Whew. What a month. In a nutshell, this is what December contained for me:


occupational hazard (or party?) planned
35 kid's gifts for above wrapped
a three-day trip to Redding
4 holiday parties in one week
getting tanned
Brother's wedding
Christmas with the family
hours many of overtime to close out the year
not being alone, ever, except while sleeping


January started a little bit better as I took time off from the world at large by hiking alone on New Year's Day (except that I chose the beach for it's beauty and was rewarded with a "happy new year!" and a big grin from each of the fifty people I passed that day. shudder). I also got a ton of crap done that I'd been putting off, and threw Italian Food Nite where I packed in all the fun cooking and baking I hadn't been doing into one day.


As for the part about where December depressed me, or put me in a funk, in the midst of all the happy activity, that I haven't quite figured out or pushed through completely? More on that later. When I figure it all out. I will say that a) Christ again confirmed that I am to be here, now, ugh, and b) I decided to designate Tuesday nights as alone time because my, oh my, how grouchy and awful I can get if I am not alone ever.


So for anyone who feels neglected, I will call/see you soon to reinstate our friendship.


About a million pictures came from the above activities, and my favorites follow:

OH WAIT. I FORGOT I BROKE THE SCREEN ON MY LAPTOP WHEN I KNOCKED IT OFF MY BED.