Woah!

Well, I clearly have fallen off the face of the earth.

Or just started a job and tried to host Thanksgiving all within a two week span.

I am definitely the brightest crayon in the box, man.

An update on our lives:

::I like my new job. I work at State Farm. I have to pass the Iowa Property/Casualty license exam in the next few weeks. This is freaky, but fine. So many things to take in. The new boss is great, the hours are fine, and my business clothes and I are marginally getting along. So, it is a win-win mostly.

::Thanksgiving came and went. I forgot to take any pictures. The table isn't *quite* finished, but it will be by Christmas. Sometimes you meet goals and sometimes you don't. No biggie at all. The food was excellent and it was really wonderful to spend some quality time with Kennan's brothers that we haven't really seen much of since moving to Alaska.

::I realized December is next weekend. This was not a good time of year to begin a new job. I am already tired and every weekend until after New Years except one has stuff planned in it that requires a minimum of 90 minutes of travel one way. This isn't the kind of life that I typically like to live. I am a homebody and I like spending lots of time with my husband. The next few weeks feel daunting.

::Shopping for Christmas stuff is depressing. Giving people Christmas lists is depressing when everything on them are things we already owned. The holiday spirit will probably be lacking a bit in the Archer mansion this year...and I am okay with that. Sometimes, you smile through the pain. Sometimes, you just remember that it will get better with each passing year. Sometimes, you face the truth that this year will definitely be the worst. I feel a little bit 'bah humbug' about the whole thing. Hopefully, though, this will help me to keep my eyes focused on the fact that this is about a miracle, not about the decor and the gifts and the sugar. Lord help us all to remember that.

::We saw Skyfall. Best James Bond movie ever. SO GOOD. I loved it - and I have no real affinity for James Bond at all. If you don't have the money or time to see it in theaters - which seriously?, when did movies become ridiculously expensive? - then rent it when it comes out. I really think it is worth it.

::I am now up on all the popular music of today because I have to listen to it at work. Not a huge fan.

Maybe I will stop by in December and maybe I won't. It is shaping up to be a rough one and most things are getting pushed to the back. And there are still some Thanksgiving dessert dishes in the sink. Don't judge.

May we all find peace, in our own ways, in the coming weeks.