Tag Archives: Christmas

Christmas

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Christmas is a time when you get homesick – even when you’re home.
~Carol Nelson

Christmas was…  yeah.  It was great to spend time with my mom and brother (and my brother’s new girlfriend). We did what our family normally does for holidays.  The TV was off and we played games and cards all day.  It was great.

Great except the fact that Huzzy wasn’t there. I didn’t get a call from him, either. Now, I haven’t received a call for seven weeks from him, but I was hoping against hope that they’d let them call home for Christmas.  Oh well, they must be on a pretty important mission. I got an e-mail from him and that was the third best (behind having him with me and a phone call). It was good to get that.

I’m still doing the Couch to 5K program that I mentioned here. I’m supposed to start on Week 4.  That consists of 3 minutes running, 90 seconds of walking, 5 minutes of running, 2 1/2 minutes of walking, 3 minutes of running, 90 seconds of walking and then 5 minutes of running.  I know me. I know I could do the five minutes of running… but with only 90 seconds of walking before, I’m not sure I can do that.

I’m actually thinking I might just try to skip ahead to Week 5. Believe it or not, it actually looks easier. More running, but more walking time. The first workout of the week is 5 minutes of running followed by 3 minutes of walking. This is repeated for a total of three times.   The second workout is just 8 minutes of running, 5 minutes of walking then 8 minutes of running.  And the third workout is supposed to be a straight 20 minutes of running.

Yeah, I’ve known from the beginning that I was NOT going to do that third workout when it came time for it. I can’t go from running 8 minutes to running 20.  And the next week (Week 6) is easier than the 20 minutes. I’ll just repeat the 2nd workout again.

Of course, I screw everything up because I am doing this 9 week program in about four. You are supposed to run three times a week. I’m actually doing each “week” in four days (which is one more workout  in the “week” than required). By going to a new week every four days, I can cut the program down by almost half.

So yeah, here I go. Week 4. Or Week 5 if I can do it!

A Questionnaire

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Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.
~E.L. Doctorow

I stole this from Ashley over at Daddy’s Duty (and she stole it from another blogger named Ashley!).  I haven’t done one of these in a while.

Are you a Black Friday shopper?
Oh heck no. You couldn’t pay me enough to go out in that mayhem. I hate shopping (yes, I’m anti-girl in that respect) but I also hate crowds.  Mega shopping put together with mega crowds and you have Black Friday… mega unappealing to me!

When do you put up your tree?
This year, I have no tree to put up. Rather, I do have a tree, it’s just stuck in a storage shed 2,300 miles away from where I am.  But normally I put it up the weekend after Thanksgiving or the first weekend of December. It’s a fake one… that way I don’t have to deal with the tender soles of my feet finding needles the other 11 months of the year. That and I feel bad putting a tree up for a month that took years to grow.

Do you travel at Christmas or stay home?
Well, I’ve always traveled in the past back to my mom’s house. Which I’ll be doing this year. But in the future, I’ll be staying in Washington and they’ll come and visit me :)

What is your favorite Christmas movie of all time?
I love, love, love White Christmas. I like traditional Christmas songs sung the traditional way. It’s not Christmas without watching White Christmas.

Do you do your own Christmas baking? What’s your favorite treat?
Oh my. I’m normally a Christmas cookie fiend. I generally make about 23 dozen cookies (you REALLY want to be my friend/coworker during the holidays!). I do about  a couple different varieties. I do Sour Cream cutout cookies, Cathedral Cookies (see my Mmm… Monday post this week!), No Bake Cookies and Jam Oatmeal Bars (lately with my own homemade raspberry jam!). My favorite are all of them! Though I think the Sour Cream are special just because I won “Best Cookie in the Fair” when I was 10 or 11 for them.  That and they are just yummy without being overwhelming.  Unfortunately, all my cookies sheets, spatulas, mixer and decorating stuff is… where else? In a storage unit in Washington. So no Christmas cookies for me this year.

Real or Fake Tree?
Fake. For reasons stated above.

What day (as a mom) does the actual panic set in to get it all done?
Well, I’m not a mom. But I generally panic the weekend before Christmas because I usually have a lot of baking left to do!

Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve?
Eh, sometimes. Not usually. I like seeing a Christmas tree with packages all around it.

What Christmas craft do you like the best?
Um, I don’t do any. I’m lucky that I got all my cards out this year!

Christmas music… yes or no? If yes, what is your favorite song?
If you know me, then you know Christmas is totally my favorite season. That’s why it’s killing me not to be able to get “into” the season this year. So yes, Christmas songs are a must. I love all songs. But “Carol of the Bells” is one of my ultimate favorites, as is “White Christmas” and this year, “I’ll be Home for Christmas” is a favorite. Even though it makes me ball. Like a little school girl getting her pigtails dipped in ink.

When do you plan to finish all your Christmas shopping?
Honestly? After Christmas. Huzzy won’t be back until after Christmas and I don’t want to buy things ahead of time just in case I move before he gets back and have to haul them cross-country. On second thought, maybe I should buy them so something happens and then I DO have to haul them cross-country. ‘Cause I’m tired of the “in limbo” life.

When do you take your tree down?
Generally on New Year’s Day.

Worst gift you ever received?
The Christmas of 2004 was the first one where my parents were divorced. So my dad had to buy Christmas gifts for my brother and I on his own… he’d never had to do that before.  So he got all of us (including my mom… they were on good terms and actually still living together while her house was being finished) a calendar. From the local Chinese takeout place. That they gave him for free. I thought it was the silliest thing and rolled my eyes at it. Six weeks later, I found my dad dead outside of a heart attack.  That calendar is packed in the storage unit in Washington. It is a permanent piece of decoration in my life (to be fair, it wasn’t a normal calendar… it was on a scroll and IS kinda cool).

When do you start shopping for the holidays?
Eh, I generally buy my first gifts in November… and then procrastinate with the rest!

Favorite thing to eat during the holidays?
All my Christmas cookies!

Lights on the tree?
Absolutely! But I do white lights. And gold trim.

Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angel. With a pink dress. Holding a white light surrounded by gold trim. LOVE IT.

Favorite ornament theme or color?
The majority of our ornaments are really mine. My grandma used to make them for me so they have a lot of meaning. I started buying Huzzy a Hallmark special edition Harley motorcycle ornament each year. Those are his :)

What gift are you hoping to receive this year?
Nothing. My mom already gave Huzzy and I our gifts back in August. We went whitewater rafting!  Other than that, I’m not too into the holiday this year (which is saying a lot for me!).


Yay!

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Winter either bites with its teeth or lashes with its tail.
~Proverb

The yay was both sarcastic and heartfelt at the same time.

The truthful yay is that I finally found and purchased gifts for Allison at I Heart Change. I can’t say anything on here until she receives and opens the gift but let’s just say that Michigan has some wonderful things to offer.

Okay, the sarcastic yay.  Winter is biting with its teeth and lashing with its tail. We are under a blizzard warning. We usually only get a couple of those a year. Winds are supposed to increase to 45-50MPH by this afternoon. That’s on top of the 6″-10″ of snow that we are supposed to get with it.  The National Weather Service is telling everyone to hurry up and complete all travel as soon as possible and not to travel tonight and not at all tomorrow. They are predicting widespread power outages due to the high winds and wet, heavy snow.  Hey, at least I have a fireplace (that I’ve not used in the four years I’ve been in this house).

This isn’t fair… I’m supposed to be in Washington where the “worst” winter weather is a few inches of snow.   I’m going to go hide in a hole right now.

I Swear I’m in the Movie “Groundhog Day”

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Winter is nature’s way of saying, “Up yours.”
~Robert Byrne

It’s winter. It may not be “winter” for another 18 days, but when “significant Lake Effect Snow” is forecast, it’s winter. And that makes me very sad. You see, I thought I’d be out of here by then and off to my new life with Huzzy in Washington. Heck, I figured I’d be out of here by the start of fall. Yeah, THAT didn’t happen.

—-> insert: Oh good gosh, I just looked outside and can’t see the freakin’ road. How fun is that. Blech.  HUGE snowflakes.

So here I am, starting a holiday season and winter without Huzzy. And without a heavy winter coat. And snow boots. And my nice leather gloves. And a snow shovel. Yep, all of those are in the storage shed in Washington. Lovely. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if I was in Washington or not, Huzzy would be gone. But I hate having to buy stuff that I’m just going to have to move. Stuff that I’ve already purchased. It really seems like a waste of money.

Guess what else is in the storage unit in Washington?  All my Christmas decorations. So me, who loves the Christmas season like none other, is stuck in a barren house (woo-hoo for the TV, couch and mattress on the floor!) watching everyone else get ready for the season to spend with family and not only am I missing my Huzzy, but I’m also not able feel like it’s Christmas since there are no decorations. I can’t even bake the 23 dozen cookies that I normally bake. I have 1/2 cookie sheet. Uh, yeah, that’s not going to work for that many cookies!  Besides… guess where my mixing bowels and Kitchen Aid mixer are?  Mmm-hmm. Storage.  At least they are enjoying a nice, climate-controlled existence and are nice and toasty. Which reminds me. I need to pay the storage unit fee by January 1st (since we paid 2 months up front to get a month free).

Christmas is a little… not there for me this year (except for the awesomely fun snow that WordPress allows on blogs for free during time of year.. yay!). But I am participating in the (not-so) Secret Santa exchange that Allison at I Heart Change put together and that should be tons of fun. It’s (not-so) secret because everything is posted on her blog.  Funnily enough, I got Allison.  She’s a new mom and an Army wife.  The gift is $10 or less…  now what the heck should I get?

I seriously feel like I’m in the movie “Groundhog Day.”  Okay, maybe I’ve never seen that movie, but I feel like what the movie sounds like. I just get up, let the dogs out, get in the shower, feed the dogs, let the dogs out, go to work, come home, let the dogs out, feed the dogs, let the dogs out and then go to bed. And then get up and do it all over again. Huzzy and I don’t have the money for me to do anything else or go out or do anything fun like that. Well, we do, but if I have to move and we lose one income, we need to have a bit in savings to keep us going.

I do have a feeling that these next few days I’m going to WISH it was the same-old, same-old. You see, back when I went to Newport to do the week of active duty at the beginning of November, I had a problem finding someone to take the greyhounds. My mom realized she just couldn’t do it.  So I found someone to take them. In exchange, I get to watch her monsters sweeties for 3 1/2 days. And yes, I realize I have to watch them less, but my dogs aren’t problems. Hers have to be in crates whenever you are out of the house.

Why you might ask? Because one will chew up the entire house if left out and the other will pee all over the house.  Oh, and guess what! The chewer has horrible separation anxiety. And one of them need daily, or twice-daily, pills. Oh, and they are poo eaters.  Oh, and they like to kill cats… which means Jake and Sadie get to spend some quality time locked in a room together.  But wait… one of them is a severe Alpha dog.  She likes to boss my Lulu around.  Hey, did you count that? That’s FIVE dogs living in a 1080 sq ft house.  Minus the cat room. And the spare room that has my stuff to take to WA. That leaves… oh, probably 700 sq ft. And this house can’t be shown to prospective buyers while they are there (’cause I don’t have a car big enough to get all five out!).

Can I go back to Groundhog Day?