the downside

If you travel a lot for work...

And if you travel a TON right before the holidays...

You might wake up on December 20 and have, say, five or six gifts purchased (three of them on your latest trip).

You might have a single stocking stuffer for each child.


And you might hyperventilate when you wake up on the 20th and realize that...

You need to do a LOT of shopping...

You are leaving town for your in-laws in three days...

You need not only to buy everything, but you need to wrap it...


Merry, merry, ho, ho, ho!


Amazingly, I got it done. And while there were some major battles with teenage girls during it all...it 'tis done! It was TOTAL power shopping.


We're off to Car-man's family's ranch Tuesday after work. Don't let the phrase "ranch" sound all romantic to your ears. Romantic, it ain't. Perhaps I shall bring back a photo of Car-man's teen bedroom. It hasn't been changed at all. Well, except they got rid of the waterbed mattress and dropped a regular mattress into the bed frame!


However, for the first time ever--in 21 years--we are staying in a hotel. Car-man's older sister's family is also going to be there and it would just be too full of people. Unfortunately, the nearest Hampton Inn (yup, that's the swanky place around those parts) is half an hour away. The ranch is very, very rural.


I shall return with stories. I always do.


I hope all your power shopping is going well and that the shopping gods have been with you.

The pic is of Kansas City's Christmastime home...the Country Club Plaza. I love it there at Christmas.