I started Christmas shopping tonight. Aarrgghh!!! How can this be happening already? Went to Kohls since I had another 30% off coupon and couldn’t let that go to waste! Got 4 gifts, some Christmas shirts for Robin, some decorative candle holders for me (or maybe some for gifts), and (of course) a bunch of clothes for me! I just can’t resist the clothing deals at Kohls! I got two pairs of pants, 6 tops, 2 sweaters and a dressy dress for a total of $120! The pants and dress were the most expensive–and I probably could have waited and gotten a better deal if I shopped for the same things on Black Friday–but they had my size and they might not if I waited. I could have done some more Christmas shopping while there but, after 2 hours and a full day of work, I was just too exhausted to stay any longer.

Now I have to start making lists (and, of course, checking them twice!) for the shopping, decorating, wrapping, cleaning and cooking! I have no idea what I’m getting for most everyone. I spent time last night online looking at the Black Friday ads and am certainly tempted by a few of them. Just not sure that it’s worth it, though, to wait in line and battle the crowds and traffic. It certainly will be easier just to wait and shop online on “Cyber Monday.” Last year I did about 90% of my shopping online and it made for a far less stressful holiday season.

At least I now have plenty of clothes for winter. I needed a few more long sleeved tops and a couple of sweaters, so I have plenty of those after this trip. And, the dress will be perfect if I decide to go to the Dreamhost (Patrick’s work) Christmas party. We shall see.

Still debating whether to put up a Christmas tree this year. I think Nate and Hayes could handle it, but I’m just not sure about Sophie. She flies around the house and gets into every possible thing. I really don’t want to come home from work and find broken ornaments or, worse, a toppled tree. Again, we’ll have to see.

Sophie is unbelievably sweet, though. She does lots of cuddling with both me and the other two cats. She loves playing with Nate and he does pretty well with her until he gets tired of it. Hayes just slaps her if she bugs him! I let her go outside this past weekend and she absolutely loved being outdoors! We had no problems until she figured out how to get under the back fence and into the yard behind me. After tempting her with a branch with leaves on the end, I grabbed her and that was the end of her outdoor adventures for the weekend. She needs to be a bit older before I want her leaving the yard.

So now I have to go put away all my new clothes and relax a bit before heading off to bed. The bad part about after work shopping is losing out on my calming down time. At least work is relatively calm this week. Enjoying that right now since I know that won’t last for long!