christmastime is here

I know it isn't exactly time to start thinking about the holidays, but it is close enough that I'm having my annual why-didn't-I-save-more-money-throughout-the-year crisis. (I also may or may not have listened to a Christmas song or two earlier this month. Sarah McLachlan's River & Wintersong were simply too good of an urge to pass up) Over the weekend, my mom decorated the stairs with poinsettias in her usual October fare, and red is king around the house! And, even though it doesn't seem possible that it could be October already, in a very strange way I'm actually ready for Christmas. After seven years of going through the holiday season exhausted from finals, papers, thesis stress, etc, etc, I'm still making up for the seven years I skated through. In that spirit, I've decided there's nothing wrong with enjoying the holidays for a couple extra months. Just think of it as Christmas in October!