Holiday Traditions

Growing up Christmas was always a big deal and because of that so many traditions were born. I am all about traditions to the point that if one falls through the cracks during the busy time of year I can feel a bit of emptiness. My boyfriend thinks I'm nuts and constantly tells me traditions are meant to be broken, but I don't believe they are. Traditions to me are the little things that you grew up doing and there was a reason for doing them. A tradition is not only something you do to keep the so called tradition going but it is a way to reminisce about the prior years. Recall memories that might otherwise have been forgotten. So for this post I am going to give a rundown of all the traditions I take part in for the holiday season. Hold on tight it is going to be a long slippery slope down memory lane.

The first tradition getting a Christmas tree. Even though I no longer live at home I still try to be with my parents when they get their Christmas tree. It is not just going to get a tree with my parents, oh no, it is an adventure. We can leave at nine o'clock in the morning and by six o'clock in the evening still not have a tree and it's not like we live in an area where tree stands are sparse. We live on Long Island there is a tree stand every ten feet. However, my mother is picky and when it comes to her Christmas tree, hard to please. I recall one time where the guy at the the place we were at talked her into getting a tree and when he was pulling it through the netting she told him and I quote, "Well if I get it home and I don't like it I can return it right?" No joke. She insists she said it because he was netting three trees and she thought he might mix them up, but I know that wasn't the case. One tradition about gettting a tree that was broken was that we used to go and actually cut the tree down. Now talk about an adventure. It was the same thing every December. We would go and my dad would take the saw that they provided and after wondering through the rows and rows of trees we would finally settle on the perfect tree. My dad would drop down on the ground and start sawing away. After fifteen minutes of getting nowhere he would start cursing and saying "Next year I'm bringing my chainsaw" he never did, but he always said it. As my father got older cutting down our own Christmas tree lost its appeal, but getting a tree is still an adventure and that is all that matters.

New York City is probably one of the most recognized cities in the world that completely transforms for the Christmas Season. For me and my family trekking into the city to see the Rockefeller Christmas Tree and department store windows is just another part of our tradition. My birthday is December 4th so usually we pick either the Saturday or Sunday right before or right after to go in. It always winds up to be a bitter cold day and no matter how many layers you have on the wind goes right through your clothes right to your bones. However, there is nothing more exciting then turning that corner and having the tree in all its beautiful glory staring you right in the face. I look forward to it every year. Some years we coordinate our visit to the tree with a visit to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. No matter how many times I have seen that show I still smile like a child who is seeing it for the first time. There is something magical about it. I can exactly say what, but if you have never seen the show before I would make it a point to do so. You will not be disappointed it is everything you imagine and so much more. Tickets are pricey so that is why it is a tradition that is not always able to be followed through with. However, if you plan to go do not pay full price. Check out websites such as Broadwaybox.com and TheaterMania.com you can find discounts up to 50% off regular ticket prices. I have never paid more that $60 for orchestra center stage tickets.

Christmas lights are probably my fondest memories of the season. Every year my dad transforms my parents house into a winter wonderland and every year despite my mom's requests to keep it simple it gets bigger and better than ever. We are at the point where we have at least eight inflatable figures including Santa, a polar bear, a toy soldier, Spongebob, Snoopy, a tree, a snowglobe and a snowman. Other lighted lawn ornaments include snowmen, Santa's, a dolphin, polar bears, Charlie Brown, presents, teddy bears, elves, reindeer, trees, toy soldiers, penguins, I can go on forever, but I won't. If you have ever heard the song 12 pains of Christmas you would understand what it is like at my parents house when my dad is doing the Christmas lights. Let's just say the first time we heard that song my dad was on the floor all the lights spread out as he checked which ones were still working and we all fell over in laughter. It was as if they wrote the lights part for him as if someone recorded him. My dad is awesome, but can easily lose his patience and sometimes when he gets frustrated everything goes wrong, Murphy's law. If you have never heard that song Google it, you will laugh your butt off.

Baking Christmas cookies is I'm sure apart of most peoples traditions as it should be. There is nothing better than a hot, freshly made sugar cookie or my other personal favorite the classic chocolate chip. I used to bake at my parents house, make a mess and then have my mom complain to me about it. There was a time when she made cookies with my brother and I, but as we got older my brother couldn't be bothered and my mom just didn't have the time so I kept the tradition going on my own. Now I bake them at my own place. I usually have my best friend come over and we listen to Christmas Music, catch up on life and taste a cookie from every batch we make. There is no guilt during the holidays none what so ever. This year I have a ton of new recipes I want to try and will let you know how they come out.

Since I moved out of my parents house I still find myself going back there to take part in all of the holiday fun. I can never not help my mom decorate the tree. The ornaments alone are worth the two hours it takes to get them all on. My mom doesn't follow a theme, she doesn't try to make the tree look pretty, no, my parents tree looks like Christmas threw up on it. The first time my boyfriend ever saw my parents Christmas tree his exact words were "It has everything but the kitchen sink." My mom has a hodge podge of ornaments ranging from paper Santa's my brother and I made over twenty years ago to old glass ornaments she got after her mother passed away to ornaments she recieved from her students when she was a preschool teacher. There really is no rhyme or reason just a tree full of memories, wonderful, sometimes tear provoking memories. Now, however, since I have moved out of my parents house I have a tree of my own. So I get to decorate two trees. My boyfriend gets into just as much as I do. We usually have a Christmas movie playing in the background as we place each ornament on the tree. It's funny because my mom always tells me I put the ornaments too close to each other and my boyfriend says the same thing. Both of them always wind up taking an ornament or three that I have placed and moves them. I just laugh and continue on.

Who doesn't love a good Christmas movie? Heck I even love the bad ones. I can watch a Christmas movie in the middle of July. There is just something about them that brings a smile to my face. There are so many movies I watch every year and a few that every year I swear I am going to finally sit down and watch and never do. A list of my favorites:

The Santa Clause

Home Alone

Home Alone Lost in New York

The Grinch (cartoon and movie)

A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Christmas Story

Miracle of 34th Street (The original)

Rudolph

Elf

Scrooged

The Holiday

Home for the Holidays

The Family Stone

On Our Way To Grandmother's House

I even like Christmas with the Kranks, Bad Santa and Surviving Christmas *hangs head in embarrassment*

 The movies that I say I will watch every year and have yet to do so, but plan on doing so this year are It's A Wonderful Life and my mom's favorite Christmas movie, A Christmas Carol (1951). There are also so many more especially the classics that I have yet to see. It's on my list of things to do that is for sure.

Christmas Eve my true Christmas. Originally we would have Christmas Eve at my grandparents house. The traditional Italian Christmas Eve or the feast of the seven fishes. I can bet that you will never see so much in one place as you would in my grandparents house on Christmas Eve. I never ate fish until recently so my grandmother always had baked ziti for me the picky one. Dinner would be served follwed by dessert and then finally opening gifts. As a kid seeing presents under the tree with my name on them was like torture. I wanted to know what was in them, but was never allowed until we all sat around the tree and my grandfather passed each person their gifts. As my grandparents got older my grandmother couldn't do all the cooking anymore so my mom took over. Not much has changed just the location, my parents house. My mom just like my grandma cooks a ridiculous amount of food. Dinner is first followed by dessert and then gifts around the tree. My dad now hands out the gifts as he's the man of the house an honor he takes very seriously. Unfortunately my grandfather is no longer among us opening gifts, but he's still there. He's in our thoughts, our memories, our hearts and to me when it comes down to it all the traditions add up to family.

What are your traditions? What do you do during the holidays that if you didn't the holidays just would not be the same? I'd love to hear about it.

~Staycation~

As of Thanksgiving I was on vacation or what I like to call my staycation since technically I'm not going anywhere. It is now Wednesday and I don't want this week to end. Even though I have spent my days cleaning and decorating there is just something about not having to go to work that is refreshing. The black cloud that usually lingers over my head isn't there. My spirits are high, I feel better and  overall I am in a better mood. It's weird how sometimes you just need to get away (in my case staying home) in order to rejuvenate yourself.

 My living room looks awesome. Garland, santa figurines, vases of pointsettas and snowman are everywhere and it only makes me smile when I enter the room. My kitchen is also decked out to the nines. Fake snow on the top of my cabinets with glitter cone trees and caroler figurines. Love it. Now if I can just get my boyfriend to put the lights in the window and throw out our punmpkins I will be set.

I have been watching an insane amount of Christmas movies this week. Usually during the Christmas season I DVR all of the movies I want to watch, but by the time I find a minute to watch them it's March. So this week I was on a mission to DVR and watch as many movies as I can. I love those made for TV Christmas movies. Granted some are awful, but some are really, really good. I think so far I've watched about nine and still have eight or so on my DVR and it's still recording.

Last night I watched the tree lighting and I cannot wait to get into the city to see it this year. It looked absolutely beautiful. And can I just say that Jessica Simpson actually sounded really good. I didn't look at her while she sang because usually she makes these awful faces and it makes it difficult to listen since I'm too busy laughing. So I listened and she did a great job I was impressed. I've always liked her and have always secretly rooted for her so I felt like a proud Mom or more like a proud younger sister.

I had every intention of catching up on my reading during this staycation and can you believe I haven't picked up a single book. I haven't even written more than a chapter this week. I'm enjoying the Christmas sentiment that I can't be bothered with anything else right now. How sad is that? I'm completely caught up in the Christmas whirlwind. However, I must admit that while most know me as Little Miss Christmas the past couple of years I haven't lived up to my nickname. After my grandfather passed away it was hard. Really hard. My spirit was gone. I tried to pretend it wasn't, but those close to me (aka boyfriend) I couldn't fool. December was our month. My birthday is the 4th and his the 7th and for as long as I can remember the family always got together and we shared our birthday on that weekend. I never thought about what it would be like without him and then one day I had no choice but to find out.  

People say as time goes on it gets easier. In the beginning I didn't believe them. Not even for a second and now going on the third December without my grandfather I can honestly say that it does. It still sucks. It still feels like a piece of me is missing, but the large gaping hole that hurt with such intensity has grown smaller. No matter how much time passes December will always be me and my grandfather's month and nothing will ever change that.

Viewing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons and The Rude, Inconsiderate Parents Who are Setting Bad Examples for Their Children.

I made it! I actually made it to view the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Balloons. Honestly I didn't think I would. It all started when my boyfriend picked me up from work and he gave me that look, the look that shows me he has no desire to go but he doesn't really know how to say so and since we have been together for nine years he didn't have to. The look said it all. However, after we left my job he went to the gas station and then started heading west instead of east. I questioned him and he basically told me I gave him the I'm-not-happy-but-I'm-not-going-to-press-the-issue-look which I had no idea I did. Supposedly I get this look whenever I don't get my way and trust me it is not intentional. I guess my disappointment just shines through. Either way it got me to the city the day before Thanksgiving to cross one thing off of my list of things to do before I am 30.

I should have known that the crowds would be insane. I don't know why that never crossed my mind at the time. We parked on 67th and walked to 81st. Of course two blocks in I had to use the bathroom, damn my 80 year old bladder. Luckily being in the city you are guaranteed a Starbucks every other block. So as soon as I saw the glowing green sign I ran. Unfortunately when I got in there was a line and not just a line a LINE! Nine people in front of me. Five of which were kids and I'm sorry, but kids take forever in the bathroom. I mean what can they possibly be doing in there? Anywho after twenty minutes of waiting I was finally ready to continue our adventure to the balloons.

You knew you were getting closer as the size of the crowds grew and grew until you could barely walk by a single person without making some kind of contact with them. Across the street from where the balloons were on display was a road black and I waited for a spot right up to the barrier to try to get a better look. No more then two seconds later a lady pushed in front of me placing her three kids in front of me. First off I am not a rude person I was taught to say excuse me, please and thank you, so when someone with bad manners crosses my path I see flames. Secondly, this lady was so rude and completely unconcerned that I waited my turn to get that spot and that wasn't even what bothered me the most. What bothered me the most was the fact that she did this with her three children. You as a parent are supposed to be setting an example for your children and by doing this she is showing them that it is okay to cut in line, push your way through until you get what you want and to not utter a single courtesy. Great she's creating three more rude, inconsiderate and obnoxious people that will one day be showing their children that acting that way is okay. I know I am ranting and I apologize, but somethings just get under my skin in a way that I cannot let it go.

My boyfriend saw the line of people waiting to get up to the actual viewing area and he was like hell no, but I gave the look again didn't even realize it and then said that we drove all the way why not. So two minutes later we were walking up to the never ending line to get to the viewing area. Once in line we were like sardines, jam packed, unable to move unless the person in front of you moved a leg or an arm. Now again we are all in line there really is no where that you can go. Everyone is waiting their turn and then comes along a lady with a stroller. The family in front of us also had a stroller and they were like everyone else going with the flow waiting their turn. Now this lady with the stroller came off the curb where she was standing (we were standing in the street) and rammed her stroller into the other people's stroller, both might I add had children in them, and was scremaing out "Excuse Me, Excuse Me, Excuse Me!" with the dirtiest look on her face. As if they were in her way and not the other way around. My boyfriend looked at me and I could tell he wanted to say something but he didn't get involved. I said hey at least she said excuse me. Sometimes you have to look on the bright side. Still the audacity of this woman using her child as a bulldozer to clear a path for her and her impatience left me completely flabbergasted.

Once in the viewing area the rudeness died down and the excitment started brewing inside of me. I stayed to the right so I could be right up against the fence and be as close to the balloons as possible. It was still crowded and cramped, but with the excitement of the balloons being right there I didn't seem to notice as much. I was expecting pushing and straight up craziness, but it wasn't. I got up close and when there was a balloon I wasn't as excited about I was able to step out of line go around and get back on line for one that I fancied more.

What I found funny were the mom's who were freaking out about losing their children and the dad's who had their watchful eye on every move they made telling the mom's to calm down and relax. However, there was also several announcements for missing children which makes me wonder, how do you lose your child? Seriously how do you lose your child? When I was young and my parents would bring me in a crowded area my dad would not let go of my hand and I mean this was up until I was like 13. After that he would not let me out of his sight and if he for a single second thought that I was missing he would start screaming my name and usually I was just beside him. It might sound crazy, but no, he was a responsible parent and because of that my name was never announced over a loud speaker for him to find the closest police officer so they could bring him to where I was. Honestly, parents your children are the most important things in your life whether you think so or not so if you can't view the balloons without taking your eyes off your child then don't. After all it is not about you anymore and that happened the day you had your child. They are number one so please treat them that way.

When we came to the end of Columbus we had to go left to the next viewing area and if you did not want to go to the next viewing area you still had to continue left until the road blocks were open for you to get to your destination. Once again I got to witness parents acting like immature bratty children who did not get their way. One lady was arguing with a NYC cop that her car was right there and why couldn't she just go under the barrier. Now all I have to say is God Bless these NYC Cops because what they were dealing with would have sent many others over the edge. The cop politely told her that she was not allowed and she needed to follow the crowd. You would think that he just told her she was stuck in the crowd for all of eternity by the look of death she gave him. Didnt she understand that if he broke the rules for her he would have to break the rules for others and it would start a string of chaos? Everybody else was following the rules what made her think she was so special? There is a reason these barriers are set up. There is a reason there are rules that need to be followed. These cops are doing their jobs and their job is to keep you and your family safe and to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as it possibly can so the tradition of viewing the balloons can continue.

The second viewing area was a hundred times better. Most people must have got disgusted by the crowds and had enough, walking straight to the exit, instead of the viewing area. My boyfriend was almost one of those people, but I said let's just go in we can even stay on the outside perimeter away from the crowds. I'm so happy we went in. There really was no crowds and we were able to walk without getting elbows in our sides and hands accidently grazing our behinds. I got to run up to the barriers and take pictures of the balloons and with the balloons. I was in my glory. In the end it was worth it. However, it was something that I will never do again, but at least I can say that I did it once.

Now the fun part. The pictures:

And Let the Querying Begin

Now that I have completed and revised another book I am back to querying. In the beginning I was very optimistic especially when after my brutally honest mom finished reading my manuscript and told me "this is it, this is the one" but after already recieving four form rejection letters my optimism is dwindling. This is a rough business to try and break into and each day it gets harder and harder. If it's not a rejection it's the waiting and the waiting and the waiting. The waiting is by far the worst. I don't know how my computer has not exploded from my countless refreshing of my mail page.  However, I am so confident in this book that I will not allow the rejections to knock down my spirit. It's just all part of the game. I just need to wait for the right agent to come along. Fingers crossed that it will be sooner rather than later.

Now that I have finished my newest book I want to start on something else. I have gone through my notebook of book ideas and several have stood out, but I'm not sure where I want them to go. So I think for now I'm going to do what I hate, wait and see what idea randomly pops in my head one day since that has always seemed to work best for me in the past. I am also still working on two other books, but they have always been the books I work on when I have writers block with another book. I'm all over the place, but for me it works. Also I am thinking about crossing over to paranormal romances since I have several ideas and even though have never written one love to read them. Again we'll see.

Really what I have to do is spend some time catching up on reading. I had to have Crescendo when it came out and regret to say I have only read thirty pages. However, my mom read it and told me it ends pretty open and I know there is going to be a third book so I'm hesitant because I know I'm going to want more and will have to wait forever to get it. These series are driving me crazy but I love them. Hush Hush was a great first book and going into a second book there is always that fear that it will not be as good as the first one.

That's all for now. I hope to have some good news in the future. My fingers have been crossed for so long that I am scared they will become permanently stuck and if they do so be it. A small price I'd have to pay for achieving my dream.

Where has the time gone? I blinked and some how when I reopened my eyes I was in the middle of November. For some reason it does not feel like Thanksgiving is next week. I'm not ready because once Thanksgiving comes and goes Christmas takes over. You all know I am Little Miss Christmas, but this year I am so scared it's going to fly by so fast I am not going to have time to enjoy it. Luckily the week after Thanksgiving I took vacation that way I can decorate, bake, shop and wrap and have a Christmas filled week. I can't wait. I haven't taken vacation since last summer and it'll be nice not having to get up and go to work for a whole week. Just the thought alone is bringing a smile to my face.

This year the night before Thanksgiving I want to go into the city and watch as they blow up the balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I hear it's like watching paint dry because it takes like three hours to blow up one balloon, but whatever. I just want a picture to say I was there. It's one of the things on my list of things to do before I'm 30 which is also coming way too fast for me. In two and a half weeks I will be twenty six. Argh! Scary, especially since I still feel like I'm eighteen. Anywho my boyfriend's thoughts on driving in "You want to drive an hour to an hour and a half to take a picture and leave?" My answer: "Well yeah." He just shook his head at me and because he is awesome I know he will do it. Most of the time he is not really hard to persuade into doing things. Which is great for me because I always have crazy ideas. It's nice to have someone who just goes with it. So hopefully I will get there and I'm saying that because for three years I have been saying it and I always wind up getting side tracked and never have made it. So fingers crossed for this year and of course if I do I will have tons of pictures.

I haven't been reading too much lately. I think it's because school work is kind of over taking me at the moment, but I did finish a book a coupke weeks ago. If I have a Wicked Stepmother Where is My Prince by Melissa Kantor. I've had this book on my bookshelf for a very long time and one night when I was a little paranormaled out I picked up and started reading. Ninety pages later I was hooked. I don't know if I was just so excited to read something about a girl who didn't have a vampire/angel/werewolf/warlock boyfriend but it pulled me in. Unfortunately after muy initial ninety pages it took me a while to finish the rest of the book. I think I suffer from ADD at times because I couldn't focus on it for the life of me. However, I finally finished it and I really liked it. It was also great that it took place on Long Island since hello that's where I live. Once I got to the middle of the book I figured out the plot I knew exactly where it was going and I think that is why it took me awhile to read. The excitement was gone because I knew where it was heading. Either way the characters reminded me of being fifteen/sixteen and it's nice to go back there. The story as I'm sure you can tell by the title is about a girl who compares her life to Cinderella. At times I laughed out loud and I really liked Melissa Kantor's style. If you are looking for an easy, fun book I would really recommend it.

In other Theresa news, my boyfriends cousin came to visit this past week. Since I've been with my boyfriend forever (nine years) I consider his family my family so I was so excited to see her. She is stationed in California so we only see her once or twice a year usually for Christmas. This year she will be on deployment for Christmas so unfortunately we will not be able to get together. So she came home to visit and brought her boyfriend with her who has never been to New York he was born and raised in Texas. Of course we brought him to the city, we had to. It was so awesome to be with someone who has never seen NYC and who actually appreciates it. I feel I've become jaded to a point. I've been there so many times that my mouth doesn't drop open at every corner which his did. At one point he even said to me my jaw is going to hurt tomorrow since I keep opening it so much. I couldn't stop laughing. The best was when we went to Toy's R Us in Times Square and we were on the escalator going up when the T-Rex and Legoland came into view. His mouth dropped open, his eyes widened and it was like a little kid in a candy store. It was Awesome. In this past week I have done more things then I have in the past year and it's funny because the week seemed to go by so slow. So I think that is my problem by not having plans, going out and going to new places my days are blending together and flying by. So I'm going to try and keep my active social life that I discovered I still could have if I wanted. Okay I'm going to stop babbling, but I will leave you with pictures from my day in NYC.