Sunday, December 02, 2007

No Place for a Procrastinator

I am a procrastinator. I don't mean to be, but I tend to put things off until they have to be done. Or I don't start getting ready until the last possible minute, when I can never really get myself and Ashlyn ready in that amount of time. Sometimes, I think I am doing really well, and then something happens to make me very behind in everything (like moving in October put me behind on getting everything ready for the baby.)

I thought that I was AHEAD on my Christmas shopping. I ordered Ashlyn's gift before Thanksgiving. But, then they wouldn't send it to an APO (even though their shipping policy said otherwise.) And neither would the next company that I tried. I decided to send it to Arkansas and have it mailed to me from there. Oh, wait, the company isn't even going to ship it for 2 to 3 weeks. It will barely arrive in Arkansas before Christmas! Santa cannot be late on presents. So, scratch that gift, Allen and I are going to Toys r' Us next week.

But for family, I only had a couple more things to buy this weekend, and it was just the first of December. That seemed great. Most of the boxes were packed to be mailed. Then I realized that I hadn't ordered Christmas cards yet, and they needed to be mailed right away, too. Agh. There isn't enough time for everything. But, those boxes will be shipped tomorrow.

7 comments:

The Dunns said...

Wow - you already have your family gifts bought and ready to mail?!? I don't even know what I'm getting family yet. (Any great ideas? If so, e-mail me!) My Christmas cards/letters usually end up being "Happy New Year Letters". But I'm going to try to get them done and mailed out this week.

Then there are the cookie packages I want to put together for the 40+ chaplains, chaplain assistants, and other people Steve works with.

Fortunately, Steve and I hit the "Black Friday" sales and got the boys birthday and Christmas presents taken care of. That's one nice thing about December birthdays -- the after-Thanksgiving sales. Ack -- what am I going to get Steve this year and how the %**&^% am I going to do it with a preschooler, toddler, and newborn in tow?!?

Angie, have you decided when to schedule the c-section? If you wait till after Christmas then you'll be able to take advantage of the after-Christmas sales, too. I think Daniel's birthday (Dec 29) is pretty good ... lots of toy sales and a tax break! ;)

Katie said...

You are definitely NOT a procrastinator! I haven't even started on the Christmas gifts yet! I am the most behind I've ever been. It is kind of stressing me out!

Anonymous said...

Angie....You inspire me! I created a blog spot b/c I enjoy reading yours. And, don't be so hard on yourself. I know the stress of getting gifts out when you live overseas...and you are way ahead of the game! BTW, our blog spot is as follows: http://weyhrauch.blogspot.com/2007/12/ben-10.html

Angie said...

I don't know when I will get to schedule the c-section really. Since each doctor I see says a different week, who knows? I would like for it to be after Christmas. It seems like a birthday right before Christmas would be less fun than one right after.

Yeah, Katie, but you can send stuff in a short amount of time or take them with you on your way home. I don't have those options.

Unknown said...

I'm about 100x's worse of a procrastinator than you. Really, I don't know a single person or family worse than me. I mean, just look at my house. Bills stacked in cracks and crevices (paid b/c we do automatic payment - but never get around to file) or piled on countertops or even my mantle. And, my laundry. The only laundry I take care of are my cloth diapers and only b/c I don't have to fold them (I throw them in a wicker basket) and only have to do them every 2-4 days. The rest of my laundry sits around until the spit-up or spilled juice on the clothes practically molds. Then, it sits, cleaned, in baskets until Matt throws a fit and does it himself. Talk about procrastination! Thank goodness I have a super inexpensive house-keeper who makes sure I start from clean once a week and folds clean clothes if I ask her! I procrastinate thinking everything will fold itself eventually! Or, my housekeeper will save me. Man, am I S@*%-out-of-luck at the next duty station!

I got lucky and did the Port Wine, Pottery, Olive Oil gifts this year. I bought in two afternoons, Matt wrapped and prepared for shipping. Had to get him practically drunk to do it...but, he did it...while I updated my blog. I just shipped today. Cards? Forgot all about them! I'll end up with something like, "Happy Winter from the McQuilton's" instead.

Angie said...

Oh Natalie, I do the same thing with laundry and bills. I'm not too too terrible about getting them clean, but folded and put away? That's a joke.

I guess I need you to send me some pics of Portuguese pottery. I may need some of that as well as the Italian and Polish.

And, the housekeeper? I want one starting in January. Allen has been wanting to hire someone since we got married. Before, it always offended me. I have no idea why now!

Unknown said...

Okay, I'm not AS bad as I used to be about dirty clothes sitting b/c I don't buy clothes like crazy as I did when Matt was deployed. So, they can't really sit or the girls would have nothing to wear. But, that doesn't mean I don't pick clean outfits out of the hamper! The only reason I procrastinate about washing clothes (putting them away - I have to find time to do it when the kids aren't around to want to help and, ultimately undo any progress I'm making - so I put it off waiting for a good time which never comes around), currently, is because I can't use my washer and dryer at the same time and it stresses me out. I don't know why though. It's really not a big deal.

GET A HOUSEKEEPER!!! Enough said. Hey, even though you'll soon have two kids to undo what she does faster than you can hand her her weekly check, at least you start from clean once a week and have her around when guests/company comes.