5 Things I really hate about Christmas!

     So yeah I know I sound like a bit of a grinch. I mean hating the most magical holiday of the season, who doesnt love it? Well Mr. Grinch is no dummy and I can totally relate to him in so many ways. What Christmas has turned into is what I really hate, not Christmas itself.  I find myself more like the grumpy green fellow with each year that passes. Maybe my heart too, has shrunk down or perhaps my shoes are too tight.  the world may never know lol. All kidding aside, I really do love Christmas, there are just 5 things about it that really grind my gears. Lets go over them, shall we?

5: The Christmas music
     Don't get me wrong I love jamming to Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is you" or Brenda Lees's "Rocking around the Christmas Tree" just like the rest of you. But what I hate is hearing the same damn songs since November 1st! By the time December 1st comes around those cheerful Christmas songs have over stayed their welcome! Every store, restaurant, and gas station will joyfully be blaring Christmas music from the day after Halloween. Maybe its a ploy to boost sales, thinking it will put us in the mood to shop? Maybe now that jingles bells is playing while I pump gas, I will suddenly splurge for the over priced car wash? Not likely, but good try lol. We have not even had  Thanksgiving yet but here we are singing along to "Frosty the (flippin) Snowman!"  Give it a rest people. Lets start the Christmas music in December like the good ole days! What say you?

4: Playing Santa
     So as mom of the house A.K.A. Santa, I do all the gift buying for everyone. I scour the stores for that have to have gift. Ya know that impossible one to find on everyone's list? Well as Santa mom I NEED to find it. It was on her list to Santa of course. So I shop for her, the hubby, his family, my family, our friends and their kids, and our pets. (yes they get gifts too)  So who do you think has to wrap all said gifts? Yup ding ding ding we have a winner.... You guessed correctly! Little ole me has to wrap every single one! Wrapping is a task on its own. Now where did I put that stupid tape? Oh great I cant find the scissors for the 500th time! Nothing magical about locking yourself in a room and wrapping for hours and hours on end. While your husband watches T.V. and your daughter bangs on the door to "ask you something" every 5 minutes! She will literally walk right past him who is doing nothing and come over to me who is elbows deep in tape and wrapping paper!
      Playing Santa also means that on Christmas Eve night after we get home late from the hubby's family party I have to, bathe my girl, get her special Christmas pjs on her that I have washed and folded and ready to go. Leave out freshly baked cookies made earlier in the day and a hot cocoa for Santa. Cant forget the carrots for the reindeer. Then after I finally get her to sleep, it's time to stuff the stockings, bring down her gifts from Santa, and take care of the animals. By the time I get to bed its about 3 am and she will be in at the ass crack of dawn waking me up lol. This Santa stuff is exhausting! Where are my elves to help me? I distinctly remember being told he has elves who help him!  My elves are probably partying with the fairies who take care of my laundry and dirty dishes. Yes being Santa is a ton of work and drives me nuts but you know what? It's completely worth it! Seeing my daughter so happy Christmas morning makes me forget all the stress I went through beforehand.... until next Christmas time that is lol  Moving on to the next on my list.

Grinch cupcake cake I made for a family party

3: The schedule and socializing
     I hate the constant rush. No one knew I existed back in August. Come Christmas time everyone and their grandmother is having some sort of party, and they all want a piece of me. Cookie swap, pictures with Santa, Ugly Christmas sweater party, family get togethers, paint parties, all those make up and clothing parties, and gingerbread house making parties. It's great for a social butterfly, but I on the other hand am an introvert!  Oh and I am a baker so everyone wants a cake or a dessert for their party. Fun fun lol

2: The damn Elf on a shelf!
      My daughter absolutely loves running down every morning to see what shenanigans her elf Snow White got into while she slept. When she was younger it was easy. Just move it here, move it there, now back again. Now I have to set up these elaborate scenes of mischief! So much work! I often wake up at 3 am in a panic because I forgot to move the stupid thing! Wait did I move her? hold on let me check! This is serious..... I'll be right back lol. I cant wait until  Snow White goes back into her box errr I mean goes back to the North Pole.

Snow white vandalizing our eggs and helping herself to a cheese.

She stepped on a Littlest pet shop lol

1: The people
     Not all people are bad around Christmas, but there are a few groups that top my list of things I hate about Christmas.

The greedy squad:
      These people will run you over with a shopping cart to get to the last hot toy left on the shelf. They might grab two, so they can sell for 5 times the amount when they are all sold out everywhere. Hell they are not above stealing it right out of your cart. I have actually had this happen! These people forgot the true spirit of Christmas and suck the fun right out. These are probably the same people who were o so thankful for what they have on Thanksgiving, but are out trampling people to get that big sale come Black Friday. When did people become so greedy and lose all empathy for man kind?  Anyways..... moving on lol

The bitter grumpypants squad:
      This group walks around with a scowl. They see you struggling while in line holding something and will not move their items to make room! Being kind just doesn't make the cut. They see you walking into a restaurant and Richard Simmons power walk right past you to get ahead in line. Holding doors? Nah they will let that door slam right in you face. They will huff and puff waiting in line because how dare you have been there before them, and now they have to wait. These people are the scrooges of the season.

 The easily offended  judgy squad:
     This group get so easily offended by anything and everything. they also like to judge and judge. Your Christmas tree is too big, they judge you. Too small they judge you. You buy too little or too many gifts, you guessed it.... they judge you. You post a picture of your beautiful tree with gifts under it, it offends them. they will comment that those pictures should be left out because not everyone has a Christmas like that. You might hurt someones feeling! You say Happy Hanukkah it offends them because they are not Jewish. How dare you take time out of your day to be nice and wish them well! In my opinion I don't care if someone says Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, or Good day kind sir! I am christian and we celebrate Christmas but I do not expect people to wish me a Merry Christmas, if that is not what they celebrate. If someone is taking time out of their day to wish you well, just smile and be thankful. No need to be offended, its not like the said "hey shit head" or something bad.  Nowadays people get offend so easily. People need to stop taking everything so personal and just be happy and enjoy life.
     
     So there you have my top 5 countdown of things I hate about Christmas! What do you hate about Christmas? Come on we know it isn't all lollipops and sugar plums lol

Christmas last year. That smile makes it all worth it

Just who am I anyways???

                   So for my first post, I think a get to know me fits the bill. Who am I? Well I am a 31 year old woman who loves her family, animals, and having a good time. I met my husband when I was just 13 years old. We started dating when we were 14 and been inseparable ever since. We grew up best friends and stayed that way. As a teenager I barrel raced my horse Star and bracket raced my car. Back in the day it was super cool. A white fire bird with Pink stripes! I loved learning about sea creatures and took classes on marine biology. I interned at a local Aquarium and worked with beluga whales and sea turtles. I spent lots of time with my family. I was very close to my grandparents. My grandfather was a immigrant from Portugal. He worked hard and created his own mason business and bettered himself and our family. He had a great love for animals and cars. I think that is where I got it from. I was always around cool cars and awesome animal experiences. My grandmother was a feisty little Portuguese lady. She took such great care of us and made the best oatmeal ever. I have a little brother, who is not so little anymore. He towers over me. He is the best brother you could ask for. My daughter absolutely adores her uncle. My brother is very musically inclined and can play practically any instrument. My mother and father have always been there for me. My mother is always willing to lend an ear when I need her to, listen to me rant away, give advice, and support me. I can call her at four in the morning and she will be there for me.  she is always singing some tune. She is a avid horse woman and loves all creatures. My dad is an excellent carpenter and has helped us out so much with things in our home. Both are great grandparents to our little lady. Over all I am pretty lucky.

                 Michael and I grew up together. We had a similar up bringing and much of the same struggles. He has always been there when I needed him and, I know he always will. He helped me get through some very dark times. We had a fairy tail proposal. New Years Eve night at a water fire while fireworks where going and delicate snowflakes flew in the sky. A page right out of a storybook. He was my prince charming. We chose to marry in June on my grandparents anniversary to honor their great love. They were married 59 years. My grandfather didn't make my wedding, but his presence was felt. He passed away in 04 after a long battle with cancer. That was  a very tough time for my family. My grandfather loved Michael and used to tell me he was the one. Our wedding was beautiful. My grandmother wore a beautiful matte purple dress. Our brothers were the best men. My dad blubbered like a baby. My mom was the Matron of Honor. A great celebration with family and friends.

               
 We rented a cute little house on a lake after we were married. Then in the summer of 2008 we bought our first home together. It was a cute little ranch on a hill surrounded by woods. We worked on every room together making it our own. We painted every room. Michael wasn't impressed with all my color choices but went along with it anyways. We were a team. We both worked full time jobs. We split the house chores. I did the cooking and cleaning and he did the fixing and mowing. By the fall of 2008 I was pregnant with my daughter. We were ecstatic. Before this point we had suffered a loss of pregnancy and were told we may never get pregnant. Well our story had other plans and I got pregnant. It was not an easy pregnancy. I was very sick the whole duration. I went into preterm labor and had to be put on bed rest and leave my job.

               July 2009 my baby girl was born after a long and grueling, but totally worth it labor. (43 hrs) Its definitely called labor for a reason. She was born naturally at just under 36 weeks. I was so relieved when she let out the loudest cry.  There she was, this pink, bald, screaming, healthy, little 6 pound baby girl. It was amazing. I wasn't sure we would ever make it to this point, and when we did the feeling was overwhelming. She has grown up into this wonderfully sassy, smart, beautiful, loving little girl. She means the world to me. 

              So as now I am a stay at home mom, homeschooling our daughter.  I make custom cakes from home and take care of the house and pets. I use my expertise in animal science to help local rescues. We recently bought a car just like my first car and are building it together. We have a happy, crazy, wonderful life full of excitement and I would love to share all of it with you. So this is me in a nutshell!