Prepared for abundance of the season

“You can’t predict, you can prepare.  Experience the power of making decisions based on security instead of worry, readiness instead of reluctance, abundance instead of lack.” – Kathy Gates

Tip # 16 - 7 Days until Christmas - A simple way for a stress free holiday is to prepare well in advance instead of reacting along the way.  As we wind down this final week, if you really want to be "prepared", let's look it as only 5 days left until Christmas, especially if some of your festivities start on Christmas Eve.  The week before Christmas has always been the "double-check" week for me.  7 Days before is really too early to shop for the perishable meal components.  The bills from the previous month's shopping trips start to come in and in our area, the property tax bills arrive too.  All I can say is, its a good thing everything is wrapped already, otherwise, I'd start taking things back!   On a positive note, getting all those bills the week before Christmas is a good thing.  It discourages me from wanting to go shopping for just one more thing!

In all seriousness, today is a good day to congratulate yourself on what you've already taken care of and how ready you are for the festivities to begin.  You can now plan what day you're going to clean the house and put out the final touches for the day.  You have time to make your final decisions about the meal and put it on a list to review as the week continues on.  You have time to check out the grocery store ads to see where the best prices are.  Take some breaks too!  Look around your house and appreciate all the decorations you've carefully arranged.  Enjoy the fact that you're ready for this week and now it is time to appreciate all of the abundance you have in your life.  Appreciate your family, appreciate your opportunities, appreciate your friends, appreciate the security in your life, and appreciate yourself for doing a great job keeping stress down this year!  Way to go!!!

Wishing you moments to enjoy the abundance in your life!  I feel truly blessed and I hope you do too!

Appreciate the beauty of the
ornaments - and all the
"angels" in your life!  Remember
to give them lots of hugs too!

Appreciate all the homemade things in your life -
they were all made with love!  (This is a picture
that my mom painted when I was my daughter's
age - she loved creating things to share with others)

Appreciate the moments you get to relax!
Don't forget to take a break now and then and
enjoy a cup of your favorite beverage!