Pausing

I'm pausing, just for a moment, to catch my breath.

We're on pace for a record number of credit card payments to be put through via the phone today.  Guess who gets to take those calls and record all the information?  Yah.  That would be me.

I was so looking forward to getting my hair cut tonight.  It's been about six months, and I'm desperately in need of some hair help.  I'm still looking forward to it, but my excitement is slightly dulled by the realization this morning that my hairdresser is located in a mall.  I have to go to a mall, and find parking, two days before Christmas.  Gross.

And, I have to resist temptation while doing it.  Because one of my favorite shops - where I buy all my skin care, hair care, and generally self-pampering products - is having a stupidly good sale.  Any 3 items in the store for $30.  Could be three $20/each items.  I could have them all for thirty bucks.  But my budget doesn't have room for this, and when they had this same sale about a month ago (unheard of by the way - clearly there is some recession selling going on), I stocked up on the items I regularly use.  So there's no real need to buy more.  Sigh.  Everything within me rebels at not taking advantage of the sale.

And now, after this brief pause for sanity, I must return to the busyness of the day.

4 hours to go (though one of them is my lunch!).

Then the train home, make dinner, and head out to find parking at the mall.

But after that comes an hour or so of pampering, and I'll walk out of there with really great hair.  That I'm definitely looking forward to.

And then maybe beginning to package up Christmas baking for wrapping and giving.

I'll be back later today, with a daily 5 list, and, if I have time, with a great prayer, fitting for this season, from Walter Bruggemann.  That'll come tomorrow if I don't get to it tonight.