Is anyone else tired of hearing about Tiger Woods??

I am... just sayin'... :)

But anyway... 'tis the season of shopping and wrapping gifts, and I have purchased exactly ZERO presents so far. (At what point do I start to panic? There's still time... there's still time...) I really need to just jump into my internet gift ordering head-first... even if I just hit ebay and start clicking on random items (what? You didn't WANT a vintage Snoopy lunchbox and a dining room chair with three legs? Because you're not in school anymore and you don't even HAVE a dining room?? Well, isn't it supposed to be the thought that counts???).

And I'm still struggling to find a balance between home and work, although I have to say my morning workouts have been helping a lot. It gives me the time to take care of chores and get dinner started without feeling rushed -- if I work out AFTER I get home, I run around like a crazy person trying to get everything done. Plus, working out in the morning is a great way to wake up... at least for a couple hours (after which, I usually want a nap... but I usually want a nap at some point, anyway, so... :))

Years ago, before Rick and I moved back to New Jersey, I was working two jobs -- I had my morning proofreading job from 7 to 11, and then I immediately drove downtown to my afternoon job at a law firm, which was from noon until 5. I would usually eat lunch in my car after I'd found a parking spot downtown. (The oh-so-generous law firm wouldn't pay for parking, even though there was plenty in the building's parking garage... sometimes I would park there anyway, because it was easier to pay six bucks than to wander around for my entire lunch hour looking for a parking spot.) And then I would crawl home through rush-hour traffic, which usually took at least an hour, if not longer. I never even TRIED to work out, my house was a total wreck, we lived off of microwavable dinners, I HAD to be in bed by 8:30 every night if I wanted to avoid having a nervous breakdown, and I was completely, absolutely miserable. I try to think of that time in my life every time I start feeling overwhelmed now... (hey, I get free parking AND I can go home at 3:45! I can actually make dinner instead of just throwing something in the microwave! My house is clean! I don't have to work with lawyers!! :)) Not that there's anything wrong with lawyers, of course... ;)

Rick keeps telling me to be positive... and that even if you "fake" positivity long enough, eventually you'll just BE positive. It's the idea of smiling when you're unhappy, because smiling has some sort of physiological effect on the brain... it boosts serotonin levels or something... So when I'm dragging myself out of bed at 4:45 in the morning to squeeze in my work out, I just smile and wait for the endorphins to kick in... sometimes it takes a while...

But here's a definite positive: tomorrow is Friday!! Another week over, and another week closer to Christmas in Chicago.

Uh oh... that means I'm another week closer to needing those Christmas gifts. I WILL start shopping... soon... :)