The Stockings Are Hung

I am finally ready for Christmas. Yesterday I bought the last of my gifts, and I have set a moratorium on myself to stop going to Amazon.com, lest I find more good deals and buy too many presents for Riley. I truly could spend a thousand dollars on that kid, if I had it.

I did some baking over the weekend, Peanut Butter Blossoms with the kiss in the middle, Rachael Ray's 5-minute Fudge Ring, and last night I made some caramel corn. There truly is nothing better than eating warm caramel corn just out of the oven. If you don't burn your tongue, that is.

My mom made her annual batch of Party Mix, and swiftly proceeded to pack it into tins and hide it so we couldn't eat any. She does this. She makes a bunch of treats, lets us smell them and get all excited, and then tells us we have to save it all for Christmas Eve. Then we eat so much that night that we don't want to look at anything sweet again until Easter. It's crazy.

I am so looking forward to tomorrow night and Christmas Day this year. It's been a long time since I had that squooshy feeling about the holidays, you know that feeling you use to get when you were little, surrounded by the lights and the music and the food and you were just about to burst with the anticipation of opening your presents? It was such a good feeling, everything seemed magical and aglow. Thanks to my family, friends, and co-workers, I have been able to recapture at least a little of that this year. I catch myself, mostly when my mom and I are chatting over the sink doing the dishes together, and realize how lucky I am that I have had such generous and loving people in my life to help me through my troubles. They have made me realize that I am worth so much more than I ever got in my failed relationship, and that I truly need to let go of my feelings of worthlessness and embarrassment, because I am a good person and I don't deserve to feel like crud every day.

I look forward to the new year. I think I might actually make a list of resolutions this year. I am hoping my sister and her family will make it up to celebrate with us that night. It would truly be the best start of a new year I could imagine.

I probably won't post again this week as I am taking some days off to spend with my wonderful family, but I wish the happiest of holidays to you all. Give your grandma a hug, cuddle your little nephew close, tell your parents you love them. Always keep your friends close, and remind them as much as you can how much they mean to your life. And don't forget to leave those cookies for Santa.