My Favorite Holiday Planning Tips

I can’t believe that the holidays are just around the corner again. It seems like we just had them.  I wanted to share some holiday planning tips with you to help you make your holiday season easier, and more memorable. The holidays are a great time for family to spend together.

 

1.Start new traditions with your family. Traditions have to start somewhere, so why not try something new like baking or watching a certain movie every year.

2.Remember that it is never too early to start your holiday shopping. Some people even start the day after Christmas when there are great sales.

3.Order and address your holiday cards early. I know that is something I tend to forget to do. Then when it time for your holiday cards to be sent, you can just pop them in the mail.

4.You can make really cute homemade ornaments to add your own special touch to your tree or your yard. I still have ones I made probably when I was my son’s age.

5.Use an online retailer for your unique holiday cards, to save time having to go to tons of stores to find the perfect card. I really like the designs of the Storkie Christmas cards.

6.Shop online for gifts that way you can shop at 3 or 4 am and your children will have no idea what they are getting. This is a must if you are a single parent.

7.Plan your holiday menus early so you can anticipate the meal. My family always has appetizers on Christmas Eve, so it is fun to pick out what we are going to have.

8.Holiday card pictures don’t have to be holiday photos. You can use the perfect family picture you took on vacation or just your favorite picture from that year. One year my sister used a photo from her wedding.

9.Organize your ornaments in totes and keep them all together. I keep mine in red and green totes. I have tons of totes so when it comes to decorate I know exactly where they are without having to open every tote looking.

10. Wrap Christmas lights carefully and put them in brown lunch sacks. They won’t have a chance            to get tangled with the other strands.

Don’t forget to like Storkie on Facebook  and follow Storkie on Twitter.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the Storkie holiday blogging program. I received compensation for my participation. All opinions are 100% mine.

Check out Roaste.com For All Your Coffee Needs

When I am buying my mom a gift for a special occasion, I usually include some coffee. My mom loves to drink coffee, so I know that she really appreciates a bag of gourmet coffee to drink. I would consider her a coffee snob, because she is picky when it comes to what she drinks. When we went to visit my aunt and uncle in California, I received an email from my aunt asking me about coffee makers and coffee.  She wanted to get my mom the best coffee for our stay. She ended up getting some at the store so she could pick out the flavor she wanted.  It is similar to asking someone what they want for dinner a week or two in advance.

I would love to own a Gaggia Classic Espresso machine from Roaste.  Roaste  is a gourmet coffee marketplace, selling coffee beans from coffee roasters from around the world. Coffee is delivered to the customer's home. Offering also includes coffee makers and espresso machines.  The site also includes a coffee community, featuring coffee news, coffee recipes and other articles.   I had a job in a bakery where I would make the hot drinks. It was my favorite part, of the job. I would love to be able to have guests over and offer them the hot beverage of their choice. It would eliminate the task of going to a coffee shop and paying those outrageous prices for a grande mocha cappuccino.  It would be nice to have more options than black, cream and sugar.

I love entertaining so it would be a great investment for me. I love when my family gets together and we talk about the Good Old Days. My aunt found old records from 1930’s of my grandpa and my great grandparents. My great grandpa is playing the fiddle. It was so neat to hear them after all these years.  I would also love to have some of the Hario V60 products to go along with the Gaggia Classic. I’d like the Hario V60 Ice- Coffee Maker Fretta to have iced coffee drinks for those summer months when the air conditioner is constantly on and you feel like if you go outside you will melt.  It would be great for those days where you can fry an egg on the sidewalk, not literally of course.

What is your favorite coffee drink? I look forward to your responses

Ten Movies I Can't Stand

I have blogged about my favorite movies so it’s only fair that I blog about movies I hate or don’t like. I am a huge movie buff. One of my favorite things about my trip to visit my aunt and uncle was talking about movies with my aunt.  She loves movies as much as I do which is awesome because my mom isn’t a big movie watcher. We always sit around and watch movies at my aunt and uncles house. It is so relaxing so here is my list of movies I don’t like, in no particular order.

Napoleon Dynamite-  This was the stupidest movie I have ever seen. The only time I laughed was when there was a llama on the screen and that was because I was watching it with my old best friend and we had inside jokes about llamas and the teacher who said he ate them.

Queen of the Damned- Really this movie made no sense to me.  I wouldn’t sit through it again for a truckload of cash.

The Order- I turned it off after the first five minutes.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail- I know it is supposed to be British humor but it drove me crazy, especially when the Knights who say Nee come on. Then you hear Nee for three weeks after. I actually was dumb enough to buy my ex that movie and it was the first one I put in his pile when I kicked him out. I ended up getting another copy from a friend it was in a bag of dvds she didn’t want. Needless to say it was at Blockbuster two hours after she left.

Underworld enough said.

March of the Penguins- I went with my old best friend and her kids, thinking it was a kids movie. We were all disappointed when we realized it was a documentary. I think we all almost fell asleep.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Anything with Cheech and Chong

  

The Ring- it gave me nightmares for a week.

The Notebook- Really I am not in to anything from Nicholas Sparks, I didn’t like Message in a Bottle       either.

There are 10 movies I don’t like. I am sure there are more. What are some movies that you can’t stand? That you cringe anytime you think about it. I would love to hear what you have to say and what you pick.

Healthy Family

Thankfully we are a pretty healthy family. I don’t really get too sick, I did have the flu like 5 times last year, but I think that was stress related.  That was the first time I had the flu in a few years, and I have never had a flu shot.  Noah is healthy as well.  Just so you know I banged my foot on my wooden head board so we both don’t wake up with the Mongolian bird flu in the morning.  I feel really lucky that we hardly ever get sick compared to some of my friends families, who it seems like every other week another family member is sick with something. I am not sure if it is luck or if we are just not around a bunch of people all the time. I work from home and Noah has never been in daycare so, that might play a big role in it. We are also avid hand washers and seem to have very healthy immune systems.

As I am writing this I am reminded of my Grandma Diana, who was a very cautious woman who would say things like mind this and mind that. She was one of those people who was overbearing and the type of person who would freak out about germs. I remember if I was sick or had been sick with anything I wouldn’t be able to be around my cousin Alex. Alex wasn’t medically fragile by any means, where I could totally understand, she was just really overbearing.  I don’t see myself being like that because soon Noah will be going to school and being around other children.  I would like to get an IQ Air purifier to use when there are germs present or maybe just to have all the time to clear out any odors from the cats or any pollutants that might enter my home through an open window or door.

Do you have an air purifier? What are some other tips to keeping your family safe from pollutants and germs in your home?