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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!