Good tidings to you...

I really just have to gush for a minute about how nice it is to have a blog again, especially one that is involved in such a community!  I've found several blogs over the past few days that remind me a lot of the communities, I used to join when I was a wee journaling thing on LiveJournal.  Seriously, I would spend hours commenting on movie posts in a classic film community and discussing the latest Lucy doll in a group called Lucy Lovers.  My lovely friend Maggie knows exactly what I'm talking about!  It never felt good to have my own personal blog before and I think it's because I was basically doing it by myself and for myself.  I was just posting about my life, but not really about my interests or my hopes or my dreams like I did with LiveJournal and I was having a hard time relating to anyone in the "blog world".  But here!  Here it's like another LiveJournal, except no one's using glittery graphics to sign their entries.  Ahem.  Not the ones I've found anyway.

SO!  In the spirit of all things happy and giddy and peachy, can we talk for a second about how Christmas season is officially HERE?  Like, I've got my membership jacket (adorned with jingle bells of course) on and I'm about to start taking the minutes for our latest gift wrapping meeting (Item One: The Scotch tape dispenser that slides over your hand?  TOTALLY WORTH IT).  I'm always a bit of a Christmas nut (and when I say a bit I mean like A LOT), but this year I'm just ten thousand times more into it.  Which is funny since my budget is a lot more restricted than last year, but it's Christmas.  I'm willing to go into hock to buy my family gifts that are going to make them grin.  It's also making me delirious with glee that I get to actually play Santa Clause this year (you know, if he needs some help 'cause I still believe).  Last year, David (my fiance!) and I didn't have the kids for Christmas Eve so we were able to wrap all the gifts about a week ahead of time and go ahead and stuff them under the tree.  But this year, we get to stay up late, put the babies to bed after church, drink Santa's milk and cookies (he may be full from all the other houses!) and put together bicycles and dollhouses and rocking horses OH MY.  To say I'm excited would be a complete and utter (moo!) lie.  I am THRILLED BEYOND BELIEF.

Also, making an Amazon wishlist for yourself?  Holy cow, the high I got off of that thing!  It's like shopping for yourself, but . . . not.  You're not spending any money and, no, you're not getting the goods (the glorious, glorious, loverly goods), but you are getting the thrill that maybe someone will buy you that special thing.  Just for you!  Because they love you and want you to be happy!  And they'll take the time to wrap it and slap a bow on it and put it under the Christmas tree and wait for you to find it!  Am I the only one who gets a little drooly and shaky thinking about that?  Not that Christmas is all about gifts (OBVIOUSLY), but we all know that we get pretty damn excited about opening some presents.  And while I'm being 100% honest, I get just as excited about giving gifts.  Truly!

Christmas is just such a wonderful, happy time for me.  I had the most glorious Christmases growing up and I am always determined every year to make the same memories.  When I was a little girl, I knew there was nothing that could harm me.  I had loving parents, wonderful siblings, tons of friends and family and I had dreams upon dreams upon dreams!  I had an imagination like no one else and I was the happiest girl around.  When Christmas came, that happiness was tripled and quadrupled until I was basically a beam of sunshine running around with ideas and dreams and hopes spilling out of me.  I think that's why every Christmas leaves me feeling like the happiest girl around, like I can do anything, be anything, make every dream of mine come true.  Christmas leaves me feeling passionate and inspired and motivated and I'm sure a lot of that comes from all the incredible Christmas movies I watch over and over.  As they say, it's the most wonderful time of the year!

Especially the gift-wrapping part.  I can curl a ribbon like no other!