NaNo done, Christmas not so much.

At last, NaNoWriMo winds to a close. I finished yesterday evening, and although the story itself is not complete, I verified my file. I am NOT making the same mistake as last year by putting it off until too late. I *did* finish last year, but when I got to the site to verify, it was just a bit too late. I think it was somewhere shortly after 1 AM… Anyway, I finished with nearly 2k to spare:

But that means Yule and Christmas are just around the corner… blah. I am thrilled with my current tree-plans though…*gigglesnort* We’re going with a “Nightmare Before Christmas” theme. We like it, but we’re weird that way. Besides, we’re pagan…technically we don’t need a tree, it’s… it’s an ingrained lesson in family tradition. I’ve been missing the traditional argument with my grandmother over the origins of the tree, so this little ‘rebellion’ is going to have to make do.

Shopping is getting finished tomorrow if I have to beat off the masses with large sticks and fangs. Yes, I threaten to bite in public. Embarrasses the girls to no end, but my brother (who is the one taking me on the road tomorrow) finds it amusing. He of the mohawk and piercings because he feels old… *rolls eyes*

In some ways, I’m glad the brothers are so much younger. Makes buying for them easy – and they already know anyway, so – booze. Just what every single guy needs over the Christmas holidays. Mom bitched about it, but I could have been getting them those movies, or subscriptions to those magazines. Booze in comparison is a good thing. Besides, they’ve got pretty much everything else. I’m considering something else as well, but we’ll see.

The girls have been difficult this year. They’re out of the toy phase (except silly mommy bought something that should really stay in the packaging as a collectible, but…teehee) and neither of them like getting clothes from other people. Naturally they’re getting undies and socks because I really, really, really enjoy the embarrassment factor. Really, really. Sick, sick, sick. ;) And I am not allowed to sing “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth”. I want to. I waaa-aaaant to. Evil bitch that I am, I want to wake Rhi up on Christmas morning, singing it in her ear. But I won’t. I’ll be good. They’re getting an electronic something each, possibly two electronic somethings. Then there’s some other stuff, but then it comes down to the Big Shared Gift. The Family Gift. At first we thought a new TV and unit, but the one we have is ‘good enough’ for the amount we watch. I thought new futons for each of them – then when they move out they’ve got couches, too, right? – but that seems…silly…for this year. Bah. Just, bah. Well, maybe a bit of Humbug too (ooo, I found a store that HAS the old Humbug candies..SOOOOO GOOOOOOOD!)

Grove-mates are even harder yet to buy for. Unfortunately, the one thing I wanted to get the new parents is out of print. So, back to the drawing board for them, sorta. I’m not sure if any of them read this *peers into the ether* maybe I shouldn’t be saying anything else… *squints* Hmmm….

And the present idea we came up with for the Goddess-daughter is priceless, both gifts. :) Both suit her personalities. Yes, there are two in that teeny little body – one Stewie, one princess.

MizStewie scares me. If this town goes Fwhoomp! in the middle of the night, I’ll just assume her bid for world domination has begun. When it comes down to BorgDude/Apex’s bid and MizStewie’s bid – I’m gonna have to follow become a Stewedierne instead of a BabyBorg – MizStewie is scarier than BorgDude.

My only real big concern is Christmas day. The girls (and I, I have to admit) don’t want to go to mother’s for the day. I mean – Really. Don’t. Want. Will I be able to grow a set of shiny brass balls and tell her that? We didn’t want to go last year either, with more reason, and still we went. This year, the pod is not an issue, but none of us want to go anyway. What it has come down to is this – the girls want to know why we can’t have an at-home Christmas like everyone else, and then the family get together when the rest of the family can be there. Instead of doing both. Care says: ‘specially since we don’t have a car. Rhi says: ‘specially since we’d be doing everything anyway. I says: ‘specially since we’d be trapped there, depending on someone else’s driving us. I HATE that. I’ll do it once, but do I have to do it two or three times? Seriously.

I’ve been out of her house, on my own, in one form or another, since I was almost 16. Completely out and gone when I was 18. Just once have I had Christmas day under my own roof. Is it selfish to want to have a quiet day with my own family? I don’t think so. We’ll see, I guess.

I think I even want to see if I can find a special present for someones, depending on how big the box is and stuff, cuz it’s a long way out to the East coast… *evilgiggle*

All I want for Christmas is a quiet day at home with the kids, turkey, and something I can’t have… but I think it might be coming closer. ;)