Where did the year go?

While I wasn't looking, December came along. I was working and working and working and working, and suddenly, without me noticing, it was Thanksgiving. And because Thanksgiving was so late this year, four days later, it was December! And three weeks from today, it will be Christmas! One week after that? 2009! Where is the time going?

For someone who had not yet started preparing for Christmas before last week, I am doing surprisingly well. I have bought all the toys that I need to buy, except for one purchase for the Giving Tree that we are doing at the store this year. I have my sister, my mother, my grandmother, and my best friends covered. Bill and I are buying a big family gift this year, a new TV for our living room, so we aren't really exchanging anything else. And I have also got my sister's boyfriend taken care of, with a gift that I am really excited about! I still have to shop for my dad and my stepsons, as well as pick up a few things for the dog, but I am in good shape! And I have been able to do all my Christmas shopping with cash! Yay, me!

One important component in these Christmas preparations was my Black Friday shopping. I am not a Black Friday shopper. Because I work retail, I am instead a Black Friday worker, and I was working from 7 AM to noon at Bath and Body Works on Friday. However, I decided this year that I would bite the bullet, and that is why I arrived at Kohl's at 5:45 AM on Black Friday, ready to grab up some deals. I shopped for 15 minutes...and then I stood in the longest line I have ever seen for about 40 minutes, getting to know my other shoppers, texting updates to Twitter and Facebook, and trying to maintain my sense of humor. It was awful. It caused me to say that I would never go shopping on Black Friday again.

And that was a lie.

See, after I was done at the store at noon, I couldn't help but think of all the deals I probably missed because I was so worried about the line making me late for work. So I went back to Kohl's. This time, I only waited in line for about 15 minutes, and I was able to complete a more leisurely stroll through the store. There were definitely some power shoppers there (I heard one trio of woman talking about how they had been shopping since midnight the night before because they had hit the outlets at midnight and then been in the stores since they started opening at 4 AM...it was now after 1 PM, so they had been shopping for about 13 hours!), but the crowds were less, and I was happy that I decided to brave it again.

Now, I am just doing the here-and-there method of shopping. I did some on-line shopping. I stopped at K-mart yesterday. I was back at Kohl's last night to use up my Kohl's Cash. I have to head to mall at some point to stop at American Eagle. Bill and I have to spend some time in Sears or Best Buy or Circuit City or wherever we buy this TV. I have to hit the pet store. And I still have to find something for my dad.

All in all, when I wasn't really paying attention, I managed to take care of most of what I needed to do to prepare for Christmas. Sure, our tree isn't up yet, but that is mostly Bill's job. He goes and cuts it down and gets it up, and then we decorate together. And any baking that I am going to do hasn't been planned yet. But I don't usually do much, and it shouldn't take too long. For now, I am going to sit back and relax and watching everyone else in their frantic attempts to get their preparations done. I will be the one with her feet up and the glass of egg nog in her hand. Please don't throw anything at me...