I don't mind the hustle... it's the bustle that gets to me.

I am the Queen of Procrastination. Well... maybe I'm the Princess. (According to my first graders, princesses are cuter than queens. And it's a well-known fact that six-year-old girls are the leading authority on all things trendy.) There are nine days until Christmas, and just today I started my Christmas shopping. I have to admit... my heart just isn't in it this year. About a month ago, my family started asking me what I want for Christmas, and I wasn't able to give them much in the way of an answer. It was easier when I was a kid. Books, toys, clothes, tapes. Now that I'm older and have my own money, I buy what I want when I want it. I download my own music. I choose and buy my own clothes. So I couldn't think of anything I really needed.

I also have no idea what to get my family and friends. Today I hit Target, hoping to get some gift ideas - and maybe even a gift or two. I didn't do too badly, all things considered. I managed to get something for my mother, my father, my brother, a cousin, my work pollyanna, and my friend pollyanna. I'm not done, but at least it's a start. There are a few people I still need to buy for. I have friends who get me a present every year, and of course I have to reciprocate. I never know what to get them, so I have to go out and look for something that isn't too similar to something I got them in years past. And I try to get all creative. One year it was homemade baked goods, packaged neatly in a decorative basket. One year it was a movie theme - popcorn, giant candy bars, movie theater gift card. A nighttime theme - flannel pjs, mug, hot cocoa mix. (You know me and my themes.) It seems like gift cards are the "easy way out," but I feel like it's so impersonal. I like buying and wrapping gifts. I don't want to just shove a gift card into an envelope. I want ribbons and bows, gift tags and tissue paper. The only gift that was easy to buy was my pollyanna gift, because the person wrote down exactly what to buy. Done and done.

Screw it. If I can't find anything, everyone's just getting a bottle of booze and a hearty "Merry Christmas!"

Bah humbug :)