BLOGMAS 2019 | DAY 3 | WINTER BUCKET LIST

There are so many fun activities to do during this season, which means it’s time for every couple to create the ultimate winter bucket list!

With winter comes holiday scents, beautiful decorations and Christmas cheer for many of us. It’s important to enjoy this time with family, especially your spouse or significant other by completing some exciting activities on this winter bucket list.

Here are some great winter bucket list ideas for every couple:

Drive Around to See Lights

It’s not winter unless there are lights. Drive through town or visit a light event during the season.

Christmas Breakfast

Make a fun Christmas breakfast like cinnamon rolls or reindoor pancakes.

Snowball Fight

Sure, you may be in the south where you get no snow, but if you do have snow, get out and have some fun with it! For the rest of us, well, we just have to settle for fake snowballs.

Hot Cocoa Bar

Nothing says winter like hot cocoa. Dress it up really nice with marshmallows, cream, or peppermints. Substitute with Apple cider if cocoa isn’t your thing.

Wear an Ugly Christmas Sweater

These days you can buy ugly Christmas sweaters (which most of the time are actually pretty cute), but I always think it’s lots of fun to make your own.

BLOGMAS 2O19 | DAY 2 | HOW TO HAVE A STRESS FREE CHRISTMAS

Sure, you love the holiday season--but just not so much of it! This year, you're hoping to cut the crazy out of Christmas: to trim the celebration back to one that is sustainable and calm.

Question is, just how do you do less--and enjoy it more--during the Christmas holiday season?

If you're aiming to simplify Christmas, take time to ponder ways to cut stress, save money and tame over-the-top traditions. Setting simplicity strategies in place early will keep you from being swept up in holiday madness.

Get armed! Try these ten simple strategies to calm holiday chaos and rein in the seasonal overkill this year.

10 Simplicity Strategies

Prune the to-do list. Ask, “If I don’t do this, what will happen?” Aim to knock down the list of chores to the rock-bottom necessity.

Cut the gift list. Rein in gift exchanges that have been outgrown or lost their meaning. Limit gifts to children only, draw names, or organize a gift exchange.

Wrap as you go. Who needs to spend Christmas Eve catching up on wrapping chores? Sticky notes will help you keep track of gift contents.

Buy, don’t bake. Turn your back on the oven this year. Supermarkets, bakeries and the freezer department of the discount warehouse are a great source for delicious, pre-baked holiday treats.

Call, don’t send cards. Reach out and touch someone … the easy way. Online greeting cards are easy, inexpensive and fun to send. No more lines at the post office!

Scale back décor. Substitute a simple door wreath for outdoor lighting, a tabletop tree for the over-the-top tannenbaum. Focusing holiday decor on the Big Three--front door, tree and focal point--can bring a festive feel to the house without day-long decorating sessions.

Cancel the clean-a-thon. Focus cleaning attention on kitchen and public rooms; private areas can slide til season’s end. Better to schedule deep-cleaning chores like carpet cleaning until after the wear-and-tear of the holiday season.

Downsize dishwashing. Hand-washing fine china is nobody’s idea of a good time, so move to everyday stoneware. Simpler still: paper plates!

Finger food, not feast. A smorgasboard of tasty tidbits is easier on the cook and kinder to the waistline than a sit-down dinner. Share the work by hosting pot-luck events.

Stay home! Cuddling down close to the hearth beats holiday travel any day. A holiday "stay-cation" allows for evening drives to see the lights, family camp-outs in front of the Christmas tree, and evenings spent with carols and popcorn. Fun!

BLOGMAS 2019 | DAY 1 | CHRISTMAS BUCKET LIST

Thanksgiving is officially over, so you know what that means?  Christmas mania!  This is such a fun and special time of year, and sometimes a little busy and stressful.  I put together a bucket list of things I want my family and I to do this holiday season.  I don’t want to forget to take time and enjoy the little things that make the holiday so memorable.

Here is my list:

• Decorate the tree
• Mail a letter to Santa
• Decorate a Ginger Bread house
• Go sledding
• Read a Christmas book before bed
• Sip on hot chocolate
• Watch a Christmas movie curled up under a blanket
• Drive around and look at Christmas lights
• Sit on Santa’s lap
• Watch “Elf”
• Bake and decorate cookies
• Give a gift to someone in need
• Send Holiday cards to friends and family
• Make a snowman
• Watch “Home Alone”
• Wrap Christmas gifts
• Deliver gifts to friends and neighbors
• Cuddle by the fire
• Make cinnamon rolls and stay in PJ’s all day
• Decide on a New Year’s resolution
• Watch “The Polar Express”
• Light a scented Christmas candle
• Start a new family tradition
• Play a board game
• Go for a winter walk
• Do a Random Act of Kindness
• Wear matching pajamas on Christmas morning
• Make a Christmas craft
• Kiss under the mistletoe
• Read a new book by the fire
• Donate money to the Salvation Army bell ringing
• Attend a local Holiday event

Go Christmas shopping with a family member or friend
(If you like it, pin it!)

Do you have any special holiday traditions you do every year?

Blogmas 2019

Here is my ~tentative~ schedule for my Blogmas 2019 posts!

1. My Christmas Bucket List
2. How to have a stress free Christmas
3. My Winter Bucket List
4. My Christmas Decor
5. Christmas DIY
6. How I celebrate Christmas
7. My most anticipated 2020 releases
8. What the new year will bring me
9. My favorite Christmas songs
10. Guest post:
11. My favorite Christmas movies
12. My bookish merchandise
13. Bookish Christmas Gifts
14. Guest post:
15. Christmas recipes
16. Favorite Christmas drinks
17. Holiday outfits
18. Sparkly holiday make up looks
19. Let’s go ice skating!
20. Christmas book tag (TBD)
21. Our ugly Christmas sweater party
22. Christmas traditions from the Netherlands
23. Books I’d love to find under the Christmas tree
24. How to have a stress free Christmas
25. Merry Christmas! A day in the life of… me!

Our First FaceTime Date

So you probably know I'm a bit shy and nervous when seeing someone for the first time. I mean their is a lot that goes through my head, "What if he doesn't like me anymore?" or "What if he isn't attracted to me anymore?" It gets worse from there. But this time I was also excited because I really liked this guy. His name is Calvin and to  me, he is the cutest guy ever!

He lives about two hours away from me. To some this may not be what they would consider as a long distance relationship. A long-distance relationship or long-distance romantic relationship is an intimate relationship between partners who are geographically separated from one another. Partners in LDRs face geographic separation and lack of face-to-face contact.

"Couples who live in a long-distance relationship should always remember that the situation is usually just temporary," says Schweyer. "It's important to create future plans and set up important milestones that are worth working for—for example, a move to the same city or apartment."

Our date

For our date we mostly just talked about what we want for the future, kids, etc. We didn't stay on the phone very long, that way he could get sleep because he worked the next day. A few of the ideas and things we did, I found on BestLife.

Hello? Allow me to introduce myself...

It's time for a reacquaintance.  I haven't introduced myself for some time  on this blog and the masterminds of blogger tell me I've got some new friends around here.  I could pretend like I  don't notice, but I've never been one for being discreet.  So WELCOME new friends.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT NICHOLE

1.  I started using my birth name, Nichole, after I graduated high school, because my professors always called me by that name. I got tired of having to tell them at the beginning of the semester I prefered Nicki, it just stuck better as Nichole.

2.  When I was in fifth grade, i was taking karate and I was sitting too close to the teacher, who was showing us a kick and knocked my tooth out. It was hanging by a string. But all in all, I'm glad she did because it was actually loose.

3.  I'm working hard on a goal I made a little while ago to make people feel good about themselves.  Sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it's hard. Mostly it's hard when the people I am dealing with are idiots.

4.  I suck at: texting back, calling back, and emailing back. I usually have it on vibrate so sometimes I actually don't hear it. I'd rather have someone text me than call me. I never leave my phone, if it's not beside me I will actually freak out.

5.  Below you will see the picture of the guy I am dating.  His name is Calvin. I don't always call him that. From here on out we refer to him by his nickname "My Love". We met on a dating site and completely hit it off! Our love story doesn't end there, He told me I was the sweetest girl he has ever met. I told him to come up and make me dinner with his shirt off.

6.  For a living I am a blogger.

7.  Just kidding about number six.  I'm a journalist. I love writing and being in a wheelchair my options are already pretty limited. I really want to someday own my own media company, like have my own newspaper or magazine.

8. I live with my grandparents. they pretty much adopted me, even though legally they just had guardianship over me. I took their name, and they raised me since I was 18 months old. I never knew they were not really my birth parents until I was 16. But it didn't matter to me of those circumstances because I have always know them to be mom and dad.

9.  I was born into a family of two kids. But being raised by my grandparents I was the only younger child. This means I never had to fight for attention and was spoiled a lot. I can still put on a show. One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to always tell acquaintances and friends not smart enough to know better that it was my birthday and soak in the attention all day long. I'm messed up. I know.

10.  I can be bossy.

11.  I actually don't have my license. Meaning I'm always asked "why not?" well because I haven't yet learned hand controls and/or don't have a wheelchair accessible vehicle. However I have ATVs and off road vehicles I drive still.

12.   The best part of my day is the hour at night before I have to go to bed and I cuddle up with James and watch TV and giggle and flirt and drift off to sleep.

14.  The worst part of my day is 5:40 am when my alarm clock rings.  If I had known as a college student that I would be waking up at 5:40 am when I had a full time job you better believe I never even would have considered graduating.

How to Get Ready for Christmas Early

Are you ready for Christmas yet? I love Christmas and am one of those people who plans for Christmas all year long. Every Christmas, I realize I need to be more intentional with my planning than ever before because getting ready for Christmas as a mom with little ones is a big challenge! We want to make Christmas special and enjoy the season with them. The more things we do to get ready for Christmas early, the more we can simply enjoy Christmas when it is here.

I started thinking through all the things I normally do to get ready for Christmas and realized there are quite a few things I could now to get ready for Christmas early. The sooner you start organizing yourself for Christmas, the smoother the month of December passes. Isn’t that what we all want? We all want to be able to enjoy Christmas with our families. Let’s make that our goal by crossing a couple things off our to-do lists now.

This to do list will work if you start planning in July – or in November. Either way, it is never too early to start planning ahead for Christmas! 

This post may contain affiliate links. You can read more in my disclosure policy.

Here are a couple ways to get ready for Christmas early.

1. Make your Christmas shopping list now.

Let’s start simple. Sit down and write your list of the people for whom you want to buy presents. Now, be realistic. What is your budget for gifts? Do you really need to buy presents for everyone on your list? Take some time to really think through your list. Include everyone you have thought of and decide if you are buying or making a gift for them.

2. Look through your gift closet and discover what Christmas gifts you have already bought.

If you’re like me, you shop year round for good deals that your family would enjoy. Look through the closet where you have stashed all those gifts and rediscover what you already have on hand – and for whom. Maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised that you are already finished shopping for one or two people on your list. If you haven’t started shopping yet, there’s no better time to start than now! (And next January, you can start really early by shopping year round too!)

3. Email / call / text your family and ask for gift ideas.

Whether you have started shopping or not, it’s time to start getting ideas. Send out a quick email asking for gift ideas or suggestions. Don’t wait until the second week of December to do this! Do it now because the Christmas sales start earlier every year. Once you have some ideas, start looking! I’m a big fan of Amazon shopping and watch the deals closely in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

4. Buy Christmas stamps.

It’s a little thing but think how nice it will be to avoid the post office when it starts getting really busy! Buy stamps for your Christmas letter or just to send those couple Christmas cards.

Either way, buy the stamps now and cross that off your list. Bonus points if you go ahead and get your Christmas cards ready for the mail early, too! If you are taking pictures for Christmas cards, consider doing that in October or early November so it is done in plenty of time for mailing.

5. Look at your December calendar and start filling in dates.

This is a big one because December can get busy very quickly! I know we already have at least one party on our calendar. This year, I got smart and scheduled our annual Christmas piano recital back in October so all the parents could put it on their calendar early. We are all glad we did! You might decide to print off a simple December calendar and put it on your fridge so everyone can reference it. If you use a digital calendar, make sure you keep it updated. Don’t forget to schedule any special family events (like driving around to look at the lights) if you really want to make it happen.

6. Double one or two of your meals and freeze them for those busy December evenings.

I’m a big believer in using your freezer to your advantage and the holidays are a time when it can really come in handy. There will be those busy nights (even with filling in your calendar early) where there won’t be much time to put dinner on the table. If you have a meal in the freezer or cooking in the crock pot, you’ll have one less thing to worry about – which is always good! (If you’re looking for a good one, this 5 ingredient Mexican chicken is one of my favorite crock pot recipes.)

7. Bake a batch of Christmas cookies and put them in the freezer.

Let’s make our last item a fun one! Go ahead and start your Christmas baking now. Did you know that most Christmas cookies will freeze wonderfully? I know this because my freezer is one of my best time saving friends. Make a list of the Christmas treats you like to make each year and bake one of this weekend. Bonus points (again) if it is one of your more time-consuming recipes now.

If you want to free up even more time in December, make a plan to bake one new Christmas cookie each week from now until Christmas and store them in the freezer. I tend to make at least 3 or 4 batches of buckeyes over the Christmas season so those are on my freezer list already this month.

If you are looking for more practical ideas to help you get ready for Christmas, I highly recommend Kathi Lipp’s new book, Get Yourself Organized for Christmas: Simple Steps to Enjoying the Season. Kathi includes 21 tasks that you can accomplish (one a day) to get you ready for the Christmas season – well ahead of time! I think November or even late October is the perfect time to read this book and get organized.

We all want to enjoy Christmas so let’s do it by crossing a couple things off our list now so we can slow down and enjoy the season!