Stop! I am NOT Ready!

I cannot even believe that Christmas is less than a week away. It just doesn't even seem possible. How did it happen?

I have been busy, busy, busy. And not a lot of it has been fun (although I did get to paint my nails on the snow day I had, which was really an ice day.)
Some might say I have been blogging too much. But that only takes maybe 15 minutes. Well, maybe 25 if I had to put in a picture and edit the picture, etc.

I'm not worried about it being so close. Just surprised.

My husband and I have had this discussion many times. Now that we are older, time is just whizzing by. Have to wait a week? Well, that really feels like 2 days. A month? That really feels like 1 1/2 weeks. Been married 10 years? That really feels a lot more like 3 or 4 (depending on my mood that day :))

What is this phenomenon? Does it have a name? Does it have to do with the amount of time already spent living? As you get older, the day as a 2 year old is 1/730th. One day of a 40 year old's life is now 1/ - hold on - gotta do the math - 1/14,600th. Does this account for our perceived shortening of time??!
Or is it just that not much goes on in a 2 year old's life and a LOT goes on in a 40 year old's?

Well, gotta get working on the family calendar for 2009. I swear I just made last year's the other day . . .

The Decline of EBAY

I can't even begin to tell you how bad ebay has gotten. I think I saw the decline around the beginning of summer.

I had a couple fiascos at the beginning of summer and things have gone downhill since then. It seems to be a change in clientel. Everyone wants something for nothing.

For example . . . Last weekend I listed some of those oldfashioned bulb type Christmas lights. They run about $10 in Walmart. I listed them for $1.99 because we never use them and four bulbs are burnt out.

Someone had the nerve to email me and ask if the price was negotiable because 4 of the bulbs were burnt out. YES, IT IS NEGOTIABLE AND IT STARTS AT $1.99 BECAUSE 4 BULBS ARE BURNT OUT.

Are you kidding me???

I sell my stuff cheap because I want it out of here. But that was ridiculous.

All in all, I'm just getting tired of ebay. Something for nothing is not what it is about. It's supposed to be something for a steal or a great deal. Not free.

I'm jdsdive on ebay, incase you want a 25 strand of bulbs (with 4 not lit) for two bucks.

The Season

This is my favorite time of year. Well, one of them. I also like New Year's Eve. And St. Patrick's Day. And Valentine's Day. And Fourth of July. And when it comes to my birthday, well that's just a week long celebration. I have a birth week.

Things I don't like - leaves, fall, cold weather, rain. So I am glad most of those things are over.

Christmas holds many special memories for me. No proposals or cars or stuff like that. It's more about the little things. Making cookies with mom and sis. Putting up the tree listening to carols. Getting surprised with a REAL Christmas tree by hubby. And I would have to say one thing that ranks way up there as well is making the perfect gift. MAKING, not buying.

Time is precious. For years I have tried to get my family to exchange only MADE gifts. I keep giving them but they can't really comply. My mom (sometimes - she is pretty crafty with knitting and sewing, etc) and my dad (sometimes - he builds things). My sis did once, and I have to say it is one of my most cherished gifts ever (only because she is not crafty and went to a lot of trouble and spent a lot of time creating a "piece" for every letter in the song "Christmas Alphabet.")

To me, that is what it's all about. Giving a piece of yourself to the other person to let them know they are special to you. It isn't about money. Don't forget that this year.