Christmas - It's Almost Time!

'Twas two nights before Christmas and all through the house, every creature stirred, especially Einstein.

...what do you mean that doesn't rhyme?

After a crazy couple of days, Ryan and I finally head down to Fort Myers and Naples tomorrow morning. This will be my second Christmas down in their neck of the woods, as my parents aren't super into the holidays. My grandparents won't even be making their way down this Christmas, so I don't feel too guilty about it. Plus, Ryan's parents are like a second set of parents to me anyway, so I'm really looking forward to having five (5!!!) consecutive days off of work to bake yummy things, drink sangria, and truly unwind. 

As the countdown comes to a close, I'm scratching things off my "10 Days Until" to-do list, and feeling pretty good about my progress:

• Bake a couple variations of Christmas cookies. Bring a box down to Ryan's family for Christmas Eve, have a cookie or ten with a glass of champagne surrounded by friends at a holiday soiree. Whatever - I just want to bake cookies, dammit! And drink champagne. Obviously. Baked cookies for my work's Christmas cookie exchange! I tried to bake two different kinds, but one was an epic fail. Womp womp.
• Take a walk around a festive neighborhood or park. There are some gorgeous neighborhoods around where I live, and some streets are known for having tons of beautifully holiday decorated houses. I'd love to take Einstein for a walk with Ryan one night to enjoy all the lights. Or take a drive. I'm easy to please. While we didn't waltz around a neighborhood, we took a stroll through downtown St. Pete's set up over in Vinoy Park and it was magical. Maybe not magical, but I enjoyed myself. Check and check.
• Wrap my gifts early. I've been pretty good this year about buying my presents for everyone in advance, but I have a tendency to put off wrapping because I have "all this time" and then I end up with no time.  Pretty much done with this! Just a couple gifts left to wrap.
• Make holiday-inspired sangria. Enough said. HA, I actually forgot this was on my list. I will definitely be doing this on Christmas day. Cannot wait.
• Truly enjoy time with those around me. Put my iPhone/iPad/whatever down for once in my life and appreciate my friends and family that are choosing to spend their time with me.  <---Still in the process.

Happy holidays, friends! Hope it's merry and bright and filled with love. XO