a Christmas Manifesto

I’m starting (finally) my 2010 Christmas album.

As last year, I’m following along with Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas class. Loving the prompts and finding that I really do have new things to write about this year, even though the prompts are pretty much the same as last year.

Although it appears they are mixed up a bit… or maybe I am wrong? Does anyone know if she rearranges the prompts from year to year?

Here’s my first page:

Journaling:

This year, my Christmas manifesto is this:

Don’t over do.

Keep it simple.

Do what feels right.

Slow down.

Enjoy things.

Stress less.

Relax more.

People, not things.

Do the things you want to do.

Let the rest go.

I’m hoping to find a way to focus on what is really important about the season – Christ’s birth and the celebration of our Savior – and not so much on the shopping and to-do lists.

And here is Day 2:

 
The Journaling:

This year has been crazy with weather. An unseasonably warm fall which fell right into an unseasonably cold winter. It was as if we only had a few days of "fall" and then temperatures plummeted. After Thanksgiving, we had a rainy Friday which began the downward spiral of temps. This week, the first of December, has been bitterly cold. Temperatures are in the 20's at night and barely out of the 30's in the daytime. Rob is working outside this year and it makes for very uncomfortable working conditions. With my weight loss, I've been freezing as well, even keeping a space heater by my desk to warm me while I work (in the heated house!)The girls are hoping for snow this winter. I figure if we're going to freeze, we might as well get snow!

And Day 3:

 

Journaling:

I addressed and sent 50 Christmas cards this year. That is about double what I have been doing in past years. I included all the folks from church, UpStreet, and a few new friends we've made in the past year. It was fun to send cards to folks we haven't sent to before, along with the usual cards to family. I didn't get them out the week of Thanksgiving, which is my goal every year, but they were out by the 10th, which was fine for me.

More pages to come.

Comments

[Lizzie]

Those are lovely pages, Lois. I haven't even started my JYC pages - I don't think I will now - but I have enjoyed reading the prompts and it's made me think more about the whole "Christmas Thing". Your Manifesto has it about right - "The Reason for the Season" should be my motto this year!
We had a similar cold-snap too - only most of the UK had snow, with feet of it in some Northern areas. We got a few inches overnight - I looked out at 4am and it looked quite deep - but by the morning, the wind had blown a lot of it away and there was only an inch or so. Still, it lasted a couple of days and it was certainly Cold!
Keep your thermals handy - it's scheduled to return soon...