Tick Tick Tick

I have an announcement to make, I HAVE COMPLETED MY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! Phew, what a relief to finally be done. In the process I took back almost all the items on a 16 inch long receipt from a stop on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and I fussed and worried about every detail. Will it be liked? Is it cute? Is it too much money or is it too cheap? In the end it is all just a roll of the dice and you do the best you can. You just have to trust your gut and let it go.

Time is running out, there are still meals to prepare for, which require another trip (or two) to the grocery and I as I sit here smugly announcing that I am done shopping, I realize I have a whole section of my list that has been forgotten. AGH, I will be back at it today to finalize the last little bit of shopping I forgot and it will probably be smart of me to just keep my trap shut about whether I am done or not until the final gift has been opened!

I have not been as organized with my lists this year. With last minute tax items in Aunt Nina's estate that I was taking care of, the ongoing nonsense with my Mom's estate and of course Mark being laid off last Friday, my mind has not been fully on the Christmas game. I am working hard to pull it together in the final stretch, but all I keep hearing is Tick, Tick, Tick!

I hope that I can finish the wrapping that I have tonight and start focusing on the grocery portion of the holiday. We are planning to entertain a couple times over the holiday and our oldest Ashleigh is heading home tomorrow night, so having food in the house will be a high priority. There are our homemade cinnamon rolls to make for Christmas morning and dinner before church on Christmas Eve, the Christmas day snacks and the friends from New York who are here visiting family that are coming to our house on Monday. This year instead of the traditional trip we make to their families home they are coming here and we are very excited.

Odds are good that no one will go hungry here and no one is going to go without a holiday gift. Everyone will have a wonderful holiday and in the end all the last minute running around will be worth it. Today the clock says tick, tick, tick but Christmas morning is not far off now and I am looking forward to a nice relaxing day with no agenda other than enjoying time with my husband and kids. The biggest thing I must remember is to not over think any of this, just breath in and out and remain calm…yeah, that's it…CALM…TICK, TICK, TICK!