Ah, Christmas prep time. I love it. I was remarking to my husband that, now that November is about over, I only have one more month of the year that I actually like before I hate everything again.

Yep, I like October, November and December. That's it.

I know some people long for the spring and all that, but I seriously hate it. So my year is divided up into four parts. Not Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring, but similar.

First it's not Fall. It's "Ah, let's eat cookies and start on Christmas presents!" season, at least, in my brain. Because that's what I do. It's also hikey time, but this year I have failed to take even one hike, and that is just horrible, so I'm ignoring it for now. This season runs from October through November and is my all-time favorite.

After Fall comes "Christmas! Wait...it's over...can we at least get a snow day?" season, which runs from December through the beginning part of January. This year, for example, we were promised the whole El Niño deal, but I'm not buying it. I do love me some Christmas, but as soon as that's over, it's time for...

"How did I gain that much weight over Christmas? Holy crap, I need new pants. It's also going to be hot soon." season. Yes, the most angsty season of the year. Post-holiday-time feelings plus the anticipation of warm weather. Oh, and also the juniper, but since that's pretty much year-round, it can't really be crammed into a season. This one goes from January until May.

Finally, my most hated season of all, the one that makes me want to die for three solid months every year (this year was particularly wretched), "Why did we buy a leather couch? My thighs are stuck to it and I can't free them. No, I didn't work out, I was too busy sweating and complaining." season. Hate it. June through September. Maybe this year I will get that pesky time travel thing invented and just skip it.

Let me have my pretends. I've only got this one month of decent left before I hate life again.