Christmas is coming (even if it's a bit too soon!)

I'm so glad Christmas is coming and that there will be a break in sight. I'm having two weeks off which will be lovely and I hope to get heaps of scrapping done during that time as well as do some stuff with the kids and lately there hasn't been much time for that.

For once we had an empty weekend this one just gone so it was mainly taking the kids xmas shopping for the presents they were buying for others. I got a whole new beautiful supply of things from Cyberscraps including Foof-A-La's Red, Black and Cream range, the new Imaginisce Go For Baroque range and the new My Mind's Eye Magnolia sets and Bohemia Christmas. I've taken the chance yesterday at Cath's to scrap this year's Santa photo (and even had to bribe Lachie $5 to smile for it, the mercenary little bugger) with the Bohemia Christmas and completed the very first layout for our Get Real Challenge (see bottom of blog for info on how to get involved). Very happy with both but not happy about how long a layout seems to take me these days. Gone are the times of getting four or five layouts a day done as was normal when I started scrapping. Nowadays I'm doing lots of cutting out and craft knife work, lots of detail and all the fiddly stuff that draws it out to three and four hours a layout at least. I know for some that is still bugger all but it's becoming a new record for me and also becoming the norm.

This week is about finishing the typing workload and hoping that not many doctors are behind and wanting to get stuff dictated so they can go on leave with a clear conscience that they're caught up (even if it takes me days and days to convert it all to actual typed letters), finishing off any presents that I'm scrapping for people (still a few OTP things to be done) and checking my list again that I have gotten all my xmas stuff done. I have to go grocery shopping (urgh) which normally I absolutely love but this year it is just so busy that even stepping foot into the shopping centre makes me cringe. There is trolley range and everyone just seems miserable and frazzled this year. Normally that would happen tonight but Blayd has his black belt presentation tonight so it will have to wait until tomorrow probably (yes I know another day closer to Christmas so the shops will be that much busier in 24 hours from now but can't be helped).

I'd like to think I'll be here again before Christmas but who knows how busy life will get for anyone at this point in the year so if I'm not back, I hope anyone having a read has a lovely Christmas, a relaxing break and a fun New Year if you have anything planned. I think it will be a quiet one for us (as it has been for so many in the past few years) and to be honest, I don't even mind! After the rush of Christmas I don't think I'll have the motiviation to do anything special anyway so it will just be me and my Dougie on the couch with a glass of red I think, but don't they say you should see in the New Year how you want the year to be all the way through?