'Tis winter again, should ye be wondering what's with all the cold, cold, coldness. And hello.

Onward the slow march to the shortest day of the year. June has crept up and slapped me in the back of the head. Its no use denying it. Nearly half the year has gone. Its DW's birthday at the end of the month, so I'd best start the mental cogs turning about what she would like for her big Three-Five-"th". I asked her last night if there was anything in particular she wanted or had been planning to buy and she said, "Not really. I've pretty much been buying whatever I want." Good then. Obviously she is joking as I still don't earn enough to keep her in the life she plans to become accustomed to, a fact she points out after every tax return.

Its about this time of year that I reflect on the objectives I set myself at the beginning of the year. In many ways, I feel like I'm starting the year anew, mostly because I haven't done any of the things I planned to. Still, I have a little over half a year to get myself back on track. Well, I guess I could wait a little longer.

However, the buying of presents for DW, including suitable presents on behalf of the kids, must start soon. Princess is old enough to actually have some say in what she will give DW and so I have to schedule a shopping trip before the big day. As usually it will involve an hour long trek through countless shops looking for the pinkest thing Princess can find. Despite being old enough to want to choose a present, Princess isn't old enough not understand that DW doesn't have EXACTLY the same taste in gifts as she does, and the pinkest thing isn't necessarily the best thing. I have to help guide Princess toward something that DW might actually like rather than something she feels deserves payback when my birthday next comes around. The trick is allowing Princess to think she has discovered the present entirely on her own, and that her $0.25 contribution to the cost is what actually makes the $50 purchase possible.

Little Man would give DW a toy truck and a handfull of sand, because what else could she possibly want. Also he would want them back after she had broooomed the truck and tasted the sand.

So its up to me to find something to make her day. Something that makes her happy and feel important. Not something that will make her say, "Wow! This is great, really." Of course, I could always get her a voucher from a craft store but I'm not fond of that. Its not really a present from me, but she would definitely rather a voucher than me going into a craft store and buying stuff I think she might like.

This is why I like to start early. I don't like to wait until the last minute, but it is usually in the last minute that I actually finally settle on something. Still, I've got time...

Ciao!

Though for the Day: The Snoopy Dance is very similar to traditional Irish dancing.