LET IT RAIN! LET IT RAIN! LET IT RAIN!

(<-- my favorite ornament ever!)

It's down to the wire - as it is every year. With 7 nieces and nephews I am scrambling to get all my Christmas shopping done. While I've done most of it online... it's hope against hope that it'll all arrive by December 24th. I have a couple of little things to get - stocking stuffers for the most part. 

I've sot of sabotaged myself by going out of town recently and wasting a whole weekend non-Christmas activity - but it was well worth it.  Also, since I am playing the role of "client" at my job I am treated to several lunches - dinners - cocktails - and gifts (I love being the client). So even though my office is strategically located near malls and stores which makes lunchtime theoretically a useful time... because of all the above activity, it has not been productive AT ALL. 

After a days of lunches, dinners, Secret Santa exchanges and a MASSIVE SUGAR INDULGENCE, baking and card-making/addressing... I was hoping to go home after work, put on my candy cane flannel pajamas and do NOTHING when my sister-in-law e-mails me at work "Can you do me a favor and pick me up something from the American Girl store?" ["American Girl" a cult whose members are 3-10 year old girls. Object: to purchase dolls that look like them, dress like them, and accessorize like them - all to the tune of 2nd mortgages by their parents] With plans every night through Christmas day, tears nearly filled my eyes as I pulled out into the rainy traffic. But as I pulled into the Grove parking structure... I noticed there were more cars going than coming. I found parking easily and made my way into an open-air mall that was nearly empty due to the rain - "I AM LEGEND!", I thought. In and out of the cult compound - I stood in no lines! In good time I make my way to Anthropolgie for a few stocking stuffers - also no lines as the clerks were begging to ring up my purchases. Christmas shopping was never better! 

(<--- The Grove; the mall everyone hates to love)

P.S. And God Bless Amazon.com