What's happening?

Well, first, what isn't happening...NaNo. I bogged out early on at less than 10,000 words. There is little hope at this point for a resurgence. Just isn't turning out to be a NaNo year for me after all. On the flip side, my daughter is NaNo-ing tremendously well! I am so proud of her for how dedicated she's been. She's over the halfway point, and while she's running short on time, she is not running short on enthusiasm. Her every spare moment has been spent hogging the laptop and writing like the wind. She's amazing. :)

We're halfway through our second quarter of the school year. I always consider the first quarter a baseline from which the rest of the year is measured and from which I gauge what changes I need to make. I'm pretty pleased with how well the first quarter went, considering it was our first high school quarter. I continue, however, to feel harried by it all. I just have not yet felt like I've gotten this school year in hand. It's like it has a will of it's own, and I'm working to keep up with it. It's not a bad thing, really...it's just giving me a good idea of how better I can prepare in the future.

Thanksgiving is four days away, and for the first time in 15 years, we will not be hosting it here. We'll be going to my in-laws' house this year, as it will be easier for Kevin's grandfather, who has been battling health issues all year. I'm still in charge of the turkey though, which is fine.

Our oldest will be coming home for the holiday, and our grandson will be here as well, so the two of them will get to enjoy some good father-son bonding time, which will be nice. Since I'm pretty sure we won't get to see either of them for Christmas, we're going to enjoy an early Christmas celebration with them while they are here, too, which will be fun. It just means I need to be even more organized than usual before they arrive on Wednesday. I'm trying not to hyperventilate.

And that brings me to Christmas shopping. I started today, and I got a pretty good bit of it done...woohoo! Must of the remainder will be gift cards (what a wonderful invention those have been!) and some things I can order online. In other words, I shouldn't need to set foot in the mall more than maybe one more time, and I can assure you it definitely will NOT be on Black Friday. Whatever possible sale savings there might be in shopping on that day, it is not worth the cost to my sanity. (Though I shouldn't say never...Black Friday afternoon isn't really too bad. All the early morning crazy shoppers are home by then and taking a nap.)

And I started listening to Christmas music yesterday. I rarely ever voluntarily listen to it before Thanksgiving, but I think the fact that we aren't hosting Thanksgiving here this year is helping me move forward to Christmas a little earlier. I'm even planning to decorate before Thursday. Crazy! :)

On the knitting front, most of my efforts have been on my entrelac shawl, which is so not a necessary item to be working on at this point, but it's fun and easy and makes a good carry-around project, as I've been avoiding more socks right now...not sure why. I really need to get working on Emma's sweater, which is languishing with the back and part of one front done. And then there is the idea of knitting Christmas gifts...hahahah...or maybe not. :}