Holiday Help!

I still cannot believe that next week is Thanksgiving. It seems like just yesterday, I was sweating my rear end off (I still had to rear end to sweat off at the time!) standing by the pool, cheering for my kids on swim team. I remember praying for August to come, so school would start, and praying for August to end, so summer would end.

As is typical for Texas, each November seems to get warmer and warmer. In a few years, I’ll be eating turkey and pumpkin pie in the bikini I wore to South Padre Island. I have to admit…when it’s hot at Thanksgiving, you are not inclined to eat nearly as much. No one wants to eat turkey feeling just as hot as the damn bird that just came out of the oven. Somehow, it doesn’t go together.

SO, in an effort to find some freakin’ holiday spirit around here and forget about the long year we’ve had, the fact that my car has been in the shop for a week with that lovely $1,000 deductible with no rental car coverage, that we’ve suddenly got medical and car bills through the roof, and in an effort to remind myself IT CAN ALWAYS BE WORSE, I am doing what else…participating in a holiday meme from Todays Mama!

TOOT! TOOT! There goes my holiday horn! Okay, that’s New Years, but who’s counting.

Here goes:

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme
TodaysMama and Provo Craftare giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?

• New clothes (none of my winter clothes fit after losing weight.)
• Any of the pink pajama bottoms from Victoria’s Secret. I love pajamas. Especially pink ones.
• A new door for my home office.
• A few days of sleep.
• A few days with my husband and kids and the Blackberry totally shut off.
• I know this is six, not five, but I want to see my brother, sister in law and uber-cute nieces and nephews.

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received? I’m not sure on this one? I don’t normally receive handmade gifts from people. I would need to think on this one!

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle? I’ve already tackled it but it’s too messy and I don’t make the time: I love to make salsa so I would love to can some salsa and hand out ‘Texas’ themed gifts. There we go with the hot again!

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child? Well, I remember a few. One year, my brother and I got a Big Trak. Remember those? We thought it was the coolest thing ever to program that thing and make it go down the kitchen, turn around, and come back. Another Christmas, I was a little older and I knew we didn’t have much money. I really didn’t think we would get anything but I was old enough to understand why. We woke up early on Christmas, but had to walk straight out because we had a small paper route for extra money. I remember walking out into the cold (believe it or not, Dallas gets cold!) and peeking into the living room and seeing this GIANT, adorable stuffed dog. It had to be as big as a third grader. I am sure it didn’t cost much but it was just so cute and huge, like carnival huge and I saw nothing else but that dog, and knew Christmas would be okay.

5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year? I don’t know but if they don’t let me know pretty darn quick, they’re getting gifts from Victoria’s Secret. Maybe next year they’ll get me gift lists before Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday food? Hmmm…..let me think….my brother and his wife have taken care of our holiday food for the past few years (they worked in the catering industry which equals lots of amazing food), until they moved out of state this past summer. My mom and I have stared blankly at each other a few times recently like, ‘Is Burger King open on holidays?’ We don’t know what to do without my brother! I would say Pecan Pie (small pieces) and turkey and mashed potatoes.

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays? I will be hand sewing my eye lids shut for some rest and hand crafting some amazing martinis (or Mohitos, depending on the weather!)

8. What is your favorite holiday movie? A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life. My favorite though, absolute favorite is a tie between Charlie Brown Christmas and the character Rudolph ‘cartoon’ from the 1970′s. LOVE those both.

9. Favorite holiday song? Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant, Strange Way to Save the World by 4Him and All I Have to Give by someone who’s name just left my tired mind, which is why I’m not making hand made gifts.

10. Favorite holiday pastime? NOT going anywhere on Christmas day, other than Walgreen’s to get batteries, or my mom’s house. I stopped dragging the kids from house to house years ago. I let that be their day and we all stay in our jammies the whole day and just relax.

Actually, I love to relax and remember when the kids looked like this:

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