This was our Christmas

Christmas is done and over with for another year. It was a decent year, but nothing too memorable.

On Christmas Eve, Mother had an ear infection and ended up going to the hospital at night so she could get something for the pain. My sister didn't bother to show up, so it was just me, brother and Chloe. Once Chloe was in bed, me and brother played Bloons 4 all night.

My first Christmas gift was that Chloe slept completely through the night without waking up once.

We got up and opened presents with sister got there with my nephew and her boyfriend. Little B got spoiled like crazy. I've never seen so many toys. He was so excited. 

We got to play with his toys for a little while before we left for dinner at Mom's boyfriend's parent's house. They were all so friendly, and the food was so good. They even had a present for Chloe, even though they had never met me or her before. 

On Boxing day we drove west to see our family. We picked up Pepe along the way. It seemed like a short visit, but always a good time. I spent the night up there with a friend, and at the last minute I ran into my aunt who asked to keep Chloe for the night. 

With Chloe gone, we ended up having a few drinks and going out for the night. We saw some old friends, which is always nice. 

I got a few gift cards for Christmas (my favorite). We came back to town yesterday and I dropped Chloe off with her father for the night. Being baby-free, I went and tried to spend my gift cards, but didn't find too much that I liked. It just means I have money left over to go shopping again later. 

I ended up going out with April again for a couple of hours after shopping, then came home after midnight and stayed up late taking down the Christmas tree and cleaning up a little bit. 

It was a pretty good Christmas, but I'm not sad to see it over. I look forward to starting a new year with my little girl.

For her first Christmas Chloe got:

• 2011 'Daughter' ornament
• Musical picnic basket
• Soft blocks
• Lilly Lamb stuffed animal
• A few outfits and some summer dresses
• Diaper bag
• A soft pink stuffed pig
• A walker musical toy
• Exersaucer
• Foam puzzle mat

So... how was your Christmas?

Merry Christmas!

Just another day in December

Another Monday morning. Just as Fridays don't really hold much excitement for me anymore, I don't dread Mondays in the least, usually. It's just another day for me and my girl. 

We've been at my mom's since Thursday. We came up here to get some Christmas baking done, and did we ever. We made:

• Peanut butter cups
• Butterscotch ice box cookies
• Gingerbread men
• Shortbread cookies
• Skor bar squares
• Marshmallow graham squares
• Peanut butter balls
• Marshmallow slice

I think that's it, but holy sweets in the fridge right now. I feel like I have sugar coming out of my ears. All that's left to do is to dip the peanut butter balls in chocolate then it's done. 

That's about all the excitement that happened this weekend. I got out of the house without Chloe for about an hour and have girly drinks with S. It was nice to have a short break, and the pina coladas were great. 

We took some pictures of Chloe under the Christmas tree. 

My favorite present under the tree

I likes presents Mommy

My nephew visited the first night I was here. He's a troublemaker and was trying to ask Chloe if she wanted to open her Christmas presents. We're lucky she's not older or they probably would have. It was cute hearing him ask her. 

There's lots of fun coming up in the next few weeks and I can't wait. 

Let's get into the Christmas mood with some Christmas questions

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1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? 
We've always done wrapping paper, which I love, but Mom is starting to like getting gift bags. It's way more fun to rip open wrapping paper than a bag.

2. Real tree or Artificial? 
I miss having real trees, but we've had artificial ones for years now. I have my own little artificial one.

3. When do you put up the tree? 
I put mine up this year at the beginning of December.

4. When do you take the tree down? 
I'll probably take it down sometime after New Year's day

5. Do you like eggnog? 
Never really had it much

6. Favorite gift received as a child? 
Spice Girl barbies

7. Do you have a nativity scene? 
No I dont

8. Hardest person to buy for? 
My brother or my grandfather.

9. Easiest person to buy for? 
My mom or my daughter

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? 
Mail. This year? Neither. I fail at Christmas cards,

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? 
Fish tank from my mom. I let her keep it and she still has it and loves her fish haha.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? 
Home Alone or the original Grinch

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? 
One year I started in September. This year it was more like the end of November.

14. Ever recycled a Christmas present? 
Probably but I don't remember.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Peanut butter balls

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? 
I like clear better, but I have colored

17. Favorite Christmas song? 
All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey. Don't jugdge

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? 
Travel to wherever my family is.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? 
Yes

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? 
I have a star

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? 
One on Christmas eve when we were kids.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? 
The crowds of people in every store.

23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color?
Chloe's baby's first Christmas ornament is my favorite.

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? 
A Silhouette Cameo but I'd settle for a Kindle ;)

Questions found at Simply Sunshine and Daisies

Blog Swap Perfection

A long while back, I decided to participate for the first time in some bloggy exchanges. I first came across a Christmas ornament swap hosted by Unexpected Surprises. I soon forgot about that exchange, and joined a mitten exchange hosted by Life of Meg. 

I got paired up with Alison at Life of Times of Alison & Justin for the mitten swap. I got a pair of mittens plus a pair of colorful gloves. I love all things colorful so both pairs are right up my alley. 

For the ornament exchange I got paired up with The Loves of Jenn, who sent me this ornament:

How pretty is that? It's perfect. I love the pink and green and can't wait to someday have my own green and pink tree. I'm so scared I break it, that I packed it back in its box until next Christmas. 

I also learned when they delivered it just today, that the acceptable way of delivering a package in my building  is to ring and run. Yeah, the delivery guy stuck the package (too big for my mailbox) on the floor by the mailboxes, rang the doorbell for my apartment and left. Had I not been home to hear the doorbell ring, and go downstairs out of curiosity, anyone could have taken it. The main door doesn't lock during the day. So yay for effective delivery methods. 

Either way, I'm so happy with all of my exchange items. First time bloggy swapping? A great success. 

There was no white Christmas

We were dreaming of a white Christmas, but we got a completely green one. The white part got started on Boxing Day, putting an end to plans I had with all my friends who all live away, but come back home for Christmas. 

After the 'white' we got a lot of rain, followed by another snow storm. I was dreaming of a white Christmas. It doesn't mean I was dreaming of a white new year, Mother Nature. 

Has anyone ever worn plastic bags over their socks to escape from wet boots/shoes? Yeah, that was me tonight. 

Snow is pretty and can be fun and all, but I'm a summer girl. 

I haven't felt much like blogging lately - reading or writing. 

I guess I'm just tired of reading about Christmas. Writing about Christmas. Seeing pictures of Christmas trees. I am the Grinch, just a few days past the actual date. (Note: if you're reading this, I probably don't mean you - I've been looking forward to reading about a few of your Christmases!)

But one last Christmas thing? Part of my Christmas gifts were gift cards to my favorite store. I ended up buying two dresses. This is the one I think I'll be wearing to my work Christmas party in January (who has a Christmas party in January, anyway?):

It looks darker in person. The second dress is a bit shorter and the material is a little light so you see the space between my legs when I'm wearing it. You can't see right through it but still, it is a little weird. I will need to find something to wear underneath it, but I think it will be my New Year's Eve dress. I couldn't find an exact picture but it's a basic one-shoulder black dress, somewhat like this:

Just minus the bedazzling on the shoulder and the way it seems to cris-cross in the front a little. It is a tiny bit longer, as well. 

But that is my excitement lately, plus being sent home from work last night because the boss accidentally scheduled two of us to work the same night and no one noticed until we both showed up. It's nice to have an extra night off. 

As for my Christmas, maybe I should mention it a little. It was just nice to see my nephew so excited about all of his toys. He got a ton of toys and once he opened one he didn't care at all about the others. It was also nice spending time with my grandfather. He seemed happy to just be hanging out with the family. He kept saying "J'aime ca." which is basically him saying he loves this, in French. Did I mention before that he speaks a little bit more, only it's all in French? Any improvement makes me happy though. 

Now tell me, what was the highlight of your Christmas?

Christmas 2010

Christmas day was a good one. We went to my sister's house to open presents, then have turkey lunch. After that, off we went to my aunt and uncle's house for turkey supper, and to give my grandfather his presents. It was a day filled with lots of family and lots of fun.

As usual, I videotaped Christmas for the 6th (?) year in a row. I'm getting a little sick of watching Christmas through a camera.

It was this little boy's third Christmas. He was pretty excited to get so many toys. He is beyond spoiled. 

My grandfather seemed pretty happy with his presents as well. He's still not talking very much, but he seemed happy just to be with the family. 

Little B. danced around for us while my cousin sang and played guitar. It really felt like a country Christmas. 

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas like I did. 

Christmas Traditions

I love traditions. Christmas traditions are my favorite. How about Christmas, questionnaire-style? Please play along :)

How many trees do you usually have, and how are they decorated?

Although I love the idea of a bunch of themed trees, we've always just had one. It used to be decorated with a wide, crazy assortment of ornaments but as we got older Mom started making it look a little more matchy/classy.

When do you opens your presents?

We always open presents Christmas morning. Mom and sister have tried to convince me and brother to open them on Christmas eve so we can sleep in, but Christmas is Christmas, and you don't mess around with tradition.

Do you open presents slowly, or rip into them?

We are the slow type. We take turns opening one present and once we put the present aside, the next person gets their turn. We're in no rush so why not take the time to savor it? That's definitely a tradition I will keep with when I have my own family.

What do you do on Christmas eve?

These days, we don't follow many of our old traditions now that we've all moved around. Back in the day, it would be the first night Mom would break out the Christmas baked goods. There would also be tons of chocolates, chips and others goodies. The main Christmas eve snack? "The Dip", as we call it. Basically your salsa, ground beef, cream cheese, topped with mozza cheese and baked in the oven. Oh so yummy. We would always open one Christmas present each on Christmas eve, and one family one. The family one was always a movie. For many years, it was always a Land Before Time Movie. We had them all.

Christmas dinner?

Always turkey. It's the one time I know for sure I'll get a big, amazing, turkey dinner. Where we eat it is always different. We've hosted it for all my Mom's family before. We've gone to have it at a different relative's places, we've had it with my ex stepfather's family before. The only thing that stays the same is that it's always with some kind of family and it's always turkey.

Do you get a white Christmas?

Usually. This year we get a rainy/flooded Christmas. We've been having some sort of wind storm for days now. 

What's your favorite part of Christmas?

Usually just the anticipations itself and the 'happier than usual' feeling I seem to get. The family time. The baking and turkey dinner are great as well though. 

I will be posting 'Friday Recommendations' tomorrow, as I did last week - with lots of fun Christmas links. Besides that, you won't be hearing from me for a couple of days. 

Merry Christmas all! 

Ghosts of Christmases Past

It's the middle of the night and I'm awake. It could be hours or even minutes since I first went to bed. I am oh so curious about what I might find in the living room, but I know I shouldn't leave my room. 

I rummage around in the mess that is always my bedroom and find the book I'm reading. I open the closet door and turn on the light in there so I can read, but still not have the light shining under my door for all to see. 

Reading is hard on Christmas eve. Sitting still is hard. I finally throw the book down and decide to take one quick peek. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?

Oh, right. Santa could see me and not leave any presents. 

But it's late. He must have come already, right? There's only one way to find out for sure. 

I creep out of my room, never as grateful as that exact moment that I don't have a squeaky door. I tip toe up the hall and across the dinning room, where I can already see the tree in the corner. 

I step into the living room and gasp as I see all the huge presents lined up in front of the fireplace. They are too big and there are too many for them to fit under the tree! I peer closer until I see the group of presents with my name written on them. I hold back a squeal of excitement, but turn and tip toe back to my room. 

I'll just have to keep reading until morning. There's no was I am going to be able to sleep. And there's no way Mom is ever letting us get up in the middle of the night to open presents. 

So I sit alone in my room with my book, and the countdown until morning begins. 

- Christmas 1996 (or 1997!)

Christmas in 2003 or 2004, I can't place it - Me, brother and sister

Christmas 2006

Stay tuned for more Christmas fun in the next couple of days : )

Christmas Wish List

I've seen them all over. Christmas wish lists. I wanted to make my own extravagant list, so here it is.

1. Sony Reader  - $149.99 for Touch Edition on Amazon.com

2. A good portrait lens for my Nikon D3000

3. House season six - $34.99 on Amazon.com

4 + 5 -  Approx $40 each at Dynamite

6. Mini Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella - $14.62 on Amazon.com

7. Any HD tv

8. Any tripod for my Nikon

9. Desperate Housewives season 6 - $35.99 on Amazon.com

10. How I Met Your Mother season 5 - $18.99 on Amazon.com

Christmas = Happiness

I fail at NaNoWriMo. Under 15,000 words, and I haven't written in over a week. It started to become more of a chore to me anyway. I love writing, but not being forced to. But whatever. This is not the purpose my writing here today.

Christmas.

I splurged on a DVD at Wal-Mart today because for once I don't have the patience to wait for it to go down in price. I also didn't want to wait to shop around for a better price.



I vaguely remember wanting to see it last year. Actually, something I've been wanting to do forever is see a Christmas movie in theatres. But I missed this one, so I bought it. I'm in love with Reese Witherspoon anyway. I'd like to own all her movies.

I've had my tree up for quite some time now. I've had presents wrapped and ready for even longer. I managed to let the boyfriend convince me that each of us could open a present today. I also let my sister convince me to let my nephew open one of the presents I got him. He looked so cute and happy when he was opening it. I can't wait until real Christmas.

I feel that people in general just aren't excited enough for Christmas yet. Our lobby at work is finally decorated and they're playing Christmas music some days at our other job. But there's no snow. Right now, not so much all the time, I just want to surround myself with Christmas music and decorations and presents and baking. Christmas feels like happiness and I want more of it.