Valentines, Shmalentines

Valentines Day… you either love it or hate it.

This year is my year to hate it.

Growing up, Valentines Day had nothing to do with romance.  It meant chocolate from my parents and fun little V-Day cards from my classmates.  It meant pink and red construction paper and Little Debbie Valentines cakes.  It was sweet, and it was fun.

Once you surpass the age of 15, Valentines Day becomes less about candy and more about love and crushes from the opposite sex.  It’s either a success, or a day to wear black and announce that “Love sucks.”

My past three Valentines Days were spent with my ex-boyfriend with roses, expensive dinners and lovin’ for dessert.  I was one of the lucky few who got to enjoy Valentines Day because I had somebody to share it with.  Forget the fact that we fought every other day of the year and were completely wrong for each other; for that one day we had each other to celebrate, a day to remember the reasons why we loved each other.

Well my life has changed drastically since last Valentines Day, and this year he will be sharing our former day of celebration with someone else.  He will shower her with roses and a nice dinner.  I will take comfort in knowing that these presents come but one day a year and that she is now the one dealing with the cheapskate, unreliable boyfriend.  But that doesn’t change the fact that this Valentines Day, I will be alone.

The rest of the world will wine and dine at their favorite restaurants and dive into bed the minute they get home.  I will sit on the couch by myself and stuff my stomach to fill the void while all of my best friends snuggle with their significant others and receive sappy cards from the ones they love.

It’s just another day, I tell myself and all of the other single females out there dreading the forthcoming holiday of gloom.  Celebrate yourself, because that’s one of the most significant relationships you will ever have.  Send cards to your parents and your siblings and your grandparents.  Ignore the love section in Hallmark and change the channel when the Valentines jewelry store commercials come on TV.  Who knows?  Maybe it will be the last Valentines Day we spend alone for the rest of our lives.  Anything can happen in a year.

Oh bring us some figgy pudding…

I’m pretty sure the holidays are gonna be the death of me.  Just this week, we’ve had carrot cake cupcakes, fudge, cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, homemade candy, muffins and gourmet chocolates in the office.  Thank you vendors for making me fat. 

I walk into the copy/print room at least 30 times a day, where an abundance of sweets call at me from their spot on the counter.  I try to look straight ahead and not let my eyes shift to the left, but it’s like a magnetic force that locks my eyeballs to the plate of goodness in front of me.  “Don’t do it,” I tell myself, but my fingers don’t listen.

I have to make copies.  I grab a chocolate covered pretzel.

I have to pick up something off the printer.  I swipe a cookie.

I need to use the fax machine.  I pop a piece of candy into my mouth.

I have to… Dangit, what was it I came in here for again?  I swear I think those cupcakes are calling my name…

Self control!  Where are you?

Yes, we’re allowed to let ourselves go a little bit over the holidays.  It’s impossible to resist Mom’s cheesecake and Granny would be sad if I didn’t try her latest homemade candy.  And let’s face it, I would be sad if I didn’t try it too. 

But remember that it’s all about portion control.  Allow yourself to savor a piece of carrot cake, but don’t go back for seconds.  Enjoy the ham and mashed potatoes, but eat slowly and stop when you’re full.  Whatever you do, don’t deprive yourself or you will only want it more.  Satisfy your cravings, but do it in moderation.  That extra plate of casserole might taste fantastic for about five minutes, but you’re going to regret those extra helpings when your scale tells you that you’ve gained five pounds.

Enjoy the holidays, but don’t go nuts.  Have a happy, healthy holiday season and maintain a happy, healthy post-holiday weight.  Happy eating!

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

A few of my favorite holiday tune recommendations.  Pour some hot chocolate, sit by the Christmas tree and enjoy. 

Grown Up Christmas List – Amy Grant

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Judy Garland

Don’t Save It All For Christmas Day – Celine Dion

Silent Night - Jewel

Happy Xmas (And So This Is Christmas)– John Lennon

Breath of Heaven – Amy Grant

All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey

O Holy Night – Linda Eder

Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt

Silver Bells – Martina McBride

Where Are You Christmas? - Faith Hill

I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Michael Buble

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) – Michael Buble

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas – Johnny Mathis

Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Dean Martin / Doris Day

Merry Christmas Baby – Hanson

Ave Maria – Celine Dion

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays – NSYNC

The Bells of St. Paul – Linda Eder

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee

All Alone On Christmas – Darlene Love

Mary, Did You Know – Clay Aiken

Believe – Josh Groban

Away In A Manger – Kenny G

Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy – The Nutcracker

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Who Would Imagine A King – Whitney Houston

Sleigh Ride - Ella Fitzgerald

What I love about Winter

Although I love warm weather, fresh sand, the smell of salt water and the feeling of the scorching sun beating down on my lightly bronzed skin, there is something indescribable and inexplicably delicious about the Winter season.

The little things that I adore…

Blankets of winter white snow

The sound of crackling firewood

Giant, cozy sweatshirts

A mug of hot cocoa with mini marshmallows

The smell of cinnamon

Gingerbread men

Freshly baked sugar cookies shaped like little Christmas trees

Earmuffs and mittens

Holiday cheer

Spending time with family and friends

Sweaters for my pups

Snowmen

Snuggling up with a blanket, good book and gorging out on Chinese food from the container

Christmas lights

Christmas music

Eggnog

Making smores by the fire

Watching holiday movies

The crinkling sound of wrapping paper

Holiday parties

Peppermint

Snow globes

Poinsettia

Funky ornaments

Sparkling snowflakes

It’s important for us all to take in this special time of year and truly enjoy it while it lasts.  Spend quality time with your loved ones and embrace the magical world of Winter time.  What do you love about this time of year?

The Magic of Christmas

I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to be in a bad mood the month of December.  I don’t even grumble when my alarm goes off.  I rub my eyes, sit up, yawn, stretch and open my blinds to the glorious December sun, all with a smile on my face.  Birds chirp outside my window and Christmas songs play in my head.  I’m like a scene right out of a cheesy movie.

Okay, okay, so maybe that’s a stretch, but seriously, getting out of bed in the morning isn’t half as bad in December.  Everything is brighter at Christmastime.  The sun is shining when I wake up and I have come to enjoy the morning hours before I arrive at work.  There’s something fresh and brand new about the 8:00 hour.  A new day; new possibilities.  There’s an extra bounce in my step on the way to my car in the morning as my heels click on the pavement and I wrap my winter coat around me.  I listen to Christmas music on the radio and drive a little slower, taking in the cheery holiday decorations around town.  I smile when I pass Christmas tree lots and my heart warms when I see ridiculously decorated houses.  There’s no such thing as going overboard at Christmas.  I make a point to get up earlier so I will have time to stop at Starbucks in the morning and pick up a Grande White Mocha, because what says Christmas better than red Starbucks cups and the delicious smell of coffee?  I don’t even mind the line or the wait, as long as Christmas songs are playing in the store and cute business men are waiting alongside of me for our morning cup of joe.

There is sadness to the Christmas season though.  There’s the knowledge that it will not last and the desperate grasp to hang onto the splendor of it all.  At the break of dawn on December 26th, the decorations around town have gone as quickly as they appeared.  The morning commute to work becomes mundane again and the excitement in the air disappears.  We must wait another 11 months until the cheer comes back around again.  That’s the magic of the Christmas season.  It comes and goes in the blink of an eye.

Slow down. Take a breath.  Feel the winter air on your cheeks and inhale the scent of Christmas pine.  Smile at a stranger on the street.  Spare a couple of dollars for the Salvation Army Santa and thank them for sharing the spirit of Christmas.  Turn up the radio and listen to the words of whatever Christmas song is playing, no matter how cheesy it may be.  Forget about your bank account and the stress of buying presents for too many people.  Remember why you are buying them.  Count your blessings.  Go to church.  Look into the eyes of a child and remember the enchantment of Christmas.  Write a letter to Santa.  Get your picture made with Santa.  Bake cookies.  Hug your parents.  Stop on the street and glance up at the December sun.

It is bright, all is good, and magic is in the air.

The little things in life to be thankful for

As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season quickly approaches, it’s easy to forget to overlook the turkey and dressing and remember to count our blessings on Thanksgiving Day.  Sloan gave us a great run-down of the essentials in life that we should all truly be thankful for.  But what about those little things that make life so fabulous?  I’m here to give thanks for the small moments in life, the little slices of happiness that remind me why it’s great to be alive.

• Sipping hot cocoa on a winter night.
• My mom’s fried chicken and rice and gravy.
• Friends who allow me to act absolutely ridiculous.  There’s nothing like being silly with my best friends.
• The ability to move, shake, drop.  Nothing says living like gettin’ jiggy wit it does.
• Singing passionately in the car, completely out of earshot of others (or so I think).
• The wind on my face.
• The mountain air and leaves crunching beneath my feet.
• My ability to love deeply and passionately, no matter how much it hurts me.
• College football games and tailgating.  (In the mountains, with good friends and cold beer.)
• Apple cider and carving pumpkins.
• Christmas tree lots and Salvation Army Santa Claus’s on the corner.
• Music.  All kinds.
• My sisters.  Okay, okay, so I realize they don’t even come close to being the little things in life, but how can I possibly sit here and count my blessings and not mention them?  They’re top-notch.
• The wait at the top of a rollercoaster hill, right before going over the edge.
• Friendly smiles and hellos from complete strangers on the street.
• My creativity.
• Shopping.  C’mon, what would we do with it?
• A full moon in a clear sky full of twinkling stars.
• The sun beating down on my face.
• My alma mater and college town.  It shaped me into who I am today.
• “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.”  My #1 song for the holidays and for my heart, always.
• Church.
• Springtime and blooming flowers.
• The break of dawn and the endless possibilities of a new day.
• My nephews. They’re technically little, okay?

Alright, your turn.  What are the little things in life that make you feel glad to be alive?

Home for the Holidays

There is something so deliciously comforting about being home for the holidays.  I only live about 20 minutes away from my parents, but when Thanksgiving rolls around, I’m like a college kid coming home for Thanksgiving break.  I pack my bag and move back into my childhood home for the next three days.  My sister comes home from Raleigh and for the weekend, our real world jobs and apartments and bills are forgotten as we routinely slip back into childhood bliss.

From the outside looking in, one could speculate that my family really must be just too good to be true.  But it’s not. It is true.  Thanksgiving Wednesday means my sisters and I pile into the kitchen and cook while my mom sings Christmas tunes and my dad whistles as he hovers on the outskirts of the kitchen limits.  The entire downstairs smells of cookies and casseroles and Christmas candles.  After supper, we put on our PJs and snuggle into the bonus room for a holiday movie (my mom’s doings, of course).  Thanksgiving Day is filled with food, lots of family, parades and football and for 24 hours, I think of nothing except the comfort of my home and my family.  Black Friday means scoping the sales and Christmas shopping, usually accompanied by a family lunch at one of our favorite restaurants and Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner.  My friends call and invite me to be social (because Lord knows, Thanksgiving break is when everyone from high school trickles back into town from across the state and gathers for the yearly drunken brawl), but I can’t dig myself out of the blanket of warmth that encircles me when I am home for the holidays.

I realize that there are so many people across America that don’t have the luxury to be with their families over Thanksgiving, or don’t even have the luxury to have a family at all, but I can’t allow myself to be modest when I think of what I have to be thankful for.  I have a family straight out of a Hallmark movie.  I am loved and I am taken care of and for this weekend, that is all I care to think about.  I am home.

Reflection: Giving Thanks

With Thanksgiving approaching, it’s imperative to remember what you are thankful for.  It’s difficult to get past the mundane schedule and stressful work week.  Take ten minutes out of your day, take some time to yourself, sit back and reflect.  Write down 10 things that you are thankful for.  Not only will this showcase the real meaning of Thanksgiving but it will also put into perspective what is truly important in your life and aid you in remembering what your purpose is.

10 Things I’m Thankful For

10. A career. Yes, it is hard to say that you are thankful for your job, even if you cannot stand waking up every morning and marching into the office at 8 AM with a cup of coffee in your hand to a place that completely and utterly disgusts you.  But in one of the worst economies since the Great Depression, it is a blessing in disguise.  At least you are employed and can provide for yourself.  Consider yourself very fortunate.

9.  My pups. It is true. Dogs are a man’s (or woMAN’s) best friend.  What an incredible companion to have beside you.  They love you unconditionally through the good, the bad and the ugly.  Even if you walk into the house and have had the worst day of your life, they are sitting there awaiting your arrival with a wagging tail.  Surely these animals are the best thing you could possibly ask for.

8.  My Education. I know, a little corny.  But I am thankful that I made it four whole years in college and earned the degree that I’ve always wanted.  Definitely one of my proudest accomplishments in life thus far.

7.  My Senses. I can hear, smell, speak, feel and see.  What more can I say?  We take these for granted.  What an amazing gift that we should all be thankful for.

6.  My Best Friends & BF. My friends and bf keep me sane.  If I didn’t have them, who would I be?  Who would I vent to?  Who would I turn to?  Who would I confide in?  I love all of them very much and could not ask for better true blues.

5.  Music, Art, Writing & Drawing. I have categorized these together because they are all forms of an outlet.  When I’m upset, I turn on the iPod and unwind.  Drawing and writing are my escape.  If I can’t say what I feel aloud, I know that I can at least write it down.  Drawing relaxes and destresses me.  Looking at art is peaceful and serene.  It can be interpreted in any way, totally in the eyes of the beholder, and that is a beautiful thing because there is not much out there that you can do this with.

4.  The Necessities- Food, Water and a Roof Over My Head. More simple things in life that we do not regularly think about but completely necessary to function and live.

3.  Fashion. To each his own, but fashion is my number one passion and I highly respect the art of it.  It defines me and that in itself is important.

2. Happiness. There are times when I think that I can’t handle another day on this planet, but the truth of the matter is, it is normal to feel this way.  In general, I am happy with my life and the way things are going.  It’s always refreshing to look on the bright side and remember why you are doing what you are doing…for complete and utter bliss.  Isn’t that the ultimate prerogative anyway?  To be happy?  At any rate, that is my M.O. and I am going to pursue my happiness and will go to all lengths to achieve this.

1.  Family. This always has been and will always be my top priority and the one thing that I am the most thankful for.  These people brought me on this earth, raised me and are my backbone and support system.  They are the main reason that I live each day.