super-smoothly and, three months later, they still like their new, boring house a lot. SNORE!

Okay, I digress (how unlike me).

So, yeah, I knew things would decidedly NOT go as planned. But, I did NOT think it would take THIS long to get the job done. It's going to get done, there is no major drama; we didn't have to move a wall or evict a colony of pests or call the fire department or anything. But, we're not going to have the cozy living room hearth by Christmas that we were dreaming of. It may or may not be functional by this evening, but it certainly isn't going to be pretty.

Long story short, the project took a lot longer and we don't have enough money in our budget to pay the very nice, very honest man who is doing the installation for the extra time he's going to have to put in. He wants to just put in the time and have us pay him the amount he originally quoted us, but The Viking won't have it. As a part-time handyman himself, he understands how these things go and while he appreciates the man's integrity does not want him to put all those hours in and not be compensated for it (and we just can't afford to do that). So, our honest, nice installer is going to finish the pipe/chimney thing so the stove is functional and The Viking is going to finish the aesthetic part (the stone facing for the walls and floor) himself (and with lots of help).

As long as we can use the thing before Christmas, I will be placated. I just want ONE evening of sitting in front of a blazing fire in my own living room with Christmas carols blaring or Holiday Inn on the television, stringing popcorn and cranberries or wrapping gifts. Is that so wrong?

Anyway, The Viking is going away on a two-day business trip (BOO) so the kids and I are on our own for 47 hours. Yikes. One good thing, we get to have pancakes and bacon for dinner tonight! The Viking hates breakfast for dinner but the kids and I love it so we whoop it up whenever he's not here. And Man-Cub will get to sleep in our bed with me. They're little things, but they help make The Viking's absence not so horrible. I hate it when he's not here; it just doesn't feel right at all. If only our silly dog would bark at creatures that walk on two legs and have no fur, I might feel a little better...

Well, I suppose I'd better get my chores done and then see about getting some Christmas shopping done. I'm going to try to do the vast majority of my shopping online again this year. I hate shopping, especially at Christmas time and am hoping I can avoid the long lines and cranky people and fake sales completely this year.

Off to the salt mines...