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I didn't mean to whine in yesterday's post.  Actually, I think I'm getting too old to complain.  Thursday is my birthday and I've been giving a lot of thought to it.  Time to grow up a little more.  Time to give more and take less.  Appreciate more and want less.  Time to stop complaining.
But just because I think about it doesn't mean it will be easy to do.

I've been whittling away at my to-do list.  If I make it to the post office today it will be a major accomplishment.  And at some point this week I need to buy George snow boots.
In with all the mundane household stuff, I have snuck in a few stitches.. 

 I started a new hexie pillow that I've been sharing glimpses of on Instagram.  It's for the workshop I'm teaching for the Long Island Quilters Society in January.  I like diamonds made of hexagons (funny, because I spent so many years making hexagons from diamonds..), but these are big.. one unit doesn't fold up well into my sewing kit and I'm still trying to figure out the best stitch sequence.  I'm really feeling the pinks though.  Last night I started following Amy Butler on IG.  I think I'm entering a girly phase-- appreciate more, right?  Who needs to search for something new to inspire and entertain them when there's already so many good things out there that I missed the first time around?  Maybe the key to my stress release will be to just slow down..

The chaos of the season

Somehow I always end up feeling rushed and stressed in December,  no matter how much I prepare or plan ahead.   This year is different but the same.

In December, 2012 I was very pregnant and trying to plan Christmas around prepping final exams and grading for 5 (6?) classes. I was also finalizing layouts and edits for the book.  I made a Christmas quilt but didn't get it quilted in time.

In contrast,  this year I have no end-of-the-semester stress, no snowy frozen commutes , and almost all of my Christmas shopping was done before Thanksgiving.  But still I feel like I'm running around trying to get a million things done at the same time.  That there will never be enough time to do it all.  Ahhhhgh.

Does anyone have any secrets for staying calm and sane during the holidays?  Please share!

(We did manage a nearly stress-free Thanksgiving though.  My secret: baked sweet potatoes)

Quilting, as always, is great stress relief,  but all of the sudden lately it seems when I take time to quilt instead of doing some other chore,  I just fall behind in my routine and spend the rest of the week recovering.   

Gone are the ideas of handmade presents, care packages to far away friends, and planning holiday parties.   I'll be lucky if my Christmas cards make it on time (the international ones, anyway).  And the quilt from last year? Which sat, basted in my closet for 11 months ... I have 24 days.   I hope I'll find the time..