TJ got a job for the Christmas holiday to help cover some of our upcoming expenses, including Christmas presents and repairs to the house plus my college tuition. Since he was laid off last spring, money has been tight, and this is a real blessing.

But 50 hours a week! It’s turned our lives upside down. Bedtime is earlier because TJ gets up at 5 in the morning.

I’ve been working long hours too as my job had deadlines. I’d like to add something snarky and clever here, but I’m too tired and I need to save all my creativity for finishing up Deceiving Dragons Chapter 8. I’ve got almost 3 weeks of vacation coming up, and I’ll be using it for (1) writing, (2) cleaning house, and (3) getting back into an exercise routine.

In other news, we have a new pet tree named Charlie Brown and a poinsettia mix named Poisonetta (Nettie for short). Yes, the plants in our house are named and loved like pets.

We hope your holiday season is going well. Do you have your shopping done yet? What are you looking forward to?