Deck the Halls with Unfiled Receipts?

My fingers are still crossed, but so far it looks like my house is sold - to the very first couple who viewed it, no less! I haven't heard back from my lawyer yet, so I'll be sticking with the "no news is good news" attitude. We picked a possession date in early January to allow for holiday delays at the land titles office. If all goes smoothly I should be cashing my cheque & heading west in just a few weeks. So ya'll can cut out this crappy weather I keep hearing about. Don't make me turn this car around!

With my birthday next week & Christmas shortly after, I'm disappointed that I feel very Grinch-ish this year. I love the holidays & would like nothing more than to spend my weekends putting up lights & baking shortbread cookies & delivering presents for Santa's Anonymous. To avoid the stressful side of the holidays, I usually like to have my xmas shopping done by December 1st. I stock up on all the basics too, like laundry detergent, pop & cereal so I don't have to brave the hordes of shoppers for more than brief grocery dashes to grab milk & fruit. But this year (& last?), I'm finding daily life & bills to be highly uncooperative when it comes to the holiday spirit. I don't have time to deck the halls because they're covered with piles of paperwork. My entire living room floor is littered with scraps of receipts that I'm sorting so I can file my business taxes. Why do I stuff everything into a box labelled "2005 - To Be Filed"? Why don't I set up a folder with all of the deduction categories & file them appropriately as I receive them? Because every single year I swear I'm going to do it better *next* year & by the time I've gotten the previous year sorted, we're already at the end of the current one. I've got SIXTEEN DAYS left to create a better filing system for 2006! And I'm still not finished 2005. Doh!

As much as I'd like to, I really can't afford to spend the entire weekend helping my aunt make perogies. I can't even think about what I'm doing for xmas yet because I'm still trying to figure out what else I need to get wrapped up before I move, like changing my health care provider, tracking down letters from every car insurance company I've had so I can present a driving history when I get my BC licence, cancelling my utilities & oh yeah - finding a place to live. With 2 dogs & no references, this may be tough. Craigslist has a whack of places; I'm sure once I can meet people in person it will be easier, but right now it feels daunting. I'm self-employed so I have no work references & I haven't rented since I was 19. Owning my little condo downtown & then this place have been the only way I've been able to save money & I'm proud that I was smart enough at 19 to pay down a mortgage instead of renting. Unfortunately being so smart means I have zero rental references.

I don't wanna be a Grinch, but I can't be Martha Stewart this year.

Stressing about how I *should* be mailing out xmas cards just makes me resentful, turning the whole holiday into a bunch of tasks that are piling up on my To Do list. Tonight I'm thinking some rum, store-bought fruitcake (gasp!) & doing my taxes by the glow of the Christmas tree lights will have to suffice. It may not look like the perfect holiday scene & my family may have to miss out on the thoughtful handmade gifts this year, but I need to give myself the gift of not trying to do too much.

If you've been feeling the same way, let's raise our mugs & toast to a stress-free season. Cheers!