A Christmas Story

So the Winter Solstice, Yule and Christmas blew in and out in a flurry of activities. Hubby's birthday was in there as well. He's a Christmas week baby and has always loathed his birthday. I didn't do as well this year celebrating his birthday as I have in the past. Not only was it Sunday with church obligations, it was the only chance I had to go to a friend's house to tie-dye underwear for the kids' stockings. We did throw together an impromptu surprise birthday party after the middle child's youth group. Then we went to a late showing of Avatar (A-MA-ZING video, predictable plot).

Christmas week was spent cramming my 15-hour work week into three days and finishing up the holiday shopping. The kids seemed happy with their gifts. Our family keeps the gift giving to a pretty low amount compared to most out there. The kids get a big gift, some clothing and a stocking for Christmas morning, plus a gift to open on Christmas Eve. This year's big gift was a bicycle for everyone in the family. The boys took their bikes out immediately while the girl and I went out later. The weather was cloudy, cold and windy so the rides were short. The rest of the day we relaxed before meeting the hubby's mother, brother and nieces at a Japanese restaurant for Christmas dinner. We started doing the Japanese dinner last year and I really enjoy it. The food is delicious and the clean-up is a breeze! ;-)

Saturday Clark took his son back to Atlanta. On the way home, he stopped off to visit with his best friend John and his family. When he got home, we went over to visit a little more with Clark's mom and brother (who was heading back to Florida Sunday morning). My son we put on a plane for California Sunday night. My daughter, now 18, chose not to go this year. So this week will be a little quiet without the boys around. Traditionally this is the time we catch up on some of those pesky household chores. I'm also looking forward to taking my new bicycle out on some of the Nashville greenways this week!

¡Hasta pronto, mis amigos!

~N

What a Wonderful World

On my quest for some holiday cheer, this video made me smile. :-)



¡Hasta pronto, mis amigos!

~N

Bah. Humbug.

Soul Cake

Though I myself rarely patronize Starbucks (aka St. Arbuck's to some of my Twitter friends), the company does sponsor Morning Joe, which we do watch. Earlier this year there was an ad for a new CD from Sting with a holiday theme called "If on a Winter's Night..." The featured songs intrigued me so I texted Clark, who was on the road, and that night he brought it home. Some of the songs are so-so but a few are great and my absolute favorite song on the CD is entitled "Soul Cake."


¡Hasta pronto, mis amigos!

~N

We Need a Little Christmas

Ten days until Christmas and I continue on my search for my holiday spirit. Today I will attempt to conjure up some Christmas cheer through food by making peanut butter fudge and Oreo bon bons. Maybe giving away tons of sugary yummy treats will light the fire needed to get this little elf started.

Last night we watched "A Christmas Story," which was the first time any of us had seen this movie touted as the #1 Christmas film. It was a cute movie, but I now understand why everyone I tried to get to watch this who had seen it did not want to re-watch it. I don't know if this will be one I watch every year. We still have "Deck the Halls" to watch, but really nobody liked that the first time around! Netflix is shipping out a couple of films today--"Unaccompanied Minors" and "A Christmas Carol" (the Patrick Stewart version)--and I plan on hitting McKay's Used Books this afternoon for some more movies on our must-see list.

¡Hasta pronto, mis amigos!

~N

Where Are You Christmas?

So the Christmas tree is still sitting in the living room with its bright colorful lights and bare limbs. We haven't even covered the ugly bottom up with a tree skirt. The black cat has taken to sleeping under it. *sigh*

When my dad was here this weekend he asked me about the holiday plates. I can't believe it's December 14th and I haven't gotten the snowman plates down yet! Can you say, "Bah hum bug!" We have used holiday plates from Thanksgiving to Spring every year we have been in Nashville! So this week I resolve to:

1. get the holiday dinnerware out and washed;
2. get the tree decorated;
3. finish stocking stuffer shopping; and
4. pick up the final parts of the big family gift(s).

Meanwhile, in family news, this is finals week. Kyle has his exhibition today and Ryann has four finals she needs to take. I am so happy that both of my kids were able to find non-traditional education systems since neither of them are traditional students.

¡Hasta pronto, mis amigos!

~N

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

We have boxes and boxes of decorations sitting in the living room, so yes, decorating is on the schedule. Over the years my interest in decorating the house has definitely waned. I am not sure if this is a shift in my attitude towards Christmas or my attitude towards the labor involved in putting up (then taking down) all the decorations.

I do worry sometimes that in a few more years I will completely forgo any type of Christmas decorating and I wonder if my family will even notice. That's not to say I'm a "bah-humbug" about the holidays. I listen to holiday tunes the entire month, watch holiday movies with the family and love to see the holiday lights on all the houses. This weekend we'll get everything put up, and with luck, all the boxes put away so we can enjoy the ambiance for the rest of the month.

¡Hasta pronto, mis amigos!

~N

December Arrives

December announced its arrival yesterday with a cool snap of weather and keeps up today with lots of rain. I love when the air turns cold and we have to bundle up, but always get caught unawares. I try a couple of times through the fall to pull out my big coat and gloves and scarf, then the weather stays warm. About the time I reach the point where I have given up on ever having cold weather and leave my cold-weather gear at home, the weather changes for good. So, welcome, December! I am looking forward to a chilly month!

¡Hasta pronto, mis amigos!

~N

National Novel Writing Month Wrap-up

November went by way too fast. I have to admit I did not reach my 50,000 word goal in the National Novel Writing Month. I was about 7,500 short, but refuse to be too bummed out about it. During November there was lots of church work--in addition to the board work (I'm Board Secretary), I also chaired the search committee for a youth coordinator at church and worked on some social justice programs for the youth. I spent a great holiday weekend in the mountains with family and friends, plus we had a soccer tournament, weekly commutes to daughter's school, and my own job in the mix. Not a bad way to spend thirty days. I think I'll work on this novel for another couple of weeks at a more leisurely pace and then send it out for review. Next year, I will be ready with my own novel, my own plot and, hopefully, more time! ;-)

¡Hasta pronto, mis amigos!

~N