Thoughts on Christmas & How to Clean out a Refrigerator

I am, I think, actually getting excited about Christmas this year. Usually, Christmas is a very tough time for me... But my husband said something on our drive back home from his mother's house the other day that really hit me. He said that he sees Christmas, now, as an adult, through his children's eyes, and therefore enjoys it a lot more. How profound. (I actually looked at him over the rims of my sunglasses, eyebrow raised, and asked him who he was and what he did with my husband...!) But he's right. While the holidays are typically an emotional low time for me (and, unfortunately, for my poor Hubby this year) if I can remember the true meaning of Christmas, as well as try to see it with the joy of my children, I will most definitely be in a better frame of mind. There's a lot of work to do between now and Christmas, though. I haven't even started shopping, though I have definite ideas of what I want to do (mostly) for each person I buy for. Our house needs a thorough scouring and the Christmas tree needs to be put up...but I'm taking it in stride this year. And even though SM is coming to join us for a few days over Christmas, and I would normally feel the need to play the perfect housekeeper - I don't really care. It's just not that important in the grand scheme of things. On another note - Hubby and I figured out a very efficient way to get the refrigerator cleaned out: Spill an entire gallon of orange juice on the bottom shelf and let it filter through to the very bottom of the fridge and into the crisper drawers! It's definitely an effective motivator, but our fridge does look good now! Have a great day! TTFN JMS