Hi,

Maybe we could share what we do or do not do for Christmas.
Are there things in particular you are doing this year that you have not done other years?
Do you start new customs or habits and drop others?

What I am going to do
1. I do plan to give non-fancy Christmas cards for two secretaries at work with some cash.
2. I sometimes send my Godmother a Christmas or New Year's card --- depending on how pressured I feel about deadlines.
3. Probably I will call a brother or two around that week after Christmas.
4. Go to the gym a few times during my days off
5. Sit in the noon sun and get some vit D.


What I might do
A. Go to the beach with hubby on a quiet non-busy night
B. Cook a new dish or two with hubby so he can build up his cooking repertoire.
C. Prioritize the heavy clothes in my closet in case we have some cold temperatures in January and February.
D. Watch at least one Christmas tv program to hear music.


I'll think of something else later probably.

M

_____________________

Put up and decorate a 4 foot prelite christmas tree. Set up the stuffed snowman and such around the living room. Ready for company that we never have.send a few christmas cards to immediate family.
buy gift cards/checks for them as well, can't handle presents.
Money is tight this year.
listen to some christmas music, eat all of the chocolate that my clients give me....drank mulled mead wine tonight for the first time...it was good, a honey wine gluten free. I think I am going to make chex mix for the first time in my life. Need to get my families recipe.
not sure what else I can handle doing. have to buy jeff some presents this is stressful to me, I don't know what to get him.He is hard to shop for, I asked if we could go clothes shopping he agreed which surprised me.
bizi

Men are so hard to Christmas shop for. It is good that he is willing to go clothes shopping Bizi. Not sure how your weather is, but dh was thrilled to have a really nice leather jacket one year. Another I found a pocket watch, he did not carry them, but for special occasions LOVE's having it.

Does he drive far for work or on your trips would a GPS work? I upgraded ours for last Christmas with the kind that has traffic reports and detour's us around.
I don't even go local without having mine on the dash to show road work or accident delays.

Last year I bought a replica radio, inside is a LP player, CD, and cassettes to burn a CD and I think to an Ipod. He spent hrs recording his old music to digital.
What ever you find will be just what he loves.

I am hopeful to make cookies for this year. Maybe with the grandson and Katie. On a snowy day we can't get out will be a nice day.
One thing that happens every year with me, I forget a gift, or can't find the gift....hid them so well.
This past spring when I moved the bed I found a I pod I bought for the younger son, I bought it two years ago for working his security job.
Di

what i am doing/not doing - mixed.

1. gift for parents - calendar - almost done. i usually get them each something else, but have no innovative ideas, have great fear of shopping/malls/people and they keep saying what they don't want. our house is already full of "stuff" ... it's almost like i'd be doing a disservice. . i did see, some time ago, some perfumed soap of a brand my mom might like. not something you'd buy every day. but i could investigate that. but i don't have any ideas for dad.

2. no local friends with whom to trade gifts, and we don't usually with the relatives. end of story.

3. i do need 2 singleton cards for my parents. still undecided whether to send one or two abroad which might make it by Easter at this point.

4. i want to get some rose' wine because we sometimes have smoked salmon during this period. they have a nice one in the same supermarket where they have nice cards. i like it with salmon - dad does too. maybe that can count as a gift.

i am dreading "Christmas dinner" because my father is really gearing up... looking for expensive wine (and he seldom even drinks any more). this means he expects a complicated meal - correction - he expects mom to make a complicated meal... they have already started arguing... as usual. this is like D-day for me. it's supposed to be a happy countdown to Christmas. instead my anxiety is rising.

-----------------------

i am not into it. i am so not into this. i just want it to stop, roll back 2 months. i want to hide under the covers already.

i feel so sad, because i always honored Christmas, even back when i was agnostic leaning on atheist, as being a day of giving and kindness. it doesn't feel that way any more. it just feels like a time when the world spins faster than usual for its usual mundane material reasons, and i'm a hapless mouse stuck on that stupid wheel, with everyone else. run, run run, faster harder, push push.

i am sorry if i have offended anyone with my miserable grinchy grouchy disposition and fretting.

i also wish to make clear that i fully respect true Religious obervation of what IS after all, a religious holiday, specifically a Christian holiday, that is, as long as we are calling it Christmas.

~ waves ~

Wow, I don't seem to have anything left I'm doing exactly for sure this
year for christmas celebrating.

I usually have something going on. Wow, never really thought about it.

Donna

LOL Donna... so take a well deserved break!

--- OR ---

you can come over here and help me do some of my stuff!
hee hee.

------------

my update:

i have done nothing but continued to work on that calendar. however, i am pleased to announce, that about 4.30 am this morning (ARGH!) ...
i pronounced it FINISHED!!!! (pant pant pant, whew. glub.)

there is a photo i am still just not happy with, but i decided it is just going to have to be good enough... there were multiple problems with the original shot... my cell phone screws up colors and lighting. this was a particularly bad case and there was only so much i could do. i could have used a different shot of the same subject, but that one did not have the background content (lots of buds of other cacti) that i know mom will appreciate having there. that and... i decided i need to pretend i have a deadline or something or i will just never finish tweaking things....... the curse of perfectionism.

this morning - i mean, afternoon (when i finally woke up) i checked it all, renamed files, and re-updated all the mini pictures on the backflap "just in case."

now i just need to take it to PRINT!!!

soooo.... i have a sort of expedition day to plan, where i do lots of errands including that. but i have an urgency now, which is i need to pick up results from my last cardio test, because i need to bring everything on Tuesday when i have my stress test and followup visit with the cardio. so i need to either work that in, or just do that first, and the "expedition" later.

tonight i will try to plan some topologically optimal routes for my expedition, so i don't have to go crazy with the public transport. and try to figure the times so i don't end up in the supermarket at rush hour... when you can barely breathe let alone move....

so that is where i am at. oh and i need to find a branch of that pharmacy where i saw the soap for my mom. i can look that up on the web.

i am feeling a bit less oppressed with this project behind me. it was very hard this year.

~ waves ~

I kinda of agree with waves. It is all too much at times. The season seems to go by faster and faster with more anxiety and much fretting over gifts, cards, and big mealtime gatherings. We all need to take it slower.
I am not going to stress over gifts this year. I need dental work, and I am going to give myself that first. My friends will understand when it comes to health issues, you must think of yourself first. I am also going to get the shingles vaccine. Health is a gift we all need to give to ourselves if possible.
I will send a few cards to some special people, but I am not going to do this for distant people who only send a card one time a year.
This year, we are going to have a simple brunch, with a few close friends and family, ham slices and finger foods. No big meals or headaches. Everybody will bring some goody to this small gathering.
I will remember all of us here on Neuro talk, no matter what their belief system is. I wish for all of us to be peaceful, and have a good new year.
I will keep the holiday spirit, without all the fuss. It can be a time for peace and good will. ginnie

Dear Ginnie

You have a great holiday spirit and i am glad you are giving yourself those gifts of health first. Your low-key gathering sounds wonderful too.

Merry Christmas to you!

~ waves ~

Dear Ginnie,
Your plans sound perfect. You have such a great attitude.
I am wishing you peace and happiness this christmas time.
Thank you for being you!
bizi

We went to a christmas party tonight it was a lot of fun.
Ate some great salmon! Pretty much talked with my hubbies bosses girlfriend all evening. I really like her. They are good together.

Nice to hear you attended a christmas party. I do like that part of Christmas, and the unexpected invite to something. I am glad we have Neruo talk bizi, with all the friends we make here. I consider this my family in spirit. We are all linked in a very special way, and I am grateful. I appreciate each person on this site who responds with such caring and compassion. That is something that I will remember all through the season. I don't need presents, I get that every day right here! Have some more fun Bizi, and enjoy every moment you get that is happy. I pray for good health for all of us. ginnie