Date Night

I spent today getting ready for tomorrow.  The upcoming weekend is full of Christmas parties beginning at lunch tomorrow, so I thought getting my ducks in a row (what a weird saying!) today was a good idea.  Two parties involved White Elephant gifts which need to be purchased and wrapped.  The other involves a ugly sweater, which I just don't have.  But I think I ended the day just about ready.

This evening Greg and I went out for dinner.  We wanted to clear out of the house for awhile to give Caleb some time with friends he had invited over.  We finished up one last Christmas gift and had dinner at Macaroni Grill.  When we came in Caleb was in the kitchen with his friends cooking.  I was soooo  glad to see that.  I thought when we moved into this house what a great place it would be for our kids to spend time with friends.  Last year though Caleb never brought friends home from college.  Hopefully tonight will just be a start. 

So this isn't a very exciting post, but at least I'm ready for the upcoming busy weekend. 

This is completely random and has nothing to do with Christmas, but my nephew posted this link on his twitter account and I thought it was great....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErMWX--UJZ4&feature=player_embedded

The Christmas Letter

I don't remember when I first started sending out a yearly family letter with our Christmas cards, but it had to have been before 1997 because I have kept a copy filed away since then.  It's a strange thing looking through this file.  Letter by letter I can review what we have been doing for the past twelve years, it makes the years fly by in condensed form.  Just a little bit scary that life passes that quickly.  At the same time it brings back some incredible memories of friends and family, places, adventures lived, lessons learned, all treasured.  Today I finished this year's letter.  I used my calendar to review the year and decide what to write.  Some things were so much fun I wished they wouldn't end, but those times just seem to slip through my fingers.  And then there were some very sad and painful times I'd just as soon let slip away.  In the end we learn from those moments too, hopefully.  All in all, 2009 was a good year.

Working my way out of a fog

My eyes popped open suddenly.  

Whoa, what happened?  

It's such an unsettling feeling to fall asleep unexpectedly.  I didn't even realize I was tired.  

I was doing something...  I can't remember what... sitting in my comfy chair next to the fireplace.  

Next thing I know Caleb is standing over me with his phone in hand saying Lydia needs a ride home from school.  

Now an hour later I'm still trying to shake that foggy disoriented feeling.  

We celebrated our countdown to Christmas today with temperatures in the single digits again and an insignificant amount of additional snow.  Tomorrow we plan a heat wave of 21 degrees and a reprieve in the snow accumulation for a few days.  This is a good thing because I've had two active golden retrievers inside for forty eight hours and they might explode soon without some serious outdoor run time.  This just isn't natural... so they tell me.  

I'm also counting down my drop over the other side of the hill, mountain, whatever.  We're at 15 days and counting until my 50th birthday.  FIFTY!  How did that happen!?  I'm pretty sure I lost ten years somewhere.  Maybe it was in that sleepy fog.  

It's time to start to planning Christmas parties.  Our church small group, we call a Life Group, will be having a party this Friday.  I've begun pulling out our party supplies.  Last year we hosted Greg's work party and I stored away leftover paper supplies and have plenty for this year.  Yay!  No shopping.  Now to plan a simple, but good menu.  I love that part!  I'm hoping this party will be a great way to start making bonds in this new group.  

The other holiday gathering we have is a group from Greg's work.  It's the large 'sort of' office party.  They have a White Elephant exchange that is supposed to be a food or drink theme, but really is about the alcohol.  I'm going to be a rebel this year and take food.  Sometimes you've got to be wild and crazy.  

Then we'll top the weekend off with Sweaterfest at church.  Two years ago Greg had just been through the appendix episode and though we went, we didn't last long.  Last year we had tickets but the morning of the party we got a call from the Golden Retriever Rescue to come and meet a potential adoptee.   MacGyver came to live with us that afternoon.  We didn't feel comfortable taking off for a party with a brand new rescue dog in the house, not good for him or the house.  So we missed Sweaterfest.  I think this year we'll make it. 

Surprising myself with our faithfulness with the Jesse Tree, still getting it done each evening.  Amazing. 

A Cup of Christmas Cheer

The thermometer didn't break out of the single digits today.  Brrrr...  I spent the day huddled in front of the fireplace reading and sketching.  Days like this of course call for something warm to drink.  Before sinking into my cozy chair by the fire I turned on the stove under the tea kettle.  When the whistle began to blow I headed to the kitchen and started to reach for my usual cup, but then I remembered the one Christmas favorite I have yet to unpack.  Above the stove in the rarely opened cabinet are all of my Christmas plates, bowls, platters AND the favorite Christmas cups.

 I have several treasured cups all with wonderful memories.   A couple of them I received from friends as gifts and when I use them I think of those relationships and how special those friendships are to me.   I still have two cups from Greg's and my first Christmas together and a few just fun ones we have picked up along the way. 

Today I drank tea but may favorite thing, no surprise, to drink from a Christmas cup is hot chocolate.  A few years ago after watching the movie Chocolat with a group of girlfriends, I went on a mission to find a great hot chocolate recipe.  I did find a very good one though I adjust it a little each year.  The secret is to use a good quality dark chocolate and real whipped cream for the dollop on top.  To finish it off, sprinkle on a small amount of chili pepper, just like in the movie.  I prefer ancho.  In a pinch, Godiva makes an excellent instant dark chocolate mix.  And if it's for an evening dessert chocolate just a dash of peppermint schnapps is a nice touch.  Another snow storm is on its way into our area tonight.  I expect tomorrow I'll be putting those cups to good use.  

Second Sunday of Advent... and Christmas movies

We lit the second candle tonight at dinner, read about the prophecy of Bethlehem and hung the next ornament on the Jesse Tree.  I'm not sure when I was last this consistent with Advent celebrations.  A sign of how quiet my life is right now.  We have almost all of the Christmas presents wrapped and hidden away.  Wow, it feels great to say that this early in the month!

This afternoon as it snowed away outside we sat by the fire in the basement and watched Christmas movies.  Greg got first pick and as usual picked Scrooged.  I think it's just enough not like a Christmas movie to make him happy... and then Carol Kane is just a riot as the Angel of Christmas present.  I have to say though if I picked a Christmas Carol telling I would go with the Muppets.  Gonzo and Rizzo do an excellent job of telling the tale.  For classics Lydia and I both go straight to White Christmas, we still have that one yet to watch this year.  A few days ago on a quiet afternoon we watched While You Were Sleeping and Home Alone 3 (my favorite of the series).  Today after Scrooged we chose The Christmas Story, always a funny choice with so many classic lines.  Still have Gremlins to watch, and of course for Greg the great classic Christmas movie, Die Hard. 

Most of our movies unfortunately are on VHS.  Each year we make a slow move to DVD, but I'm afraid the old VCR isn't going to last much longer.  I'm sure we'll get all our favorites on DVD just as the next big thing comes along.  *sigh*   I suspect there will be plenty of Christmas movie time this week since it's supposed to keep snowing for a couple days.  Hopefully the VCR will hold out!

and of course shopping

I struggle with Christmas shopping.  Who doesn't?!  Well, actually Greg doesn't.  He loves to shop and it really causes a stress between us this time of year.  I would love for Christmas to be a simple affair, homemade or inexpensive gifts with meaning... without the sticker shock.  When the kids were little we managed that.  Mostly because Greg was so often deployed during the Christmas season and I did the shopping... or creating.  Now he's all about watching 'Steep and Cheap' and 'Brocity' for the best deals and coolest gear.  He's so excited about the treasures he finds.  Some would say his love language is definitely gift giving, so I give him the space to enjoy himself. 

Early in our marriage I made almost everything we gave.  I have books, files and note cards filled with ideas for making food gifts, caramel corn, ice cream syrups, hot chocolate mix.  For several years I would start early in the year and begin a crock of compote that I would pour into decorative canisters and give away as gifts.  In June I would put in strawberries fresh from the fields, then blueberries, raspberries, peaches, cherries, each as they came into season.  Along with the fruits would go a cup of sugar and a cup of vodka, stir and let it ferment.  The large crock sat on my kitchen counter throughout the growing season.  By the fall it was ready to seal up and at Christmas ready to be spooned over ice cream, waffles or pound cake.  Yum!  I completely forgot about it this year.  My summer was a little nutty. 

Then of course there were are projects.  I've done some weaving, but not as much as I should.  Also for years the kids and I would make angel ornaments.  We'd find a pattern each year for a different angel.  One year was sculpty clay, another from a terracotta pot, another of ribbon and another of felt, always something different.  When we went to visit friends and family throughout the holiday season we would take an angle to share.  That was incredibly fun, but as the kids got older they lost interest and we moved on to other things. 

I also taught many Christmas crafts to children over the years, both to homeschool kids and while working in Children's ministries at church.  I've got a trunk full of patterns and materials, just can't seem to get rid of that kind of thing.  Never can tell when the opportunity may arise again to make a manger ornament out of a walnut shell. 

But today that's not the plan.  I'm heading out to...  that secret place, where I'm going to buy that secret thing... and hope that Greg likes it.  And I hope the stores aren't too crazy.  To make up for shopping I am also going with Lydia to watch her dance teacher's performance.  Not really sure what I'm getting in to, but it sounded like a fun night out with Lydia. 

So another tradition continues...

A new tradition

For the past two Christmases I have wanted to attend the Golden Candlelight walk, but just haven't been able to make it.  Tonight we did it!  We met some friends in a massive crowd near the Foothills Art Center and walked from one end of Golden to the other carrying candles and singing Christmas carols.  It was a little crazy with so many people, but much fun.  At the end we gathered around and watched a wreath being 'dropped', something like the ball in Times Square at New Years.  At the end of the countdown all the Christmas lights along Clear Creek came on.  It was beautiful!  Definitely a tradition worth keeping.  Next time with warmer socks!

Afterward we went to a friends house for some chili and good conversation.  I spent some time talking with her 5th grade daughter about her drawing.  Very fun.

And tonight's Jesse Tree ornament was the Tower of Babel.  ....still going.

I blame it on the altitude

My cookies were a bust.  I never fail at cookies!  I could almost say I'm a cookie expert.  Being an only girl with three brothers raised in the south, of course I know how to cook and bake and I'm good at it.  ...if I do say so myself.  I have three favorite Christmas cookies and I picked one to start with today.  I mixed up the dough for Spritz cookies, got out all the decorations and the cookie press.  For some reason the texture of the dough was all wrong, it wouldn't go through the press right.  So I tried adding a little milk for moisture and of course that ruined it completely.  Then I tried to use the dough to make candy cane cookies and that didn't work either. I'm not sure how the altitude could effect cookie dough, but that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.  I'm not giving up, I'll try it again next week sometime.

I came home from a meeting tonight to find a group of Caleb's friends in the garage rock climbing.  It's 2 degrees out there!  But, it is very nice that Caleb is bringing home friends.  Hope they know they can come in out of the cold.

And we're still keeping up the the Jesse Tree.  Three days in and still going strong!

hmmmm.....

Okay, no great Christmas stuff for today.  Well, it did snow, way more than it was supposed to.  So I spent some time shoveling, not exactly a Christmas tradition tho. 

We did put on the 2nd ornament on the Jesse Tree... Adam and Eve leave Eden. 

Oh yeah, and I hung some snowflakes from the banister.  Tomorrow I think we'll make Christmas cookies. 

The Jesse Tree

In a random conversation with our pastor's wife when we lived in Florida I heard about the idea of a Jesse Tree.  I didn't get specific details, only that the tree had 25 ornaments leading from Creation to Christmas and the idea was to put an ornament on the tree beginning December 1st through 25th.  I thought it was a great idea, and always looking for a homeschool project, I immediately went to work making a plan.  I didn't find out until many years later that there are specific stories on the Jesse Tree... but we made up our own and are happy with it. 

I picked up some sculpty clay and with the kids picked out twenty three more Bible stories between Creation and Christmas.  The kids created the ornaments... very rough, clearly made by five and seven year olds.  Of course that makes them all the more precious to me.  I picked up a small artificial tree from Michaels and we were all set.  We began on December 1st, either read from the Bible, or told from memory the story that the ornament represented and hung it on the tree.  Day after day, story after story all the way 'til Christmas.

We've done that every year now for thirteen years.  I'll admit, some years we don't do it well.  Especially that year Greg was recovering, I think we put on five ornaments at a time, but we've stuck with it.  I'm determined this year to make it every day.

On another note, still working on those Christmas cards, almost addressed and stamped.  And the yearly letter is coming along.  Todays Christmas movie was Home Alone 3.  I don't know why I think that's so funny, but I'll admit I do.  Much funnier than the previous Home Alone movies.  I'm enjoying the quiet start to the holidays so far, hope we can keep it.