Eight Maids-a-Milking

Sunday. Whew....

I broke my own "three things a day" rule today and did about eight...

1. Youth Sunday School

2. Church

3. Lunch out with the youth (one of the girls is moving to LA over Christmas break)

4. Food Emporium (for eggs)

5. CVS & Health Nuts (for hand soap and Almond Milk)

6. The Gym...

7. Home again to: cook up my foods for the week &

8. Finally clean the bathroom (really, really well)

I hate cleaning the shower. I think I hate it so much because I think the bathroom just has to be the nastiest room in the home, and I feel as if I need to spend hours with scrubbers and sponges and bleach and brushes getting every piece of mold or mildew and each tiny hair off the side of the toilet bowl. But I don't really even want to spend five minutes in there. Around that slimy drain.... Disgusting.

So I bargained with myself. I opted to clean the toilet, sink, mirror, floor and baseboards tonight & get to the shower tomorrow night. This left me with time this evening to chop cabbage and onions and make couscous.

...

At Health Nuts this afternoon I discovered a wonderful Stash Tea called Christmas Eve and it is simply delicious on this 20-something degree night. It is the perfect blend of orange, cinnamon, vanilla and spearmint. And at CVS, in addition to hand soap, which is what the initial trip to the drug store was for, I spent $19.00. BUT, I had a 25% off your entire purchase coupon which makes it alright, right? Toilet paper, Diet Ginger Ale, a can of Campbell's Tomato soup & a couple of nail polishes later (they were 75% off....1.99 plus the coupon... who could resist that??) Of course they are lovely shades of Thinking of Blue and Uptempo Plum. Completely work appropriate.

...

I'm looking forward to a *hopefully* slow work week. I'm hoping most everyone is on vacation, if not this week then next, or both. Because I am not. And I want to read my book and write in my journal! We are opened every day this week, closing at 4:00pm on Friday (really, that is what you consider early?!)

Chris and I will spend our fifth Christmas in New York City, in our tiny loft apartment. We will be singing in the Christmas Eve service on Saturday night and maybe have dinner or wine with the friends that are spending Christmas here as well.

I've mailed all my cards, bought the few gifts that I will buy and have my cinnamon scented candle lit. I'm ready. I've listed to Jewel, Harry, Mariah and Elvis. I've watched Miracle on 34th Street and The Office Christmas episode. I painted my toenails something called Star-Ring the Rockettes. It's very pink and sparkly and full of holiday cheer.

Unfortunately, no-one will be seeing my toenails as my second toe's toenail finally fell off and it is completely bare. This looks really odd because my second toe is my longest toe and it just sticks out there like a bare stalk; like a flowerless stem in a row of pink tulips. I stumped it severely in a middle of the night bathroom trek, going back up the stairs about a month ago. It was tragic and bloody and I cried so hard I laughed just to keep from crying even more. Chris thought I was in shock. Maybe I was.

Maybe by spring I'll have part of a toenail.