Getting Ready for the Holidays

I had early work today, around 9 AM. I'm not used to working that early on a Sunday. I just barely made it! It wasn't too bad when I got in. It did pick up a little later, but it was never overwhelming, and nothing like it usually is on a Sunday. For one thing, the Eagles played on Thanksgiving. Today is also a few days after Thanksgiving...and the day before the beginning of the month. A lot of people's minds are on everything but food! My relief was one of the college boys who is almost always on time. I got out the moment he came in.

Went straight home after work and spent the rest of the day cleaning, listening to Christmas music, and putting up the first Christmas decorations. First off was making the bed. I changed my Cabbage Patch Kids Dulcie and Carrie into their Christmas outfits. (Dulcie's is a Build-a-Bear dance outfit and is too big for her, but it will do for now.) I vacuumed all over the apartment, including under furniture I don't usually bother with. I do the most thorough cleaning I can for the holidays.

I spent more than an hour re-arranging my books. The adult paperbacks were moved to the two shelves under the Sailor Moon dolls. The hardbacks (adult and children's) replaced them in the larger IKEA shelf. My American Girl books and children's hardback picture books and treasuries were moved to the smaller IKEA shelf.

The Disney Toddler dolls went on the American Girls' dolls bed. The American Girl dolls went on the blue bench. The Toddler dolls cost me $25 each. While most of my AG dolls were presents or used, one was $115...and it would cost even more than that to replace them. I wanted them where their hair wouldn't get messed up by the blankets on my bed.

The Sailor Moon dolls stayed where they were. I thought of moving them to the IKEA shelves, but they just didn't fit. The Ever After High dolls will go on the top shelf in place of the Disney Toddlers. The Ever After High dolls are packaged with stands that will keep them from falling off the shelf. (The Sailor Moon dolls were too, but their stands don't hold them very well.)

When I finished all that, I dusted everything that I hadn't dusted under when I swapped it around. It was past 6:30 when I finally finished cleaning in my bedroom and was able to pull out the things in the Santa Bag. This is where I keep everything that has to be put up first - the mistletoe (which goes over the front door), the poinsettia placemats, the red and green coasters I crocheted a while back, the Nativity, and the garlands for the windows.

I couldn't figure out where to put a few of the garlands. I draped the garland that went on the baker's rack over the two small wooden shelves that hold the cassettes. The golden tinsel garland went around one of the DVD shelves.

The other garlands went in their regular places. The wooden walls in this apartment makes it really difficult to tack the garlands to the walls. They just don't want to go in! My fingers are still sore from pushing the tacks into the large, heavy garland that goes around the two large windows in the living room. The smaller garlands were mostly held on curtain rods with twist ties.

It was nearly 8 PM before I had a very quick meal of half of a grapefruit and the last of the leftover chicken burgers. I wanted to get this all done tonight because my good friend Amanda is visiting tomorrow from Vineland. We're going to go out to lunch, then come home, exchange gifts, and decorate my tree. We do this every year, and we both very much look forward to it.