Tis the Season!

Tis the Season!
Even though it is still “technically” fall, it sure the hell feels like winter to me. Currently, my weather bug says it is 34.2 degrees in St. Charles, with an over night low of 17. Based on weather, winter is my least favorite season. I do not hate the cold, I would just rather it be warmer. For those who are wondering, spring is my favorite season, followed by summer and then fall, and then the red headed step child of seasons: Winter.

What I do love about winter is the holidays; Thanksgiving, followed by Christmas and then New Years. It is such a happy time and seems to be an extra pep in everyone’s step. Everyone seems to be much nicer and children are much better behaved to ensure good gifts from Santa. Despite the cold weather, there is a smile on everyone’s face. I enjoy Christmas music and the decorations. I love seeing houses that are all lit up and am thankful they don’t live next to me. Nothing beats a hot coco next to the fireplace. And even though they are annoying, I enjoy the bell ringers. It makes me happy to see people fighting the cold to raise money for those less fortunate that us.

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. I love giving gifts that were not on their list and seeing their excitement when they open them. I would much rather give than recieve. Latley our family has had to tone down Christmas because we were giving too much. We were spending close to $1,000 each person. And as our family grows, $1,000 each person is not a fesible of an option. So, we still give gifts, just not as crazy as we used to. As a child, Christmas was always a large production in our family. My Dad started the tradition of disguising what the gift is so we couldn’t guess. If you put a shirt in a box and wrap it up, everyone knows that it is some kind of clothing. Dad started with a noise maker in a box. Justin and I each had one and we messed with that damn box for hours and ever could figure out what it was. To be honest: I don’t remember the gift, just the noise maker. So, Justin and I still will try to disguise what our gifts are. Example: if I get Justin a shirt, I will put it in a bigger box with a phone book in there to throw off the weight. The problem is that our wives seem to do most of the wrapping and they don’t like to play our game…Scrooge!

I have enjoyed sitting in front of the fire with Emily watching a movie or TV. There is something very nice about hearing the fire crack and spending quality time with my wife. We have talked about converting our fireplace to gas, but, as much as of a pain it is to get the fire rolling: you just can’t beat that real fire sound.

The big question for me is when to put up lights. I don’t want to be the first neighbor to do, so I have been waiting for someone else to put theirs up. We have decorated the inside of our house, and the tree is up with lights, but no ordainments yet (hopefully going to work on that tonight). The issue this year in the new house is I need at least an 18 foot ladder to get up on the roof and I sure the hell don’t want to do it without Emily being home, just in case I fall off, I need her to call 9-11. So, issue number one, I only have an 8 foot ladder and Emily doesn’t get home until after dark. Herman is supposed to give me a 25 foot ladder, but we will see if that happens. Let’s hope for good weather this weekend and I will have to borrow a ladder. I might put the lights up and not turn them on until another neighbor turns his on.

Everyone try to stay warm and make sure to check back Monday, I should have a nice announcement to make, and no Emily is not pregnant. Mrrrrrrrrrrrrr