Last shopping day?

Today we went out to find our last few presents. It turned out to be harder than we imagined. When we started out, the traffic wasn't too bad and we only needed a few things. We stopped by Kohls first. I need a new pair of shoes and my mom wanted to look at the clothes. Neither of us could find what we wanted. Then, we went to Barnes and Noble. My mom tried to go in and choose a book for me, but in the end she asked me to go in and pick it out myself because she couldn't remember which books I already have. I picked The Complete Novels of Jane Austen. It is so neat -- an oversized copy, with original illustrations. By now, even driving around the parking lot was terrible, with everyone backing out of spaces at the same time and trying to drive down lanes. Next, we went to a store to try to find my dad his favorite cologne. They didn't have it, but my mom did find a pocket book she liked. When we left there, the traffic was even worse. It took so long to get home. Now tomorrow we will have to go to the mall to try to find shoes and cologne.

We are also going to make our Christmas menu tonight so we can get all our grocery shopping done tomorrow. On Christmas Eve, we have a little party with strawberry punch and snacks. For Christmas Day, we are going to have a prime rib roast and just a few things to go with it. There is only the four of us, so if we made lot of side dishes and desserts they would just go to waste. For Christmas Eve, I am going to make cookies of some kind (I'm thinking about oatmeal with toffee and dried cherries), fudge, and white chocolate-cherry candy. For Christmas dinner, I want to make an apple pie. If only I can get the crust right!! Anyway, that's how we'll probably spend tomorrow -- sitting at traffic lights and shopping in grocery stores. Maybe I'll get around to putting my gingerbread house together before Christmas is over! :)