It's Christmas Time
I love Christmas. The Christmas carols, loosing small pieces of my sanity battling the holiday shopping crowds, stocking up on wrapping paper, gift bags and boxes, curling ribbon and more Christmas than is really necessary ... I love all of it.
One of my favourite things though is putting up the Christmas tree. Every year since I've been a kid my Mom has given me a "Daughter" Christmas decoration for the tree. I think I have enough at this point to do a small-ish tree and just use the daughter ornaments to decorate it. It's always really fun for me to unpack my boxes of holiday things and take out the decorations and look at all the years that I have them for. I've also started getting Disney ornaments from the Disney store - and they're glorious. Of course, you have to have The Nightmare Before Christmas on there (which I do), and I have Olaf from Frozen as well; Jessica and Roger Rabbit; Lock, Shock and Barrel; Frosty the Snowman; and the Mayor of Halloween Town. While it's completely unrelated to Disney I also need to get Ralphie and the leg lamp from A Christmas Story. I really wanted to get it for Daddy, but it was made clear to me in no uncertain terms that not only would it not end up on Moms tree, but I would also be the only would who find it hilarious.
Maybe my Mom and Ralphie's Mom used to be friends ...
This year I've taken more joy than usual in the holiday traditions. Last year, I was channeling the Grinch somethin' awful. When I moved to the city, I basically left all my Christmas things packed up. I was not joyous. I was not festive. I was pretty miserable. I didn't even want Mom to send me up her annual Christmas package - this year's just came in the mail and it was filled with all things amazing!! Thankfully, I wasn't left to my own devices last year and spent it in Kelowna with a girl friend. That was fun - we ate sushi, got a manicure, a foot bath ... and ate SO much good home cooked food. Srsly, this girl's Mom can cook. True, there were a few things that put a damper on our festivities so it just seems that now, upon reflection, last Christmas was a challenge for a lot of people.
God, thank goodness this year is almost over. While I am so proud of the things that I've managed to do this year, and the journey that I've been on ... I will be glad to say good bye to the last 12 months. True, there were some really great things that happened, I still feel that like some days I'm still processing a whole bunch of garbage - it's my own head trash, and I know that ... and while I am surrounded by a close circle of people who love me, there are times that I need some quiet reflection and be left alone either with my sorta-kinda-but-no-really-trusty laptop, or a note book and a pen and just spill out words.
Wow.
This got off topic rather quickly didn't it.
Right then ... back to Christmas!!!
There's also something else I do every year ... and that's buy flavored coffee. This year, I got Folger's French Vanilla. I try to get it to last all thru the holiday season and this year I'm doing particularly well since McDonald's is running a promotion where their coffee is only one.fricking.dollar. So, I hit the drive thru pretty much every morning on the way into work! Christmas morning, with a steaming mug of hot coffee, a big Christmas breakfast, lounging on the couch in Christmas pajamas's - it really is the little things. I love it. I'm so excited for Christmas this year - and it feels glorious.
I've baked my favorite cookies of all time using Mom's recipe as well - another Christmas activity you can set your watch by. I've made a couple of batches so far, but I need to make a few more, and I think I might change it just a wee bit and add Nutella to the center instead of the jam I have. I mean, who doesn't love Nutella!? And I can also promise you that at some point during my baking escapades that I will call Mom with some ridiculous question about just what in the hell am I supposed to be doing, she'll laugh at me 'cause I'm hopeless and then explain it all to me ... and then txt me all during the day looking for a status update and make sure I haven't burned the house down.
Ok. I'm not that hopeless when it comes to baking ... but I don't do it very often! I'm not totally incompetent but it's not unheard of for me to have to fuck up the recipe at least once or twice before I figure out the general idea of what I'm doing.
Alright internet ... it's late, and I still have some Christmas thing to do before bedtime and get the twelve layers of clothes ready tat I'll need to wear in the morning before heading to the office - THANK YOU POLAR VORTEX, YOU CAN GO HOME NOW - GAAAWD!!!!
I think Mother Nature's drunk ... somebody take her home and take care of her.
One of my favourite things though is putting up the Christmas tree. Every year since I've been a kid my Mom has given me a "Daughter" Christmas decoration for the tree. I think I have enough at this point to do a small-ish tree and just use the daughter ornaments to decorate it. It's always really fun for me to unpack my boxes of holiday things and take out the decorations and look at all the years that I have them for. I've also started getting Disney ornaments from the Disney store - and they're glorious. Of course, you have to have The Nightmare Before Christmas on there (which I do), and I have Olaf from Frozen as well; Jessica and Roger Rabbit; Lock, Shock and Barrel; Frosty the Snowman; and the Mayor of Halloween Town. While it's completely unrelated to Disney I also need to get Ralphie and the leg lamp from A Christmas Story. I really wanted to get it for Daddy, but it was made clear to me in no uncertain terms that not only would it not end up on Moms tree, but I would also be the only would who find it hilarious.
Maybe my Mom and Ralphie's Mom used to be friends ...
This year I've taken more joy than usual in the holiday traditions. Last year, I was channeling the Grinch somethin' awful. When I moved to the city, I basically left all my Christmas things packed up. I was not joyous. I was not festive. I was pretty miserable. I didn't even want Mom to send me up her annual Christmas package - this year's just came in the mail and it was filled with all things amazing!! Thankfully, I wasn't left to my own devices last year and spent it in Kelowna with a girl friend. That was fun - we ate sushi, got a manicure, a foot bath ... and ate SO much good home cooked food. Srsly, this girl's Mom can cook. True, there were a few things that put a damper on our festivities so it just seems that now, upon reflection, last Christmas was a challenge for a lot of people.
God, thank goodness this year is almost over. While I am so proud of the things that I've managed to do this year, and the journey that I've been on ... I will be glad to say good bye to the last 12 months. True, there were some really great things that happened, I still feel that like some days I'm still processing a whole bunch of garbage - it's my own head trash, and I know that ... and while I am surrounded by a close circle of people who love me, there are times that I need some quiet reflection and be left alone either with my sorta-kinda-but-no-really-trusty laptop, or a note book and a pen and just spill out words.
Wow.
This got off topic rather quickly didn't it.
Right then ... back to Christmas!!!
There's also something else I do every year ... and that's buy flavored coffee. This year, I got Folger's French Vanilla. I try to get it to last all thru the holiday season and this year I'm doing particularly well since McDonald's is running a promotion where their coffee is only one.fricking.dollar. So, I hit the drive thru pretty much every morning on the way into work! Christmas morning, with a steaming mug of hot coffee, a big Christmas breakfast, lounging on the couch in Christmas pajamas's - it really is the little things. I love it. I'm so excited for Christmas this year - and it feels glorious.
I've baked my favorite cookies of all time using Mom's recipe as well - another Christmas activity you can set your watch by. I've made a couple of batches so far, but I need to make a few more, and I think I might change it just a wee bit and add Nutella to the center instead of the jam I have. I mean, who doesn't love Nutella!? And I can also promise you that at some point during my baking escapades that I will call Mom with some ridiculous question about just what in the hell am I supposed to be doing, she'll laugh at me 'cause I'm hopeless and then explain it all to me ... and then txt me all during the day looking for a status update and make sure I haven't burned the house down.
Ok. I'm not that hopeless when it comes to baking ... but I don't do it very often! I'm not totally incompetent but it's not unheard of for me to have to fuck up the recipe at least once or twice before I figure out the general idea of what I'm doing.
Alright internet ... it's late, and I still have some Christmas thing to do before bedtime and get the twelve layers of clothes ready tat I'll need to wear in the morning before heading to the office - THANK YOU POLAR VORTEX, YOU CAN GO HOME NOW - GAAAWD!!!!
I think Mother Nature's drunk ... somebody take her home and take care of her.
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