Christmas is just days away and I'm excited. Mike and I have been able to pull together a decent Christmas for the kids and that makes us both very happy.

It's well past Thanksgiving by now but I can't help feeling that it's the right time to be thankful. We've been so very fortunate. Mike ended up in a better situation than we could have hoped for after he lost his job in October. Most of the year we went through each day with almost constant anxiety... once the axe finally fell our lives just leveled out. Things just came together for us. I look at where we are now, compared to just a few short months ago, compared to so many people out there still struggling just to get by, and I feel blessed.

In the next few days I'll be sitting around taking pictures while my family opens presents, hoping my coffee isn't too strong for my dad, wondering when my sister will get here from Colorado Springs, estimating how long I have to finish the sweet potatoes before I head over to Megan's house for Christmas dinner. I'll be thinking of my closest friends and my absent family members, wishing they could be with us and hoping maybe next year. I will have joy... and I'll be hoping all those I love have it, too.

I have the cutest dog ever.

Can I just say my minivan is a pain in my ass? I mean, really. How much money, Mr. Minivan, do you think I have to throw your way? Oil leak we thought had been repaired started up again, turned out to be different (oil pan leaking) so we sent it in, AGAIN. We picked it up last night and got a few miles into the canyon before the 'check engine' light came on. See me annoyed. So, we turned around, drove back, Mike called the mechanic guy and told him about it, mechanic guy was astounded and said to leave it and they'd take care of it the next day. The next day is today and I asked Mike what the mechanic said. Well... get ready for it.

There wasn't enough coolant in the vehicle.

....

Now, I'm not a vehicle mechanic but... oil. Oil is not coolant. Coolant is a completely different system, right? I thought so. So, I ask Mike "did we have a coolant leak?" and Mike replied "no." So I ask, "did you ask him how we could have lost coolant?" and Mike replied "yes. He said he didn't know."

blink.

blink, blink.

Whatever. So long as it doesn't cost me money and it works when we get it back.