Day Two-Sixty-Seven - Christmas Wrap Up

Okay, I've been useless for a week as far as writing goes so it is time I got busy again.  I don't have any great insights or lists today.  It is pretty quiet in my house for the first time in about a week.  No company arrived here until Sunday.  But prior to that I was busy with baking and cleaning.  So, yesterday after my brother and his family came and took all of their stuff away I finally was able to sit down and relax for the first time since last Wednesday which meant that the cats could relax as well.

I have read a book and a half in the last 24 hours.  Shiner and Jingle have pretty much just laid around and slept.  Christmas was rough on them.  I mean Shiner had all of that constant petting and attention forced on him while Jingle stayed upstairs as much as possible hiding in my bedroom.  Jingle loves it when Mom and Dad are here.  But as soon as others arrive, he hides.  Shiner on the other hand is an attention hog.  He rolls around on the floor while people pet him.  If Dad sits at the bar to watch me cook, Shiner sits on the barstool next to him and watches too.  Shiner is a people cat.  Jingle is a people cat too, he just likes to pick his people.  Shiner discriminates against no one.

Once everyone was gone yesterday, I realized exactly how tired I was.  I went to bed at 9:45 last night which hasn't happened in at least 6 months.  I slept until 9:30 this morning.  That happens more than I would like to admit.  Tomorrow I intend to be fully back in my routine of getting up by 8 and writing the blog each morning then working on travel stuff.  I got a phone call from KHM a week ago reminding me that I have more training to go through for my certifications.  So, I'll start working on that tomorrow.

I'm considering taking the Christmas tree and all of the decorations down today.  The issue I face is that when I look past the tree through the window and see all of that snow and icicles out there it just looks so pretty.  Looking out the window to snow and icicles would normally depress me, but for some reason, having a Christmas tree in the picture makes it better.  I know, I'm a freak.  I'm the only person I know who hates snow.  My sister-in-law was so excited on Tuesday with all the snow and it being a white Christmas and I just kept thinking about how nice it would be to spend Christmas on a beach with a few decorated palm trees blowing in the breeze as the temperature climbs to a pleasant 85 degrees.

I have a friend who is in New Hampshire skiing right now.  For her and her family, it is a vacation.  For me it would be torture.  How could anyone think happiness is high temperatures in the 20's while flying down a mountain with sticks strapped to your feet????  I don't get it.  I personally believe that skiing should only take place on a body of water, with sticks strapped to your feet as a boat pulls you across the surface.  And that is questionable.  I honestly think the best option is lying on a tube while the boat pulls you through the water.

I've obviously never been snow skiing.  I can't even comprehend the attraction that people have to it.  Again, I hate to be cold.  So, that is the first issue I would face.  Add to that, the fact that I am accident prone and it's not a winning combination.  Can you imagine the sort of body cast I would come back in if I ever went snow skiing.  I mean seriously, traversing the stairs to go up to my bedroom on a regular basis is an iffy proposition.  Going up the side of a mountain on a flat board attached to a cable with a small board across the back and then jumping off of it only to slide back down the mountain while maintaining my balance on two sticks is just asking for trouble.  Then when you get down to the bottom of the mountain you just have to do it all over again!  This does not sound like fun.

I'm thinking that skiing was invented by someone who needed to get to the bottom of a snow covered mountain quickly.  He is probably rolling over in his grave right now at the number of people who head right back up the mountain so that they can do it again.  He was trying to get away from the misery that the snow created and these crazy people just want to keep doing it over and over again.  What the hell?

Maybe when Katherine and her family get back from their ski trip she will enlighten me on what makes it joyful so that I can write positively about a ski trip and post it on the travel blog.  But for now, I'm just going to put this on my personal blog since I don't think it would encourage many people to want to book a nice long Spring Break ski trip through me... or anyone else.

Have a great Thursday.  I'm going to start on that tree now....