[i've got holiday spirit,how 'bout you?]

*I love Christmas music. I have a Christmas playlist on iTunes, and I don't just listen to it around Christmas!

*Best Christmas present:Probably Legos. Worst:Sweaters. I live in Southern California, FFS!

*Christmas is all about family for me-some years we have my brother and his wife and kids here, other years it's just me and my parents and my aunt, uncle and cousin.

*My mom likes to put their Christmas tree up as soon after Thanksgiving as possible,along with lots of ornaments. She still has ornaments that I made when I was in 3rd grade.And some of them are on the tree every year.

*The rule when I was a kid(which is still in place now) that we were not allowed to go anywhere near the living room until 7 a.m. on Christmas morning. Though I remember one time I woke up and I was the only person awake for quite a while.

[holiday traditions]

*I love going to the Hotel Del Coronado at Christmastime to check out the Christmas tree and the outdoor skating rink(we have two outdoor skating rinks around Christmastime-the Hotel Del's and there is also one at Horton Plaza;the proceeds from both go to charity which is really cool.We go in for that here-I think it's because we have a lot of people from other parts of the country,because of the military(Navy and Marine) presence in San Diego.

Balboa Park gets decorated too-except they can't call it "Christmas in the park"-political correctness *sigh* and also the Old Globe puts on  How The Grinch Stole Christmas. I've never been, but I heard it's a LOT of fun.

*Since I'm a foodie, this is one of my favourite times of year. I love to be in the kitchen at Christmastime. I kick everyone out of the kitchen when I cook,though, because it can get too crowded for my liking.

*My mom loves to decorate the house;she always  puts their Christmas tree up right after Christmas. I like seeing how people decorate their houses..We go to this restaraunt-Casa De Bandini-that  decorates the whole restaraunt for the holidays.It's really something to see.

[already thinking ahead]

Since we're going out to dinner for Thanksgiving,I don't have to worry about cooking..but now it's got me thinking about what I want to make for Christmas dinner. I usually contribute something(or a couple of somethings) to Christmas dinner.

Our holiday dinners usually go this way: a HUGE Christmas Eve dinner(with at least one dessert) and then Christmas dinner is  a roast(one year my uncle sent smoked pork chops that were REALLY good), sides, and several pies, including Chocolate Peppermint Pie which is a sort of chocolate mousse pie which has been a staple of our Christmas dinners for a LONG time.

This year, I'd like to try something different,maybe make a side that I've never made before-or revisit one that I haven't made for a while. It kinda depends what we're having for Christmas dinner-when I know that, maybe I can kinda think about what I should make.

[making obligatory "I'm thankful I'm not cooking Thanksgiving dinner" joke]

Not only that, my parents and I are delivering Meals On Wheels  on Thanksgiving. Supposedly we shouldn't have a lot of people on our route because of that, and even if we did, it wouldn't be a big deal(we pick  up out meals at a certain spot around 11 a.m. and it takes about an hour or so depending on how busy we are)

Also, I am going to go to the gym before that. Usually, I have to take two buses to get there, but the bus that  doesn't go over there except on Sundays and holidays. Thanksgiving is one of those holidays so I figure I might as well take advantage of it before we have our Thanksgiving dinner!

My mom made reservations at a local hotel.. I was able to find their menu online and I liked what I saw :) There are no shortage of places to go out for dinner-even Buca Di Beppo does a Thanksgiving dinner. I wouldn't mind having a holiday dinner there-I have to wonder, is it Thanksgiving with a Italian twist?

There are the more pricey places like the Hotel Del Coronado(*super* pricey, but it's popular-they also have a buffet on the weekend that is $80 a pop but there's always a wait to get in-go figure!)

About this time of year there are ads in the Reader(our local free paper) and in the Night &Day section of the newspaper  for all of the hotels and restaraunts that offer Thanksgiving dinner,  and a lot of them will  tell you what they're serving. I like the ones who have the real typical Thanksgiving dinner(turkey, stuffing,mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie)

[every day is halloween]

I've used that subject line every year. It's become something of a tradition, if you will.I love Halloween. It's so much different than when I was a kid, though.We'd go out for a long time and in a not very well lit area. I doubt my parents(if I was a kid now) would let me do that,

Looking at pictures of me as a kid, I can tell what year it was because of the costumes-my brother is Darth Vader? it's 1977.

My favourite Halloween candy(in no particular order)

Reese's peanut butter cups

Peanut M&M's

Milky Way

Twix

3 Musketeers