It Tis the Season

This is just a recap of Christmas. This was a great holiday. Many contributing factors need to be noted.

~ Idaho
~ Homemade ottoman
~ New baby, Logan, so perfect
~ Not going to Sunday School because some dear friends were back at the Osgood Ward
~ Fiesta Ole
~ Hong Kong Chinese - some things never change
~ RANDOM story about placenta, ew.
~ Grandma doing a little toast to the thought of our family drinking
~ Quoting Home Alone 2 with Bryce
~ Talking to some favorite people in Kenya...last Christmas without them!
~ Sitting by the fireplace
~ Games with the family
~ Analyzing with the family
~ Renewing the Circle of Trust
~ Potatoes & pot roast
~ Not stepping one foot into Wal*Mart
~ Seeing a friend from Kindergarten
~ Cheering at an Alumni Basketball game
~ "Sorry Guys"
~ Playing basketball with the nephews and wishing so bad that I had skill but being so proud that I actually scored several points
~ Bridger streaking
~ Reading all the love notes that were written for my sister by my family
~ Doing the traditional family home evening with the sister, brother & sister-in-law where we each shared an experience of coming closer to Christ, our goals for the next year of coming closer to Him, and bearing testimony of Him & His life. I realized I love Christmas Eve the best because of this experience. We've done it for years, and I am so grateful for it. It recommits me for the next year, reminds me to be better throughout the year, and gives me accountability at the end of the year. It also helps me realize my belief in Him as my Savior & Redeemer.

There are so many wonderful things that contribute to the Christmas season every year. I'm glad I get to experience them. That I get to share them with family & people that are near & dear to me. I hope that I remember the life of Christ more this year and that I can draw nearer to Him! Merry Christmas!

The Dating Race

I have a few friends who have entered into a friendly battle. Check it out at http://www.thedatingrace.blogspot.com/

I am excited for the results. If you have any suggestions for the competition, let the contestants know. I have already composed a few lists.

Yahoo for New Year's Resolutions!

Merry Christmas To Me

I believe it is necessary to buy yourself Christmas presents. This year, I took a trip to San Francisco & went to WICKED...and got some really great seats...with 8 great girlfriends. This is what makes me proud to be single. I can do stuff like this :0) Megan had buddy passes, via Kevin, and so we all flew standby. I left on Friday night. The 4 of us that went this night took the bus downtown, walked around town, singing Christmas songs, ate at Rain Forest Cafe, slept in a nice hotel, and giggled a lot.

The next morning, the other 5 thankfully got on the flight. After eating a world famous breakfast, we met up and ate again. The Ghiradelli store provided us with some delicious peppermint bark...a few times. It helps when no line exists :0) The clam chowder in a bread bowl was delicious. I watched a gang of seagulls steal a hot dog from a lady. We saw Santa running with no shorts on. The cable car was so fun. Walked to Orpheum Theater, enjoyed WICKED...it is well worth it to get expensive seats :0) I could see Elpheba's nail polish. Then we booked it back to the bus station, and made it to the airport, only to find out that we weren't going to make the standby flight. Naturally, we rented a car. A 12 passenger van named Brigham. And off we went.

The 12 hour drive went by quickly for me. I was in a van with some of my dearest friends...and I had all their attention. And even though I had a failing voice, I sure talked the entire time. What a great present! Every part of the trip was necessary and perfect. Even stopping on the side of the road for a little break, running to McDonald's to satisfy my craving for their fries, changing the heat in the car, sharing a bed with Megan, spilling water, finding sixlets, enjoying the sun, seeing everyone walking down the streets of San Fran. I have been deeply blessed. It was a great trip, but I have some stellar friends.

Thank You

You have just benefitted from a kind gesture of any sort...an answer to a question, a ride, a gift. You say "thank you." The person on the receiving end says "thank you." What does that even mean? What happened to answering "you're welcome"? Did I miss something? Is it actually against protocol to say "you're welcome"? So many times I wonder what I did to them that would merit an expression of thanks. I guess it was nice of me to say something. It was nice of me to sit in the car while they drove.

The word gracious has come to mean a lot to me. It really is accepting the thanks or even the compliment that someone has given you. I tend to pray "dear gracious Heavenly Father." Why? I don't know, it's just something I've picked up, but I know that he accepts my gratitude. And aren't we trying to be like him?

I appreciate the gratitude that I feel and that I usually remember to express it. And I appreciate when others accept these expressions. It fulfills me in a way that lets me know that what I've said is heard & taken and appreciated.

I hope that I can be more thankful & gracious and that I can give others reason to be grateful.

Torn...

Another illness is upon me, and I'm torn...do I do my best to get better or just let it ride out. I ask this question because this illness has caused me to lose my voice. I LOVE losing my voice. I love the sound of lost voices, on anyone. I don't know why, but it just is kind of magical to me.

I find myself not fully clearing my throat, just to help keep the sound there, I don't want to upset the balance that has been created.

But yes, I do want to get better. It's no fun watching people pull away from you like you have just cursed their family, rather than just coughing in their proximity. So, I'll just keep drinking my hot cider and lemon & honey water and hope that the airplane I'm going on today doesn't increase the symptoms.

The Travelling Shirt

So there's this girl that has basically the same name as me. We'll call her Jan. We get along great. Probably because we have such similar names. Well, we have this problem. We like to shop together. And when we go shopping, we tend to find the same clothes. Or we'll make the same comment on an article of clothing. Like the stirrup pants at NY & Co. She saw them first, but didn't say anything, knowing that I would. Sure enough, when I walked passed the pants, I made some kind of comment. But really, I do love stirrup pants.

A few weeks ago, we were at ShopKo. It's actually a great place to shop because no one is ever there. The risk of seeing someone later with the same outfit is minimal. As we were looking, we both happened across this extremely cute shirt. We both grabbed one to try on and when we came out of our dressing rooms, it looked phenomenal on both of us. So, we bought one, joint custody. Back and forth it goes, from one to the other. This travelling shirt has been on some good dates, and has been around a lot of fun people. It is well worn.

Fast forward to our last shopping trip. We were at Forever 21. Just looking around, we happened across these shrugs. Yes. We both got one...different colors of course. Then, I found a coat. It was a white pea coat. I have been craving one of these since finding one for my sister in October. It was perfect. Well, there were some other colors. The blue one caught my friend's eye. She tried it on. Perfect. Needless to say, we now have matching shrugs & coats. So whether we share the item of clothing or just get the matching item, we have impeccable taste.

It is icing to the friendship cake.

Christmas Tree

I have never stepped foot in a tree lot. Sure, I've seen them, walked passed them at the grocery store, but there has never been any reason to go in. At home, we always had a nice fake tree. I remember one year mom putting a pine tree air freshener on the tree. That was fun. But the smell didn't mean much to me. I am here to confess that I'm growing up. I really do like the smell of real Christmas trees now.

My roommate was adamant about getting a real tree this year, so after work, we headed over to Cummings Trees & made the purchase. We had to take a picture next to it to see if we looked good with it. We did. It came home with us. We also took a bunch of boughs home with us. No one else wanted them. I think I may make that part for sure a practice for my future.

I also attended the Festival of Trees last night. It was fun. I think the ambiance would be increased greatly if they turned down the lights so you could see the magical Christmas lights. Maybe when I'm in charge.

Now I have a lovely Christmas tree next to my bedroom door, and I'm enjoying it. Ahhh. (that was me smelling) If only I wouldn't have opened my Christmas presents earlier this week, I'd have something to put under the tree :0)

Wigs

Confession: I like wigs.
There is something so enjoyable about tucking your hair into a net that then allows beautiful sythetic hair to adorn your head. They just crack me up.

Well today, I get to work, and a co-worker informs me that the older paralegal has dyed her hair again. She has quite thin hair (her scalp is almost entirely exposed), and a few weeks ago, she went from almost white, to brown. Interesting. Oh, and she's 60. I was proud of her for taking that chance. So, knowing that she had dyed her hair again, I was beyond surprised when I saw her with a wig. What!?!? She's using some great volumizing shampoo! Apparently she wears it and calls herself Chrissy when she does. She doesn't keep it on a styrofoam head, just on a hanger in her bathroom, which no longer gives her a scare when she goes in there at night. And she might be buying another one. It will be white. But this wig is really full and is a lot darker than the her hair was yesterday. Who does that? Everytime she walks past my desk, I just giggle. In our meeting, she kept confessing different things about it. It's all too odd.

A lady that I knew in Cincinnati had quite the array of wigs. It was confusing for the first few times meeting her. Then, she showed us her collection. And yes, we tried them all on and took some great pictures.

I think I'm missing out on a lot of great experiences by not having a wig...a good wig, that cost more than $20 at the Halloween store. I think I might actually do some researching on the phenomenon of wigs, it's so intriguing.