I had been waiting to talk about our concert on the 12th until I had some of the recordings to share with you – it went so well, and we’ve been asked to come back again next year. We were high on adrenaline for days after, and continue to get terrific feedback even now. So great to hear that it was so well enjoyed after all the work it took to put it together!

So colour me disappointed when we got the recording in our hot little hands, only to find that it was so poorly done and badly mixed that it was completely unusable. Completely. Which of course means that everything we had planned to do with that will no longer happen, and I have nothing to share with you past that 12 second clip. It was a huge blow for us. So yeah, sad news. Took the wind out of our sails a bit. But we have rallied, and are in the process of choosing music to start on after the holidays, in anticipation of things we’ll be doing in 2010.

Wee One has her first loose tooth! I’m not sure if this is a happy or sad thing. She is my baby, and this means she’s leaving that stage behind… but she’s so excited, that it can’t help but be happy, right? You other moms know what I mean. I’m melancholy, baby.

Christmas is almost in the bag – I’ve pretty much done my shopping, and really, if I wanted to be, I could call it done. But you know how it is – there’s always some little thing you’d like to pick up to make sure the stockings are nicely filled out, and desires are fulfilled. We didn’t go all-out like last year though, when I went on a mission to surprise my un-surprise-able husband, and succeeded by getting him a hang-gliding adventure, and also rather expensive tickets to see his favourite comic. Surprise doesn’t really begin to cover it – mission accomplished. He’ll be surprised by this year’s gift too, but I’ll leave that for another post.

Something has been happening to me the past couple of months… my appetite is gone, I can’t seem to sleep… getting up at the crack of dark every dratted day. The nurse who sees my 98 year old grandmother every day uttered a very mean word to me not long ago, that I just can’t wrap my head around (starts with an M, and requires a hand fan). I dunno – at 42, is that really what’s going on? I prefer to think these stress related symptoms, and I’m still a young woman. Ohhhhmmmm… Ooohhhmmmmm…. yep, all better.

Anyway.

This has been a wonderful Christmas season – singing with my group (and our larger one) getting out into the community and spreading the cheer, and really just enjoying ourselves immensely has been a thrill ride for me. I’m so sad that we’re done now, and those gorgeous songs we’ve been enjoying all these weeks are to be put away for another year. If you’re lucky enough to have a group to sing with, you know the euphoria the harmonies can bring. For me, it’s more about the feeling than anything else. It’s not the gifts under the tree, as nice as they are. Definitely not about the mucho dinero we go through either. It’s the feeling you get from special friends, family, and everyone you meet (unless, of course, you’re looking for a parking spot, or that last item on the shelf that someone else has already spotted…) At Christmas, people are just a little bit nicer. I wish it would last the whole year through, don’t you? In fact, I wish that everyone I met the year through were as wonderful and kind as the person reading this right now.

Thanks for stopping by today. May your day be Merry and Bright!