Five Things I Love About the Holiday Season

There are so many things, but here are a few things that I think make the holidays feel real special:
1. Christmas Music

2. Decorating my house

3, Baking cookies and making chocolates even if they are not good snack foods

4. Driving around to see holiday light displays

5. Finding a perfect gift for someone you love

Rain or Snow

    We have all experienced these days.  There is some form of severe weather outside.  Maybe it is a killer lightning storm with harsh winds, or snow falling so fast that you can no longer see where you parked your car.  Be that as it may, there are always those days when you just want to stay inside.  Though we probably wouldn't have any severe winter weather like I experienced in New Hampshire, North Carolina has days when you just feel like staying inside.  So what to do?  Here are a few things I like to do until nature is through: 

1.  Curl up with a blanket on the coach and watch your favorite movie. 
2.  Read a book that you have been putting off. 
3.  Bake cookies.  This is especially good on a cold winter day. 
4.  Day dream about my next vacation or otherwise plan where I would like to go. 
5.  Play scrabble or another board game with my husband while drinking hot chocolate. 

Top Five Things I Love About Fall

    I love fall.  It is my favorite season.  I wish we could just repeat September to December all year long.  I was spoiled for many years when I lived in New England.  Fall there is so beautiful.  It just has that romantic feeling to it with fall craft fairs and beautiful changing leaves, especially when you travel up to the mountains and lakes while visiting those small New England towns.  It is still really beautiful in North Carolina.  One year we went to Old Salem in Winston-Salem, NC in November.  It was so pretty to see the old homes with the falling leaves and drink hot apple cedar.
 
    Last weekend I picked up some pumpkins at Whole Foods for our front walkway, so now it feels so fall like when I leave for student teaching and come home at night.  It has been in the 90's all week in North Carolina, but the weather is supposed to cool down to the 80's this week and it might just start to feel like fall is in the air. 

   
    Here are the top five things I love about fall:

1. Pumpkins and pumpkin flavored food


2. Cooler fall weather--I love those brisk fall mornings

3. Leaves changing color

4. Halloween decorations, trick or treaters, and carving jack-o-lanterns

5. Fall fairs

Photo from http://trendfunnel.com/category/tips-and-tricks/

10 Things You Might Not Know About Me

1.  I am a huge World War II history buff. 
2.  A couple years ago I lost 70 pounds.  I wrote an article about my weight loss for the New Hampshire Mirror in January 2008, which you can read at How I Lost 60 Pounds.  I lost another 10 pounds after writing this article. 
3.  My favorite Broadway musical is "Wicked."
4.  I love to play Scrabble. 
5.  My favorite book is "1,000 Places to See Before You Die."  I recommend everyone own a copy. 
6.  I have always wanted to be a teacher.  When I was a kid I used to play school with my brother and some of my friends.
7.  I love cheesecake. 
8.  I sometimes sing in the shower. 
9.  I love watching Disney movies. 
10.  When I was a kid I always wanted a cat, but I couldn't have one.  Now Joe and I have two cats named Kitsy and Freddy.