Sandy, I'm going through the same thing!  It's like a bah humbug that just isn't my style.

Patricia--Is there enough wine to get us through this?

Patricia & Sandy, hugs to you both!  It's time to grab some peppermint bark and blast some holiday music and take a bubble bath and pretend you're little again! Then, grab your hubby or a close friend and rent some movies all about Christmas.  Costco has some gorgeous poinsettias and your local wine store might have spices so you can make a mulled wine.  Our neighbors had a cul de sac Christmas party last night and it put me in the spirit!  Glad I didn't see this post 2 days ago, or I might have been bah humbug as well!  Best,

Natalie--girl you are putting me in the spirit!  I'll try all of the above--are you free to do my shopping?????

Sandy- I feel this way at times. Here in Orlando though I can lift my spirits by going out to Disney to see all of there Christmas Celebration activities. This always puts me back into the Christmas mood.

Sandy,

We just went through a hurricane-force storm and were without electricity and running water for 5 days.  Many homes in the surrounding areas are flooded and all personal items lost forever.   Some homes are still without power and folks still in shelters.  Last night on our 4 minute commute from work, I almost started crying, maybe just from exhaustion.  Stocking wood and bringing buckets of water in the house to flush toilets did give us a great workout though-no gym necessary.  Talk about getting you into the Christmas spirit!  Hang in there.

Happy Holidays,

Steven Simmons & Marti Schmidt, Realtors, Prudential GHP, beautiful Ocean Shores, WA.

Absolutely!  And what's funny, I've had our Christmas club check on the fridge since Halloween and haven't cashed it yet.  I have no clue what my kids would like this year (other than everything), so I'm actually available to you!  I'm glad I could put you in the spirit.  In fact, I say we all hop a plane down to Steve's house and let him treat us to Disney! 

I'm sorry, in the middle of my posting, Steven Simmons post came in after Steve Glose's and before mine.  Steven, my folks live in Washington state and they've shared some terrible stories.  Sending you and Marti warm hugs, too.  Like I said, we should all head to Disney...

Natalie,

Are your parents doing alright after this storm?  We are lucky, none of our 200 trees came down on our home and the wind did not blow out any windows!  The day before the storm, forecasters were saying Oregon was going to get hit harder than us, we feel for them.  We are used to coastal storms so we didn't think it was going to be so bad. We were scared to death.

Steven and Marti--I am so very sorry about what is happening to you and your neighbors.  Hearing this makes me feel like a louse for even feeling down in the dumps.  My Prayers are with you!

Does everyone remember how fun the holidays were when you were a kid?  No worries or stress, no real sense of the value of money.  Our mom used to make us maple candy in the snow!  Good memories. 

The mulled wine sounds great!

Sandy,

We are happy to be alive and well.  Good thing we do all of our Christmas shopping online because there is no time to go out, shop, and ship to relatives out of state.  Don't feel lousy, we all get down sometimes. Thanks for the prayers-we'll forward them on to the families who have lost everything.

Steven & Marti.  My parents fared well.   They're in Bremerton, Wa.  My other set of parents (folks remarried) and my brother are in Allyn.   Luckily, they all escaped harm. 

Now, you have 200 trees on your property?!?!  What a dream.  I'm a tree addict, so your place sounds beautiful. 

Sandy, thanks for hosting the party, please pass me a mug of hot, muled wine...and a peanut butter ball!

You are still the Christmas Queen in my book.

Kevin--Thanks for holding me in such high regard!  Merry Christmas my friend!!

I guess I should have read past the first line of Natalie's first comment, cause I was going to suggest that since she had proposed the she, Sandy and Patricia get into a bubble bath, ....maybe I could suggest one more wouldn't hurt.  

But, alas, wait....I also liked the part about wine.

Sandy, you mentioned in one of my posts and in your post here that your daughter lives in my part of the country, beautiful Asheville. I'm sure that is all the reason you need to brighten up.

Does she participate in the Toy's for Tots Harley toy run? We almost always have over 2000 bikers ride in it and it always makes the kids happy to see the bikes with all the toys, along with the noise.

Don--Robyn is the marketing director at Asheville Mall.  She is involved in so many activities in Asheville that I can' keep up so I don't know if she did the Harley ride this year or not.  She has done it in the past though.  I'll get caught up next week when she comes to see us!  You are right--it brings a big old Carolina grin on my face when I see her!

BTW--I say let's get a great big jacuzzi tub and all of us get in and drink wine!  That would be the AR party of the year, for sure!

Sandy.......what did you say the date was? Oh, and I know if I don't ask where, I may not find it. Ha

I think it is going to be in Disney any day now and it should last all night long Don! LOL!!

Sandy,  I know more and more people who are in the same frame of mind this year, my husband and I included.  We have been planning to bring home the decorations from our storage unit - maybe tomorrow is our daily comment,  Karen  www.e-virginiarealestate.com  

Karen--my husband put the tree up last Thursday and I haven't hung one ornament yet.  The joke is that it will be easy to take down!