Christmas card 2013

a grown-up Christmas

Before, my Grandma Mom (what we call my mom's mom) would spend the night on Christmas Eve and we would have a big dinner and go to the Christmas Eve service. On Christmas day I would open boxes of American Eagle sweaters and dangly earrings and CDs and maybe a cell phone or a camera. I would play with my presents until 2:00 and then leave for Grandma Jean's condo in Arlington. I would happily accept money envelopes from my relatives and then sneak off to the den to watch TV or play cards with my cousins until it was time to eat. My grandma would have everyone stand in a circle and hold hands and sing Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, praise Him above, ye Heavenly host, praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 

Now Grandma Mom is in a nursing home and Andy had to work on Christmas Eve. A couple of my presents this year :: a cake stand, a berry strainer, and a creamer (among other wonderful goodies). Instead of having presents to play with I had a present I shed tears over (too-small jeans). Grandma Jean passed away this year so we went to my Uncle Bill's house for Christmas dinner instead.

So you see, Christmas has changed. I receive grown-up gifts, have grown-up responsibilities, grown-up issues and trials that I must deal with as maturely as I know how. Yet, I was blessed by what a wonderful day this Christmas turned out to be. I ate like royalty, Skyped with my brother who lives in Korea, had a fabulous time talking and laughing with aunts and uncles and cousins (I no longer retreat to the kid's table), watched two episodes of Sherlock with my family and went to bed feeling like a little girl again.

Some family traditions will never change, like waiting at the top of the stairs for the go-ahead from mom and dad, seeing presents under the tree but turning into the den to open stockings first, having coffee and hot chocolate and oohing and aahing over other people's gifts, eating a huge breakfast and receiving one last gift at bedtime. 

Todd, Katie, me, Andy
we miss you John-Michael!!!

It was a Merry Christmas.

Christmas Party!

I had wanted to throw a Christmas party since our first year of marriage and I decided earlier this month I've got to make it happen! So I did.

The vision: Festive decor, low-key atmosphere and a simple menu

The invite: I used pingg.com and after a long deliberation I chose this template. Six out of the eight couples we invited were able to come and I hired two girls from the neighborhood to watch the little ones in our basement.

The menu: 

Dinner

Bacon-wrapped smokies brushed w/ brown sugar

Bbq/mayo/brown sugar dip for smokies

Buffalo chicken dip

Cranberry-covered goat cheese roll from Trader Joe's

Sausage and cheese balls (brought by friend)

Cucumbers, carrots and celery sticks (brought by friend)

Chips

Crackers

Dessert

Coffee and hot chocolate

Brownies cut into stars and Christmas trees w/ cookie cutters

Maple leaf cookies from Trader Joe's

Sugared pecans

Cake pops (unexpectedly brought by the babysitters)

I bought green and red colored candy from the bulk section at Martin's

to set out with peanuts for easy snacking throughout the party.
This menu was incredibly easy to prepare and everything
turned out perfectly.

The decor: 

My Santa from Kohls is extra cute
inside the berry wreath

the tiniest manger scene ever
-they're all ornaments-

I fell in love with this little guy at first sight.
He was $4 at an antique mall in KY.
I think he and my grandmother's chair
belong together.





ornaments hanging from my shutters, chandelier and curtain rod

I meant to take a pic before the food was consumed...
oops! I used a card table for the dip, cheese, chips
and crackers. I had the smokies, sausage balls and desserts
set up in the kitchen. 

The party itself:  I decided to leave our dining room table free to create more space to eat. We started dinner at 6:30 with the girls eating at the table and the guys eating in the living room. At 7:30 everyone gathered together for two rounds of The Newlywed Game, hosted by our friend Matt (he played the theme song on his ipod... he's our church's resident game show host for a reason). At 8:30 our guests w/ kids headed out and those remaining stayed to play Screw Your Neighbor (not what it sounds like).

The best part? No stress. It was amazing. Somehow I managed to get the whole house sparkling (minus our bedroom) and prepare for the party in barely a day's time. AND I didn't cough or blow my nose once during the party. Now that is success.

a festivus for the rest of us

Andy and I celebrated Christmas with my parents, sister and brother in law last night. Talk about wrapping paper FRENZY. Andy got an ipod touch and spent the rest of the night in sheer disbelief/joy.

I got these super cute pajama pants *notice the owls* from my sister. She gave me my birthday gift as well- a pedometer and a clutch with (guess?) owls! more bird things!!! This picture also shows off my birthday watch from Andy. My parents spoiled us like crazy as always and I'm excited for all the reading and cute clothes wearing that I'll be doing this year. I had a yummy lunch at PF Changs w/ Eileen and spent the rest of the afternoon fighting the masses at Tysons Corner. It was ugly.

Since I don't get back home until Sunday afternoon, I will be starting my resolutions on Monday. My whole family, minus Andy, will be starting the Maker's Diet on Monday, which means we have been stuffing our faces with carbs and sugar in anticipation of the upcoming 40 days.

A bird nose-dived into our kitchen window this morning and was rescued by my brother in law, Todd. How cute is this pic?

No, I did not try to keep the bird.

Christmas meltdown

I had a meltdown last night that measured about a 6.7 on the richter scale. See chart for details.

I was beginning to feel the effect of an upcoming monthly cycle and had received about 5 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours, yet I was surprisingly chipper and pleasant for Christmas day.  

Then the clock struck 11pm and I LOST IT.  

Andy had just put in his new video game and was getting ready to start playing when I decided that I wanted us to go to bed NOW and while I understood his desire to play he had better get his butt upstairs!  My poor husband. One minute I'm snuggly and flirty and cute in my new Christmas nightgown and the next minute I'm half screaming/half sobbing in a crumple on the bathroom floor.  I said a few things and he said he wasn't going to put up with that and I said I'm sorry can you please just hold me I haven't gotten any sleep and I'm cramping and I just need you to be supportive and he said BUT I DONT KNOW WHO YOU ARE RIGHT NOW and I said THIS IS THE WORST CHRISTMAS EVER and we sat on the couch and listened to my tears until his arms reached over and pulled me towards him and he kissed my soaking wet face.  It ended up being a lovely Christmas, just as it had been all along minus that pitiful half an hour of absurdity.  

I slept until 10 and had big plans to start the day with a shopping trip to Kohls, but then a huge dollop of Dove shampoo landed in my eye during my shower and the screaming and sobbing started all over again.  I really thought I had gone blind in my right eye and there was no one around to help me.  Somehow I managed to finish my shower and I ran straight back to bed and held a washcloth over my eye and went back to sleep until noon.  

Good news: not blind.  I got my contacts in with minor pain and bought soft black pajama pants and a decorative pillow that I have no use for now but hope to someday.  If you scroll down it's the round one, and isn't it adorable?  

Christmas was wonderful.  On Christmas Eve we saw "Up in the Air," which was fabulous, though rather disconcerting.  Andy and I exchanged our stockings and gifts on Christmas morning and then went to his mom's for the afternoon.  Andy did a great job getting me what I had asked for, as well as one surprise gift: he noticed I had put a book in my Amazon.com cart and hadn't bought it yet, so he got that for me.  Sly one! My favorite gift was 3 bird hooks from UO that I had asked for.  I now own seven "bird things" and my friends think I'm becoming a scary bird lady.  It's not an obsession, I swear!  I like to call it an "interest."  I don't own real birds, so I can't be that creepy...or can I?  One of these days I'll take pics of my bird things and then you can judge me.

To do or not to do

It's 3pm and this is what I've done so far today:  got out of bed at 10am, read the first half of my Self magazine, finished wrapping Christmas presents, searched for the perfect adornment to my sister's birthday gift in my odds and ends drawer-  found it, and had a difficult time parting with it - listened to the Vince Guaraldi trio on my laptop, gave my extremely dirty kitchen the evil eye as I microwaved a plate of leftover ground turkey meat, black beans and cornbread, and curled up under a blanket to watch "Julie and Julia."  While watching, I looked up Julie Powell's latest achievement, a book about her marriage troubles and decision to learn how to butcher meat.  I admire Powell's ability to undertake immense projects for her own self-help, but I'm not sure if I want to read about her infidelity after falling in love with her husband in her last book.  We shall see.

I've paused the film because I cannot for the life of me stop feeling guilty over what I should be doing right now. I should wash the dishes. I should wash myself. I should wash the kitchen floor. I should tidy up and take out the trash and vacuum and do laundry.  I should read a book or write a letter or organize a closet.  I should really do all of these things.  

But it's Christmas, and I think I've been good this year.  I'm going to get to these tasks eventually (hopefully as soon as the movie ends) and right now I'm going to enjoy watching Julia Child reunite with her sister in Paris, which might be my favorite part of the movie. 

Dear Santa

Packages have been arriving at our door and in our mailbox non-stop for the past week, and guess what? They're ALL for me. This is what happens when your husband buys everything online. Not complaining- it's exciting to know there is a closet full of presents to be opened soon!

My 23rd birthday is on Friday. Sadly, Andy is working from 1-11pm, but we're celebrating on Saturday with my parents in northern Va. I'm already salivating at the thought of calamari at The Carlyle in Shirlington. After dinner we're heading to the Kennedy Center to hear the National Symphony Orchestra play holiday music. Marvin Hamlisch is performing- remember him playing Carly Simon on the piano in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?"

This weekend last year Andy and I were heading to Florida to board a cruise to the Bahamas. That was one amazing vacation, but I have to admit dinner and a show sounds great this year. Sunday I'll be chowing down on pizza and watching "White Christmas" with some of my old housemates, so really I get 2 dinners and shows!

Here's what I'm asking for this Christmas:
(if you read Good Housekeeping you'll see I received some inspiration from their gift guide)

• Bird hooks from Urban Outfitters


• Bird art from Urban Outfitters can you tell I like birds?


• Skinny belt from NY&Co


• Fur hooded vest from NY&Co I also like the jacket


• Remington Straightener from Target


• Any Muppet Show DVD from Amazon yes I love the Muppet Show! meep!


• Go Mini Steamer from HSN


• "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout


• "Guinea Pig Diaries" by AJ Jacobs cannot wait for this one!


• Dutch Oven from WalMart as if we don't have enough dutch ovens in the house ;)

We'll see what Santa brings!