Bah Humbug!

 As we enter into the holiday season I am both annoyed and anxious about the upcoming months. For those of you who know me the best you know that I am not a fan of the holidays.  From October 1st until January 1st I am a wreck. Its not just about the holidays though. Its also about the weather. I cannot stand being cold! I have a really hard time getting my body temperature back up after being cold. Not to mention my toes go numb at the little decrease in temperature. Winter makes me sad. I cannot help it but I am aware of it and I am trying to do things to counteract this.

Halloween has become somewhat of a burden. The kids wanted to dress up this year but I couldn't see spending $60 on costumes. So I decided to make Emma's costume. I had enough red felt that I was able to make her a little strawberry shaped dress. Jordan and Conors I had to buy but I saved a little money by waiting until closer to Halloween to get them. Then there's the act of getting candy. We haven't done the traditional trick or treat thing in years. Mainly because so many neighborhoods just don't do that anymore. Instead we opted to go to two trunk or treats. A trunk or treat is usually held at a church where people park their cars with the trunks open, dress up and hand out candy. The one at First Baptist Downtown was huge and had several jumping things and a pony ride along with the trunk or treat. The other one was a church by our house and was just candy but still fun for the kids. Mike carved the pumpkins this year like he always does and I actually decorated a lot this year. The nice thing about decorations is you can usually get them pretty cheap. I went to the everythings a dollar store and was able to get ample decorations for Halloween and fall.

The next "big" holiday is Thanksgiving. I used to be a huge fan of Thanksgiving but that was back when I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain a pound. It was also a time when my grandmother was still alive and we would all gather at her house and eat and socialize. Unfortunately she passed away 3 years ago and I have pretty cut off all of my moms side of the family so Thanksgiving has become nothing to me. I also have issues with why Thanksgiving is celebrated and how it came about, but that's for another blog. That being said last year was the first time in years I actually enjoyed Thanksgiving. Mike and I decided that we were going to stay home and cook our own turkey. I have a thing about turkey being cooked a certain way. I like it hot and juicy right out the oven. I cannot stand cold turkey unless its the next day and I'm eating left overs. So we bought a turkey and Mike cooked it the way he remembered it being cooked when he was growing up. Let me tell you it was amazing. So juicy and tasty. He did a tremendous job and I cant wait to do it again this year. The fact that I want to stay home and be with just my family is nothing personal against anyone in my or Mikes families. Its just that I want to start some traditions with my own family. I really liked it just being the 5 of us.

Of course the biggest holiday is fast approaching. Christmas. I have had issues with Christmas for years. Its so commercialized and for the most part a lot of people have forgotten why we celebrate Christmas at all. I have been quite a humbug for years but this year for my children's sake I am trying to put that aside and truly enjoy this Christmas. I have tons of decorations to put up and will be baking for the first time this year. I am slowly trying to turn our diet around to the GAPS diet but most likely wont go full force until after the first of next year. This will also be the first year that we have a real tree. I never had a real tree growing up so I don't really know what to do with it but luckily Mike did and he is really looking forward to having one. We also have a Christmas Eve tradition of going light looking and then coming home to read the story of Jesus and The Zombie Night Before Christmas. I even found a book with zombie themed Christmas carols I think will be fun to sing. We've decided to go light on the gifts for the kids this year. They have so much as it is that we thought the bonus money Mike gets could be better put into savings. Not to say our kids wont have a good Christmas just smaller.

All in all I am trying, for Mike and the kids, to get more into the spirit of the holidays. One thing for sure though I still WILL NOT be listening to Christmas music (unless forced) until AFTER Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to the new year with all its promise and mysteries and surprises in store. So here's to the holidays!