On the second day of xmas...

my true mind gave to me:

The Foster book to begin the next stage of my professional knowledge acquisition

Rush's Clockwork Angels Tour CD set to assuage my inner post adolescent self

A kick in the keister to begin the journey of a thousand steps

my reflective mind gave to me:

a family Christmas at the Ranch to savor, for I fear it will be the last on that scale that the house will ever house.

a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction that I got the gifts right this year.

a sense of melancholy that the last innocent Christmas is officially in the books.

my ideal mind gave to me:

an overall sense of calm as life moves towards the hope of 2014.

belum

The Ghosts of Christmas Eve

So here we are, 96 hours away from the big day. The wife is sick, the girls are manic, the daddoo is hanging on by a thread.

running for the wife is at the top of the list.

then for my mom

then for me

then housecleaning 101.

I am ahead of shopping but there is always the last minute rambunctiousness that makes the season truly memorable. Let music be the emotional salve that gets me through the mini-marathon of the next four days.

Holiday Spirits/The Ghosts of Christmas Eve

and in the end...nope, that's not right

welcome back my friends...nope that's not right

so in the next 120 hours all of the following will/needs to occur:

one cousins christmas party
one final professional development class to attend
four concert nights in a row; one assisting, two conducting, one overseeing
finish up shopping
put the tree up and begin to clean the house
maintain the little shred of sanity i have left

the weather, today notwithstanding, seems to be cooperative. i'm hoping today's traveling goes without incident.

the christmas spirit kicked in finally on wednesday as Kenton was finally spun for the first time this season.

twas' in the moon of wintertime [almost]...

The Christmas Can Can

is in full effect. I have one more major gift to buy for the misses and then minor and impulse gifts for all of the Roberts Ladies after that.

Concert are in one week, the week that is affectionately becoming known as the week from HELL. The first concert program is printed and needs to be folded. Chaperone assignments will go out on Monday.

Still need to pencil in getting a tree at some point, figure out where said tree will be placed this year with our new living room configuration, finalize xmas day plans and you get the drill.

The Ranch is no bueno. Dad's tumble on Tuesday has not allowed him to really resume anything approximating a normal schedule for him.

The girls are soo much more aware this holiday season. Not sure if that is a good thing or not.

and speaking of the girls, they are due in about twenty, time to make the donuts.

oh to be Home for the Holidays...

December the First

And the sprint begins.

to the good: I only have three more gifts to get the wife. The kids are pretty much done. grunt work for the first program has begun.

to the bad: time, it's fleeting and i can't slow it down or stop it.

to the meh: keeping it SPICEy.

Not much else other than continuing to develop the playlist for the year and the beginning of unit two for eighth grade/festival band.

twenty minutes until the twins descend to start their day.

let the games begin.