Christmas Card Junkie

Christmas is only TWO weeks away...! In some ways, that's still a long time of Christmassing considering there are four weeks of Advent.
(Of course, if you, like me, acknowledge the Epiphany, then Christmas actually extends past the 25th--Yay!) 

Everyone has their traditions and small things that make the season special and magical... The things that make it Christmas. For some people it begins with decorating: you do it a certain day... with certain people, in a certain order...

Or maybe it's the baking and cooking...
We always made fudge and cookies growing up. I remember getting older and life was busy with basketball schedules through the holiday season and sometimes we had to forego the fudge and it felt sinful!
(Reality: Nobody really needs that extra fudge!)

Giving back is a great tradition...
Whether it be specific events you partake in or just shopping that is donated or given away.

Shopping itself can have it's own special tradition.
For some that is Black Friday... Others it can be a weekend outing with friends.

Some traditions include hosting or heading to gatherings. 

I love it all... BUT...
...One of MY Christmas "things" that is part of making the season feel magical is sending Christmas cards.

I remember piles of envelopes and cards sitting on my mom's table as she worked through sending them out and I loved checking the mail to see how many cards we'd received each day. I usually tried to be the one to open them all and then help hang them in doorways as added decor. 

I remember mom once telling me she used to send some obscene number of cards and I thought it was ridiculous... But now I get it. I hate to leave anyone off my list. Simply my family and Mingus's family alone adds up... And that doesn't even begin on the list of close friends I want to be in touch with... 

And by 'close friends' this also includes friends I still hold dear to my heart even if I didn't see them once throughout the year.

And honestly, I don't just jump on the snail-mail band wagon for Christmas. (But I'm 100% OK with anyone who does!) I just sincerely love sending cards and mail. I've finally accepted that Mingus prefers not to sign every birthday and anniversary card I put in the mail, so I've let him off the hook and usually add his name along with the kids, but I do love to send birthday cards throughout the year as well as anniversary cards. I'm not the best at getting them there on time, but I try to remember nonetheless.

My Mom has always been an avid card-sender and it's obvious she learned from my Grandma, because all of her children have always been great with birthday and Christmas cards. Mom sends cards to all people for all reasons, so I grew up thinking it was only natural.

My love of snail mail came early when I was matched with a California Pen Pal through American Girl when I was in 6th grade. We probably corresponded longer than most matches. I think it was high school before our notes began to dwindle but even then we didn't forget. I am sure it had something to do with the fact we both actually enjoyed writing (and still do). I think we eventually swapped email addresses, but, believe it or not, we are still connected thanks to the social media world. We've never met face-to-face, but I think that day is still destined down the road.

Sorry for the side story... The point: I have always loved sending real mail.

Last year for Lent I chose to send daily mail. It was a great thing and I may do it again this year.

I can't remember when I started sending my own Christmas cards. I always did cards even in middle and high school to friends. One year shortly after college my roommates and I even set up a "family photo" and printed it for our friends that mailed out.

In some ways I think it's ridiculous the number of people on my list, but the truth is I love it. I usually don't get every person on that list but I sure try. I know all the rave is to have "photo cards" printed and I do love to receive them... But I'm a little old fashion. Maybe it's the old lady name, "Rita." I buy real cards and (now that I have kids) include a photo. I used to write a note in each card. (I tend to write novels in all cards... I confuse them with actual letters I suppose.) I've compromised and gone the route of the old school "Family Newsletter" insert and squeeze as many words onto a printed sheet of paper as possible in attempts to summarize the year.

So the card process is quite an ordeal:
- Make list of recipients
- Buy Cards
- Buy Stamps
- Take a kid photo
- Order photos prints
- Type year-in-review letter
- Print letter
- Write in each card
- Fold and stuff letter
- Stuff photo
- Address envelopes (after making sure address is up to date)
- Add stamp and return address

And when you have 100+ people on your list... It's quite a spread to work on!

The first batch went in the mail today... But I ran out of stamps! Hope I can get my hands on some more Snoopy ones soon!

Freaky Friday Shopping

Happy Friday!

Since it is Friday the 13th, I figured I'd throw you a curve ball with... 

...Some shopping tips from this tight-wad! 

(And by 'tight-was,' I don't just mean, always find and taking advantage of a good deal... 

I mean has to be forced into spending money on herself.)

I discovered a terribly addictive but trendy deal sight. 

I gifted myself a night of meandering through its delightful accessories and whatnot (as opposed to working) and plotting all of the Christmas shopping I will be doing in the coming weeks.

I found it, thanks to my newfound Insta-Mom, MaLyn, and her blog. 

She keeps the mom thing real... 

On another note, I actually did buy myself something last week and was delighted to see it stuffed in my mailbox today:

New jeans & my new favorite Christmas top.

Thanks to Kohl's Cash & coupons, I basically only paid tax and shipping!

Oh and if you weren't aware, I'm a lifer, in terms of being a Peanuts fan. Not just on the bandwagon now that I'm a mom and the movie just came out. 

Seriously: I was Snoopy for Halloween in 3rd grade. 

(Oh and those are definitely knee-high orange striped Snoopy socks under my skinny jeans.)

I'm not sure any adult giggles at Snoopy the way I do and it's only that whole tight-wad thing that's kept my kids from being smothered in Snoopy-ness. 

Regardless, I'm loving the fact there is a Peanuts Movie to bring out the best of the best Snoopy everything these days.

Sad news is the kids are too young to sit through a movie in the theater, so Peanuts on the big screen is not happening for me. Guess we'll just be enjoying The Great Pumpkin and Charlie Brown Christmas for now.

Sports Talk: Holiday Tournament Memories

As a correspondent sports writer for The Casey County News, I write an weekly editorial column for the publication. Published Dec. 26, 2012. 

No matter who you are or how old you get, Christmas break is a thrill. Of course, as we get older, the profession we choose oftentimes shrinks the amount of time our “break” consists of and hopefully we at least get the 25^th itself!

The break while in school, though, is always such a relief. No studying, no books, no class, or waking up early. However, as a basketball player, it usually meant holiday tournament time.

There are pros and cons to the holiday tournaments. It means your “break” is less of a break than that of many friends. Your schedule is still very much dictated to you: practice times, game times, bus departure times, etc.

I played for the Lady Rebels as a freshman and sophomore, sophomore year being the only season I was a member of the varsity team. As a junior and senior I chose to forgo my hoops career but stayed on as a team manager, so I was still traveling with the team through Christmas break.

There was a part of me that did not like it at all at that time. The Christmas season is full of so many fun traditions: present wrapping, cards, music, baking, shopping—the list goes on and on.

However, I look back now and realize that some of my most prominent high school Christmas break memories come from my tournament traveling.

Christmas is a time for family and tradition, but as a high school athlete, your team does become a family of sorts. The fact I stayed on as a manager for the Lady Rebels proves just that. Giving up the sport was difficult in its own right, but what made the decision hardest was giving up the time investment I’d put into the team: my closest friends and coaches. Wanting to still be a part of that family, I became a manager.

Christmas tournaments were always competitive. We won games and lost games. It was an opportunity to see some competition outside of the normal district and regional teams we played every season, but it was also extra time and fun with most of my closest friends.

The traveling oftentimes meant staying overnight somewhere and eating out. Oftentimes there was down time between games when parents would take us shopping or out for other fun adventures together.

The Lady Rebels competed in Gatlinburg, Tenn. last weekend, a tournament I remember traveling for during my time with the team.  Sure, I loved being home at Christmas time, but looking back the memories from the travel are irreplaceable. Lots of late night laughs in hotel rooms; ice skating, shopping and simply experiencing Gatlinburg at Christmas time.

What I didn’t consider during those years was that my teammates and I were not the only ones giving up our holiday time for the sake of a sport. The coaches and parents were also giving us, the athletes, their time. Because they were willing to spend their breaks on demanding schedules, me and my teammates—my friends—had the opportunity to compete while also creating great memories together.

Family is such an important and meaningful part of this time of year and not just those in blood relation: everyone from your parents and siblings to your coaches and teammates. No matter who you are spending your winter break time with, enjoy it, cherish it, and be grateful for those people.

Lotsa Love in 2011

On top of having a wonderful first Christmas with my Hubster, love was booming for some of my nearest and dearest friends. I'm so excited for the news of a wedding in the future for three people who mean so much to me. Congratulations to them and their Christmas surprise engagements!

Emma & Andy

 A long-time running buddy from Bellarmine (although she was more of a pole vaulter I suppose...), I'm so excited for Emma! I've only met Andy a couple of times but he must be a stellar feller to keep up with the likes of Emma. She's the busiest person I know but never seems to miss out on anything from her work to organizing and managing Louisville's Girls on the Run program to simply hanging out with friends. She's an incredible person.

Russell & Krista

 A dear friend since the glory days of high school, Roose (as I like to call him) is one of the best guy friends I've ever had--always bringing a smile to my face. I think we once had a "Friends" promise to marry by age 35 (or something) if we were both single. Looks like we both "lucked" out of that one! :) I've not met Krista but no doubt she's found a guy to treat and love her like a princess.

Becky & Sam

Yes! Yes! And more YES! After nearly six years they're making it happen! Becky is one of my best friends from BU--my snuggle buddy for track meets and a roommate for 5 years. Through their undergrad to her PT doctorate and his med school, they've not wavered and now he's off to an unknown location to begin his residency and, just like the rest of his life, he doesn't want to go it alone so he asked Becky to be by his side for anything and everything!

While I'm at it... I might as well shout out to two other big engagements this year that made me oh-so-happy...

Joe & Annamarie

 #2 in The Man Clan to get hitched: Joe and Annamarie got engaged Thanksgiving weekend after over four years together...!!

Jo & MJ

And, of course, my cousin, roommate, childhood playmate and best friend Holly Jo got engaged this summer so we actually got to be engaged at the same time for a period. What special times in our lives we are getting to share!

Congratulations to all others who were blessed with wonderful love-filled events in 2011! Engagements, marriages and even just finding love! All you need is love......!

Christmas Doesn't Require Money

I'm sure it has always been this way (well, not always) but I have felt overwhelmed and very turned-off by so much of the lingo dealing with "holiday shopping," "the perfect gift." Now, as long as I have the money to do so, I love to give gifts. I'm not coming down on that. (I do think media and consumerism makes us feel like we should be shopping from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24 at midnight for every last deal and gift out there.) I just think it's important to remember all of the wonderful things to do during this time of year that don't require your checkbook and that this season has nothing to do with blowing your budget.

Here's my list of things to do to keep Christmas festive, yet simplified.

1. Decorate!

You don't have to buy extra fancy decorations, all new ones or any at all. There are plenty of ways to decorate or recycle old decorations in new ways. Just always keep your old decorations from year to year and over time you will get quite the collection!

 

I had extra blank stockings from a Christmas party in 2009
so I made stockings for all of our animals!

 2. Send Christmas cards!

Sure, there is some cost but send a few. It's an easy way to reach out to people and brighten their holiday. I'm still working on wedding thank yous so those are kind of my Christmas cards this year. (Luckily I did find some actual thank you cards that were holiday festive (at the Peddler's Mall of course!) but I definitely should have gotten more...

3. Enjoy FREE town events! 

Every town has Christmas events that are free. Bizaars, parades, Christmas tree lightings, plays, recitals...and so on! Even little old Liberty has a Christmas kick-off celebrations.

Windows in downtown Liberty were decorated on Dec. 1.

Tree lighting at the Court House.

Free popcorn from the Casey Bank!

Parade!

Parade!

4. Shop...for FUN.

Go on a shopping trip not because you NEED to, not because you're in a panic, but to just spend time with someone. I love being out in the hustle and bustle of the holidays because there is always music playing and everything is decorated so well! Often times you'll also get to enjoy wonderful smells, Christmas lights--maybe even see Santa out and about! For Jon and I, we have enjoyed time strolling about the Peddler's Malls together.

Jon and I got our angel at the Peddler's Mall for $7
this year and we plan to use it for the rest ofour lives!

5. Create and keep tradition!

It is often the little things that MAKE each individual's Christmas season special. Sure, presents are fun but we get presents for our birthday yet we don't think of our entire birth month as a celebratory time. Little traditions can make more than just Dec. 25 special during Christmas time.

 

Dec. 6 is St. Nicholas Day! As kids we always left out our
letters to Santa and usually had a small surprise in the
morning. Jon gave me a small surprise this year which
made the day fun!

6. Presents under the tree... :)

For me, there is just something about seeing pretty packages with bows and ribbons under the tree. We have quite a few presents under the tree for just the two of us...but that's because I find a reason to wrap up anything and everything...even if it's something Jon and I need and we bought together. I am making everything a Christmas present!

 

7. Listen to music & watch movies!

We all know the music and we all know the movies... And as long as you have a radio and a TV you can enjoy them all! Listen to the music in the car and let the movies play in the background during your day-to-day chores. 

 

8. Make Cookies!

Sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, sprinkles, icing... And maybe your thing isn't cookies. There are so many holiday sweets and treats: puppy chow, reindeer food, peanut brittle, pound cakes, pies, fudge... Homemade goodies is what it boils down to. In my house we made and decorated sugar cookies. Getting to join the Sweeneys and do it with kids makes it that much better!

 

 9.  Do something for someone else.

The nature of the season is doing for others. It's why we give presents really: a kind something we can do for others. However, there is something even more special about doing for others that you don't even know and that have never done anything special for you specifically. I hear great stories about wonderful things people do for those in need at this time of year. I hope one day I can be one of those people. For now, though, our family always volunteers a day to ring the Red Kettle Bells for the Salvation Army, which Jon and I did together this year. 

10. Make yourself FEEL festive 100% of the time!

I wear my hat everywhere... As long as I have a clean pair I wear my candy cane striped socks... I play Christmas music til I've made everyone sick of it... I burn Christmassy smelling candles.... I keep all of our lights plugged in... It sounds silly but it keeps me in the spirit and while people sort of shake their head at me, a part of them enjoys seeing someone my age THIS excited about Christmas!

Jon laughed at me for feeling the need to put on my socks,
hat and red sweats before beginning our tree decorating!

Enjoyed a girls' day out at Equus Run Winery in Midway, Ky and, yes, I wore
my red and white and Santa hat!

 10 more days of joyous remembrance of this blessed time of year!

Wait a minute... How did this happen?

Black Friday Shopping? Us?

I know, I know...we expected better of ourselves too. It just kind of happened by accident. We spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Indiana with Jon's family. Thursday evening we were putzing about when we thought we'd drop in Wal-Mart again, because we've been talking about using our Wally World gift cards from the wedding towards a new TV. We don't care about anything fancy or a having a screen as big as our bed. We'd be fine with the GINORMOUS dinosaur, boulder of a TV, Gill, but in his old age he's begun to let out an obnoxious squeal at random when playing. It really makes movies quite intolerable.

My version of the Target Lady (and yes I sat in the cart while we waited...)

So, again we stopped by the dreaded Wal-Mart and were checking TVs that were in our price range... but then we started talking... It was 8:30... At midnight sales began... At midnight we could get the 32" we were looking at for $100 less. Was 3 1/2 hours really that bad? So we walked to McD's for a cup of coffee (LARGE cup) and discussed...and what the heck! We're both down for adventures. Besides, the store wasn't too out of control yet.....yet...

Jon's reaction to Wal-Mart Black Friday Shopping.

I've been Black Friday shopping before. It was always with Jerusha for her kids and our main stop was always Toys R Us. (of course!) We'd wake up at about 2 am and drive an hour and a half to Lexington to stand outside in the cold, cold, cold. It's right next to Best Buy...now TALK about ridiculous. I understand a good deal...but parking a tent 2+ days in front before hand...?! Really? Aren't you just announcing to the world: I don't have a job to be at and I don't have family I want to spend Thanksgiving with!

Off subject. My bad.

Anyway, my point is Toys R Us is very different from Wally World. Our Toys R Us Line got long, but not insanely. It was a rush when the doors opened. We never bothered with a cart because wheeling it through moms-on-a-mission just isn't worth it. We usually made pretty good time and then we'd head to the Fayette Mall (where most stores weren't open yet) and grab some grub and then relax and wait for the Disney Store to open. It was great to hit up all of the deals and steals and be out of there before 9 am--which is around the time most of the door-busters are over and it gets extremely crazy.

Toys R Us shopping in 2006.

By the time Jon & I returned to Wal-Mart the traffic was picking up incredibly. We are noobs at the Black Friday thing and didn't realize at first the GREAT deal TVs are so coveted that they are treated specially. First off, NOTHING is in it's normal department. You have to get a special map of the store if you hope to find any big sale items. TVs happen to be in the lawn & garden section...so to the plants and trees we went. The line wasn't too long...probably 50 people (not 50 groups/pairs) were in front of us so I was guess that was about 15-25 TVs so we were fine. From that point I only took on trip away from the cart. Jon took multiple. Every time he came back he'd report how much crazier the store itself was getting and that the main aisle were cart to cart non-movement. The side aisle were blocked with STUFF that the Wal-Mart employees had moved out of the way.

Here's a bit of the fun we took in...spun out of your typical Black Friday Shoppers:

The Crazies

This lady (not sure if "lady" is the proper term based on my experience), ended up in line behind us for the TVs but that's not why I took her picture. In my one trip out of the line I ran to the car to grab our gift cards we were using. I happened to notice a LONG line of headlights down one aisle and realized it was because the front car was waiting to turn into a spot where someone was packing up to leave. A second later I realized that one lady from this SUV in front was outside of the vehicle trying to direct her driving to backing up because the car behind them was bumper to bumper with them and REFUSING to back up (even though the 3rd card had given it a good 4-6 feet to back up). So the woman outside of her SUV was helping her driver while cursing the 2nd driver and calling her the most ridiculous names. Now, given I hadn't been there for the beginning of this little situation and maybe Driver #2 had good reason to be a jerk, but from my perspective...she was simply doing that: Being a jerk and not back up. However, SUV Lady was looking like the bigger fool with the show she was putting on with her profanities.

So I went to the car, got my cards... By the time I was back at the scene (and what a scene it was!) the SUV had made it into the spot it had been trying for, but NOW the spot next to the SUV was freeing up, but you better believe SUV Lady was not going to let Driver #2 into this convenient spot. So what does she do? SUV Lady stands in front of Driver #2's car and is shouting, helping this innocent bystander who was now trying to leave, back out. They are also directing Car #3 around Driver #2 so Car #3 can have the new spot instead. So this leaves Driver #2 trapped and unable to even leave the scene and continue her search for another parking spot. SUV Lady is yelling and at this point just laughing while booty-shaking on Driver #2's hood. Wow. 'Tis the season!

The Traditionalists

Here is crew in much more of a TRUE holiday spirit! This was their 9th year of Black Friday shopping together (first year with shirts, though, haha). They were all quite friendly and just happy to be out. Wal-Mart was their first stop but they had several more in lined up. This was taken just before midnight...only the start of their night.

The "I'm Just Here For The Deal" type

This lady was in front of us in line for the TVs. She had several of her kids with her (adults, mind you) who kept running off to find other "great deals" to throw in the cart, but for the most part, this lady held her post. She mad her nest on a lawn & garden cart with some towels that were on sale and kicked her feet up for the multi-hour long wait...accidentally throwing potting soil all over at one point, but hey, she was in good spirits. That's all that really mattered.

I didn't take a picture, but of course we did have an encounter with the most common Black Friday Shopper: The Mom. Actually it was parents. The lady behind us had a fuller-than-full cart (her husband was there as well). To her credit, though, she said she buys many of the gifts each year after adopting an "Angel" and giving it gifts. They had a miscarriage at some point and said that she knows if that child had lived she'd spend lots of money on it all year so to spend extra money on another child whom she can bring some extra holiday cheer is the least she can do. Wonderful Christmas spirit.

The lines were at a standstill at about 20 til midnight. Everyone at this point had items that would not be on sale in the registers until the stroke of midnight...we waited anxiously.

I have to hand it to Wal-Mart, though... They have done this enough that things were pretty together. (Given I wasn't out in the madness of the store the 2 hours leading up to midnight.) Having you WAIT in a separate line (not grabbing your TV and wait at a register line) until 11:30 to even get your TV is smart. Some people were upset that they couldn't be doing other shopping, but I think the genius of Wal-Mart has learned a thing or 2 over the years and knows this works best. It was about 11:30 when we put our game faces on and decided to ditch the cart. Mike and Jenny had stopped by and grabbed these Elmo backpacks that Cassie had her friend had been in search of, but a neighboring Wal-Mart was out of, so on with the packs we went and goodbye to our cart.

Game Faces ON.

I headed out into the main-store-madness to snag us a place in line while Jon moved through the now moving TV line and carried the 32-incher to find me. Without the cart he was able to finagle his way to me no problem. We'd also snagged a small Eureka vaccuum for $25 bucks in the process (something else we'd planned to purchase post-wedding) and our only "impulse buy" was a dvd/blu-ray player someone decided not to get in the line. (Our dvd player is pretty worthless.) I'm proud to say we were out of Wal-Mart and in the car by 12:12 a.m. and in bed asleep shortly thereafter. Success.