busy-not at leisure; otherwise engaged

that, my friends, is the definition of busy according to dictionary.com. no complaints here, i was definitely enjoying the Christmas/holiday season, but i couldn't seem to find time to update my blog!

how was your Christmas/holiday celebration? my fellow Minnesotans, how did you feel about the 'brown' Christmas we've had?

well, as much as i do enjoy snow and getting in the Christmas spirit with a winter wonderland, i made the best of the 'brown' Christmas we had this year and even will admit that i enjoyed being able to run outside without having to wear 4 layers and slipping everywhere! :)

this Christmas seemed extra special for reasons that i can't quite pinpoint, but i can take a few guesses....

1. i got to spend the couple weeks before Christmas having a great friend of mine stay at my place (what up, MOH)....we had SOOO many laughs, reminisced about the good ol' days (cause we're so old and wise) and created so many new memories and outrageous sayings that wouldn't make sense to anyone, but us....

2. being able to see my basketball girls enjoy the Christmas season and 'Secret Santas' put me in a festive mood. has anyone else noticed that as you get older, Christmas seems to be a bit more stressful than enjoyable with all the spending money, long 'To-Do' lists and traveling? these girls keep me grounded and made me realize Christmas can be easy and enjoyable.

3. i absolutely LOVE giving presents. i am a person who would rather give presents than get presents, but being short on money can make this difficult and stressful. i realized a little creativity and planning can go a long way! i was able to stay within budget and give some of the best/creative gifts yet! yaay!

4. simplicity--maybe this is what the 'youngens' are doing right to enjoy Christmas....this season will always be hectic, but there is no reason why it cannot be simple at the same time. i found myself truly enjoying the simple thingsthis year:. time with friends, decorating the Christmas tree, enjoying the scent of a holiday candle (seriously, has anyone tried the Glade holiday candles? AMAZING!), enjoying the peace and quiet of an evening run in the snow and cuddling up with my mf and favorite kitten just watching TV. slow down, enjoy it! it's the most wonderful time of the year!

5. TRADITIONS! my family and i have always had the tradition of attending the candlelight Church service and afterwards,  gorging ourselves with crab legs (and butter) along with pecan pie on Christmas eve. in my mind, you can't beat this tradition! my oldest brother, Nic, coming home has also turned into tradition! his life is very 'Hollywood', so he only gets to come home twice a year and having him home is a really special treat (for the most part...). 

 

this was the first Christmas my mf and i have spent together, so we decided to create a few of our own traditions....

we put up our own Christmas tree! we had a lot fun doing this (Henry was a big help as well) and we are quite proud of our first Christmas tree :)

another tradition we decided to do was to write down all of the memories of 2011....on an ornament! we bought a big green ornament and wrote down big milestones of 2011 in black permanent marker. we really had a great year together and can't wait to see what memories can be put on 2012's ornament.

do you have any Christmas traditions? i think they are so fun and really add to the meaning of Christmas!

always striving for more,
dee b.