Almost exactly a month ago, as I collected final exams from college students in the journalism class I teach (adjunct) and cleared off my desk in our university-sponsored non-profit office (media coordinator), I looked forward to a lovely winter break of family, friends, festivities — and checking things off of a lengthening to-do list. There were holiday chores, of course, like making chocolate-peanut butter balls and trying to remember locations of presents I’d bought haphazardly through the year — Attic behind the wedding-dress box? Linen closet on top of the exercise step? But I knew I’d have plenty of time for those other pesky non-holiday to-do’s, too. You know, those things that pile up and you just need a few uninterrupted hours to get them done: organize your closet, completely revamp the class syllabus for spring semester, finish some work projects, start on freelance magazine assignments and tackle the pile of I’d-wear-this-if-it-were-ironed or -fixed or -altered or whatever. After all, I’d be off for weeks. WEEKS! Plenty of time. No need to hurry. Relax and enjoy. And I did. There was Christmas prep, then Christmas itself, then football (We shall not speak of the SEC West’s disastrous bowl games. Shall. Not. Speak.) and then New Year’s. And people got the flu and got sinus infections and went out of town and stopped by to visit. And there were movies and get-togethers and long gossipy phone conversations and cozy afternoons on the couch in front of the fire with a stack of library books and nice beer-and-pizza lunches with husband John Pitts and hours — apparently many, many hours — catching up on TV (“Gracepoint” did end differently from “Broadchurch!” Olivia Pope still drinks wine! Annalise Keating is smarter than everybody else. And a liar!). And now, a month later, we have arrived at the final day of winter break and I have about 12 hours to organize my closet, completely revamp the class syllabus for spring semester, finish some work projects, start on freelance magazine assignments and tackle the pile of I’d-wear-this-if-it-were-ironed or -fixed or -altered or whatever. But I’ve sure had fun. Here’s to 2015 — may we never run out of things to do. #backtowork #happynewyear
New Year’s Resolutions
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Welcome to the first Saturday of 2009 and the ninth day in Cathy’s New Year’s Countdown for a tip on dismantling Christmas at your house. Look, even if you are one of those wonderfully organized people who already have (almost) all the holiday things wrapped, packed, labeled and back in the closet where they belong, you probably have a snowperson here and a Christmas candle there, still hanging around. And of course all the rest of us are staring at the tree that needs taking down today — or is that only me? Anyway, I admit I’m only so-so at housekeeping and downright bad at organization and in no way should I go around dispensing advice on these subjects, but I do love that wonderful feeling when everything is clean and uncluttered and efficient. Granted, because I’m inherently lazy and content to live like a slob, I don’t enjoy that feeling very often. But I know how to get it without much effort, so here’s a quick and easy route to post-holiday satisfaction: When you finally take it all down and put it all up, challenge yourself to 1) Throw/give away three things you don’t use but keep in storage anyway (this is where you can guiltlessly get rid of all those ugly Santas your aunt keeps giving you) and 2) Reorganize so you can easily put your hands on the essential part of your family holidays (the stockings, the Christmas CDs, the Advent calendar) that you spent two weeks trying to find in 2008. Do these things, and I promise you December 2009 will be a little less stressful. Not much, but a little. And isn’t that good enough? Check back for day no. 10 in Cathy’s New Year Countdown.
Welcome to the sixth day of Cathy’s New Year Countdown — New Year’s Eve
In Day No. 8 of Cathy’s 12 Days Before Christmas Countdown, it’s time to look at the original holiday-simplification guide, “Unplug the Christmas Machine.” Even though it’s almost 20 years old, this book remains the signature how-to for scaling back and cutting down. But you’ll find more here than tips on re-using wrapping paper and getting decorations out of your own backyard. In fact, the rest of the title says it all: “A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back in the Season.” Authors Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli show you how to identify and make time for what’s truly important to your own family’s holiday celebrations and gives you permission to ditch the rest. Isn’t that the kind of Christmas we all want? And we’re talking real-life here. For instance, the authors warn you that while deciding to forgo massive present-opening on Dec. 25 could be a good thing and spiritually satisfying, you might find yourselves sitting around staring at each other without anything else to do. Awkward! And while it 
reads a bit dated — it was written, after all, before laptops, cell phones and Blackberries became essential family tools — the core message still is relevant: To get the most out of Christmas, you’ve got to regain control of it. It might be too late for this year — you’ve already gotten all your Christmas chores done for this year, haven’t you? — but reward yourself by getting a head start on Christmas 2009. More good news? You won’t derail your new holiday frugality when you buy this book because as an older paperback, it’s only about $10 at most online booksellers — less if you buy it used. It’ll be a $10 you’ll never regret (unlike the $10 I spent on Max Factor Lipfinity Lipstick Sweet 55, but who knew?). Check back on Christmas Countdown Day No. 7 for one of the best online sites I’ve found for Christmas shopping.
Coffee with Cathy 