One More Week...

There's only 1 more week...until Christmas!  It's here!  Already?!  Yes, it's quickly approaching, so I hope you have all your shopping done and are planning your Christmas feast.  Are your Christmas cookies and other goodies all baked and ready to be consumed...or devoured in some cases?  Do you have all the ingredients for those special cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning?  What pies, cakes, candies, and other sweet treats are still left on the to-do list?  It's a special time of year, but a busy time of year that needs a bit of planning to get it all done.  And, you only have 1 more week to get it all done!  No pressure.

As you check off everything that is left on your to-do list, I hope you are enjoying (at least a little bit) each of your Christmas activities/tasks.  I hope you take in those special moments and cherish making new memories with your family and friends this holiday season!  It's still a magical time of year, no matter all the craziness going on in the world today.  So, just remember the reason for the season and believe in the goodness of your fellow man.  

I'm wishing you a productive, enjoyable, fun-filled and joyful week leading up to Jesus' birth.  May blessings of this magical season warm your hearts, lift up your spirits with hope, and surround you with love!!  Cheers to you and yours this holiday season!

Jolly Holidays!

Has it been a jolly holiday season for you so far?  If not, I hope it becomes one soon!  Some of us are immediate holly jolly little elves buzzing around as soon as Thanksgiving is over...or maybe even before Thanksgiving is over.  Others of us pace ourselves and slowly get into the holiday spirit as December rolls along.  And then there's those of us that have the grinch or scrooge mentality...on varying levels.  Where is your holiday meter set?

I'm definitely in the middle...slowly ramping up my holiday spirit as more and more festivities come up on the calendar.  Tree lightings, holiday craft fairs, Santa visits, parties, holiday shows and cartoons from our childhoods.  They all lead up to Christmas Eve service and dinner, and then Christmas morning of presents and stockings, followed by dinner with the entire family...at least in my family.  All the traditions that families hold dear are proudly embraced during the holiday season.  They make us feel young again, remembering all the holidays and traditions of our youth, and make us want to instill some of those traditions with our own families.  It's about the traditions and legacies of families passed down to one another from generation to generation.  That's what Christmas reminds us of each year.

So, whether you're fully enjoying the jolliness of the season or you're struggling to get through the holidays without a loved one for the first time or the twentieth time, may you feel the spirit and magic that the Christmas season brings...for those that believe!  Cheers to the jolliest season of all!

May blessings of the Christmas season fill you up this week and warm your heart!!

'Tis The Season

It's that holly jolly time of year!  Do you feel it?  Do you see it?  It's all around...everywhere you go!  Yes, the holiday season is in full force and there's no stopping it now!  I hope you are fully caffeinated and ready to go!

My Christmas cards are in the mail...December 1st, as always!  The tree is up and the house is as decorated as it's going to get this year.  A few more presents to buy, but otherwise I'm ready for this holiday season.  To kick it off, the latest Grinch movie today with all my nieces and nephews thanks to my mom.  She organized getting all the kiddos together to enjoy a fun holiday movie.  As I was watching the movie, I thought "wouldn't it be fun to live in Wooville?"  All the decorations were delightful!  It just all looks so simple and colorful on screen, doesn't it?

I hope the "merry" spirit of the season is invading your household...along with delicious baked goods (cookies, cookies and more cookies), festive decorations, joyful music, what the true reason for the season is and a heart full of giving.  Cheers to a bright and glorious holiday season!!

Blessings to you this first full week of December!

Shopping Frenzy!

Thanksgiving is barely over when the shopping frenzy begins!  It's that time of year again!  Let the shopping begin...proceed!  I'm sure many of you have already started your Christmas shopping...maybe on Thanksgiving Day, definitely on Black Friday, and probably some more on Small Business Saturday.  Next up...Cyber Monday!  The (seemingly) never-ending shopping marathon for many as the Christmas season kicks off.

Do you love the chaos of shopping on Thanksgiving night or first thing on Black Friday?  Or do you prefer to sit quietly in your pj's sipping the adult beverage of your choice while shopping online?  I've always done a little of both, but I think I'm finally done with going out Thanksgiving evening.  I dislike the rude behavior displayed by some just to grab a product off the shelf and would rather avoid the crowds of people shoving one another around.  It's just not a pleasant experience.

So, I'm halfway done with my Christmas shopping and almost done with my Christmas cards.  But, my cards will definitely be done and ready to be mailed out on December 1st!  It's just tradition (for me).

Yes, the holiday frenzy is definitely in full blast and it doesn't look to let up until the new year.  Sigh.  Are you all ready?  Are you enjoying it?  Hang in there if you're not.  And, try to find those moments that reflect the true spirit of the season.  Slow down, take a minute and enjoy those special moments!

May blessings fill up your holiday season with heart-warming new memories, special friends, family gatherings, and cheerful surprises!! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving this week!!  I hope you enjoy your time off to rest, catch up with family and friends, and of course...to eat!  And then...shop!  I'm not sure the holiday means as much as it once was...when we slowed down a bit more to really engage with and relate to our families, instead of rushing around trying to get to place to place with our heads in our phones.  Now, Christmas is more of the focus than Thanksgiving and it's not even Thanksgiving yet!  The city Christmas tree where I live was up even before Halloween!

What happened to enjoying one holiday at a time?  What happened to enjoying the season as it comes instead of rushing ahead?  Everything is just so sped up now and everyone's in a rush to get ahead of the game, get a jump on things before someone else or get the "prize" before everyone else.  We're missing the joy of each season...of each holiday.  We don't slow down to just breathe and take it all in.  We just keep looking ahead and ahead and even beyond that.  Sigh.

I hope you slow down enough to just take a moment to enjoy your surroundings...filled with loved ones, and maybe even the ones you don't, all the laughter, stories being told, new games played, songs being sung, kids playing, football being cheered or jeered, and yes, all the delectable food to be consumed!  Enjoy it all. Take in the moment...or a few.  Enjoy the day...with waistbands expanded.

And, then rush to the stores for all those Black Friday deals if you must. ;-)

Blessings to you and yours this Thanksgiving!  May blessings fill your days with love and laughter!!  Cheers!!!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thank you to ALL the veterans who have served and sacrificed for our country. Thank you for standing up and fighting for our freedoms, our safety and defending the honor of those that came before us. May their service never be taken for granted or forgotten! 

And, a special shout-out to my dad for serving in Vietnam where they did not return from war with a heroes welcome at the airport, or have parades in their honor, or receive newly built homes for the wounded, or simply receive the mental or physical care they deserved. They were the "forgotten" heroes that still suffer, sometimes in silence, even today. My dad is a hero. That's simply a fact. He earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star fighting for our country. God bless him!

Please thank a veteran, not only today, but any and every time you see or meet one. They have given more than you know so that you can live the life that you want day after day. Lets make sure we honor them all with the dignity and respect they all deserve.

Blessings to all the veterans that have served our country in the past, present and in the future!!!

Month of "Stuffing"

Are you a stuffing or dressing person?  That's always one of the debates around Thanksgiving.  I guess it depends on where you grew up and what your grandmother or aunts called it, right?  I'm not a big stuffing person myself, but I've seen a lot of good looking recipes for it.

However, I feel like this is the start of holiday eating...and eating...really, really good food!  Actually, at the moment I'm feeling absolutely stuffed.  No good holiday food yet, but just thinking about all the holiday foods...desserts, cookies, cakes, pies, turkey, potatoes, breads, etc....makes me stuffed!  And of course, right now it's all about pumpkin spice this and that!  Ahh, another reason I love the fall....except that I always gain 5 lbs over the holidays.  Ugh.  Again, feeling stuffed!

It's just a given that we all eat ourselves silly on Thanksgiving...until we're in a total food coma!  It's tradition, right?!  It's what we do!  Ohhh, the holidays...what a tasteful treat you are!  There's too much goodness all around.

So, if you're looking forward to getting your "stuffing" on, just remember to drink lots of water afterwards, along with protein, fiber and get your body moving to burn some of that goodness off your hips.  Cheers to all the holiday "stuffing" ahead!

Wishing you a blessed-filled first week of November!!