I'm Stressed - Pure and Simply Stressed ARGH!

Well, it's looking like I'll be stuck in a write-off in LJ Idol. Two of us are currently tied for last place with 11 votes each. If I do end up in a write-off, although that's not the end of the world, it hits at a time when I'm totally crunched for time. It's a week before Thanksgiving, I have to determine what my After-Thanksgiving Day Sale will comprise of, and write the email for my customers, as well as any sales sheets my people will need to refer to at the cash register. Just kill me now! OY! Too much going on in my life right now. I'll have to see what happens when the poll closes early tonight, but it doesn't look positive. 

It's looking as though I'll be in a write-off with one other 
author. Hard to say for sure, the poll doesn't close until 
tonight, but that seems likely. I don't necessarily have a 
problem with that, except life is starting to seriously 
get in my way. THAT's a problem. *sigh*

I did convince DH to hire our accountant for a Federal form that we have to file before the end of the year. He was stressing over it, and I told him that if our accountant could do it (and it's a borderline accountant thing - not really money related), and if Paul was charging a reasonable amount, then we should hire him. After stressing out for another day or so, DH finally agreed with me. Our accountant is charging a flat $100 for the form, and that's SO worth it. I dropped my information at the accountant's office yesterday, and DH can drop his by today. Then, it's problem solved. 

There's a new form that businesses have to fill 
out and file with the US Treasury Department. The 
fines for doing it incorrectly are NOT fun, and 
DH and I were not 100% sure we could do it 
correctly. So, we're hired our accountant to 
do this for us. ARGH! 

I'm already stressing out about Thanksgiving. Not the preparation of the bird - I know how I like to do that. I'm stressing out over the next few weeks until we reach the end of the year. We've gotten our last shipments of product in and processed (although I'm sure I have a lot of things for price tags waiting at the shop for me today), but everything has to click. We need a good holiday season, and if this year's sales are any indication, that's going to be hard to achieve. It's been a slow year - one more reason why DH is resigned to leaving the business next year. Will we do it easily? Hell no. I'm sure my stress levels will be through the roof. But that's next year and I have to get through this year first. 

We're almost ready to move into our busiest time of 
the year, and we're nowhere close to being ready 
for it. Nope ... not anywhere close to being ready. 
STRESSED! 

I've received one of the two holiday cards I'm having made for me, but the other one is still pending. Once I get those, I can start working on putting addresses and postage onto them. This year's handmade card simply didn't work. I had absolutely NO time for personal projects at all. It was one crisis followed by another one throughout the year. So, I apologized to my recipients in general, and I ordered cards from two different custom vendors. I still wanted something uniquely me, and the first ones are pretty fun. But, sending holiday cards is just one more thing to manage between now and early December. Time is at a premium. I think I need to swim off some of this stress, so I'm off to the pool. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Be kind, and thanks for being there - every one of my readers is a lifeline for my sanity. *hugs* Slava Ukraini.