the best kind of stress!

christmas countdown: one month from today!

i am really anticipating the next couple of weeks!

i have never understood why people don't like the holiday season. i know it can be stressful, but i think it is a good kind of stressful. growing up, i loved all of the baking that went on, the parties, the family activities, the millions of places we had to go. i've always been very lucky in that i have a big family to spend the holidays with.

i can't wait for thanksgiving. i mean, seriously CAN NOT WAIT. my mom is cooking. do you know how long it has been since i have been to thanksgiving dinner in which my mother was chef? far too long. my grandmother is from back east, so we have this delicious traditional cranberry orange relish. and we have mashed rutabagas...which are to die for. plus the traditional fixins....turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing (which i don't like, coincidentally), rolls, some kind of veggie. and this delightful jello my mom makes that has cranberries, nuts, and a bunch of other stuff in it, slathered with whipped cream....oh, i am just salivating thinking about it. and christmas lights officially go on that night!

friday we are heading back south to my parents to help decorate their house for christmas. it has been quite a few years since i got to decorate the tree with my siblings, so i am really looking forward to this. it will be fun to listen to christmas music and just be with my family.

then we get to decorate our house...put up our tree, hang our stockings, put up my christmas village, the nativity, the advent calendar hubby's mom made...sing christmas carols and love the holiday season more than anything.

next tuesday is my company party. we're having dinner at a really ritzy restaurant. (perks of working at a law firm where the attorneys make more money than i could even fathom.) here's what i'm having: "fresh atlantic salmon with seasonal risotto, covered in a traditional beurre blanc." hubby is having a hand cut new york steak with garlic mashed potatoes and fresh steamed vegetables. mmmmmmmmmm.

then the next weekend is crazy busy. hubby is taking saturday and sunday off from work, which i'm really excited for. friday night we are having a christmas party for a bunch of our friends. i am thrilled to death about this! i love doing stuff like that. i am still trying to figure out what games we should play. many of our guests won't know each other--any one have any good ideas? we are doing a white elephant, will be awesome.

saturday is busy busy. my friend jausi is having a baby shower, then we are heading to a giant tree display they do here ever year. i've been going since i was itty bitty, long before i can remember. i think that night we'll also be heading to a great christmas light display with my family and some friends that will be here from out of state.

sunday we're taking the trek to a really cool traveling anatomy display downtown. hubby has really been looking forward to this, and i'm pretty excited about it too.

so as you can see....tons to do. lots of stress! but i would much rather have this kind of stress than any other. there is a lot to do--but all things i enjoy. (even shopping, which will be extra fun this year because of our little buddy! even if we don't have a lot of money--we are still going to have an awesome christmas.)

i've already gotten one stress out of the way. our christmas cards are stuffed, addressed, and ready to go. all i've got to do is put postage on them and mail them in a couple of weeks!

so what about you? do you stress a lot during the holidays? is it good stress or bad stress? what are you looking forward to in the next month?