Gearing up for Christmas

Gotta gripe - Blogger no longer lets me log in and write from my own page - I have to go to my "home" page on blogger first. But anyway...

We are getting things in motion (I hope) for the holidays. Tomorrow is church, including a musical program and lunch, and Monday we go to my parents (if the ice melts!), getting home just in time for Christmas, when we will go next door for a family dinner. So today we did a LOT of baking. :)
Pancakes for breakfast, two bar cookies, two candies, snickerdoodles, dinner (including the best roast potatoes), dressing... And I'm proud to say the kitchen is less messy than when we started this morning. I'd done sweet potato casserole, a cookie, sausage balls, and bread roll dough previously. My fridge and freezer are both bursting at the seams. :) I am nearly, but I've been trying to control myself, and have officially lowered my own maximum weight by 10 pounds. (Thanks, Wil, for the inspiration. Eventually I'll do better.)

Occasionally I'd sneak out of the kitchen and wrap presents. We aren't going overboard this year (I think), partly because we couldn't think of much that we needed, and partly because we'd spent already on the home improvement sector. My phone is my present, and I suppose the air compressor is Bob's. The children are all getting new socks, and a couple other items that we'll talk about later.

It rained last night and all day today, flooding the garage - well, that's a strong word, but it did require a little work from Bob this morning. Oklahoma got ice, but we were rain, staying just above freezing all day.

Gina the dog has been doing well. We walk her, but not a boy alone because they get impatient, and then let her loose to play. She loves to run! She will run out into the pasture, but won't stay very long, and is always happy to come running back. She's learning a few commands, and *I think* the boys are learning to be patient and kind with her (she's very submissive and needs lots of encouragement).

Work on the living room is going along slowly, as Bob has been working for other people. Also, we've been having some trouble with the van. As mentioned on Facebook, Bob had to replace the fuel regulator thing that first went out a couple of years ago, leaving us stranded at Lowe's. We've learned to recognize the signs, and change it about once per year. But it is still sluggish going uphill, and doesn't like to shift from 2nd to 3rd. Also, the driver's side headlight  - the whole assembly - goes dim when the lights are brightened. So there is that.

I'm playing with my phone a lot, and really like it. I plan to do a full review when I feel like I know enough about it to do so.