I want my two weeks!

Two weeks!

I am saying it like the kids saying, “two dollars” in Better Off Dead. One of the single best movies. Ever.

I want my two weeks!

This is what I should have said to a colleague the other day, “you are right, I don’t HAVE to keep my kids home for the next two weeks, yes, they could go to daycare, but we WANT to be home for two weeks”. Instead I just looked at her blankly like 'you really didn't suggest that did you?' Oh well.

I somehow have gotten a boat load of vacation time. Seems that every time I go to take a day off I check my chargeable hours goal and am over. It has just been one of those starts to the current fiscal year. I have had many fiscal year starts that were in the red. So I will take it.

Normally I take Thanksgiving week off. It is *MY* time off to do the things I love. Prepare for the holidays. Cook fantastic food. Get things done around the house.

Yeah sure, I had that whole vacation thing. And while that should count, you know, it just really didn’t in the sense of "my" time. Vacationing can be hard work! And nothing gets done around my house. And I am struggling to keep pace. Never mind, there is no “keeping pace”. I am struggling not to fall too far behind.

Normally by this time I have cards out and all my shopping done. Normally.

While in Orlando I had a horrible time getting in the groove for Christmas. It was hot. Hard to think about Christmas shopping when you are sweating. I did buy one gift there though. Not telling!

Coming back to snow really helped me get my Christmas groove but between my husband wrapping up one job, starting another, swimming lessons, gymnastics lessons, basketball practice, birthday parties out the wazoo and the fact mentioned above that I have hours (actually days…) to burn. Yeah, you can imagine what all I have gotten done around the house.

Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero.

We aren’t even looking particularly Griswoldy this year and please ignore my husband’s ladder on the porch.

This is also why I haven’t talked at all about goals. Though I have good intentions for 2011.

I have a good list of goals for my two weeks off. (And yes, I promised to remote in regularly… and hence not use much of that pile of vacation time I have…)

My list:

Organize recipes (yeah right… well I will think about it! This was one of those prior months goals, the system is there, just need to do it.)

Finish quilt (that one that I started, sure I could finish in three weeks, then the dog broke my sewing machine and I had to replace it - the sewing machine, not the dog - and then life got in the way)

Make salted English toffee (it's a small must)

Digital Music (I am sure I am supposed to organize it, organize my playlists, upload my cds or something here. My digital music simply needs attention)

Make lefse

Make sugar cookies

Decorate sugar cookies

Take kids to see Tangled

Take kids to open gym one (or more) afternoon at Garlands

Organize Kitchen Desk and Desk Cupboard (it is ugly. Really ugly. I will organize it, hopefully find my address book and then send out my Christmas cards. They may be WAY late this year. I can’t find the silly address book.)

Catch up on our recorded shows. (Dying to start this season of Glee. Oops, did I say that out loud?)
Drink

Wear my pajamas past 7am.

Watch entire movies, not just bits from the kitchen, with my children. (I am allowing magazines or Kindles to be in my hands through this though.)

Plan my house projects for 2011.

What do you have planned during the holidays?

Switching things up

I flexed an extra hour today at lunch to go get groceries. Getting groceries is one of the chores that I actually enjoy doing. I like looking at new selections, I like menu planning and since I like food, I don't mind buying it. What I don't like is hauling Leif and/or Skadi with me. Either way it is akin to carrying one or two ticking time bombs. One that will look at me ravenously once she wakes up. The other who might start having fun selecting produce, but by the third aisle of dried goods has had enough and whining sets in.

Sure, I could have done this on the weekend. Fit it in somewhere between swimming and the Saturday evening BBQ. Provided of course, that I could do all my ahead of time food prep without the needed groceries. Yeah, nevermind. I don't know when I was going to do it. I can run into a store with the kids, as long as I can run out equally as fast. I can send AB to the store on his way home, but unless it is vital, I try not to since I know how much he looks forward to coming home after a 10 hour day and a 45 minute commute.

I actually remembered to toss a cooler in the car this morning too, in an attempt to counter the forecasted 103 degree weather for my perishables. I very nearly forgot to buy a bag of ice at the grocery store. But the nice bagger ran to the back of the store to retrieve me a bag while I was in line.

Just the fact that I can mark something off my weekend "to do" list, thrills me to pieces. This is going to have to become routine.