The Best Christmas Letter. Ever.

This is one of the many annual newsletters that have been enclosed in the Christmas cards that I've received this year. It is without question the best one I've ever gotten. It speaks for itself:

Dear Friends,

As I begin to think about sending out Christmas Cards, the thoughts of "Should I do it this year…do I have all the addresses…I've never been one to write much in my cards, should I mention what my family's been up to the past year?..." go through my head. I begin to feel overwhelmed by the effort. I get tired of trying to organize so many activities over the holidays, the parties, the gifts, travel or not. . .it is all so much work. Many of you probably think similar things and for some of you, it's no effort at all. Unfortunately, however you look at it, I felt compelled for the first time in my life to write a letter this year. It may be a little sappy but deal with it anyway!

One thing is for sure at some point during the holidays it crosses our mind that another year has gone by and we never find the time to stay in touch with many of our friends and family members that we still hold dear in our hearts. It doesn't mean we don't indulge ourselves with memories of the people from our past that we never get to see anymore.

So much occurs throughout the year that sometimes we just don't feel like taking the time to send out Christmas cards knowing that our loved ones will understand. Through the years some of you (including myself) have experienced pain through the loss of a loved one, troubles within the family, financial instability, relocation or some other difficult occurrence. Some of you have experienced the joy of opening your home and hearts to adoption, giving birth, promotion at work, the excitement of beginning a new career (which can be a little nerve wracking too) or some other moment that brought happiness into your hearts.

We all have experienced joy and disappointment at some point with friends or family members but we can always count on one thing. The people whose paths have crossed ours and those experiences we have shared with one another, whether joy or pain, have contributed in part to who we are today. If only we had realized it at the time. Home truly amazing it is to encounter people in our lives that add to what we may be missing in ourselves.

Christmas is simply, a special time of year no matter what your belief. We all grew up learning the meaning of Christmas and how important it is to spend time with your friends and family while attempting to set any differences aside (often with our family members of course).
Maybe it's my kids that have made me sentimental over the years or maybe it's just part of growing older. Whatever the case may be, my sincere wish for each and everyone of you is to have a wonderful holiday season and may you discover and enjoy the importance of the people you once knew from your past, know in your present and will meet in your future.

Merry Christmas 2008
Joy to you and yours,

I Don't Even LIKE Tuna!

Having a four day weekend is always a blessing and a curse - a blessing, of course, because there is more time to be able to spend on the things that we enjoy. A curse, because there are so many productive hours that seem to slip away into the past without getting anything accomplished.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able to indulge in both sides of the four-day-weekend coin. Spending Thursday with my family was a treat, especially playing "hide and seek" with a 3 year old that has boundless energy and a face too cute to say "no" to (especially when she snuggles up to you and says "Please Aunt Beth, more hide seek"). It's impossible to turn that down!

And then I was left with the task of cleaning out and reorganizing my pantry. I've been putting this off for quite some time because I was afraid of how long it would take. And I ended up being right. In order to do this project properly, I had to unload and move 2 other bookcases before even starting on the pantry. My pantry is a free-standing cabinet that has been housed in the closet of my spare bedroom since the day I bought it. I still have no idea why I put it there, instead of in it's more appropriate place, in the dining area. So, to set everything right, I ended up rotating 3 pieces of furniture, including unloading and then reloading each piece.

I know that my pantry is no different than anyone else's in that when I get home from the grocery store, I put things in where they will fit, as opposed to where they belong. This always makes for a big mess and an eventual treasure hunt when the time finally comes to see what's really in there. And what did I find? A shocking array of things that I had forgotten about:

• A case of Pria bars - still good to eat and now heading to work to be stashed in my desk
• 5 cans of corn - apparently there was a good deal at some point
• Multiple boxes and bags of already opened sugar - I wonder what I was wanting to bake?
• Microwave popcorn - so much that it makes me wince
• Tuna, in many forms - steak, canned, pouch - and I HATE tuna

I have no idea what might have possessed me to buy any tuna in the first place, let alone that much. I don't even know what to do with it, how to cook it, or eat it, or not gag from it. But, I guess that I willl be eating some type of a tuna-corn casserole in my near future. I can hardly wait!