Tag: Traditions

Today’s Project: Outdoor Decorations

I’m breaking a bit with my normal tradition, which is to put up decorations the day after the US Thanksgiving. I decided I didn’t want to risk trying to do this in sub-zero temps when I have a nice, mid 50s day to work on them now. Nothing will get turned on until the normal day and the inside is going to happen as usual, but it will at least be up and ready before it gets too miserable. This also breaks it up a little so that I don’t have as much to do all at once, which is nice.

We aren’t the only ones with this idea as most of the people along my street are outside working, taking advantage of the small warm break we are getting. Now, I’m off to work my butt of.

Oh! I’m also going to get to see BG’s pointe costume for this year, which I’m insanely excited about because they are doing a piece from Swan Lake. I’ve seen glimpses of a stunning black and white piece, but I get to see it in person today, so I’m over the moon excited, even if it means I have to stop in the middle of my work to go watch them unveil it.

It’s going to be a good day.

Happy Halloween

For the first time since my kids were tiny, Halloween feels so different and I just don’t have the motivation to do everything I have for years. I’m not doing the garage this year. I’m not dressing up this year. I barely got up the energy to do a pumpkin (mine’s on the left), though it was only BG and I carving this year. The weather is so NOT helping. Upper 20s and snow do not put me in the mind of Halloween.

Snow on Maple Leaves
Snow on Maple Leaves

I’m still doing my best to make it fun for my kids, but they are teenagers so it just isn’t the same. Their idea of fun is for me to make a bunch of awesome finger foods and spend the night grazing, so that’s what I’m going to do. I think BG is going to dress up and answer the door. She was a little disappointed we weren’t doing the garage, but she understands. It is a lot of work to put in when kids aren’t going to show up. The new construction has changed how kids go through the neighborhood and we got skipped last year even though kids know we put on a great show. She did say last night that it was probably a good idea we didn’t do it when she saw that we were going to be lucky to hit 30 today.

Like so many things, our Halloween tradition is changing to fit how we are changing. I hate it from the standpoint that I have always adored Halloween and have always gone all out. I’m also really kind of glad to not have a crap ton of stuff to do. I can just sit back and relax for once.

Cold Restart

My house is back to quiet today. Hubby almost always takes the time between Christmas and New Year’s Day off, but not quite the same days as the kids are on their winter break. He normally goes back to work a day or two before the kids so I get a gradual return to normal. This year, they all went back the same day and it is a bit of a shock.

Continue reading “Cold Restart”

This Year’s Nutcracker

I have been getting at least one nutcracker a year since I was 16. When Hubby and I got together, he took over the tradition. A few years back, he started giving them to me on the day we decorate instead of on Christmas so that I’d be able to have it out for the whole season. He always tries to theme them, using something we have done over the year to create that theme. The year we fixed our chimney (finally), I got a chimney sweep. The year we took a vacation to the mountains, I got a hiker. This year, he used the massive home improvements with the windows and the new HVAC and went with a Cozy Santa, bringing my count up to 41 if you count the two giant ones I made last year. I have such a huge variety, in both size and style. They range from uber traditional to kinda insanely wacky. I absolutely adore my nutcrackers and my kids love seeing them get unpacked every year. BG is even talking about wanting to start her own tradition and collection. It is a tradition I’m seriously considering starting for her.

Frosty Leaf

Today is decorating day. Normally that means both inside and out, but we got the out done early because they were predicting crappy weather. It is kinda funny how insane my kids are about this tradition. They have been talking about it for weeks and bounced off the walls when they got up this morning. So much so, you would have thought it was actually Christmas morning instead. Time to get my sparkle on!

Aftermath

Today is insane. I had a nearly 3 hour call with my editor (notes on that to come). Now I have to deal with the aftermath of having a haunted garage for Halloween and still wanting to put the cars in after it is all over (and that is only a small portion of what I still have to pack up). Having spent 2 days going in and out, then up and down on a ladder, my body is trying to revolt, but I still have to get everything packed up. So… I’m off to get busy. Then crash.

We’ve Got Pumpkins!

Normally, I’m so far ahead of the game that I already have the idea for both my pumpkin and my costume by the beginning of October at the very latest. This year I had neither and was even very seriously considering skipping the garage set up and not dressing up at all. I was just too stressed and overwhelmed and every bit of my creative energy seemed to be focused on the book and edits with nothing left for Halloween.

Continue reading “We’ve Got Pumpkins!”

Picking Pumpkins

We went over the weekend to get our pumpkins. It was kind of a perfect day for it. Even though the kids are in their teens, they both still love doing this, which makes me incredibly happy. Hell, I’m in my 40’s and I STILL love doing this. Sadly, I have zero clue what I’m carving this year.

It is going to be an insane next couple of weeks as Hubby’s annual bake sale is coming up, so I’ll be baking for that. The kids have things going on. I have a B-Day dinner to fix and then we have to carve those pumpkins followed by Halloween. Oh, and those edits are supposed to show up at any time. So, yeah, bring on the crazy times!

Evolving Traditions

From the time my kids were old enough to do puzzles and play games, Hubby and I have tortured our kids on Easter by forcing them to do a scavenger hunt to find their baskets. It took a time or two for them to get the hang of things, but they absolutely fell in love with the tradition.

Continue reading “Evolving Traditions”

Let The Fun Begin!

So, today will be our Christmas Eve with my in-laws. Not because this is when we normally do it, but because there MIGHT be a SLIGHT chance of the white stuff on Christmas Eve. Since we can’t have that (no seriously, things get stupid crazy with the in-laws when weather of any kind other than perfectly dry and sunny is involved), I’ll be doing all my Christmas Eve stuff today instead. Hopefully, that doesn’t include watching for weather updates every other minute.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

And Done!

At least with the decorating part anyway. I still need to get back to work on my nutcracker project, but I think I’m going to need to take a day off to just rest tomorrow. Trying to do all of this over the last week while battling a very nasty cough has just worn me out and I think I need to be done for a bit. Tomorrow is doing to be a veg day where I just sit and soak up all the pretty that is my house for the holidays. Continue reading “And Done!”