December 13th

Early morning--went to the Y at 5:45am to get my walking in. It was fabulous--the cardio room was almost empty. I watched the morning news which was actually pretty boring. I had taken some magazines to read but got on a treadmill with a TV and didn't feel right reading on it in case someone else wanted to use it. I'm loving this routine of walking everyday. It feels good. It would feel even better if I were eating better. Last week I did really well eating. This week not so much.

My turn to drive the middle school carpool this morning. The sky was dark and grey, but there was a band of light coming from the East over the mountains. It was really pretty. And on the drive to the school, I noticed there was still one star shining in the sky.

Brad was home until about 8:30am. He was feeling well enough to go into work. After the kids got on the bus, Merek and I prepared for the co-op preschool group. For "P" today we were painting, doing a floor puzzle, taking pictures for ornaments, and having popcorn for a snack.

We headed to the grocery store after eating lunch. Eggs, seltzer water, baking chips, cereal . . . nothing too exciting. I didn't feel like doing a big shopping trip so just got enough to get us through the next couple of days. Through the recital. I still need to get the ingredients to make the wassail for the recital and for Lina's cake for her party on Saturday.

We went to pick up the middle school kids when school was out. Then I worked on the circle journal that is due for mailing Saturday. It is part of a group from the Noel Mignon message board. I have always wanted to do a circle journal and a group was starting one up there, so I joined in. Our originals went out last month. So this month I'm creating on the one sent to me and will send it on to the next person. In May, I should get my original one back after it has circles to 5 other people.

Lina's friend came over after school to practice their song for the recital. The kids all went with me to take her back home. We drove around a bit to see the Christmas lights in the neighborhood. The kids are finishing up homework so they can watch Mickey Mouse Christmas tonight. Allie is staying with them while we go to Brad's work party in Seattle.

We have just enough leftovers from the week for the kids' dinner--taco soup, pasta, and pizza. A smorgasboard :) 

Time to go get ready . . .

I put hot rollers in my hair like my stylist told me to. Then I went to pick up Allie from the bus stop. She was able to take the bus all the way to our neighborhood today since she was travelling at commuter time. It was nice.  I finished getting ready. I gave Brad four options of blouses to choose from for me to wear--he picked the one I thought he would. Black silk with a ruffled front. I added my black and silver jewelry that I'd been saving for the holidays. We had Lina snap a pic of us before we headed out the door.

The party was at the Columbia Tower in Seattle. We were up on the top floor--76, I think. The view was amazing! It was a clear night so we could see the whole city and out to the water and islands. Even the ladies restroom had a gorgeous view of the city, and in the stalls, too! The theme for the party was James Bond/Casino Royale. Everyone was given chips to gamble with. We could exchange our cihps at the end of the night for raffle tickets.We didn't with the $500 but it was still a nice evening. There was dinner and dancing. I mainly just enjoyed visiting with Brad's co-workers and their spouses. I hear about the people he works with but only see them usually once, maybe twice, a year.

And my hair turned out just fine. I'm not so upset about it after all :)