Tis the Season...

... to be super, duper, incredibly busy!

Life seems to be moving non-stop these days... so much so that I haven't been able to keep up with my blog, or even reading some of my favorite blogs.  Between working a ton so that I have money to spend on Christmas presents, starting a "new" part-time position at work, shopping, etc. I feel like there is no time to spare.

MD and I FINALLY got all of our Christmas cards written and ready to mail out.  And by MD and I, I really mean just the "I" part.... although this year I did make MD sign the cards because well I want him to see the effort that I put in to them.  I feel like sending cards via "snail mail" is a dying art and Christmas time is the PERFECT opportunity to let people know we miss them, care about them, etc. via a Christmas card.  I love the messages that I have been getting from people who already got the cards that we mailed out... everyone seems so excited to get something in the mail that is not a catalog, bill, advertisement, etc.

Now that cards are done it is time to move on to cookies, shopping, wrapping presents, etc. And all this needs to be done by Tuesday as we are heading to NJ for some family time before Christmas on Wednesday morning.  Not to mention we are also in charge of cooking a turkey dinner for my Dad for his birthday... something neither one of us has ever done before...things could get interesting.

I still haven't completely decorated for the holidays which is totally frustrating, but at least we managed to get our tree decorated last week (pictures to come soon... I promise).  Somehow I am going to get all of this done within the next few days PLUS get some quality studying time in.

How do you all manage to find time for everything during the holidays?  Cause I sure am having a hard time finding balance this year.

December means....

Happy December all!  

Next to October, December is probably my favorite month of the year because well I love, Love, LOVE the holidays!  December means so many things to so many people. Here are some of the things that December means for me. :)

December means lots of family time which is something I always enjoy despite the fact that my family sometimes drives me crazy.

December means going with Mark and my family to cut down Christmas trees....

Our Very First Christmas Tree Together

Our 2nd Christmas Tree Together

"Family" Cutting down our Christmas Trees

Last Year's Christmas Tree

December means decorating the house inside and out for the holidays...

Our First Tree All Decorated

Our 2nd Christmas Tree All Decorated

Dining Room Table 

Last Year's Tree

Centerpiece on Coffee Table

End Table

December means going home and setting up the snow village displays...

Church and Skating Rink Scene

Neighborhood Scene

Neighborhood Scene

Town Scene

Neighborhood Scene

Town Scene

December means peppermint mochas from Starbucks...

{via}

December means lots of Christmas lights....

December means 2 weeks of uninterrupted vacation time with Lover....

Hanging out at Hershey Park during Lover's Vacation

December means baking traditional family Christmas cookies....

December means Christmas movies all the time on Hallmark and Lifetime...

December means one of the best times of the year! :)

What does December mean to you??

Tag-Along Thursday Blog Hop

I'm linking up with Miss Mommy, And Nothing Else Matters, Punkin' Heads & Dooda Loo's, Mom 2 Memphis and Ruby, My Adventures Through Mommyhood, Mommas Like Me, and Through the Eyes of the Mrs for Tag-Along Thursday Blog Hop.  They host this party the first Thursday of every month.  Check out their blogs!  And while you are there you just may find some other awesome people to follow!