"It's the Hap - Happiest Time of the Year!"

I couldn't resist.

Dixie

November

I can't believe it's December already!  What on earth happened to November?  After a quick look at the calendar, I discovered what happened to it:

1.  Christmas Shopping.  I love it when November 1st rolls around.  That's when I give myself permission to start Christmas shopping.  I have to admit though, I end up doing more browsing than shopping.  Each year I follow the same tradition:  Find the perfect gift, check every other store to see if I can find it cheaper elsewhere, decide the first place had the best price, return to the first store to purchase said gift only to find it sold out.

2.  Attending a Few Plays.  I have always loved live theatre -- especially musical theatre.  This month I saw two great plays.  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat  and The Great Ice Cream Scheme.  Both were incredibly entertaining!

3.  Accomodating the Snow.  Taking vehicles in to have the snow tires put on, and shovelling the snow has also kept me busy.  (Though not quite as fun as going to live theatre or Christmas shopping.)

4.  Making Seminary Classroom Visits.  What a perfectly invigorating way to start your day -- leaving my warm house at 6:30 in the morning.  In the dark.  In the cold.  In a dress.  Oh, and the lessons are nice, too!

5.  Visiting With Daughter #3.  She came home for a mid-semester visit for a few days.  Always love having her around.

6.  Taking the Showbiz Kids on the Road.   Each year I have the Showbiz Kids put on a little program of old-time songs at a senior's residence.  I know the seniors love hearing those  songs, but it always surprises me to discover how "naughty" some of the words can be!  Not really appropriate for children.  So I spent a lot of time changing lyrics and writing new verses in an effort to "tame down" the songs.

7.  Helping With the Nativity Exhibit.   For the past 16 years, the last week of November has seen our church get transformed into a beautifully decorated showpiece filled with hundreds of ornamental nativities.  It's a lot of work to set up -- it takes three full days -- but the final product is so worth it!  For the next three days, we open it up to the public as our Christmas gift to them.  I love being able to help out.  It's such a nice start to the Christmas season.

8.  Vacationing in Arizona.  On a whim, The Mr. and I decided to take a short vacation.  We didn't really care where we went, but since we only had five days, it needed to be somewhere close.  I came across a vacation package to Phoenix/Mesa that was such a good deal, that even the booking agent said, "Wow!"  So we left and had a wonderful time.  The worst part was coming home to our cold weather - 40 degrees difference in temperature.

9.  Supporting Movember.  It was a little  harder than I thought it would be, but I really do like to support a good cause.

Dixie