Anyone else excited about the fall and Christmas prep?

[zchristy]

I am so excited about this fall and Christmas season.

The last 10 months of my life I have spent completely de-cluttering and organizing my house. It is a place now really enjoy being and I can't wait to get out the Christmas decor!

After 12 years as a SAHM, I'm now working 12 hours a week at a daycare/preschool a couple of blocks from my home while the kids are in school. It will still allow me to be home a few days a week and stay involved in the school, but the income will be a nice little shot for us.

My husband and I are also part of a musical revue. A few members are family and the rest feel like family and we have a show in Oct and Christmas show in early Dec. Rehearsals are a blast and I look so forward to it.

So much to look forward to this fall and it makes me really happy for this place in my life. Hope I don't jinx it by saying it out loud. I'm just feeling incredibly blessed today.

Anyone else anticipating good things this fall and looking forward to all the fun Christmas prep?? I love this time of year.

 

[Ahorsesoul]

You done such a great job!

 

[HouseElf]

That is awesome - so happy for you!
I love this time of year too! :-D

I am looking forward to having a 'finished' kitchen this year and being able to prepare and serve that first holiday meal!

 

[emily_hope]

I am looking forward to the season as well. Fall is always my favorite time of the year. There is such a crispness to the air. I just finished cleaning my front porch for the HGP. It took me 3 hours and I feel great about how it looks. I've also been working on my lists. I have my gift list made out. I know how many Christmas cards I am going to need because I have my address list made. I have also already chosen what I want to prepare to take to my DMother's for Thanksgiving. I need to decide on what I will take to other places and for my Christmas and New Year menus as well. All the baking items will start being on sale at the grocery and I want to be able to purchase them then. We are also taking a trip to Nashville the weekend after Thanksgiving. Going to see the Rockettes. I can't wait!

 

[happy2bme]

I am excited as well!! We just moved from a house in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere to a town of 3000. We are 25 minites away from a large city and 1 1/2 hours from a huge city. My family and I are looking forward to being involved in activites and special events that are going to be going on all around us. I am not sure if we will have time to fit it all in!! Quite a difference from last year that is for sure!!

I love this time of year, but this year it is going to be even more special!!

:skate: Melanie

 

[Jynx]

I am thrilled that fall is almost upon us. Have started reading anything online related to the fall holidays and of course Christmas.

I would so like to get organized. How did you get motivated to do it?

Jynx :skate:

 

[luludou]

Yep! it's HOT out there today but I stayed in the shade and read my gooseberry patch cozy country christmas book. Made a list of recipes & ideas I want to try.

 

[zchristy]

I am excited as well!! We just moved from a house in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere to a town of 3000. We are 25 minites away from a large city and 1 1/2 hours from a huge city. My family and I are looking forward to being involved in activites and special events that are going to be going on all around us. I am not sure if we will have time to fit it all in!! Quite a difference from last year that is for sure!!

We live 10 mins from the big city in a town of 5000, so it sounds like we're in similar surroundings. We have a wonderful community -- you'll love it, Jynx!

I would so like to get organized. How did you get motivated to do it?

There's a story. Short version is - -we had a stressful period with health issues with our DD. When the 'crisis' passed, I really wanted to get some control over what i could, pare my life down to the minimum, so i had less to think about.

My official "eureka" was last Oct 31 - -I was opening the door to trick or treaters and I was feeling a little embarrassed about the state of my house. The thought occurred to me - -I live in a darling little victorian house that could be the epitome of home and warmth, but it feels cramped and messy. And I knew Christmas would be here before we know it and that will mean *more* decor and clutter. So I decided that night to start the next day removing as much clutter and reorganize so that in a few weeks when the Christmas decor came out, I was going to enjoy my little house.

I worked my TAIL off and it made a huge difference in our Christmas. And in the 10 months since, I have kept at it. Over time I started to see my things in a new way. I am surrounded now by things I love and not by stuff I should keep. I re-thought what I wanted our living spaces to be like and now they serve our family well.

So to answer your question, I guess I just got sick and tired of being sick and tired. It's an ongoing process, but it has made a real difference in my sanity and in the enjoyment of my house and family.

 

[snowlvr]

Great job zchristy! I have sooo let things go, and really saw how bad when we were cleaning the house recently for company...starting to get back on that HGP track...LOVE fall, and I am right there with you-getting excited about all the holiday prep :rnament:

 

[Cathymac]

I know exactly how you all feel...and I love the fact that I spent all summer working hard to get my house in order so that now I can play! Of course, there are a few things left to do...always will be around here! I have three boys, four if you count the biggest one (DH), so it's a constant thing around here. But, I'm like Zchristy in a lot of ways...I was tired of having to work myself to death any time we were having company, just to get the "public" parts of the house presentable...the rest of it never quite got done...until one day I said "ENOUGH" and got off my hiney and got busy. It actually became almost a game for me, to see how much I could get done before DH got home from work...just to hear him say "Wow! You've worked hard today" was very encouraging to me! He's really proud of me and our home now, and so am I! DS15 mentioned that his "group" of friends were going to be hanging out at each others' houses on the weekends doing some project, and he said "but don't worry, Mom, I didn't volunteer ours". I said "Go ahead and volunteer-it's ok!" THAT felt great!

 

[Pam Spaur]

I always get that special fall feeling. The days are starting to get shorter and soon the air will be crispier. Apples, cider, the changing colors. Fall is usually the time of "first" for me. I got married in August, became a mom three years later in November, seven years after that in January I became a mom again, school starting. It's like a new beginning, and I look forward to the holidays.

I am on vacation this week, so I hope to get some cleaning done. All of the major Christmas shopping is done! I live in an apartment and we have semi annual inspections in October, so as soon as that is over, I'll start REALLY getting into Christmas.

Usually I am great until around Halloween and then I get burned out. This year, I am determined to be different. I'll need your help to keep me uplifted, ok? I am a little better organized since I found MHH. And I know that will help me. But I need a kick in the u-no-what to get me going and clean and de-clutter. I am such a sentimentalist, but in a three room apartment, I really don't have enough space to keep everything I want.

Gotta run. Need to go to Walmart to get some sandpaper. I plan to paint a wooden shelf unit for my bathroom today. I want to get started before it gets too hot. Have a lovely week, Everyone. I'll be checking things out periodically. When I come back to work, I'll have more time to chat. LOL!

Blessings to all!! :flower:

:bigsnow:

 

[chilli]

I am also looking forward to the fall/christmas season; I love this season!!!!

I love the decoration, family reunions, the cozy feeling at home while it is cold outside...
Hot tea, hot chocolate, pumpkins, roasted chestnuts, gingerbread, roasted apples, christmas markets and all this stuff
Only the snow I miss - during the last years we had only marginal snow here in Vienna (but I hope for this season... :grin: )

Chilli

 

[zchristy]

This year, I am determined to be different. I'll need your help to keep me uplifted, ok? I am a little better organized since I found MHH. And I know that will help me. But I need a kick in the u-no-what to get me going and clean and de-clutter. I am such a sentimentalist, but in a three room apartment, I really don't have enough space to keep everything I want.

We'll be here, Pam! We'll help however we can.

 

[AuntJamelle]

The approach of fall always gets me excited! I love the season and how it leads into Christmas time!

I'm looking forward to all the fun Fall-y type activities, and to the yummy comfort foods!

I'll have to keep busy with canning apples and the HGP to combat all the extra calories! Well, heres hopin' anyway!

We have one tree in our neighborhood that always turns and drops its leaves early - whenever I see that I know that fall is right around the corner!

I can't wait!!!

ink:

 

[SparkleNana]

What wonderful stories - and great inspiration - there is on this thread!

 

[StressLess]

I am so glad that I am not alone. I LOVE preparing for both. I love the decorations that are coming out already. I love the fall clothes and accessories. Summer for me is about surviving the heat. Fall and winter are so full of holidays and togetherness and warm fuzzy things. I am looking forward to decorating, family gatherings, and the fun things that you get to wear to stay warm. And ohh the soup and cocoa and cider. I have a wassail recipe that I can't wait to try. :globe:

 

[aggy]

Another excited fall lover here! I love the colors that fall brings. Something about the colors really awakens something in me. I get energized and just want to do all kinds of things - from cooking to cleaning, spending time with family and friends to spending quite time alone. I love the rustling sounds of the leaves under my feet, the smell of the neighbors fireplaces in the air, cozying up on the sofa with soft light while scented candles fill the rooms with pumpkin, apples and cinnamon and other spices. I love to drive through the neighborhoods in the morning on my way to work and look at the big beautiful old trees and the vibrant fall colors of the leaves...the people out there raking them up on a Saturday afternoon... stuffing them in pumpkin trash bags. I love to get up in the morning and sit out on my balcony with a cup of hot chocolate and just listen to the birds sing their final tunes or watch the squirrls gather their food before going into hibernation for the winter months and watching flocks of geese flying overhead heading to warmer climates. All these things and everything you ladies have mentioned are what makes me fall in love with fall.

 

[aggy]

I talked so much about fall I neglected to talk about Christmas prep. Being able to prepare for the holidays has made my life so much better. I have such a wonderful time during the holidays now because most of the preparing is done. It gives me more time to actually celebrate whereas in the past I couldn't tell my head from my you-know-what! I get to spend more time with my family, I'm not exhausted...well maybe a little...and that's only round the time I'm cooking for our family get together on Christmas Eve. But I enjoy doing that so I don't gripe about it. I love that while everyone else is running around hysterical, I'm calm, cool and collected and grinning. Grinning knowing that I'm far ahead of them. I have everything - well mostly everything - under control. My family has even commented on how much better our annual holiday gatherings have become and always look forward to the following year.

 

[iluv2scrap]

Another excited fall lover here! I love the colors that fall brings. Something about the colors really awakens something in me. I get energized and just want to do all kinds of things - from cooking to cleaning, spending time with family and friends to spending quite time alone. I love the rustling sounds of the leaves under my feet, the smell of the neighbors fireplaces in the air, cozying up on the sofa with soft light while scented candles fill the rooms with pumpkin, apples and cinnamon and other spices. I love to drive through the neighborhoods in the morning on my way to work and look at the big beautiful old trees and the vibrant fall colors of the leaves...the people out there raking them up on a Saturday afternoon... stuffing them in pumpkin trash bags. I love to get up in the morning and sit out on my balcony with a cup of hot chocolate and just listen to the birds sing their final tunes or watch the squirrls gather their food before going into hibernation for the winter months and watching flocks of geese flying overhead heading to warmer climates. All these things and everything you ladies have mentioned are what makes me fall in love with fall.

I couldn't have said it better. You summed up so many of the wonderful reasons we all love fall.

 

[give_me_a_latte]

Me me! I'm a list-maker from way back, so all these different plans and countdowns are SO my kind of thing!!!! I love seeing my gift pile grow, and my crafts getting made..because I know I'll be able to enjoy the holidays that much more. Plus, my son turns two in November, so this year should be pretty magical for him. He says "oooh wow" when I put a big plate of food in front of him, so I can't wait to hear what he says when he sees Christmas lights!!!!!!