First present given:

Well received.

One stress lifted off my shoulders.

This week has been a good week.

Sure the weather is dreadful, but really, that's to be expected. So what if I paid $200 for a hair cut that I'm not totally in love with? And I may be far behind with finishing all the Christmas presents, but they'll (hopefully) be worth the effort.

I've had a lot of fun this week with some wonderful people. I was baptized by White Cowbell Oklahoma with a shot of Jager, and the guitarist thanked me for eating his guitar (don't ask). I played SLAM! with Chris, Johny, and Kyle and somehow made it through work the next day. And I got a crap-ton of new cds. Who can complain?

I think one of the things that had me so down last week was the fact that this time last year I was getting ready to spend a month in Sweden. It was such a wonderful trip, and I miss the country so much. I often wonder if it would be crazy to sell all of my things and just move there.

I'd buy a cute cottage on the tiny island of Grötö.

And I'd go out for a walk around the island everyday, taking photos of all the lovely things I find. It wouldn't take long at all... it only takes about two hours to cover the whole island by foot.

And I'd be sure to squeeze through the hedge to visit the farmer's sheep. They'll let you pet them all afternoon, so long as you keep feeding them crackers.

And when I got bored of the quiet life, I could just take the ferry and the bus into downtown Göteborg (all on the same transfer, too!).

Okay, so this whole "I'm going to start a blog and post something every day on my lunch break" thing hasn't been working out so far. I'm not sure if it's the wretched weather we've been having, my frustration in my slow recovery from this damn back injury, or the stress of trying to craft my little heart out in time for a Handmade Christmas.

Whatever the cause, I've been down in the dumps.

So I'm going to go home and relax, try and finish at least one present, and maybe even hang out with Jman himself. Hopefully tomorrow will look a little brighter (some sunshine would be wonderful, but I'll settle for a mood-boost).

These are the things that made today a little bit more bearable:

This completely badass, yet somehow adorable, tilt-shift video of The Hulk himself

Hulkamania from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

These great shoes by Rob Schwager, which have shot straight to the top of my Want List

The Rolling Stones, naturally

And the cutest little Basset puppy, photographed by the wonderful

Sharon Montrose