OKAY. LET'S DO THIS. I need to pack.
Mark and I are going on an EXPEDITION.

December 24th:
4:30 AM - Mark wakes up and goes to work the day shift
AM - I wake up to buy last-minute gifts and to stop by Grimball's, where they apparently have a mock-up of my engagement ring ready for me to look at. I also buy brandy.
PM - I arrive at my parents' house
PM - I bake a cake
~7 PM - Mark arrives home, gets stuff together.
~7:30-8 PM - Mark arrives at my parents' house.
SLEEP

December 25th
11 AM (at the latest) - Oniffrey/Blake Christmas: Presents to/from my parents and Mark and me
12:30 PM - Maternal grandparents and aunt arrive: presents and "dinner"
PM - Quick jaunt to Chapel Hill and presents
PM after that - Back to my parents'
SLEEP

December 26th
AM - Drive to Surf City
? - FLODS
? - PRESENTS
PM - Move to empty house

December 27th
AM - Drive to Wilmington
? - Presents and flods and ornaments and hats?
PM - Drive home
PM after that - Die of exhaustion!



GOOD PLAN!

I am done with stores.
Forever.
AND EVER.

Crazy RoboSanta in the middle is our first ornament. The apple above it was my parents'.
Bonus adorable Christmas 1989 ornament to the left.

Mark and I did a crapload of shopping today, even though we were both basically too exhausted to move even when we first started... he worked all day and night, I was up coughing and had to rely on the black magic of vodka to finally get me to stop. Which means I fell asleep, but didn't sleep well. And neither of us slept long. Note to self: After purchasing new bottle of Nyquil, do not place it in a location where you cannot find it when you are ill and really desperately need it.

Ugh.

Anyway, I still have a ton of shopping left and it's driving me nuts. I have tomorrow and part of Friday; I'm driving to Pittsboro as usual to leave flowers for Eric that afternoon. Saturday morning we leave for Wilmington to begin CHRISTMAS... part one of... what... five, six, potentially?

Also, WHAT DO YOU BUY FOR CHILDREN??? Kate has the inside track here, I know. But my mom was all A+ on buying gifts for the kids (I helped!) for Christmas -- so I could be part of the "Bonnie, Travis, & Sarah" card. And once I turned 18 my mom would still help me get my shit together, and she'd pick out something genius or whatever.

BUT I DON'T HAVE KIDS AND I FEEL LIKE AN IDIOT. Like, Eva, I can totally chill and remember (mostly) the kind of stuff I wanted when I was six. I mean, things have changed since '93, but Eva's a chill kid. I see Harper once a year so I don't even know what he's doing. Like, I think he was walking around and saying words last year. I imagine things have progressed? I haven't seen the twins in a year either, but I'm trying to put myself in Matt & Kim's position -- I don't want to get the girls things that'll just crowd up the house, or that they won't use/play with/whatever... and then with baby "11/12" (as I am dubbing her), I don't want to make life any more complicated. And I feel like 11/12 (aka Matt & Kim) should get something for Christmas too.

Being one of the three cousins without children and then, of those three, being the only one not living with my parents has put me in a crappy position.

MY BRAIN.
MY WALLET.
MY WALLETTTTTTTT.
(and mark's)

I need to sleep.