I know that this late butI felt the need to share anyway.
I have to say that this past Christmas has to have been the warmest I remember! I am sure in places such as California and Latin America, warmer temperatures are not anything out of the ordinary. But when I can wear winter shorts and a long sleeved shirt on Christmas day in Northern Virginia, I am concerned. Not "global warming is taking over" concerned but just a little put off.
I wondered if that is the reason that the Christmas spirit was not in full force. Last winter, we were graced with white blankets covering the outdoors which made for fun outside and coziness indoors. I know that Christmas spirit is not a just-add-snow type of recipe but I did miss it. That wasn't it though. I thought it was because we were unable to go to New York as planned. Everything was set for the trip except for a sitter for my father-in-law and the funds to go. Hmm, well I guess nothing was set :) But that still wasn't it. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was me. I was sitting her trying to find excuses as to why I had not enjoyed my most favorite time of year and it was because I wasn't letting myself. I became pissy over the fact that my new phone could not be turned on until 4 days after I received it as a Christmas gift from my husband. I was fumed that we could not find an appropriate place to put our traditional live tree in the living room (we average 4 smaller artificial trees throughout the house). I was upset when I had to put the decorations up around the house by myself while my husband worked his two jobs (yes, 16 hour day) 5 days out of the week. I mean, how dare he! I nit-picked so much over the various ways to be uber crafty with my gift-giving that I ended up with half-finished gifts and wrapping that revealed that I did it on Christmas Eve (note to self: still need to send out the grandmas' presents). Grinch anyone?!
This is not how I normally behave! So to make up for it (if only a little bit), I am going to say all of the things that did go right!
-My mom who decorated her house (including lights outside, a major bonus) just because she knew that I LOVE seeing her how in all of its pizzaz.
-The children at my church who put on the cutest and funniest Christmas play that I have ever seen. Shameless plug: if your church has not done Christmas Spelling Bee, suggest it to your Chirldren's Minister
-The Fairs (great family friends) who sent a Christmas card. I am a simple girl. Knowing that I was thought of amongst their extremely busy lives is huge!
-Having a home to decorate in the first place
-Spending Christmas Eve with my in-laws. I felt like a little kid again as we stayed the night at their house and woke up early....okay, 11 am (late night the night before), opened gifts, and made breakfast together
-My husband went to great lengths to get me the gift that I really wanted. I love the present but the fact that he was so diligent in obtaining it made it that much more special.
How could I have taken all of these things for granted?! Easily. By letting the petty (and not so petty) issues cloud the bigger, more important and lasting picture.
12.14.2011
"Here Goes Nothing"
In all actuality, here goes everything. I feel that if you are going to blog, you need to have a sense of transparency. I dabbled in blogging during my angst filled years of highschool. I cannot even remember what some of the posts that I made were about but I know that they had much to do about nothing. The same may be true this time around but at least I am more mature...I think.
I shared a bit about me in the "About Me" section but I figured I would begin by elaborating a little more. Some of the best things about me are the following:
-I have a big heart. This is generally a compliment that other people bestow upon you but I know it is true because of the family that I come from. My parents have always gone out of their way to help others, despite how much or little they themselves have or what it will cost them (time, money, energy, etc.). So with such genes and examples around me, it was second nature to do the same. I love people to their core and honestly try to see the good in everyone.
-My husband is 6'1" tall and I am 4'7" short. I have not grown since my growth spurt (if it can be called that) in 6th grade. How did he even see me?! That is the beginning of our differences and definitely not the end but for some reason, it works. That is not to say that we have not had problems. We dated for 7 years (on and off) before getting married three years ago and it was not easy by any means (more posts to come about this later) but it has been wonderful.
-My friends are my family. I am quick to call someone "my bestie" because I am a very trusting person (possibly a fault?) and believe that if what I see of you within a few visits appears to be genuine, then that is all I need. Some call it naive but I disagree.
As for the faults:
-I am a magnificent multi-tasker...in my head. However, when it comes to actually completing many different things at the same time, I find this to be very difficult. That may be the reason I currently have 4 unfinished wreaths.
-I am terrible with money. Now, I am EXCELLENT at finding deals! I rarely buy a grocery without a coupon, discount, or sale. I scour the sales papers and online sources in order to plan trips to maximize my savings. I am not as good as the pros on Extreme Couponing (I still believe that they live in a fictional land where stores still double and triple coupons) but I come close. The problem is that when I get the bug, I feel like I have to do it again and again. So I have saved a ton on groceries one day but that was all tarnished when I spend those saving on two or three more trips that same week! One definition of stubborn is recognizing that what you are doing is crazy but not changing. Well, I also have a huge weak spot for Kohl's :)
-I can drone on and on about the most random things (as you can tell if you are still reading this post). I go off on tangents (as you might discover if you choose to continue reading more of my posts) so i appreciate your understanding :)
Well, I think that is enough for now as there is plenty to come out later on.
take care,
Little
I shared a bit about me in the "About Me" section but I figured I would begin by elaborating a little more. Some of the best things about me are the following:
-I have a big heart. This is generally a compliment that other people bestow upon you but I know it is true because of the family that I come from. My parents have always gone out of their way to help others, despite how much or little they themselves have or what it will cost them (time, money, energy, etc.). So with such genes and examples around me, it was second nature to do the same. I love people to their core and honestly try to see the good in everyone.
-My husband is 6'1" tall and I am 4'7" short. I have not grown since my growth spurt (if it can be called that) in 6th grade. How did he even see me?! That is the beginning of our differences and definitely not the end but for some reason, it works. That is not to say that we have not had problems. We dated for 7 years (on and off) before getting married three years ago and it was not easy by any means (more posts to come about this later) but it has been wonderful.
-My friends are my family. I am quick to call someone "my bestie" because I am a very trusting person (possibly a fault?) and believe that if what I see of you within a few visits appears to be genuine, then that is all I need. Some call it naive but I disagree.
As for the faults:
-I am a magnificent multi-tasker...in my head. However, when it comes to actually completing many different things at the same time, I find this to be very difficult. That may be the reason I currently have 4 unfinished wreaths.
-I am terrible with money. Now, I am EXCELLENT at finding deals! I rarely buy a grocery without a coupon, discount, or sale. I scour the sales papers and online sources in order to plan trips to maximize my savings. I am not as good as the pros on Extreme Couponing (I still believe that they live in a fictional land where stores still double and triple coupons) but I come close. The problem is that when I get the bug, I feel like I have to do it again and again. So I have saved a ton on groceries one day but that was all tarnished when I spend those saving on two or three more trips that same week! One definition of stubborn is recognizing that what you are doing is crazy but not changing. Well, I also have a huge weak spot for Kohl's :)
-I can drone on and on about the most random things (as you can tell if you are still reading this post). I go off on tangents (as you might discover if you choose to continue reading more of my posts) so i appreciate your understanding :)
Well, I think that is enough for now as there is plenty to come out later on.
take care,
Little
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