Mine went better than I thought it would. I ended up getting some money that I wasn’t expecting until after Christmas, so we were able to get Pumpkin a couple of things. We didn’t go all out or anything, just bought her a couple of things she had shown interest in. And she was a happy camper.

She did ask why Santa didn’t bring her the laptop she asked for. I told her that he probably thought she should be a little older before she got one, because they require a lot of care and responsibility. She was satisfied with that.

I had to return the MP3 player I got her. I’m glad I got it out and tried to put some songs on it before Christmas, because it didn’t work well at all. The earphones were horrible, and after I put a few songs on it they all started skipping. I just got the money back and put it toward her other gifts. I’m not really sure that she would be capable of taking care of that either, anyway.

After we opened gifts (or more precisely, after Pumpkin opened her gifts), we got ready and went to the in-laws’ to eat dinner. It was good, and Pumpkin got to play with one of her favorite cousins. But I was glad when it was over, because there were other kids there who are a pain in everyone’s butt. Their tiny house was crammed full, and the kids running around like banshees were just too much.

All in all, we had a good Christmas. But I’m still glad it’s almost over and done with.

I’ve been wrapping up my work for the day early for most of the week, and trying to spend some special time with Pumpkin while Hubby’s not home, then some family time with both of them, and finally some time with Hubby after Pumpkin goes to bed. It has done me a lot of good, but I was planning on working last night. My plans were thwarted, though.

Hubby called me and said he was bringing a friend of ours over to spend the night. Had it just been him I probably would have still worked some. But once they got here, they informed me that there were some more people coming over. So my work was done for the night.

We had a good time. We sat around and had a few drinks, listened to Hubby and friend play music, and played Uno. We talked about everything from snowshoes to getting a term life insurance quote to baking.

Even though it all came together at the last minute, it was great. Hubby and I both needed to have some fun and take a break from all of the stress we’ve been feeling lately. And fun we had.

Well, one of the ladies who owes me money sent me an email yesterday saying that she had put a check in the mail for a goodly portion of it. Normally I would be ecstatic, but I’m not. It is not even a week until Christmas, and every other check she has sent me has taken about a week to get here.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad to finally be getting money I’ve been owed for six months (plus a little bit of interest), and it will help with the bills. But Christmas is still looking extremely bleak.

I will get a little bit of money later this week, and I’ll be glad to get that as well. But it will go toward our rent, not Christmas. I’ll be lucky if I can get Pumpkin another gift and scrape up enough money to bake stuff for everyone else. If Hubby brings that stove home and it fits and works well, that is.

I got my Christmas decorations up over the weekend. It’s about time. Pumpkin was about to go into fits wanting the tree up.

Our tree has just about had it, but it will hold up for this year at least. Next year might be a different story. If we weren’t in such a bind right now, I would plan on hitting the after-Christmas sales and finding a good deal on a new one. Oh well.

Here’s a little something to give you a good laugh and get you in the Christmas spirit. Right-click and save it to your computer. And although there’s really no bad language in it, you might not want the kids to listen to this one. It could cause an embarrassing situation if they were to decide to sing it in public.

Christmas Balls (from John Boy and Billy) Sorry, it’s gone now.

I’m thinking about doing some Christmas shopping at the pawn shop. You can find stuff pretty cheap there. I saw a nice pocket watch at the local one a while back that I know Hubby would love. And I’m going to have to get him something, since he won’t rest until he has a gift for me.

For most of the rest of the family (except for Pumpkin, of course) I’m thinking about baking some Christmas goodies. But that all depends on whether I get the oven that a guy promised Hubby or not, and whether said oven works well. Hopefully all will work out like that. Then maybe I won’t feel so bad about not being able to buy many gifts.

I heard Hubby talking on the phone to his cousin today. He mentioned something about an air hockey table, and I figured that his cousin was going to get one. He talked for a few minutes, then got off of the phone and was kind of quiet for a while.

Then he started talking about getting me something for Christmas. I instantly put two and two together. I said, “If you’re thinking about getting me an air hockey table, you’d better not.” He looked shocked. I can read him like a book sometimes.

He said the price was good, and I told him I didn’t care. We need to pay bills instead of buying each other gifts. And besides that, I have nowhere to put an air hockey table, no matter how much I would love to have one.

I guess I might as well accept the fact that he’s going to get me something, no matter how hard I try to get him not to. I wonder if he would believe me if I told him that the thing I was dying for for Christmas was a pack of golf balls?

I’m still severely dreading Christmas. If things work out as planned we should have some money to buy gifts, but that’s a big if. And I’ve been busting my hump trying to get lots of work done so things won’t be quite so lean next month, so I really wouldn’t have had time to get into the spirit much anyway.

But Christmas is only two weeks away, and I really need to get some cards sent out. Against my better judgment, I bought some of Pumpkin’s Christmas pictures because they were just so darn cute. Now I need to get some cards made (if my computer will cooperate) and send them out to some people.

We don’t have any decorations up yet either. I have a set of spiral trees for outside, and the tree is probably all I’ll put up in here. But I haven’t even had time to fool with that, and Hubby hasn’t felt well enough to do it himself.

I can see it now: I’ll probably get the decorations up less than a week before Christmas. Christmas Eve will be here, and I won’t have a single present wrapped, if I actually have any to wrap. This happens pretty much every year, but I was hoping it would be different this time around. It’s looking kind of inevitable, though.

Hubby was talking about how he felt bad about not being able to get Pumpkin and I the things we wanted for Christmas. I told him that there wasn’t really much that I wanted. But there are some things I could use. Such as:

• A laptop- You had to see that one coming. But I do desperately need a new computer, and if I had a laptop I could at least work in the living room sometimes instead of always being chained to my desk, allowing me to spend more time with the fam.
• Exercise equipment- I really need to lose some weight, and the fact that I spend my workdays at a computer desk is adding to the problem. An elliptical or stair machine would be really great.
• New tires- The tires on my truck have seen their better days. I say a little prayer every time I take it out that one won’t blow or go flat.

That’s good enough for starters. The point is, all I really want for Christmas is to spend time with my family, and for Pumpkin to enjoy herself. I’m going to try to scrape up the money to get her the few things she asked Santa for, but if nothing else at least she will be getting the awesome toys I got in exchange for a review, and the inexpensive MP3 player I picked up for her last weekend. And that’s not too shabby.

We got some early Christmas gifts today, and I’m thinking about regifting them. I’m not particularly fond of the person who got them for us, although I do appreciate the thought. And she got Hubby and I both a few small items, most of which we just don’t need or won’t use. So maybe I can add them to a couple of other small things and give them to someone who will use them.

I’ve thought about going through some of the stuff I need to get rid of and seeing if there is anything that is unused and would make a good gift. So far I’ve run across some phone wire and HDMI cables and such that we don’t need, but those aren’t exactly what I had in mind. Maybe if I keep digging I will find some stuff. And if not, it looks like we might have a little Christmas money in our future. We shall see.

Mine was good, thanks. We went up to my mom’s for dinner, and had lots and lots of food. Nobody ever goes to her house for a holiday and leaves hungry.

I got to see my sis and her family, which I hadn’t seen in its entirety in who knows how long. Those kids have grown so much! Thankfully they’ve calmed down somewhat too. There was a time when I almost dreaded seeing them coming, even though they are my nieces and nephew. But Pumpkin played with the younger two quite a bit, and everything went pretty smoothly and a good time was had by all.

I didn’t get to see my brother and his family for long, because they went to eat with his wife’s parents before coming over. But I got to sit and talk to everyone for a while anyway.

We left and came back home and had a couple of friends over to celebrate Hubby’s birthday. I felt like crap because I wasn’t able to get him anything, but I’ll make it up to him sometime. We all had a blast, and that’s the most important thing.