Fa la la la la. La la. La. La.

I'm feeling very festive.

A few days ago I rearranged my pantry cabinets, getting rid of expired stuff and reorganizing everything into better order. It freed up some space and gave me a concrete idea of what I do and don't have on hand, what I need to stock up on and what I really don't need more of, and some things that I don't need at all.

Saturday and Sunday, I did the same thing to the rest of my apartment. I'm actually rather proud of the accomplishment. I worked through half my bathroom storage before I even ate breakfast on Saturday, for Pete's sake. (And I promised myself I would take it easy over the weekend. Right.) My kitchen is now much more tidy; I cleared out a bunch of stuff in storage (goodbye, shoes I don't wear anymore and will never wear again!); I even unpacked my books and knickknacks and set up the shelves in the living room/bedroom/office/vestibule. (It's a very small apartment.) I'm finishing up the last little bit tonight while I cook green bean casserole for the pitch-in at work tomorrow, and at some point I'll load up the car and head to Goodwill and Half Price Books. Probably tomorrow. Heck, I cleaned out so much stuff I'm even donating a chest of drawers I don't need any more. Cleaning: It's good for the soul!

Anyway: I said I was feeling festive, and I am. Decorations go up tomorrow and Wednesday, to be finalized and lit Thursday night, and I've got two pitch-ins at work and Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, and the day off work on Friday to laze around and eat myself stupid on leftovers bask in the joyous glow of the season. Plus, I feel like I'm finally taking control of my life this season, instead of just reacting to everything and passively waiting for things to get better. I'm happy with myself and where I am, and I'm confident in where I seem to be going. That, more than anything, is why I'm feeling festive.