It’s offical. Starting yesterday the Christmas Holiday Season begins at our house. This is my favorite time of the year.

Hands down.

Bar none.

The best.

Starting after Thanksgiving, we begin to decorate. A little at a time culminating in our Christmas tree which will go up in a few weeks. We didn’t do any shopping yesterday, but I did wrap some gifts we had purchased already….

They’re tucked away in the closet awaiting our tree. I’m so excited to have wrapped gifts on November 26th.

I put up some garland n the entertainment center, but I don’t like it. It’s too dangley. I will try to repurpose what I already have here and use the new stuff elsewhere. No pictures. It looks icky.

We also have snow. Probabl an inch (or more, but less than two). It will be gone tomorrow when it warms up and the rains come, but for now it feels good to h ave it there. A preview of what’s to come.

Today, I’m going to bake a couple of batches of cookies to toss into the freezer for Christmas and we’ll head to Joann’s to pick up a couple small canvases for a project (yes, holiday related, but not completely) that I’m planning.

I’m so excited that this time of year is here. :o)

I know it’s probably cliche by now, but I am Thankful…

–for my husband. My companion. My very best friend.
–my sweet little girl. Trying and funny. Beautiful and wild.
–my family. Crazy and otherwise.
–my mother’s health. Tenuous, but so much better than I had hoped for nearly a year ago. I know this journey is difficult on she and my father, but I hope they don’t lose sight of their own blessings. When they found Mom’s tumor, I feared for her life. We’ve been given the gift of a whole year I feared we wouldn’t, so it is a blessing and not even in disguise
–my health. I’ve been so worried and panicked over the last couple of months about my health. It turns out, I’m fine. Nothing that taking better care of myself won’t cure, so that’s what I’m doing.
–the fact that the windows have always been opened ever time we’ve needed it.

I’ll be going through my Christmas boxes and planning where my decor will go.

My husband will be standing on something rickety hanging lights form the eaves.

My daughter will be drunk with excitement at the Chrsitmas pretties coming out again.

Before then, I will clean.

Since Saturday I have
-Purged old set of Christmas stoneware to a new home
-Washed service for 8 plus serving pieces for use this holiday season
-cleaned off my counters and table. Clutter free all the way
-Scrubbed out the fridge until it shines, including getting rid of the colony of aged food who were considering a revolt
-Seriously scrubbed the kitchen floor, includinf vacuuming under the cabinets to get all the little extra crumbs sweeping always misses
-Cleaned the windows, inside and out
-Clean the lgiht hanging over the dining room table (Yuck!)
-Cleared and wiped off the laundry room appliances
-Cleaned the random socks out from in between the applicances (yuck!)
-Washed about a gazillion loads of laundry with probably two or three more to go
-Washed the throws I use in the living room
-steam cleaned my throw rub
-seriously scrubbed the living room floor
-Moved all of my doo dads off of the mantle, entertaiment center, book case and ice box and dusted
-Moved ice box and book case and speakers and removed several VERY large dust bunnies. Of the gross size
-totally scrubbed the living room floor including scrubbing the baseboards
-cleaned the patio door (sparkle, sparkle).
-Fabreezed the chairs and futon (no more dog smell)
-claned all of the fixtures in the powder room
-Scrubbed that sucker by hand
-cleared out the hall way
-organized the mess in the hall closet
-vacuummed and steamed clean the hallway.

This leaves me with the big bathroom and the master bedroom by the time Eric is home tomorrow.

Plus two pies and cranberry sauce.

I don’t enjoy cleaning, but I Do enjoy a cleaned space. Really a lot. Enough that you would think it would motivate me to clean, but, alas, it doesn’t.

• Order Chrsitmas Pajamas (Santa brins them to emily’s stocking the night of December 23 so she has lovely new jammmies to wear on Christmas Eve)
• Make and mail Christmas Cards by 12/15 (cards made, awaiting postage and mailing)
• Create to buy list (in progress)
• Shop
• Wrap gifts upon purchase
• Make gingerbread house
• Wrap Emily’s Christmas books for extra holiday reading fun
• Pre-bake Holiday cookies on fridays
• Make december menu and write out shopping lists
• PLan and order craft supplies for Emily
• Hang Outdoor lights (this weekend?)
• Sort Holiday decor
• Put up minor holiday items weekend after Thanksgiving
• Wash China DONE!
• Take holiday portraits of Emily
• PURchase items to donate to Toys for Tots

  I won’t list out my holiday cleaning list which I will be undertaking in the next week or so. It’s big, but, IMO, important. Everything will be cleaned to sparkling and purged so we can bring in the new.

  My to-buy list is about 1/2 done.

  My idea is to have all my work done by the Sunday prior to Christmas, giving me the entire week to bask in the holiday, something I’m very bad at.