How to avoid the holiday rush

I don't like crowds, traffic, or having to search for a parking space. Each year I do my best to avoid these situations by planning ahead as best as possible. If I could avoid all stores, grocery included, between mid-November and January 2nd, I would be a very happy girl. So in my attempt to get as far ahead of the game as possible, I made a list of all the upcoming events for which I would need to shop:

• Saturday 11/19: Local Adoptive Parents pot-luck bonfire evening.
• Sunday 11/20: Parents arrive for the week...need food in the house!
• Thanksgiving (at the home of our friends Al & Anita, but I am still making lots of yummy things to bring with us.)
• Day after Thanksgiving (because we are having turkey day at Al & Anita's, Eammon would miss out on his leftovers if we didn't recreate the meal!)
• July Dragonfly December Secret Pal Gift. Theme: Welcome to your forever family.
• August China Blossom December Secret Pal Gift. Theme: Welcome to your forever family.
• CCAI December Secret Pal Gift. Theme: Picture frames or albums.
• Miscellaneous holiday parties
• Wednesday 12/14: Neighborhood bunco group holiday party with cookie swap and Yankee swap.
• Christmas Dinner
• Christmas prezzies
• New Years Eve
• July Dragonfly January Secret Pal Gift. Theme: Chinese New Year.
• August China Blossom January Secret Pal Gift. Theme: Chinese New Year.
• CCAI January Secret Pal Gift. Theme: Chinese New Year.

I've already purchased all of my December and January Secret Pal gifts and they are ready to be posted. If I could, I would take them to the post office today, but that wouldn't be any fun. So, I will get them into the mail very early in December and then the January gifts will be mailed after the holiday rush so that shouldn't be too bad. I have finished all of my holiday gift shopping for everyone and in addition, I have an abundance of hostess gifts so I am set for almost any situation. Now no more department, specialty or mall stores!

On to the groceries. I realize that I can't do all the grocery shopping now, for the rest of the year, but I can get myself through the end of the month and get pantry items though the end of the year. So, yesterday started my two day shopping frenzy. I started at , list in hand and I got everything that I need, so I am done with that store until 2006. Then last night I made my weekly call to IKEA, to see if my desired desk, which has been out of stock since the store opened, was available. They told me that they had 2 in stock and could only put a hold on one until 9PM! Well, that was at 7:40PM, so I hopped into the jeep, raced downtown and bought my new computer desk! Now we shall see how long the boxes sit in the family room before we get the thing assembled. By 6:30 this morning, I was on my way to Super Walmart to do the majority of my grocery shopping, stocking up on all the pantry items I need through the end of the year! By 8:30am I was at BJ's getting the final big items that I needed...Another store off my list until next year. On Monday, I need to make a very quick run to Harry's to get the turkey, some specialty items, and fresh veggies. Then I am DONE!!!

Now I'm able to sit back, relax and enjoy my newest addiction, tea. A few weeks ago when the MTB meet for lunch, Sonia introduced me to a delightful herbal infusion. Magical Garden Rooibos, a blend of roses, lemon grass, botanicals and rose hips with Rooibos. This infusion is caffeine free and I can drink it even in the evening. While at the tea shop, I found a tea which is truly intoxicating. Winterdream, a blend of black tea, coconut, chocolate, mint and whole red peppercorns. This tea could be dangerous to my precarious sleep situation and I must limit myself to one cup per day, and only before 8am. Though after one cup...OK, as you can see in the picture, a large and quite adorable mug...I can still smell this tea and I crave it all day long. I think I'm addicted! So now I am battling two addictions, blog stalking and tea! Guess it could be worse.