"Carve" out Some Time

As Thanksgiving approaches I often feel like it is the forgotten holiday. People jump from fall and Halloween straight into Christmas with both feet. Now do not get me wrong, I love Christmas and the season with all my heart, but I am also a big lover of Thanksgiving. I have been excited about Thanksgiving since mid-October. I am excited not only for the food, but also for the day that will be set aside to spend time with my family.

I challenge you to take the day of Thanksgiving and disconnect from the things we are normally connected to. Leave your phone in a different room, do not let the stress of life get to you, and take a deep breath. Use this day to connect and be present with your family. Remember all the simple things we have to be thankful for; health, food, a place to live, or jobs.

Take time that day to connect and talk to the family that is present with you. Enjoy the food, conversation, and laughs. Break out some board games or a deck of cards and enjoy time and company. Take the time and let the true spirit and meaning of the day set in. Do not get lost and rush through a meal so you can stand in line at stores.

Now, you better believe that the day after Thanksgiving I am in full Christmas mode. Bring on the decoration, music, and movies. I love both of these holidays, mainly because I connect them to people I love being the same spot and enjoying the company of each other. While remembering not only the birth of Christ, but also reflect on the numerous blessings He has provided to me in my life.

Let me know some of the things you are thankful for below. 

Holiday Traditions

Holiday Traditions, everyone has them when you really think about it. People tend to be very protective of their holiday traditions which I completely understand. My parents are both teachers, this means that they get a nice chunk of time off during the holidays for family fun. So, we have at least a week during the holidays to soak in some family time.

I might as well get our first tradition out of the way (I know some of you may leave after reading this). My family (parents and brother) open Christmas on Christmas Eve (gasp). We would always go to Christmas Eve church, then get home and open presents. It also became a holiday tradition that my mom is normally trying to hurry up and wrap some gifts right before we open it. Another holiday tradition is the fact that my Dad has no idea what my Mom got for us. So, we always ask why he brought us certain gifts since he tries to take credit and he comes up with the best stories.

My mom and I also normally watch all the Christmas movies we can. We love watching Hallmark Christmas movies. I know they are all cheesy, but I will still watch them all. I also always have to watch my favorite Christmas movies, The Year without a Santa Claus. 

On Christmas, my family normally sleeps in and we all kind of wake up whenever. We spend the day being lazy, me in pajamas. We normally play a few rounds of cards and just enjoy the time spent together.

My last tradition is I try to not change out of my pajamas over Christmas Break at all cost. I only wear not pajamas if I am leaving the house. As in for a whole week if I can wear pajamas for 20 hours of the day I am very, very happy.

Our Christmas Traditions are not extravagant, but we get to celebrate the birth of our Savior and spend time together as a family. I would not trade them for anything.

December Must Haves

This is my list of a few of my favorite things to have in the month of December:

1) Fuzzy Socks/ Slippers- I live in a place that gets cold in the winter. Like below zero cold. It is nice to have fuzzy socks or slippers. The fuzzy socks can be worn with boots to keep your feet warm while you are doing different outdoor activities. They are also nice for walking around your house to keep you cozy.

2) Warm Drink- You will see I have a theme here of things that help keep you warm. My favorite warm drink is a peppermint mocha. Find your favorite warm drink there are many and enjoy it.

3) Blanket- Again this helps keep you super warm and cozy. It is also nice to go with Christmas Movies. You can curl up and put on movies and you will have a nice night.

4) Decorations- Find some Christmas Decorations. It will help you get into the holiday spirit. I am

not going to be at my apartment for Christmas and since I just moved I do not have many decorations, but it did not feel the same with no decorations. This does not have to be anything big, I found a mini fake Christmas tree. I got some small ornaments and now I have my own little festive Christmas area.

5) Christmas Movies- I love all the Christmas movies, including every single cheesy Hallmark movies. I love the entire season. Two of my favorites are The Year Without a Santa Claus and Elf. If you have not seen either of these you need to watch them as soon as possible.

6) Family Time- The holidays are about spending time with the people you love. Take time to play board games or watch a movie with your family. Before you know it you will all be in different places. Cherish the time you have with your loved ones.

7) Winter Boots- Again I live somewhere cold and the snow can be crazy. It is always good to have boots to you can venture to get the mail or just get to your car.

8) Long Coat- I just invested in this for this winter. I have a coat that goes down to my knees. On cold, windy wintery days this is a lifesaver.

Please leave your December must-haves in the comments below. I am always trying to find new things that can make December an even more enjoyable time.

Christmas Parade

I accidentally missed day 2! I knew this was not going to be perfect so I am going to catch up and you get two posts today.

I moved to a new town in August and it is definitely a smaller town than the one I grew up in. This means that sometimes it has been harder to get out and do things because there are not a ton of things to do. This means that I have had to try harder to find things to do.

On Saturday, we had our towns Christmas' Parade. This was fun and the first Christmas Parade I had been to. There were a bunch of area groups and business that put together floats for the parade.

The church I attend also put on a live nativity and free soup dinner. It was fun to do something festive to get into the Christmas Spirit. I also had the opportunity to hang out with some of my co-workers which is always a good time.

'Tis the Season

I am going to try to blog every day in the month of December starting today (December 2) and ending on December 31. I am hoping this goes well and I can get a schedule. I love blogging, but I feel like I run out of ideas and do not know what to write.

For this first post, I am going to tell you my December Goals. I am going to keep this achievable and choose three goals. I will update you on the last day of this challenge. 

1) Continue on my healthy lifestyle choices. Starting in August I began to work out regularly and try to make better food choice. I am currently six days into a fifteen-day challenge. It is going pretty well and it has been a fun way to change up my workouts. I want to continue these decisions throughout the holidays when it can be a bit harder to do this.

2) Attempt to try to get out and socialize. I moved to a new city to start my teaching job. I want to continue to try to go out and do things in this area. I am perfectly happy being at home because I am a homebody, but I also need to try to find things to do.

3) This one should not be too surprising, but I want to try to blog every day in December. You guys will obviously see how this third one goes and I will update you on the rest.

I hope you have a blessed December! Please let me know if there are any posts that you want to see.

Wishlist

Merry Christmas! I am sure some of you are thinking this lady is crazy it is not even Thanksgiving. I know that Christmas is still over a month away, but I have been getting into the Christmas spirit. I also know that I have had people asking me what I want for Christmas and I have not really had many ideas to tell them. I thought I would create this list and it could give you ideas that you can tell people or give you ideas for someone you know around my age.

Here it goes, these are a few of the things I can think of:

1) Kitchen Stuff- In the next year I will probably be moving into an apartment on my own so it would be nice to have some of the kitchen basics. Earlier this year I got myself a dish set so it would be nice to receive some utensils or pots and pans. Maybe, even a cookbook.

2) Bible- I also want a small Bible that is easy to take with me. I have a Bible that is big and has study notes and I love it! But, I would also like a Bible that is easy to travel with and take to Bible Studies.

3) Bible Highlighters- I also found a set of pens and highlighters that are made for your Bible. I think this would be awesome because I am always worried about things bleeding through my Bible pages. If you click on the title I have linked where you can get the set I like on Amazon. 

4) Jewelry- I also am always in need of simple earrings I can wear. So if the person you know liked Jewelry this is always good. 

My last pieces of advice are to try to listen to the person when you are out together, they may point something out and say they really like it. This is your opportunity to remember that and go back and get it for them. Finally, the older I have gotten I like things that are practical and I can use. So you can always think of life events that are coming up for them and what they might need for that. 

Please leave comments below of what you want for Christmas because I need more ideas to give people and really do not have anymore. So I would love to know what you want for Christmas. 

Finals Week

Hello Everyone,

I can finally say Merry Christmas because it is December and that is exciting. Since it is December my semester is wrapping up. I am in the process of getting ready for Final's Week (also known as a College Students nightmare). I am a little stressed right now. I will not be posting until my finals are over (if there is anyone who actually reads my blog). Over winter break I am going to try to post more frequently, which I know it is not hard to post more than I have been. But this has been my first semester in the upper level of my program and there was definitely a learning curve.

I will have a lot of posts in the rest of December (after finals) because I love this time of year. I will have posts about how I celebrate with my friends and family. I might be able to sneak the friends one in during finals week if I finish some of my finals early and am able to study without being too distracted.

I also am planning on trying to find a schedule to work with next semester. I am hoping once a week trying to get a blog up, but it might be once every other week.

If you have any blog posts you would like me to do, please leave a comment! If you want to hear my opinion on something or learn a little bit more about me just let me know.

Merry Christmas,
                            Bekah