So..... how is it going?

I'm sure you are all aware of the cute little SANTA over to the right..... looking OH! SO JOLLY! 

Did you see that 1 month, 1 week and 3 days part???? YIKES!!!! I mean YEAHHHHH!!!! Well, I am HAPPY to announce that I'm 100% certain I will NOT be sleeping through Christmas this year.... BUT I am afraid that I WILL be sleeping through HALLOWEEN and possibly THANKSGIVING .... Frankly, I don't mind sleeping through Halloween... Don't get me wrong - I LOVE EVERYTHING about OCTOBER... just not that ONE day... You know the day.... HALLOWEEN day! I don't like the "SCARY-DISGUSTING" creepy, crawly, UGLY stuff.... I don't like having to THINK of COSTUMES for the kids... I don't like WASTING money on CANDY that ends up COSTING me more money!..... such as... sick tummies....sick teeth.... HYPER kids....ORNERY kids (because ONE MR DAD in our home takes it upon himself to "SCAN" the TREATS collected, all the while picking out HIS favorites... which usually end up being THEIR favorites too) and then TEARS become part of the festivities... and I could SO do without the TEARS.... not to mention, WRAPPERS everywhere..... because WHY would we want to walk to the garbage can... we do have a MAID..... somewhere... somewhere out there... there is a MAID!  I'm sure....  it's all just TOO much stress for me.... I LOVE the colors, I LOVE the "CUTE" side of Halloween... you know... "cute decorations... I even LOVE cut costumes... on other people! I LOVE having family and friends over for our CHILI cook off, hot homemade bread sticks, bobbing for apples, ghost for quarters, playing games and of course hot cocoa and donuts....  So...do we really have to "trick-or-treat?"  ... REALLY!?!?!  I really have contemplated just getting a pinata this year, putting in all the candy we (and our friends) would purchase for trick-or-treating,  and let the kids just have at it here.. it would just be..... so....convenient.... easy.... less stressful... HECK - I think it would even be FUN!  :)  BUT  I KNOW they will NEVER go for it... so here I go... doing what I DON'T want to do.. and DREADING every minute of it.... I guess I better start thinking about COSTUMES.....agh. I usually wait until the night before... But this year - I'll be better prepared... maybe... IF I can convince myself to just do it.....

Well that was depressing....
I know I was going somewhere else with this post... I know it was not here, anyway...
Where was I?????
Oh YES!
SLEEPING....

I won't be sleeping through Christmas - or at least I hope I am not...
I've been up nearly every night for the past 3 weeks now until at least 2:30 - and even as late or early as 5:15 am...
I'm pooped! I won't lie... but I've got to keep pressing forward!
I WISH I had a camera... that worked! STUPID CAMERA!
(wink-wink...hint-hint family.... :)) 
I have so far completed a few gifts - and I am so SUPER excited about them!
I wanted to share them with you...
BUT my telling you "what" they are -will just not "do it" for me....
So... be patient with me... I'll get this figured out....
Even if I must BORROW one really soon!!! 
In the mean time....

Have you set your goals for this week?
Have you reviewed your "check" list?
How is the budget looking?

I must confess... I'm pretty good about making lists...
I LOVE LISTS!
BUT... the actually remembering where the LIST is...
It's sometimes difficult - and all I'm going to say about that is...
I have a "SHADOW" (agh-hem Mr. O) that doesn't think I KNOW what I am doing, so my shadow (man) will pick up such things (like my planner, scriptures, note books) and place them in places that HE- I mean - said SHADOW thinks that they should be placed and when I question the other elves in the shop, I just get "shrugging" of shoulders... so when I questioned about my "cute little note book" several months ago... the shrugging began... not one little elf knew what I was talking about... but I SWEAR - I mean PROMISE you I left it on my desk where it would be easily accessible, easily reviewed, checked and re-written (who doesn't re-write their "lists" a gazillion times ... ) and it has vanished- into complete blizzard air. GONE. NOWHERE.
So, I dug through my old posts to find my list - and I FOUND it!
I must confess - things have not gone as they were "PLANNED" in my little LIST book... but.. I did at least (and am still) making progress - SO, did you keep your list handy?  Have you checked it? 
Here is my list from last January with my monthly goals.

All I can say is "YEP - I have learned to be flexible"
"YEP - I hope that what I have and will continue to accomplish will just be habit for next year, and those things that I did not accomplish will be easier to accomplish next year."
and.... "I'm not out of time yet... and niether are you!"
So come on, get your list
Remove things that are no longer important
re-prioritize the things that are
and let's get ready to really MAKE CHRISTMAS COUNT!
Are you in???