Do you remember that feeling you got as a kid, on Christmas Eve? Trying to go to sleep, knowing that when you woke up, there would be presents under the tree? When I think about the anxious excitement that used to surge through me, I can almost feel it in my chest. That feeling of joyous expectation is hard to forget. The thing is, as children, we felt it a lot more. Birthdays, 4th of July  Fireworks, parties, or field trips, all fueled our childhood sense of wonder. And Christmas was the excitement of all of those things, rolled into [...]

This past November, just after Halloween, the stores set up their Christmas displays. Though what is known as the “Christmas Creep” has been happening for quite a few years now, I almost found it shocking. One afternoon, I was doing my grocery shopping, turned a corner, and found myself in Santa’s Workshop. All I could see was red and green, and everything within me seemed to say: It’s too soon. Christmas is such a wonderful and celebratory time of year. It’s a time of giving, going to parties, being with our loved ones, and for those of us who believe, [...]

Almost five years ago, I was newly unemployed. I had left an amazing job in an unhealthy work environment, and knew that before moving on to my next job, I would have to take some time to heal (I had no idea how long I would be without a job). Being very aware of the things I had gone through, my husband was fully supportive of me taking some time off. He only said that if I wasn’t going to be working, then I had to do something. So I learned how to bake bread. It all started one day, [...]