Happy Holidays!

...Or How the Holidays Remind Amanda How Her Family Is Crazy.

Oy vey. Where to even begin. There's a part of me that thoroughly enjoys the holidays. I enjoy the tedious task of gift listing making. I put a lot of time and energy in to it as I am of the give a thoughtful gift camp, not the "just let me buy you a gift card" faction. Sometimes, that thoughtful gift involves me making something, a craft or food. This year, more so than usual. I've made jelly, hot sauce, pickles, pickled green beans and almond brittle. Surprisingly enough, the cost isn't as nominal as you would think to make your own gift. Most of the time it's just as much to make something, and there's definitely more time that goes into it. However, the look on my grandather's face when I gave him a box of homemade hot sauces was definitely worth it.

Speaking of food, I also enjoy partaking in consuming copious amounts of it. My grandmother is a traditionalist. She has made the same thing for Thanksgiving and Christmas as long as I can remember. Many of these are things she doesn't make during the year. So that means, I have 361 days of building anticipation to get ready to eat them (Why not 364? Because she makes so much food, there's generally leftovers for about a week.) Every year at Christmas, my grandmother makes orange cookies just.for.me. They taste like the entire essence of a whole orange has been squeezed into a cookie. It's DELISH! And because she makes them, just for me, it's her special way of saying she loves me.

I am also, surprisingly, getting into Christmas music. I used to hate it with a passion. But this year, I found myself CONSTANTLY turning on the holiday station on both Pandora and my TV. My new Christmas favorite? Happy Holidays by Andy Williams. Go check it out. It'll be stuck in your head until January. In a close second to Christmas music is Christmas MOVIES! I HAVE to watch Elf while wrapping presents. I also have to sneak in Home Alone, The Holiday, and Serendipity in there as well (just for the record, watching Serendipity as I type this; hey it still counts because it's before New Year's!).

 Now, what I hate about the holidays. The constant reminder of just how crazy my family is. Without going into languishing detail, I've had encounters with both sides of my family that make me realize two things: I'm very glad with where I am at in life and the decisions I've made and I'm glad I'm not as crazy as them. I just pray that I can lead my life to not be like them. Don't get me wrong, I still love them, but I will actively choose to live my life differently from them. It might not be normal, but hopefully it won't be crazy. :)