"Happy Holidays" are not offensive words.

Everyone knows as soon as Thanksgiving is over, Christmas season officially starts. The trees are put up, presents are bought, and holiday songs come on the radio. And then...the debate happens.
A message board I read daily (mainly about nonreligious people adjusting to life & culture shock in the Bible Belt) mentions conservative bloggers and their indignation at store clerks wishing them "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas." They call this attempt at being "PC" the "War on Christmas" and they rant about how no one knows the true meaning of the holiday anymore.
Really, angry fundie bloggers? 
I mentioned this debate to my mom once, and what she said made sense. "There are multiple holidays in the Christmas season. Why should Christmas Day be the only happy one?" The store clerks aren't out to ruin your holiday. Their employers tell them what to say so that people who don't follow one specific religion are included in the well-wishes. Are Christians the only people deserving of a joyful month between Thanksgiving and New Year's? I do believe Jesus himself would want everyone to be happy.
At the moment, I am a liberal Christian at best, but for quite awhile I didn't believe in anything at all. People still wished me "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Easter" and I wasn't offended. If I was in a Jewish area and someone said "Happy Hannukah" to me, I wouldn't be bothered either. What is offensive about someone wishing for your day to be happy? Even if the way they celebrate it is different from yours?
So someone in your favorite store does not specifically say "Merry Christmas" to you. In the big picture, your holiday will not be one bit different. You are still free to go to church on Christmas Eve night (or however your denomination does it...), celebrate the birth of Jesus, and sing hymns. No One Is Stopping You. At the same time, people are also free to celebrate the secularized version and go Black Friday shopping, sing songs about Frosty and sleigh rides, and leave milk and cookies out for Santa. Or do both. Or none of it.
Every person in this country is free to celebrate the next coming month however they wish. No matter what religion/belief we are, if we focus on love, peace, and kindness to others, does the name of it really matter?
I think this holiday season is beautiful.
& to all my friends, family, and acquaintances who are Baptist, Methodist, Church of Christ, Lutheran, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Wiccan, Unitarian, Agnostic, Atheist or have no idea whatsoever...
Whatever you celebrate...
I hope you have a happy one. :)

All the Christmas shopping I didn't get to do...(wish list)

What?! It's Black Friday and I didn't go out shopping? This is a shock to my system. I feel like there is something missing from my day. Ah well, Cookeville doesn't have a mall worth visiting anyway. And who would drive me, even if I did have money left over? There is NO ONE here. It's 65 and sunny, absolutely perfect weather, and there is no one around to go walking with me. What a waste. So instead of enjoying myself, I'll sit here and think about all the Christmas shopping I would be doing if I wasn't broke and lonely. XD
There are 8 shiny, wrapped presents stacked in the corner of my bedroom right now. (There was supposed to be 10, but one friend said she's moving at the end of the semester & I don't know if I'd find her in time, and the other person skipped town without a warning. Thankfully I hadn't bought his gift yet.) My friend-shopping is basically done. I'd like to pick something up for Casey, because he's nice enough to invite me to the movies today (and pay for it?!) But guys are SO hard to shop for!
I wonder if anyone is out shopping for me today. I doubt it, considering how few birthday cards I got. I've come to realize that family stops caring about birthdays after high school graduation. (Except if someone dies.) That sucks! College kids are way more needy than high-schoolers. XD But just in case I get lucky, this is what I've been hoping for this holiday season:

(Everyone I know asks for electronics. Psh. I have what I need -- except getting my stolen Mac back would be awesome! But my MP3 player, phone, and camera all work just fine.)
- Furniture (Goodwill/Big Lots gift card?). After spending most of my break cleaning, I have realized just how empty my apartment is. I have no storage, and I think that's where the mess comes from. I suck at organizing.
- Warm, fluffy blankets. Until I get a roommate, I can't afford heat. So having something to keep me from freezing at night would be nice.
- Winter clothes. When I moved down here, all I brought were T-shirts and a few hoodies. I'm constantly cold. >_< Anddd I'm gonna start shopping for Nashville stuff during after-Christmas sales. Last year I didn't shop sales. This year, I have to.
- Craft supplies. Anything I could use to make money. I have to pay for half of an Opryland hotel room in April. This will suck.
- Candles & other stuff that smells good. Cats smell icky. Enough said.
- Grocery store gift cards. For those months when I spend a little too much and need to get by for another week before money day...

Simple enough. And just like birthdays, I love cards. :)
(PO Box 13651 - Cookeville, TN 38505)

Cookeville as a shopping town. (and "the list.")

This has never happened before.
I finished my whole local-friends Christmas list in one day.
I feel awesome, yet exhausted. Riding bike and walking for four hours takes a lot out of a person! (and a person's wallet...)
Now who is on this list, you ask? It's the same every year, yet different. The ten most awesome friends who had made me the happiest in the previous semester. I owe them. So I buy them presents. Last night, 2 unnamed "friends" broke a serious rule of the Girl Code, and since I no longer feel like I owe them sparkly wrapped gifts, I did buy a couple things for myself too. I had money left over.
I haven't bought anything new for myself (as a treat) since summer. The only things I've spent money on were to replace something that had broken or worn out. Nothing new just for fun!
Claires' 10 for $10 sale made me very happy this time around! I also went to:

• CVS (got pictures printed - 88 of them! The photo lady was very nice and didn't complain about the extra work I gave her.)
• Rue21 (So. Many. Awesome things. Sadly, all I got were a couple clearance T-shirts & socks. I had a budget to stick to!)
• KMart (I refuse to buy Christmas presents at Walmart. I hate Walmart, and only go there if I have to. Which I did later tonight to buy food and to spend my gift card. Here I found Christmas cards and My Little Pony toys. Hah.)
• BAM (Books are expensive! I had no idea! It was so hard to find one for under my $10 budget per person.) 
• Hobby Lobby (Which had a wonderful selection of wrapping paper! It was so hard to decide! The roll I chose was metallic purple!)

Yes, I do miss West Acres. That is THE mall for shopping, in my opinion. But in a way it's good that none of my favorite stores are here. I would have spent all the money on myself. XD
It was such a nice day to go out. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and I think the temp. was in the high 60's. If only this town wasn't built on so many hills! The hills are what made me sad today. >_<
I hope all my friends like the things I bought them. I don't have as much money to spend this year as I did last year. Last year, the money came from sad events, but my friends got awesome things...
Brianna, Ben, Sam, Shawn, Kelly, Cana, Shane, Tyler, Devin, and Andrew - here's hoping I don't disappoint you. I tried really, really hard. (& Kyle would have gotten an awesome present if he would have stayed...) I wish I could afford to pay back everyone that's been so nice to me down here. :)