I seem to have found my holiday spirit again...

I have not been posting this week because I have not been home...at all. Last weekend, while Bill was out of town, we got hit with an ice storm of the worst kind. Because we were expecting the bad weather, my mom invited me and Otto to come down so I could leave him there while I was working Saturday night. That way, if the weather was bad in the morning, I wouldn't have to worry about getting home to him with Bill out of town.

And I finally made it back home yesterday.

It was a long week.

The ice was several inches thick, and the weather remained cold, and Bill could do nothing about it. He had to park at the bottom of the rather long and steep driveway and monkey-crawl his way to the top each day. There was no way that I would be able to do that, so my mom let me and Otto stay. First, we were supposed to leave by Thursday. Then Friday became our time to go. And finally, Saturday morning, we got the boot, and I trekked on home with my dog.

My brother-in-law Brian had spent Friday with an axe, chipping away at the ice on the driveway. He cleared about a third of it. Then Bill came home Friday after work and joined in with a pick, and they got more done. When I got home Saturday morning they were not done. In fact, they were so not done that I fell twice in the 34 minutes I was home, landing once on my already-bruised tailbone (from a fall two weeks ago) and once mostly on my wrist (which is now sprained). When I got home from working at the mall and grocery shopping six hours later, it was much better, and I could walk up the driveway without falling. And after today (my stepsons joined in the fun and it is warmer and raining out), we should be able to drive up it with no problem.

I was left with little to no Christmas spirit as a result of this. I had with me one pair of extra underwear at my parents, one change of clothing, and some minimal toiletries. I had to do laundry every day and borrow scrubs from work just to keep myself clothed. I didn't have conditioner with me, and my mom doesn't use conditioner, so I had to scrounge around in the bathroom drawers to find little trial size packs. And once I made it home and fell those two times, I had to go to the mall and work for four hours amidst the rush of holiday shoppers on what is actually the busiest shopping day of the year (busier than Black Friday, although it is often believed that the reverse is true - studies show that the Saturday before Christmas is actually busier).

At the end of my shift, I headed over to the toy store (RED ALERT! RED ALERT! Big mistake!) to pick up a few small items, and then I went to Wegman's to pick up stuff to make spinach dip for a family gathering last night and also my holiday cookies. And then I came home, made it up my driveway without falling, and relaxed for a while before heading to Bill's grandmother's house for a family dinner to celebrate the birthdays of her and my younger stepson. Luckily, soon after being welcomed into the warmth of family, my general Scrooge-iness went away, and my normal cheerful demeanor returned. And today I got up and made my cookies and wrapped my gifts, and I think I am just about ready for the holiday! I just have a few more things to wrap and have to work one shift tonight at the hospital and one shift tomorrow at Bath and Body Works, and then I can relax at my parents' Christmas Eve party (where my friend Julie and I plan to get a little stupid drunk) and then wake up beside my husband on Christmas morning and celebrate a wonderful day together. For the past two Christmases (the one we were engaged and the first one we were married), I spent day shift working at the hospital on Christmas, so this will be very nice, indeed.

Have a merry, merry Christmas! May Santa bring you just what you want this year!