I had a package with homemade cookies from my Seekrit Santa in the mailbox today. I still do not know who they are. The cookies are yummy.

To my Santee: the items I ordered for have shipped and are on their way to me to be wrapped and sent out to you! My fingers are crossed that you will be gifted by New Years.

I know who ND's Secret Santa is! Not telling until s/he does, though.

I guess I should announce pre-emptively that tomorrow night I'm heading up to the mountains to go skiing. So if anything arrives for me I may not be posting about it until Sunday.

I, too, have a good feeling about 2008. May we all be blessed more times over than we can count.

It's funny, because I do too, and it's the first time in years that this is the case. 2007 was a hard year, but I don't really feel bad about it. And I think it's probable that some major things will go wrong in 2008, what with how things have been going and all, and yet, I feel optimistic.

So, this may be a good point for my rehash. I started out the year with ongoing job issues but the longest vacation I've had since I started my career - over two weeks. While on vacation, changes in my work situation occurred that would effect my job and a close friendship even to this day. I had a rough time with the job situation, even as I had the chance to really do my job, creatively and effectively, first the first time in too long. Then, I grew to regret my long vacation in the spring (ok, not the actual vacation, which was wonderful and included time with Java Cat, JZ, and Katerina Bee, but the leave time spent on it) when I spent much of the summer sick with bronchitis that turned into asthma.

The job and health issues were kind of horrid, but it has been a learning experience too. I was offered a fun and exciting position in another town, where I've lived before and have family, and came to the realization that where I am is the place I'm meant to be, at least for now. It wasn't easy, but it was profound. Also, although turning down the position was extremely difficult, it did feel very good to be wanted. The incomparable Deena added to this warm glow when she asked me to edit for Drollerie Press. I just hope I don't let her down!

A few other things, mostly fairly small but one huge, have also had an amazing impact on my life and how I look at it:

• Just over a year ago, a friend of mine had a baby. I have always loved babies, so I held this one as often as I could. What has surprised me is how this has grown beyond a casual friendship. I love these two with an intensity that surprises me. I get frustrated by some of my friend's choices, but she and her daughter have really become an important part of my life.

• I started posting three things that I was grateful for that day in my LJ. I don't do it every day, but try to several times a week. I'm amazed at what an impact this has had on my life. When I have a crummy day, I'm reminded that there were still good things, and when I have a good day, I'm reminded to savor it. This has just been a huge blessing in my life.

• This seems kind of silly, but I got a MacBook and love it beyond all reason. It is so nice to have a computer that actually works. Plus, I got an AirPort, and it's so much fun to be able to work on my computer while lounging on the couch or lying in bed. I drooled when others here spoke of things like this, but it's even better than I had imagined. I also got a cell phone and a friend has lent me her iPod so I can see if I want to get my own (I do!). Any time now I'll get high speed internet and join the 21st century!

So, to make a long story not much longer, I'm optimistic about 2008. I'm actually working on some health things that I hope will cause improvement. My job hasn't worked out as hoped, but there is an awfully lot of good in it. I love my community, friends, church. I look forward to watching my friend's baby grow and to playing an important role in her life. And I'm so very glad that I have you all to share this with, even when I'm a tad more loquacious than I probably should be.

eeeeeeeeee

So last night when I got home (HOME!) from Tucson, there was a package pick-up notice waiting for me, so this morning I got up really early (okay, not really-- I actually woke up a little later than normal and rushed a little more, but I planned to wake up early) so I could get to the post office before work to pick it up. Despite several attempts to open it at red lights and then the Starbucks' parking lot, I had to wait until I was at work and had access to scissors before I could open it, but now I have, and I am completely ignoring the stack of work next to me to say OMG FAY IS SUCH AN AWESOME SECRET SANTA. I kept opening and opening, and there was always more and I love every single bit of it to pieces.

I got (in no particular order): A tote bag with a gibbon on it that came from the Wild Animal Rescue Foundation of Thailand, the Little Black Book of Cocktails, a gorgeous purple scarf (made by and for a sanctuary house for destitute children and women in Thailand, which makes it that much more awesome), several candles and some handmade soap, some decorative thingiemabobs which I love and will be hanging up on my walls as soon as I get home (and as JZ can tell you, I don't do that usually), a vanilla scented fan, a package of stick on gems, a monogrammed handkerchief, a book of Freedom related quotes, a bloody bunny postcard that I will be putting up at work, The Amorous Exploits of a Young Rakehell (which I will try not to read at work later, but probably fail), a really pretty silk pillow cover, curry paste, Sexy Motherpucker lip gloss (because Lip Size has been found Crucial for Sexual Attraction), and a purse that is a perfect size for running around the City this weekend, and totally gorgeous and cute and me as well.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

t chuffed to bits

Yay! Happy Holidays!!!!

Thank you SO MUCH!

Lee, were we trapped in the Tucson airport together?? When were you there? I was there from about 4:45 until my plane finally took off at midnight.

Oh, Yuck, Kristin.

I was there yesterday afternoon, but I didn't get trapped at all-- my 5:50 flight left a few minutes early in fact.