Christmas Exhaustion

Yes ho ho ho....! I love Christmas - I really do! I love carols on the radio and at the shopping mall, I love the decorations and parties and I love the opportunity to tell those I love that I do love them. Its wonderful! But...the crowds and the craziness just leave me so tired that I really do need the holiday that comes with Christmas. We live near the Grove in Los Angeles (aka shopping mecca for the stars and great browsing for everyone else) and I popped down there to grab a quick gift for my 10 year old niece. What I didn't know was that 250,000 other people were also there and car parks were at a premium. So what I thought was a well planned last minute pick up turned into an hour and a half of finding a car park, battling the crowds and then waiting in line for a cute t-shirt for a 10 year old! Geez, I hope she loves it! Luckily (and with some pride I add with brains), I did most of my shopping before the holiday craziness began. And extra lucky as this year Joey and I are buying our first home which settles right before Christmas which means that pre-shopping left us without too much insanity during this period. So for Christmas this year, I am getting a belt sander, a new water heater and some 120 sand paper. I never thought I would know what any of those were but am quickly becoming an expert. So stay tuned for what promises to be my most exhausting Christmas yet - with callouses and all! My word of advise - shop early so that when Santa brings you something BIG you don't have to spend your time fighting for car park!