Quick Takes: The Week before Christmas Edition

What a whirlwind.

Seven snippets of right now, in no particular order.

1. Silence.  
   Right now, I'm relishing the silence of two Wee Skis napping and the whirr of the computer hard drive. No Pandora, no television, no Netflix online. Just silence. AND IT IS GOLDEN.
2. Joy.  
   We had a chance to see the Ross fam last week, and Thomas was in heaven (as always).  I adore this photo of him and Angelica together. 
3. Hustle bustle.  
   I always thought life was busy when I worked at Merrill Lynch with all of the tax year-ending deadlines.  Now, running two businesses which peak in November/December with two small ones underfoot, I know a brand new kind of busy with a few parts crazy thrown in. This year, I closed my Finian Road schedule on weekends in December, which was a godsend for my sanity.  It also gave me the freedom to be able to support the tree farm with more of my energy.  I feel for Jonathan, because at least I get Monday mornings to recover.  After a full weekend on the farm, he is back at the office bright and early on Monday mornings, without a break.  He's been a champ throughout this season.  But we're both looking forward to New Year's weekend!
4. Contentment.  
   We had the 12th annual Mausski Christmas dinner at the house this weekend.  What started out as brunch in my tiny apartment in University Place in 1999 for my parents, brother, aunt, uncle and one-year old cousin now is a big dinner on the farm with 9 adults and 4 kids.  Planning effectively ahead made this year's dinner the smoothest and least stressful we've had, even with a 24 pound turkey (thank you, Costco) and the fullest house yet.
5. Grateful.  
   So love that I love Jonathan's family, especially since we are around each other nonstop during the Christmas tree season!  They're funny, love sarcasm, and are just generally good people.  
6. Touched.
   My mom surprised Jonathan with a new chainsaw after ours was stolen from our front porch a few weeks ago.  Theft is not a common problem on the farm (one of the first events in many, many years) so it shook our security a bit.  Jonathan was so touched by her surprise and still couldn't believe it when he woke up this morning.  Thanks, Mom.
7. Party Rock Anthem., one more time.
   I love this version.  Enjoy.  :)