Sunday Salon: ...and the crud stayeth

 Better late than never I always say.  And late has been the theme of the week.  Not only did my son and I continue on with the crud (sore throat that morphs into congestion that morphs into cough that morphs into gastro), but my daughter had it too.  I don't like this.  I can't recuperate in peace, they are demanding and whiny, and also there is stress because of so much missed homework.  Pray that next week improves in this category.

I did crawl out to Polish class and book club on Wednesday night, despite my hacking and spewing.  I wanted to force some kind of normalcy.  For this meeting we read "5 People You Meet in Heaven", and most did not likey which made me feel a bit better about my negativity.  Such hokey, manipulative crap.  Next month we'll be discussing "Eleanor & Park" which should go much better.

I cannot believe how the holidays have snuck up on me.  Normally, my routine is to mail those Christmas cards out the day after Thanksgiving.  Not sure that will happen this year...don't even have a picture!  (My kids have an extreme aversion to pictures it seems.)  I've done nothing!  I guess there has to be a first year to blow my record. I get overwhelmed with all the chaos...do you guys?  I have to figure out how to manage it.  Downsize, simplify, find peace.

So Tuesday I strategically scheduled an eye appointment at Costco with the release of Stephen King's new release "Revival".  Very similar to the last time I stormed the store for his latest book, there were none to be seen.  The book-stocking girl SWORE there were none, but I didn't take that for an answer.  I got the Manager to check inventories, and sure enough, they were there in receiving, hidden in the corner.  SCORE!  Sadly, I've made very little progress.  Not much reading done this week.

Audios, as usual, is where it's at more than anywhere else.  I finished "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats" for my other book club, and while it was a sweet, sentimental book, it may have been a little TOO sweet for my cynical heart.  The story takes place in Burma which is interesting, and is a generational love story (narrated by Cassandra Campbell who excels at stories like this).  It just seemed like the author was trying too hard to make me cry, and also threw some pretty obvious twists in there that I think were supposed to be shocking but just made me slap my forehead.  I'm now launching into what will probably be a part print/part audio experience of "The Paying Guests" by Sarah Waters.  Love her, but I am feeling hesitant because the reviews on this one haven't been stellar.  It's a long book, so this will take me awhile.

So today (or what is left of it) will probably be spent trying to read "Revival" and doing some child management in the area of overwhelming homework catch-up.  I'll be having a cocktail by 5:00 I predict.

So tell me...are you ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas?  Are you excited about the idea of shopping and decorating or not?  How do you cope with the crazy schedule?  I need tips.