12/14/11 Fa-la la-la AHHHHHHHH!!!

Yes, I've fallen off the face of the Earth. I'm not sure what happened this year, but I'm SO far behind in getting ready for the holiday.  I'm blaming it all on DD...since she moved out.  She was my biggest helper with all the decorating and shopping (my 'boys club' around here is useless for anything except hanging the outside decorations).

I've been running around like a crazy woman.  Quick 'note to self' here...do NOT keep putting off all your annual Doctor visits because you are too busy...eventually you still have to go to use your insurance funds before the end of the year, and it will now be the BUSIEST time of the year (eye Doc yesterday, Dentist tomorrow...*sigh*).

It's going to be a CRAZY weekend.  We pick DS1 up from college Friday morning, company arrives Friday afternoon, and DD's lease is up and she's moving in with the BF that we love (yes, a very big step for her/them) so we'll be moving her across the city on Saturday (...and probably Sunday...my 'Barbie' girl has too many 'accessories' LOL). 

Somewhere in there I need to start making cookies, and start wrapping presents, and mail my 'Secret Santa' gifts, and...(OK, *deep breaths*...I'm getting hives just thinking about it all)...

Anyway, here's a brief moment as we were leaving for a holiday shindig.

I've been asked to share some decoration pics, so I'll try to take some pics around the house and post them soon.  For now, here's the front of the house this year (dag, another thing for my 'to do' list...I need to make some new bows for the railing swags).









And here's the front door (I added some battery powered lights to the fresh front door wreath this year)...










...and in case you're all done with your holiday to-do list (I hate you)...here's a draft blog I wrote on the 6th (when I was still 'fa-la-laing'!) and got so busy I forgot to post it LOL...

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12/6/11 Happy 'Shoe Day'!  She's Making A List...

What's better than a day to celebrate SHOES!  WHAT?  It's NOT about the shoes?  'Scuse ME?!  OK, OK, Happy St. Nicholas Day!!!

...and I hope you remembered to put your shoes out last night! 

Santa checked in at our house last night to see if we've been naughty or nice and to collect our letter's with Christmas wishes (ummm...nope, not really...I couldn't get DS2 to continue his '3 wishes' letters).

I've been busy...shopping.

All this was SO much easier when the kiddos were young and I had those '3 wishes' for Santa letters with me.  My middle one, DS1, still has no clue what he wants for Christmas...my DD could give me a never ending list, and DS2 is getting a very expensive guitar as his main gift...that he already knows about...and lest you think we're spoilers...he saved all his birthday money from us/others, his work money, and we/others are paying the rest for Christmas (yes, it's that expensive...and he's that good at playing now, and is ready for it). 

So where is the Christmas magic?  Where are those kids that would squeal with delight on Christmas morning?  I've been busy making it...magic.

Yes, I've been busy shopping (hang on, I know that's not what Christmas is about...or all the magic, but some of the fun is in the giving).  We even took a trip out with the boys on Black Friday Thursday before midnight.  There's a big shopping plaza just minutes from our house and so we thought we'd take a drive down.  We enter the plaza uphill from the plaza's enormous parking lot (I'm talking thousands and thousands of parking spots)...we overlook the entire lot to see that it's just about full and people are parking alongside the islands.  We all gasp in surprise and from the back seat my boys start loudly singing Epic Music..."AHHH, AHHH.....a, AHH, AHH!!!..." (wish I was smart enough to find it for you on youTube).  DH and I were in hysterics laughing as they continued the choir act all the way down the hill.  We took a drive past the biggest stores (the line for Target was now about a thousand people...four stores down, almost to Kohl's...which also had a huge a$$ line). 

I have a strong aversion to crowds.  The reason we were, many times, the first family in line at Early, Crack Of Dawn, Extra Magic Hour mornings at Walt Disney World (besides the bonus of getting to visit all the characters in peace and walk on every ride in Fantasyland) is because I HATE CROWDS!  Luckily my family feels the same way...We just laughed at all the shoppers as we circled around to drive immediately back home (NO way we were getting into that mess...What's next?!  Black Thanksgiving?!!...Oh yeah, I guess we WERE there on Thanksgiving...ughh)

We've been at the stores at 4am, Black Friday, quite a few times too (got some unbelievable deals over the years)...and we were back home in bed by the time the crowds got bad.  The boys couldn't believe how many people would stand in line now at midnight compared to the relatively few of us who would be there with coffee in hand at 4am in the past (the boys have been with us in recent years). 

DH went back down at around 8am and was still able to find the three high ticket 'door buster' items we were mainly shopping for (with no big crowds)...so we had another laugh.  I spent the next week online buying up more, from the comfort of my home (have I mentioned lately that I'm NOT a shopper?). 

I'm getting to know the FedEx guy really well.  He was commenting yesterday on all the heavy boxes I get, as I 'let' him bring the latest one into the foyer...apparently a put-together-yourself (furniture) big TV console makes for a very heavy box...I wouldn't know (I think I owe Mr. FedEx a fruitcake, or maybe a bottle of wine, when he's back today).  Yes, a new enormous flat screen also arrived for the basement rec room...FYI; Goodwill will take your old 65" projection TV (that we bought for our reward for finishing the basement by ourselves for 7 months) as long as it still works perfectly.  We had to rent a box truck this weekend and about killed ourselves (and the help of one neighbors, thanks!) getting that behemoth out of the basement and into the truck (Mr. FedEx would have been happy to see me breaking my back)...Thank G*d our Goodwill had a forklift to get it out of the truck...'biggest TV they've ever gotten'...glad we could halp set a new record...*sigh*...Men!...apparently, 'He who dies with the most/best TV's wins' (and isn't it amazing that the new LED TV cost about 1/2 what the projection one did 10 years ago!).

Christmas shopping is an 'almost OCD' person's nightmare.  I can't tell you the amount of time I've spent researching different items we're buying (Why does everyone on my list want electronics?  Don't they know I'm tech-challenged!)...First, I have to figure out which model we want (how do I know off-hand which camera, GPS, e-reader, TV, etc. is best?!)...then, I have to find the best price.  When it comes (thank you Mr. FedEx), I have to put it on my Christmas spreadsheet...yes, I'm serious...we spend an equal amount on each child and they will have the exact same number of gifts to open on Christmas morning...even if I have to stuff 10 things into one package (they'll have lots of other things to blame on me as an adult, but not that I wasn't fair).  I'm now sitting in a sea of boxes and bags...'I'm making a list, checking it twice...'.  Like I said...an 'almost OCD' nightmare (like Christmas isn't stressful enough...it's a wonder that I LOVE Christmas so much!).

Yep, I've also been creating the real magic...I've been buying surprises, making gifts, collecting 'thanks for the memories' items, and making all my magical plans.

Here are a few of this years 'Holiday Exchange' gifts/door sprays (cut up some garland's from JoAnn's and made bows/added bells...easy).








Oh, and I also found a few items for me along the way...since my Shoe Fairy never showed up (no magic Fairy Godmother for me apparently).  My feet are a full size less than pre-op...I NEED new shoes!)...here's the newest pair (I was looking for some heeled loafers all Fall...found these on the clearance shelf, and they'll do).










I'm off to my spreadsheet...the second snowfall is supposed to come this afternoon...fa, la, la, la...