Monthly Archives: December 2010

This year we’ve been really struggling to get into the Christmas spirit. Our home smells of fresh pine, it’s crisp and cold outside, we’ve been to the tree farm to cut down our Christmas tree in the snow, the lights and ornaments are up, our stocking are hung, we’ve made Christmas cards, done our Christmas shopping and wrapped our presents. We’ve eaten fresh gingersnaps, baked and decorated Christmas cookies, and watched the snow fall. We’ve munched on candy canes, listened to lots of Christmas music and watched Polar Express and A Charlie Brown Christmas. We’re going to Cincy Ballet’s The Nutcracker next week and we’ve talked about going ice skating, sledding and through the trail of lights. Our little nativity set in the dining room reminds us about the true meaning of Christmas. All this fun Christmas stuff and we’re still not there yet.

It’s our first Christmas as Newlyweds and I think we both had high hopes that it would be the best Christmas yet! It’s not that we’re not happy – not at all. We’re very happy and being married to each other gives us something to be joyful about every day. We’ve enjoyed doing all those Christmas activities together, but it doesn’t seem like enough to make it feel like Christmas. We’ve had so much going on lately that we can’t seem to put everything aside and just relax. The wedding, the move, a lot of expenses associated with having a house, leaving my job, Ted adjusting to his new job and working lots of long hours, the big stresses that come from living on one income right now, and for me, not being around my friends and family. It’s tough and we’re tired. It could just be that there’s a lot of adjustment going on right now, it could be that Cincinnati doesn’t feel quite like “home for the holidays” yet, it could be that we’re not surrounded by family and friends, there are no Christmas parties for us this year, and I know that I won’t get to see my family or friends at all this Christmas and that’s difficult to swallow, or it could just be that we need to keep plugging away at it and that we need to go for more long walks in the evenings – just the two of us and look at all the lights – something as simple as that. I don’t know. But we’re trying and for now we’re just waiting for it to kick in. So, that’s that.

But you didn’t drop by today to hear about all that blah stuff. So instead, I’ll share with you some of my favorite things right now:

1) My little desk nook upstairs in our office loft. My desk fits perfectly into the carved out window nook so I can look up from my computer and see trees with pine cones on them, our long driveway, and whatever the weather happens to be that day. We also have the lobby pictures from Hymn & Carol (my first professional production) hanging in that nook. It was a fantastic Christmas show and there was so much joy in that production – it’s nice to have the pictures to remind me of that happiness. I can’t believe it’s been two years since then.

2) Our stockings. They’re really nice!

3) Christmas tea. Warm, holiday goodness.

4) Slightly less popular Christmas tunes – River, In the Bleak Midwinter, Home By Another Way, Christmas in Kilarney, Winter Weather, Christmas Waltz, Merry Christmas Polka, Mary Did You Know?, Star of Wonder, and of course the classics – The Nutcracker and I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. I also love Christmas hymns – those that speak to the true meaning of Christmas and not just cold weather, presents and Santa. If you haven’t heard some of these songs I’d encourage you to look them up on iTunes or something. Several were used in Hymn & Carol and I never would have heard of them otherwise.

5) Classic Christmas books – The Nutcracker, Twas The Night Before Christmas, The Grinch, Polar Express, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, A Christmas Carol – all stories from my childhood. I really miss having those hardcover books sitting on the coffee table during December. I loved the stories and I loved the pictures. I guess we’ll have to scrounge up the money one of these years to buy them for ourselves.

6) My mom’s Christmas movie collection. It’s quite the collection. I don’t even know how many she has. But between the classics, the popular favorites, the Hallmark channel ones, and the obscure ones – she’s got them all. My favorites were always Miracle on 34th Street, Holiday Inn, and White Christmas. We’d always watch a couple together every season. I miss having those movies and I miss being able to watch them with her.

P.S. If anyone wants to send me two packages of fresh or frozen rhubarb I’d be thrilled. I planned to make an apple rhubarb crumble tonight…that is until I couldn’t find frozen rhubarb in the freezer section. Blah. Also on the hunt for Christmas Tea. Apparently Kroger doesn’t carry that either. So, if you happen to see rhubarb or a box of Christmas Tea in your grocery store – please send it my way!

Ahhh yes, you win some you lose some. Remember that old saying? I do. Here’s why: I spent the morning Christmas shopping and it was a great success! Found everything on our list, it’s all pretty stinkin’ cute, there were some sales, and I was done in a matter of hours. Cheerful and efficient. Perfect!

The decorating of Christmas cookies, on the other hand, was not quite as successful. You see, the baking part went just as planned, but I imagined my Christmas cookies would look something like this when finished:

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Well, they didn’t look quite like that. I guess I’m better at shopping than artistically and skillfully decorating cookies because they kind of look like Kinder Care Pre-School’s Tasty Thursday class project. I won’t embarrass myself or my husband by posting a picture of them. Lets just say they’re colorful, have lots of pretty pictures on them, and will probably taste absolutely, phenomenally delicious with a tall cold glass of milk while we finish decorating our tree tonight. And that’s all that matters.

Speaking of cookies, apparently my husband does read my blog on occasion. Yesterday I posted that I would be baking cookies. Well, I ran out of time and something had to go. Ted came bounding in the front door after work last night, tummy growling, licking his lips, and sniffing around for the scent of freshly baked cookies (okay, not really, but close). Uh, Oops? Poor guy. So he’ll get them today. Unfortunately, I haven’t started dinner yet, so tonight he’ll have cookies but not dinner. Ah, well. You win some you lose some, right?

Thank you cards are written. Gifts have been decided upon. Christmas cards are ordered. Laundry is in the wash. House is tidy and clean. A new dishwasher is in the works with our landlord. Job applications have been submitted. Christmas cookie ingredients have been purchased. See Santa, I’ve been good – now please bring me a Sancho and a warm kitchen!!!!!

For. Serious. It’s cold. I’m not denying that I’m a giant pansy when it comes to this climate, but let’s get real here for a second. It feels like 1 degree outside. I’m not even exaggerating this time. I know in the past I could be accused of whining that it was “freezing” when it was 43 degrees outside, but that was a warm, fluffy piece o’ cake compared to this crap. Our kitchen is clocking in at a frigid 55 degrees. The wood floor is cold enough to ice skate on (even Ted complains about the cold floor!) and I’m afraid to plant herbs in the adorable little Ikea pots I bought because I don’t think I could bear the sight of icicles on my herbs in the morning. I know I’d hate to be covered in icicles, wouldn’t you? For a thin skin like me with Texas blood, it’s brutal, people! I tried plugging in multiple heaters the other night so I didn’t have to wear gloves and a parka while making dinner, but apparently plugging two 15-amp heaters into a 25-amp room blows the breakers. Um, oops? Don’t even try to tell me you wouldn’t have done the same. The new fireplace heater just can’t keep up with the uninsulated floors and drafty windows. So tonight we cover the windows with insulation film to see if that gives the furnace the edge it needs or if it’s just a lost cause.

And I need the Sancho because I need the Sancho. That’s why. I miss this mad little face.

So, if you’ve been following along I’ll catch you up on the past few days – I know you’re curious about that dishwasher I mentioned. A) I finished writing the last of the Thank You cards from our wedding this morning. Writing them was actually really nice because thanking each person for their presence in Door County, well wishes and extreme generosity was a lovely reminder of how much love and support we received from our family and friends. So the cards are done but we’re still waiting on one of our pro pics to come in so we can finish them and mail them out. I must make a mental note to work on my patience. B) I need a freaking job! My savings account is dwindling to dangerously uncomfortable just from grocery shopping and writing the rent check. I’m smart, I bathe, I can be helpful and polite, and I don’t have a felony record – what’s the problem here? C) The remedy to all problems is Christmas cookies. Therefore, I plan to make fresh gingersnaps and decorated sugar cookies for my husband in hopes that he’ll let me crank the heat up to 78 and won’t tear down the mistletoe I intend to hang from every corner of our house. D) Ah, yes. So we’re back to appliances. Again, I am unimpressed that a new appliance now is cause for excitement at the ripe old age of 24. Our dishwasher is on strike. I personally believe that it is protesting working in such a cold kitchen, but that’s just my theory. It doesn’t actually use the detergent – it just sort of smears it around on the door and the dishes come out, well, unclean. So our landlord has decided to replace it. Excellent!

Last night we went to a Cincinnati Cyclones ice hockey game. I lied yesterday – they’re semi-pro, not NHL. We went with six other people from our church’s young adult ministry group. They all seem very nice, but we didn’t really get to know anyone like I was hoping because you’re sitting in a row watching something – it’s like going to the movies. You’re not talking to each other. They try to vary it up between guest speakers, community service activities, and fun events. So maybe in a few months we’ll know some of the people a little better.

Rather than bore you with a long, drawn-out account of the evening, I’ll simply tell you 5 good reasons why you should go to a hockey game:

1) Buy one admission get one free coupons. It’s cheap, the game is easy to follow, and it’s fun to watch.

2) Two on-ice fist fights between the opposing teams. Yessssss. Now there’s the live entertainment people came for.

3) 1 drunk-on-nasty-and-cheap-Canadian-beer twig of a college kid being dragged out by no less than five ushers – kicking and screaming all the way, of course.

4) A quick break-time round of musical chairs…on ice. Brilliant. As if merely walking on ice isn’t challenging enough, they put 6 dudes on the perimeter of a circle and 5 folding chairs in the middle. Music stops – men and chairs go slipping, sliding, and flying across the rink. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard. This alone was worth the price of admission. Please try it with your friends, enemies, children, or co-workers. The perfect recipe for pure, blissful hilarity.

5) Free food in the form of coupons for a free Wendy’s chili and $5 off a City BBQ platter. And who can afford to turn down free food? Not I. And they give away all kinds of gift cards throughout the game for Cold Stone, Skyline Chili and more.

Hug on someone you love and appreciate today and have a happy Wednesday!

For at least eight years of my life mid-December was finals week. Major projects in every single class always seemed to be due at the exact same time – late November or early December. And it sucked. A lot. “Oh! The torture! Don’t they know their class isn’t the only one! I have six other projects to do too, you know!” I’d howl melodramatically to my friends when we exited the building. After that was a week of studying for finals with highlighted index cards, old tests and quizzes, ripped out spiral notes, and small group study sessions at the library or coffee shop. Then came finals week. Campus was quiet and empty. Some days you had two or three finals, and others you had none and no classes. I’d study late into the night and then wake up really early the next morning – sometimes 5 a.m. for an 8 a.m. final – to lock it all into my brain. Then I’d repeat the process until it was finally the last one and – sweet freedom! No more studying or mentally calculating how badly I could do on a given exam and still keep a straight A average. Late night movies and coffee nights with my girlfriends? See ya’ there! Sleeping late? Yes, please!

I think I liked the rush of being incredibly, unbelievably, busy with the pressure to get it all finished on time and done well with the feeling of joy and “nothing to do but have fun!” when it was over. Reading my friends facebook status updates this week about finals and hearing the CCM students say things like “have a great break!” and “good luck with finals.” makes me a little nostalgic, partly because I’m the same age as some of these kids and that kind of feels like what I should be doing, and partly because, well, I want a winter break too! I want to be busy with something and then have it be over so I can go play with my friends and enjoy the holidays with nothing to do but relax. And sadly, neither house cleaning or job hunting gives me that break. I’m experiencing college withdrawals in my grown-up person world. If you’re in college right now and you’re snickering while reading this and thinking “What a loon! I’ll never miss this!”….your day will come.

Yesterday I got my wedding dress back from the cleaners. Sooooo…now what do I do with it? Right now it’s hanging in a garment bag on our bedroom door, but it can’t stay there forever. I’ll always remember it, and our pro pics will help me if my memory does get a little fuzzy so I don’t think I need to keep it for memory’s sake. That, thankfully, nixes expensive gown preservation. Keeping it with the intention of never wearing it again seems like a waste of a perfectly good dress to me anyhow.

I could sell it on a website like Weddingbee Classifieds, Once Wed, or PreOwnedWeddingDressses. This seems like a good option because some other lucky girl could find her dream dress (my dress is pretty rare but received tons of compliments – especially because it is one of the few not strapless dresses, so I’m sure I could find a taker), the dress would get a well-deserved second life, and we could make a little bit of money too. But I would have to get pay to get it fixed because the bustle ripped and one of the jewels on the shoulder strap fell off and would have to be re-attached. Another option is donating it to something like Brides Against Breast Cancer, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Dress, or one of those bridal shops that burned down and left dozens of brides without a wedding dress weeks or months before their wedding.

Or lastly, we could do a Trash the Dress session, have a ton of fun and get some phenomenal pictures like these…

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…but we can’t afford to hire a professional photographer right now (we’d have to find a willing photographer buddy and pay him or her in baked goods and wine) and I’d have to get up the nerve to ruin my dress. Out of all the options, I like this one the best! But since Ted’s tux was rented and he’d have to ruin a suit, and since we can’t afford a photographer, I think the most practical option would be to sell it and the most loving option would be to donate it……..unless we can take great “semi-trash” pics with a friend, not ruin it, get it re-cleaned and then sell or donate it….I’m a genius.

Today I will park myself on our couch in front of our beautiful Christmas tree, turn on the lights and some tunes, and not budge until our Christmas cards are ordered and our Thank You cards are written. Then I’ll find and unpack my scarves, mittens and hats (it’s supposed to snow on and off all day with a high in the low 20s) and later tonight meet Ted at the NHL Cincinnati Cyclones game with our church’s young adults ministry group. Hopefully we’ll meet some nice people, enjoy a great game and chow on some Dollar Dogs!

After a blissfully relaxing weekend of tree hunting in the snow, cookie eating, and  watching Christmas movies, this busy week is going to be a slap in the face. I’m not entirely convinced I’m ready for it yet. At all.

In addition to the usual hubbub around here – unpacking boxes (still!!), cleaning, grocery shopping, making meals, applying for jobs, and laundry, there’s always the other household duties to attend to. Like digging my car out from under the snow and ice in the 6 degree wind-chill we are experiencing today, siphoning the “for-above-32-degrees” Texas washer fluid (which is frozen solid, by the way) out of my Buick, scratching my old registration stickers off my windshield which months of 100+ Texas heat have permanently glued on, and finding an in-network doctor for Ted so he can get his Insulin prescriptions. There’s also the storage shelving units we are planning to build onto the basement walls, Christmas cards to be designed and ordered, Christmas gifts to be purchased, wrapped and shipped, our Thank You cards from the wedding to be finished and mailed (Dear Photographer: HURRY UP), and joint bank accounts and insurance plans to be decided on. And we don’t want to miss out on all the fun of the holiday season, so there’s the tree to be decorated, the dinosaur and Hubble telescope exhibits at the museum to visit, the ice skating rink at Fountain Square in downtown Cincy, a Cincinnati Cyclones NHL ice hockey game to go to, and tickets to the Cincinnati Ballet’s The Nutcracker on  Friday night. Whew! I have no idea how we are going to get it all done.

Today I’ll keep it short and sweet. I’ll leave myself and everyone else with this image to remind us to slow down and take a moment away from the hustle and bustle to reflect on what the holiday season is really all about.

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Now that we have a place we can call our own, it’s time to think about choosing some fitting holiday decorations for our nest. Up until now most of our holiday decorations have been acquired, gifted, and handed down. And while we love many of them and plan to use the special ones for years to come, I think we’d both like to have a few things that we chose together that fit our style and our home and will be special new traditions for us as a family. We don’t have a lot of spare time (and we definitely don’t have a lot of spare money), so these are all little things that would work much better for us than outfitting our entire house with strand upon strand of lights, velvet bows, inflatable reindeer, or Santa door knockers. Most of them are budget friendly to some degree because they can be found inexpensively or even hand made for an extra personal touch! And after all the DIY work we did hand-making nearly everything for our wedding, I’d say we could tackle some of these without a hitch! Let’s get started:

Stockings

Luckily, we already have these! My brother and his family gave us these stockings as a wedding present and we love them! It’s something we have wanted to get for the past two years but never found the time, money, or ones we liked well enough. They are simple, personal, and timeless.

Stocking Holders

I like to keep things elegant. If you attended our wedding you know I like pine cones. And for as much as I hate driving in it and digging my car out from under it, snowflakes are pretty. And they make a lot more sense when you actually live somewhere where it snows. I always thought snowflake decorations in Texas were a little ridiculous.

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Wreath

A fresh, full, live wreath! Why get a fake when the real ones smell so wonderful? I’m a fan of using nature whenever we can. And these are just plain gorgeous.

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Newlywed Ornament

Our first Christmas together we bought a beautiful ornament to cherish as “our first ornament.” It’s a heavy glass globe blown with blue and white swirls. A little nontraditional for a “first” ornament but perfect for us since we don’t give a lick about fitting into the standard cookie cutter mold of tradition anyway.

There’s no shortage of ornaments out there for any occasion, but finding an adorable newlywed or “our first married Christmas” ornament is harder than you’d think. As with many of our wedding purchases (cake topper, hair accessories,  attendant gifts, personalized Thank You cards, succulents for the bouquets, bouquet tag, etc.) I turned to Etsy – the land of handmade, unique goodness – for some inspiration and found these contenders:

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Tree Topper

Beautiful, unique tree toppers are another real challenge to find. Seriously. Just do a google shopping search for “Christmas tree topper” and tell me if you’re in love with anything that comes up. No? Yeah, me either. Even my trusty Etsy let me down on this one and that’s pretty unusual. I couldn’t even find a picture I liked well enough to post. That’s pathetic. I think stained glass stars toppers are awesome.

Nativity Set

We would both love a really nice Nativity Set to display in our house around Christmastime to be a constant reminder of, as cliche as the expression is, “the reason for the season.” But like most really nice things, those suckers can get expensive. With so many options and styles out there, this will be one purchase that will require a lot of research and browsing until we find the perfect one for us. A hand carved wood set or even stone is a possibility. We won’t be getting around to it this year, but maybe in a year or two we’ll have found one.

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Advent Wreath

My taste in advent wreaths is similar to my taste in door wreaths – live, fresh and uncomplicated. Picture the ones above with the four taper candles in it and maybe a few pine cones for garnish. I don’t think adding berries, bows or ornament balls will make it any more meaningful. This may be another DIY project since most of them nowadays are so decked out that the candles are hardly visible.

In other news, look what arrived yesterday! Can’t wait to break it open and finally have a selection to choose from other than tiny, gigantic, dull, and duller.

Today I’ll be working on a few job applications and unpacking boxes from Texas. Since our new kitchen table, chairs and island cart set is still being stained at the family-run shop we purchased them from, our kitchen is in a state of mild chaos. I’ve mentioned our lack of storage before. We have a spacious kitchen but hardly any storage room. Right now our blender, food processor, slow cooker, corningware set, new pots & pans set, and countless other such items are being stored on the floor in a heaping pile. Needless to say we’ll have to wait until the island cart (with storage!) arrives before I can unpack any more kitchen boxes from Texas. But I’ll unpack what I can for the time being. If I can move quickly enough I’d like to get started on some Christmas shopping too!

Ted is in meetings almost all day today at CCM for various productions. The dance show opens tonight and we have plans to go see it tomorrow evening. He’s been able to come home at a reasonable time for the past few evenings which means taco night, Christmas cookies, and episodes of Hell’s Kitchen :-)

Today is December 1 and in my book that means it is officially the Christmas season! Bring on the Christmas carols, pine trees, velvety red bows and the icicle lights. Dig out the holiday movies, bake up some sugar kiss cookies and hot chocolate, start sending holiday cards, and let it snow (except not on my Buick). Now that it’s no longer November (or, you know, July – ’cause that’s when the holiday begins in America apparently) maybe I won’t be such a Grinch about hearing “All I Want for Christmas” joyfully ringing through every. single. store. I step foot into.

Speaking of December, I’d like to congratulate the snow on its impeccable timing for conveniently showing up exactly on December 1st. It has been non-stop snow flurries swirling in the sky since I woke up this morning. Nothing has accumulated on the ground really, so for now it’s just very pretty. And very cold. Dear friends: Please send warm clothing. Socks, long underwear, mittens, coats – anything will do. Thanks.

In other news I now have in my possession an Ohio title, vehicle registration, license plates, and driver’s license. But not without a battle. Here’s how it goes, folks…

Step one: Ace your insultingly easy driver’s test by correctly identifying and stating the meaning of a stop sign – multiple choice answer format.

Step two: Drive across town to another office. Get lost in the boonies for a while and curse google maps. Arrive at destination and have old lady puffing on a cigarette glance at the make and model of your vehicle and call it an “inspection.” It passed.

Step three: Pay an asinine amount of money for state title conversion, new registration and two highly colorful license plates – the circus would be jealous.

Step four: Drive back to location #1. Stand in line, expertly prepared with your old license, birth certificate, SS card, marriage certificate and proof of residency so you can obtain your new license. Upon stating that you have a new middle and last name for your license, be told that you’re not allowed to change your middle name to your maiden name anymore without a formal application process, newspaper advertisement, and court hearing after you’ve lived in Ohio for at least a year. Question why the donkey working at the Social Security Administration last week issued you a new middle name on your new SS card without so much as requesting to see proof of legal name change. (Side note: I thought changing it at the SS Administration office was the name change process. That’s the process for changing your last name after marriage. So why would this be any different? How are you supposed to know these things if nobody tells you!? It’s not like I change my name often, people and would simply know better). Suck it up and get a license with your old middle initial on it. Contemplate how some things should really be much easier than they are. Sulk about it and decide the Ohio license is tacky because it’s pink and then go out for Chinese dinner with your husband and watch Polar Express until you feel less angry about all the time and effort it’s going to take you to change all your documents back to your real middle name until you can start the legal name change process in one year.

So, rather than dwelling on that nonsense, I’d like to take this cold, snowy Wednesday to make a list of things I love today:

1. Mangoes and blackberries.

2. Our big, cushy bed.

3. Footed pajamas for adults. Yes, I own a pair. They’re red and white and make me look like Santa Claus. They are fantastic. Buy some here – http://www.footedpajamas.com/Adult-Fleece-Footed-Pjs-s/101.htm

4. Holiday ice creams like Peppermint Stick and Moose Tracks. There may or may not be some sitting in our freezer right now.

5. Weird bathrooms of the world.

And finally, two December 1st wishes:

1. I wish that our wedding pro pics will make their appearance soon. We’re at the 5 of 6 weeks mark and I’m starting to get antsy.

2. I wish that Ted had stayed home from work today so we could have driven to a fresh Christmas tree farm in the northern Kentucky countryside, cut down our tree in the snow flurries, drank hot cocoa, and then gone ice skating outside at Fountain Square in downtown Cincy. *Sigh* It’s a great dream anyway. Another day.

Have a great December 1!