{It's the same shit, every year}

The time of year, when everyone joins in holiday cheer, to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. Holiday parties, good food, homemade goods and decor. (It's the same shit, every year)

I thought that when we picked out our Christmas tree, that I would start to feel the holiday cheer. (I'm trying) I'm doing the traditional things I do each year, snapping pictures of holiday stuff, keeping a December Daily Scrapbook, sending holiday cards, thinking of creative homemade gifts for friends and family. (It's the same shit, every year)

The closer that Christmas and the New Year gets, I want to resist it. It started back in October. I didn't want Thanksgiving to come, because it meant that Christmas was coming, then the New Year, then a long cold few months of winter. (It's the same shit, every year)

I'm just not feeling it. I feel like shit, I'm down and out. I could put all of the holiday decor away and never think twice about the holidays. I don't want to go Christmas shopping, I don't have any money anyways. (It's the same shit, every year)

It's hard to live with someone who LOVES CHRISTMAS and enjoys every minute of it. He can't step off his Holiday Cheer to see that I'm in turmoil, he calls me nuts. He can't keep it simple, he blows it into monstrous proportions. He tells me that "everyone tries to ruin his Christmas."

Pretty much every year after Nov. 1 comes, I travel down that deep dark road that only I understand. I put on that "other" face, the acceptable one.

OK, so now it's 11 days...

Finals are over, I survived this very long week. HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF! I already know that I have A's in two of my classes, and probably will get B's in the other two. I'm happy with that.

So now we have 11 days left, huh? Been thinking of doing a 12 days of Christmas book (no time to do a December Daily) and maybe just go with it and pack as much stuff in there as I can in 11 days...

Christmas tree up and decorated, will share pics later when I get some good night shots!

17 ...and that's probably what the temperature is too!

BURR! Chilly willy outside around these parts this morning! I don't mind it until about February!

OH, I did do my Christmas cards yesterday, made about 6 and gave up. I should have ordered them from MSPCA and saved myself the hassle...If I don't get my cards "made" before Thanksgiving, it turns into a fiasco for me.

ALSO, am looking for ideas of something to do for my staff this year for the holidays. For the last 3 Christmas's, I have made the clear glass ornaments and filled them with holiday paper that is all rolled up inside (you scrappers know what I'm talking about) and since most of these folks have been with me for the last 3 Christmas's, its time for a change. Any ideas on something cool, inexpensive to make for about 17 people. I do have 4 male staff that work for me, the rest are female. I try to avoid doing food such as cookies and baked goods.

Your thoughts???

18 to go and....YES! It snowed!

We got a little dusting of snow today, it started this morning and kept on going through the day. SO PRETTY! Some of its gone already. But hey, I won't complain!

I went to the grocery store today to pick up a few things and as I was leaving, I looked at the cool wreaths and table candle spreads and I took a picture of the one. It was so pretty!



It was fun to pick up my camera today and take a picture because I haven't touched my cameras in what seems like forever! I've snapped a few boring pics here and there over the last few months, but I've just been so overwhelmed by school, you can definitely see how these past 3 months have taken away what I love doing most; crafting, photography, scrapbooking, in my free time!

Felt like diggin' up an oldie today! LOL! ENJOY!

19...need more caffeine

Well, 19 days to go before Christmas! That's less than 3 weeks! Where does the time go anyways? We still don't have any lights up outside, Paul will surely freeze his ass off if he waits any later than today! My offer to help ran out last weekend.

This weekend, other than heading to class this morning and going to work this afternoon is dedicated to studying for 3 finals and finalizing an 8 page paper. I sat here last night and wrote 3 shorter papers due in the coming days. YIP YIP YIPPEE!

HAPPY SATURDAY!
XOXO

21 and having fun! BUT it's really 20 days to go!

I think I screwed up my dates as to "how many days are left before Christmas" - eh whatevah!

Still him-hawing over the Christmas cards, but thanks to AMY TANGERINE, her super cute card ideas over at the American Crafts blog was SUPER CUTE and I think I might lift her "mittens" card idea!




LOOKY! We're gettin' some snow! I didn't get a paper written yesterday, by golly, but I sure got me a new shovel and some ice melt to start the season off right!!!

OH and I will be done with school 12/13/08 - one week kids, one week! I can't wait to get a break! I will update all of my Vermont pics and LO's and other great stuff when I am done with finals, Mmmmkay?

22 to and fro...here we go, here we go.....

I think we're going to get our tree this weekend, which totally excites me! ALSO, we're scheduled to get some snow Sunday as well! I put in a call to Mother Nature and asked her to please start spreading the love over in Boston. You can thank me later! I needed something to lift my spirits, and snow will do! I'm so excited, I'm going to go buy a new shovel today! I have my winter boots out and ready, too!

I better fix my headlight and go get my safety inspection stickah TODAY!

23 ...

I'm so tired this morning, but I had to get up early because the insurance guy is coming to look at my car. A couple weeks ago, on a dark, rainy night, I was backing out of the driveway at work and kissed bumpers with my staff's car. About $1,300 in damages to her car - something which I couldn't afford out of my own pocket so I had to force myself to make a claim on my insurance which I'll pay for, for the next 6 years...Welcome to Massachusetts...where the surcharges are worse than the taxes!

THEN, last night, I had to go grocery shopping and the store is just down the road about 5 miles from where my group home is. I was headed back to the house and BAM! I smacked a deer, now mind you I'm in a HUGE Econoline 350 Ford van, so the impact wasn't so bad, but had I tried to avoid it (which there was NO WAY that could happen) I would have flipped that van and gotten seriously hurt. BUT, I'm ok and so is the van. That's the most important part.

So, there was a car behind me, TOO CLOSE behind me I will say and I hope that person is ok because I think that car hit it too. Not sure. When I called the police to tell them that there is a deer on the road the 911 operator said he had just got off the phone with the person behind me who also called about the same thing.

I was in total shock. I balled my eyes out, I was shaking, I felt so terrible. How in the hell do I live in places like Minnesota, North Dakota and Michigan and getting into your car everyday is like target practice going down the road and I gotta hit a damn deer in North Reading, Massachusetts?

I'm ok though, I really am and thanks for listening!!

24 to go!

One of my favorite things about December is...

SNOW!

I love snow, and as years go by, I only want it in December and January and by February and March, I'm sick of it because it's hard and dirty!

So far...NO SNOW in the forecast, although that could change, but nothing exciting is in the forecast at least for the next 5 days.

You know...

Christmas decorating is never really "done" until you have the tree and can put up the most beautiful part about the whole holiday season!

I did pull out the decor, decorated with the candles and knick-knack's we have saved over the years. I was surprised that I didn't buy what I had thought I bought last year, for tree decor this year. My thoughts were, that I bought all Martha Stewart baby blue and brown, when in fact, I purchased something completely different. Hmmmmph! The more I thought about it all, I realized that I didn't buy the blue/brown rather I later remembered standing in Kmart with Paul contemplating what to buy, and we agreed on the other decor. More on that when the tree is up in a couple weeks!

Each year, Paul and I HATE to decorate the front of the house with these so called "net lights" WE HATE THEM! They always blow out after a year and they are cantankerous to hang! We tried to put on our tough faces this morning and put them on the bushes and low and behold, we ripped every one of them off and threw them in the trash! SO, needless to say that decorating the front of the house did not commence this morning!

I've noticed less and less houses decorate as years go by. It's sad. I know people are all about the money right now, but Christmas isn't about what gift you can buy this person and that person. It's a time to celebrate with family and friends and not about what's in the package. Every year I spend less and less for gifts because the reason for the season to me is spending time with the people I love. I'd rather hang out playing games or watching a movie and making some popcorn, go out for lunch or breakfast, scrapbook with a friend or talk on the phone. The materialistic things don't matter.

I tell this story of 2 kids that I knew many years ago. I knew them from my car racing days, I was friends with their car racing parents and uncle's. After a few seasons, I got to know them pretty good. I remember asking them what they asked Santa for Christmas that year and they replied that they do not ask Santa to bring them gifts, rather they asked Santa to give a gift to a child that needed something more than they did. This came from a then 9 and 5 year old. Since then, and I bet that that has been since about 1998, I try to live those kids motto. Give to those in need. Well, for me, I donate all year long to the MSPCA, not just at Christmas. That's my "giving back" present. Paul and I also grabbed an Angel off the tree this year at his church, too. My staff and I also donated to gift cards for others that are less fortunate in our organization, too. To me, that's as good as it gets!

The festivities have begun!

Holiday cards are ready to go out, holiday decor is up (except the tree, because we are going to buy a real one this year - gotta wait!), holiday music has been playing all afternoon from the stereo, candles make the house smells like gingerbread maple and cinnamon!

Thankful Day 19

November 19 - Thankful for a few things today (and it's only 9:20am!)

• Um, HOW BOUT THEM PATS last night!?!?! Thanks to such an eventful game, I was able to get all of my Christmas Cards done last night while watching the game, can you believe it? Of course I paid dearly this morning, when I didn't roll out of bed until 9am!
• We might get some snow today! OK, just flurries, but still! I LOVE SNOW and am thankful for every day that we get it! (The bitching only commences around late March/April when I've usually had enough!)
• 3 days before I can eat like my FAVORITE food! Thanksgiving food! Turkey, stuffing, cranberries, potatoes, pumpkin pie, squash...YUM!

Thanks to Ali Edwards for posting this on her blog - I made one of these! (Am also making 2 more to go along with this.



Idea and directions came from Tia Bennett HERE!

***I also added a pic to my Nov. 17th post about going back to blonde!***