It's been a while since my last post. Sickness, vacation, sickness and an atypical amount of chaos on the homefront have taken a toll. But we're back and ready to roll, or so I'm trying to convince myself. If you've been hit by illness this season, you know that the fatigue and cough that hangs on ... and on ... and on ... can be a bit much. Even our dog became so accustomed to seeing the thermometer, she got a hold of it the other evening and had it in her mouth, correctly I might add.

But today is a new day and it's on to the holidays. We're ready. OK, to be honest, not really. I've done nothing to set the stage for the busy weeks to come. But I'm telling myself that all is well ... that by gosh we're going to roll with it this year. No panic attacks. No stressing out. What gets done gets done. And we're going to enjoy the next several weeks and hope that 2010 brings the peace, happiness and prosperity that eluded far too many people in the past year. Now, if I can just hold on to those thoughts...