I'm kinda going nuts! I've got four more days before I head halfway around the world to see the people I love and get a little bit of a vacation - an actual break from what I have to do every day here - but I feel like the world has to end before I'm allowed to cross that finish line. I've got lots of work (both school and job) and I think my immune system is choosing now to give out. Or as my lovely friend Sarah likes to say, "give itself some exercise". Oh what stress does to our bodies!
I'm going to break things down and do them one step at a time. That's the only way to get through it.
How do you deal with stress and the holidays? Let me know in the comments below.
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
05 December 2011
15 November 2011
The end of my hiatus
I know this is an excuse, but work and transitions have overcome me for a while. It's a part of poor planning - a teacher shouldn't let transitions break too far into the daily plan. But then, I'm not a teacher yet, so lessons are still being learned on that front.
Unfortunately, there isn't much fun news to catch up on. I finished The Marvelous Land of Oz. I also got through Son of a Witch again, which was better this time through. I'm closing in on the end of A Lion Among Men as well, in preparation for Out of Oz, which I expect to get for Christmas. Now it's a matter of holding myself back - I know I shouldn't buy it on my kindle before I go home to get a hard copy. It'll be maddening to wait though. :) Again, if you haven't read the series, I highly recommend it. Maguire has a way of doing all of the political satire and intrigue well folded into highly personal and delving narrative.
I've been doing making some stationary and calendars for those at home - DIY Christmas gifts. The easy way out too. It's a pain to drag gifts for people from halfway around the world - especially when you're not sure if they'll like them. Plus, we've done the normal "from Hong Kong" gifts of jade and Chinese zodiac things. You just can't do those kinds of gifts over and over. People's houses get full of stuff they don't use too much anyway.
Instead, I take the time to make some nice designs and pay for the printing. I'll do all of the cutting and packaging myself. I think they're coming out quite nicely. I've made a gamble posting one of them to the internet early, but I'll run the risk. :)
What are you doing to get ready for the holidays? Do you make your own handmade gifts? Leave me a comment to let me know you stopped by!
Unfortunately, there isn't much fun news to catch up on. I finished The Marvelous Land of Oz. I also got through Son of a Witch again, which was better this time through. I'm closing in on the end of A Lion Among Men as well, in preparation for Out of Oz, which I expect to get for Christmas. Now it's a matter of holding myself back - I know I shouldn't buy it on my kindle before I go home to get a hard copy. It'll be maddening to wait though. :) Again, if you haven't read the series, I highly recommend it. Maguire has a way of doing all of the political satire and intrigue well folded into highly personal and delving narrative.
Instead, I take the time to make some nice designs and pay for the printing. I'll do all of the cutting and packaging myself. I think they're coming out quite nicely. I've made a gamble posting one of them to the internet early, but I'll run the risk. :)
What are you doing to get ready for the holidays? Do you make your own handmade gifts? Leave me a comment to let me know you stopped by!
31 October 2011
History of Halloween
The last October Post of the month is here! It's gone by so quickly. Today we'll be doing a brief history of Halloween to celebrate the day. :)
The ancient Celtic celebration of Samhain was a New Year's celebration. November 1st was considered New Year's day, marking the end of summer and harvest and the beginning of the darker, colder months. The Celts believed that on this transitional day, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became thin and blurred, so ghosts could walk among the living. Samhain is a fire feast, so it was traditionally celebrated with bonfires, predicting the future and wearing costumes to scare away any spirits that came near.
When the Roman conquered the Celts, two Roman holidays started to blend with the tradition of Samhain. Feralia was a late October Roman holiday the commemorate the passing of the dead. Another holiday celebrated Ponoma, the goddess of fruits and trees. Her symbol is the apple and is commonly believed to be the origin of the bobbing for apples tradition.
Later, the Catholic Church declared that the November 1st would be All Saints Day, a day to honor saints and martyrs in feast. As this celebration spread, it started to replace some of the old Celtic and Roman rituals, which all blurred together further. It was typically celebrated with bonfires and costumes of saints, angels and devils. The day was called "All-hallows" or "All-hallowsmas". The day before (also the traditional day of Samhain) became known as "All-hallowes-eve", which eventually evolved into the Halloween we know today.
Halloween came to America along with immigrants. It was much more popular in the southern colonies (rather than the more puritanical New England ones) until the mid 1800s when the great potato famine in Ireland brought millions of Irish to America. This population movement helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween on a national level. As the Irish and English had done, people began to dress up and travel door to door asking for money and food, which eventually became "trick-or-treating". By the 1930s, Halloween was a secular holiday. The 1950s saw a boom in celebration just as they saw a boom in population. Trick-or-treating was considered an inexpensive way to celebrate as a community. Today it has become America's second largest commercial holiday.
If you're interested in learning more about the History of Halloween, visit History.com's Halloween page.
It's been wonderful writing these October Posts this month! I've enjoyed having the direction and getting to share with you all in the comments. Happy Halloween!
Please let me know you stopped by in the comments below!
When the Roman conquered the Celts, two Roman holidays started to blend with the tradition of Samhain. Feralia was a late October Roman holiday the commemorate the passing of the dead. Another holiday celebrated Ponoma, the goddess of fruits and trees. Her symbol is the apple and is commonly believed to be the origin of the bobbing for apples tradition.
Later, the Catholic Church declared that the November 1st would be All Saints Day, a day to honor saints and martyrs in feast. As this celebration spread, it started to replace some of the old Celtic and Roman rituals, which all blurred together further. It was typically celebrated with bonfires and costumes of saints, angels and devils. The day was called "All-hallows" or "All-hallowsmas". The day before (also the traditional day of Samhain) became known as "All-hallowes-eve", which eventually evolved into the Halloween we know today.
Halloween came to America along with immigrants. It was much more popular in the southern colonies (rather than the more puritanical New England ones) until the mid 1800s when the great potato famine in Ireland brought millions of Irish to America. This population movement helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween on a national level. As the Irish and English had done, people began to dress up and travel door to door asking for money and food, which eventually became "trick-or-treating". By the 1930s, Halloween was a secular holiday. The 1950s saw a boom in celebration just as they saw a boom in population. Trick-or-treating was considered an inexpensive way to celebrate as a community. Today it has become America's second largest commercial holiday.
If you're interested in learning more about the History of Halloween, visit History.com's Halloween page.
It's been wonderful writing these October Posts this month! I've enjoyed having the direction and getting to share with you all in the comments. Happy Halloween!
Please let me know you stopped by in the comments below!
28 October 2011
October Post: Get Organized II
So I got some great comments on Monday's blog post about getting organized! Laura @ Catharsis shared her love of cozi.com - a site that helps you keep your life together using your tablet or smart phone. If I had a phone, I'm sure I'd be all over this. You can connect with all of your family members so that everyone uploads their schedules onto a common calendar, you can create to do lists for everyone so that you can stay on the same page. Very cool site.
Jamie @ Chosenchaos pointed me in the direct of Erin Condren organizers. You can find some gorgeous bound organizers at this site filled with bright bold colors, useful tabs and great holiday/event ideas.
Thanks for sharing!
The last organizer that I want to share with you today is all about getting ready for the holidays. The blog eighteen25 brings us this awesome holiday organizer for those of you with long lists of holiday cheer to spread. The site gives you a step-by-step rundown of how to create your own holiday organizer from a composition notebook, some scrapbook or wrapping paper and some of their nifty printables. They even help you create tabs for your coupons, your gift lists, your Christmas cards and that calendar to help count down to the big day. If you're big on the holidays and always feel the stress come on the week before Thanksgiving, then this is the book for you.
Leave a comment to let me know you stopped by! Tell me how you beat the holiday stress and keep yourself organized. :)
Jamie @ Chosenchaos pointed me in the direct of Erin Condren organizers. You can find some gorgeous bound organizers at this site filled with bright bold colors, useful tabs and great holiday/event ideas.
Thanks for sharing!
The last organizer that I want to share with you today is all about getting ready for the holidays. The blog eighteen25 brings us this awesome holiday organizer for those of you with long lists of holiday cheer to spread. The site gives you a step-by-step rundown of how to create your own holiday organizer from a composition notebook, some scrapbook or wrapping paper and some of their nifty printables. They even help you create tabs for your coupons, your gift lists, your Christmas cards and that calendar to help count down to the big day. If you're big on the holidays and always feel the stress come on the week before Thanksgiving, then this is the book for you.
Leave a comment to let me know you stopped by! Tell me how you beat the holiday stress and keep yourself organized. :)
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