The Home Stretch

One week till Christmas- noooooo!  I want the season to last forever!  But here we are.  Tomorrow is my last day off before the big day, and I have a LOT to do!  But first… Five or six days ago a pile of packages arrived on our doorstep.  Assuming they were all things I had ordered for the kids, I put them into the closet.  The days passed, and meanwhile I was thinking, “Man, my Secret Santa is kind of a slacker!  Weren’t we supposed to mail our presents by the 7th?  I haven’t gotten anything!” Then today I went to wrap all the presents I had hidden away in the closet and- you may have guessed where this is going- one of them was for ME. From my Secret Santa, who turned out to be… BIRCHIE!!!!!  Look at this amazing mug: …and all that Earl Grey tea!  I love it so much, and it will make the transition from holiday mugs back to everyday mugs much less painful.  Thank you Birchie, and thank you to San for making the Secret Santa swap possible. Meanwhile, on Sunday my daughter wanted to go to a yard sale.  She had heard they had a lot of “vintage” and “goth” clothing.  Well, okay! I thought of Elisabeth and her amazing thrifting abilities.  We ended up spending $65 and got: a sweater and two shirts for me (do I need to clarify that these were not “goth”?), two pairs of jeans, a hoodie, five shirts, a ton of jewelry and a purse for my daughter.  It was amazing! The bad news is, Christmas will now have to be canceled.  Honestly, the things we got on Sunday are nicer than the things my daughter is getting for Christmas!  AND, I wasn’t done shopping for her- I was going to get her some clothes to round out her gifts.  Now I feel like that would be pointless.  Arg.  Bad time for a yard sale. The good news is, I found molasses!!! Un-cancel Christmas!  Gingerbread men will be baked!  And we will have our annual cookie decorating party on the 24th.  Phew. On tap for today- first, an eight mile “long” run. Then getting bagels (to be frozen until Festivus.)  Bath and Body Works for three wick candles (they’re on sale, and will be gifts for our guests on Christmas Eve.) Do you think the mall will be crowded?  Naaaaah.  (Haha.)  I still need stocking stuffers for my son (the most impossible one to shop for) and some weird odds and ends, like a disposable tablecloth for the cookie decorating.  And… I have to FINISH AND SEND MY CARDS. Wish me luck! Do you wish time would slow down, or are you eager for Christmas to get here? Top photo by freestocks on Unsplash