And it sounds like that too. 400 tubas playing Christmas carols to a packed-out theatre of people ringing bells, wearing santa hats, and singing along. It was the silliest thing we’ve done all season, and the most life-giving.
So this morning I baked cookies, and then I had a nice hour with a pot of tea and a book, and THEN my favorite kiddos came over with their mom and we had fun making gift tags, watching Mickey Mouse cartoons, enjoying my tree through the eyes of children (very rewarding!), and just hanging out with each other. I haven’t seen them in over a week, since Kristen, their mom, is looking for a new job, so I was very glad to spend most of the day with them. Chad and I even went out with the whole family to Main Street for free burger Monday! These kids are such cheesy goofs, but I love them to death:
Our flock group had a progressive dinner last night, and we hosted the main course at our house. I had way too much fun decorating and getting ready for it. If I had my way, we’d have a party every single night of the Christmas season. And after that, we could start on Valentine’s Day. I found these absolutely perfect, beautiful pears at the grocery store yesterday, and I had to find a way to incorporate them into my centerpiece. It worked, I think.
Oh, and there were people here too!
Snow day today! It started this morning and hasn’t stopped yet! The roads are treacherous tonight, and the plows just can’t keep up. But we’re safe and snug in our house now.
I went to Heidi’s today to help her clean and decorate for Christmas. That’s the way to go–doing it with someone else. She let me do my own thing on the tree and under it. It’s a good thing we both have the same wonky personality.
Isn’t it bee-yoo-tee-ful?
Send me some love. I need comments! They’re almost as good as Christmas cards! Feed the blogger!
This year is the first year I’ve pulled out this felt advent calendar my mom made years ago. It never seemed to "go" with the rest of my decor, and I felt silly putting it up without having any children to use it. But this year I decided that it matches everything just fine and I don’t need no stinking children to enjoy it. Because I can do by myself! The color on the first photo is WAY off, I wasn’t paying any attention to my white balance:
Those red dots are velcro, and you just stick the piece on it.
Aren’t they just way too cute? And if you’re wondering about the green one on the bottom, well, I’m wondering about it too. That’s the one I made, and I’m still trying to figure it out. Fried egg on a holly leaf? Hard-boiled egg slice on spinach? I have no idea. But isn’t it great that my mom let me do it and then used it all those years??!
I love having a decorated Christmas tree. I love looking at it, smelling its fragrance wafting through the house, seeing the lights glow on the walls and ceilings. But I get really depressed while I’m putting the ornaments on it. When my mom died, I inherited most of the ornaments and Christmas decorations. No matter how hard I try, my tree never looks as good as hers. But I exclaim, usually by myself, over each ornament as I unpack it. "Oh, here’s scary papier mache clown. . .Ernie and Bert!. . .those walnut shell mice the cats steal off the tree every year!" It’s lonely, I miss her, I miss the way my life used to be before she died. I am overwhelmed right now with all that remains undone. But at least this part is finished. Now I can just enjoy the tree and hope the shadows lingering in my heart will fade away.
My favorite ornament, made by yours truly in preschool.
Finished:
We went and got our tree today. I picked it out without knowing how much it was, and as usual, I managed to pick the MOST expensive tree on the lot. Without even trying. That takes skill.
This is the worst part of the Christmas tree ordeal: putting on the lights. If I ever cave and get a fake tree, it will not because it doesn’t drop needles or that it is less of a fire hazard. It will be because you can buy a PRE-LIT tree. That is extremely tempting. But it’s done now, and I didn’t pitch one fit!
The best part of the Christmas tree ordeal: the lights. I love it I love it I love it!
And I love the lights when they’re reflected in windows. In this picture, the far tree is actually a lit shrub in the neighbor’s yard across the street. The near tree is a reflection of a small, fake, PRE-LIT tree behind me in the dining room.
And because it was already out, and I love it, I had to cozy up to my tripod for a mirror shot:
oh, and finally, just in case you think that I didn’t share any tree-ness with Chad, this is the part he got to do:
Today is my honey’s birthday! Happy birthday Chad! Now he is finally as old as I am!
It is also my twerpy brother Jonathan’s birthday today. He’s 28.
Well, you all knew I would!
I’m sending in my registration today or tomorrow. I’m doing this in memory of my mother, Robin L. Hrubik, my grandmother, Pauline Schley. I’m doing this in honor or my friend Mary Beth Eckberg, who has just been diagnosed with chronic leukemia. I’m doing this in honor of another friend’s father, who has AML, the same disease my mother had.
I will have a personal website from Team in Training soon for raising both awareness and funds for the cause. Stay tuned.
This being a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training event. The Seattle to Portland Classic, July 14 &15. A double century. That means a two-day, 100 mile/day ride, from Seattle to Portland. I’m not so much worried about the physical demands, because I’ve done this kind of training before. I’m more concerned about having to raise $4600 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by May 23. But I can’t seem to stop thinking about it!
In 2004, I trained for El Tour de Tucson with Team in Training. It was such an incredible experience! I can’t even begin to describe what it taught me about myself, God, discipline, disappointment. Disappointment? Yes, I didn’t get to cross the finish line, thanks to Allyson’s Touchy Digestive System. This is how I described the experience to Jenn in an email:
But I never got to cross the finish line. Our coach said something extremely significant right before the ride. He said, "You’ve already done all the hard work. This is just the reward." And he was right. It was those long, lonely miles on the road for months and months that mattered. Not the ride at the end. But I really wanted to cross that line, I’d envisioned it millions of times, planned how I was going to think of my Mum and cry and laugh as I pedalled across. And people just keep GETTING leukemia, and I HATE leukemia, and this is something I can DO about it. And a double century! That makes up for not finishing the first one, because I’ll be doing TWO!
So am I crazy, or what?
Meredith and I went hiking at three different parks today. Deep Lock Quarry, the Ledges at Virginia Kendall, and Blue Hen Falls. It made me so happy, I just had to jump for joy:
Chad likes this one better, but I look even dorkier:
And now for someone who looks completely normal:
I had a lot of fun this morning photographing one of my favorite families. Three-year-old twins are a tough crowd, though, let me tell you. Getting Benny-boy to smile was like pulling teeth.
My new favorite photo:
