Hey party people! I hope your day is going well.
Even though I’ve been back in Ocala for a few days now I feel I’ve been MIA since I’ve been playing catch-up on the blog and filling you guys in on my NYC trip. Things have carried on as usual behind the scenes!
Workout
My Wednesday began at the gym with a Best Body Boot Camp workout. (Speaking of BBBC, I’ve only heard from one of the three winners of Sunday’s BBBC giveaway. Please email me if you were one of them!)
Monday kicked off the final week of Best Body Boot Camp and I made sure to give today’s workout my best effort. Gotta go out with a bang!
I began my time at the gym with a 20 minute elliptical hill workout before following the lower body tabata workout on the agenda for the day. As always, the jumping lunges killed me. Yeesh.
Breakfast
Breakfast this morning included a bowl of scrambled eggs prepared with a splash of milk and shredded mozzarella cheese.
I also added some apple chicken sausage and sliced avocado which amped up the flavor.
After breakfast, I worked through the morning before heading out to the College of Central Florida for a lunchtime planning meeting for the Taste of Ocala. Though the event doesn’t take place until April, planning is already in progress. Lots to do!
Least Favorite Holiday Song
Everyone has one. A holiday song that makes you cringe.
Even if you are the world’s biggest fan of holiday music, I bet there’s still one holiday song that you simply cannot stand.
For me it’s Christmas Shoes.
The first five notes of that song send my hand flying to the radio dial to change the station as I spiral into a downward spiral of despair.It’s probably the most depressing Christmas song in all the land. I just can’t take it.
Another song that depresses me? “Same Old Lang Syne.” But here’s the kicker with that song… I actually like it. I think it’s such a pretty song, but it makes me so freakin’ sad.
There are a handful of songs that make me cry, but cry emotional tears of happiness, gratitude and faith rather than tears of extreme depression a la Christmas Shoes.
When I lived in Illinois, our church used to conclude Christmas Eve services with “Silent Night” and everyone would cry. That song still makes me cry to this day because I can picture my family standing in a row at church and my dad’s eyes watering as he reached out to squeeze my arm.
O Holy Night also makes me emotional. It’s my all-time favorite Christmas song.
If you don’t feel like harping on depressing and overly emotional music at the moment, you might prefer this slightly more uplifting post: Best Christmas CDs.
Questions of the Afternoon
- What is your least favorite holiday song?
- What is holiday songs make you feel emotional?
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Ami the only one who likes Christmas Shoes?! my boyfriend and little cousins think it’s just ridiculous and sad and not meant for Christmas. Have you watched the video for Christmas Shoes? I was all for the song because I just love singing to it, but the video! Oh man… The song that sends my hand to the dial is Drummer Boy! The good thing about it is that I always flashback to Clueless when I hear it..the scene where Dionne is playing the drum on stage.. Haha
I love Christmas shoes!! I love the movie too! Did you know there’s a sequel? It’s just as touching.
Anything by Mariah Carey makes me want to drive my car into a tree. So awful. But Christmas in Dixie by Alabama always puts me in a good mood and Christmas Island by Jimmy Buffett too!
100% agree on Silent Night and Oh Holy Night making me the good kind of teary and emotional. Especially when sung in church! I got teary eyed just thinking about it. Christmas Eve church service is the BEST. Nothing like it. And no hesitation on my least favorite holiday song: Simply having a wonderful Christmas time! Eww, eww, eww. And now it’s gonna be stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Ha!
I love “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”….I too hate Christmas Shoes…so boring, so lame, so sad. Same sentiments towards the Same Old Lang Syne….Oh how I miss our Christmas tunes in old rooms 12 and that other one we can never remember. xox
This is probably a dumb question, but what do you do with the rest of the avocado when you only use part of one? I love avocado, but no one else in this house does, and they turn brown so quickly after slicing…Is there some magical way to keep it from oxidizing? Also, I too, despise the song “Christmas Shoes”.
If you put the avocado in a Ziploc bag or Saran wrap with the plastic touching the flesh (gross word) of the avocado (so none of the flesh is exposed to air) and the seed still in the avocado it will keep longer. No idea where I learned those tips but they work! Saw your comment and had to share.
Thanks! That’s very helpful!
oh my gosh i could not agree with you more about Christmas Shoes AND Same Old Lang Syne. I think Same Old Lang Syne should be made into a really cheesy lifetime movie for enhanced holiday crying experiences : )
How Great Thou Art gets me emotional!
Christmas Shoes is definitely one of the most depressing songs. My mom died on Christmas so I can’t hear that song without crying.
Oh my gosh when I saw the title for this post, that same song came right to my mind! It’s so depressing for a Christmas song in my opinion. I definitely always change the station as well 😉
The Christmas shoes song is so sad though…but its not my favorite. I like the song from Home Alone- Rockin around, the Christmas Tree!
Oh my GOD – I HATE “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause.” Nevermind the fact that I was 22 when I made the connection that “Santa” was really “Dad.” What kid would think it’s funny to see his mom cheating on their dad?! The answer: No one.
Whew, thanks for letting me get that off my chest, Julie 😉
Josh Groban’s rendition of O Holy Night makes me weep like a small child. Whenever it comes on in the car, my boyfriend says “Uh oh, someone’s about to cry their face off.” And I do. And I’m proud of it. Haha
Too Funny. I had this exact conversation with somone today and we agreed “Christmas Shoes” and “Same Old Lang Syne” are the worst. Who writes a Christmas song about having a 6 pack in your car with a lost love you ran into in the grocery store? Awkward.
Let me add to the conversation “The Chimney Song” it’s all about holding Santa hostage in your chimney. Also awkward.
Christmas Shoes is a depressing song but it’s also really pretty so I don’t hate it too much, despite it making me nearly cry every time.
Paul McCartneys “Wonderful Christmas Time” YUCK! That sends my hand flying to change the radio everytime!
Love anything Michael Buble sings 🙂
I totally agree, I hate the Christmas Shoes song! And Silent Night probably gets me the most emotional.
Oh my I completely agree with that Christmas Shoes song, makes me cry EVERYTIME! It’s a sweet message, but SO depressing!
What’s that song from the 80’s, with all of the celebrities who came together to raise money for Africa? It says something about “Do they know it’s Christmas time at all?” Anyway, it’s not that I dislike the song, but it’s always so overplayed on the radio, which leads me to getting SO sick of it and changing the station every time it’s on!
Ahhhhhhhhhh! Christmas Shoes is the worst!!!!! I sing some random tune as loud as I can till I can turn the song off! Its just too sad for someone that cries at the drop of a hat!!
I can’t stand Little Drummer Boy- I’ve heard so many versions of it but every time it drives me crazy!
All Christmas music makes me insane, and that’s putting it mildly. I plan on hooking my phone up to a computer at work when I am on overnight shift Christmas Eve cause I know no radio station will be playing anything good. I can’t wait til January!!
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Nice Facebook pics, fake ass
I really could go without “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” haha
On the other hand, Oh Holy Night is my all-time favorite too! We sing Silent Night at the end of Christmas Eve church service by candlelight too 🙂
Definitely Paul McCartney’s “Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time”! I don’t know why, but I’m not a fan of this song.
I love “All I Want For Christmas is You” and any Michael Buble Christmas songs.
I am so glad to hear that other people get emotional during the Christmas carols during Christmas service. Every year we conclude the service with a candlelight version of Silent Night and it always makes me misty. I feel so silly about it too, but maybe I won’t this year now!
Least fave Christmas song: Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney. It’s like 8 minutes long and it’s way annoying. I also am not a fan of some Christmas song by The Waitresses, can’t think of the name, but you’d know it if you heard it. Not good.
Honestly, I love any of the Christmas songs from Home Alone. Best soundtrack ever!
OMG! I have to agree with you on the Christmas Shoes song! I know it’s supposed to be a really sentimental song but it’s just too dreary for me. I appreciate a more up beat Christmas song. I also do not like the 12 days of Christmas. I like the funny renditions but not the traditional versions.
I can’t stand “Mary, did you know?” Everytime it comes on the radio I yell at it ‘”She didn’t know! How could she have known!?!?!?”
I h-a-t-e “So this is Christmas” as sung by Celine Dion. The message behind it is important, but man, it is so depressing, and when it plays in the middle of a bunch of fun/cheery holiday songs, it is really jarring.
This made me laugh out loud…. I cant take either one of those songs so I totally related to this post…thanks for the laugh
I think the saddest Christmas song is “Christmas 1915” by Celtic Thunder. Its also based on a true story so it makes it worse. I think its a good song but try not to listen to it because its sad.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard Christmas Shoes…but considering how much everyone seems to dislike it, maybe that’s not a bad thing?
girl, i totally feel ya on Christmas shoes!
Least favorite Christmas song?
“Hey Santa”
Doesn’t sound that bad… but for all those out there who like to torture themselves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO8NYJ0bZ1c
*shudder*
Judy Garland’s version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in the movie “Meet Me in St. Louis” gets me every time. It’s beautiful, but I can’t help tearing up whenever I watch that scene!
Here’s the scene! Grab some tissues first 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yudgy30Dd68
Haha, OMG I used to LOVE The Christmas Shoes song but now that I think about it, you are so right, that song is just depressing! My least favorite though is a toss up between The 12 Pains of Christmas and Dominick the Donkey. Both are equally annoying.
Our church is doing an entire series leading up to Christmas on Christmas Carols and dissecting them from a Biblical perspective and it’s absolutely been amazing!!! I have shed many tears so far! We did, “O Holy Night”, “Joy to the World” and “O, Come All Ye Faithful” so far!
My favorite Christmas album is ‘These Are the Special Times’ by Celine Dion and who doesn’t love a little Mariah Carey singing, “All I Want for Christmas is YOU!”
I dislike the chipmunks Christmas songs they sing and the one that says “all I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth” in that creepy voice!!!
Christmas in the Northwest is awful! I don’t know if they make up horrible Christmas songs for your town but man, they are so bad here. Sippin’ in Seattle’s Latte Land. Are you kidding me!? UGH!
I cannot stand “Little Drummer Boy” it makes me angry. The “pa rum pa pum pum” is what does it for me. My fav is “I’ll be Home for Christmas”
I love O Holy Night, but for me, I can’t help but tear up over I’ll be Home for Christmas. It still reminds me of when my fiancee was in the Marine Corps and we didn’t know if we were going to spend holidays together. My least favorite has to be grandma got run over by a reindeer – so twisted!
Speaking of jumping lunges, I’ve chosen a Body Step track tonight that features them at the end- killer!
I also can’t stand “Christmas Shoes.” Terrible! I, too, love O Holy Night and Silent Night. I also love Away in a Manger. My all time favorite Christmas song is “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas” I LOVE that song! So happy! I never hear it on the radio, vastly underplayed!
I despise “Same Old Lang Syne”!! They buy a 6 pack and drink it in his car on christmas eve??? WHAT??? I get so frustrated every time I here it!!!
Ha! You crack me up! I can totally relate to your aversion to Christmas Shoes… definitely not the most uplifting Christmas song! I love Do You Hear What I hear because it truly encompasses the authentic nature of Christmas. I also love Silver Bells (no clue why I love this one!). Thanks for the uplifting holiday post!
It is not so much a certain Christmas song that I do not like…but more often specific versions. There are normally certain people’s versions (e.g. Justin Bieber) of songs that I just do not care for!
I hate, hate, HATE!!! War is Over by John Lennon!!!!!!!!!!!! I never post comments, but I am so passionate about my hatred towards that song that I had to get it out! Thanks!
I haaaate Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer, and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” always brings back bad memories of my brother singing about how “Santa knew if I had been bad or good” when I was sitting in the time out corner freaking out about Santa being pissed at me.. Rough life hahah
Have you ever heard the one about the girl who wants a hippopotamus??? awful!! haha! I love most christmas songs though, I would be lying if I didnt say I loved Nsync’s merry christmas!
I had never heard of Christmas Shoes prior to reading this post – wow! Just because the kid’s family is poor, he is dirty from head to toe and will make people behind him in line wait for the cashier to count thousands of pennies? So condescending.
My top three LEAST favorite Christmas songs:
1. Grown Up Christmas List (I hate, hate, HATE this song!)
2. Christmas Shoes
3. Same Old Lang Syne