The Twelve Excuses of Christmas

In honor of the Twelve Days of Christmas, I give you my twelve excuses for not blogging lately...

12.  I wrapped up my semester of teaching at the U of M.  While I am very glad that I did it, I don't think I'll do it again in the near future.  The meager stipend just did not make all of the child care arranging, lesson planning, and paper grading worth my time.  I just submitted their grades yesterday and am so thankful to be DONE!

11.  We are officially addicted to "The Sing Off."  Have you seen this show?  Pretty sure we watched The Backbeats sing "Landslide" at least four times last night.  But I was so sad to see On The Rocks go...those boys are adorable and remind me so much of my favorite Bison Glee Clubbers!

10.  We had our annual cookie exchange at this lovely lady's home  and I won "Most Unique" with my Chai Crescent cookies.  If you and your friends have not started this tradition, you must add it to your calendar for next year.  What could be better than eating a ton of cookies with your friends and then going home with a basket full to enjoy with your family?  Not much, I tell you.  Not much!

9.  I wrapped up a study of Ruth with three incredible girls that I got to know while working at the U of M.  We used Kelly Minter's study, and I would definitely recommend it.  At the end of each week's section, she includes recipes that her group of friends enjoyed as they were writing the study.  The girls picked out one of the meals and I made it for lunch on Monday to wrap up our semester.  I have been so blessed to hang out with these girls every week and can't wait to do it again in the spring!

8.  We joined a new church!  When we moved to Memphis, we began attending a great church that we really loved, but it was just really difficult to get plugged in.  Earlier this fall we decided that it was time to find a better fit, and we just joined Redeemer Presbyterian .  It has been so interesting for Jonathan and me to explore a denomination that is different from our background, and it has sparked some great conversations and growth for us.

7.  Riggs and I wrapped up our semesters of Bible Study Fellowship and MOPS.  These ministries have been such a vital part of my transition to stay-at-home-motherhood.  Our study of Isaiah in BSF is challenging me in incredible ways, and the community I've found through MOPS is such a blessing.  I don't know what I would do without all the veteran moms in my life!

6.  Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls.  Baking and eating.  Enough said.

5.  Stating the obvious: Christmas shopping!  Since we live in Midtown Memphis, most of the malls and big box stores are a bit of a haul to the suburbs.  That means that I have to plan my errands strategically and try to fit as many stops into one trip as I possibly can.  Which means that Riggs and I have spent entire afternoons just trucking around East Memphis and Germantown making the rounds to Target, Hobby Lobby and such.  One of many reasons I'm thankful to stay at home with Riggs: no more weekend or evening Christmas shopping!

4.  Decking the halls and wrapping gifts.  Have I ever mentioned my obsession with wired ribbon and gift wrap?  I do not believe in gift sacks.  There is nothing prettier than a tree laden with big boxes with huge bows!  It seems that so many people hate wrapping presents, but I think it is a blast.  So if you live in Memphis and would like to pay me to wrap your gifts, just say the word!  :)

3.  Jonathan wrapped up his fall semester on Monday [brief aside: how is it possible that he only has a year and a half left???], so we have been spending good ole' quality time as a family.  It is so fun to have him at home all day.  We all snuggle in bed together first thing in the morning, relax in our pajamas or head to the new Dunkin Donuts in our neighborhood (Katie, I think of you every time! :) and run errands or hang out around the house all afternoon.  One perk of having both of us home during the day was that we got to take Riggs to meet Santa on Tuesday morning.  We seriously were the only family there; we just walked right up to Old St. Nick and Riggs thought he was great!  He didn't cry, but he definitely spent a good portion of the visit just staring up at Santa like, "Ummm...you look nothing like anyone I've ever met..."  Oh, and poor Santa happened to have a real beard that Riggs found great for pulling.  Sorry, Mr. Claus!

2.  Addicted to this book, recommended by this girl.  Erin has been mentioning this book for years, and I finally picked it up at my local library and can't put it down!  Aside from having excellent taste in literature, Erin also has her own cake business and she does beautiful work!  Seriously, I'm already sad that she probably can't ship a cake to Memphis for Riggins' first birthday.  But if you live in the Tulsa or Oklahoma City areas, pop on over to her blog for an awesome giveaway and a look at what she can do for your next special occasion (Or even a not so special occasion.  Because really, what occasion shouldn't call for cake?).

1.  Honestly?  I figured out how much I can get accomplished when I don't turn on the computer until the end of my day.  A couple of weeks ago I realized that I was spending way too much time just "popping in" to Facebook or Blogger throughout my day, and that these little stops were actually turning into longer chunks of time and keeping me from being productive or from being fully present with my son.  So I've been attempting to be a bit more disciplined with my computer use, trying to save it for after my other priorities have been accomplished.  What's funny is that by the end of the day, I've able to make my day so full that I'm tired and don't really feel like being on the Internet as much!  Hopefully I'll find a happy medium soon.

0.  There is no good way to end posts like this.  So.  The End.