So next week is Christmas. How did that happen? I have no clue where the time went, but now I’m caught up in the holiday whirl. The tree is up . . . OK, it’s a small tree. Very small. But it’s up and has been for a while.

Shopping seems endless—I got a late start this year. I love finding presents for people, but it’s tough to get too excited when fighting the crowds.

Tomorrow is the office Christmas party for my department. I’m looking forward to a nice, long lunch away from work. The whirl continues.

Next week, though, I look forward to getting off the whirl and just savoring quiet time with my loved ones.

I’m still alive. This has been such a strange year for me. Changes at work—some that changed back again. Changes at home. But I’m back, and I’ve been writing.

Now I need to coax my characters to start talking to me again.

I have a bad news/good news scenario. Bad news: the dress I ordered has yet to arrive. Good news: I found a pantsuit I like, and it was on sale, so I’m going to wear that. I didn’t find it online, so I can’t post a picture, but it’s pretty nice.

I think the shopping is finally complete.

I leave for San Francisco in a week. So I need to start gearing up to get my extrovert on. Last year, I wasn’t as social as I planned. I’m an introvert; what can I say? This year, though, I’m determined to get out more. I want to party.

Fellow writing introverts, how do you get in touch with your inner extrovert?

I might have found a dress.

I ordered it, and we’ll see how it works out. Fingers crossed.

RWA Nationals is mere weeks away! (Where did the time go?) I don’t want to wear my black glittery dress to the RITAs, but I’m having trouble finding a dress I like.

This is not a new dilemma.

I often have problems finding dresses. I haven’t figured out why. Part of it is that I don’t love shopping. Well, I could shop online every day if I had the money, but I have to try on a dress to see if it works. So I’ll keep up my quest for now. I like the dress below, but it’s about three times what I want to spend.

If it comes down to it, I can always wear the black glittery number, right?

It’s summertime, and it hasn’t really snowed where I live. But something nearly as unexpected occurred—my office is trying out flex scheduling for three months with three options, one a four 10-hour day work week. I’m not sure I’ll like it, but I’m excited to try it so I can have three-day weekends. If nothing else, I’ll save on petrol. Gas prices are ridiculous, and I welcome any chance to minimize that expense.

This starts sometime next month—date to be determined. This is even better than a summer blizzard.

I joined Borders Rewards when it first started—hey, it’s free, right? The only problem with it is that they are a little too good at coming up with deals that lure me in. Saturday, I took advantage of a coupon good for 40 percent off one book.

Today, I checked my e-mail and found a coupon for 40 percent off movies (limit three). It’s only good today and tomorrow.

Guess what I’ll be doing after work?

After enjoying a friend’s Wii, I decided I wanted one of my own. Finding one proved tricky, though. So imagine my surprise when I went to Target to pick up some stuff for a baby shower, checked out the Wii aisle on an impulse, and saw a console there.

So I bought it.

The good news: it’s a lot of fun. The bad news: it’s a lot of fun. An excellent distraction. I’m hoping the novelty will wear off soon, but in the meantime, I’m enjoying it.

Wiiiiiiiii . . .

Today is May 1, but it’s more of a mayday than May Day. I’ve come down with something, and my throat hurts desperately. Jamba juice seems to be the one thing that makes it feel better, but the every-other-day trips there are getting tedious. The soothing drink makes the trip worthwhile, though. Guess where I’m going tonight?

Plus, it snowed when I drove to work this morning. Snowed. Snow in May is just plain wrong.

Thank heavens the weekend is nearly here.