Christmas Memories...

Well, lets just say this is not quite where I expected to be come this Christmas. Moved back in with mom. No job. No future. Lots of stress. Economy in the shitter. Merry fuckin Christmas right? Well - Right! Its hard, I'm fighting depression but this blog is about the good - I came home last weekend to the smell of cookies baking. Mom was making her annual Xmas Cookies. It smelled so good. I walked in to find my sis-in-law decorating the gingerbread men. We put a few decorations this year, got a small tree. Family and a few friends are coming over tomorow. We got lil gifts for each other. Nothing much. I'm really looking foward to it tho. Last night as I drove home from rehearsal I drove through Old Towne Orange to look at the lights - and Pine/Palm street (mom had told me to drive by) was amazing! The entire street glows. Apparently this street does this every year - I drove through twice, my eyes glistening with the sweet memory of how much I love Christmas lights. I felt like a kid again. The wonderment, giddiness, innocence. So here's a blog of Christmas Memories. Happy Christmas Everyone!

• My parents got divorced when I was very young, but that didnt stop my dad from being here every Christmas morning for years. Shane and I would have to stay in our rooms while he came in with all his presents. One of my favorite years was when Shane and I were hittin the teenage years and we still had to do this. My bro and I sat in my room laughing and rolling our eyes saying we cant believe we still have to do this - but of course loving every second.


• I heard Santa and his reindeer a few years. These are the years my parents got really ambitious and would run up and down the side of our house with bells, I think they actually got on the roof a few times.


• When we would put up our Xmas lights - my brother would always make a giant peace sign on the roof - we started to get known for that. I miss it.


• My mom's coffee cake she'd make every Xmas morning. Honestly thats the only time I really like to eat coffee cake.


• The fact that Santa would visit us and fill our stockings at mom's, dad's and grandma and papa's. The bro and I thought we were so good!


• Mom's cookies of course. She makes cornflake things (Shane's fave), carmelitas, santa bars, shortbread, snowballs (Dad's fave - says they pouf in his mouth), snickerdoodles, etc etc.


• We used to go to Fashion Island and Roger's Gardens every year to look at the lights. We also used to go to Knotts Merry Farm and a place in Fountain Valley that a neighborhood went all out in decorations and lights.


• A Christmas Story playing 24 hours on TNT

• Decorating the Xmas tree, and remembering all my little ornaments

• Of course the pets always had stockings too...

And of course as I've gotten older some of these have changed - I'm going to leave out the married Xmas years because those memories are now tainted, but I created a few new ones the past few years.

• Santa still visiting me and Coyan and filling our stockings Xmas morning


• Watching Christmas movies all through December


• Visiting the Snoopy House on Albert/Santa Ana Ave


• Decorating my own house


• My annual Christmas Eve party that was always so bitter sweet


• Coyan and my Xmas card

Now I'm changing again, I'm back home with mom and new memories will be made. Dont ever take these memories for granted, you never know when they'll change yet again. Happy Holidays!!!