Whew! It's been awhile since I've written but that is because life has been just a little busy :) Let me start by saying that I have high hopes that 2011 is going to be a good year. Just a feeling I have.
It is currently 21 degrees and sunny here in Indy. Sadly, it looks like we're supposed to have freezing rain starting tonight and into tomorrow. Why is it that bad weather always seems to strike on Tuesdays, when I have to drive an hour each way to class in Kokomo? Boo. Guess I'll be leaving around 5 am tomorrow! Kidding. I hope. The exciting part of looming storms is that as a Red Cross volunteer, I am officially on the call list and ready for action. This might seem a little strange and sadistic, but imagine if you were trained as a surgeon and then never got to operate because all of a sudden, everyone was healthy? I mean, no one wants to see people feel sick or injured, but it's great to put a skill to use when it's needed. So who knows, maybe sometime this week I will be at a shelter doing some client casework!
Along those same lines, Friday I went to my First Aid meeting with Red Cross. I'm trained on paperwork/info collecting for people in a crisis, but I am eager to become recertified in CPR and AED as well as to learn about O2, compressions, basic wound and injury treatment, and taking blood pressures. I am going to start signing up for those courses so that hopefully by the end of February, I can help in a few different ways! I had Chris show me how to take a blood pressure yesterday and after some practice, I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it. Very cool stuff.
Two other things of note: 1) I got another part-time job teaching dance and Spanish to preschoolers! I ran my first two ballet classes on Saturday morning and had a blast. But I think Red Bull is in order for Saturday mornings with 3 year olds in tutus, haha. I'm pretty pumped at making some extra money and doing some teaching (another love of mine). 2) I finally donated my hair!!!! Went to the salon on Saturday afternoon and had 9 inches chopped off! I am going to remeasure myself today (it kind of looks like a little ferret in a bag right now), and determine if it's going to Beautiful Lengths or Locks of Love. Check it off the bucket list!
Funny side note: when I got home on Saturday, I'm pretty sure Chris was on fire. That's how fast he was moving anyway. I walked up the stairs to see laundry strewn around the hallway, the washer going, and my charming boyfriend flying around with a vacuum cleaner. I sort of stood there stunned for a second or two and then attempted to reenergize to help. We took a field trip to Costco for bins to organize with and bulk toilet paper (what a 25 year old couple, huh?) and then tried Target for the few things we couldn't find. By the time we got home, after the three hours of three year olds, cleaning spree, and Costco zoo, I was ready to crash. When I saw him jump up to start taking out the trash I finally demanded he sit down next to me and eat some grapes. This lasted for all of three seconds and then I fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up next, I saw Chris in the kitchen, mashing potatoes for homemade gnocchi. I just laughed. What in the world? I am still convinced he drank his first coffee while I was gone that morning.
And now we find ourselves at Monday, the last day in January. Wow, this month flew!!!!! Off to study for class (so much better this semester), fax a few transcripts for review, and work! Have a great day everyone :)
Lots of love xoxo
P.S.- had the strangest dream last night where I was trying to walk but my legs we are all wobbly and kept tipping me over. I was also wearing insane high heels, like the ones Kristen always tries to dress me in when we go out (never a good idea), and I kept screaming about my calves and their optimal something or other... I gotta lay off the sugar or something.
What in the WORLD does that mean???
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Adventures in Bangor
Happy MLK Day, everyone! Hope you are all enjoying your day off and remembering a truly great and inspiring individual.
Chris and I are currently in Maine for his job interview. We've had a weekend filled with a lot of laughs and "grown up" activity, like looking at houses and apartments (you know you are an adult when real estate books become good reading material). Bangor is little and quaint... older houses, independently run restaurants and stores, snowy mountains in the distance... definitely different than what the two of us are used to as of late, BUT very similar to how my college town felt and apparently how his childhood town felt.
If we'd planned well, we probably could've taken in some of the fun outdoorsy activities that Maine has to offer (cross country skiing, hiking, sunrise at Katahdin), but as usual, we are in a whirlwind :) We did get a chance to try out two great restaurants in the area (Giacomo's and Paddy Murphy's) and even toured the Orono campus a bit. One of my favorite parts of this trip was buying a cheap bathing suit at Target after finding out the hotel had a pool and hot tub! We checked out a few houses/apartments yesterday in person and AMAZINGLY agreed on one that we both liked best. I might go check out a few more today while he's at the hospital, but we'll see.
Either way, the best part of looking at new places, apartments, jobs and schools is that we are looking at them together. There is something really exciting and a bit less terrifying about that. Doing things on your own can be fun and exhilerating but new experiences with someone you love is exhilerating in a totally different way. And I guess I haven't had that in a very long long time... or ever, really, post living with a family.
It's like the Brandi Carlile song The Story says:
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true... I was made for you
I crossed all the lines and broke all the rules
But baby I broke them all for you
Because even when I was flat broke
You made me feel like a million bucks
It's true...
I was made for you
Love that song. Love that boy. Love that this adventure has been terrifying, exciting, up and down, thought provoking and growth inducing. Love that tomorrow morning I could wake up worried or nervous about something in the future and that by tomorrow night I could be laughing and snuggling on a couch, feeling 100% better... and just not knowing right now what it'll be. And sort of being OK with that for once.
Lots of love on a sunny, snowy Maine morning :)
Chris and I are currently in Maine for his job interview. We've had a weekend filled with a lot of laughs and "grown up" activity, like looking at houses and apartments (you know you are an adult when real estate books become good reading material). Bangor is little and quaint... older houses, independently run restaurants and stores, snowy mountains in the distance... definitely different than what the two of us are used to as of late, BUT very similar to how my college town felt and apparently how his childhood town felt.
If we'd planned well, we probably could've taken in some of the fun outdoorsy activities that Maine has to offer (cross country skiing, hiking, sunrise at Katahdin), but as usual, we are in a whirlwind :) We did get a chance to try out two great restaurants in the area (Giacomo's and Paddy Murphy's) and even toured the Orono campus a bit. One of my favorite parts of this trip was buying a cheap bathing suit at Target after finding out the hotel had a pool and hot tub! We checked out a few houses/apartments yesterday in person and AMAZINGLY agreed on one that we both liked best. I might go check out a few more today while he's at the hospital, but we'll see.
Either way, the best part of looking at new places, apartments, jobs and schools is that we are looking at them together. There is something really exciting and a bit less terrifying about that. Doing things on your own can be fun and exhilerating but new experiences with someone you love is exhilerating in a totally different way. And I guess I haven't had that in a very long long time... or ever, really, post living with a family.
It's like the Brandi Carlile song The Story says:
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true... I was made for you
I crossed all the lines and broke all the rules
But baby I broke them all for you
Because even when I was flat broke
You made me feel like a million bucks
It's true...
I was made for you
Love that song. Love that boy. Love that this adventure has been terrifying, exciting, up and down, thought provoking and growth inducing. Love that tomorrow morning I could wake up worried or nervous about something in the future and that by tomorrow night I could be laughing and snuggling on a couch, feeling 100% better... and just not knowing right now what it'll be. And sort of being OK with that for once.
Lots of love on a sunny, snowy Maine morning :)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Blah Day Today. Sorry.
I feel so. horribly. lonely. today.
I know we do this as grown ups, I know we move, we change, we grow, we settle down, but I can't help but feel like I'm going to combust sometimes at how isolating it is to go from bustling Boston with a billion roommates and friends to a suburb in the midwest with a boyfriend who is a resident at a hospital. I am trying to be patient... and not act selfishly... but would it be terrible to close my eyes and dream of flying through these next few months and getting back to New England? Maybe... debateable I suppose.
I'll probably regretting posting this later, but for now, I am working on a sleepless night and churning stomach.
So c'est la vie.
This is so not in keeping with my theme of "presence" but we all fall off the wagon sometimes I guess. And writing helps, so write I will.
I know we do this as grown ups, I know we move, we change, we grow, we settle down, but I can't help but feel like I'm going to combust sometimes at how isolating it is to go from bustling Boston with a billion roommates and friends to a suburb in the midwest with a boyfriend who is a resident at a hospital. I am trying to be patient... and not act selfishly... but would it be terrible to close my eyes and dream of flying through these next few months and getting back to New England? Maybe... debateable I suppose.
I'll probably regretting posting this later, but for now, I am working on a sleepless night and churning stomach.
So c'est la vie.
This is so not in keeping with my theme of "presence" but we all fall off the wagon sometimes I guess. And writing helps, so write I will.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Back to the Books
Annnnnd we're back in action. Spring semester begins today and while I am not as excited to start classes as I was after a three year hiatus, I am feeling MUCH more confident about things than I was in August. And to be honest, I prefer confidence of ability over the excitement of newness right now.
The nice part about life right now is that the hard part is over. That may seem counterintuitive given the fact that there is still nursing school and another big move this summer to think about, but as far as I'm concerned, most of my work is done. I moved here, figured out classes, made it through a semester and am getting the tail end of my apps out. All I can really do is wait now and whatever will be will be. There are still decisions ahead but nothing we can even really begin to think about until a few months from now. I feel a lot more peaceful about everything than I did at this time last year. Peaceful knowing that things will work out one way or another and peaceful knowing that the next time I make a move or start at a new school, I will have someone with me going through the exact same thing. Nice to have a little solidarity in big life changes for once.
Now for a fun weekend recap:
Friday night Chris went to the Butler game and I went to Chateau Thomas Winery for free live music and wine. It was absolutely one of my favorite things I have done since moving here. I have tried to be a trooper and immerse myself in the wild sports culture here, but to be honest, I still have absolutely no clue what is going on in a football game, nor do I care. So sitting listening to incredible music and seeing people sing and play with passion gave me chills. It also brought me right back to college and a cappella... nice folkie acoustic music that just makes you want to sit around a bonfire and sing-a-long. Well maybe it doesn't make anyone else want to do that, but it surely makes me want to. I was so born in the wrong place and time.
Saturday was a bit of a lazy day, but it was beautiful out so we went for nice invigorating walk, shopped for icebreaker gifts for my wish child, and then had a late dinner at the Olive Garden.
Sunday we both did some work, I took another nice long walk and caught up with Mimi on the phone, and then headed over to Mer and Sam's for the Packer's game. All good stuff!
So now it's time to get things rolling... time to dust off the books and get out the highlighter. Wish me luck!
Lots of love on a sunny January morning :)
XOXO
The nice part about life right now is that the hard part is over. That may seem counterintuitive given the fact that there is still nursing school and another big move this summer to think about, but as far as I'm concerned, most of my work is done. I moved here, figured out classes, made it through a semester and am getting the tail end of my apps out. All I can really do is wait now and whatever will be will be. There are still decisions ahead but nothing we can even really begin to think about until a few months from now. I feel a lot more peaceful about everything than I did at this time last year. Peaceful knowing that things will work out one way or another and peaceful knowing that the next time I make a move or start at a new school, I will have someone with me going through the exact same thing. Nice to have a little solidarity in big life changes for once.
Now for a fun weekend recap:
Friday night Chris went to the Butler game and I went to Chateau Thomas Winery for free live music and wine. It was absolutely one of my favorite things I have done since moving here. I have tried to be a trooper and immerse myself in the wild sports culture here, but to be honest, I still have absolutely no clue what is going on in a football game, nor do I care. So sitting listening to incredible music and seeing people sing and play with passion gave me chills. It also brought me right back to college and a cappella... nice folkie acoustic music that just makes you want to sit around a bonfire and sing-a-long. Well maybe it doesn't make anyone else want to do that, but it surely makes me want to. I was so born in the wrong place and time.
Saturday was a bit of a lazy day, but it was beautiful out so we went for nice invigorating walk, shopped for icebreaker gifts for my wish child, and then had a late dinner at the Olive Garden.
Sunday we both did some work, I took another nice long walk and caught up with Mimi on the phone, and then headed over to Mer and Sam's for the Packer's game. All good stuff!
So now it's time to get things rolling... time to dust off the books and get out the highlighter. Wish me luck!
Lots of love on a sunny January morning :)
XOXO
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Happy New Year
Happy New Year, everyone!
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday and that you are all feeling recharged for the year to come. Chris and I had a fun New Years Eve- out to dinner with our friends Heather and Brian, and then back to the house to watch the ball drop. Chris had the pager again so we tried to keep things low key, but having that cute face to kiss at midnight when last year all I had was a Skype date was the best thing I could ask for :)
Now onto the topic of resolutions. A year or two ago, I read somewhere that making New Years resolutions was a bad idea, especially difficult ones. When we set specific goals and then fall short of them, we are much more apt to quit and feel frustrated. This doesn't mean that you can't have some of those goals on your radar- being healthier/more active, saving X number of dollars, taking a fun trip, etc. But maybe instead of listing them out and feeling overwhelmed by the deadline you have in which to accomplish said goals, you can just be working at them at your own pace and keeping them tucked quietly in your mind.
That being said, Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project, had a great blog post on the topic. http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2010/12/choose-a-theme-for-next-year-maybe-even-just-one-word.html Her idea is to choose a one word theme for next year which sort of encompasses all of your goals, wants and needs. I love this. So after much thought, here is my word:
Presence.
I want to be more present in the moment, in my life. I want to stop fast forwarding and giving myself timelines and deadlines. I want to totally throw myself into whatever it is I am doing and let that consume my thoughts. When I'm with the kids, I want to be listening and laughing and helping them grow. When I'm running, I want to focus on my breathing, what I'm hearing and what I'm seeing around me. When I'm studying, I want to be engaged and absorbing and understanding as much as I can. I want to relish the days not the years. This, for me, is going to be more challenging than resolving to lose 15 pounds, run a marathon, or grow an inch. So we'll see how it goes.
Should be at least a little easier this week as all I have going on is work (school starts next week). I'm trying to use this week as my detox for the semester- to get back to being active, cooking good food, reading and getting organized.
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear what your one word would be....
Lots of love!
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday and that you are all feeling recharged for the year to come. Chris and I had a fun New Years Eve- out to dinner with our friends Heather and Brian, and then back to the house to watch the ball drop. Chris had the pager again so we tried to keep things low key, but having that cute face to kiss at midnight when last year all I had was a Skype date was the best thing I could ask for :)
Now onto the topic of resolutions. A year or two ago, I read somewhere that making New Years resolutions was a bad idea, especially difficult ones. When we set specific goals and then fall short of them, we are much more apt to quit and feel frustrated. This doesn't mean that you can't have some of those goals on your radar- being healthier/more active, saving X number of dollars, taking a fun trip, etc. But maybe instead of listing them out and feeling overwhelmed by the deadline you have in which to accomplish said goals, you can just be working at them at your own pace and keeping them tucked quietly in your mind.
That being said, Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project, had a great blog post on the topic. http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2010/12/choose-a-theme-for-next-year-maybe-even-just-one-word.html Her idea is to choose a one word theme for next year which sort of encompasses all of your goals, wants and needs. I love this. So after much thought, here is my word:
Presence.
I want to be more present in the moment, in my life. I want to stop fast forwarding and giving myself timelines and deadlines. I want to totally throw myself into whatever it is I am doing and let that consume my thoughts. When I'm with the kids, I want to be listening and laughing and helping them grow. When I'm running, I want to focus on my breathing, what I'm hearing and what I'm seeing around me. When I'm studying, I want to be engaged and absorbing and understanding as much as I can. I want to relish the days not the years. This, for me, is going to be more challenging than resolving to lose 15 pounds, run a marathon, or grow an inch. So we'll see how it goes.
Should be at least a little easier this week as all I have going on is work (school starts next week). I'm trying to use this week as my detox for the semester- to get back to being active, cooking good food, reading and getting organized.
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear what your one word would be....
Lots of love!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
A Day Late... or Two.. or Three...
December 28, 2010.
It has been two days of harsh winds, blustery snows, and over as well as UNDER caffeination. And finally I sit here in the ATL. Waiting for my flight to Indianapolis.
Ok, I'm just being melodramatic, but thought that intro was more catchy than anything else I could come up with (by the way, I hate ending sentences with WITH. I know it isn't proper).
So the real story is that I was supposed to leave Maine on December 26th but my flight was cancelled at 9 am that day due to a blizzard. I would be lying if I said I wasn't extremely happy about that deep down. I wasn't mentally prepared to leave home so the extra day of lazing around with the fam was just what I needed. I rebooked my flight for yesterday (Dec. 27th) at 5:35 pm and was delayed 3 hours, thus missing my flight in Atlanta. I was going to just wait and fly out of Portland on Dec. 28th (today) but the reps told me that if I didn't at least get out of the Northeast, I would not until Friday at the earliest. YIKES! So much to my family's dismay, I hopped on the flight and found myself sleeping in an airport hotel for approximately four hours before having to head back and wait at the airport once more. Now, fingers crossed, I should be on my way back to the boyfriend in APPROXIMATELY half an hour. I will confirm that at a later point. [CONFIRMED]
Anyway, Christmas week was awesome. Winter travel and last minute shopping can be stressful, but Mom treated us to a girls' day out (manis and massages included) so that eased some of the tension ;)
This was the year of new traditions. Family Christmas parties, fun games at Christmas, even a new breakfast menu! It was great to see everyone and just laugh... I think that's what I loved most about this week- the constant laughter and conversation that flowed with ease. Living in a new place makes me appreciate the familiarity of family and friends that much more.
I think it was also a week full of excellent advice and thoughtfulness. I know I already posted about my great convo with Dad but I had an equally stimulating conversation with a girl on the plane last night. I'm not even sure how these conversations start but I'm pretty sure in another time and place we would've been best friends. At one point we got onto the topic of religion (always an interesting one) and while I would DEFINITELY say she was a bit more pious than me, we came to a very interesting conclusion about relationships. The long and short of it is that faith in the right person for the right reasons makes us strive to better people. When you succumb to relationships that are unhealthy or lack any real challenge, you can become complacent and even overestimate yourself as a person. Being with someone (whether in the spiritual sense or the physical, in person sense) who is actually right for you and good for you is humbling and also motivating. It sort of goes along with that old cliched saying, "You make me want to be a better man/woman." Just some food for thought....
Happy almost New Year everyone!!!!! Lots of love...
It has been two days of harsh winds, blustery snows, and over as well as UNDER caffeination. And finally I sit here in the ATL. Waiting for my flight to Indianapolis.
Ok, I'm just being melodramatic, but thought that intro was more catchy than anything else I could come up with (by the way, I hate ending sentences with WITH. I know it isn't proper).
So the real story is that I was supposed to leave Maine on December 26th but my flight was cancelled at 9 am that day due to a blizzard. I would be lying if I said I wasn't extremely happy about that deep down. I wasn't mentally prepared to leave home so the extra day of lazing around with the fam was just what I needed. I rebooked my flight for yesterday (Dec. 27th) at 5:35 pm and was delayed 3 hours, thus missing my flight in Atlanta. I was going to just wait and fly out of Portland on Dec. 28th (today) but the reps told me that if I didn't at least get out of the Northeast, I would not until Friday at the earliest. YIKES! So much to my family's dismay, I hopped on the flight and found myself sleeping in an airport hotel for approximately four hours before having to head back and wait at the airport once more. Now, fingers crossed, I should be on my way back to the boyfriend in APPROXIMATELY half an hour. I will confirm that at a later point. [CONFIRMED]
Anyway, Christmas week was awesome. Winter travel and last minute shopping can be stressful, but Mom treated us to a girls' day out (manis and massages included) so that eased some of the tension ;)
This was the year of new traditions. Family Christmas parties, fun games at Christmas, even a new breakfast menu! It was great to see everyone and just laugh... I think that's what I loved most about this week- the constant laughter and conversation that flowed with ease. Living in a new place makes me appreciate the familiarity of family and friends that much more.
I think it was also a week full of excellent advice and thoughtfulness. I know I already posted about my great convo with Dad but I had an equally stimulating conversation with a girl on the plane last night. I'm not even sure how these conversations start but I'm pretty sure in another time and place we would've been best friends. At one point we got onto the topic of religion (always an interesting one) and while I would DEFINITELY say she was a bit more pious than me, we came to a very interesting conclusion about relationships. The long and short of it is that faith in the right person for the right reasons makes us strive to better people. When you succumb to relationships that are unhealthy or lack any real challenge, you can become complacent and even overestimate yourself as a person. Being with someone (whether in the spiritual sense or the physical, in person sense) who is actually right for you and good for you is humbling and also motivating. It sort of goes along with that old cliched saying, "You make me want to be a better man/woman." Just some food for thought....
Happy almost New Year everyone!!!!! Lots of love...
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Christmas Cheer :)
For those of you who care or took notice, I apologize for being MIA this past week. I was making a diligent effort to post at least once a week, but finals, work and travel home for the holidays somehow got in the way.
Let me start by saying, I am THRILLED to be done with classes for the semester. I am loving sitting at home in my living room in Maine, watching Despicable Me and thinking about making peppermint brownies. I love that this week I will get to see lots of family and friends and fa la la la la around town. I feel like being away from these people and working hard make downtime and conversation with them that much more meaningful.
For a weekly recap, I took Chris to the airport Friday to go visit his family in LA. I went home after that, had a glass of wine and read O magazine (guilty pleasure... but I like those tips on living your best life). I went to bed early that night as I needed to be up at 3:45 am on Saturday to get to the airport in time for my flight.
My lovely former roommates picked me up at 8:30 am in Boston and we went back to my old apartment for a yummy breakfast. A few hours of digestion later, Melissa and I went with our friend Krista to visit another friend in the hospital. It was great to feel the love of all those people and laugh (real belly laughter). Saturday night we participated in a 12 Days of Christmas pub crawl around Somerville and had such a blast!!!! People were out in full Santa costumes, drinking and merry. At three am, after a night of festive drinks and dancing, I found myself on the futon with some chinese food and trashy TV. PERFECT :) May I suggest, as a fun drink, the poinsettia? Cranberry juice and champagne. Easy, delicious, and full of Christmas cheer!
Sunday, Kristen and I headed home to Maine and spent time catching up with the fam. Then yesterday, after a few errands and a lunch date with Kristen, I headed home and watched the snowstorm start. Tara and I attempted to drive in it for a dinner date with mom, aunt and friend, but ohhh was that a bad idea. We made it home safely, but I have never felt more anxious driving. Could barely see a foot in front of me!
Today I tried to be a bit more productive and finish a goal statement for one of my schools and then had lunch and coffee with Dad. We had a great long talk about being happy, knowing yourself and your passions, learning how to compromise and how to stick to your guns, etc. It was one of those great talks I'll probably always remember and that shed a lot of light in my mind about what I'm doing and why. I particularly liked his emphasis on understanding that pushing yourself and letting your passions help drive you is incredibly good for the heart and soul but that it doesn't mean it's always easy or clear cut. That hurdles happen, paths change, and people change but to take each day in stride and stop and think about what you're doing and why whenever you have a doubt. If you can see the big picture and think, "Yes, this is what I want for myself and my life," then you pick yourself up and take each success or failure for what it is and forge on. To never feel trapped because you are never trapped. And to be keenly aware of the future and what you need to do get there without losing the joy and memory making of the present moment. Thanks for that, Dad!
So here I sit now, thinking about some of my favorite memories of this past holiday season and ones from when I was little...here are a few for your reading pleasure:
1) Christmas time, age... ohhhh 6? Going to the Boston Museum of Science with all my cousins on Dad's side. I don't remember a THING about the museum, but I remember driving in the car with my Dad and Kristen and listening to Silver Bells. I also remember lunch at some big restaurant with all my cousins after the museum visit and listening to Christmas music and laughing a lot.
2) Hearing the Carpenter's Christmas Portrait album every year for as long as I can remember. It is absolutely home.
3) The tree lighting in Scarborough the year that Mer fell and twisted her ankle as we left. Not fun for Mer, but man was it a good tree lighting :)
4) Age 10, staying up ALL NIGHT reading Calico Captive in my bunk bed with a flashlight because I was too excited to sleep. All I wanted that year was a Super Sender Diary (essentially a very primitive version of texting). AND I GOT IT.
5) Working at the soup kitchen with my 7th grade class a week before Christmas. And having a homeless man tell me to remember that on Christmas day, when I was with my family and warm and happy, to remember that I put a smile on a man's face who had had the hardest year in his life. I will never forget him.
6) Last minute Christmas shopping and getting dragged around with Dad all over creation when I was about 5 or 6. He used to travel around the state a lot for work (I think he was in sales?) and I somehow ended up in the car with him a whole bunch. I'm sure I complained about that a lot at the time but I still remember running around and hearing the Christmas music.
7) The year I was a tiny peanut and helped drag a Christmas tree home in the snow from the Deering Oaks. I'm sure I didn't help much. But I look at the picture and laugh everytime.
8) Age 14, when Noelle appeared around the corner as a tiny puppy with a Santa hat on and I cried because I had asked for a dog every year for as long as I could remember.
9) The times Mom, Kristen, Tara and I baked about a billion different types of cookies and gave them out to the whole neighborhood.
9) The times Mom, Kristen, Tara and I baked about a billion different types of cookies and gave them out to the whole neighborhood.
10) Christmas pageants in elementary school.
11) Watching Christmas Vacation and ice skating on the pond at night with the Grottons.
12) Christmas PJs, every year
13) Mini meatballs on Christmas Eve
13) Mini meatballs on Christmas Eve
14) Christmases at Nanny and Grampy's
15) Holiday parties in high school at Jen's
16) The year I got Suzy Snapshot and Baby Feels So Real (which later served as Baby Jesus in the church pageant)
17) Old Port Christmas shopping sophomore year- hot cocoa and running around in the freezing cold, in and out of festively stores in Portland
18) Building ENORMOUS snow forts outside that we thought we could sleep in (they were seriously awesome)
19) Driving around looking at Christmas lights
20) Christmas Caroling with my roommates last year (and basically all Christmas Caroling in middle and high school)
21) Holiday wish-a-thons with Make-A-Wish
22) The year Santa came in a firetruck around the neighborhood and passed out toys. Prior to that, we were watching some Angela Lansbury Christmas movie on a tiny tv with no cable in my bedroom and I loved it.
23) 24-hour Christmas Story marathons with Mimi
24) The snow day we had one year where we spent the day watching the Saved By the Bell and Brady Brunch Christmas specials
25) Hearing, you may NOT get up until 5 am, girls. BACK TO BED!
26) Singing Silent Night in the nook with Nanny
27) Coming home from Argentina after 5 months away to my mom, dad and Grampy wearing Santa Hats at the Airport. And Grampy singing Feliz Navidad :)
28) Writing and performing a Christmas play for the pediatric ward at the Children's Hospital with my sisters and friends in the 8th grade and delivering toys to the patients.
29) Last Christmas for a variety of reasons
30) This Christmas and feeling like a grown up with Chris- decorating our REAL tree hanging stockings and cursing trying to fit the tree stump in the stand, hehehe :) And then making Christmas cookies for our families. Here is some photographic evidence:
I can only hope that when I have my own little munchkins someday, that their christmases feel just as magical as mine did and do :)
Merry Christmas, everyone! Much love!
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