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free to conspire

maybe some of you have noticed that i have taken a break from blogging for a while. a month.
an entire month has gone by since my last post.
i didn't even take that much time off after delivering a baby.
my absense has not been due to lack of material.
i have plenty.
not even necessarily lack of time.
although it is in short supply these days.
i just haven't.
i have been decorating cookies, and looking at christmas lights, not sleeping and occasionally grading papers.
it is probably the attempted balance of 2 and going back to work and sick babies.
...but.....
instead of trying to do more this Christmas, i have tried to do less. buy less presents. send out less christmas cards.
only slightly less. it still isn't like me to skip a party. but things like blogging, laundry and pictures with santa have been put on the back burner.
time just passed. email went unchecked and the dished piled up in the sink( ok...the dishes part isn't so abnormal for my house).
maternity leave has left my paychecks seriously lacking ( last month's check was 4$) so the gifting had to be seriously trimmed. I have also had this icky too much feeling lately. I look around my room and see so many clothes ( all on the floor). I look around my livnig room and see so many toys. How much more do we really need?
And then I watched this video:


I can't say that it has been my inspiration for slowing down and spending less. My motives weren't quite as pure ( lack of sleep and money). But this is it. This is the better picture of Christmas than the one I can find at the mall.....or even my beloved Target.

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