It's time to break out of this lethargy. I didn't do much of anything yesterday. But I did watch "Little Women," one of my favorite movies, and with the Christmas scenes on the screen, and the fresh snow outside, it was a very sweet experience.

Today I'm going to finally go to the store. I need to get the makings for cranberry relish, as well as a few other things. I found a recipe that incorporates pears, maraschino cherries, pineapple tidbits and orange juice, and I think it might attract a little more interest at the Thanksgiving table.

I'm also going to get a free pizza and free yogurt with a virtually-clipped coupons.

There is snow on the ground, and it's cold, but I've got to do it. After I finish this load of laundry.

I've been letting the house go a little too much, too. I am doing the basic things, like making the bed, and loading/unloading the dishwasher. But I'm letting the things I really don't like to do slide. Like vacuuming, dusting, mopping, cleaning fixtures, tackling clutter, etc. I've decided I will set the timer for a half-hour every morning and afternoon, and just do things I don't like to do. I think it will make me feel a lot better! I've found that the timer is a great motivating tool.

I did get around to ordering my son's birthday present. Using a $15 gift card, I spent $27 out of pocket for a shirt and a pair of socks on Amazon. The socks were about $15, so I guess I got them free! They must be some socks. I'm not complaining; I like SmartWool socks myself, and they're worth it in the long run.

The package will arrive on Monday, when I'm working. I hope it isn't stolen before I get home. Packages are left in our vestibule, which is unlocked. When thieves are at work, they go up and down the streets and steal all the unprotected packages. I've lost two in the past (which were replaced by the sellers, no problem -- except the annoyance). I haven't had problems recently, but with the holiday coming, I'll bet the thieves are gearing up again.

My variables spending is only 58%, which of course isn't counting the car-painting. As a big ticket item, it will come out of Slush Fund/EF rather than the variables budget (when the Discover bill comes). Since I've started keeping track, I've underspent the variables budget by more than $2K, which is very good news. That will more than cover any Christmas overspending.

Now that the birthdays are out of the way, I can finally concentrate on Christmas. I'll let Amazon help me out; it's so hard to choose things that are really wanted and needed. The grandkids are getting college money and T-shirts. Boy, won't they be excited! But it's intentional -- they get so much stuff, way more than they need, even more than they are able to enjoy, in my opinion. But someday they will need education dollars.

Today's menu:

Breakfast: Quiche
Lunch: Peanut soup, sourdough bread, carrots
Dinner: Fried egg sandwich, veggies, applesauce