So despite my plan to lay about all day before my New Years festivities begin, I ended up going to the mall with a girlfriend this afternoon.

Lately I’ve been feeling stressed out about a lot of things, but I find when I am out at the mall, I don’t really have to buy anything, just the fact that I am there (and knowing that I can if I wanted to), I feel loads better. Although then there is the temptation to buy clothes and other such fun things. Much temptation.

I did try my hardest to resist – one of my resolutions for the new year I think should be to put away more money each month instead of spending it on frivolous things - but I ended up buying clothes anyway. Gotta love those End of Year sales.

And I was able to pick up the $50 that I won off my Christmas lottery ticket so I suppose it kind of cancels out the new shirts that I bought.

Well, I’d better be off to start cleaning up now. Again, have a happy New Years!

Today is the last day of the new year and my plan is to veg out and do absolutely nothing until my friends come over tonight. I’ve done enough “work” this past week that I can almost feel the stress I do during the work week - baking cookies for about a billion people, preparing for the many, many, courses of Christmas dinner (not to mention dessert), going out, making apperances at family functions, and the big Christmas dinner itself. And then were the many trips to the gym, in the days to follow. Hard work, these holidays.

I’m almost looking forward to going back to work. Wait no, no I’m not. Now I’m ready for a real holiday. Like maybe a cruise or trip down to Dominican or something. Or like sitting on my couch all day doing absolutely nothing. I’d better make the most of it!

At any rate, have a happy, stress-free New Years all!

Hope that everyone is having a safe, relaxing day filled with fun and family. And food. Lots and lots of food. We had a fantastic breakfast this morning; Mom has made it a tradition for the past few years to make what she calls ’breakfast strudels’. It’s scrambled egg, bacon (turkey bacon for our family though), and I think some green onion and other little tidbits for flavour wrapped up inside a phyllo pastry. Deelish. 

I also helped her put together what we had hoped would be a new Christmas breakfast tradition, Champagne and orange juice parfaits. Next time I think we will have to up the fruit and juice to alcohol ratio – they were a little too strong for most. We were all spooning away at our glasses for most of the morning while we opened gifts and watched the Little Brother rip open his many toys and videogames.

Now I’m starting to get hungry again… I know I am definitely looking forward to dinner (and dessert – need to eat up the rest of those cookies, and I made a carrot cake with tons of icing, yum) tonight! Merry Christmas!

Already my family has started pulling out the Christmas boxes from the storage room in our basement.

It has been a long-standing joke… er, I mean family traditionto be the first people on our block to have their festive decorations up… No, I kid. But we have always begun the decorating well before December. This year we’re actually running behind schedule because the Sister was away (and now that she is here, naturally she is still jet-lagged), and of course the decorating is a family event and therefore everyone must be involved. Even our cats play a part – they get to chase trailing garlands and chew on fuzzy decorations and climb the tree when it finally goes up.

As of now, basically all of my Christmas shopping is done! Now I can spend those first few weekends in December relaxing in the comfort of my own home, instead of at the mall with the masses.

All I have left to do is order a gift for my Mom online. And no, I’m not going to say what it is… just in case she reads this. (Shoo Mom, shoo!)