Halloween is over, and I can stop for a moment and take a rest! Last week was filled with goings-on - baking, mostly - and there were a lot of fun things going on at the office. I spent quite a bit of work time decorating the office and filling treat bags for a local shelter, plus organizing our potluck and planning our entries for the costume contest.
My company is very big on having a fun work environment and every department has a "Culture Committee" to ensure that we have some fun activity a few times a month. I joined the committee as soon as I started working here! It gets me away from my cubicle and doing some creative things. Add to that the fact that our weekly meetings take place at a nearby Starbucks, and you have a wonderful opportunity to enhance one's work experience! Plus it looks nice on a resume.
I spent Saturday Christmas shopping with my parents. Yes, it was November 1st, and in my family if your shopping isn't completed by Thanksgiving, you're seriously behind schedule! I think getting an early start is a marvelous idea, actually. Starting around September I get to thinking of gift ideas, and then I really just pick things up on sale as I see them. It's very easy and low-stress, and you'd be surprised how early and easily it gets done (particularly now, when the malls are uncrowded). People may scoff, but with all the millions of things I have to do at church during the whole month of December, not to mention work activities and holiday parties, I really don't want to throw Christmas shopping in there as well! Shopping early takes such a huge stress out of the holidays...decorating, wrapping, and spending evenings baking are fun activities instead of chores. There's time to drive around and look at Christmas lights, time to stroll casually through the malls and pick up stocking stuffers, time to get friends together and go caroling.
But right now let's shift back into the poor, overlooked Thanksgiving season.
The weather has been unbelievable lately...cold, crisp and rainy! I love it more than I can say. A friend came over last night to take a walk and play in the rain. I have umbrellas but I never use them; I love the feel of rain!
After church on Sunday Chad and I went to Las Brisas for lunch, and it was such a beautiful afternoon. We sat on the patio with the heat lamps on, and we could see Catalina crystal-clear on one side, and the mountains on the other. Most of the time I forget those mountains are there; you certainly can't see them. It's actually a little startling to look over on a clear day and see them looming up! Kind of like the movie "Independence Day"...one morning they just suddenly appear!
At the end of that hectic weekend, it was nice to spend Sunday night in front of the fireplace, listening to the wind and watching "Dr. Zhivago."
Oh, and one of the best parts of the week was seeing Brian H., who was visiting from Austin! We miss you, Brian!
Posted by Lesley at November 4, 2003 10:34 AM