The Holidays

Getting it done early this year
Christmas shopping done - check
outdoor Christmas lights up - check
indoor Christmas decorations out - check
Christmas tree cut - check
Christmas tree trimmed - check
presents wrapped - check

Have I forgotten anything? For the first time, I have managed to have everything set for the holidays. The only thing left on my list is bake Christmas cookies; and those shouldn't be too much further along. I am still scratching my head trying to figure out how I managed to get everything done this past Thanksgiving weekend. But I can tell you one thing, it feels wonderful. Maybe this year I can finally relax and enjoy the weeks counting down until Christmas.

My mother and I headed out, bright and early, to hit the stores for the ever famous, black friday. I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for, so it made the stores less stressful. We shopped, grabbed some lunch, shopped some more, chatted, hit up Starbucks for some re-fueling, and shopped some more. When I pulled into our driveway that evening, gifts had been found and purchased for everyone on my list. On Sunday, Brian and I headed out to find the "perfect" Christmas tree. After some deliberation, we found the perfect, small but ever so adorable Christmas tree. The rest of the afternoon was spent trimming the tree, putting up decorations and hanging lights outside. Now as much as I would like to, I cannot take credit for the hanging of lights. Brian, bless his heart, stood outside on the roof in the blowing snow giving our house, Christmas curb appeal. Note: I did feel guilty and made sure to have some nice hot cocoa for him when he came inside. Later that evening when Brian had left for work, I sat down, Christmas movie in hand, and did some wrapping. After arranging all of the gifts under the tree, I took a deep breath, sighed, and said "whew, I'm done." And does it feel good...


our tree topper...