a little ray of sunshine

It's been a rough couple of weeks:

• I caught a serious cold Thanksgiving weekend that still lingers, even two weeks later. Colds seem so harmless until you get one and remember just how awful they can be. Crappy sleep, fatigue, sinus pressure, painful sore throat, uncontrollable coughing -- all no fun. Getting sick at the onset of the holidays is not ideal. My natural inclination to plan ahead and be super-organized has been thwarted by the overriding need to get what little rest I can. Thus, though my shopping is almost done, I haven't even begun to work on my Christmas cards, mail packages, wrap gifts, or plan my holiday baking schedule. One silver lining, though, is that by some miracle, no one else in my family has gotten sick (knock on wood).
• What little energy I do have is being consumed by the Christmas Breakfast being held this weekend, for ~350 people, that I am co-in-charge of. I am co-responsible for feeding and entertaining a whole heap of folks. One interesting lesson I've learned during the past few months of planning: everyone has an opinion about how things should be done, and no two opinions are the same. In other words, it's impossible to please everybody. Also, making changes from the way things were done in the past -- even when done with a lot of thought, prayer, and the best of intentions -- will cause backlash that requires very thick skin.   
• Guess what decided to die last week? No, not the beta fish that has lived, despite total neglect, for almost 4 years in a bowl on our kitchen counter. Our furnace! If you're keeping track, which I know you aren't, that means that in the past 18 months we've had to replace our air conditioner, hot water heater, and furnace. And who doesn't want to spend thousands of dollars on fancy home upgrades no one will ever see and will only notice if it stops working? Home-ownership demands so much more than just a mortgage payment. I love my home, and am grateful for the comfort it provides, but I wouldn't mind a break from having to tap into our "rainy day" savings quite so often.

The little ray of sunshine in what can only be classified as a trying couple of weeks, came in the form of this movie preview, recently released:

I feel better now.

Oh, and I promise Part 2 of my Australian adventure will be posted at some point this month. Try to contain your excitement.

In the meantime, why don't you tell me what you would do to entertain 350 people who don't want to participate in anything and would much rather just talk to their friends? I've considered forcing folks to do all sorts of awkward skits, getting-to-know-you games, or relays (because the pass-the-orange-from-neck-to-neck game would be hilarious). What do you think?