4th Quarter

Holy smokes! 4th quarter is here and I knew it was coming. I thought I had prepared myself to the best of my ability but wowzers! This thing is coming in like a tidal wave!

Just a recap, my husband and I own a small retail store. He is a manager of a larger retail (grocery) corporation and I run the store by myself. We have 2 soon to be 3 employees and they are wonderful. I don't have to work my tail off but I do get to handle the bulk of the stress of ownership pretty much all alone. My husband is wonderful. Listens to me vent, offers to help when he can but it is not the same.

For retail, Christmas marketing starts, let's see, about a month ago. We had a huge community event at the store called our Owl Appreciation Day and now we are having our seed sale. I just made my to do list and filled in my calendar from now until Christmas and just with work stuff alone I am so overwhelmed by the amount of stuff to do. I must make daily, weekly, and monthly to do list to stay organized and on top of everything.

These lists that seem never ending do not include family gatherings, parties, dinners with friends, dinner period, cleaning, cooking, birthdays. Oh yeah, and let's not forget on top of the typical holiday hustle and bustle I will be 7, 8, and 9 months pregnant. I also have lease negotiations, store renovations, and still that possibility of a 2nd store on the table. It is just insane.

I have been looking forward to the 4th quarter at our store since last Christmas. I just knew I would be more prepared and ready when the time came this time around. I guess God is having a good laugh at that one. Well, at least someone is. I am off to work today to get done today's to do list and since Mark is closing I just may get ahead of myself and at least prep my marketing materials for November.

Danielle