I might not be quite as meticulous as this if it was just me decorating the tree, but I would have some of these things in mind. As it is, I just watch helplessly as Dh and the kids put ornaments on in ways and places that I just wouldn't.

There's always camelcamelcamel.com.

The topper is very much like what my mother presumably picked up in the 70's and had on our trees throughout the 80's.

Pattern practice with dd8. Then went to the basement and lifted some weights. I even did three sets. Next time, I think I will probably bump up the weight on several exercises because I wasn't really slowing down at the third set, though I definitely do not need to make squats any harder.

I'm with MercyA and voting for Casper.

There's a 12ft for skeleton near us that's been out since Halloween. It is now stringing lights made out of painted 2 liter pop bottles over a 10ft tall bush in the yard.

TKD class this evening. Dd14 is a black belt. She led the warm-ups. She has a reputation for making the class work. Today I learned that reputation is well earned, lol. No more classes for me until after the new year, as they are taking a two week break.

Lifted some weights this evening. It's been awhile. I put in two sets, and I think next time around I will go for three and see what happens. The last time I did this workout, I kind of felt it the next day.

I actually did get this for my mil. The box it came in is perfect! It just says "Merry Christmas!" and "Christmas Party!" on the outside. There is absolutely no indication of what's on the inside. ETA: I just wrapped it yesterday, and it does not say "Christmas Party!" It says "Merry Party!" which is almost better.

I have a meeting this evening I have to leave a bit early for, so I did not get a full exercise session in. Instead, I worked on learning my new pattern with dd13 and practiced my old pattern a few times. I got my heart rate up for a little bit, so that's better than nothing.

Maybe mark it as spam? So you probably won't see it, and it's a black mark on them in the algorithm.

I'm doing chemo pills at home, so my immune system is compromised. I got COVID in late August, and started taking Paxlovid maybe 2 days after symptoms. So far, I've had COVID about once a year. My experience is that it gives me a singular, miserable type of headache, and the Paxlovid stops the headache, which is a mercy. I was sick for about 10 days. As for the rotten grapefruit taste in the mouth, it tapered off after each dose. I would make sure I had eaten *before* taking it, so as to make the experience was as pleasant as possible.

There is a house in our area that usually has a lit up Santa peeing off the roof into the yard. Very classy.

Adding that my dad has it right now, and he is in his late 70's. First symptoms were Thursday afternoon. He felt really lousy yesterday, but is feeling better today. I think he's had both rounds of the vaccine.

Praying that it is mild and over with quickly.

No intentional exercise here for a few days. I have been really tired for some reason. We are hosting a board game day tomorrow, so I have been doing some intense cleaning seasons. Today, I will be making a large pot of soup for everyone, and finishing up the dining room, where most gaming will take place.

I'm glad to hear SIL's son is doing what he can to alleviate things. So funny the tractors only work for him. 😆

TKD class last night. It is interesting -- they have a policy whereby siblings are not allowed to spar with each other. Dh and I both went to class last night, and the teacher had no issues with us sparring each other. Also sparred with a black belt (yikes!), but despite the fact he is 20-something, he teaches a lot and very much acted like a teacher in sparring, ie. only doing stuff that I could handle, plus a few things just slightly above my level. A good class overall.

Thanks for asking. With all the things going on at our house, financial uncertainty, all the kid concerts, birthdays for two nieces, and Christmas preparations, well, it's a lot. I love Advent; I did most of the preparations for that a month or two ago. So Advent looks the same to the kids. Christmas itself will be toned down a bit, but I did some shopping ahead of time, so there's that. I am really glad that I have learned how important exercise is for my well-being. I sleep better and feel better when I exercise regularly, plus my oncologist told me it's the best thing I can do to fight cancer. I am really grateful for this dojo, because they are definitely not out to make money. It's about $150/mo for our whole family to take classes twice a week, and we could go to more if we wanted to. TKD gives me accountability and something to focus on, because I have a hard time restarting after hitting a hurdle, such as being sick for two weeks.

TKD class this evening.

We've had this one for ten years and it's worked fine. https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Thermal-Laminator-Professional-Laminate/dp/B0010JEJPC?pd_rd_w=JcY2L&content-id=amzn1.sym.41e0d52e-f045-4db4-b573-8db5df809cc8&pf_rd_p=41e0d52e-f045-4db4-b573-8db5df809cc8&pf_rd_r=A316BG9NWV13RZ66S8QW&pd_rd_wg=OnXSm&pd_rd_r=aa3d517b-9053-490b-9760-00716c5b459d&pd_rd_i=B0010JEJPC&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_m_grid_dv_rp_0_1_ec_ppx_pop_mob_b_bia_item_t

I knew a woman who died a few years ago at the age of 80-something. She was born in her parents' home, and got married and lived a few houses down the road from where she was born, and never learned how to drive. That didn't stop her from knowing and reveling in all the gossip of everyone both in her neighborhood, and the surrounding area. She knew everything before it happened. As far as I can tell, not driving did not impair her life as she wanted to live it at all.

Because of Blazing Saddles, Harvey Korman and Heddy Lamar are forever entwined in my mind. 🤣

Sorry, I can't help myself. [Pic removed by moderator because of board rules.]

Wow! It's just like my set, only painted differently. Love the jewels on yours.