Roundups
This should be a post about Christmas and how awesome it was. It was awesome, but this is not a post about Christmas because that would involve using my overtired, pneumonia-ridden brain to form coherent thoughts and the time to actually download my 394,594.4 Christmas photos. I’ll do that eventually. Hopefully while it’s still the year in which Christmas happened. Oops. That’s probably not going to happen, huh?
Instead here’s some easy reading for your holiday vacation pleasure. And because I’m supposed to share these posts here.
The Not-So-Affordable Care Act: So there was once a time when I was assigned to write an Op-Ed piece in opposition to a pro-Obamacare piece. I wrote it. Then I found out who the other one. Michelle Obama. Yikes.
Because better isn’t always better.
Do you have purple pee? I sure hope not. Or blue. Or green. Or orange. Ok, maybe orange is ok.
Still putting off that flu shot? You might be able to tell if the flu is on it’s way to you…
Go bloggers, go bloggers. Blogging may be a weird, odd world of random online words, but those words can actually make a difference in the real, off-screen world.
We’re becoming polar bears, not rabbits.
If it’s too good to be true, it’s not true. Sorry for bursting bubbles.
Your own personal support system. Literally.
I gots needles in my knees. Lots ‘o them. It hurt. Lots.
And know what’s pretty cool? I was on the ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas Blog twice- sharing 2 of my fave-o-fave recipes. Check ‘em out!
Ok, ok. I have one dose of adorable for you. It’d be a crime not to share.
See ya in 2014. Perhaps with more coherent thoughts. Perhaps not.
Holidays
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cottonelle.
I can think of a lot of things I’d like to have more of. Cookies. Dollar bills. Gluten-dairy-soy free foods. Time. Sunshine. Energy.
I say most of those things as I joke, but I’m not so un-serious about the time part. Time with my family to be specifically. Actually being a family, not doing 394 different things all at the same time. To spend the holidays soaking up the season, cherishing the twinkling Christmas lights and the smell of evergreen. Savoring each moment as my son experience’s the first Christmas where he’s aware something special is happening. To have my husband not traveling for work, missing bedtime stories and bath times. Wrapping presents for weeks. Burning frosted cranberry candles when it sun sets too early. A glass of wine at 5 when the kiddo’s asleep, sitting down to … nothing.
To revel in the moment of having nothing to do {what’s that?}. Not worry about cleaning up after a hurricane of a meal with toddler three times a day. Forget about the bills that need to be paid and paperwork I need to. Toss aside the research I need to do for an article and instead curl up with a good novel, drinking hot apple cider while the husband watches football.
Instead I’d like to spend that time watching my son’s face light up as he finds his stuffed elf hiding in a new place each morning. Laughing in awe as he counts all the snowmen on the Christmas tree and finds each ornament as we call them out. Big bird! Football! Rocking horse! Heart! Train! {He finds them all. I’m thinking about rearranging them and seeing what happens.}
Spending more moments watching him jump on my bed or in his crib and telling me what sounds all the different animals make. {Most of them roar, of course.}
If I had 25% more time to cram into the holiday season, it’d be right here in my living room, living for the moment. Having 25% more of whatever you desire this holiday season makes an impact. Be it time, money, peppermint bark, or toilet paper, more is better.
So in case what you desire more of this holiday season is in fact toilet paper {or money}, you’re in luck. Here’s a giveaway for a chance to win $500 from American Express DAILY between Dec 9 – 20h. And since more is better, the winner also gets $500 for a charity of their choice. Now that’s what the holidays are about.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cottonelle.
Holidays
You’d think after six years of marriage the husband and I would have this holiday traditions thing figured out.
Not so much.
For the first five years of marriage, it was just us. It didn’t really matter what we did. We mostly stuck with each of our “own” traditions when we were with our respective families; it made sense and it worked.
But now we have a little one to think about and the responsibility of the magic of Christmas falls on our shoulders. No pressure or anything.
Last year wasn’t a big deal. Our little guy wasn’t old enough to know anything was going on. He didn’t even get a kick out of tearing paper off of boxes.
This year? It’s going to be wonderful madness. But that also means it’s time to start our own little family’s traditions. While he may not remember every detail just quite yet, we will and it just feels like the right time to start.
I asked my friends and scoured the internet for other people’s traditions. Here are my favorite holiday traditions I found. I really like the “want, need, wear, read” idea along with
After writing that post I stumbled across another one I like – crepe-paper your kids’ doors so they have to bust out of their rooms. {I guess that slows them down at least another 30 seconds before they wake you up?}
Starting new traditions is no big deal. It’s when our traditions conflict with each other that it’s tough. Our biggest stumbling block is the husband’s “Santa” present was left unopened under the tree so it’s the first thing you see when you get up. Mine were always wrapped and kind of went for a “save the best for last” kind of thing.
My stocking was always left at the foot of my bed with things mostly wrapped, whereas the husbands was hanging on the mantle half-wrapped and half-unwrapped.
Sooo I don’t know what we’ll do yet… KB’s present might be a little awkward to wrap which isn’t good for my vote of wrapped Santa gifts. {I’m not even sure about the whole Santa thing anyways but that’s a different story.}
What are your favorite holiday traditions?
Thoughts
I feel a little bit like I’m emerging from a long hibernation.
I kicked off the holiday festivities with a doozy of a stomach bug that left me horizontal for 2 days and barely functioning for almost 7. Thank goodness for the extra hands on deck to help with the little one or I’d probably be in a coma by now.
As I slowly came back to life I realized all my websites had crashed {business & blogs}. Merry Christmas.
I know you were all at the edge of your seats waiting for it to come back up. {sarcasm}.
It took a week of pestering tech support over and over again to finally get things up and running again, minus my last few posts. Oy vey. Hopefully things are working now. Fingers crossed.
The break from the internet was rather welcome, although I also felt a little something missing. What is it about sharing random thoughts and happenings on the interwebs that’s so cathartic and satisfying? Gotta love the 21st century.
I’m not going to worry about playing catch up on the posts & things that got deleted or I skipped do to the plague, but here’s a couple end-of-year musings:
+ My blog used to be a little more personal, then it got not so personal, and now I’m thinking maybe going back to the old ways a little. It’s kind of boring just to write about food and food alone. I need to let go of the fact that every post doesn’t have to have a purpose that appeals to everybody.
+ I might sneak in a make-up Christmas post before the year ends, but we’ll see if I get around to downloading pictures by then.
+ Does anybody ever write a year-in-review post that is like “boy, 2012 really sucked”?
+ I am as sick of hearing about my knee not working as you are. I’m back in therapy for it. More about that some other time, but boy do I love my chiropractor.
+ Maybe one day I’ll be able to register for a race and actually run it. We were supposed to do the Lifetime Fitness Commitment 5K as a family on Tuesday, but they moved the start time up by 2 hours at the last minute I’m not sure we can get there in time. I refuse to wake the baby up any earlier than he already gets up on his own.
+ I’ve been playing with my new Polar FT40 Heart Rate Monitor and I’m in love.
+ We’ve almost survived our first year in parenting. Wow. A week and half to go. I’m so not ready for my baby to be a toddler.
+ I’ll end with just one cute Christmas picture, because how can I not?
Hope you all had happy holidays full of family, friends, and fun- minus the stomach flu!
Holidays
I suppose since I can officially see December on my calendar it’s time to embrace the holiday season. It took the course of several days, but our tree is finally up & decorated, and most of our household decorations are up.
I’ll be honest, not everything made the cut this year- chasing an almost-walking baby away from breakables and enticing, sparkly, pullable things just isn’t really my idea of holiday fun.
Nonetheless, it’s time for some of my tried & true holiday favorites to start making their appearances.
First up: Sugar Plum Spice Tea, aka holiday in a toasty warm mug. Forget Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride {I do not understand the widespread appeal of that nastiness}. Warning: not gluten free. Yup, glutened tea.
Next up: Evergreen room spray. The only thing that makes an artificial Christmas tree semi-acceptable. I spray it approximately 800 times a day.
Coffee & cute reusable mugs: ok, this isn’t seasonal…but necessary and eagerly welcomed on a daily basis.
Green smoothies: not seasonal either, but gotta counteract all those holiday treats with some power packed nutrients, right?
All things fleece. Blankets, pullovers, and of course, baby goodies. The best.
Notebooks/Journals. Because let’s be honest, my brain isn’t remembering anything on its own any time soon. And there’s LOTS to remember this holiday season!
What are your seasonal favorites?
