Less Hustle More Coffee

So, this picture alone should say a lot! I mean isn’t there something missing here? I had another theme in mind entirely for today’s Blogmas Day 8, but let’s just go with reality, the current state of being. Things are just not progressing very quickly and about half done. An empty manger scene? Really? Yep, trying to get there!

The facts:

• I don’t like to decorate at night. I just don’t. My creative factor reaches an “I don’t care zone” when the sun goes down, when I’ve been up in the 4 a.m. hour and get home 12 hours later from work and still have other chores, things on the to do list, checking on a parent, and trying to manage a blog and a YouTube channel, while still eating dinner and spending time with the Hubs. So I wait for a day to finish. And tomorrow is the day. Yay!
• I also didn’t take time to push to finish the Christmas cards yet because of the same deal. I like to personalize my message in each one and my thoughts are depleted by then as to what I want to say. Yeah I know I can still muster up energy to blog at night some, but I’ve done that for years and it flows naturally. And to get that done I’m already having to ignore everything else.
• Cleaning up the house. I don’t really like to do that at night either. My energy is in the morning and I’m ready to relax at night and do what I want to do. So I do pretty much try to stick with what is relaxing or fun for the evenings – or at least less involved. If I do anything it will be laundry, ironing, cleaning up the kitchen, doing Amazon orders for me or Mom, or catching up with family.
• Also I am a very detailed person and when I get involved in something, I like to have time to finish. And usually the house is too big of a project to work on at night.
• So all that said, the state of my house is pretty gnarly right now. And instead of doing the subject I had planned for today’s entry, I thought we’d just do a blog entry on where my house is right now as we get ready for Christmas. And you can laugh with me! Because you might as well!

Most of the surfaces in the house look kinda like this. Stuff on them everywhere. Here we have George’s crocs so the dog won’t chew them, the dog’s lion costume for Halloween, cat food, mail, dog treats and some other stuff. So yeah, the snowman is there but does that look festive? Um, NO!

So the intentions are good. But the decorations just are not out yet. I kinda need to clean some surfaces, lol. I dusted but then some areas just need picking up – like the hall entry way table. I detest clutter. Yet I find myself muddled in it. It drives me nuts so I have to ignore it and play a game into my iPad, and if I clean it up more will be piled on top of it. I’ve had to live with clutter for many years now. We cannot keep a surface clean if our lives depended on it.

I would show you my dining table but it has Christmas gifts on it, lol. It’s detestable. But here is the side table in the kitchen which has become the dog center – and of course the latest arrival of dog food I just tossed on top as I haven’t taken the time to reorganize it and put it in the baskets and where the canned dog food had been emptied and created space, other things (treats) have filled it’s spot. Of course. Real estate in the household cannot stay free for long.

The kitchen is lived in for sure. Coffee cups, peanut butter and wine glasses line the counter. A stray banana, lol.

In the bedroom a stray pillow I refuse to put on the bed because it was on the bathroom floor the other night when I had vertigo. Pillows that touch the bathroom floor are not allowed back in bed. A blanket lines the side of the bed on the carpet where Dexter chewed a hole in the floor. George was going to call and have them come out and fix it. I haven’t heard that he did. So the blanket keeps the dog from picking at it, keeps me from seeing the carpet, but yet continues to be an eye sore. I’m also still using the ugly green non-matching old quilt as a comforter as it’s bigger than the other one I was using. I am saving the good comforter b/c I don’t want Dexter on it and anyway it bugged me to sleep under. I have a new one I’m supposed to be getting for Christmas.

So tomorrow is a day at home and I will try to get the decorations under control, the house under control and get my Christmas cards finished too, and start in on laundry and all that. I do have Saturday. Sunday’s are usually pretty much shot getting Mom to church and getting her groceries and such done. But I am so happy to be home and try to get some stuff done. I feel so behind everyone else.

Most of our shopping is done but I need to get the wrapping done. Our Florida family arrives next week. They will be staying with Mom. But we want to be free to eat dinner with them some.

So here’s hoping that tomorrow or sometime before the weekend is over, I’ll be showing you some cheer instead of chaos! I’m really thrilled about having the day tomorrow to work in the house and if my phone is on silent, it’s because I don’t want to be disturbed. I only get so many hours to pull Christmas off and do things while I feel good in the early day time hours.

So what about you? Where are you on the decorating and shopping and wrapping. Oh gosh yes, I need to wrap too. I’m not sure how far I’ll get this weekend but man, it’s just so hard to find a few hours to work on it in the day time because I night, I’m already ready for down time.

So health updates: George’s gout much better with the meds and steroid shot they gave him. My vertigo tried to come back last night. I did the Epley maneuver again and it did ok. I can’t sleep on back or right side. I’m tired of sleeping on the left.

I had therapy today. That is going well. I felt I didn’t have much to say today. I think a lot of my situation is resolved (until it rears its ugly head again – and it will). But I will continue the therapy for the sessions I’ve paid for. What was priceless was that the therapist is a Christian and she prayed over my Vertigo situation today.

And with that said, I’ll close today’s entry. George is home and it’s hard to concentrate as much. And I feel like I need to be doing something productive in the house because he’s cooking me dinner!

So be thinking about me tomorrow while I *try* to make my house beautiful and get caught up! Do you all ever have trouble finding time to do these extra things in December?