December, here we go!
December is off to a busy start, like I thought it would be. And, it’s of my own doing, like I thought it would be!
On Saturday I ran, then immediately went to teach fitness boxing. I did NOT go to the Bath & Body Works annual candle sale like last year. I remembered how stressful it was, so I decided to order online instead. But you can’t stack coupons online, and you had to use a code to lower the candle price, which meant I couldn’t use my 20% off as well. I took that as a sign that I did NOT need to stock up on candles. Ha ha. My snis did pick me up one candle when she went. Can’t wait to see what scent she got me! Thanks, snis!
After fitness boxing, Steven and I got to work on the yard. We’ve had very few non-rainy weekends in November, so we hadn’t taken care of the leaf situation. And it was quite the situation.
Leaves from a small area of the yard
Three hours later, after using the leaf blower, mower, and rakes and tarps to move the leaves, our pile was done.
We won’t do a pile that big again. It’s too much to burn at once.
I took a one hour nap (!!!) after raking, then we were off to the holiday party at the studio where I teach. I wore the new festive sweater I got for the year (and plan on wearing to every holiday themed get together, ha).
Those are NOT the pants I planned on wearing with that sweater. I had on a different pair I could wear boots with, but the thigh rub area split when I was bending over before leaving the house. That made me feel great!!! Not. (I’ve had them a few years and they were worn out, but it was discouraging, ha ha.)
After the party we went out with Jen, Troy, and Declan for a bit!
On Sunday, Steven left early to help a friend, and I went on a run, then did errands (six stores, eek!).
My brother-in-law and I have an ongoing joke that we are buying each other all Porg-related things for Christmas. But is it a joke…?!?!
Steven and I got home around the same time, ate a quick lunch then started to burn the leaf pile.
Pretty (mostly) leaf-free yard!
We spent three hours burning the pile before we started spraying it down. Most of the first half of that time was burn control, but once the pile was about two-thirds its original size, we pulled up some chairs and chilled a bit.
I really wanted to be lazy the rest of the night, but I had it in my head that WE HAD to take a holiday photo this weekend. It was stressing me a bit. Last year was the first year we did one (this photo, also taken this weekend), so I guess I thought people would be expecting one again? Logic tells me that no one would be upset if they did not get a holiday card from me, but year after year, I have an acquaintance from college ask me WHY they do not get my holiday card (year after year, it was “we don’t send one,” until we did one, and I wasn’t going to send one after all that weirdness, ha).
Anyway, I like taking the card and sending it! We just didn’t make it a priority, so I put the stress on myself.
So after burning the pile, we (kind of) finished decorating the tree. We put the skirt out (fingers crossed Data doesn’t ruin it) and put the balls on – the tree still doesn’t have other ornaments on it. Then we tried to cat wrangle.
Fun times.
After the photo sesh, Data and Khali couldn’t get enough of being under the tree. Typical.
Khali actually slept there for a few hours last night!
Then dinner, more chores (and work for Steven – he had to work a bit this weekend), finishing my training post, and bed! And I still need to select a design and order the holiday cards!
I could easily cut out the exercise to gain back more time in my weekends, but it keeps me saner through the rest of the day. I bet my workouts will get shorter and shorter as the month goes on though!
Themocracy
You look very pretty, Kim! I bought a similar top but in black as one of my holiday pieces.
Have you ever seen the romantic holiday movie “A Star for Christmas”? It’s really cute. Every time I watch it, the female lead reminds me of you: http://api-images.channel5.com/images/show/1428660458/640×360.jpg?1449586968
That is one jam packed schedule!
Thanks 🙂 I hope I get to see a pic of you in yours?
I haven’t!!! That is nice of you to say about the female lead. I will have to see if the movie is on any of the streaming services we use.
That is a giant pile of leaves! And the holiday sweater looks great, I love the shimmer 🙂
Thanks! I had to go sparkly for the holidays, ha!
That is a busy weekend! We were running around too. I need a nap 😂
I hope you take one! You got your decorations up, right?
Whoa, you got a lot done this weekend! Even if you had bought candles, would you have time to burn them and relax?!
What does “burn control” entail?
I always feel stressed about holiday cards too! I read in Julia Child’s memoir that she and her husband never got around to it for Christmas but would send Valentine’s cards instead (handmade)! One year, I want to do that (or the French tradition—New Year’s cards).
I burn them when I work at home! 🙂 And sometimes at dinner when we watch a movie. And when I take a bath. LOL.
Burn control is two parts – hosing down the trees and leaves we aren’t burning so we don’t start any fires, and adjusting the burn pile (with a rake and shovel) to keep it going.
I think she is on to something – it’s just the combo with this time of year that makes it too stressful to add that on the to do list as well. I love the cards you pick out for the holidays though 🙂
Question of genuine curiosity: why do you burn your leaves? Growing up, our yard was surrounded by woods (like it seems yours is), and my parents would just dump our leaves into the woods after raking them up, so I’m curious (not judge-y curious, just plain curious, I promise!) why you burn yours instead of dumping them in the woods.
I barely get Christmas cards from anyone (just my CARA group leaders who are married to each other), and I was about to say I think it’s because I’m too young for my friends to be sending out Christmas cards, and then I remembered that I’m 27 and that we’re all adults at this point and PLENTY of the people I knew in college/high school are married. Maybe they’re just not sending ME Christmas cards?! Haha. I don’t really keep in touch with anyone from high school or college, so I can’t say I’m too torn up about it. But now I do wonder if people my age are sending out Christmas cards and I just don’t know about it!
No worries about asking 🙂 We are burning ours because our woods are already so full of leaves and we are concerned about the ground vegetation not being very healthy. We actually talked about that this weekend – how we need to quit putting so many leaves in the woods in certain areas of the yard! I’d love to do a controlled burn of the forest (to burn out the leaves) but I don’t know how that works. I see the forest preserve people do it out here all the time though!
I wonder if they are too! Your comment makes me wonder if this is a trend of an older generation that will go away someday? Or if people who live in cities are less likely to send cards? Or if it’s just related to how you were raised? So many questions. We need an infographic!
That makes sense! Though now I’m even more curious about leaves and the health of a forest on the whole! Haha. Because I’m thinking that if your house wasn’t there and it was all just woods and the trees did their normal grow-leaves-shed-them-during-fall routine, the leaves would all just fall to the forest floor and stay there until they decayed – but is that bad for the forest floor? Does that happen with the expectation that a forest fire will happen on its own eventually and clean out the excess? Does the vegetation that grows on the forest floor by your house now only grow there because you’re NOT filling it up with leaves, so undergrowth that would normally get choked out has the chance to grow instead? I have no idea! Now I’m really curious about forest life cycles and health, haha.
I am curious too! I have all the same questions. I saw something years ago in an LCFPD mailer about how trees falling down isn’t horrible for the forest because it opens up the forest floor for more sun to get in to the ground. I imagine it’s similar with not wanting leaves to cover everything? I really need to look in to it more! I did see this page on their site, http://www.lcfpd.org/conservation/controlled-burns/, that talks about how controlled burns get rid of invasive species, and makes the natural species more healthy (somehow lol).
We just blow our leaves into mounds and mulch them with a mower; last year our yard guy came and did that for us and it was incredible – they were like bits of confetti (shows you what a professional blade/machine can do!). No burning here, although outlying areas do burn trash and stuff when there isn’t a burn ban going on, which is often thanks to drought conditions.
I finally released myself from doing Xmas cards unless I have a really good picture to use for one. Otherwise, I send a few out to the *ahem* older generation. Everyone else? I can post a Merry Christmas blurb on FB! #millennial #inspiritanyway
You look so great in that sparkly top! I do the same thing, buy one items and wear the crap out of it for the season. Boo on the pants splitting; weak seams!!!
Do you use the mulch, then? We were thinking maybe we should have someone come do something useful with the leaves next year instead of us burning them (and mostly cause it takes so long, ha).
Ha! We had that conversation at class last night – that people mostly just send their holiday wishes along on social media now anyway! 🙂 Do you use a store bought card for the older folks? 😉
Thanks! Might as well wear the hell out of it, right? It’s not like it’s appropriate to be this sparkly that often!!!