Happy Final Week of 2025!
If you saw my YouTube video, then you know I made up a personal holiday celebration out of the week before Thanksgiving (if not, it’s below). It’s a week that I chose to go within and be introspective about my life this year, and how I plan to honor and celebrate it with family and friends during the upcoming holiday season. Yes, I know that the holidays are already upon us. I hear carols, see the decorations, and have already been bombarded with advertisements about perfect Christmas presents. If you want to start celebrating, that’s ok! Everybody has to do it their way, and this personal celebration is my way to engage in some self care and prepare my “mental toolbox” for the busy season ahead.
Because let’s face it: the holidays are fun, but they’re stressful. The expectations of this season are impossible, and that’s inevitably the cause of friction and holiday meltdowns. So why don’t we all take this week to accept a few truths to fortify us from the beginning:
I know, easier said than done. That’s why I’m giving myself a week to seep all of this into my subconscious and melt that iceburg so I can write my best narrative for Holiday Season 2025.
I mention in my video that “self care” doesn’t always look like we think. Yes sometimes it means noshing with a bowl of beef stroganoff in our PJ’s and a TV binge marathon. Other times, it means wrapping the Christmas gifts you have so that’s out of the way and you have a clear picture of what’s on the docket for Black Friday (as I did yesterday). Or it might be getting in the workout clothes and doing that workout, even if you really don’t want to (like last Thursday and Friday). Or going by Dollar Tree after dropping off trash at the dump to get those 2 boxes you need to finish said wrapping, and taking time to make a taco casserole tonight so you can flow with your husband’s after work schedule by having a good dinner tonight and workable leftovers tomorrow (like today). Or checking out an Elin Hilderbrand book at the library to read this week because you love Christmas, but want one more slice of summer before that post-Thanksgiving cold front they’re already screaming about rolls in.
The important thing is to help yourself by taking care of yourself. You want to have the tools to stop and take stock of exactly what you need when that stress rises next week as you hustle to cook those Thanksgiving dishes and clean the house, or pack up the car and hit the holiday traffic. Is it good planning? Doing today what tomorrow you needs? Or taking a time out to rest and restore before getting up and tackling it one more time?
We’ll talk more about holiday stress management in future videos and entries. In fact, we’ll do it together. And as my pre-holiday gift to you, I’d like to offer you a recipe that’s been in my family for 4 generations. It’s for bread dressing, but it makes up more like a quiche. It’s old fashioned and I won’t lie, it’s messy to make but it hasn’t survived this long without reason. If you want to bring something old but new to the table, think about adding this to your list!
That’s all today. Take care, and enjoy your week!
Bye!
If you saw my YouTube video, then you know I made up a personal holiday celebration out of the week before Thanksgiving (if not, it’s below). It’s a week that I chose to go within and be introspective about my life this year, and how I plan to honor and celebrate it with family and friends during the upcoming holiday season. Yes, I know that the holidays are already upon us. I hear carols, see the decorations, and have already been bombarded with advertisements about perfect Christmas presents. If you want to start celebrating, that’s ok! Everybody has to do it their way, and this personal celebration is my way to engage in some self care and prepare my “mental toolbox” for the busy season ahead.
Because let’s face it: the holidays are fun, but they’re stressful. The expectations of this season are impossible, and that’s inevitably the cause of friction and holiday meltdowns. So why don’t we all take this week to accept a few truths to fortify us from the beginning:
- The expectations for the holidays are impossible, because the world is not perfect.
- We are not perfect, and don’t have to be.
- Others are not perfect, and they don’t have to be either.
- Instead of trying to create “the perfect holiday” or “the best holiday ever,” let’s accept that reality is broken and do our best to create what will be, and know that it will be enough.
I know, easier said than done. That’s why I’m giving myself a week to seep all of this into my subconscious and melt that iceburg so I can write my best narrative for Holiday Season 2025.
I mention in my video that “self care” doesn’t always look like we think. Yes sometimes it means noshing with a bowl of beef stroganoff in our PJ’s and a TV binge marathon. Other times, it means wrapping the Christmas gifts you have so that’s out of the way and you have a clear picture of what’s on the docket for Black Friday (as I did yesterday). Or it might be getting in the workout clothes and doing that workout, even if you really don’t want to (like last Thursday and Friday). Or going by Dollar Tree after dropping off trash at the dump to get those 2 boxes you need to finish said wrapping, and taking time to make a taco casserole tonight so you can flow with your husband’s after work schedule by having a good dinner tonight and workable leftovers tomorrow (like today). Or checking out an Elin Hilderbrand book at the library to read this week because you love Christmas, but want one more slice of summer before that post-Thanksgiving cold front they’re already screaming about rolls in.
The important thing is to help yourself by taking care of yourself. You want to have the tools to stop and take stock of exactly what you need when that stress rises next week as you hustle to cook those Thanksgiving dishes and clean the house, or pack up the car and hit the holiday traffic. Is it good planning? Doing today what tomorrow you needs? Or taking a time out to rest and restore before getting up and tackling it one more time?
We’ll talk more about holiday stress management in future videos and entries. In fact, we’ll do it together. And as my pre-holiday gift to you, I’d like to offer you a recipe that’s been in my family for 4 generations. It’s for bread dressing, but it makes up more like a quiche. It’s old fashioned and I won’t lie, it’s messy to make but it hasn’t survived this long without reason. If you want to bring something old but new to the table, think about adding this to your list!
That’s all today. Take care, and enjoy your week!
Bye!
Bread Dressing Recipe
Ingredients:
· 1 stick melted margarine
· 1 can chicken broth and 1 cup water (chicken broth and water should total 2 cups)
· 1-2 loaves sandwich bread
· 2 stalks chopped celery
· ½ chopped onion
· 2 eggs
· 1 tablespoon salt
· ¼ teaspoon pepper
Directions:
· Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
· Mix ingredients in large bowl and mix by hand until thick. Hand tear the bread when you add it to the mixture. Start with one loaf and add more bread if the mixture is soggy.
· Separate mixture into 2 aluminum cake pans. It’s very important that you use aluminum pans! Otherwise it won’t bake properly!
· Bake for 30-45 minutes.
· It’s best to wait until it’s had time to cool to slice it.
· 1 stick melted margarine
· 1 can chicken broth and 1 cup water (chicken broth and water should total 2 cups)
· 1-2 loaves sandwich bread
· 2 stalks chopped celery
· ½ chopped onion
· 2 eggs
· 1 tablespoon salt
· ¼ teaspoon pepper
Directions:
· Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
· Mix ingredients in large bowl and mix by hand until thick. Hand tear the bread when you add it to the mixture. Start with one loaf and add more bread if the mixture is soggy.
· Separate mixture into 2 aluminum cake pans. It’s very important that you use aluminum pans! Otherwise it won’t bake properly!
· Bake for 30-45 minutes.
· It’s best to wait until it’s had time to cool to slice it.
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