Christmas with a Cranky Pregnant Lady

Well, today is December 1st and no longer can I protest Christmas decorations going up at our house. It looks like this weekend is the big weekend for decorating and that demonic Elf on the Shelf to make his appearance.

Mad props to all you mama's out there that are creative enough and have your shit together enough to remember to move that stupid Elf every night. FYI, there is no difference in behavior whether Charlie is present or not, hence my reluctance to want to deal with him. That and I am a giant Scrooge. Have I mentioned that before?
Anyway, moving on. The good news is that even though I greatly dislike the general Christmas season, I do enjoy having an excuse to get something special for my loved ones and being with family. So basically, there's no reason for me to dislike Christmas. But whatever, I'm cranky and stubborn. I will not be changing my ways this year. 
With that being said, I am pleased that I'm ahead of the game in getting gifts crossed off my list this year too. So hurrah for that! It does make me less stabby this time of year when I don't have to fight the masses at shopping centers.
I digress though. Besides the gift giving and family merriment, what I wanted to discuss today was the joy of giving. (Whoa, did this post take an unexpected turn or what...) Christmas is the time of year when we all try and remember to put some good ju-ju out into the world, via cash, volunteering, or donating used goods to someone else that needs them. I think that it might be the only thing that keeps me sane this time of year, actually.
So if anyone is looking for some good local charities to donate to, here are a few that got some of my money this year.
www.dayspringky.org - Day Spring Community Living: a community of resources for those with special needs. This is the charity I help plan a gala for every spring. I'm pretty partial to them since I have two family members that live there and a brother on the waiting list. 
https://growappalachia.berea.edu/ - Grow Appalachia through Berea College. Make sure to note that you want your donation to go to Grow Appalachia, not just the general fund. They help provide people the means to set up farming efforts in food insufficient areas of Appalachia. Because you can't "better yourself" when you're starving, folks. It's as simple as that.
http://www.kyymca.org/ - Kentucky Youth YMCA hosts a variety of conferences and leadership programs that inspire young people to become valuable leaders in the future. I went through these programs in middle and high school and cannot rave enough about the influence they had on the person I grew up to become. Leadership skills and service to the community are just grazing the surface of the values I learned through these groups.
These are just a few places in Kentucky that I think are fantastic places to donate or volunteer if you are so inclined. Hopefully I'll get around to listing some more throughout the month.
Happy holidays, y'all.