I mentioned Christmas in an earlier blog and it’s been on my mind lately since Sunday marks the beginning of November. It’s been a few years since I’ve celebrated. When I lived in Michigan, the tradition was to get together at my grandparent’s house with the aunts and uncles and cousins. In the more recent years, everyone was starting family’s of their own and getting everyone in one place was difficult.
After I moved to Oklahoma, holidays weren’t as big a deal for me. I spent some time with my grandmother and some aunts and uncles, but there was a huge difference in the social dynamic. I was used to the loud and sometimes dramatic Christmases I’d grown up with, so it was a little strange experiencing a quiet one where conversation was limited and everyone did their own thing (read, watched TV, solved Sudoku puzzles).
Last year, I didn’t celebrate Christmas. Jon and I didn’t buy presents for each other and he went to Illinois while I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day by myself. I have to admit though, that part of me really enjoyed that. There was no stress. It was quiet. I could do whatever I wanted. I made myself a nice meal, did some baking, and watched True Blood. It wasn’t a celebration per se, but it did me a world of good to experience what used to be my favorite holiday on my own for once.
This year, a lot has changed and I think I’m going to enjoy the season. With November only a few days away, I’m looking for decorations, and I’ve already bought two gifts for Jon. I want to get stockings, a cheap Xmas tree, and some decorations. I want to go crazy with baking, and I want to have a nice meal, and I want to listen to Christmas CDs, at least for a day or two before they become really annoying. I’m going to try to find some Christmas cards and send those out, even if I don’t get around to knitting everyone a scarf or other sort of gift. We might even spend it with some friends who have no plans to leave town for the holidays, and that would be fine with me.
There’s a Christmas craft show in a couple weeks I’m going to attend and I’ll be keeping my eye out for a tree. A friend sent me a bunch of Christmas cookie recipes and I’m going to start looking for candy recipes. I figure while I’ve been in a major baking mode, I might as well start making and freezing in preparation.
If anyone has any recipes or brilliant ideas for the holidays, please share them with me. I don’t want stress, but I do want to stay busy and have a season I can remember.
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Updates & Nostalgia
I’ve been pretty lazy as far as updating goes lately. I’ve been doing things, just haven’t felt like blogging. My good intentions for blogging about The Biggest Loser and Survivor have fallen to the wayside because to be honest, there’s nothing really to blog about. Survivor was pretty epic last week with Good Russell passing out, but overall, it’s been sort of a boring season for me. In fact, I’ll even go as far to stay that Evil Russell is the reason I’m still watching.
As for The Biggest Loser, I can’t stand Tracey and wish she’d get voted off. It’s the same thing every week, product placements, a lot of tears, and a good amount of drama which I’m pretty sure is producer induced. I heard that Jillian Michaels is getting her own show on NBC, and I’m kind of interested in that because she’s one of the few reasons that I’m still watching TBL.
As for the nostalgia reference in the title, I recently, I noticed how absolutely gorgeous this time of year is. Awhile ago (and maybe not in this blog) I noted that I missed the colors of Michigan because the colors here were so dull. That may have been true at the time, but over the past week the feel of autumn has definitely hit Manhattan, KS. It’s gorgeous to look at. Spring and summer have always been my favorite times of year, but I have a newfound love of the fall, despite the fact that it precedes my least favorite season.
I think part of fall’s appeal is in the nostalgia it brings. I have a lot of good memories from high school and college, and while I don’t consider myself one to “live in the past,” I do tend to remember the good times over the bad ones. High school was marching band and football games. College was fraternity parties, Halloween, and sorority rush and pledge. I even get sad remembering my year in Oklahoma City, because along with the change in weather, it signifies a really important transition in my life. I moved there right before fall and so got to experience two fall seasons before moving to Kansas. I still miss Oklahoma.
This year I’ve decided to look forward to the holidays again and autumn has become synonymous with the anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas. You would think it would be the other way around. With losing my grandmother this past year, I shouldn’t want to have anything to do with the holidays. At the same time, I almost feel like this signifies that I need to start my own traditions now, even if they’re small and don’t involve kids (since I don’t have any). Because of work, Jon will most likely not be traveling with the rest of his family this year, so it’ll be the two of us (plus a puppy and two snakes, but since none of them will be helping bake or decorate, they’re just minor players). I’m determined to make the most out of the season, and for me, this includes just taking a few seconds to appreciate the beauty of the season.
As for The Biggest Loser, I can’t stand Tracey and wish she’d get voted off. It’s the same thing every week, product placements, a lot of tears, and a good amount of drama which I’m pretty sure is producer induced. I heard that Jillian Michaels is getting her own show on NBC, and I’m kind of interested in that because she’s one of the few reasons that I’m still watching TBL.
As for the nostalgia reference in the title, I recently, I noticed how absolutely gorgeous this time of year is. Awhile ago (and maybe not in this blog) I noted that I missed the colors of Michigan because the colors here were so dull. That may have been true at the time, but over the past week the feel of autumn has definitely hit Manhattan, KS. It’s gorgeous to look at. Spring and summer have always been my favorite times of year, but I have a newfound love of the fall, despite the fact that it precedes my least favorite season.
I think part of fall’s appeal is in the nostalgia it brings. I have a lot of good memories from high school and college, and while I don’t consider myself one to “live in the past,” I do tend to remember the good times over the bad ones. High school was marching band and football games. College was fraternity parties, Halloween, and sorority rush and pledge. I even get sad remembering my year in Oklahoma City, because along with the change in weather, it signifies a really important transition in my life. I moved there right before fall and so got to experience two fall seasons before moving to Kansas. I still miss Oklahoma.
This year I’ve decided to look forward to the holidays again and autumn has become synonymous with the anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas. You would think it would be the other way around. With losing my grandmother this past year, I shouldn’t want to have anything to do with the holidays. At the same time, I almost feel like this signifies that I need to start my own traditions now, even if they’re small and don’t involve kids (since I don’t have any). Because of work, Jon will most likely not be traveling with the rest of his family this year, so it’ll be the two of us (plus a puppy and two snakes, but since none of them will be helping bake or decorate, they’re just minor players). I’m determined to make the most out of the season, and for me, this includes just taking a few seconds to appreciate the beauty of the season.
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