(1) I have from now until JANURAY 4th off!!!!  (I only found out yesterday that we get the third as the “New Year Holiday day” — Hooray! — and I have too many vacation days left to roll to next year, so I have to burn them).  Am planning on sleeping, reading, sewing, seeing friends and generally relaxing which I understand is Good For You (and which apparently which I didn’t do enough of this year), *except* for the following:

(2) This weekend is the Annual Norman Family Dysfunctional Christmas Shindig so we’re heading for Charlotte.  In addition I’m “doing Christmas” with my Dad (aside from the ANFDCS) and my mom and Grumps.  Busy, but have high hopes for familial harmony.

(3) I am doing family things *this* weekend because on the 23rd, I am heading to Michigan (!!) to meet Team Bacon (actually I’ve met most of them, but I’m meeting the second sister for the first time) and see East Tawas (a place so small that you had to drive a half hour to buy underwear when Jeff was growing up) for two days, then to London (to see the friends Paul and Kate who have the hedgehog http://www.lintqueen.com/craft/misc.shtml) and then to Germany to meet up with the BMW riding group for New Years.  This being the first time that I’ve actually “done my own thing” for the holidays (though perhaps exchanging my family stuff for a two-day snapshot of someone else’s  ;-) I am ecstatic (with a tinge of guilt around the edges).

Happy happy!!! Call or email if you want to do something next M, Tu, Wed or the 3rd, 4th.  :)