Grateful For: November 2008

Hello, November! Where did you come from? Wasn't it just September? Didn't Autumn just start? And now it's over. Maybe it's my favourite season because it's so short. There's so much to squeeze into just a few short weeks. But before the end of the month we may have snow. And here's what I'm grateful for/looking forward to as Autumn ends and the start of the holiday season begins. Whee!

1. The Santa Claus Parade!
OMG, I'm so excited! The Santa Claus Parade is to me (and probably a lot of Torontonians) the official start of the holiday season. Toronto's parade is one of the oldest and largest Santa Claus parades in North America and is simultaneously broadcasted all over the world. Did you know that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was inspired by our very own Santa Claus Parade? That's what Wikipedia tells me :) But last year I didn't go and I regretted it. This year though, The BF and I will go with our Venti coffees in hand and stand in Queen's Park and cheer and sing along with the marching bands, some of which come from all over North America to be in our parade. I always invite our friends and family to come with us but no one ever seems to want to go. Maybe they think it's for kids, but I don't care. I love it and the 16th can't come soon enough :D

2. Creating a Schedule that Works:
So I've been reading this book for about a week or so and it is giving me hope that one day soon the way I spend my time each day won't be such a higgledy-piggledy mess and I'll actually start getting things done. I've had it for a while but I only just started reading it. (What made me pick it up will be the subject of a later post.) So far, I've been doing what the author calls "Time Mapping," which is trying to figure out what I actually spend my time doing, how long things take (on average) and when I'm more in the mood to do, say, the dishes as opposed to clean out my inbox. It's going good and I'm learning new things about myself and how I deal with time. Here's hoping this works and I'm able to fit more good crafting fun into my daily life.

3. Buying Presents:
I love giving presents, maybe even more than I enjoy receiving them.  I tell everyone, don't tell me what you're getting for others because I like to be surprised and excited along with them as they open their gifts.  And I'm a big believer in getting people what they really want, what they'd really enjoy and what would really make them excited and happy.  My sister once told me that she always looks forward to the gifts she gets from me because she knows they're gonna be good.  Well, I hope I can live up to that again this year.  It's making me excited just thinking about it. I wanna go make lists and plans!
This year, I've vowed to get my shopping done on time. I want to do a lot of it on Etsy and from the One of a Kind Show because I'd like to support makers. Plus, I do want to make a bunch of stuff (some of which you've seen the start of.) The rest I may have to enter a mall for will NOT be done during that last week, I swear it. No more crushing masses of people for me, thank you. This year I'll be ahead of the game and everything will be wrapped and ready to go before Christmas Eve!

4. Holiday Decorating:
This is The BF's and my first Christmas in our own apartment, together. No one else, no roommates, just us. Which means I can decorate however I want! Yippee! I love the holidays. After Autumn they're my second favourite time of year. Maybe because the two are back to back, I don't know, but Holiday Decorating is serious business around here. And it all begins the evening of the Santa Claus Parade. We come home, have some hot chocolate, turn on the carols and start unpacking boxes. The BF's a little less gung-ho about all of this but he does go along with it since he knows how much it means to me. Plus, this year I picked up a copy of this magazine and I'm loving all the ideas in it. I'm not sure what to make first! Highly recommended if you're looking for some Holiday decorating inspiration.

5. The Countdown is Coming to an End!!
This time next month I'll be done, finished, finito. Hallelujah! But between now and then will be hell. There may not be a lot of blogging going on around here nearer to the end of the month, what with the FINAL paper of my University career needing to be written and the FINAL exam of my University career needing to be studied for. But once it's done, it's DONE! I. Can't. Wait!

What are you grateful for/looking forward to this month?

{Pic: Here's Daisy, covered in fur and kinda in need of a hair cut but sleeping in the sun because it's warm and on my mother's jacket because it's also warm. Sigh, to have her life!}